Anim8or Community

In order to effectively unwrap models like how you're asking, usually you'd want to use something more than just UVMapper classic...but it can be done. What you need to do is select all of the arm except for the hand and use cylindrical mapping on that portion (the axis depends on the orientation of the arm), and then try what you can with the leftover hand separately or attached.

No matter what you're going to have at least one visible seam unless you learn to texture properly.

Thanks! Unfortunately I can't make use of these tools (yet), but it's great seeing the progress

Just a note, you may want to change the Ani2Pov link you posted to the english version.

I recommend you use the search feature of this forum and the other archived forum. Help yourself first!

You are a newcomer to this site; more than likely your answers have been asked and answered by members before.

But I'll answer part of what you may be wanting to know: directly within Anim8or you cannot add or edit audio to your renders. You'd need to use video editing software.

As hihosilver stated, most times you are alright if you make fan art and want to share it on the internet. This is a gray area of legality, where basically making and sharing fan art is a privilege, not a right. Most developers allow for fan art so long as it's not distributed for sale or doesn't damage the product or developer's reputation. This is where you can research it and figure it out by looking at studio/publishers websites and their copyright/fanart policies.

For example, Epic Games has a policy regarding it that you can read. You can also assume that other developers would have a similar policy or standpoint except in specific areas. http://www.epicgames.com/fanart.html

No one is going to go after you if you post a wip shot of Yoshi or Mario. Some developers even encourage and promote it so long as it doesn't damage their reputation. Others don't care to bother with the small fry even if their policy is against it.

Nintendo does have some policies you can read, though not specifically regarding fanart. It's more about distributing or using actual copyrighted material in your work, which is typically not legal whatsoever. You can assume most of their standpoint on the direct use of their media is about the same for other developers. Some links you can read:

http://www.nintendo.com/corp/legal.jsp#intellectual
http://www.nintendo.com/corp/faq.jsp#graphics

Do remember that this applies to things such as taking a model of Link from a Zelda game and using it in a movie, render, or another game that you distribute, be it commercial or not.

You may be able to obtain permission to make fan-based movies/games for public release where all artwork is scratch-made and fan-based. I received permission to make a public Megaman Mod using the Unreal Tournament game engine a while back from Capcom. I've heard others have been denied such permission (for example, I believe the ChronoTrigger fan-game got scrapped because Square Enix sent them a cease and desist letter).

I hope this helps you understand a bit more about the legal aspect of using other people's work!

Until Steve implements better Vista support, whether you can use Anim8or on Vista is hit-or-miss, apparently. My Vista Home Basic installation on an AMD/ATI-chipset based laptop performed pretty much as badly as what you described. However, later on I built a high-spec computer and installed Vista Ultimate on it, and it runs almost perfectly except for a few annoyances here and there (rectangle select ghosting and GUI refreshes after every action).

I'd recommend the possibly more pricey solution (if you purchase a license instead of downloading it illegally) of installing Windows XP onto your laptop, or dual-booting it. Apparently there's a way to downgrade the Vista installation to XP without actually having to go out and pay for a new XP license. This is only if you have a legit Vista installation in the first place and have the product key on hand. Here's some links for more information:

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9040318
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/06/22/how-to-downgrade-windows-vista-to-xp/

You can also try GLDirect, which translates all the opengl rendering in Anim8or to directx (Vista apparently handles directx much better than opengl). You may have to try registering the free version while running it as administrator: http://www.majorgeeks.com/GLDirect_d381.html

This has been covered quite often in this forum and the original forum. Feel free to search them for more clues. Good luck.

thecolclough, I don't think we can consider your advice on this matter particularly informative or helpful.

If you purchase a mac, imac, or macbook, then you should be prepared to learn how the new operating system and hardware work. It's different than using a mac on occasion in that it's yours and you paid for it; you'll be inclined to dedicate yourself to learning it without bias. Therefore you will learn to get used to the differences and adapt. Things won't be "annoying", they'll just be done differently.

Judging from Apple's website, you'll get a one year repair coverage and 90 day support. This can be extended for a fee. As for returns, go here: http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/salespolicies.html#topic-20 Seriously though, you should do your own research in this matter, and it's obvious you're not doing much of it. If anyone ever buys a new computer, they should know that research is the most important step in the process. If you ask individuals about it then you'll just get opinionated/biased information based on their personal experiences or what they think they observed about others' experiences, and you're just setting yourself up to blame others if you're not satisfied when you should blame yourself first. If anything, look up professional reviews and articles about the products you're interested in and what it takes to make the transition from pc to mac so that you'll be better prepared for it. You can also look at several customer reviews as a whole to get an overall impression of it.

And yes, you can run the Mac operating system on windows-based PCs. However, it's a complicated process for users without in-depth computer hardware/software experience. So do this at your own risk (my computer has windows xp, windows vista, and mac os x leopard on it).

As for what to get for either a windows or mac based pc, and what specs...again. Do your own research. You'll be more satisfied that way. For computer graphics, you should look at getting the best in memory, graphics hardware, and processing speed that you can within your budget. Don't overspend for outrageous next-gen hardware, because in a month or two you'll just look back and wonder why you paid so much for such a thing that you can't fully utilize.

The Mac operating system and hardware are excellent (if pricey). However, you should purchase yourself one only if you plan on committing yourself to programs that run natively on the Mac. Sure, bootcamp, parallels, or even crossover might work, but don't buy a mac to use that unless A)the mac is going to just be a toy for you or B)there is a windows program you absolutely need for your job/business at home/while traveling. Anim8or shouldn't qualify for B if you're paying so much for the Mac, so plan on switching to some other program for your 3D needs, just to save yourself from wasting time with bootcamp or parallels when it'll be a great excuse to venture to other programs such as: blender, modo, maya, zbrush, silo, lightwave, cinema 4d, etc...that are natively compatible with the Mac operating system and hardware. Macs are well known for graphics and film development, so you'll find no shortage of CG tools for that system.

Steve has been building this program solely for Windows for several years now. Unless he's been slowly turning his code over with portability in mind, porting to linux would be very difficult at this time. More than likely he'd have to outsource to a coder experienced in porting to other platforms if he'd ever expect to keep adding features for the next release(s). Obviously, Anim8or isn't open-source, so it's all on him if he wants to release the code to others.

Fortunately, Steve's been sticking to OpenGL, which is one step in the right direction. However, he may have to implement DirectX for better Vista compatibility, so it's a matter of platform priorities.

Just keep hoping for better Wine updates for now. Personally I'd like to see a mac port, but instead I'm going to have to pester the creators of CrossOver to work on compatibility (seems only the GUI is problematic...we need hotkeys for everything )