Newbie to IClone - Not to animating

Newbie to IClone - Not to animating

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https://forum.reallusion.com/Topic239705.aspx

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By jgrant - 9 Years Ago

After years of working in Daz and Poser, I had struggled with their limited animation interface and produced a number of fully animated films (below), but I was unhappy with the final results. When I saw the latest Clone 6 update and the 3DX Importer, it just clicked. I can import Maya Rigs, Daz and all of my BVHs and use them in the Clone format and work much smarter. The Indigo RT Renderer is next on my list as I refine my pipeline and learn the UI. I shall spend the summer learning Clone 6 and generating test content (a two person dialogue scene, a run in the woods, beauty model pass(es) in the basic IClone setUp as I learn more about Indigo for the Fall. Here's a link to the animations I produced in the past -
The Watchmaker's Apprentice
[YouTube]]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKAdug3qyOw[/YouTube][/YouTube]
The Doctor's Wife

Closer

All three were done in the basic Poser 10 Render Engine Firefly. I work in 2.5D with billboard backgrounds, fast editing and post compositing techniques to enhance the film look. I look forward to meeting all of you.

You can find out more about me at www.juliangrant.com

By mark - 9 Years Ago

Oh my!!!! This is really good stuff!!!! Hoping you can teach us a lot! Welcome aboard!! BigGrin

By jgrant - 9 Years Ago

I was just watching your Tesla Episode 1 - and i've already become a fan of your iClone work. Your Flying Monkeys tutorial was instrumental in deciding to adopt iClone as a platform. So, I'm here actually because you showed me what is possible. Nice to meet you.

By Rampa - 9 Years Ago

Looks great Julian! Welcome aboard the good ship 'Clone!

I think iClone will match your style really well.

By jgrant - 9 Years Ago

Thank you, Rampa. I shall look to the Toon Avatar Set(s) as I believe the softer, rounder edged figures are indeed more to my style. It was wonderful to see that they had ported over the 3d Universe characters as they are some of my favorites. I've been following your responses on the Forum and see that you are very knowledgable here ad I am thrilled to have a response so soon from yourself and Mark. Thank you for the welcome.

By justaviking - 9 Years Ago

WELCOME.

Wow, those are incredible videos!
The iClone family is lucky to have you as a new member.

I hope you have fun, and don't be shy about asking questions down in the iClone section of the forum. I can't wait to see what you do with iClone.

By prabhatM - 9 Years Ago

Amazing story telling skill ! Beautiful imageries.
Yes, I too wonder what will you do with ICLONE !!!
I bet your ICLONE movies too will stand apart.
Looking forward to tons of wizardries. Smile

By Bigboss - 9 Years Ago

Welcome to the forum Jgrant Smile

You will not be deceived by iClone !

By jgrant - 9 Years Ago

Wow! Thx. so much for the quick responses. There are a lot of trash talkers out there - but judging from the work I've seen here (and the props, people and skills on display), the IClone community is great (I guess they are jealous that you've found a great way to work using next gen game engine, bvh & motion clip and key frame skills to make stellar films). Fast responses from the head office over questions, the Forum kind words (thx. everyone, I really feel at home here) and a new interface to work with. I'm very, very excited about the possibilities here with IClone and judging from the marketplace, store and some of the amazing vendors, I'm going to be dropping a lot of cash (alongside reworking all my other assets). Would appreciate any tips, suggestions, go-to's and/or advice as I am a babe in the woods. Best always, JG

By prabhatM - 9 Years Ago

ICLONE is the one of the easiest SW to adapt.
I would love to see what you come up with in next 7 days using your "natural instincts rather than careful planning".
I am not challenging your skill. Please do not misunderstand me.
I am just curious to have a glimpse of the natural transition before the "need-to-maintain-my-reputation" thought takes over.
Just one sample. Even an unfinished work in progress will do.

By jgrant - 9 Years Ago

Well, I do plan before animating - I recommend that firmly and make a careful assessment of my goals and tools before I begin. As I am waiting for my new Nvidia PC to arrive, I may be a little late - but I'm up for the challenge. I have no reputation to speak of - and I have to port my thinking from Mac to PC - but, what the heck, I will give it a go.

By jgrant - 9 Years Ago

Yeah, I'm looking to use Maya and Daz Rigs inside IClone to up my cinema game. I love the layering aspects to the timeline and I have a healthy BVHs library I shall repurpose and hand key as needed. Where has this software been all my life?? I'm just blown away by what the tutorials and some of the users have shown. Am literally drooling to get started.

By Tarampa Studios - 9 Years Ago

jgrant (6/11/2015)

... literally drooling to get started.

Hi and **wow** from me too!.. Your work is stunning!
I'm here because of Mark's "Tesla" movie and tutorials as well. Perhaps iClone should start paying him a wage, haha. And yes, like wungun, I was also up and animating within a week, without any prior experience in animation at *all*... except if you count the doodles I sketch on my desk calendar whenever I'm stuck on the phone to a boring or nagging client...

No need to wait for your new pc. Your licence will permit two machines... So if you have an old pc or mac laying around, you can get started right now. It's not too late to join the current competition, where you can also download a generous pack of free content, even if you don't decide to compete. Here's the Link, where you can also download a free version of the much loved iC5 edition, which may be the last time we ever see it available, now that it's being replaced by iC6.

The catch is that you have to blog about your process, as described in that link - and that's why I'd love to hope that you have time to enter, because it's a wonderful opportunity to see and learn from how others work... e.g Wungun and Mark already have some terrific video tutorials posted over there for their entries. And I'm sure you'll find a lot to inform and inspire you!

Best wishes in any case
Smile

By mark - 9 Years Ago

jgrant (6/10/2015)

Well thanks for the plug Tongue

.... you're very gracious but something tells me you're going to be teaching us a thing or three very soon!!!! BigGrin

I just love the design-style of your previous work!!!! AWESOME!!! Wink

By jgrant - 9 Years Ago

Thanks for the link Bleetz. I shall download accordingly. I am an avid blogger and would be happy to contribute. As an educator I always speak to my students about #showyourwork and I shall be happy to process and document my discoveries. Is there a recommended area or place other than here at the Forum that would be of most interest to IClone users?

I have only Macs here at the ranch (with the exception of my trusty netbook that chokes under the graphic requirements) and I am expecting my machine today - so I'm good. Nice to know about the two licenses.

Yes, Mark is a great evangelist for IClone and I believe he is doing not only a great job as an animator - but as a tut provider. His rear projection tut, the incredible flying monkeys lesson and the wonderful Tesla showcase were all great examples of the power of IClone. As I delve into the software shortly, I hope to contribute to the culture and the community accordingly. Thank you for your kind words.

By jgrant - 9 Years Ago

I think we both see the world the same way cinematically as your work has a great use of slow camera moves, dynamic staging and a color palette that is rich and bold. I'm very happy to make your acquaintance and look forward to our continued conversations.

By Tarampa Studios - 9 Years Ago

jgrant (6/11/2015)

... Is there a recommended area or place other than here at the Forum that would be of most interest to IClone users?

If you're entering the competition, then you need to join this Polycount thread, and name your thread as described in the rules in that first link above... which means you also need to join the Polycount forums temporarily (free), and make an initial post to say hi in the extra link they will provide to you within a few days after you join. (Instructions are all in that first link from the previous message). But if it takes more than 2 days, just ask for help again here...

If you're not entering the competition, then you can take your pick of any of the existing threads here, and perhaps you'd like to do that anyway, because I'd certainly follow your personal WIP thread if you started one. I've only been animating for a year, and of that, only the last 6 months or so have been iClone, so I'm in total agreement with Mark when he said he suspected that you'd be teaching us a few things in no time...
Smile

By DELETED2 - 9 Years Ago

Hi Julian... A very exciting welcome to iClone.
I've just finished watching the work you've submitted here by embedded vids. I'm particularly impressed at your substantial development of adverse sets. Your design is incredible. I watched "The Doctors Wife!" particularly with interest because the sets are so slim by design that they gave enough scope for volume while not being obstructive to the camera on the pan takes. Superb idea and the scattered confusion of prop placement in the middle segments is also beautiful.
It didn't, either, bother me that the avatars were otherwsie simple. Relying on the audio and the simplicity of the story plot as it were the grtaphics were refreshingly "strange" to the expectation and satisfying with the link of unbelievable romance because of their form.
Excelling work.
But I have to say simething.
IF you remade The Doctors Wife (I'd like to see that!) you'd find that the lighting available inside iClone is STUNNING with ambient & localised possibility (Not to say the lighting in the anim was a detriment to the output.... one can only utilise what tools are supplied by the software... ) but you might also enhance masses of those takes in TDW with particle embellishment in so many areas as iCLone is wholly rich with particle mechanics.
It's satisfying to see someone's work of this magnitude. I am impressed. Your Set imagination far outweighs impressionably all other elements of the works. I LOVE sharp set engineering skills.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on your next project to come and I'd also like to hear from your standpoint the elements of iClone that appeal to you the most that perhaps you felt were not available to enhance what you've created in the past.
Also, would you now work on lipsynch in iClone or would you still omit this as an element of stylised fashion to the theme?
Best wishes....
Armstrong.

By planetstardragon - 9 Years Ago

Welcome to the Family JGrant, it's wonderful to have a person of your vision join us. We are taking over the world, your timing couldn't have been better!

Cheers! Smile

By jgrant - 9 Years Ago

Thank you so much for the kind welcome. I'm just getting acquainted with everyone's work. I got my new PC at 2:30pm Central today and downloaded IClone 6 and XChange and started work. It's 3 hours later and I'm giddy. Man, there is so much potential here. Looking forward to sharing.

By jgrant - 9 Years Ago

Absolutely, Armstrong. I come from live action filmmaking and we only built the sets as big as we need. It's all about using and reusing assets. I've made a lot of 'B' movies over the years and it was always about recycling and hiding with light, shadow and putting something in the foreground (all elements in play in my animated work). I also approach animation as a live action filmmaker and so lip sync and lighting design will also be my focus as I learn how to navigate, animate and render within the system. You are right when you say the render engine for IClone 6 is really quite nice - there's a lot I can get out of it - and I shall continue to check tutorials online and work on importing models and creating beauty passes as I work on my Mocap and KeyFrame combos. I'm so blown away by the opportunities here - and with Machinima in general - and as an evangelist for DIY cinema, the IClone platform is a unique and graphic artist friendly platform that heralds a phenomenal step forward in game-graphic filmmaking. I look forward to seeing your work.

By toonarama - 9 Years Ago

A real b-movie film maker - fantastic! You are very welcome here.
I love the spirit of b-movies and that is what I am aiming for in my films. Only made one so far (check out "Death by Jelly" he says shamefully plugging) but one day I would love to be Iclone's version of Troma Films.

By Rampa - 9 Years Ago

toonarama (6/12/2015)

Iclonio & Juliet?