Dragon wip

[jens g.r. benthien]

Randy, Eric, Stu,

there is only one black hole in C4D XL, and that's the bug in the algorithm for the Inverse Kinematics. Maxon is well aware of this bug, but they won't be able to fix it before version 8... I gave them a hard time because I told them the upgrade is far too expensive if this important function doesn't work!

I've developed several human models in Poser 3 and wanted to use them in C4D, inserting bones to use IK to place them into scenes - this does NOT work at all.

To your points:
You can combine/melt/unify two different objects in c4d with ease. And then you select the nodes at the seam and apply a bevel with a bevel tool - much more simple than with Rhino. Or you might use a hypernurbs object, then you'll achive extremely smooth joints. If you need some more info on this, let me know, and I will develop a detail to show you how to do it. OK, I know that hypernurbs need lots of mem, but with 1 Gig Ram it's a no sweat task.

BTW, you shouldn't compare Rhino and C4D - Rhino is a precision tool, whereas C4D is a creative tool. In Rhino you have control up to 0.00001mm, but not in Cinema - too much hassle with the snap radii, the snap to xxx settings etc (if you select them all, a normal system will be extremely slowed down).

Rhino is perfect for industrial design and product development. Usually I develop my objects in Rhino because I need the precision, and I render the final scenes in C4D. However, in some cases I import the objects into C4D and modify them there with deformers or morphs etc, and generate a 'convert current state to object' (or whatever it's called in the English version) to get a new shape - this is something you can't do with Rhino.

The 64 $ clay question: yes, you can even subdivide a selected set of sections with the knife and extrude the nodes etc - very simple task once you know that you have to lock two axis for this operation - or you will totally loose control on what you are doing. If you start with the clay, always modify in the 2D windows, never in the 3D, unless you have a **real** good imagination for 3D environments.

Stu, the dragon is fantastic - I wish I would have the nerves and stamina to model something like this - I guess I am too limited in my technical approach, or I simply don't have the time - like at this moment: I'm coding a fantastic new navigation module for just about everything that can be run directly on the desktop. It includes a great mailer etc, doesn't need an install routine, doesn't modify the registry etc. My partners in the US will register the patents for it soon, putting me under pressure to get that thingie straightened out and working flawlessly <sigh>

In addition I am developing a building for a design center - I wish I had 48 hours per day...

Now you know the reason why I didn't post any new pics here...

jens

jens g.r. benthien
designer
http://jens.highspeedweb.net
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If you don't know how to dream you'll never be a designer.
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[Erik Heyninck]

Randy, I have seen your work grow, just like Stu's, and you can't believe how encouraging this is for me. I have Art some six months now, but decided to start with a thorough grip on a 2D bitmap software.
I can't say anything about Rhino right now, only that I've seen a copy (free?) of an older version on some CDrom that comes with a magazine.
My first 3D was a free copy (with DIGIT mag.) of Realsoft3D, but this filled my screen with so many tools, and was limited to 800x600 (even on my 1280x960 res) that I immediately uninstalled it.

Cinema just gives me the right "feel", and that is important. As it is German, and I live "next door" to them, I easily enter their architecture. It all seems very logical to me, although this may also be because I spent six months on one app and have a better basic knowledge of vectors and pixels than before. Jens' repeated advice on buying Win2K also helped me a lot because I never had a crash in the four months that I have installed it. (By the way: I use 98SE for webbrowsing. I managed to install 2K independantly from 98, without it being dependant on the 98 partition. If anyone is interested in how, just ask.)

Stu, did this mem problem happen when you had BP open with other apps at its side? I mean: I don't know anything about Mac, but 512Megs should be more than sufficient. How much did you allocate to Cinema, BP, PS,...?
Under Windows you have RAM and system resources. These are completely different things. Most people with memory probs have in fact problems with the system resources as RAM simply expands to the HDD.
System's Resources depend on how may progs that start up in the background, ie virus scanner, firewall, etc, and also on what you "see" on your monitor (GUI). That is one of the reasons why I separated my work'n'play from the Net with all its protection software. (Panda Antivir, ZoneAlarm, AdAware, Complete Cleanup, Backwork,...)

[s.winders]

Dont get me wrong jens I have absolutely no problems whatsoever with Cinema 4d,its Body paint I feel could be tweaked [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]


Erik of my 512m I have 400m too BP 3D,and no other apps open at the same time.I re ripped the mesh again in cylindrical and decided it also sucked so its no biggy [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]


I have no idea why BP 3d behaved like that,maybe its a bug I dont know [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]


I will post some Dragon model updates shortly


Stu. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[s.winders]

Ooooh forgot good luck with your new venture jens [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[s.winders]

Heres the Dragon update...I am about half way on the texturing [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] ...I also have new teeth to model yet also.


Stu.