Continue reading »]]> Here’s my first Unity game KlicAndClak!

Project Description
KlicAndClak was a quick click game where you try to score points before the time finishes.
There are 2 levels currently. The first one is just to get the basics. The second level has moving objects that are worth more points, but also have a moving object that takes away points. Make sure you click the right ones!

Your Name
Chip Weatherman

Timeframe (Start Date to End Date)
Started around 11am worked off/on for a day finished around 10pm

Project Detail
I created all the base assets per the tutorial. Then after I got comfortable, I started to add my own embellishments.
I created an extra menu for going from Level 1 to 2 and also adjusted the Level 2 Win Screen. I added more enemies and was able to move them randomly across the screen using various variables exposed in the inspector in order to fine tune their speed. In addition, I changed the win criteria. For Level 1 you only need 5 points, and for Level 2, you need 7 points. But I also have the ‘subtractor’ object by closing the ‘if else’ statement, replacing the print command with a subtraction value for the score.

Software Used
Unity 3.5 on Mac

Final Thoughts – Reflect for a moment (Postmortem)
I had an absolute BLAST doing this and can see how all this goes together. All I need now is time to continue learning javascript, or at least how it applies to unity. Can’t wait to get on to the other Labs.

Time Breakdown (Research 2h, Art 20min, Design20min, Coding 4-5h, Playtesting2h)

Continue reading »]]> I met Steve from Studio Distract while at Siggraph 2010. We hit it off and have kept in touch since. They do a lot of animation in the UK and have had several of their ideas close to reality both in the UK and US. Recently, they started working on a show called Gabby and Gator, based on the children’s book of the same name. Check out their youtube promo short below and Like them on Facebook. And if you tweet, use #gabbyandgator and see if we can get it trending.

Continue reading »]]> Had a great meeting the other night with the local AAUGA KC chapter. Being a part of this has been an interesting experience. A lot of ups & downs. Getting a meeting set up is no easy feat, even when it’s at your place of work.

I’ve been lucky enough to have the next couple meetings also set up & look forward to seeing what comes out of them. The Kansas City area has always had a great CG community, but I’ve always thought it needed a little prodding. So we’re going to keep prodding & make this a GREAT CG community.

Continue reading »]]> So I’ve been working with the Subscription Advantage Pack for 3ds Max 2012. The most dynamic feature is an overhaul of their scene states into a tool called State Sets. It’s a render pass manager, scene management tool, composition compiler, etc. etc. I created the test video below using State Sets to set up my different camera angles, shadow passes, beauty pass and create 3d nodes that can be placed in After Effects. I used a light object in 3ds Max to essentially be an emitter for particles in AE.

This update will finally bring 3ds Max into the motion graphics game by speeding up AE and Photoshop post workflows while giving people incredible power over scene management. You can quickly create different camera angles, record/change scene specific attributes on lots of objects, and even change materials per pass in order to get quick edits out to clients without having to remember all the settings, etc. of a style they liked.

This a most useful update and it’s only going to get better!

Continue reading »]]>

iPhone 4 cover I won

CivilView: has been instrumental in helping me get large terrain and roadways into Max. Add to that, its ability to apply road marking styles, cars on rails (that go the speed limit), and its general ease of use. It has saved me loads of time and effort while providing me quality results.

And guess what? I actually won! Jamie was nice enough to even mail it all the way from England. Thanks Jamie! If you get the chance, check out his site linked above and also follow him on twitter @3dsjamiesjewels.

Continue reading »]]> Since I’ve been using my MacBook Pro, I’ve been apprehensive, to say the least, of switching all my work over to the Mac side. Mainly because I have a Windows workstation and render nodes. I can switch my Adobe suite to Mac once I make up my mind whether I’m going to do it or not. The linchpin in the whole ‘switching’ part has been 3ds Max. Luckily I can Bootcamp into Windows (which I try to avoid) or use Parallels’ system crippling. I’ve been trying to find counterparts to the software I use on a regular basis. Enter Rhino for Mac.

I’ve been an avid Rhino 3d user for years. Well only since version 3, but they only come out with a new version every few YEARS, not a few versions every year. So needless to say, I’ve been using it for awhile. I love its simplicity, quickness, and the fact that its licensing is super easy to deal with. I figured it would fit right in with the Mac environment. Doing a quick Google search resulted in mac.rhino3d.com where I quickly set up an account and awaited the arrival of my download link (which came rather quickly).

I’ve since downloaded it and installed it. No licensing worries right now since it’s a W.I.P. (Work In Progress), but I’m sure it won’t be hard to deal with once it’s implemented. Upon quick inspection it’s the same Rhino I’ve grown to love over the past few years. With one exception… The UI is vacant. Which is awesome. I could say I’ve ‘enjoyed’ the UI of rhino in the past, but that would be a lie. Especially since I type most of the commands anyway, the UI usually gets in the way. Once I started typing commands out “Line”, “Extrude”, etc., a window pops up where your cursor is giving you a GUI of the options. This is SO much better. I can even collapse the icons along the top and have even more screen space.Controls are kind of “meh” in that I just tested with the trackpad. I guess in a pinch it wouldn’t be so difficult to use it, but I don’t like it (and I generally DO like the trackpad for most everything else).

I really like this WIP of v5 and I can’t wait to really start using it for some production work.