Info really appreciated Questions creation/animation

kingriz · Forum Newbie Joined: Aug 14, 2006 Posts: 3

Hi Everyone,

I have a few questions that are going to sound a bit goofy so please excuse me. I am a complete dummy when it comes to this kind of stuff.

You guys are great! I looked thru the gallery and even avatars and there is great stuff here. So I figured I would post my question on this board.

Here is what I would like to accomplish.

a character (superhero) that I can then animate with an easy to use program.

Is there a program where I can just import an image? Or does it need to be created in the software that will animate it?

Which software is the easiest to get the hang of?

I have played with Poser a bit. I like that you can import other characters into it and then play around with it.

I would like to create little flash movies with the character. Smacking someone around, talking, dancing etc...

I am familiar with Non Linear editing programs, and photo editing, Photoshop, Macromedia, Premiere Pro, CoolEdit, etc..but again no expert in any of them. Though I do produce about two hours of commercial video a month.

What I am trying to say is I am not knowledgable but willing to learn. Just looking for some pointers and possibly an artist for my main character.

Sincerely,

Riz

Hasdrubal

Continue playing with Poser everyday for about a year and a half, and you will have most of the knowledge, skills, and toys you seek.

You can learn a great many things by downloading and experimenting with the goodies in the Animotions free section, without blowing tons of cash on the learning curve.

Since you have Poser already, take advantage of the Index section at the back of your manual. It's more efficient than reading the manual straight through, (although a straight read-through is also strongly encouraged). Don't expect everything in the manual to make complete sense the first time you read it. The manual makes more sense after you've played with the program a bit.

Some variety of 3-D modelling program for making custom geometry meshes is recommended in the future when you feel comfortable enough to assemble and rig your own figures in Poser. It's not something you need to rush out and buy immediately.

There's really only one general rule to consider when starting in 3-D. Don't be in a hurry to buy things. Buying too many things stunts your initiative to teach yourself.

kingriz · Forum Newbie Joined: Aug 14, 2006 Posts: 3

Hasdrubal,

Grins...I hear ya. I dont want to be an animation pro per say. This stuff takes talent...not any yoyo with a computer can do it that I know.

I was more looking for some advice for a newbie that wants to have a character created that I can animate for fun till I know exactly what I want done...

If I had the budget I would just hire it out, but I cant do that right now. I figure if I had the character and then got an idea of what I wanted to do with it then it would be within reach.

Poser is really cool. Is there another program that is easier to use for animating?

Hasdrubal

Amongst other 3-D programs Poser probably has the most gentle learning curve. You could be animating fairly soon after installing it, but you will be honing your skills for a good while. Largely it depends on what you want to do with the program.

Is the character you want supposed to be human, animal, robot, cartoon, or something else?

If you wanted to make something similar to the graphics on Walmart's automated check out machines, showing the P-4 woman pushing a shopping cart, that can be easily accomplished without much time or trouble. If you want a custom made alien tentacle beast with four heads pushing a shopping cart, it would take you a while to master the necessary skills.

Since your budget is important, you should definitely be working in Poser instead of Lightwave or Maya.

kingriz · Forum Newbie Joined: Aug 14, 2006 Posts: 3

Hi,

The Character I have in mind is very much like a Superman or Superhero. That is why I posted here instead of the other animation boards. So many of the users seem to like doing Superhero type stuff.

I dont want him to be a "dark" hero. He should be very "cheezy"...for lack of a better term. Good looking, all American type etc...
A character everyone could identify from our childhood so to speak.

Hasdrubal

Assuming you have a few basic clothing items like boots, gloves, belts and capes compatable for the type of human figure you intend to use, making different hero characters is largely a matter of applying different texture mapping. There's lots of clothing items in the free section for the older Poser figures.

To start, I encourage you to select one of the free downloads on the site for the older P-4 (Poser 4) figures, and then look at how the textures were applied in the materials room. If you have Michael, Freak, David, Stephanie, or Vicky figures by DAZ installed, you could try the downloads for those figure models. They're extra figures that people often buy or download. Body morphs, facial morphs, and clothing are usually sold separately for the DAZ figures.

You can modify or make your own texture maps in any good 2-dimensional photo art program.