76
Finished Works and Works in Progress / Re: Christmas Special: Anim8or Christmas Tree!
« on: December 25, 2009, 11:03:21 pm »
Great image Lynn! Good job all who contributed to this project!
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
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77
ASL Scripts / Universal mirroring plugin
« on: December 25, 2009, 11:00:04 pm »
Here is a little Christmas present from me 
As you surely know, the built-in "Mirror" command in Anim8or only works if you select a single mesh.
Would you like to be able to mirror several meshes at once? And what about mirroring spheres, cylinders and cubes? And parametric meshes! And subdivisions! And groups...
Now you can do that! Thanks to $imon, who gave me the idea to write this plugin...
The usage is quite simple. Select any number of shapes and run the script. The axis is determined from the GUI settings using these 3 buttons:
The current version of ASL has limited capabilities when working with groups, parametric meshes and subdivisions. If you mirror a group, the result will not be grouped. Parametric meshes and subdivisions are mirrored, but the result will be converted to mesh.
The script is attached below, I hope you'll find it useful. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!
Merry Christmas to all!
As you surely know, the built-in "Mirror" command in Anim8or only works if you select a single mesh.
Would you like to be able to mirror several meshes at once? And what about mirroring spheres, cylinders and cubes? And parametric meshes! And subdivisions! And groups...
Now you can do that! Thanks to $imon, who gave me the idea to write this plugin...
The usage is quite simple. Select any number of shapes and run the script. The axis is determined from the GUI settings using these 3 buttons:
- If the "X" button is enabled, the X axis will be used.
- If the "X" button is disabled and the "Y" button is enabled, the Y axis will be used.
- Otherwise the Z axis will be used.
The current version of ASL has limited capabilities when working with groups, parametric meshes and subdivisions. If you mirror a group, the result will not be grouped. Parametric meshes and subdivisions are mirrored, but the result will be converted to mesh.
The script is attached below, I hope you'll find it useful. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!
Merry Christmas to all!
78
General Anim8or Forum / Re: Need Help Fast
« on: December 01, 2009, 05:00:31 pm »
I think you should be a bit more specific... Try to describe your problem in more detail, or upload a screenshot if necessary.
79
Anim8or Challenges / Re: [ COMPLETE ] Challenge #11: Wild Wild West
« on: November 30, 2009, 06:37:28 am »
Wow... To be honest, I didn't expect to get a single vote 
Great job Simon, Floyd and Indian8or! Congratulations!
Great job Simon, Floyd and Indian8or! Congratulations!
80
General Anim8or Forum / Cutting down the render time
« on: November 22, 2009, 12:55:21 pm »
Lately I've read a lot of posts about the Anim8or renderer being too slow and I thought I would post several tips on how to speed it up.
Some golf players say "There's no bad weather...just bad clothing". The same goes for the Anim8or renderer. There's no slow renderer... just wrong scene setups, wrong renderer configurations and impatient users.
Rule #1: Be patient.
This will not speed up the rendering process, but it's the most important rule. If it takes an hour or 2 to render a complex scene, there's no need to worry. If it takes a day or 2, then you should read the rest of this post.
Rule #2: Do not use the ART Raytracer unless you have to.
The good old Scanline renderer is much faster and if you do not need reflections, refractions or special shadow effects, there's no reason to use the ART Raytracer. You can also use environment maps to simulate simple reflections using the Scanline renderer. I think people forget about that...
Rule #3: Decrease the image size.
Large images take longer to render, that's not surprising. If you are not planning to use the image as your desktop background, you definitely do not need higher resolution than 1024x768. I think 800x600 is the perfect size in most cases.
Rule #4: Decrease the polygon count.
This rule is pretty obvious, but many people ignore it. Objects that are far from the camera do not need that much detail. In some cases you can replace your objects with extremely simple low-poly models without any impact on the quality of the final image. You can also fake details using textures and hide all non-visible objects.
Rule #5: Decrease texture sizes.
Before using a 1024x1024 (or even larger) texture, ask yourself: is it necessary? Good textures are the key to a good looking image, but too large textures increase the render time significantly.
Rule #6: Do not overuse bumpmaps.
Bumpmap textures have a strong impact on the render time.
Rule #7: Not all the lights in your scene have to cast shadows.
In real life every light source creates a shadow, but unfortunately shadows take very long to render. If you disable shadows for some lights, there might not be any visible difference in the final image, but the renderer performance will be much better. You can also fake some shadows using textures.
Rule #8: Decrease the RayDepth value.
Ray depth determines how many times each ray is reflected/refracted. Setting a lower value will boost up the performance of the ART Raytracer, especially if there's a lot of glass in your scene. The default value of 12 is usually more than you need, a very low value (such as 3 or 4) usually does not make any visible difference. See the image attached to this post. One of the spheres was rendered with the default RayDepth setting (12), the other one was rendered using the value of 2. Can you see any difference?
If you want to change the RayDepth value, go to the scene mode and click "Scene > Attributes...". Click "new", write "RayDepth" (without the quotes) and click "Ok". Select the "int" option and then type a number to the textbox below.
Rule #9: Decrease the number of AA samples.
Make sure you are not using more AA samples than you actually need. I always set the number of AA samples to 4 when making test renders and then I increase the value until I get what I want. If you're not using the Ambient Occluder, a value of 64 or (at most) 100 should be enough.
Rule #10: Render the AO pass separately.
The Ambient Occluder requires a very high number of AA samples (at least 144) if you want a grainyless image. When rendering the AO pass separately, all the materials are white, there are no lights, no shadows, no reflections or refractions. Therefore you can use a very high number of AA samples without having to wait for ages...
However, you'll need an advanced image editor (such as Photoshop or Gimp) to combine the AO pass with the main render.
Rule #11: Sometimes Photoshop is faster...
Post-production is a part of the process. Some special effects (such as lens flare, glowing lights etc.) can be created in Anim8or, but they increase the render time. If you have Photoshop or other advanced program, you do not need to wait for the Anim8or renderer...
Rule #12: Read rule #1 once more!
Ok, that's all. Any questions and more tips on improving the performance are welcome!
Some golf players say "There's no bad weather...just bad clothing". The same goes for the Anim8or renderer. There's no slow renderer... just wrong scene setups, wrong renderer configurations and impatient users.
Rule #1: Be patient.
This will not speed up the rendering process, but it's the most important rule. If it takes an hour or 2 to render a complex scene, there's no need to worry. If it takes a day or 2, then you should read the rest of this post.
Rule #2: Do not use the ART Raytracer unless you have to.
The good old Scanline renderer is much faster and if you do not need reflections, refractions or special shadow effects, there's no reason to use the ART Raytracer. You can also use environment maps to simulate simple reflections using the Scanline renderer. I think people forget about that...
Rule #3: Decrease the image size.
Large images take longer to render, that's not surprising. If you are not planning to use the image as your desktop background, you definitely do not need higher resolution than 1024x768. I think 800x600 is the perfect size in most cases.
Rule #4: Decrease the polygon count.
This rule is pretty obvious, but many people ignore it. Objects that are far from the camera do not need that much detail. In some cases you can replace your objects with extremely simple low-poly models without any impact on the quality of the final image. You can also fake details using textures and hide all non-visible objects.
Rule #5: Decrease texture sizes.
Before using a 1024x1024 (or even larger) texture, ask yourself: is it necessary? Good textures are the key to a good looking image, but too large textures increase the render time significantly.
Rule #6: Do not overuse bumpmaps.
Bumpmap textures have a strong impact on the render time.
Rule #7: Not all the lights in your scene have to cast shadows.
In real life every light source creates a shadow, but unfortunately shadows take very long to render. If you disable shadows for some lights, there might not be any visible difference in the final image, but the renderer performance will be much better. You can also fake some shadows using textures.
Rule #8: Decrease the RayDepth value.
Ray depth determines how many times each ray is reflected/refracted. Setting a lower value will boost up the performance of the ART Raytracer, especially if there's a lot of glass in your scene. The default value of 12 is usually more than you need, a very low value (such as 3 or 4) usually does not make any visible difference. See the image attached to this post. One of the spheres was rendered with the default RayDepth setting (12), the other one was rendered using the value of 2. Can you see any difference?
If you want to change the RayDepth value, go to the scene mode and click "Scene > Attributes...". Click "new", write "RayDepth" (without the quotes) and click "Ok". Select the "int" option and then type a number to the textbox below.
Rule #9: Decrease the number of AA samples.
Make sure you are not using more AA samples than you actually need. I always set the number of AA samples to 4 when making test renders and then I increase the value until I get what I want. If you're not using the Ambient Occluder, a value of 64 or (at most) 100 should be enough.
Rule #10: Render the AO pass separately.
The Ambient Occluder requires a very high number of AA samples (at least 144) if you want a grainyless image. When rendering the AO pass separately, all the materials are white, there are no lights, no shadows, no reflections or refractions. Therefore you can use a very high number of AA samples without having to wait for ages...
However, you'll need an advanced image editor (such as Photoshop or Gimp) to combine the AO pass with the main render.
Rule #11: Sometimes Photoshop is faster...
Post-production is a part of the process. Some special effects (such as lens flare, glowing lights etc.) can be created in Anim8or, but they increase the render time. If you have Photoshop or other advanced program, you do not need to wait for the Anim8or renderer...
Rule #12: Read rule #1 once more!
Ok, that's all. Any questions and more tips on improving the performance are welcome!
81
ASL Scripts / Re: ASL Tutorial List
« on: November 18, 2009, 05:44:42 am »
I re-formatted the list a little bit and made this topic sticky.
If anybody knows about more resources to learn ASL scripting, please post a link in this topic.
Thanks to Jdez for the list, let's hope it will be getting longer!
If anybody knows about more resources to learn ASL scripting, please post a link in this topic.
Thanks to Jdez for the list, let's hope it will be getting longer!
82
Anim8or Challenges / Re: Challenge #11: Wild Wild West
« on: November 11, 2009, 06:27:18 am »
Cool model Floyd! It looks very clean and detailed, I hope to see more progress soon!
Nice boot, Simon, I hope you can make it before the deadline...
btw. I like the bullets idea...
Nice boot, Simon, I hope you can make it before the deadline...
Hope ya don't mind my use of your image as my Ipod background KubajzzHaha, of course I don't! I'm honored
btw. I like the bullets idea...
83
General Anim8or Forum / Re: Ambient occlusion
« on: November 11, 2009, 06:21:39 am »
Ambient occlusion is definitely a great thing, it adds more depth to your scene and makes the whole thing look more realistic.
Just one note: when setting the global light intensity to 0, make sure you have at least one light in your scene. If there's no light, Anim8or uses a default light which is not affected by the global intensity settings...
As for Phong shading, as far as I know it's not anything "special".
In fact Phong shading is one of the most commonly used shading algorithms and it's the default shading method used in Anim8or - the Phong shading method is always used unless you add attributes to your materials and use the ART renderer.
Just one note: when setting the global light intensity to 0, make sure you have at least one light in your scene. If there's no light, Anim8or uses a default light which is not affected by the global intensity settings...
As for Phong shading, as far as I know it's not anything "special".
In fact Phong shading is one of the most commonly used shading algorithms and it's the default shading method used in Anim8or - the Phong shading method is always used unless you add attributes to your materials and use the ART renderer.
84
Anim8or Challenges / Re: Challenge #11: Wild Wild West
« on: November 10, 2009, 10:46:14 am »
Good start Simon! I can't wait to see more!
Here is what I created today.
I would like to make the scene somewhat more complex, but I don't have enough time for this challenge so this picture might be my final entry...
Here is what I created today.
I would like to make the scene somewhat more complex, but I don't have enough time for this challenge so this picture might be my final entry...
85
Finished Works and Works in Progress / Re: Major-Lactic and the Flying-Foot-Patrol
« on: November 09, 2009, 05:59:35 am »
Hello clip-clobber,
I really like the animations, especially the first one. Did you create it all yourself?
As for your project... Anim8or.com is actually one of the sites that do not allow commercial posts. Showing a commercial animation created in Anim8or is ok, but advertising a commercial site directly is too much.
I really like the animations, especially the first one. Did you create it all yourself?
As for your project... Anim8or.com is actually one of the sites that do not allow commercial posts. Showing a commercial animation created in Anim8or is ok, but advertising a commercial site directly is too much.
Quote from: The forum guidelines
... Commercial posts are not allowed unless they are something that Anim8or was used in the production of, and then only if the main point is to show the work.
86
General Anim8or Forum / Re: Can't do anything?
« on: November 07, 2009, 04:48:25 am »
I bet this is not a software error. Let's take it step by step:
- Go to object editor and make sure you are in the object edit mode (the arrow in the top-left corner of the screen must be selected)
- Create your shape (a sphere, cylinder, cube, whatever you like...)
- The shape should be selected (if not, select it) and then click "Build>Convert To Mesh"
- Now go to the point-edit mode:
- Switch to the wire-frame view:
(4th button from the left in the top toolbar or CTRL+W, like Kreator said) - When in the wire-frame view, the points should always be visible and you should be able to edit them
- Next time, before you ask a basic question like this, please read the manual and the FAQs section of the Forum Guidelines.
87
Anim8or Challenges / Re: [ Voting Open ] Challenge #10: Take a photo
« on: November 07, 2009, 04:27:24 am »
Alright, the voting is over!
And the winner is... the one who didn't deserve it 
Thanks everybody for the votes, congratulations to Simon, Raxx, menamarco and Tof for their great entries!
And good luck to all in the next challenge!
And the winner is... the one who didn't deserve it
Thanks everybody for the votes, congratulations to Simon, Raxx, menamarco and Tof for their great entries!
And good luck to all in the next challenge!
88
Finished Works and Works in Progress / Re: My beginner movie, made with Anim8or
« on: November 03, 2009, 06:51:05 am »
The movie looks good, but I'm afraid I didn't really catch the story... Subtitles would be nice
89
General Anim8or Forum / MOVED: My beginner movie, made with Anim8or
« on: November 03, 2009, 06:30:50 am »
This topic has been moved to Finished Works and Works in Progress.
http://www.anim8or.com/smf/index.php?topic=2742.0
http://www.anim8or.com/smf/index.php?topic=2742.0
90
Anim8or Challenges / Re: Challenge #10: Take a photo
« on: November 02, 2009, 02:48:34 am »Challenge Closed
The voting has started! Thanks everybody for participating in this challenge, now it's time to choose the winner.
Below is a list of all finished entries:
- $imon: http://www.anim8or.com/smf/index.php?topic=2693.msg20038#msg20038
- Raxx: Photos - Final Images
- menamarco: http://www.anim8or.com/smf/index.php?topic=2693.msg20140#msg20140
- Tof: http://www.anim8or.com/smf/index.php?topic=2693.msg20207#msg20207
- Kubajzz: http://www.anim8or.com/smf/index.php?topic=2693.msg20233#msg20233