AuthorTopic: Using 3D models to trace pixels?  (Read 15373 times)

Offline Mike

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Re: Using 3D models to trace pixels?

Reply #20 on: January 20, 2009, 04:17:03 pm
Another reason I would want to use a 3D model as a base for tracing is so I could get light and shadows perfect and make sure they stay perfect for every single character and frame of animation(since you could use the same lighting for all of them.)

This brings me to another thing I noticed, there is this energy wave that Chun li fires in Street fighter 3 and I could(can?) swear that it was done in 3D and then traced.  It looks too damn good, and if it isn't...I'm even more impressed!

I hope they let me hotlink this, cause I don't feel like uploading it



Also check out this animation 

specifically this frame



Is this one frame resampled or something?  I mean I took a look at the colors and they aren't all over the place but maybe they resampled it within the palette they had.  Anyway I've always thought this frame was weird.

Rotoscoping needs good animators and also decent actors to work. Quite a lot of the big budget Japanese animation studios use rotoscoping for in certain situations and they make it work. Lots of the old Disney stuff used rotoscoping and they made it work as well.

I agree it can work, if you edit the rotoscope to fit more into the snappier speed of animation.  Animation is about exaggerating what is real and that is what makes it unique to live action.
« Last Edit: January 20, 2009, 04:20:38 pm by Mike »

Offline Gil

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Re: Using 3D models to trace pixels?

Reply #21 on: January 20, 2009, 04:24:09 pm
The only thing that frame teaches me is that the artist who made that has no concept of stuff like banding and AA...

Offline ptoing

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Re: Using 3D models to trace pixels?

Reply #22 on: January 20, 2009, 04:29:43 pm
I see no reason why the energyball thing should be made with 3D and traced. It's a pretty simple effects animation really. Anyone decent at animation could do that no problem

That other frame probably looks like that because they were using tools similar to DeluxePaint or Promotion which have stuff like paletted blurring and such. Also it only is on screen for what? 1 frame or something like that, so who cares how polished it looks really. Does not matter. These people were on a schedule.

Saying that animation is about exaggerating what is real is a crude oversimplification and generalisation. Animation can be whatever you want as long as you are a good enough animator.
There are no ugly colours, only ugly combinations of colours.

Offline PypeBros

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Re: Using 3D models to trace pixels?

Reply #23 on: January 20, 2009, 04:40:20 pm
i think the power of "a 3D model for tracing sprite" is a bit overestimated here ... or maybe 3D humans have much evolved since i last checked how they render, but basically, as soon as you move, muscles change in a way that makes most 3D modelers/animators will screw up.

Not mentioning that you will have to make that 3D model move in a way that matches physic laws ...
(again, professional tools may do this right by now. But i've seen countless walking 3D stick figures with 3DSmax that were just lame compared to Prince of Persia/Another World/Flashback).

Offline Mike

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Re: Using 3D models to trace pixels?

Reply #24 on: January 20, 2009, 05:06:06 pm
I see no reason why the energyball thing should be made with 3D and traced. It's a pretty simple effects animation really. Anyone decent at animation could do that no problem

That other frame probably looks like that because they were using tools similar to DeluxePaint or Promotion which have stuff like paletted blurring and such. Also it only is on screen for what? 1 frame or something like that, so who cares how polished it looks really. Does not matter. These people were on a schedule.

Saying that animation is about exaggerating what is real is a crude oversimplification and generalisation. Animation can be whatever you want as long as you are a good enough animator.

lol sorry I was quoting something I read in "The Illusion of Life Disney animation" book I didn't quote it verbatim though.

Are there any tutorials on how to do special effect animations?  I haven't seen any and unfortunately I won't be taking a class on it for awhile now.  Special effects is probably my weakest area in animation.

i think the power of "a 3D model for tracing sprite" is a bit overestimated here ... or maybe 3D humans have much evolved since i last checked how they render, but basically, as soon as you move, muscles change in a way that makes most 3D modelers/animators will screw up.

Not mentioning that you will have to make that 3D model move in a way that matches physic laws ...
(again, professional tools may do this right by now. But i've seen countless walking 3D stick figures with 3DSmax that were just lame compared to Prince of Persia/Another World/Flashback).

Personally I would only use a 3D model as a guide line really, so that I can get my proportions and angles right.  Sadly I don't even know how to animate in 3D yet.  I used to know how to rig a character using other 3D objects(bones) but now there is biped, physique, character studio, etc and I have no idea how to use those.

Offline Vercingetorix

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Re: Using 3D models to trace pixels?

Reply #25 on: May 26, 2009, 10:43:20 am
Mike said way back at the start of  this topic "I've also been told that the sprites in Symphony of the Night used 3D models, but that I don't believe."

I know this is an old topic but i can't help being curious - where did you hear the idea that Castlevania SoTN's sprites are based of 3D Models?

Offline Ben2theEdge

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Re: Using 3D models to trace pixels?

Reply #26 on: May 26, 2009, 01:24:19 pm
Quick comment on the Chun Li anims (I know they're old but I just saw)
Highly doubtful that they were 3D-traced. if they were it was probably just a very simple skeleton. The keyframes are all very solid and well-thought out, but if you look at the 'tweens they are actually not very consistant and they bend and stretch quite a bit - not a "bad" thing but definitely a telltale sign of hand-animating.
I mild from suffer dislexia.