Lee Stranahan sent in a few tips and asked for a mention of his upcoming
gigs. Fair enough I think.
The Announcements...
"My new one year school for visual effects artists, FX
Academy, will be starting classes at our Burbank facility in October.
We'll be doing tours of the facility - which features dozens of machines,
both Mac and PC, in multiple labs - and interviews with prospective students
at SIGGRAPH. FX Academy features top instructors, professional equipment,
and the best networking opportunities of any program - it's designed for
people serious about getting a career. More info on FXAcademy.com.
We're planning a Character Animation Weekend
in Europe for September, probably in Amsterdam (around IBC), London,
or both if there is interest. People interested should contact me right
away at LeeStranahan@hotmail.com"
The Tips
"These are some little useful hints that came up during the Character
Animation Weekend, so thanks to all the instructors and staff - Brad Peebler,
Paul Davies, Jerad Pitts, Brad Carvey, Rich Hurrey, Adam Hayes, Todd Grimes,
and Larry Schultz."
RGB to HSV
Not only can you left click-and-drag on RGB colors to select values,
but right clicking on the RGB section switches you to HSV mode - this
makes selecting variants or color families very easy. Also, right click-and-dragging
on the color swatch itself brightens and darkens colors - again, great
for subtle variations.
Procedural Background Color
Another right click that people often miss is inside the procedural
texture requesters. You know how if you make the procedural color black,
you can't see the pattern anymore? Right-click on the pattern, and you
can pick a 'background' color...most often, you want it to match your
pattern's 'base' color.
Baking Motions
In the Graph Editor, Shift-Z 'bakes' the motion - this means that if
you run an expression or Modifier (like noise or a oscillator) you can
convert that into an editable motion. It gives you a keyframe on every
frame, all with linear interpolation. Okay...that's kind of a pain in
the butt to edit - so, select those frames, then SHIFT-CTRL-LEFT CLICK
on the motion and you have an option to Reduce keyframes. You can also
change the interpolation on masse.
|
