Hi again,

long time without post here, the things of having a job  :rolleyes:

Here is the beginning of a short animation, about 25 seconds. It will be a little tribute to "Gally, the killing angel", created by Yukito Kishiro.
It is a copylefted work, of course :unsure:

A link for who don't know it:
http://www.reimeika.ca/marco/alita.html

Next the character model, made with Makehum and and blender.

I don't like the face at all, but I will wait until a toon render with model textured.
Next texturing, hair, learning driven shape keys, rigging, soft cloth, animating, compositing fx............. :woot:

Greetings, and happy days.

Great concept.   Just watch the specular level. It seems too high to me. I assume that the things under her arms have something to do with the Gally video. I guess it would make sense if she were an angel.

Best of luck to you and hope it turns out!

  That's looking pretty interesting so far.  I have a rig set up already if you'd like to try it.  It has rotational limits set up on all the joints.  It may need some tweaking, but email me if you want to try it and I'll send it to you. 

scott@blender3dclub.com

  You'll have to do all the weight painting (which is teidious).  I've done it a few times for a Make Human character and it's amazing how much quicker at it you get on the 3rd and 4th times.

Scott.

Those things in arms are blades, very useful to dismember cyborgs greater than she.
Their root is extracted from forearms, next are forged in air, so its needed some shapekeys, material animation and work of composition.
Later I'll improve arms, they have more muscles.

Thanks Reddog9, I have rigged and weightpainted another makehuman character, and I like results. My rig is conventional, and it is interesting get a rig valid for any character. Email me your one, I will test it and try to add some feature.
olegsoria@gmail.com

You reminded me of something I wanted to look into.  Everytime I think about weight painting a character, I dreaded having to start from scratch everytime.

I wrote a python script today that will copy vertex groups and weights from one object to another.    Of course, both of them will have to have the exact same vertices.  Everytime you export a character from Makehuman, it will have the exact same vertices, just in a slightly different location. 

I've tried it out and it works.   I'll have to Weight Paint one more time and keep that mesh as a 'control' taking care not to alter the vertices.  I can then use that control to copy the weight painting over to any new character that I import from MakeHuman.  It just needs to be done before the mesh is altered in anyway in Blender.   Once the mesh is altered or added to, I'll just have to weight paint the new areas.  The bulk of it will be done.

Figure one's weight painting...

Is copied over to figure #2 via the script.

Think of all the fingers I won't have to weight paint anymore.   :biggrin:

I'll send you that rig to play with.

Red.

I've received the rig, and player with it :)
That script is very interesting, since it also is applied to makehuman heads,
wich all must have the same vertex.

About the WIP, I just finished the UV unwrapped, so texturing starts now.
I want make a test with face and some static hair.

Here is the face test, the thing is that I have done a photo render, so it's not easy to compare with manga character.

I think in finishing texturing before adjust head, in order to have a global sensation.
All comments will be wellcomed :)

As curiosity, I've just found a comment about James Cameron is making a film based in this character, to premiere in 2009/2010.

Edit: How is done the thing of linking a huge image to a little one? Thanks.

Is that Particle Hair??   That looks great. 

Right, particle hair. Problems will come with the animatable one, that "nice" jittering.
I have avoided it in a recent SVN version, but not in stables versions.

Updating project

After some corrections in face mesh and texturing, soon time to learn shapekeys.

The cloth looks a little too smooth, but nice overall. The shoes look a little strange, too, but I can see where you got them from.

Don't forget that Reddog's got a nice shape key tutorial.

Yes, she looks strange. Yukito's color palette is very integrated in environment, so I'll change some colors when modelling it. Perhaps ochre for the things of legs and a darker blue in skin.
I'l look that tutorial, sure it helps, thanks.

I have been working in shapekeys this week. First making vertex groups and now creating the shapekeys.
Not an easy work with the amount of verts in makehuman mesh, but with time it will be done.

I decided to use Ludwig rig, by Jason Pierce (Sketchy), so vertex groups and shapekeys are according Ludwig.

Here is a new update, a pose test after adapting and skinning the Ludwig rig.

Animation time is bringing nearer, but still lots of issues to correct. Also I want to learn driven shapekeys and how works drivers and controls of the Ludwig rig.

I have a question about shapekeys and rigs. In the render you can see the "basis" shapekey, but I setup an expression. How can I do to render right with a rigged mesh?

Greetings

Here are last changes.

She is better, but still there are things to improve.
Cloth UV mapping must be fixed near shoulders, I don't like face at all.
Static particles in cloth also are a problem, since I don't use guide curves is hard to control their size.

Cloth is too regular still, but I wil wait to see how works making softbody cloth.

That hair has the definitive hairstyle, and can be animated. Some refining and wil be finished.

Next words are a spoiler of manga:

That hairstyle is not casual, it's related to her darker side, so I'm making an hibrid of the character. It will change the initial storyboard, introducing a secondary character in a near gore scene.
The good of those scenes is that they are good to play with Blender fluids :p

The first animation, a hair test.

Video link (5,5MB):

I know, the hair is seen too little, but it can be seen.
Ponytail is not sensitive to gravity, and lt's seen one or two curve guides working wrong.
Fringe is sensitive to gravity, and works OK, except in the vertical movement, there is seen some jittering.
I try to correct these things.

Also is clear the skinning is not refined :p

Here is the storyboard:

I advise about its violent content.

www.ara3d.com/varios/gally/AngelStoryboard.rar

The thing is that I have turned a simple animation of some seconds in..... I must be insane :p

I'm thinking in using the mancandy rig for the second character. With vertex translations face can be conformed to a new one, maintaining shape keys; I have done that adjusting Gally face and body and works. The other problem is that mancandy has only four fingers in hands, but it can be used "gloves" of five fingers to hide the problem.

P.S. I think that security guard is completely redeemed  :p

Gally will be finished soon, here is a lightning test. There are things to correct, as the not transparent inner body or the bright in cloth particles.

An important detail, she has been migrated to Blender 2.46RC1, it can be seen in the new hair. I also have used Cloth in some regions of her dress.

I spoke about mancandy hands last time, but the thing is there is no problem. Since vertex groups in blender are a powerfull tool, it can be modified the mesh being careful with important vertex groups, like head.

And here the beginning of security guard.

It's our dear known Mancandy, but he has five fingers in hands plus a detached head, which can be animated as natural or free of body.
Changes have been done into the same rig and mesh, so no duplicated character.

Now time to conform mesh to the character.

The WIP is running slowly, but it don't stops.
Here is the "mancandy guard", just before texturing.

My idea of conforming head mesh by vertex manipulation was not good, the right way is lattice manipulation.
Mancandy rig is very good, but that cartoonish mesh is a great problem to use the rig in a realistic character.

Now I will fix some bugs in fingers and texturing will begin. I was thinking in a gray or dark blue palette, but perhaps I mantain that orange material as basis.

Also I must study render options in blender 2.46, things are not working as before  :)

I got it, I leaved that cube with six textures for environment  :p
Here is the guardian inside the "Jeru" corridors. This is only a short portion for a lighting test.

I have used Groups for building modular blocks, even lights and lighting meshes are in a Group.
Now I'll build the whole corridors, so animation works will begin soon  :)

Hi again,

First excuse a problem with my web hosting, images will be up when solved.

I have rendered the animatics of scenes one and two, here can be seen:

www.4shared.com/file/59536252/2e793c7a/animatica-e1-cc.html

www.4shared.com/file/59535825/e07e1526/animatica-e2-cc.html

There are things to correct, like the "IPO curved" light in a wrong Group, perhaps a smoother camera walk. Guardian movements are simple, I think the important things at this level are timing and camera.
Scene two is the title animation, letters are animated with vortex on a tombstone style background.

Impressions will be wellcome.

New update,

Scene 2 is finished:

Size is 3MB, mp4 encoded, also note its format is 16:9 instead the 4:3 of the 4shared viewer.

Also last illumination test.

Next videos are two options with different timing, I have not decided still.

http://www.4shared.com/file/63130495/8c20df00/luz3acc.html?dirPwdVerified=9d8b4595

http://www.4shared.com/file/63130785/977d5018/luz3cc.html?dirPwdVerified=9d8b4595

They are mp4 with a size of 2,5MB, also 16:9 format.

Now I will do the serious animation of scene 1.

looking realy good , you made quite a progress, well done.

What type of lighting system did you use for the illumination test? Just raytracing?

Thanks, slowly but I try don't stop of working in the WIP.
Since I'm an animator I use conventional illumination, in order to reduce render times.
In this case is an area light as main and six auxiliary ones (lamps and spots). Seven ones grouped according the groups of meshes, so there are about 150 lights in scene.

Someday I'll share some file or little turorial, since this is a not commercial work.

Here is the render (fail render, since I didn't notice the visor of guard wasn't there, but good for testing composition in Sequencer) of first scene, without video post still.

As usual, 16:9 ratio, 4,6MB in mp4 fomat.

A link for the screenshot:

Scene 3 is finished:

It's a .mp4 of 2MB, with the usual 16:9 format.

Also a screenshot of the source:

A comment about render, I am rendering by passes (combined, Z, Vec, Sha) at a resolution of 1280x720 pixels. Render format is MultiLayer (ZIP lossless).
So I'll manage things like Vector Blur in Node Editor. That's a cool thing, but very expensive in hard disk space.

Scene 4 is the starring of Gally, and after some tests I decided to improve her, specially skinning in cloth.

Edit: orthography ( what on hell is losslexx? )  :p

This is scene 4:

2MB in a mp4 with 16:9 format.

Here is the first facial animation plane and the appearance of Gally.
The worst is the transition between walk cycle and next Action, I must fix that for Gally's walk.
Also note video is too dark, it will be fixed in post.
Notice the effect of the material on Gally's body.

About next scene, the first plane is finished and rendered, now I will work in the forge of blades.

And here is scene 5:

Video:

It's the usual .mp4 in 16:9 format. This time size is 5,1MB since duration is 22 seconds.

Last plane is not in storyboard, I introduced it as transition between scenes and new illumination for last scenes.

Scene 6 now, the most difficult  :p

It have past lots of time, but here is the sixth scene.

Notice the violence advisory, this is the bloody scene.

Video in .mp4, 16:9 format and 5,2MB.

Some captures:

First bloody image.

Second bloody image.

Next one is the last scene, the thing is finishing :)

Wow very nice stuff !!

Amazing love the blood smear.

Thanks oldskoolPunk... I imagine the guard don't loves it so that  :p

Well, here is the last scene, with some of node editing:

It's the usual .mp4 in 16:9 format spending 5,2MB.

Also a screen capture:

All work with node editor is done also, so I must to do credits and last compositing with sequencer including music to finish the WIP.

It has past one and half year... starting from Blender 2.45... to 2.49

And here is the end of the WIP.

This is the high resolution version, at 1280x720 pixels. H.264 video, AC3 audio and 93.1MB

And the medium resolution version, at 720x405 pixels. mpeg4 video, mp3 audio and 39.6MB

I am not too satisfied with fist half animation, but it was better at the end. But I enjoyed with the WIP really.

This is finished, but already in mind a new fanart. Looking forward to increase the show and fx.

The last thing, if someone is interested in a tutorial, expanation... I am open to it.

Greetings, and thanks for following this work  :)