Who needs an Oscar? The Bloggers Choice Awards is the one to win!
The Antics Blog is up for ‘Best Corporate Blog’. So if you’re a fan of our humble blog you might want to give us your vote 
Keep an eye on the blog to keep up-to-date with the latest Antics news, tips and commentary. Don’t forget you can subscribe to a daily email or the blog feed so you don’t even have to check back on the site!
One of the fascinating things about working for Antics is seeing just how many uses people find for the software. Our whole goal is to take away the technical hurdles in producing animations so that anyone can unleash their creativity - and that is certainly what our users are doing.
Antics has been used to
- pre-viz parts of some big budget films
- pitch film projects
- teach film making courses
- produce animated shorts
- create fun clips for sharing
- visualise building designs
- run re-enactments for the emergency services
- plan courtroom appearances
- do business simulations
You can see some of the results of this work at http://youtube.com/antics3d
All of these uses have different requirements although there is a huge overlap. Which is why we are so keen to hear your views on what new features, content, support or services are important to you. Please tell us on our forum at http://www.antics3d.com/forum.php?action=topics&cat_id=8.
We are working on many of the suggestions you have already made and will shortly be giving you some previews of what is coming.
We’ve just released a new Native American Characters Premium Content Pack that is available for download in the Antics Content Warehouse.
These characters will be a great addition to the Cowboy and Cowgirl characters as well as the Wild West Set for your Western themed scenes!
We are constantly working to improve our content offering and value your feedback very highly. So if there are any items you feel are missing from a content pack, if there’s something useful you think we should include, or if you have a suggestion for future content pack themes then please let us know. There’s a Content Wishlist section on our forum where we would love to hear from you.
Don’t forget that as always if you have the Antics ProPack you are entitled to download the new content for free, if you have the Antics BasePack the new content is just $7.95
Enjoy the new content!
The guys at SketchUp have just posted an article on their blog about the new .skp import and Google 3D Warehouse support in Antics.
As many Antics users will be trying SketchUp for the first time I thought we should return the favour If you’re looking to make the most of SketchUp then be sure to check out the Tips and Tricks category of their blog as well as their forum (where you will find some threads discussing Antics already). SketchUp offer a free and pro version, like we do with Antics, so it’s well worth adding to your software armoury.
If you’re completely new to this, SketchUp is a very cool piece of software that lets you create and modify your own 3D models. As the name suggests, it’s as easy as sketching out the model you want, then manipulating it to make it 3D. You can have simple props ready in minutes, and then share them on the Google 3D Warehouse, and of course import them into Antics for use in your scenes.
Here’s a quick introductory video on how easy SketchUp is to use:
Here’s a very cool video of a mech model that was imported from the Google 3d Warehouse then animated in Antics…
Just goes to show how valuable the Warehouse import feature is that you can grab models like that completely free and drop them into your scene.
Keep an eye on the SketchUp Tips & Tricks section on our forum, a how-to explaining how the mech was animated will be posted there soon.
Update: The how-to is now available.
As you may have seen on the Antics forum, a competition is being hosted by www.machinima.com in conjunction with cable network, Cinemax. The contest is being based around the Second Life machinima movie, Molotov Alva, by Douglas Gayeton which is being documented by Cinemax.
Molotov Alva and His Search for the Creator: A Second Life Odyssey premieres Thursday, May 15 at 8pm/7C. Click here for more details on the documentary.
Prizes for the contest:
1st Place: $2,000 (USD) cash prize.
2nd Place: $1,000 (USD) cash prize.
3rd Place: $500 (USD) cash prize.
* Submission Period:
o April 18, 2008 through May 18, 2008
* Voting Period:
o May 19, 2008 through May 26, 2008
* Winners will be announced on June 03, 2008.
Click here for all of the competition details.
I know many of you who are spending enough time with Antics to have a Virtual “Second” life (pun intended) through our characters, so why not develop “your virtual life” with Antics into some cash prizes?
The latest issue of 3D World carries a review of Antics V3.0. The magazine went to press just before Antics V3.1 was unleashed, so you can add Google SketchUp and Google 3D Warehouse to the list of features mentioned in the article. They do mention that an update will appear in their ‘Stop Press’ section on their website once they have taken a look at V3.1
We’re very happy to see Antics score an 8/10, which was awarded for our ProPack version - the free BasePack is “even better value for money”.
It’s also worth picking up a copy for the in-depth feature article on Machinima. This gives a great overview of the Machinima movement as it stands today and where it’s heading in the future. Fascinating reading!
If you’ve upgraded to Antics V3.1 then you will be getting familiar with the new native Google SketchUp and Google 3D Warehouse import features. If you haven’t already, have a look at the new Google SketchUp Tips & Tricks section in the forum.
Many of you will want to take advantage of the ability to import .skp content from the massive Google 3d Warehouse (available from File > Google 3d Warehouse in Antics), but keep in mind that most of these tricks are relevant to models imported from the .3ds and .fbx format, as well.
Some examples of crossover tricks:
Enabling imported sets for intelligent character interaction
Configuring imported surfaces for pick up/put down functionality
Edit the pivot of imported props to ensure proper movement
Picking up/Putting Down imported props
If you’re new to Antics, or if you would like a refresher, then check out our latest workshop videos over on our support site.
Each workshop is split into two parts - the first deals with the basics such as set building and character movement, then you move on to more advanced topics such as directing your action.
There’s a millitary scene and a domestic scene which you can download, so you can follow the action you see in the video.
Antics has an official presence in many online social networking sites, but most notably you can find us on Myspace, YouTube and Facebook.
So if you’re a Myspacer, a YouTube junkie and/or a Facebook fan, visit our pages and ask us to be your friend!
We might just say yes… just kidding.
http://www.myspace.com/anticspreviz
Ammo Previz's Unofficial antics blog
