It would be really great if RS came with an extra CD (or preferably DVD)
that was filled with video tutorials to visually show how these things are
done.
Now, I know trueSpace is not too popular around here (I think it's so-so
myself), but I have to admit that their availibility of video tutorials is
quite impressive (even though it's usually not free...). Animation Master
also has many many video tutorials available right from their site at
reasonable prices.
Couldn't the same be done for RS at a reasonable price? (Preferably free
:D )
Watching someone use SDS tools with voice-over narration could teach a lot
of people how to most effectively use the software. And as we've discussed
here before, there are a number of programs available that make creating
video tutorials easy.
Anyone with the expertise willing to do the work...possibly making some
extra $$$ in the process?
Videos could be devoted to specific areas, or general RS usage:
- Modelling
-----NURBS
-----SDS
-----CSG
etc.
Russell
----- Original Message -----
From: "studio" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2006 12:51 AM
Subject: Re: create a tentacle
Hi Garry,
For once I don't agree with you! I find SDS great fun to work with and
very
intuitive, contrary to scripting. For a snake with a head I'd choose SDS
instead of nurbs any time. BTW: does a snake actually have a tail and if
so, where does it start? ;)
Hi Mark :
I can agree easily that once you master SDS it must be a breeze to
create such amazing shapes , easily , but I can't even get going on
something simple . My super-simple extrusions look like crap !
I made some snake-like creatures for a game and for my logo (see
http://www.xs4all.nl/~ath8n0r/ ). All done in SDS, no problems. The most
difficult part was the texturing. Just give me a shout and I'll send you
a
version without claws and ears.
Awesome ! Very very nice serpent creatures . This is basically what
I wanted to do was create a couple serpents for a St. Patricks kind
of theme scene . I to find a method that allows me to extrude a nice
smooth shape and then scale it down at various rates .
Imagine the sweaty hell I was in , trying to do something as simple
as create a snake , with no luck at all !
I don't see a problem with the SDS cylinder approach, repeatedly (10-20x)
extruding/scaling the end plane.
To get rid of the tail artifacts (or at least make them invisible): zoom
in
closely, extrude the tiny end plane once more, shrink and move it a bit
to
make a round tip. Maybe there still are some 'artifacts' but who cares if
they are invisible.
Well , maybe that is the key then , just play with the end a bit
more until it gets smoother , but if you look at that image you
will see that it is not round but hexagonal , or something equally
unusable .
My 2 cts:
- Practice. Especially practice the most common actions like extruding.
Become familiar with the handles and their modifiers.
- Avoid sharp edges etc in organic modeling, these tend to introduce
artifacts if you're not careful.
- Don't forget the Edge Loop tool (combined with CTRL and/or shift it's
great!). The button is usually off-screen (please fix that!).
- It helps if rotating, panning and scaling the view while modeling has
become second nature.
- switch to polygonal once in a while.
One of the more difficult things to keep in mind is object topology. One
missing or flipped plane can ruin a whole object.
Hmmm , ok , practice is what I most definitely need to do , of
course , but I think you mat have said something very interesting
here .
Polygonal !!! Perhaps this is the best way to start to learn RS
SDS ? Not with all the 'magnets' working at once , but without a
magnet at first , in order to get the hang of basic functions _THEN_
introduce the smoothing methods and see what they do to modify a
"hard" shape .
Good luck & don't give up too quickly,
Mark H
I'm just extremely frustrated ! It seems everything I attempt I
run into a wall of some kind . Character animation , SDS ... see
the forum for some of the other walls I've been hitting lately .
Thanks for your reply .
studio
www.niagara.com/~studio
www.studiodynamics.net
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