To make a long story short, I have an extensive background in electronics and as a photographer in the beginning. I also as I indicated start with Animation Master in the early days. I fell for Poser and have been there a bit, but I actually feel more close to iClone than anything else. I have been involved with software development a long time so there is some background.

What I rely want is to make movies and I also enjoy seeing gifted people like a lot of you here create magical stories and develop ideas into visual pearls. But I was irritated in the lack of animals, and when iClone got there injection of Biosphere and the other pack for creating gardens and a like it was frustrating, all this nature and "reality" and no animals??

So I tried to create some animals and I have no idea if they are any good or bad, but at least I tried. I can't say that I see myself as any form of magical worker but I rely enjoy solving problems... Injection of ideas come from simple things like movies in this forum, films like SCHREK and SciFi and naturally nature it self.

My workflow is probably not the most ordinary, I actually don't like 3DS MAX at all, but I can gladly admit it's muscles in 3D work. So for me 3DS MAX and 3DXchange is more or less the same, converters.  I prefer to work in SHADE, a legacy I have from my days with Poser.

Almost all mapping is after modeling done in UVMapper Pro, a utility I rely have fallen in love with!

So a typical animal design would start with research, pictures, and film if possible. I want get a feel for the animal and it's normal rhythm in walking and behavior. I have found that for me it is easiest to make animals from the mouth toward the back. Like a sock you turn inside out, maby not for every body, but for me it works fine. Any person creating anything in mesh will tell you that all creations always has tradeoffs, more or less disturbing in the end result.

I try to minimize this irritating details to the minimum and what I have competence to and my artistic eye can muster, and then I hope for my customers not to get disappointed... But my basic drive is always to do a good work I can accept myself and hopefully also to be accepted by others. I do not believe in making a fortune out of any content, I see the financial part as a small incentive to go on and as an approval from my customers. White Tiger is always looking for cooperation with other designers as well as new ways to make better things and if I (we ) can, help with useful tips!

Finally I would like to thank every body here and where ever you are, my visitors and customers at White Tiger, I have got so much positive feedback and I have from time to time a bit hard to believe that it is actually about me and my site. I can only say that it was very flattering that any person had any form of interest and I hope that I perhaps answered one or a few questions as well!

All the best to you and your visions and always keep creating!

Gorz

  White Tiger Web Shop found at http://www.gallery.swcab.nu/ 

Animated ANIMALS, live props, live animals, ordinary props, music, freebies and much more....

Thanks for the kind words Gorz. You're work continues to set the standards in animal and aquatic models for iClone. I look forward to seeing what you come up with next.  

 

Peter Edwards
Forum Administrator

http://twitter.com/iclonedaily

I guess you have already guessed that I don't animate anything in SHADE. I modell in SHADE. I am very comfortable with the spline modeling system in SHADE and it also let's me with ease and with the same tools handle the mesh as well if I so choose. The rigging and the animation is done limb by limb angle by angle with the help from 3DS MAX transition capability. Normally I start with something simple and then refine it step by step, until I feel happy with the result.

To work in SHADE is a bit different that working in 3DS but I like it. Since 3DS let me import and export anything from/to .OBJ I can do the basic work and a lot of fine tuning in SHADE and then I rig + skin and animate in 3DS MAX.

Things are often simpler than you think... even if there is a lot of steps to get a animal ready!

Gorz

  White Tiger Web Shop found at http://www.gallery.swcab.nu/ 

Animated ANIMALS, live props, live animals, ordinary props, music, freebies and much more....

Echoes Movie

Fallen Hero Video

I am not that old at iClone venture at all.   Maybe in other areas....   Like my birthday.  It is so remote I don't even think on mentioning it!

But I got engaged with iClone around September last year!  Of course I've worked with MAX since V1.0 and before, with 3D Studio R.4.   I just stumped on a YouTube video and saw what iClone was, for the first time.   I was working, producing music with virtual singers and I was looking for an easy way to create musicals with my songs and not having to do a LOT of work with 3D software.

To my surprise I found iClone 2.5 because my students were diddling with a pirated version of it, and I was surprised from the high level of productivity they were showing.   When I found they were running illegal software I had to intervene, but at the same time I looked around and found iClone was growing into 3.0.

When I got mine, I saw there was no clothing for G3 creatures, so I got the tools and started making some experiments which ended up in the C4G3 line of products.

For a long time I was and keep thinking on making my works of Public Domain, as I am a teacher and want to contribute a little bit at least to this line of evolution.  But I also knew I had to recover my investments in tools and such.

So I ended up submitting and getting a great welcome from Reallusion and almost all the folks in this forum.  Of course, a lot of sales too!

Now I am slightly or overly hooked into it, and when I make my mind as to stop, I get new ideas and get back to my workstation again.   Now I wonder if I will ever stop doing this, of course limited only by the life time clock!

Best wishes to all, and my encouragement to the new ones getting into this!

Mike

Mike Aparicio Reallusion Certified Content DeveloperReally Certified