Newsgroups: comp.graphics.animation,news.answers,comp.answers Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!lamarck.sura.net!dtix.dt.navy.mil!navair2.nalda.navy.mil!avalon.chinalake.navy.mil!archimedes!dejesus From: dejesus@archimedes.vislab.navy.mil (Francisco X DeJesus) Subject: comp.graphics.animation FAQ v2.6 (5 July) Message-ID: Followup-To: comp.graphics.animation X-Permission: Permission is granted to redistribute the whole or part of this document on three conditions: i) it's not done for profit; ii) the source of the material, and its authors, are acknowledged; iii) a pointer to where to find a current copy of the FAQ is provided. Summary: This posting is what currently passes for a comp.graphics.animation FAQ. It has information on computer animation for end-users, hobbyists, career animators, and programmers. Please read this FAQ before posting to comp.graphics.animation. Originator: dejesus@archimedes Keywords: Computer Animation, Resource, FAQ. Sender: usenet@avalon.chinalake.navy.mil (NAWS news admin) Supersedes: ()"'. Video Formats ------------- -format- -by- -use- -A/D- -comp...- -other- VHS JVC home analog composite 1/2" Video8/8mm Sony home analog ... 8mm Betamax Sony home analog composite 1/2" SVHS JVC prosumer analog ... 1/2" Hi-8 Sony prosumer analog ... 8mm ED Beta Sony prosumer? analog component ... M (M1)? Matsu industrial? analog ... ... U-Matic 3/4" Sony? industrial analog composite 3/4" Betacam Sony industrial? analog component 1/2" Digital Betacam Sony broadcast digital component compressed M2 Matsu broadcast? analog component ... U-Matic SP Sony? broadcast? analog ... ... Betacam SP Sony broadcast analog component ... D-3 Matsu broadcast digital composite ... DCT Ampex broadcast digital component compressed D-2 Ampex master on-air digital composite uncompressed? D-1 Sony master RGB digital component uncompressed other formats? other properties (image encoding techniques, sound quality, effective number of `lines', ...) notes: D-1 endorsed by SMPTE committee Matsu == Matsushita == Panasonic Film ---- (8mm super-8 16,32,72mm anamorphic stock ...) normal film grain ~2500 lpi resolution. slow film <-> higher resolution. 32mm: 0.875" x 1.3125" (2:3) Media I/O ========= (VCRs genlocks frame-stores film-scanners) *Film Recorders:* most film recorders have at least 2000 lpi resolution, 4000 is typical. For optimum quality, your image should be a little over twice the resolution of the recording medium. *Screen-To-Camera:* a cheap (but surprisingly effective) option for images that can be displayed at full resolution on your monitor is to photograph the screen directly using a single-framing camera. Film better than super-8 is likely to be overkill. Any lights on your monitor should be taped over, and the whole lot should be put under a black hood (made of cardboard or anything else handy). A slow film (100 ASA or slower, the slower the better), f8 exposure, and loong exposures should eliminate any scanline artifacts. Resolution / Aspect ------------------- film recorders: 2000+ lpi (4000 typical). 35mm: ~2500 lpi at .875" x 1.3125" ~= 2200 x 3300 pixels. (2:3) lpi == lines per inch. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CAREER ANIMATION **************** This chapter's for those who want to make a career of computer animation. (See `Hobby Animation' for Animation Process, Software, Venues) 3DSite (URL: http://www.lightside.com/3dsite/) holds resumes, and has information on job offers, CGI production houses, organizations, laboratories and projects. GWEB (URL: http://www.cinenet.net/GWEB/) has industry interviews, information on production houses, and job listings. Your Union ========== The Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists and Affiliated Optical Electronic and Graphic Arts, Local 839 IATSE (California) has an ftp site with copies of their negotiated awards, news, courses, etc: URL: ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/mp/mpsc839/ (email `mpsc@netcom.com' for more info). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ANIMATION THEORY **************** This chapter covers the basics of what computer animation is about according to graphics academics (well, it's meant to). Types of Computer Animation =========================== 2-D --- Most computer animation takes place in the 3-D world, as our world is itself basically 3-D, and model interpolation becomes a problem in fewer dimensions, due to a lack of context. 2-D animation packages mostly replicate the processes of cel-based animation, where "key-frames" are used to plot the course of the animation, and the "inbetweens" (interpolating the keys) are filled in later (by an animator, not the computer). The main difference is that the images are created using pixel-based, rather than oil-based techniques. "Morphing" is probably the major 2-D animation technique in use today. Like most other computer work used for SFX in film (wire-removal, compositing, other retouching, etc), it is largely a matter of image manipulation (image processing) rather than image creation (computer graphics), although morphing *is* an animated technique, unlike many other SFX `graphics' techniques. A good starter on morphing by Valerie Hall (1992) is at URL: ftp://marsh.cs.curtin.edu.au/pub/graphics/bibliography/Morph/morph_intro.ps.Z It references more detailed works for those interested, she's also written a morphing article in DDJ (1993). 3-D --- Almost all `computer animation' done today is done within the "event-based" or, interchangeably, "track-based" computer animation paradigm, which is based loosely on the key-framing system used in cel-based animation. Most computer animation systems today are built around time-varying parameters, known as "tracks", which determine the state of the animation world at any time. Tracks take the place of the variables which determine the state of a static scene: they're `animation variables'. A track's value at a given time depends on the "events" ( tuples) that define the track's state, and on the interpolation technique being used [see `Interpolation']. Events are conceptually similar to the key-frames of cel-based animation, but allow much more flexibility due to their finer grain (state-variable, rather than world-state). Although tracks may not be independant, they may usefully be treated as such, leading to the "hierarchical animation" technique espoused by Lasseter [see `References'], where the gross motion of a model is animated first, followed by animation of progressively finer detail. The number of tracks that need to be dealt with, and their often compicated interdependencies, make animating anything of reasonable complexity a big job both in terms of time and effort. Hence most of the subsequent research in computer animation. Particle System --------------- A particle system is usually different than a track/keyframe-based animation system, and more like a state machine. They are particularly good for simulating and animating natural phenomena, such as rain, fire, smoke, etc. Particle systems work by defining states and rules of behavior for each particle or group of particles. A particle can usually be anything, from a point to an object. Objects and particles can usually emit other particles, and thus you can go to a new level of complexity that isn't feasible with keyframing. Instead of exploding an object into five large pieces, a particle system makes it simple to blow it up into hundreds or thousands of smaller pieces, without having to define individual motion for each one. The pieces can emit other particles, so they can have smoke trails, etc. Particle systems are also a good way to animate groups of animals such as herds and flocks of birds, by treating each individual member as a particle and defining actions such as "follow the first particle" and having forces that make each particle repel each other at a close distance. Throw in a little randomness and other general rules and you start to get group motion that looks realistic. If you want the group to move thru a specific path, you could just keyframe the "leader" particle, as opposed to keyframing hundreds of individual elements. Inverse Kinematics ------------------ "Kinematics" is the science of movement: position, velocity, acceleration, and their rotational equivalents. "Forward kinematics", used in the context of an articulated structure (something with joints), is determining the positions of the links given the joint angles between them -- ie starting at the `top' of the hierarchy, we work our way along it, applying the relevant transformations, until the end-positions are known -- it's easy for the programmer, and it's the way things are normally done. However, it's quite difficult for an animator who simply wants the hand of a model to be `here', or `there' -- what the animator has to do is adjust each of the joints in the structure in order to arrive at the desired position. "Inverse kinematics" reverses the situation, making things easy for the animator by allowing an end-effector to be dragged wherever desired, but hard for the programmer/computer because the problem is underconstrained (many configurations of the joints may produce the desired end-position, which one is used?) and ill-conditioned (small changes in the end-position can mean large changes in the joints). Interpolation ============= To be done. * 1-d interpolation * 3-d rotation interpolation * euler angles and gimbal lock * quaternions References ========== For general computer graphics references, check out the comp.graphics FAQ. In particular, "Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice" and "Digital Image Warping" both have relevance. For information on animation (computer and general) books, try DeBry (URL: http://www.xmission.com/~grue/animate/index.html) and 3DSite (URL: http://www.lightside.com/3dsite/) A recently started collection of off-the-cuff reviews of animation books is at: URL: http://www.cs.monash.edu.au/~aland/reviews/reviews.index.html Information about a mailing list for animators (of all persuasions) and wannabees is at URL: http://www.xmission.com:80/~grue/animate/index.html A good place for information and papers on Collision Detection is at URL: http://www.cs.unc.edu/~manocha/collide.html Books (Industry) ---------------- Morrison, Mike, "Becoming a Computer Animator", Prentice-Hall, 1994. covers computer animation history, technology (and how to keep up with it), techniques. with tutorials, interviews with industry luminaries, buyer's guide (s/w and h/w), how to find work, getting an education. a chapter ea. on: television, motion pictures, visualisation, forensic, games. incl. 600Mb CD-ROM of PC & Mac animation and software. "International Directory of Computer Animation Producers", Pixel, 1994. 800+ separate listings of producers in 44 countries. listings include company profiles. also lists animation schools. see Pixel, in `Organizations', below, for ordering info. "The Roncarelli Report on the Computer Animation Industry", Pixel, 1993. market status and strategic analysis for the global computer animation industry. an annual. Shaddock, Philip, "3d Modeling Lab", Waite Group, 1994. includes disk with v2.0 of Imagine (see `Impulse - Imagine'). Books (Computer Animation) -------------------------- Leister, W, M\"uller, H, and St\"o\3er, A "Fotorealistische Computeranimation", Springer-Verlag, 1991. ISBN 3-540-53234-X. text in German. introductory text for both artists and computer scientists. covers: animation , modelling, rendering, video, post-production. includes 60-page glossary. [thanks Wolfgang Leister] Vince, John, "3D Computer Animation", Addison-Wesley, 1992. introductory animation theory for programming. Watt, Alan and Watt, Mark "Advanced Animation and Rendering Techniques", Addison-Wesley, 1992. an excellent text, covering important implementation theory and details. Whitney, John, "Digital Harmony". ?. storyboarding. Books (Animation) ----------------- Arijon, Daniel, "The Grammar of the Film Language". ?. storyboarding. Culhane, Shamus, "Animation: from script to screen", St. Martin's Press, 1988. ex-disney animator describes the whole animation process. including production details, setting up a studio, storyboards, character animation, and more. culhane manages to fit a lot into relatively small book. Halas, John, "Visual Scripting". ?. storyboarding. Hoffer, Thomas, "Animation: a reference guide", Greenwood Press, 1993. ? Muybridge, Eadweard, "The Human Figure in Motion", Dover Press. ISBN 0-486-20204-6 Muybride, Eadweard, "Animals in Motion", Dover Press. ISBN 0-486-20203-8 muybridge spent years taking sequences of strobe photos of animal and human movement. the photos are a great help for anyone trying to make something move properly. some more good books for the coffee table Russet, Robert, and Starr, Cecile, "Experimental Animation". ?. storyboarding. Thomas, Frank and Johnston, Ollie "Disney Animation: the illusion of life", Abbeville Press, NY, 1981. a look at many of the techniques and approaches used by the disney studios. occasionally referred to as `The Animation Bible' (due to its size and the value of its contents). the disney `rules of animation' and many other useful rules-of-thumb are included. unfortunately out-of-print, so grab any copy you can. lots of pretty piccies make it good for your coffee table, too! ?, "The Cinema as a Graphic Art". ?. storyboarding. Journals -------- "Cinefex", Cinefex. the special-effects industry magazine, with reviews of how the SFX in major films were done. increasingly, this means computer animation. "Computer Artist". "Computer Graphics", ACM/SIGGRAPH. SIGGRAPH's journal. Proc. SIGGRAPH is published in one issue. some special issues are also of note. "Computer Graphics Forum", Eurographics (EG). Eurographics' journal. Proc. Eurographics is published in one issue. rarely contains anything of note for animation. "Computer Graphics World", CGW. a graphics industry magazine. product reviews, industry news. "The Journal of Visualization and Computer Animation", ?. "Pixel -- the computer animation newsletter", Pixel. `inside' news on the computer animation industry. Proc. "Computer Animation", Springer-Verlag / CGS. proceedings of CGS's computer animation conference Proc. "Computer Graphics International", Springer-Verlag / CGS. proceedings of the second-largest graphics conference Proc. "Eurographics", see "Computer Graphics Forum". Proc. "Eurographics Workshop on Animation and Simulation", Eurographics. Proc. "Graphics Interface". proceedings of an important graphics conference. Proc. "SIGGRAPH", Addison-Wesley / ACM Press / ACM/SIGGRAPH, see "Computer Graphics". proceedings of the largest graphics conference "3d Artist", Columbine, Inc. desktop 3d graphics for and by independent artists: tips and tricks, 3d news, reviews, classifieds. "The Visual Computer", Computer Graphics Society (CGS). a good graphics journal An extensive list of computer graphics journals, including ordering and other information is available from Ville Walveranta (vvw@netcom.com). Organizations ------------- ACM/SIGGRAPH -- The ACM Special Interest Group on Graphics. Home page at URL: http://www.siggraph.org/ Computer Graphics Society. Eurographics. Pixel -- the computer animation news people, inc. 109 Vanderhoof Ave, Suite 2, Toronto, ON, Canada M4G 2H7. (416) 424-4657. (Fax) 424-1812. PO Box 1674 5325 Sheridan Drive, Williamsville, NY, USA 14231-1674. Papers ------ Lasseter, John, "Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D Computer Animation" Computer Graphics, July 1987, Proc. SIGGRAPH '87. Lasseter relates the disney principles of animation (see Thomas and Johnston, above) to computer animation, and introduces `hierarchical' animation while he's at it. Course notes from "Animation Tricks" (course offered at SIGGRAPH '94). Lecturers were Chris Wedge, John Lasseter, Jim Blinn, and Ken Perlin. Shoemake, Ken, "Animating Rotation with Quaternion Curves" Computer Graphics, July 1985, Proc. SIGGRAPH '85. an early quaternion paper. there are probably better ones, anyone? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ANIMATION SOFTWARE ****************** GWEB (URL: http://www.cinenet.net/GWEB/) and 3DSite (URL: http://www.lightside.com/3dsite/) both have information on animation software. SGI's WWW site (URL: http://www.sgi.com/) has pointers to applications that run on their machines. The following fields in the product listings have been excised in the posted version for the sake of brevity: Platform, Company, Cost, Notes. A separate post follows with the full software listings. 3-d Package Reviews =================== Reviews of the following six high-end UNIX animation packages are now available by ftp from avalon: ftp://avalon.viewpoint.com/pub/misc/six-anim-reviews.gz Originally published in Computer Graphics World Oct-Nov 1993, internet distribution thanks to Chris Williams Jan '94. * Alias Animator (see `Alias - Animator') * ElectroGIG 3DGO (see `ElectroGIG - 3DGO') * Softimage Creative Environment (see `Softimage - Creative Environment') * TDI Explore (see `TDI - Explore') * Vertigo Revolution (see `Vertigo - Revolution') * Wavefront Advanced Visualiser (see `Wavefront - Advanced Visualiser') [note that the reviews are starting to be a bit dated... for more current information on each one of these packages, contact the developers and/or ask on the net] 3-D Packages ============ This listing is probably incomplete, due to the fact that new packages are coming out almost every day it seems. Any additions or extra information on currently listed packages will be appreciated. This is an abridged version of the "Animation Software" chapter. Hopefully by next month I'll have it updated with all the current information I have available and split it off into a separate FAQ. If you have any relevant information on any package listed (or not!) here, now's a good time to let me know! Only the resources available for each package is listed in here. As such, I've removed the "Resources" header, so on packages that have none only the name will appear. [Note: Alias and Wavefront packages are still listed separately, even though they are now merged companies.] 3D Choreographer ---------------- Home page at URL: http://www.spadion.com/anicom/ AERO ---- AERO web page. URL: http://www.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/ipvr/bv/aero/aero.html Available by FTP at URL: ftp://ftp.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pub/AERO/ Alias *Animator* ---------------- aka *PowerAnimator* The Alias Web site: `Alian Nation': URL: http://www.alias.com/ An independent Alias WWW site: (in German?) URL: http://www.uni-wuppertal.de/computer/software/grafik/Alias/, and associated ftp site URL: ftp://ftp.uni-wuppertal.de/pub/graphics/Alias/ The Alias FAQs at: URL: http://www.uni-wuppertal.de/computer/software/grafik/Alias/FAQ/welcome.english.html The `comp.graphics.apps.alias' newsgroup. For a review, see `3-d Package Reviews'. To subscribe to the mailing list: `mailto://listserv@uga.cc.uga.edu//"subscribe alias-l Your_Name"'. Autodesk *3D Studio* -------------------- To subscribe to the mailing list: `mailto://majordomo@autodesk.com//"subscribe 3dstudio-L (Your Real Name)"'. `comp.graphics.packages.3dstudio' newsgroup There's an occasional FAQ: `post://comp.graphics.animation/"3DS FAQ"'. You can find objects here: URL: ftp://avalon.viewpoint.com/pub/objects/3ds/ And utilities (IPAS plug-ins, etc) here: URL: ftp://avalon.viewpoint.com/pub/utils/3ds/ Caligari *TrueSpace* -------------------- ex Octree *Caligari* on the Amiga A home page under construction is at: URL: http://www.netnet.net/users/truespace/ There's a Compuserve forum. The mailing list: send SUBSCRIBE to `truespace-request@cs.uregina.ca' Caligari is `'. Mike Morrison's `Becoming a Computer Animator' (see `Books (Industry)') includes a CD-ROM with the v2.0 demo version on it. There's a demo version and some other stuff available by FTP here: URL: ftp://ftp.netnet.net/pub/mirrors/truespace/ ComputerEasy *3-D Design Plus* ------------------------------ Digital Creations *DCTV* ------------------------ To subscribe to the mailing list: `mail://DCTV-request@nova.cc.purdue.edu//'. Dragon ------ Get the modeller (SGI binary only) and some models from URL: ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/pickup/forsey/ Some animations using the modeller are here URL: http://www.cs.ubc.ca/nest/imager/imager.html EAI *Vislab* ------------ WWW page at URL: http://www.eai.com/ (**DOWN**) (still under construction?) ElectricImage ------------- WWW page at URL: http://guppie.cac.psu.edu/EIAS/EIASwelcome.html ElectroGIG *3DGO* ----------------- For a review, see `3-d Package Reviews'. ElectroGIG's WWW page at URL: http://www.gig.nl/1/Online/ Hash *Animation Master* ----------------------- ex Playmation, ex Animation Journeyman (Playmation still sells) For direct help/information email `animmaster@aol.com'. To subscribe to the mailing list: `mail://listserv@netcom.com//"subscribe animaster-l"'. A WWW URL: ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/ga/gavingav/Home.html FTP some information URL: ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/ga/gavingav/Hash_Info Or simply FTP around at URL: ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/ga/gavingav/ There's also stuff here URL: http://www.xmission.com/~gastown/animation/index.html Impulse *Imagine* ----------------- To subscribe to the mailing list: `mail://imagine-request@email.eag.unisysgsg.com//'. Philip Shaddock's `3D Modeling Lab' (see `Books (Computer Animation)') includes a copy of v2.0 on disk. NatPix *Blizzard* ----------------- A WWW site URL: ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/natpix/html/natpix.html Get the demo version by FTP URL: ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/na/natpix/blizdemo.2.9.tar.Z NewTeK *Lightwave 3D* --------------------- A WWW site URL: http://www.newtek.com/ An FTP site at URL: ftp://tomahawk.welch.jhu.edu/pub/LW newsgroup: comp.graphics.apps.lightwave To subscribe to the mailing list: `mail://lightwave-request@bobsbox.rent.com//"subscribe lightwave-l ()"'. ObjViewer --------- Get a Macintosh binary over the WWW URL: http://www.hut.fi/~jmunkki/ObjViewer.sea.bin Radiance *Movieola* ------------------- RealSoft *Real 3D* ------------------ There is a demo and other goodies at URL: ftp://uunorth.north.net/pub/realsoft/ Renderize *Live / Visual Reality* --------------------------------- Side Effects *PRISMS* --------------------- SoftF/X for Windows ------------------- Web page at URL: http://bytebybyte.com/ Softimage *Creative Environment* -------------------------------- For a review, see `3-d Package Reviews'. There are a number of softimage-related mailing lists at `softimage.co.uk'. These are the lists: `2d, 3d, discussion, eddie, mental, particles, pfx'. To subscribe, mail to the listname with `-request' added to it, with the subject `subscribe'. For example, to subscribe to the `3d' list, use: `mail://3d-request@softimage.co.uk/subscribe/'. There's also a Web site URL: http://delphi.beckman.uiuc.edu/softimage/ Specular *Infini-D* ------------------- Strata *StudioPro* ------------------ Symbolics *S-Products* ---------------------- S-Dynamics, S-Geometry, S-Render, S-Paint, S-Record, S-Colorize, ... TDI *Explore* ------------- now a part of Wavefront (see `Wavefront - Explore') For a review, see `3-d Package Reviews'. TripleI *ARKAttack* ------------------- TurboSilver ----------- Vertigo *Revolution* -------------------- For a review, see `3-d Package Reviews'. Vision Images *Revelation 3d* ----------------------------- Wavefront *Advanced Visualiser* ------------------------------- For a review, see `3-d Package Reviews'. The `comp.graphics.apps.wavefront' newsgroup. To subscribe to the mailing list: `mail://listserv@psuvm.cac.psu.edu//"subscribe wavefr-l "'. There is a 2-way gateway between the mailing list and the newsgroup. A WWW site at URL: http://wti.com/ Wavefront *Explore* ------------------- ex TDI *Explore* (see `TDI - Explore') For a review of TDI Explore see `3-d Package Reviews'. The `comp.graphics.apps.wavefront' newsgroup, which is predominantly concerned with the Advanced Visualiser. 2-d Packages ============ 2-d packages included here are for 2-d animation, and multimedia and video presentation and editing. Autodesk *Animator Pro* ----------------------- aka Animator Studio (?) AXA --- CAS *Animo* ----------- Contact CAS as `admin@cam-ani-co.uk'. Deluxe Paint ------------ Disney *Animation Studio* ------------------------- Fantavision ----------- Gold Disk *Animation Works* --------------------------- Hanna-Barbera *Animation Workshop* ---------------------------------- Linker ------ Macromedia *Action!* -------------------- MetroLight *Annie* ------------------ MotionWorks *ProMotion* ----------------------- Vision Images *Animator Broadcast* ---------------------------------- Softimage *Toons* ----------------- Morph Packages ============== DMorph ------ Find it by FTP as this URL: ftp://ftp.povray.org/pub/povray/incoming/utilities/dmorf112.zip Elastic Reality *Morph Plus* ---------------------------- SPMorph ------- Order full version from Scott Pultz (scott@eskimo.com). Available by FTP from: URL: ftp://ftp.eskimo.com/scott/spmorf20.zip RMorph ------ Available by FTP from: URL: ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/ibmpc/rmorf/rmorf3.zip WinMorph -------- Available by FTP in `ftp://phoenix.oulu.fi/...' and also on `garbo.uwasa.fi' and `ftp.funic.fi'. Xmorph ------ Available from the X11R6 contrib applications directory. Renderer Front & Back Ends ========================== `3DPATH.ZIP'. Define several control points and the number of frames between the points, and it would generate an animation based on that info by changing the camera position. SIPP rendering library -> PPM frames. [`ppm' toolkit] -> `GIF or something'. [`fbmtofli'] -> FLI animation. Find them all with `archie'. link GIF, TGA, PCX images together to make a FLI or FLC anim: Dave's Targa Animator (DTA), available from: URL: ftp://ftp.povray.org/pub/povray/utilities and on other sites (find one near you with `archie'). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE ABOUT BOX... **************** This chapter is mostly about the FAQ itself. Creating this FAQ ================= The FAQ is written and maintained in HTML as the source format. I use Netscape for previewing it and to generate the ASCII and PostScript versions. To Do ===== If you take use FAQ as a resource list, it will help answer a lot of those Frequently Asked Questions. However, there are a few which I see pop up from time to time which haven't made it to the FAQ yet. I hope to add them (with answers!) under the Miscellaneous Questions section. Some I could use help with: * more software names/sites/pages for converting MPEG, FLI, MOV, AVI, etc. * more info on flocking and behavioral animation * generalized info on rotoscoping * info on onionskinning And these are a few things internal to the FAQ which I hope to do soon: * finish updating the full "Animation Software" chapter and post it as a separate FAQ. * add Subject: lines to allow "rn" navigating thru ^G * Add renderers to the Software chapter (PIXAR's prman, BMRT, POV, etc) Acknowledgements ================ The really -BIG- thanks, of course, goes to Angus Montgomery (angus@godzilla.cgl.rmit.edu.au). He's the one who made the FAQ happen, and it's his work I continue to build on. Other thanks go to: Sean Brandenburg Ken Baer Matt Carpenter Mark Crawford Kim Davidson Marc Edgar Luigi Filippin Andy Gough Eric Haines Paul Hertz Jih-Shin Ho Dudley Hunkins Colin Jensen Charles King Ole Villumsen Jean-Marc Krattli Alan Larson Nadine Leenders Wolfgang Leister Jeff Massie Colin Millerchip Akira Mito Mike Morrison Jimmy Ning Mark Podlipec Scott H. Pultz Frank Roussel Wolfram Schwenzer Steve Siegel Harry Sokol Erik Timmerman James Tizard Chris Trimble Chris Williams Rob Zimmelman ...and countless others who contribute daily to the "signal" portion of comp.graphics.animation. Aloha, -- _____ _ _ | ___/< \/ > F.X. DeJesus /SAIC/ dejesus@vislab.navy.mil - fx@imt.saic.com | __| > < --------------- http://www.ridgecrest.ca.us/fx/ --------------- |_| <_/\_> "Like the man says, there are no problems, only solutions!"