CrazyTalk Animator Demo by WarLord

Crazy Talk Animator Demo from WarLord on Vimeo.

This is a really good demo of CrazyTalk Animator, and the fact that it includes some "live" footage from the Wolf & Dulci Hour doesn't hurt :)

Valleygirl Video Blog

I've been fiddling around a bit with CrazyTalk Animator by Reallusion:

SketchUp & iClone Rendering Contest

Reallusion has announced a new competition with some fantastic prizes. There is an Image Render category as well as a Video Render category. Plus, the competition is a great excuse for all of us to brush up on our SketchUp skills.

They don't just toss a contest out there, either. There are some excellent tutorials available here to get you started.

iClone Wiki Commercial Contest Winners

Anim8tor Cathy's iClone Wiki Commercial Contest has come to an end and winners have been announced.

The iClone Wiki is your informational source for all things iClone.

1st Place - $100

Navigate The Maze from afterThought on Vimeo.

2nd Place - $50 Wolf Bucks


3rd Place - $50 CoolClones credits

Iclone Wiki Commercial from thebiz on Vimeo.

Back from Siggraph

Details of the iClone4 preview I attended can be found here, and the demo videos provided by Reallusion thus far are as follows:

iClone4 - Drag & Drop Editing Video
iClone4 - Transition Curve Video
iClone4 - Video Texture as Image Layer Video
iClone4 - Motion Path with HDR Video

I had such an enjoyable time at Siggraph. What fun to meet my radio partner Wolf in the flesh (and relieved to discover that yes, he is a person and not a howling beast), along with Rainman of CoolClones, Lizard of TMUnderground, John Martin with Reallusion, James Martin with Reallusion (iClone training), Charles Chen with Reallusion (an incredibly gracious and welcoming host), and CloneBot Zack. I also had the opportunity to meet the talented Ricky Grove.

These kinds of experiences really make me feel that I'm part of a community of like-minded creative individuals who are enthused and energized to be delving into ever-changing technologies and seizing the seemingly endless advancements as opportunities to strengthen and give life to their imaginations. What an exciting time we live in!

One exhibit in particular stood out to me - iPi Soft is a markerless motion capture system that can work with your webcam. I downloaded the 30-day trial and now need to figure out how to work it - the interface looks fairly intuitive once you get the basics down. I think it's a 2-person operation so I'm waiting to grab a volunteer to push some buttons for me while I prance around my office. I'll let you know how it goes!

All in all, I'm feeling newly motivated to dive deeper into machinima / animation. I am spending the time between now and the release of iClone4 (hopefully sometime in September) creating sets and writing scripts. Stay tuned!

John Martin on Wolf & Dulci Hour - Download

We had the pleasure of talking with John Martin last night on the Wolf & Dulci Hour about Reallusion and his latest movie. Although some might argue that John had a momentary loss of sanity by agreeing to join us, we really enjoyed the opportunity to chat with him. The download of that show is now available here.