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“I've watched Alex Alvarez's
training DVDs on Dynamics... and they are
amazing! I've learned so much from the lectures, they have
helped make me a better visual effects artist. I started
using Maya for effects animation when I joined Square USA
for the film "Final
Fantasy" about
4 years ago. I wish I had these DVDs then. Well, better
late than never.”
- Andy Chen
Effects Animator
Dreamworks Feature Animation
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When anatomical accuracy is
required, it is necessary to supplement joint weighting with
auxillary tools. Joint weights determine what percentage of
a rotational arc a vertex receives as joints rotate. In reality,
however, where anatomical deformation is driven by muscle,
tendons, fat and bones, any region of flesh surrounding a joint
will not move on pure arcs. When rotating your own elbow or
knee to their extreme positions, for example, the flesh on
the inside of the arc compresses, bulges and slides, while
the flesh on the outside of the arc is pushed outward by the
protrusion of bone and cartilege. In this video we look at
how Smooth Skin Influence Objects can be utilized to achieve
these types of natural deformations using an intuitive and
quick workflow.
Product Code: SKI04
Create Poly Tool
Poly Split
Add Influence
Component Editor
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Weight Normalization
Set Driven Key
Mirroring Influences
Connection Editor |
 01:
Introduction
02: Overview
03: Hand
04: Elbow
05: Shoulder
06: Knee
07: Mid-Section
08: Mirroring
09: Credits
Click here to
view a sample clip from this DVD. Note that while this
clip is 640x480 the actual movie size is 720x480 with
higher quality compression. View the stills to the right
to see the actual resolution.
Alex is founder and director of The Gnomon Workshop
and of Gnomon School of Visual Effects in Hollywood. Alex has been published
in industry magazines, websites, and books - plus he has taught courses
at several major trade conferences. His character animation projects
have appeared on many computer graphics websites, on the cover of the ‘Maya
Character Animation’ book published by New Riders, and his 'Zufuhr'
project was commissioned by Alias for their Siggraph stage presentations.
Alex is president of the Los Angeles Alias Users Group and sits on the
Advisory Board for Highend3D.com. Prior to Gnomon, Alex worked for Alias,
as a consultant and trainer for studios in the Los Angeles area. Alex
is an alumni of the Art Center College of Design and the University
of Pennsylvania.
For more of Alex's work, visit:
www.alexalvarez.com.
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