Digital Art Zone

Here’s a link to an animation I created using spare time during the past couple of months. It started out as a Carrara movie. But I became interested in iClone (for its real-time preview and fast rendering (even though it does not support network rendering)) and decided to use this project to learn it. So, the first 2 minutes were created and rendered in Carrara, but the remaining minutes were rendered in iClone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d55xyOPtAqs&feature=player_detailpage

I used this project to play with Carrara’s ocean primitive, Digital Carver’s Terrain Tools, as well as to learn iClone and to see how my Lego characters would import into it. Initially, the facial animation did not work in iClone. This was caused by how I rigged the characters. Their faces did not have bones to animate eyes, mouth, etc. I used morph targets that had altered vertices. For iClone I had to add face bones to the rigs.

I purchased iClone a few weeks ago. Please let me know what you think of my first attempt to use it (used to create the last 4 and a half minutes).

I think its cute. 

Ivy Summers - 23 July 2012 08:36 PM

I think its cute. 

I’m glad you liked it, Ivy.
I noticed both of us used the ‘Mystery Cave’ in our most recent movies. Interesting coincidence.

yep cute

just saw it on the Reallusion forum!
great!
I wish there was a way to keep facial bones and convert to retargeted characters that use iMotions though.
(other than their Max template plugin)
hopefully this is coming with their promised “third panel”

wendy♥catz - 23 July 2012 11:51 PM

just saw it on the Reallusion forum!
great!
I wish there was a way to keep facial bones and convert to retargeted characters that use iMotions though.
(other than their Max template plugin)
hopefully this is coming with their promised “third panel”

Glad you like it Wendy. And I agree regarding the iClone limitation. After updating my rig to include the facial bones. I then discovered the problem you mentioned. So, I had to bring the genie in as an iProp with animation created in Carrara. In a future animation, I’m going to play with adding additional ‘Performs’, which will include smiling, frowning, winking, and other animations created in Carrara.

Good work, it all fits together nicely and flows well.

My only comment is that it seems dark in spots, but I vaguely recall that YouTube can cause that sometimes.

Steve K.

Steve K - 24 July 2012 01:41 PM

Good work, it all fits together nicely and flows well.

My only comment is that it seems dark in spots, but I vaguely recall that YouTube can cause that sometimes.

Steve K.

Thanks for the comment Steve K.

The cave scene is intentionally darker (for the ominous feel). I used ambient and a few point lights in iClone. There are places where I used very low spot lights (did not want them to be obvious) linked to follow the characters. I know I cranked the ambient light up more than I wanted to compensate for darker areas. But this was tricky especially when I noticed the affect the moving fog (iCone’s fog particle emitter was used in the cave) has on the overall brightness (fluctuating effect).

Regardless of software tools used, sometimes its difficult to get the look or lighting levels that you like to be shared exactly as you like it when posting on YouTube.  I also know gamma settings on monitors could make it challenging to see some dark areas of any scene (Unfortunately, everyone does not set their brightness and contrast to the same levels).

When working with iClone in the future, I’ll pay closer attention to the lighting and contrast in the darker scenes.

CyBoRgTy_ - 24 July 2012 04:57 PM

Regardless of software tools used, sometimes its difficult to get the look or lighting levels that you like to be shared exactly as you like it when posting on YouTube.  I also know gamma settings on monitors could make it challenging to see some dark areas of any scene (Unfortunately, everyone does not set their brightness and contrast to the same levels).

When working with iClone in the future, I’ll pay closer attention to the lighting and contrast in the darker scenes.

I have the same problem since I like night scenes with lighting used to emphasize the key elements.  I watched one of my YouTube videos recently at a friends house on her low end laptop, it looked pretty dark compared to what I see on my high end machine.  I watched your video on an older laptop that I use for surfing, so the darkness may have been due to that.

A funny story from the 48 Hour Film contest a few years ago in Houston.  We attended the “Premiere Screenings” only a few days after the dropoff - with maybe 50 videos turned in, you can imagine the problems they have making them all look and sound right.  During one video, an irritated voice in the audience said loudly “I didn’t make it that dark!”