General Category > General Anim8or Forum
Where can I start?
kreator:
Sorry if the soundtrack is a bit off but I had my NAS drive running and the fan is a bit naff at the moment
I havn`t coloured it blue of stuck the label where you wanted but you could spend another few hours working it out! ;D
Lots of practice makes perfect!
Owl:
--- Quote from: kreator on December 20, 2014, 11:29:14 am ---... I haven't coloured it blue or stuck the label where you wanted but you could spend another few hours working it out! Lots of practice makes perfect!
--- End quote ---
Thank you very much Kreator,
There is a point where all the practice in the world won't make it happen, Steve's software is amazing but:
The necessity to follow a specific, undocumented process with no error messages or else the final function fails makes the learning curve impossible.
To my point, I followed the directions given me on "Reply #38 on: December 16, 2014, 12:08:54 pm". Three days later, with lots of effort on the part of forum members it was disclosed "if the path crosses itself the extrusion will not cap"
(Is there a place to put this information for everyone else)
Again thank you so much for your help, it is very much appreciated.
Happy Holidays
ENSONIQ5:
The best place to put this information, at least for the time being, is where it exists now: in this forum. It will be discoverable by any current and future Anim8ors with the same question. In the long run, a more comprehensive manual (perhaps that includes a 'tips' paragraph in each section) would be awesome, however it must be remembered that Anim8or is one man's project. If Steve was to spend the time required to re-write the manual (and I agree it does need re-writing) he would have to stop developing the code, and nobody wants that. It's great to see development on this project after a hiatus of a few years.
Having said that, it does not need to be Steve's job to write a new manual, in reality he would only need to approve it for publication on this site. I suspect he would appreciate somebody taking on this task, if anybody had the time and inclination. A new manual would benefit from the experience of 'newbies' being faced with what appears to be a steep learning curve with gaps in available resources, as well as those with several years experience with Anim8or. I would love to take this on but it just isn't possible with my other commitments at the moment, that's not a cop-out just a realistic appraisal.
Another great way to share your experiences with others would be to create a video tutorial. Many Anim8ors have done this, and many have learnt from them (myself included) and creating a tutorial is a really effective way of passing on your experiences. In my own case, what I know about Anim8or came from three main sources: 1) The manual. While it's definitely a bit light on detail it provides a general background of what can be done. 2) This forum. Those members who have been around for a while have had the benefit of reading the forum posts of many, many others, so they have been able to learn from others' experiences. Some members have also been amazing in their willingness to pass on knowledge (Kreator, Raxx and many others), their threads and posts are a priceless resource. 3) Experimentation. This was probably the most important one for me, and from your willingness to conduct tests to determine a result I suspect it will be for you too, Owl. I was lucky in that when I joined there was a regular series of 'contests' run by a couple of Anim8or sites. Getting involved in these and biting off WAY more than I could chew was a fantastic way to learn Anim8or, particularly with the help of the aforementioned members as well as many others.
Also remember, many long time users got on board when Anim8or was smaller and simpler than it is now, and as each new development was added it was only necessary to add that to the knowledge pool. This led to a shallower learning curve than that faced by today's newbies.
Finally, try not to get frustrated with Anim8or. It can be quirky and in some cases varies a bit from what could be called 'industry standard' but if you stick with it and take the time to learn its foibles you will be richly rewarded with not only great renders, animations or models but a real sense of achievement. Forum members are always willing to help but might not always have the time to unpick a particularly knotty problem and we can sometimes overlook the obvious, such as the path-crossing thing. Back in response #45 I mentioned about not creating that final point, if you had done so the issue would have been resolved earlier for you but to be honest I doubt I would have realised why this caused an error so it was probably a good thing you ignored it, since now this thread contains an actual resolution to the problem. :)
Anyway, happy holidays to you too and I hope you have a great time Anim8ing!
Owl:
--- Quote from: ENSONIQ5 on December 20, 2014, 09:29:41 pm ---(1) The best place to put this information .... (2) create a video tutorial.
--- End quote ---
Great comments ENSONIQ
(1) The best place to put this information ....
The reason to put all these in one thread is to not have to read through the pages of posts, some with mistaken information, but instead one tight Thread of "Tips", as you said. One short post, with appropriate SUBJECT line would cover the "line must cross" rule, rather than only one line near the end of lots of post. BTW! It also fails for me on a snap to grid of last point over first point, then "close".
(2) create a video tutorial ....
May I respectfully suggest some tutorial rules be set up? For example to NOT use keyboard shortcuts in video, only slow visual mouse moves.
Thank You
Owl:
Still looking for help on applying MATERIALS to all surfaces of an object.
It occasionally works, but after 3 hours of not finding the repeatable path I am reaching out for help.
To save time you can use the shoe box object and list the steps, hopefully no video is needed.
Thank You.
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