OKX: @reid
http://tf3dm.com/3d-model/butterfly-99541.html
http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/3d-model-zebra-butterfly/424443
http://www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/254802

it took 10 seconds to find these free models, royalty-free to use.
this isnt a modeling challenge, its an animation challenge.
suggesting to share assets is actually a form of synergy, as is trading tips n techniques.
besides i only made a suggestion (as have all my comments been so far), i neither asked/ instructed nor ordered ladanski to do anything. i stand to be corrected tho.

i stand by my earlier comment of apologizing to anyone who feels they have been offended by my conduct, if they clearly state so.

lol, theres really nothing to 'let go'...atleast on my part

lets not derail d thread

just in case d bots hide d post

@reid
http://tf3dm.com/3d-model/butterfly-99541.html
http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/3d-model-zebra-butterfly/424443
http://www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/254802

it took 10 seconds to find these free models, royalty-free to use.
this isnt a modeling challenge, its an animation challenge.
suggesting to share assets is actually a form of synergy, as is trading tips n techniques.
besides i only made a suggestion (as have all my comments been so far), i neither asked/ instructed nor ordered ladanski to do anything. i stand to be corrected tho.

i stand by my earlier comment of apologizing to anyone who feels they have been offended by my conduct, if they clearly state so.

lol, theres really nothing to 'let go'...atleast on my part

lets not derail d thread

@ladanski
now i really feel our disconnect is widening.
have u really been following my comments from the start?

oh well, different folks...different perspectives.
i have no issues with apologizing if/when i overstep...but on this one, i will wait til Royver demands one if he feels my conduct calls for it.

have a nice day

@ladanski
apparently we r on different pages. no offense meant.
"maybe u can" is hardly my definition of an order, but i apologize if my suggestions/involvement offends u.

goodluck

@ladanski
good start. since the focus is on animation, maybe u can make d model available to ur co-participants.
i think there r a couple of blender users too.

@royver
there r a couple of personal projects i have posted here, u cld search.
i am currently away from my native workstation.

'unemployable' in the traditional sense of an employee doing what hes told to, irrespective of his personal views on the matter.

@reid n royver
lol...yáll get a room

@reid
tsup man.
like i said, there are flaws in the process but let the participants discover for themselves.
again there is always room for development in any project...let this one go through its own peculiar teething process
reviving the culture of animation challenges (like we used to have here) isn't a bad thing.
beta a project for peanuts than none at all, since the real payoff here is the practice and learning to work under pressure.

i don't think render quality/time should be a factor tho, that's why i wanted to clarify if it was purely an animation challenge- in which case the focus should be on the quality of the motions ONLY not the renders or camera work.
smart participants should be able to download rigged models so they can focus on the animation purely.
playblasts/screen grabs should also be acceptable, although most uninformed mistake great renders for great animation (which is not necessarily the case)

anyways, wot u been up to? been a bit

@royver
lol, im unemployable. i like the freedom to pick projects to work on.
brave attempt, am observing with friendly interest...altho like i said, in its current structure u r not likely to attract the heavyweights.

goodluck

@reid
lol, easy mate.
i guess the o.p means well and besides its not compulsory to sign on.
naturally, no true animator will participate for the money, but some may view it as a personal challenge and a chance to beef their reels.
besides any practice is a good thing, and the group thing/competition among peers can be a stimulant to produce.

having said that tho, i do think there are several flaws in the process as suggested....but seeing as those who signed on don't seem to have issues, i reserve my comments.
u could add ur 3 grand to the kitty as ur contribution to the industry...who knows, if we all add 3 grand we could hit a hundred or more.

goodluck to participants....look at it as practice, dats my advice. not to win, win wot sef?

lol, funny incentive_{...almost insulting.} who decides who wins?
well it will certainly beef up the artists portfolio, so at least that's a good thing.

if its purely an animation contest, then i would suggest u define a plot to animate to, to ensure uniformity in assessing.
unless ur also assessing everything from conceptualization skills through story-boarding to animation.

lol, why a butterfly?
im quite curious to see how this plays out.

@frank
break ur request into two jobs, that way u get the best of both worlds.
a good 3d modeler and texturer may not necessarily be a good graphic designer and vice versa.

i would suggest ur first task to be to get a 3d model of character made, clearly state what view(s) u want the render to be in, and the format/ resolution the image should be saved in.
then simply pass on the rendered image to a graphic artist of choice, for the book cover design.

i doubt if that price range u r offering will fetch you the top-of-the-line artists, but you never know.
if your budget climbs to 50k then give me a hola right here.

goodluck.

@spandy
by default, photoshop designs in RGB color format which is cool if u intend to use a photoprinter.
by default, corel uses CMYK color mode, which is most widely used when preparing artwork to be printed using process colours/ ink.

u say u are new to graphic design, so i would suggest that u use Corel until your knowledge base increases to the point where u grasp the different colour modes and how to switch. u can still use CMYK colour mode in Photoshop when designing to avoid the colour change if u are to import to CorelDraw.
u dont need to convert to jpeg, Corel will read photoshop format...but u may have to rasterize some effects in Photoshop before importing.
ur colours will remain the same in both apps as long as u use the same colour modes.

what exactly do u mean when u say 'distorted'?

cheers

@xgentleman
good effort.
ur polygon count is too high tho.
vertices r meant to define changes in the shape of ur model.
if any 3 vertices lie on the same plane, in x, y and z....one is redundant and should be deleted.

there are several unnecessary faces on the model and it will only serve to needlessly burden ur scene.
goodluck.

@ncpat
good start.
i would suggest u learn the basic principles, and stay away from mocap data for now.

goodluck

good read, but pls lets form the habit of giving proper recognition to original authors of any article when we are reposting. its d professional thing to do.

nice start, unless the client expressly requested the image u used, i would suggest u change it....or atleast add another.
nothing about the design suggests training.
infact it looks more like an equipment leasing outfit.
an image of a man in safety gear may even be more appropriate.
my opinion, mind.

goodluck.

Nice read.
its nice to acknowledge the original authors though, when posts aren't original.

OKX: wot operating system does ur computer use?
direct 9 is pretty old... unless u r running on windows xp.

anyway, windows update should install the latest version, but if u want to do it manually i could post a link if i know ur OS.
simpler still, u could google 'downloading direct x'.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=34429

thats a link for directx 9c

just incase the bots clear the post

wot operating system does ur computer use?
direct 9 is pretty old... unless u r running on windows xp.

anyway, windows update should install the latest version, but if u want to do it manually i could post a link if i know ur OS.
simpler still, u could google 'downloading direct x'.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=34429

thats a link for directx 9c

hilarious

@genetos
good job. definitely has potential.
a better budget always helps, but knowing/applying the fundamentals isnt necessarily budget-related.
ur camera is the eye of the audience, and sets the mood for each scene.
knowing when to switch from full, to medium or close shots makes all the difference....as does a steady camera.

good job tho, the cg composition may b the best ive seen outta these shores.
will follow ur progress.
cheers

@kazuna
I outlined a work-around for ur fluid simulation challenge in ur other post.
not being able to run d simulation in ur scene shouldn't deter u.
worst case, u can keyframe the boats bobbing manually.....dats wot animators do, lol.

cheers

u can xplore RealFlow for ur fluid effects. its a software dedicated to just fluid fx n not too processor intensive- depending on ur settings.

@turl
roger dat, n i do respect ur opinions n indeed share some of them.
was just talking about objectivity cos dis involves two parties.
anyways, nuffsaid.

cheers bro

@turl
open a thread on crowd sourcing lets air views there...dont think this is d right place for it.
having said that tho...

turl:

It's all down to balance mate, anything good costs money and that's why I pointed out that it's a big IT firm and companies like these can easily afford a small ad agency so I don't think budget is an issue here.

i should pay 'more' just cos someone out there thinks i can afford to?....dat doesnt make business sense to me.
for some of the artists who will send entries, 50k can come in handy...and to a struggling/ startup artist dats d bottom line.
and lets face it, 50k for a simple design in our society isnt terrible. dont divorce d job from its surroundings...this is 9ja. (not like a million bucks prize wouldnt b better, sha)

turl:

Crowdsourcing fosters the idea that creatives can be easily sourced like jobless people, you grab what you want and chuck the rest away.

an understandable sentiment coming from an artist, but from a biz perspective...thats really d case.
my money buys me a service, and a replaceable one at that.
u choose to look at it from the jobless angle, i look at it from the efficiency angle n we r both entitled to diff opinions, i guess.

online job boards r ok, but dats a more private arrangement. dis affords visibility....n dats d real payoff here.
competitions generate traffic, maybe more than ur personal website can- so ur chances of ur work being seen r increased.
d benefits to d artist r not measured in naira only, which is why i suggested a more public process to the op.

i referred to western companies doing it in response to ur statement dat the western chaps wont take us seriously, my point being dat they originated d concept and still employ it til date.

again from an efficiency viewpoint, why go thru d process of vetting designers one at a time until im satisfied when i can get a bunch to send in stuff in one fell swoop?
and like i said, as an artist, i wouldnt do multiple adjustments on a sample for 50k.... but i could send a sample, but dats just me.

again, if i were a busy executive, its doubtful whether i want to spend time trying to understand how several artists interpret briefs from previous jobs...i just want to get my job done, fast. interpret my brief thru d work u send...lol

this is just a signage, not d Mona Lisa.

true, some people may feel insulted but dats life. no action is universally acceptable.
personally im not insulted, because inspite of preferable alternatives, i have learnt to balance my views between client n artist.

and i still maintain my view on the logo critique, while it may not be to ur taste, referring to it as badly done is absurd. again, no logo has universal approval...no matter the designer or principles employed.
dis is art, not arithmetic.

let the thread b, let people weigh the risks n make unbiased choices.

u point out companies spending fortunes, but dis is not a campaign, this is a specific targeted deliverable....a signage, simple.
for all we know, it may b a single item that they need as part of a larger campaign that they r running.
do i care?...frankly no.
hunger, poverty, young entrepreneurship n d uncertainties of our economy will always promote participation in similar schemes.
so, yes, there may b alternatives, but i think anyone will choose a path they deem most financially beneficial to themselves, and while d artist in me may grumble...the biz man in me applauds...lol

@turl
while i respect ur opinion (as an artist), its unbalanced (as a biz person).
some lesser known artists can get publicity and needed cash through such a gig.
western companies employ it all the time, even the global brands.
do a little more research.

besides its a voluntary process.
no company balances books by spending more money than they need to, to get things done.
eliminating the middle man if u can, is good business....and dis targets d artist directly. (all d ad agencies i know, rip off d artists whose services they employ)
100 people giving 1 hour beats 1 man giving 100 hours, in my opinion. i wouldn't turn in multiple samples for 50k for example.

if ur issue is dat of credibility dats a different thing.
by the way, critiquing d logo here seems like spite....just saying (art is subjective, bro)

@kazuna
nice render...lots of promise
wot software r u using? dat will help answer ur question.

if i had limited RAM, i cld approach it several ways in Maya.
i cld create a new blank scene with a simple box primitive as stand in for my boat (assuming the resolution of the scenes boat may drag my system)or a lo res equivalent of ur boat.
i wld then create a simple pond, and make the box a boat, using the 'make boat' command.(it creates a locator for the box)
i wld add fluid emitters (and animate if necessary) to get the bobbing motion i desire on the box.
with this simple setup, any system can handle d dynamics reasonably.

when i am satisfied with the motion, i wld bake the simulation on the locator governing the translation of the box.
i wld then delete everything in the scene (especially d fluid solvers)except the locator and save the scene.
in my original scene, i wld then import the locator scene, position d locator appropriately and then constrain my boat to it.
the boat now moves like the box did, so i indirectly transferred d dynamic effects of d pond thro d locator to my model.

this approach utilizes Maya, but the principle is universal.
use a simpler scene to create what u want n transfer the results to a complex one, after deleting the processor-intensive solver calculations.

let me know if this particular method works...its d simplest i know.

touching words bro.
determination will get u there, making a living out of what u truly enjoy is the greatest gift anyone can get.

u r entitled to learn and make ur own mistakes (and like i said, im keeping an eye on u), but its a little frustrating seeing u go down a path that i clearly know is not efficient.

keep pushing though, by the end of the project u will have increased ur knowledge base tremendously.
actually, we are all learning everyday.

goodluck

bro, u shouldnt be worrying about ur renders just yet. (ur settings will vary scene to scene)
y do u need raytraced shadows anyway?

i've given up suggesting a work pipeline for u, but this way ur going is the toughest way to be efficient.
still keeping an eye on u tho

goodluck

great to hear.
well done, will love to see a wip and hear the theme song.
do u use Motionbuilder?

cheers

good read-
*thumbs up*

i was just curious abt y ur scene was dragging.
its probably the houses.
wot version of maya r u using?

go to Otigba Street. dats in computer village in Ikeja. you will get most of the resources u need to get started.
if u have access to a computer and the internet, there r lots of online resources as well.

I was referring to tips dat will reduce or eliminate ur scene dragging.
always check d options if u r using the 'optimize scene size' command, to know specifically wot u r optimizing.

how can u b considering changing ur xters appearance at dis stage?
anyway, if u wanted to reduce d ears u don't need to redo everything...just create blendshapes with smaller ears for the affected characters and activate it fully all d time.

could u post a shot of ur characters in wireframe mode?
I wasn't aware that u asked for my number.
08023289217

nice
if u gave a bio-sheet of each character, we could better know who or what they r.
ur clearly talented....goodwork.