Anim8or Community

Thank you guys for your appreciation.

In effect it is all about making some sculpting tool for bad modellers like me .

Now the idea would be to build a well edge-looped low-poly model on top of an all-triangle model like the ones I posted above, and then to use the polimagnet script to stick the low-poly model on the tri-model volume.

The problem on my side is that I have no grip on good edge-looping, but I'm studying.

As for the scripts themselves, I'm going to rewrite the polimagnet script. I will make it use vectors and the same naming convention of the automagnet, to improve speed and ease of use.

The automagnet has a problem though. When the script starts, it reads all mesh01 faces' areas to get the largest, and from there on it uses this area as reference for subdividing the others as you enlarge them.

When I was making the puppet I posted above, I subdivided the faces that compose its head and I realised that those newly-created small facets were no longer subdivided automatically. The reason is clear: they're not large enough, because the script checks for the largest face on mesh01 to be used as reference.

I think I will change it to get the average of all faces' areas to be used as reference, and if some mesh01 face is selected when the script starts, then the area of that face will be used as reference. Sort of telling it: "this is the largest face I want from here on".

Thanks again for your attention, don't forget to share your experiments and to tell me your advice about improving these scripts, your comments and critics are welcome.

And once again with the automagnet, a very quick draft: The Clay Brothers.

Well that's a strange message, never ever saw any flavour of windows giving such a message, apart from vista which I never used (did you quote it exactly as it was in the error message?)
Also the fact that you speak about "files" (plural) sounds strange. You should find a single executable in the archive, and nothing more. Please tell us the version of Anim8or you are speaking about, along with the windows version you are using. If you are running vista you might have a look to the "vista problems" page, in the homepage of Anim8or.

Everything is as it should be, you selected an object and you hit the UV tool. Now you just have to learn controlling that yellow-circle scale-rotate screen, and start texturing groups of faces instead of the entire object. As for bitmaps, some formats are supported and some aren't. The manual and searching the forum will help you.
Have fun

So sweet... I am no modeller but I fell in love with the newborn script attached below...

The polimagnet 3 script of some posts above has been downloaded 9 times. I downloaded it once, so at least eight people had a try at it - assuming that nobody downloaded it twice (me, eventually ). So let's speak frankly, there must be a good modeller capable to make something cool with these scripts, among those who keep an eye here.

The new one that I am attaching below is a simple spherical magnet just like the very frist script of this thread, but it has some interesting features added:

- all triangle faces of mesh01 get automatically subdivided as you enlarge them with the magnet
- all modes are switched by changing the magnet's name (simple and effective, you doubleclick on the magnet, you change its name and you have switched the mode while the script is running).
- it can cause Anim8or to crash (yes, this is a feature, not a bug )

no, seriously, I don't know why but it crashes if you try to move too much points at once.

Believe me it's fun, have a try, you will not crash anim8or if you move few points at once - but save your work and don't leave any important project open in anim8or.

I don't want to force you to open the script and read the comments, hence I'm reporting them here.

/* 
To use this script you need a mesh named "mesh01", as usual.
the script subdivides only triangular facets, you do the math,
I suggest you to try with a division 3 geodesic (and remember to
do "build->convert to mesh").

As for the magnet, you need a sphere named in one of the following ways:
(use lowercases exactly as reported into the double quotes)

"mag"    --> push mode, change all coordinates
"mag x"  --> push mode, change x coords
"mag y"  --> push mode, change y coords
"mag z"  --> push mode, change z coords
"mag xy" --> push mode, change xy coords
"mag yz" --> push mode, change yz coords
"mag xz" --> push mode, change xz coords

Add a minus sign for switching to pull mode (useful for
rushing points together, eheheeh, no, seriously, if you
use a really small magnet you can use pull-mode for
fine-point-tuning without using point-edit mode)

"mag-"   --> pull mode, change all coordinates
"mag-x"  --> pull mode, change x coords
"mag-y"  --> pull mode, change y coords
"mag-z"  --> pull mode, change z coords
"mag-xy" --> pull mode, change xy coords
"mag-yz" --> pull mode, change yz coords
"mag-xz" --> pull mode, change xz coords

Exceeding characters will be ignored, as well as
non-exact entries, hence, for example:

"magnet" --> "mag" (push mode, all dirs)
"mag-xyy" --> "mag-" (pull mode, all dirs)

Careful with doubled spaces:
.1234567. << chars 4 and 5, doubled space
"mag  xy" --> "mag" (push mode, all dirs)

To strop the script (pick one):
- delete the magnet
- change magnet's name to an invalid one
(remember that all names starting with "mag" are valid names)
- delete "mesh01"
- rename "mesh01"

Don't worry if you start seeing holes in your models, they're not holes.
For some reason, some faces are there but aren't visible. If you save the 
project and reopen it, you get a couple of errors about missing materials
and everything will be fine, your model will be a fully faceted arlequin.
*/

Sorry for posting just a silly example, but I want you to post some interesting one. You can use this tool far better than me, I'm sure. I'm also sure that when you're done with the volume you could build a really cool low-poly model out of the tri-models that this tool allows you to make.

I believe in Anim8ors.

Eheheh, I look forward to see it acting!
Let us know if you discover the cause of that incorrect bumpmapping, on my side I'm curious.

A thought just passed my mind but I really don't know if this is possible (didn't try that): have you checked whether some faces are flipped inside-out?
Just my two cents.
That's a really nice teapot, I love the emboss drawing, well done Lynn.

You can bet on it, I'm learning a lot of new things.
Have good study hihosilver