Adieu, bottle of glue

Put this together as soon as the bottle finally ran dry this afternoon. It really is impressive how far a single $3 bottle can take you.

And remember, I am an officially licensed and certified madman, so don't try this at home.

EDIT: A friend reminded me of something I wanted to mention. I actually waste a lot of glue by pouring it out onto a palette and using a toothpick. That should really suggest to you the cost effectiveness of this glue.

Oh and for the record, the fire didn't smoke, barely smelled like anything, and I did not get high in the slightest way.



If you were wondering, the hats aren't pictured because I've been using a small bottle of the regular Tacky so as to not use up my Quickdry. Got another 8oz bottle waiting for another year of crafting, so...


Righto, back to work.

Video 9: Tips and Tricks

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CV3VBW5X

This one's just a delivery on a few requests for demonstrations of some basic design stuff. I expected it to be fairly quick, but the video ended up being about an hour and a half. It covers scratch posing without bones, posing with bones, "cutting" material out in the digital portion so you don't have to while building, and finally some basic ideas when texture editing.

Started recording the video, got through all the posing stuff, but then everything started to freeze up after about 45 minutes. Decided to keep what I had and start with a second recording, which worked pretty nicely, as closing Audacity and Camtasia flushed out the memory and whatnot. Then I finished up the video, started watching it in Movie Maker to do the basic editing, and realized that I forgot about tex editing. So I just tacked on a third portion as well. It's really a poor execution, but it does the job.

A bit of warning: for the second portion, Audacity froze up right before I could save the project or export an MP3, so I had to make due with the temporary files it didn't have time to delete. Mainly there are just some volume issues. It doesn't get in the way of understanding what's going on, it just might be a bit annoying if you've got your stereo/headphones turned up when the volume starts to go wonky.

I've been wanting to do one final video, but it might be a bit before I can organize my thoughts enough to make a video and post. If I get around to it, it'll be a big post that serves as an "introduction to papercraft." We'll see.

I'd also like to get back to broadcasting my work time on Ustream.tv. There might be all of two people who actually watch it, but whatever. It's remarkable how little memory/processing power/bandwidth the whole affair consumes, so I figure why not.

Finally, in semi-related news, I've changed the layout again. I've been wanting to get it into a 3-column configuration, but it took a while to find a tutorial that actually covered all the necessary template modifications to pull it off correctly. I like it. I'll probably keep making little adjustments until it's just right.

In the mean time, all the usual platitudes, etc..

Video 8: Dissidia Process

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CXYQBPF8

So, people have been clamoring for this one since before the American release of Dissidia. Here it is. Stop bothering me about it. The process is more or less identical to the Crisis Core process, the only difference being that you swap the Crisis Core model extractor for the Dissidia one. There are also some interesting details regarding files that contain multiple models (EX Mode and whatnot), as well as some guidelines on how to handle different character incarnations. I ask that if you plan to make Dissidia models, use the prescribed scales.

Anyway, here are the links promised in the video:

USB SSS 1.00

http://www.psp-hacks.com/file/1008

UMDGen 4.0

http://www.psp-hacks.com/file/948

GitMO

http://www.richwhitehouse.com/index.php?postid=35

Mesh2RDM 1.81

http://www.richwhitehouse.com/index.php?postid=30

The sample .BAT's line of code

mesh2rdm FILE.gmo FILE.smd -texpre FILE - dissskip 0 -rotate -90 0 0 -scale 1.0 -smdout -flipuv

(remember that FILE should be replaced with the name of the file in particular, and that you can swap the .SMD suffix with .OBJ, but remember to also change the "-smdout" function to "-objout")

Dissidia model list

http://wiki.qhimm.com/Dissidia/GMO_Files/File_List

Remember, when unfolding:

If you're going to go with one of the "pre-posed" statues, don't alter the scale at any time (like in 3DS or Sketchup) and unfold in Pepakura at a scale of 1.50.

If you're using one of the unposed models and plan to pose it yourself, again, refrain from altering the scale at any time in the conversion/pose, and unfold at a scale of 0.90.

A cross-designer complete Dissidia set at the same scale would be the epitome of epic...at least in terms of Final Fantasy papercraft.

. . .

That may be one of the nerdiest things I've ever said...

EDIT:

Crap, I forgot, I already uploaded the Kefka fight a while back to show some people. Forgot to post it here.

Video 7: Crisis Core Process

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KONZG8CW

Probably could've knocked this one out a while back, but meh. It's not as long as I expected it to be, so you should consider watching the whole thing (possibly multiple times) before asking me questions I've already answered. I think I'm going to continue and do another video tonight, some tips and tricks on generic stuff. Dissidia will have to wait at least until Monday (depending on when I get my copy), possibly later, as I'd really like to do the whole process justice and show the making of Kefka. Might have to do the process on Ustream, just give a quick tutorial on MegaVideo.

Anyway, here are the links promised in the video:

USB SSS 1.00

http://www.psp-hacks.com/file/1008

UMDGen 4.0

http://www.psp-hacks.com/file/948

FF7CC_Extractor

http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=7053.0

Mesh2RDM 1.81

http://www.richwhitehouse.com/index.php?postid=30

The sample .BAT's line of code

mesh2rdm FILE.raw FILE.smd -texpre FILE -rotate -90 0 0 -scale 1.0 -smdout -flipuv

(remember that FILE should be replaced with the name of the file in particular, and that you can swap the .SMD suffix with .OBJ, but remember to also change the "-smdout" function to "-objout")

Crisis Core model list

http://wiki.qhimm.com/FF7:CC/Model_Formats

Until next time, happy crafting.

Video 6: Birth of a Stand

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5URR6XMJ

Just a simple video showing some things to consider playing around with in Sketchup. I wanted to do this because it doesn't require that you have game data, doesn't require you convert/extract/whatever. Just use your imagination and play around with things.

Unless anyone is interested in watching videos of nothing but me working (no narration, just music), this is the last video for a while, promise.

Also added an "Official Project List" on the sidebar. Still working on getting it fleshed out at the moment.





Should've played something by Miles Davis during the video and called it Birth of the Stand...

Get it? Ahaaaa~

No.

Video 5: FFXI Process

or: Why the Goblin Project is taking me so God damn long



http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7S1JBTXF

Oldest method I know how to do, probably doesn't need explaining, but there it is. I figure those of you who learned about the blog through FFXIDats may be more interested in this than anyone else.

Again, the narration started to drift out of sync. Not sure what's going wrong this time, but whatever. It's close enough that it still makes sense...sort of.

As always, file posted on Megaupload is higher quality than the streaming Megavideo.

Links:

Folye's Model Viewer

Furniture Add-on

3DS Max 9 MQO Import Plguin (you're looking for mqoimp9_112.lzh)

Going to keep plugging away at the Goblins. To any of my testers: I should have your packs ready by tomorrow, I just need to make sure the necks/arms/hands work properly first.

Once I get Goblin parts out to my testers, I'm going to get started on the edits for Zack, try to get that released before the end of the week. I may also put together another short video on how to make a simple textured stand in Sketchup. Not sure if that's really anything anyone cares about, but whatever. It's easy and you don't need any game data to do it, so I figure people might want to see how to make their own little stands for other people's models or something.



Wonder how long it'll take the next copycat to pop up...

Video 4: FFX/X-2 Process

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4DDSFSXI

There've been a handful of people who've asked about requests or how to go about this, etc. and it's much easier to just show you how to do it than try to explain. I'm sure more people want to see this than just the few who've asked, so, enjoy.

I'm not sure what went wrong, but in the recording process these little millisecond skips started to accumulate in the narration. For the first...third or so of the video, it's in sync, but by the end there's a solid few seconds between what I'm saying and what's actually happening on screen. Apologies. I tried what I knew to correct it, but to no avail.

As always, the download is the original video, which is completely legible. The Megavideo version is pretty blurry.

Links, as promised:

DVD Decrypter

FFProject.net (home of just about everything used in this video)

Rumiano's Blog (home of Chargeur)

You'll need to make an account on FFproject to download files, I think, and you'll need to do a little searching around, but that link should be all you need. As I said, the Collada plugin comes with Chargeur so that just leaves you to obtain 3DS Max. I'm going to just assume you've already got copies of the games.

I'm going to stop posting these videos for download in the Mediafire folder because, well, no one downloads them. It's a lot of extra trouble for me, and it's not worth it (plus the process of splitting the videos for Mediafire size seems to be corrupting this video...rather just scrap the whole notion). I'll still upload the higher res videos to Megaupload, since I don't have to do any chopping after the fact to fit within their size restrictions (no need to upload videos 2 and 3, because they were only recorded at 640x480; Megavideo is true to that).



As I write this I'm about half way through my spring break. Really wish I could be accomplishing more but...well, I enjoy sleep. Recorded this video last night, and after my general morning routine (should be read: lazy process of waking up around noonish), I'm going to get started on the next video, which will be for the FFXI extraction/basic editing process (as well as some demonstrative excuses as to why the Goblin Project is taking so God damn long).

Now if you'll excuse me, I believe I have some leftover Quiznos to consume.

Video 3: Horizontal Banding

Video 3: Horizontal Banding

This is pretty much my whole deal when it comes to layouts. It's a simple concept, but it's not endorsed by everyone, so I figure it's worth elaborating a little upon.

A thought occurred while watching this: every instance of the word "design" should be replaced with...something. I don't know. Not design. I don't design anything, I just unfold it. Like I (and many trolls) said, I'm not really doing any work here.

Here are the pictures promised in this video:





So here's the thing about thing about the little FPS counter. My webcam is actually a Playstation Eye, for the PS3. I'm using some software to get it running on a PC, and the viewer has a little FPS counter you can't get rid of. The way I'm capturing these videos is with external programs that are basically just watching the screen where the video feedback comes in. In the first video, I was using Fraps, which is great. For the second, however, I wanted to switch back and forth from live video to shots of the PDOs, and I didn't want to have to record several different clips. So I used Camtasia Recorder and set it to watch the same spot, where I put all the stuff I was going to be using under the same 640x480 window. Problem is, Camtasia doesn't seem to like capturing live video at the proper framerate, so while the FPS counter says 30, and on my monitor, I saw 30 FPS, the video you see is only about 15. However, it jumps back to 30 when it's over the PDOs. No idea why.

Apologies again, as for some unknown reason, the music started to go horribly horribly wrong at about the 16:30 mark. I had to split the video there and continue the rest without music. Sorry, from 16:30 forward, it's just you, me, and some paper toys. I'd say it was because I was using Camtasia instead of Fraps, but I used Camtasia for the Cloud WIP video, and that worked fine for four whole hours...

Oh well.

Edit: Apologies, yet again, as I didn't realize how loud the music was in this one until after I had it uploaded. In the process of fixing the busted music, I accidentally turned up the working music in the first section. If you're actually trying to listen to me (and I have no idea why you would) it may be a little difficult.



I'm still looking for testbuilders fr the various Goblin poses, and I've got a few PDOs ready for mockup. I'll spend the rest of the weekend working on getting as much laid out as I can. I've also talked to Zen, the proprietor of FFXIDats.com who will hopefully get some of her people in on this deal. So if you want to get in on the custom texture contest, you'll have some interesting competition.



Also going to try to get Red XIII edited and laid out some time in the near future. I'd like this Goblin thing to go on in the background while business continues as usual.

Anyway, contact me if you want in on any testbuilding, want some weapon textures to play with, have any requests you'd like to make, wanna show me your knockers, whatever. I'm metaphorically open for business.



Oh and I've already claimed the Bugbear testbuild for myself. Deal with it.



nyahnyah-nyahnyah-nyah-nyah, haha-haha-ha-ha (18:10)

Video 2: Why I Like Scissors

Video 2: Why I Like Scissors

This is kind of a primer video for a the next video, which really illustrates why I lay things out the way I do.



Here's the picture promised in the video. Sorry about the blurriness. Natural light really brought out the edges of the paper better than flash, and I don't have a tripod, so I couldn't keep the camera perfectly still for the long exposure time of a shot with no flash.

Honestly, it isn't important that I made my point here. If you accept that scissors reduce white edges, great. If you don't, I don't care. I just wanted to give a little primer for why I break things up the way I do, which will be elaborated upon in the next video.

Oh and sorry about the little FPS counter in the corner. It'll be even more ridiculous in the next video. I'll explain in that post.

Cloud WIP Video

EDIT:



Hey! Look at that, I ended up going with a streaming source. I'm still not happy with how blurry the downscaled product is, but at least it's all one in big chunk. I'll keep the higher quality files in the Mediafire folder, if anyone's interested in getting a version with text you can actually read. If you're having problems viewing, I recommend grabbing the K-Lite Codec pack, and/or using VLC Media player.

I really liked the idea of streaming, because it meant I could put together a little channel of videos of things I feel are worth displaying, so this is pretty good. I'll make some more soon (I've got one in mind that really illustrates why I break models up the way I do) and post as I get them done. Going to work on Cloud this weekend, then get started on Barret.

Until then, enjoy my irritating voice and the unfathomable boredom that can be the only explanation for why you'd watch this video.


Original post:

Part 1:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1EPFFVPG

Part 2:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UTEKMA9D

Twenty-one 13 minute clips in a shared Mediafire folder:
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=9a3870cea0d9926f4012e8015643d9c82de088bcb2665458

This is the entire process of taking a Final Fantasy VII field model from raw data to a finished PDO. The whole video is 4 hours, 23 minutes long, and was done in a single sitting.

Youtube would've been the ideal method for this, but since it's all detail work, the down-scaling Youtube implements ruins any legibility. I realize it's going to be watched by many fewer people this way, but I think it's worth it to maintain some standard of quality.

If you're looking for the useful details (how to extract, which programs to use, etc.) the first few videos in the set of Mediafire clips will be all you need. If you want to listen to me ramble for 4 hours while I go through the entire editing and layout process, by all means, watch it all. I tried to explain as many reasons for why I edit and lay things out the way I do, which may be useful to novice designers.

As promised in the video, here are some helpful links specifically useful to Final Fantasy VII model extraction:

Ficedula's Homepage (home of LGP Tools)
http://www.sylphds.net/f2k3/index.html

Mirex's Homepage (home of Biturn)
http://mirex.mypage.sk/index.php?selected=1

Battle.lgp list
http://www.alhexx.com/documents/other/battle_database.txt

Sorry, no Char.lgp list. There used to be a complete index, but it's since been lost to time.


I don't think I'm going to bother with a video of the actual model construction. I always do photo documentation, and the build will take even longer than the design phase. I could do a time-lapse video, but I really don't think that'd be useful to anyone.

I may put together some other videos to illustrate some points I made while talking in the design. We'll see. In the meantime, I'll finish up the build and get it ready for release, but I'm saving that for Ninjatoes' Kingdom Hearts Cloud release, so don't get too anxious. I'll start work on Barret as soon as I'm done with Cloud.