For a scene I just started animating, I shot 3 versions of reference and combined them with my current blocking pass.
A bit lengthy on the setup, but it should help me really nail the timing and poses.
…And it was a pretty fun approach.
Category Archives: 3D
Maya Motion Trails Rock
Ok animators, how many of you have drawn on your screen with a dry erase marker?… Yes, it may sound weird to the normals out there, but it’s a pretty common and useful practice for seeing the motion curves of parts of a body, etc in an animation.
…And then I found out about “motion trails”. I think the feature’s actually been around for a while, but, of course, as Maya has about 6 billion features, it’s easy to overlook many of them, and judging from asking around, not enough animators know about this.
All you do is click on a part of the rig you want to track, such as a foot or hand controller, then click “create motion trail” from the “animate” menu. BOOM. Now you have a motion trail that exists in 3d space, updates every time you make a change, and doesn’t leave any marks on your screen.
A big thanks to Sue Campbell for that tidbit. 🙂
Calling all 3D Modelers!
I remember seeing my first 3D printer at SIGGRAPH in 2002 and thinking to myself “Holy crap, this is going to be huge”. The ability to simply “print out” digitally designed objects in a single pass is already a clear boon to prototyping & manufacturing, but it’s still going to be a while before we have 3d printers atop every desk, ready to create for us whatever part, toy, or mug that we decide to download or create.
However, there are now two companies that are bridging the gap from “3D printing? What’s that?” to a fabricator in every home: Shapeways and Sculpteo allow users to upload virtual objects and order them as physical 3D objects. Additionally, both sites allow modelers to upload & sell their creations to be printed by others. Sculpteo is currently limited to white plastic and a color compound, while Shapeways adds the ability to print in glass and metal, such as the octopus ring on the right.
So to all you modelers out there: Start sellin your models as 3D objects for the world to enjoy…and feel free to send a print to me if you actually start makin some bucks doing this. 😉