Artwork > Anim8or Challenges

Challenge suggestions.

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3Dgeek11:
Hmm, I think this time of year calls for something a little nicer..
A Christmas themed challenge, of course!

headwax:
hi guys greetings seasons et al

now would you lik a suggestion?

lots of people have started in anim8or over the years and, using anim8or as a base, have launched themselves into other programs, both commercial and free.

Hell some of them even use blender :) ;)
Some use Carrara. Wings etc.
And some of these people even still model with anim8or.
Anim8or is a wonderful modeller. My personal feeling is that that's where it's strength lies. Simplicity, intelligent design and a great small easy to use set of tools.

But anim8or is maybe not the best renderer around. It's slow,  hard to use, slow and hard to use.
Trouble is, with these challenges, by making them anim8or render based as well as anim8or modelling based, you are cutting out a lot of people who might be otherwise tempted to participate.
In some ways you are catering to the new user - which is great - but new users aren't really going to produce the goods that will 1) make people want to use anim8or 2) make people want to show off their work here.

So after that long winded stuff my short sugestion is:

Make challenges anim8or modeller based, but allow people to use the renderer of their choice to show off their models.

The advantages are :1) potentially increasing the number of people participating in these challenges. 2) Work presented will be more professional. 3( this in turn will show off anim8or to advantage and hopefully 4) encourage more people to hone their skills.

Put another way : What is there to lose?

Anim8or is a tool in your tool set. It's a great tool, but just remember, a carpenter doesn't just use a saw to build a house - and in the same way there are dedicated UV mappers, dedicated rendereres, and dedicated modellers.

362 sleeps to go ;)

davdud101:
Wow, mr. headwax, sir, you just made a fact. Nah, you have many, many good points there. But I don't really understand on part... if Anim8or is a tool in a set of tools, do those tools include things such as texture creation and UV mapping software, or using Anim8or in conjunction with Blender or Carrara?

headwax:
gooday davdud101

Well my observation is that not many enteries in the challenges, and that the challenges are few and far between.
What could bring people back to the forum I asked? In the old days when there was anim8or.org it was a thriving community. Now not so thriving. Where thriving is busy with lots of great stuff coming out.

I use carara, uvmapper pro (thanks Raxx :) ) Blacksmith paint, blacksmith morph, Stitchwitch, occasionally poser 8, photshop elements, painter 1x blah blah blah etc ;)

..... and anim8or.

Each tool has it's place.

So in answer to your thought full question.... anim8or as the modeller, your choice of weapon afterwards.
After all, it'as all about honing our skills to make a better finished product.
In the world of 3d, as in all art, the appearance of the finished product is more important than the process to the audience.

Of course the process is just as important to the acolytes :)


Art is about appearence (and whether you can talk the buyer into parting with another 120 grand)

ENSONIQ5:
I agree Headwax, and here's why:

1) As you say, the Anim8or community has been getting steadily quieter, possibly as a result of there being no upgrades to Anim8or for a couple of years now.  If opening up the rules would encourage more input and greater activity then that can only be of benefit to the community as a whole;

2) Since it is perhaps reasonable to assume that there will be no more upgrades to Anim8or, perhaps it is also reasonable to think of Anim8or as less a fully-functioning, concept-to-finished-product package, and more a step in the process, as Headwax suggests (I do hope I am wrong about this btw, it would be a pity if Anim8or were never to reach V1);

3) Any rules on what is, and what is not allowable in challenges etc should be consistent and logical.  Anim8or's built-in UV control is a bit simplistic, as a result it has always been allowable to use external, 3rd party UV mapping software when texturing objects, so why should it be any different with the renderer or any other function?

My personal opinion is that challenges could perhaps come in two types:

1) Open - Any software can be used in the production of the image/animation, so long as Anim8or is one of them.  Further, all software used, and what part they played, should be declared on submission of the piece.  This will serve to 'spread the word' to the community about what other software is out there which can help them with their chosen form of artistic expression, and after all, that's what it is all about, yes?  It will also serve to spread the Anim8or word to the greater 3D community, since submissions could also be shown in forums specific to the other software used in the production, with the comment "Modelled in Anim8or" in the credits, for example.

2) Restricted - Only Anim8or can be used to generate the final image/animation.  Whether or not any other software can be used in pre- or post-production, such as texture processing, UV mapping, rendered image layer compositing etc. is open to debate.  Perhaps these could be banned in some challenges, where the challenge is specifically designed to showcase or develop a particular technique or function (eg. edgelooping).

Anyway, it is food for thought.  At very least I would put forth the suggestion of setting an 'Open' category challenge as an experiment, to see how it pans out.  I would also suggest that more time is needed, as unfinished entries tend to outnumber actual submissions, and what has worked quite well in challenges on Animanon was a monthly cycle.  This is particularly true for animation challenges, but also applies to challenges where a 'beauty image' is required rather than a demonstration of understanding a particular technique.  Anyhoo, it's food for thought, and thanks to the Anim8or admin team for continuing to keep the site active and providing a place for suggestions like these to be aired.

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