There are several ICE problems I’m trying to work on, and this video has moved me forward a step. Thank you, Eric, for your help. Here’s a plug. http://www.ethivierge.com/
ICE Kine – Drive From Particles from Eric T on Vimeo.
Softimage Sightings 2
January 29th, 2012Particles Again
December 9th, 2011I’ve created several variations of the particle system, and here’s one of them. I’d like to expose a bunch of the variables to the user. Then you’d have interactive control over the creation of the particles. Maybe as an app for mobile devices…
Here it is. Hover your mouse over the circle in the center to get the “feel” for the particles. Holding shift while clicking on the particles will spawn more, and click + dragging will allow you to move them around.
Update April 18, 2012
Sorry, for the inconvenience, but this Flash example is temporarily removed.
Particle System
November 30th, 2011Inspired by the work I’m doing at Elara Systems Inc., learning and training ICE in Softimage, I’ve reopened some files from 2008. This is created in Flash AS3. It has three classes, a particle systems, emitter, and particle. Click once to start, then click any particle to spawn more.
Update April 18, 2012
Sorry, for the inconvenience, but this Flash example is temporarily removed.
Inherited Transformation
November 17th, 2011Here’s a simple script for a long chain of parented objects.
Create a bunch of cubes in one place, select then all in the viewport, and run this script. Marquee select them all again, and transform the objects to see the effect. This takes advantage of inherited transformation.
string $null[] = `ls -tr -sl`;
int $n = size($null);
for($i = 0; $i < $n; $i++){
if($i != $n-1){
parent $null[$i] $null[$i+1];
}
}
Scripting
November 15th, 2011Yesterday I was asked by one of my students, Andrew, where I learned scripting and what sources I’d recommend for learning scripting. To the first question, I learned on my own, with no formal training. I bought books, I read websites on the topic, and I read the SDKs of the software, over and over again. I gradually became more familiar with the syntax, the logic, and my own patience. In 2002, I started with Actionscript, AS, for Flash, which is based on a type of J-script, and from there I graduated to Softimage XSI. XSI had large libriaries of examples in the SDK, software developers kit, written in J-script, and I was able to read and write from those examples based on my experience with Actionscript 1.0. In 2008, I was back into Actionscript for a short while, on the social networking website prototype, at that point it was now AS 3.0. A fully object oriented programming language, or OOP, and I took to that right away. It took me several years of work in XSI and AS to understand OOP. I’ve also attempted to learn Python, though I haven’t committed the time and resources to use it well enough.
It takes me a long time to write code of any kind, and I require 50-60% guidance, the rest I dream up on my own. Whenever the software couldn’t solve a problem, or when I became very curious on how something works in a software, I’d take the time to write it myself. Sometimes, I’ll automate a task, just to see it in code, and from there it encourages me to take on something a little bigger. Changing software, like the switch from Lightwave to Softimage XSI back in 2005, motivates me to make tools to ease my transition from one software to software. For example, I’m quite happy with my abiility to model with curves in Maya, and I’d like that ability in Softimage (curve modeling being one of SI’s weaknesses).
As for the second question, here is a list of books in my library that have helped me over the years. I recommend all of these authors.
Any book on the subject of J-script or programming syntax and logic. Each language has it’s own particulars, but all languages share similar rules. Learning one language makes learning a second far easier.
Python
John Zelle (Personlly, if I were to start all over again, I’d start here. Not because it’s pythin, but because this guy is a great teacher).
Actionscript
Keith Peters
Joshua Davis (I’m not sure if he has published anything recently).
MEL (Maya Embedded Language)
David Gould
There are many other good references, but these authors stand out in my mind. You can find more information about these authors and other great people by sifting through my links to the right.
I have to mention that programming has led me to love math. More specifically, programming has allowed me to see math in action, and I understand it better and apply it better as a result of learning programming.
