Crocal wrote on 17-apr:
> /snip/ Lightwave 3D offers a very intersting plugin
> named CelShade with which you can project a 3D
> model as if it were a 2D cell drawing.

Most 3D programs (3DSMax, RayDreamStudio, Softimage, etc.) have such a rendering plugin now. I tried Softimage's in 1998, and it was easily confused by my polygonal geometry, shading in odd ways. NURBS geometry might've fared better. (RPI's 3D animation course made the poor decision of using Softimage; powerful, but far too complex for an intro package, and too expensive for students to get their own copy for homework.) .../Sigh/ I really wish I hadn't accidentally rm'd the IGES exports of all my models from that course. I put *way* too much effort into those articulated TSS spacecraft (not that the IK skeletons would export, but)...

> would then be a matter of modeling a 3D DJ and
> "rock the music". I bet you would be surprised
> at the result.

Humans are *extremely* difficult to do as 3D CGI: the complex geometry to get a passable face or hand, the many controls needed to manipulate them, skin shading. A *lot* of effort went into "Toy Story", "Voltron The Third Dimension", "Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles", "Action Man", etc. Realistic fabric movement (for clothes) is even more difficult, which is why the characters in the above are usually wearing armor or tight-fitting jumpsuits.

This is why "Titan A.E." mapped cel-animated characters into CGI backgrounds; easier to get the facial and posture expressiveness.

Many of these objections would also apply to the EVAs, less facial expression and clothing (Unit 02's shipping tarp/cape nothwithstanding :-).

> we are _believe it or not_ quite lazy when it comes
> to complicated architecture. So we did the
> exact opposite: we modeled the buildings and
> drew the caracters! ;).

Essentially the same approach (architecture and ships) is used by White Radish, "Titan A.E.", "Flash Gordon" (1996), "Spider Man" (FoxKids c.1995), "Futurama", etc. -- with varying degrees of success.