Test Animation - Simple Characters - (Update New Codec)

Artwork Works in Progress
#1

hello

i have been trying to think of a good animation to do with the simple characters i have created but nothing really has come to mind. untill a few days ago.

i have not done too much with animation and almost nothing with rigged characters that move around. but i thought i should give it a shot. keep in mind this is pretty much a first animation attempt with this kind of textuing so it is a bit simple.

click here for the movie (avi, 2megs, 15sec)
updated with new codec and smaller file size

  The Bulbus Monkey

http://www.home.earthlink.net/~simpletoon/bulbus.jpg

#2

You’ve got style, man! 8) That’s just absolutely neat [!] Keep it going, it’s simple, but it’s cool. Well done :stuck_out_tongue: .
And… how did you do the tex anim? Can you lip sync with a texture?

#3

If you can, change the format of the movie to a more readily availble one; I didn’t have the codec for this (only plays back audio) and when I went to the site for the download was supprised to find I needed to buy it (even though it was $15 or so)

#4

OK!

#5

thanks for the posts

Falgor-thanks for the great post, i’m sure their has got to be an easier way to do it, and if someone knows how please let me know. but as far as my procedure for doing texture animation it goes like this:
i will do about 3 different drawings (i will do more complicated ones as i go but this was just a test) then do a 5 frame render with each expression. then i will take it into a audio/animation editor and add each expression to the placement of the sound lines (if that makes anysense). so basically for the whole first few seconds all i used were about 15 frames of animation just repeated over and over as the words needed. but rember just a first try nothing great…yet, haha. thanks for the post man.

kat-II - maybe you can help with this, or if anyone else can help out that would be great, i would like this to be veiwable for everyone. here is the problem. i dont know what a codec is. i thought it was just a avi compressor that everyone could see the results from, but i guess not. if i left this animation as a uncompressed avi it would be 8 megs. so i used a codec. here is a photo of what codecs i can use, if you see one that is more common and more readily avalible let me know and i will us it.
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~simpletoon/codec.jpg

burnhard- ok, i dont know what this means. i guess my humor some people will get and some will not.

hopfully most people dig it, got lots more characters and animations to come, it is really too much fun!!!

#6

…hmm, I think that DivX might be a good choice (www.divx.com) - or you could use Microsoft MPEG4 V2, which is supported by many systems, too (http://www.undercut.org/msmpeg4).

Hehe, I would really love to see this animation - please recode it :D.

Cheers

Thorsten

#7

Very cool and funny, but, as said, uncompressed, so very huge!

#8

thanks for checking this out, or at least trying too :smiley:

thoro- i have changed the codec in animation above to the one you suggested “Microsoft MPEG4 V2”, please let me know if you are able to veiw now. i’m glad you are taking the time to check it out.

Roger- thanks man, i’m also suprised to see how large the files are with such a small animation. but it did turn out with little compression grain, so i cant complain, thanks for checking it out.

kat-II- if your still around please let me know if the updated movie above worked out for you.

i’m actually glad i’m able to learn what people can watch and what they cant watch so i know what to do for next time. and it is proably best that i learn with somthing i only spent a day on instead of a week, so this is good progress in learning how to codec things, thanks

#9

LMAO! That was friggin hilarious. Well done man.

BgDM

#10

lovely sense of humour, but I think he should be moving with his head while talking, and his arm movement should seriously change. To get rid of your problem, you should animate the texture. Create one material with 3 textures (for each expression 1 texture). Check the one you want to see first, move your mose over the material window and press “I” and choose “All Mapping” (make sure the ipo window is a material ipo). Now do this with the different texture every frame there is need of a change. To get rid of the ipo curves, press t in the ipo window and choose “constant”.

Hope that helps

  • Bentagon
#11

Bentagon, thanks for the tip :stuck_out_tongue: .

#12

yup that version works ok for me now and yeh quite funny. hehe

Will you be adding any more joints to the characters? simple wrist, elbows, spine, that kind of thing?

#13

thanks for the posts guys

BgDM - cool man thanks for the compliment, i think as long as most people get it i’m on the right track

Bentagon- thanks, and thanks for the great tip too. i totally agree about the arm movement, i couldnt figure out the head animation with it moving so i tried to compensate by moving the arms, haha, someone found me out. i have an idea for one more try with the head moving and animating like the first way. but if it doesnt work out i will definatly keep your idea in mind, thanks!

kat-II- thats cool, now i know what codec to use for the final animation. the original idea was to keep them like puppets and simple as possible, basically because i get burnt out very fast with complex models. but on the same idea i was able to get pretty complex armatures built for finger, hand, waist, head, foot, and body movements. i figure i will just get more complex as i go, just easy stuff for now. thanks for coming back to check it out!

i thought that this animation would get good feed back or i would get banned from elysiun forever for being weird, haha. but i love making the characters and animations, and as long as people still dig them i wont be slowing anytime soon. got friday off so all day in front of the computer, and onto the next animation “Spacecraft 3000” be on the look out, i will try to have it up on sunday, it is going to be awful! haha

#14

OH MAN!!! That was super funny. Wu, I really think you have something great going here.

Cheers,

b01c

#15

LOL! :D:D

As you can see, it works for me now. I like it, good to see the guys in action ;). Finding the right codec for everyone can be a pain when you start video coding.

Show us more… http://www.thoro.de/images/blender/yamo_smiley.gif

#16

thanks dudes

block01cube- thanks! i’m glad you liked it.

thoro- thanks, i’m glad you came back to check it out, with your help i think i have found the right codec, it seems everyone was able to veiw it, and i hope to show lots more aniamtions

working on finishing animation number two.
Spacecraft 3000
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~simpletoon/inro.jpg
it is going to be pretty strange let me tell you, but it will be about 45sec long, and with different characters, and a little more complex animation, i hope, if i can pull it off.
i think this is the path i will take for awhile no real set characters and story line, but lots of new characters and story lines, just a whole bunch of short animations, just always changing sets and characters thats the way i wanted it to be from the start, because this will allow me to keep making characters and different enviornments.
thanks for checking it all out, means a lot!