tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29342836700411994182024-03-19T11:54:36.853-07:00Tim Oberlander's Animation and Random Thoughts BlogTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14552287783452616270noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934283670041199418.post-84922762889184906632013-12-14T15:58:00.000-08:002013-12-14T15:58:51.014-08:00Where have I been?Well, it has now been over two years since I last posted something and to be honest, I don't really have a good excuse. The only big change was that I started a new job (well, the company that I'd been with for 11+ years was acquired). That was right around the time of my last post (Sep 2011). At that time I more or less stopped all work on my personal projects. Was my loss of personal project interest work related? I think in part it was. I was also struggling to focus my (little) free time and actually do something worth finishing and/or sharing with those of you that stop by my blog. So, I got frustrated and stopped sitting in front of this computer after work and focused my attention on my other hobbies. God knows I have way too many things that I want to do besides 3D as well....<br />
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So, after many abandoned projects I have decided that I'm ready to get my butt back in gear and start creating/sharing with all of you. I'm currently working with a couple people (outside of work) on something that I hope will be very cool! More on that in 2014 though....<br />
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I'm also always curious as to how/why people end up on my blog in the first place. Are you here for my character rigs? my tutorials? you accidentally came here? If you feel like sharing why/how you came to land on my site then please do so.<br />
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Also, if you like my tutorials and want more please let me know some topics that I might be able to shed some light on (I'm an animator/rigger and that's really all I know). I've been doing this for over 13 years now and have learned some things over the years. Is it the correct way to do them? Who knows... it's just how I do them:). It could be fun to have a list of topics that I can do some tutorials on. Then I can share with all of you that might be interested in seeing how or why I do something a certain way. It's also a great way for me to stop and look back at how/why I do something.<br />
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Anyway, it feels good to actually post something on here. Sure, it's not the most exciting blog post in the world, but it's getting the ball rolling for me!<br />
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cheers and as always, happy animating!<br />
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<br />Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14552287783452616270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934283670041199418.post-22375512058588859972011-08-16T16:19:00.000-07:002011-08-16T17:11:54.295-07:00Testing...123...testing...hello? This thing on?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixEJzyf_5L8ZDKOgu4xHpGb6gDkYnNoA4EqrnQ-TbvBW3yaIbgwgtJ7rwsz6nip7pPFXeJc4X5H54XCyvr0Va5rBepEnXJRJeCq8YwOLF9HJ0Hst34fK2BqQkMeIGa1vnNrr5Q4Pz0-Jk/s1600/Zane.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 294px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixEJzyf_5L8ZDKOgu4xHpGb6gDkYnNoA4EqrnQ-TbvBW3yaIbgwgtJ7rwsz6nip7pPFXeJc4X5H54XCyvr0Va5rBepEnXJRJeCq8YwOLF9HJ0Hst34fK2BqQkMeIGa1vnNrr5Q4Pz0-Jk/s320/Zane.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5641601004183223186" border="0" /></a>I don't know about you, but I am very tired of Basic Guy. He was a model that I created almost 8 or so years ago for just personal animation and rigging exercises. Well, as you may know, he turned into way more than that. He has been downloaded thousands of times and has been all over the world (thank you all for the very nice emails)! I have been having so much fun with seeing him travel the world that I want to share more rigged models with you all. This time I will not be modeling them (whew!). I am working with a co-worker on hopefully 3-5 characters (to start) to share. Each character will have a wardrobe and accessories to choose from. How fast those assets all come out... I'm not sure (hopefully faster than slower). I'm also trying to figure out the best way to release these assets to you all. Do I just release unskinned assets? Or, can I create a pipeline for you all that is a lot faster (as in I skin and you all use a tool to "build" a character to animate in some kind of UI)? I'm leaning towards the latter. I know that most people that download rigs are animators that do not want to rig. So, I'm one of the "weirdo's" that loves both aspects. In my absence (from my blog) I have written an auto rig script that will rig characters in minutes vs the hours upon hours of manual work. So, it would be a very fun challenge to figure out a way to allow you all to build your own character and let you get to animating!
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<br />Anyway, above you will see "Zane". He is being modeled currently. But, when he is done, I will rig him up and share with you all. I'm VERY excited to get back to public releases and hopefully seeing my characters show up all over the place again!
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<br />cheers and thanks for stopping by!
<br />Tim
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<br />Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14552287783452616270noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934283670041199418.post-82335278868770001542010-05-10T08:10:00.000-07:002010-05-11T09:09:04.230-07:00Basic Guy v3.3.1 update<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi67GSqe00F4K6homtStke8IXWaBUx2gyoHBuRdaG7HmVeUNPVOrR-2yPCgT3meW3fdmG3I_upMjrd-fSlFfor2uys7a8rCtBgwjtQC533Px-0zBunZpht9Etik0R3Rs8jCow0r4e0lStA/s1600/BG_v3.3.1_GUI.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 194px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi67GSqe00F4K6homtStke8IXWaBUx2gyoHBuRdaG7HmVeUNPVOrR-2yPCgT3meW3fdmG3I_upMjrd-fSlFfor2uys7a8rCtBgwjtQC533Px-0zBunZpht9Etik0R3Rs8jCow0r4e0lStA/s320/BG_v3.3.1_GUI.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469659653369481634" border="0" /></a>Well well well... look who finally got around to updating his blog! Yep, it's about time I do something here!<br /><br />Anyway, I have a new Basic Guy release for you all (really, my blog should be called "Basic Guy's Blog"). The rig is more or less the same as what you're used to. But, I did do some renaming of controls here and there (trying to clean up the scene slightly). There are also some other small(ish) changes that would make merging an old animation somewhat of a pain to do (but still doable).<br /><br /><br />New feature breakdown:<br />1) a new GUI<br />-- for selecting rig parts<br />-- fk/ik matching<br />-- for animating the face<br /><br />2) GUI can work with multiple Basic Guys in one scene<br />-- <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">NOTE:</span> you <span style="font-style: italic;">must</span> use namespaces for the GUI to work with multiple Basic Guy characters (or else you get name clashing and it confuses the mel).<br /><br />I recommend watching the "new feature overview" movie (strong coffee is highly recommended for viewing):<a href="http://www.timoberlander.com/Tutorials/BG_v3.3.1_NewFeatures.mov"><br />Basic Guy v3.3.1 New Features Overview</a><br /><br />Anyway, that more or less covers his new features. It may not seem like a lot of noticeable change, but I think that the new GUI and ability to have more than one Basic Guy in the scene is pretty cool. However, I am still working on a Basic Guy design over haul. Well, a co worker has been putting some time into that for me (he's a much better modeler than me!). As to when that will be ready? Good question. He seems to be close, but well, we keep changing our minds on things and he isn't getting paid to do this for me. But, Basic Guy is going to look quite a bit different in his next release (But, hopefully, still look like Basic Guy).<br /><br />So, here is the new Basic Guy release (drum roll please!!):<br /><a href="http://www.timoberlander.com/Downloads/Characters/BasicGuy_v3.3.1.zip">Basic Guy v3.3.1</a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">NOTE</span>: I should mention that I created Basic Guy v3.3.1 in Maya 2010 and back converted to Maya 7. When I opened the GUI in Maya 7 there was an error message about "hud". You can ignore this. It doesn't affect the GUI script. If I find some time I'll try to write a GUI script that is more friendly with previous versions of Maya.<br /><br />Hopefully, my next post will be sooner rather than later... but then again, I always say that ;)<br /><br />cheers and happy animating!<br />TimTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14552287783452616270noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934283670041199418.post-71355203112417028522009-09-17T10:27:00.001-07:002009-09-17T11:14:29.000-07:00Finally a rig test!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.timoberlander.com/Images/WorksInProgress/BG_uniRide.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 210px; height: 195px;" src="http://www.timoberlander.com/Images/WorksInProgress/BG_uniRide.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Hey all...so it's been ages since I've posted anything (big surprise I know!). Anyway, I finally started a rig test with the Basic Guy that you have all been playing with (or not playing with...whatever;) ). I decided that I wanted to animate him riding a unicycle in the test....why not right? Seemed like a good way to test out his updated rig features. There's a lot of fk and ik matching/switching and... switching hands with props... and squash and stretch...etc... Also, I wanted to take a crack at rigging a cartoony unicycle as well:D<br /><br />I'm also working on an updated Basic Guy that I hope to have out sometime soon (solutions to things that I found irritating when animating this clip). The rig hasn't really changed all that much, but I have written a MEL script that helps tons with selecting controls and all that. Basically, it's a GUI that when you select an object it will in turn select that rig part.<br /><br />I've also written a MEL script that let's you manage your custom cameras in a single pane. So for Basic Guy, you can switch between his face rig controls and the body rig selector GUI that I mentioned previously very quickly and easily! Whew...time saver!<br /><br />Oh, I think that I'm close to having the whole referenced file thing figured out too (so you can then have more than one BG in scene and have all the fk/ik matching stuff work...) I'll post another blog on that sometime soon as well.<br /><br />Anyway, I'm not done with the animation here, but, I felt that it was time that I stop and post something! So, here is my still work in progress rig test with Basic Guy.<br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.timoberlander.com/Animations/WIP/uni_TestRide_093b_sm.mov"><br />Basic Guy and Unicycle Rig Test</a> (quicktime movie file ~2MB)<br /><br />Anyway, that's it for now. I'll try to post again soon(ish)!<br /><br />Cheers and as always happy animating!Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14552287783452616270noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934283670041199418.post-90328858425131699902009-04-09T18:26:00.000-07:002009-04-09T18:28:35.986-07:00slight bug fix for Basic GuyHey all,<br />If you downloaded BG v3.3.03 you will want to get v3.3.0<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">4</span>. There was a small bug reported. I forgot to re-parent the left proxy foot to follow the rig...doh! Anyway, that has now been fixed and can be downloaded below...<br /><br />cheers!<br />TimTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14552287783452616270noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934283670041199418.post-81946113080387044752009-04-09T08:52:00.001-07:002009-04-09T18:26:17.493-07:00BG v3.3.04 Beta Release!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI9hbuvBmp6QAk_45lnR8kLk_Adj5uEglrVOmc4fjdJknpBFr4KIBOMUn1xyPJMn5XFuc9cdD_azHcK1Q_xM6CSwInaU8P1uJtNuMDXwJMBsKalXJfUR8t4Wo0q7TmPEVYgU6pfwXeyK0/s1600-h/BG_v3.3.03BETApose.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 339px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI9hbuvBmp6QAk_45lnR8kLk_Adj5uEglrVOmc4fjdJknpBFr4KIBOMUn1xyPJMn5XFuc9cdD_azHcK1Q_xM6CSwInaU8P1uJtNuMDXwJMBsKalXJfUR8t4Wo0q7TmPEVYgU6pfwXeyK0/s400/BG_v3.3.03BETApose.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322720248068367202" border="0" /></a>Wha wha WHAT!?!! A new release!?!?! Yes, I am happy to say that Basic Guy is ready for you all to animate. He's currently still in "Beta" (meaning, that I'm only posting this in limited places), but he should be good to go.<br /><br />As I mentioned in my previous post, he is currently limited to <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Maya UNLIMITED</span> users only (Maya v7.0+). However, I'm still looking into ways to get all the "bendy" limb stuff supported when using Maya Complete. So, I apologize to those of you that are not able to use this latest release. But, by the poll results, that isn't that many of you...<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Here is a list of v3.0.04 changes:</span><br />1) uv's and a generic texture (I included the Photoshop files for those of you that want to edit further). The one there is pretty "basic"... but, should get you all started.<br />2) I edited his ability to make an "OO" shape some. I received quite a few comments that it was really hard to get that shape. Hopefully now, it's easier...<br />3) Bendy limbs (select the BGCtrl_Switchers to turn them on)<br />4) Different way of squashing and stretching the head (select the "BGCtrl_Head" and turn on "SS_Vis")<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Known Limitations:</span><br />1) You CANNOT change the name of the controls (i.e. reference the file). This will make the fk/ik matching not work (I'm looking into ways to fix this).<br />2) Settings work best when set to "centimeter"<br />3) MAYA UNLIMITED only (I'm looking into ways to fix this).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Here is where you can find him:</span><br /><a href="http://www.timoberlander.com/Downloads/Characters/BasicGuy_v3.3.04_beta01.zip">Zip file</a><br />or<br /><a href="http://www.timoberlander.com/Downloads/Characters/BasicGuy_v3.3.04_beta01.7z">7-Zip file: smaller file size</a><br /><br />Anyway, that's about it. Sorry once again to those of you that are Maya Complete users. But, I am looking into other solutions for the bendy limbs. I may just take the bendy stuff out for now so that you all can at least have the rest of the "new" features...<br /><br />Cheers and happy animating!<br />TimTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14552287783452616270noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934283670041199418.post-73633640928648418552009-03-06T09:30:00.001-08:002009-03-06T09:57:10.801-08:00About Time I post something!!!Well, it sure has been a while since I posted something huh!?!? Sorry about that. I mean to post WAY more than I ever get around to. But, life for me has been extremely busy these past few months. In January, my wife and I had our second son! So, we now have a 7 week old and a 2 year old... Needless to say we're very tired;) But, things are slowly getting back to some kind of routine. I am finding some (if very little) free time before work and even some time after the family has gone to sleep (though, lately, I'm WAY too tired to keep up my late night routine) to work on Basic Guy and my other personal projects...<br /><br />Anyway, I have some good news and some bad news about Basic Guys next release.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bad News</span>:<br />The new Basic Guy release that's coming down the pipe only works in Maya <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">UNLIMITED</span>. It has to do with how I handle the bendy limb stuff... I'm using "follicles" and that is a Maya Unlimited only feature. Above this post you will see a poll that I set up (about what version of Maya you're using). Please answer truthfully (though I dont know why you would make up the answer...). To be honest, I don't know how many people actually use Maya "Complete". For some reason my gut tells me that the vast majority of people are using Unlimited. So, the following image probably isnt that big of a deal (what BG looks like when opened in Maya Complete...gha!):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSlzdv_kwUpj2G4GYAQksY0CqHNRPHZM8QCh2ecQ8KJL1E4knjr_xuAWwgh4J5T-4fDQ-PRQNvN-1eloAIUIciEaXrG1v3AjLwIxpzOngsMUCqA0C9xQ1cR1YqVRvMmUKK2AtPpCG2dnk/s1600-h/BGoops.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 248px; height: 235px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSlzdv_kwUpj2G4GYAQksY0CqHNRPHZM8QCh2ecQ8KJL1E4knjr_xuAWwgh4J5T-4fDQ-PRQNvN-1eloAIUIciEaXrG1v3AjLwIxpzOngsMUCqA0C9xQ1cR1YqVRvMmUKK2AtPpCG2dnk/s320/BGoops.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310130516216015858" border="0" /></a><br /><br />However, if a lot of you <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">are</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> </span>using Complete then maybe I'll need to re-think the bendy arm/leg solution. Or, maybe I'll do a release that has the old rig but will include the other new "features".<br /><br />Ok, now the <span style="font-weight: bold;">good News</span>:<br />As you can see in the image, Basic Guy is finally uv'd! I was waiting for a co-worker to paint a texture for him, but well, that's just taking WAY too long. So, I'm making my attempt at hacking something together for you all. I will release the Photoshop images for you all so that you all can easily customize and paint your own textures for him if you want.<br /><br />Also, I want to release a "beta" version of him very soon (hopefully in a few days or so...). This way all of you who stop by my blog can play with him and help me make sure that he is ready for a bigger release.<br /><br />Here's to a new Basic Guy release very soon!<br /><br />Cheers and as always happy animating!<br />TimTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14552287783452616270noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934283670041199418.post-31040101347578345142008-11-03T10:25:00.001-08:002008-11-03T10:28:00.977-08:00BG version 3.something...<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/oberlander.tim/SPYtICBdpPI/AAAAAAAAADA/etMk2WWSd3Q/%5BUNSET%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="max-width: 800px;" width="285" height="245" />When I finished BG v3.0, my goal was to start animating again. It's been WAY too long since I actually set some keys on a personal project... So, I set out and I started to story board out some ideas. I was also reading the comments from you all about BG v3 and what improvements/additions you all wanted. Most of them were already on my list of things that I wanted to add...especially the bendy limb stuff. So, a bit begrudgingly, I decided that I would go back and work on the rig a bit more. These updates to Basic Guy will be more fun to animate for me too!<br /><br />So, the first thing that I decided to implement was the bendy limb stuff. It took me a bit to figure out the best way to do this. I played with spline ik solutions, expression based solutions, utility node solutions...pretty much anything that I could think of. Unfortunately, nothing was working the wayt that I wanted it to. I would get everything set up and then I would run into issues such as spline ik twisting issues, fk/ik snapping issues, etc. Needless to say, I lost handfuls of hair during this!<br /><br />The solution that I ended up going with was based off of Aaron Holly's ribbon spine. If you have never heard of this solution, it basically uses hair follicles to use as the deformer! This seems to be by far the most versatile solution. Perfect it is not, but I am very happy with it right now. The only down side of this solution is that I think you must be using Maya "Unlimited" to have the bendy stuff work. However, since I'm not really using much of the "hair" side of things, I may be wrong about this....<br /><br />I also added more finger controls. Or more specifically, I added the "carpal" bones. This will allow you to get more realistic/less rigid hand poses.<br /><br />Now this next announcement is <u>really</u> exciting to me. A co-worker has agreed to lay out his uvs for me!!!! Yes, Basic Guy is FINALLY getting uv'd! He also said that he would paint a texture for him as well. I'm also toying with the idea of modeling "clothes" that would be swappable on him. This way, BG will be way more customizable than he is now...<br /><br />Also in the works is a more robust GUI. However, since MEL and me are not the best of friends, this process is taking some time. But, in the end, I hope to have a GUI where you can select rig parts, the ik/fk matching, maybe some pose buttons, face rig, etc... <br /><br />Anyway, there is a small update as to what I've been doing lately.<br /><br />Thanks to all of you who have emailed me with priceless feedback and also all the kind words!<br /><br />Cheers and happy animating!<br />Tim<br /><br /></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14552287783452616270noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934283670041199418.post-1644159882988711532008-07-25T11:51:00.000-07:002008-07-25T12:24:50.491-07:00Tutorial: FK/Ik matching<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://timoberlander.com/Downloads/Tutorials/TO_fkik_snapping_Tutorial.rar"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVHFgDzyh9oPKvK82CPFKMH1QK2fu9TAz-XvL6dNz-bqFnlcDmwp676hDjCkObm2VBcjgYSXYDktC2xg6JiUCy9-WAPBcJ28FZnb2q9ziRU-n2QXut0wpdpJRdTuI1NHRm04dDMASiQts/s400/TO_ikfk_matching.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227030484751299938" border="0" /></a><br />Oh my, what's this!?!?! Another post in the month of July! That makes for a total of 3 whole posts this month (a loud gasp is heard from the masses)! Yeah yeah yeah, I'm as surprised as the rest of you;) Who knows, maybe I'll become a "good" blogger after all. Hah! I doubt that very much...<br /><br />Anyway, I just finished a tutorial that I have been meaning to write for a while now. It's a tutorial on how I do the fk/ik matching in my rigs. It's about 7 or so pages long. I quickly cover how I create my arm rigs as well as the MEL code that I use to match one rig to the other. Hopefully, it is clear enough (and not too boring) to follow along. Of course this is just one way to do this task. But, it seems to work well for me. It also seems to be very quick for Maya to evaluate.<br /><br />The download consists of:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1)</span> A Maya scene (created in Maya 7.0.1, but should work in Maya 7-2008)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2)</span> the tutorial (".pdf" style)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3)</span> the MEL scripts<br /><br />Go ahead, sit back with a big, hot cup of (strong) coffee and read on...<br /><br />Here is the direct link:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://timoberlander.com/Downloads/Tutorials/TO_fkik_snapping_Tutorial.rar">Tim's fkik_snapping/matching_tutorial</a></span><br /><br />Cheers and enjoy!<br />TimTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14552287783452616270noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934283670041199418.post-2084803475596671412008-07-13T11:56:00.000-07:002008-07-13T12:07:33.516-07:00And then there was version 3.0.1...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_63if3k6wMtoryAK4LpAdVp0-fbqqf8SNO-XN-iKJp5OcR45im9IVxny6wdBWIppeQHPCqcvovp0TOUNFZoAycA6SejXofQosBP7GIDzSgm7dByWqeYc97MVAXEwVckO3NVrMzRW8kyA/s1600-h/BG_v3.0.1.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_63if3k6wMtoryAK4LpAdVp0-fbqqf8SNO-XN-iKJp5OcR45im9IVxny6wdBWIppeQHPCqcvovp0TOUNFZoAycA6SejXofQosBP7GIDzSgm7dByWqeYc97MVAXEwVckO3NVrMzRW8kyA/s400/BG_v3.0.1.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222576112196316546" border="0" /></a><br />Hey all,<br />So, after a few minor complaints about the face rig location, I decided to do a minor rig update. Version 3.0.1 now has the ability to shift Basic Guy's face rig to the left or right side of his face. I guess people were having "a hard time posing him with the rig there". I'm not sure if I understand that completely (you all know that you can turn the rig(s) visibility on and off... right?). Or, were they having a hard time animating the face with the rig there?<br /><br />Either way, you now have more options! I should have thought of that initially, but I didn't...doh!<br /><br />Anyway, thanks for all the great feedback! I hope that you are all enjoying the latest update! I can't wait to finish my friggen work deadline (I'm at the end of "crunch" right now on our latest game title... gha!) so that I can take a stab at animating him again!<br /><br />Here is the new version:<br /><a href="http://www.timoberlander.com/Downloads/Characters/Basic_Guy_v3.0.1.rar">Basic_Guy_v3.0.1.rar</a><br /><br />Here is the link to the rig overview again (for those that love boring camtasia videos;) ):<br /><a href="http://www.timoberlander.com/Tutorials/BasicGuy_v3_overview.mov">BasicGuy_v3_overview.mov</a><br /><br />As always, enjoy and happy animating!<br /><br />TimTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14552287783452616270noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934283670041199418.post-35802791514290028382008-07-09T08:51:00.001-07:002008-07-11T10:46:00.840-07:00Basic Guy 3.0.0 Released!!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.timoberlander.com/Downloads/Characters/Basic_Guy_v3.0.0.rar"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzqhLUXpfXVe2VnCrDwmog2I5CBrfirGjNM4TqzaeQSp48rJgJztUWxS7tabV86Q5HsrXIDdsT_mZEyp85RkIiFhiPYFylFtzRWxBV-CDrZ2SzxQEIVKNpDAEaFQpsvpBIc27_PZA-oY4/s400/BG_v3.0.0_Smile01.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221046602553596514" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Wow, I have <span style="font-weight: bold;">finally</span> put the final touches on Basic Guy v3.0.0 (I believe that a pig JUST flew by my window)!!! I'm not sure if you can tell, but I'm REALLY excited about it... I actually have butterflies going on in my stomach. What initially started, almost a year ago, as me simply adding a mouth to him is now a fully rigged face. I took a long time rigging and re-rigging his face (There were also a lot of model changes... which led to re-skinning the face over and over again...ugh). Unfortunately, I had a very hard time finding "free" time to really sit down and focus on him (long hours at work, playing with my son, and hanging out with my wife and friends are my excuses). Anyway, the rig is more or less based off of the ever so popular Jason Osipa style face rig. The way that I have it set up makes it pretty easy for me (or whoever) to add more controls or to refine the shapes/sliders that are already there. I really do hope that you all like the new additions. I'm even posting him before I have really animated him myself (gasp!)! I did, however, spend a lot of time pushing and pulling on him to make sure that he holds up in most situations (3d characters all have their breaking points).<br /><br />I also went through and tried to clean up any bugs that people had reported. The biggest one that I have (hopefully) resolved is the fk/ik matching when he has the world node anywhere other than 0,0,0, and his scale set to anything other than 1 (Thanks for finding that and reporting it Gino!). Honestly, I am not sure how I overlooked that in the previous versions! Anyway, I apologize for any inconveniences that created.<br /><br />Instead of writing a rig manual, I created a video "rig overview" if you will. It's about 25 minutes long and about 60 MB. I wouldn't call it the most exciting video that you'll ever watch (I did it early in the morning and without a lot of coffee in the veins!)...but, I hope that it covers a lot of the questions that some of you might have. Also, I apologize if the audio is low. I tried to punch it up after the fact, but I may not have punched it up enough.<br />Here is the link to the video (takes a little bit to load):<br /><a href="http://www.timoberlander.com/Tutorials/BasicGuy_v3_overview.mov">BasicGuy_v3_overview.mov</a><br /><br />Anyway, I'll stop writing because I'm sure that 90%+ just want to see the next link ;):<br /><a href="http://www.timoberlander.com/Downloads/Characters/Basic_Guy_v3.0.0.rar">Basic Guy v3.0.0.rar</a><br /><br /><br />As always, enjoy, and happy animating!<br />Cheers,<br />TimTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14552287783452616270noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934283670041199418.post-67494161197517155912008-06-27T22:04:00.000-07:002008-06-27T22:51:14.755-07:00Tutorial #1: Basic Guy Dress up<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://timoberlander.com/Pages/Tutorials/Tutorials_Page.htm"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 262px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyVIbseImezIRvIg4m8GjD7janFiH1v8JmFOfbfnI-xV_9YrrHvx5SPccLUO-meg7swlp6TuO9p1L6IaWHpVu4G0JgVbCBmraJIzdikbqwAoHXY5Wj4-_1aBPS8y4lfo60mB8ovz4W3NY/s400/BG_Dressup01.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216800097468373010" border="0" /></a><br /><br />While putting the finishing touches on Basic Guy v3.0 (not pictured... the one pictured is the "old" version), I decided to finally start a tutorial section on my site. The first tutorial that I've done is rather basic in nature. I have received a few emails asking me how to change Basic Guys geometry so it appears that he is wearing clothes. Some people have already figured out how to "dress" him for their animations, and in doing so have inspired others around the world. I felt that this would be a great place for me to share some of my knowledge and also play with some other software other than Maya.<br /><br />I have never laid out the uvs for him, but instead I apply different colors to different geometry faces. Sure, this isn't anywhere near as cool or powerful as an actual texture, but it does help change basic guy's appearance. He is after all... Basic Guy;)<br /><br />I actually had quite a bit of fun creating this video tutorial. I plan on finding the time to create more in the future (unless the masses tell me to never make another one!). God knows that there is TONS of better material out there to teach you Maya, animation, modeling, or whatever. But, I also love to share the knowledge that I have learned over the years. Maybe someone will learn something while watching my videos. It's also a fun way for me to document things that I can look back on years later and laugh at!<br /><br />Anyway, I'm sorry that this isn't the post announcing BG 3.0, but I do promise that it will be very soon. He is actually about 99% done. I am just making sure that everything is as clean as can be before I release him to the world.<br /><br />Here is the link to the tutorial section of my site:<br /><a href="http://timoberlander.com/Pages/Tutorials/Tutorials_Page.htm">BasicGuy Dressup Tutorial</a><br /><br />Cheers and happy animating!Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14552287783452616270noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934283670041199418.post-76146044218088240312008-02-13T23:38:00.001-08:002008-02-13T23:41:07.927-08:00yet another update...<span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxe1cLGlnNYfYsUwErlvddTiy8hf_7s1S-PYYPlsux6d14VgvM4XG5KK5yyshw1HfEbXYdOfNQQpAGJvlbcLdsAQRL_RWDmnygx_Na7mjwAsMnBjiCtQy-LdtpRV8I-GeHg2aCD48xnes/s1600-h/BasicGuyHead_WIP03.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxe1cLGlnNYfYsUwErlvddTiy8hf_7s1S-PYYPlsux6d14VgvM4XG5KK5yyshw1HfEbXYdOfNQQpAGJvlbcLdsAQRL_RWDmnygx_Na7mjwAsMnBjiCtQy-LdtpRV8I-GeHg2aCD48xnes/s320/BasicGuyHead_WIP03.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166737225658377090" border="0" /></a><br /></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I have come to a conclusion… I am a terrible blogger! Since I first posted my blog, nearly six months ago, I have only posted three entries. In person, I talk a lot. Some people might even say too much;) But, for some reason, I have a really hard time sitting down and updating this site. So, I apologize to those that continue to stop by and see what I have going on. </span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">However, I’m sure that 99% of those that stop by are wondering about Basic Guy v3.0 (and could care less about what I have to “say”). I get emails from all over the world asking “yo Tim, we’re waiting man!!!! What gives man?!?!”. Trust me, I want him done as much, if not more so, than the rest of you. Unfortunately, finding the time to actually sit down and work on him is REALLY hard for me these days.</span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Note: I’m about to go off topic;)</span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Recently (December of 2007), I have opened a small animation studio in Portland, Oregon. That’s the NW United States for those not familiar with the states. It is actually a satellite studio for Page 44 Studios. They are located in San Francisco, CA (I think everybody knows where California is!). I used to be the lead animator there for over four years. But, back in 2005 I moved back up to Oregon to try something new… Well, Oregon is not the place to really live if you are an animator…yet. We have a few studios here. But, it’s nothing like Cali though. </span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">After struggling to find steady animation work, I decided to try a different route. Why not get something of my own going? I have always loved leading a team. So starting a studio was something that really spoke to me. While Portland isn’t saturated with tons of studios, we have a pretty large pool of talent. At first the studio was going to be 100% me. However, I have very little business training and figuring out where to start was a bit scary. </span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But, then I started talking to Page 44 again and they suggested the idea of me opening a branch up here. Needless to say, it is a dream come (coming) true! Sure the studio isn’t exactly “mine”, but I get to more or less run it however I want. </span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I have recently hired three talented animators to help me get things going. We are currently working on a very high profile video game title (I can’t really say too much about it because it hasn’t been publicly announced yet.). At this point, I have reached my limit for co-workers. I’d love to have more animators, but Page 44 already has a team of animators in San Francisco as well. Hopefully, one day I will have a team of animators, modelers, etc! Maybe next project…</span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">By now, you’re probably skimming everything that I’ve written looking for anything about Basic Guy. Fine, I’ll get back to that</span><span style=";font-family:Wingdings;font-size:100%;" >J</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> Basic Guy v3.0 is still being worked on… ever so slowly. If you read the part where I explained what is currently going on with my career, then you’ll understand that I have a lot going on with work right now. I also have a wife and son that I want to spend time with after working LONG hours every day. </span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Unfortunately, for Basic Guy, he gets ignored most days. There really isn’t a lot left to do. But, finding the time to do it is another thing. I’d love to say that I’ll have him done soon, but I can’t make that promise. But, it is something that I REALLY want to finish ASAP and release to you all. So please don’t lose faith in him! I’m also dying to animate him again as well…</span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Cheers and happy animating!</span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14552287783452616270noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934283670041199418.post-89812050156422792852007-11-02T09:28:00.000-07:002007-11-02T09:43:17.068-07:00Basic Guy v3.0 still coming...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfnSVVkpmEEkMpYUYnTzKuB4xHG8sw5CkMcMQZaMp052fHcfgL88w3d10-pA3jWB8VXhsumk_gTDOZYmxUnE9oq8nByJmqLnG93gDu185MW-_v268SGWBjO-4oh-CIdG158u-dy1v4WNQ/s1600-h/BasicGuyHead_WIP02.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfnSVVkpmEEkMpYUYnTzKuB4xHG8sw5CkMcMQZaMp052fHcfgL88w3d10-pA3jWB8VXhsumk_gTDOZYmxUnE9oq8nByJmqLnG93gDu185MW-_v268SGWBjO-4oh-CIdG158u-dy1v4WNQ/s320/BasicGuyHead_WIP02.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128283330696515538" border="0" /></a><br /> Well, I figured that I would at least post something so that all of you that continue to stop by can see that I'm at least moving forward on the new Basic Guy. His current status is that his face is all skinned and the controls are all there. I just need to get them all hooked up to the Osipa style controls... You may have noticed that I have modeled the eyes into the head as well. I had originally planned on doing the floating eye thing, but I decided that it was time to build them in. I also added forehead wrinkles to add just a bit more to his appeal. I have a list of "wants" that people have requested for his rig, that I will try to get in at some point. But, for v3.0, it will most likely only have the updated head. That is what most people have requested.<br /><br />Now for my excuse as to why I'm not done yet. One word: Work. This month (well, the last 30 days) my task list has become almost too much to do (well, it actually is, but who needs sleep anyway;) ). I have just over a week left before I need to deliver my files to the programmers to implement. After that, my number one goal is to get BG v3.0 done (Well, that and keep my wife and son happy)!!! I'm dying to start setting keys on him as well. I haven't animated much with him in about 3 or 4 years (The apple piece in my reel is about the only animation I ever finished with him).<br /><br />So once again I apologize for the delay. He is so close.<br /><br />Happy Friday!<br />TimTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14552287783452616270noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934283670041199418.post-37567014719606845112007-09-14T08:55:00.001-07:002007-09-14T11:58:07.627-07:00Basic Guy v3.0 coming soon!So, some of you may have downloaded my character "Basic Guy" and maybe you have even animated him. One of the biggest "complaints" that I always get is "Yo Tim, why does he not have a mouth man?!?!?!"? Well, I had originally created him for just physical acting exercises...meaning no facial animations. But, as time moved on, I decided to update him a bit. So he received eyes and a black "uni-brow" bar. That was version 2.<br /><br />Now, put on your pants and buckle your seat belts because folks... Basic Guy is getting a mouth! Woo WOO! I also plan on adding some other small (hopefully cool) rig features. "But Tim, when man? When will you release Basic Guy v3.0?"? Now that is the million dollar question... I'm trying to get it done soon. But, being back in the workforce full time, having an 11 month old son, a wife, 2 dogs, a house to upkeep, and other "reasons" leave me little free time (and energy). However, I have been trying to do some late nighters so that I can get him done. So, I don't have a date to give you, but I do hope that it is soon.<br /><br />Here is a screen cap of his new head. I'm thinking that I might leave it detached, because then, I could have head "options" down the road. What do you all think? Good idea? I also would love to have a "Basic Girl" as well. But, first things first...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTX95wis2myT94WQ62_72txWo_bS7OgLtVa16JVoHSFv-poAPPEzYGQT80lqG5CmWIuzFCXP92U896vPwxHPJ_7-_DtiR7d68v7WpQ8RRJ5HP5U2ducuACQ5k3AeE7Nk7s4anA5Ts4KdE/s1600-h/BasicGuyHead_WIP.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTX95wis2myT94WQ62_72txWo_bS7OgLtVa16JVoHSFv-poAPPEzYGQT80lqG5CmWIuzFCXP92U896vPwxHPJ_7-_DtiR7d68v7WpQ8RRJ5HP5U2ducuACQ5k3AeE7Nk7s4anA5Ts4KdE/s320/BasicGuyHead_WIP.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110093666583254610" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />So anyway, I am still here and am trying really hard to get this guy done. God knows that I am dying to get back to my own personal animations!!! I enjoy creating characters and even rigging, but my passion is animation.<br /><br />Cheers and happy animating!!!<br /><br />-Tim<br /><br />P.S. welcome to my new blog!Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14552287783452616270noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2934283670041199418.post-28578154677386883442007-08-11T12:36:00.001-07:002007-08-11T12:40:16.401-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJokSdvR-ygDM5cMpUJG0V2BIIVFchaiKXXihhk5B2SYI3ghHEOPx4on_Vl_0kZ9i4K8Rx9yHJiJZadpGul0hVx0zJFmE7txb3Kf6a6QeSbNsbSgxng2CCYeASoUItIR0AOitfXr1k8U/s1600-h/blastoff.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJokSdvR-ygDM5cMpUJG0V2BIIVFchaiKXXihhk5B2SYI3ghHEOPx4on_Vl_0kZ9i4K8Rx9yHJiJZadpGul0hVx0zJFmE7txb3Kf6a6QeSbNsbSgxng2CCYeASoUItIR0AOitfXr1k8U/s320/blastoff.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5097529465611272642" border="0" /></a>So, I felt left out of the whole blogging trend that has been taking over the world and well, I decided that I would give it a try. Hopefully, you will find my thoughts, postings, and whatever else I decide to throw in your faces amusing or at least worth your time to read...<br /><br />So without further ado ...3...2...1...Blast off!!!!Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14552287783452616270noreply@blogger.com2