RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pics)

[RobotChicken]

Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

I personally haven't used a Craft Robo, so I don't have any feedback for you on it. I've had a Cricut Expression and it only cut images and fonts from proprietary cartridges. I've been told they've since opened up to supporting any vector art and any font, probably to be more competitive with other cutters. But, we traded up to a Silhouette Cameo before then and having used both I very much prefer the Cameo. The Silhouette Studio software that comes with it allows you to draw freehand just like in other vector-based drawing applications such as Illustrator and Inkscape, use any fonts installed on your system, trace bitmap images (although not so well), and it will cut paper, vinyl, cardstock, heck maybe even fabric. The blade housing also holds Silhouette Sketch Pens so you can do actual drawing from the machine in addition to cutting.

But enough about sounding like an ad for the Cameo. I started out saying to not expect anything fancy in the video. But then I decided to play around with the software to see what it can do and ended up with something that I think looks really cool, so I'm wanting to get it done for people to see it maybe more than the people who actually are interested in seeing it. Why has it taken 8 months so far? Horrendously SLOW software by Apple is the primary culprit, but also juggling time with more important things like family. When it gets uploaded will it be worth the wait? Only the viewers can answer that, but my opinion is yes.

 

[FWBulldog]

Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

So.... umm... can you send me an early cut of the film? The daylies? Lol. Just put a new blade in my Cameo. I've been discussing Haloween projects with the boy. Would love to have a faster work flow for the pep. Very interested to see what you've come up with.

 

[RobotChicken]

Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

More bugs in the Silhouette software are "messing with my Zen thing, man". What was working perfectly a few weeks ago is now all screwed up in their "upgraded" device driver. Waiting now to hear back from Silhouette America.

 

[WandererTJ]

Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

More bugs in the Silhouette software are "messing with my Zen thing, man". What was working perfectly a few weeks ago is now all screwed up in their "upgraded" device driver. Waiting now to hear back from Silhouette America.

Roll back the updates on your driver.

 

[RobotChicken]

Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

Roll back the updates on your driver.

I would, except Mac OS X Mavericks isn't compatible with my Mac Time Capsule (go figure...) so I haven't had any backups for the last few months. Hoping Apple fixes that blunder with the upcoming Yosemite. Silhouette America released a new version of Silhouette Studio this week which supposedly addresses many of the issues I've been discussing with them, so I'll be trying it out this weekend. I think my floodlights for filming is messing up the Cameo's optic scanner because it works fine when I'm not filming (lights are off) and misaligns when filming (lights are on). I have ideas for fixing that as well. And my face is almost back to its normal color!

 

[Termhn]

Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

I would think you could just completely uninstall the device drivers and install the old ones.

 

[RobotChicken]

Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

No, on a Mac they're bundled in an application's "package" and sometimes also spread across a few system folders. No worries - reviewing all the bugs they've fixed in the latest release, I'm optimistic things will be moving forward again tomorrow morning. I appreciate the interest my pet project has gotten - it keeps me from feeling it's all for nothing. If anything, I've become somewhat of a "master" with the Cameo and the roles have changed a little with my wife (who was the sole user of the machine when we first got it and was initially teaching me how to use it). Now I'm showing her how to do some things on it.

 

[WandererTJ]

Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

Have you ever considered getting yourself a dedicated Windows machine?

Entry-level laptops are only like $300. I'm sure they suck for doing modeling but having one can at least help you with compatibility issues and troubleshooting issues if they come up.

I think the SVS13A2APXS was the last truly good professional laptop (in the 13" category). It had everything you could possibly need, the only things it doesn't have is a touch screen and NFC. Seems like newer laptops gut out all the added features and tech in order to add in a touch screen, which is a shame. I'll have to figure out how to upgrade the dedicated graphics card in the SVS13A2APXS in a few years to make sure it is still superior than everything on the market; having a 1.5 year-old graphics card is the only thing holding it back. Fyi, when they were new, they ran for about $2,500.

Sorry for the aside. Anyways, it's good to see that your troubles should be over soon and that you are having fun with it!!!

 

[FWBulldog]

Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

No, on a Mac they're bundled in an application's "package" and sometimes also spread across a few system folders. No worries - reviewing all the bugs they've fixed in the latest release, I'm optimistic things will be moving forward again tomorrow morning. I appreciate the interest my pet project has gotten - it keeps me from feeling it's all for nothing. If anything, I've become somewhat of a "master" with the Cameo and the roles have changed a little with my wife (who was the sole user of the machine when we first got it and was initially teaching me how to use it). Now I'm showing her how to do some things on it.

Definitely not for nothing! I'm sure there are a bunch of Cameo users hoping to make this easier/better.

 

[RobotChicken]

Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

Have you ever considered getting yourself a dedicated Windows machine?

Lol - that's funny....get a Windows machine. (That's not gonna happen.) Okay, I actually do have an HP Media Center running Windoze with a large flat panel widescreen monitor that has pretty much become a dedicated Pepakura machine. It's going to be gone, though, when I get an iMac with Parallels.

I'm sure they suck for doing modeling but having one can at least help you with compatibility issues and troubleshooting issues if they come up.

Well, you got the "suck" part right.....

Definitely not for nothing! I'm sure there are a bunch of Cameo users hoping to make this easier/better.

Most definitely easier and faster.

Another delay now with the video. Had my computer's hard drive crash yesterday while I was working on the video. I actually thought I was going to have it nearly done yesterday and then this happened. Luckily all the video files are on an external Thunderbolt drive, so there's no data loss - just time. I bought a new Mac today (yeah, not just a drive, because I wanted a new one with more RAM, faster processor, and solid-state drive), so I'm going to start setting it up tonight and begin migrating the data over from my old Mac (at least, as much of the drive as I can access).

The latest release of Silhouette Studio is working nicely and does indeed resolve many of the issues I was having. There's still a sketch pen issue, but got some tips today from their product support that might resolve it when I have a computer again. (Typing on an iPad right now, and man this is slow compared to a "real" keyboard!)

I've mentioned this a few times now, but this time the video really IS almost done!

 

[Termhn]

RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many...

While I can understand having a preference to Mac over windows I think it's pretty ill informed to dismiss windows as an operating system completely. Both have their ups and downs., and both are good for different things based on the software that is available for them.

I'm not sure if you had a bad experience with windows or something in the past, but it really doesn't just break on it's own. Ive had my own windows desktop that I built for going on four years now and I've not had a single problem virus, or had it break on me except my original graphics card which was faulty and once I replaced it woks great. I had to clean up my hard drive once, but that was because I wanted to migrate to an ssd and it was almost full...

Admittedly, Macs are generally more reliable and need slightly less maintenance, partly because of the actual OS and partly because of the tightly controlled standards for the computers themselves, but neither are immune to faults and neither will break down uncontrollably.

Before that I was very biased toward the Mac side of things because I hadn't used anything else really, but now I don't rally have a preference. Both are good for different things and for different people. Neither is a pile of junk.

 

[RobotChicken]

Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

I too used Windows for about 25 years, but I have issue with an OS that's a resource hog and after decades of "upgrades" still requires weekly security patches due to how unsecured the OS is. But this isn't a Windows versus Mac thread and I've got real work to start on. Everyone has their preferences, and I prefer a productivity machine.

 

[RobotChicken]

Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

Currently uploading to YouTube, which is taking forever.....

 

[Termhn]

RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many...

Hype hype hype


- Gray

 

[RobotChicken]

Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many...

Hype hype hype

And this contributes how, exactly...?

 

[Termhn]

RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many...

It doesn't, really. It's just an expression of excitement, like if I said "can't wait for it to be uploaded!" It's not like it's hurting anything.

I'm not sure if it was your intention but you seem pretty "testy" like you think I'm trying to be annoying ... I'm not trying to antagonize you or something.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RobotChicken]

Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

Oh okay - it "sounded" sarcastic. YouTube is estimating 10000 hours to upload the video, so I've aborted and downgrading the output quality one level. And yes, a little "testy" because Apple's Final Crap Pro application decided to corrupt my project library today and it took me 30 minutes tonight just to get the document to open for starting a new export. (Luckily, I was able to finally open the project!)

 

[Termhn]

Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

No worries. How long is this video? 10,000 hours seems ridiculous even for 1080p haha! Is your internet connection not great?

 

[RobotChicken]

Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

35 minutes at 1920p, 29.97fps, high-speed DSL connection. File size is 54 GB. Just about done exporting and then I'll start a new try at uploading it. Can't wait for you all to see it - I'm such a critical perfectionist and I'm grinning while I watch it.

Uploading now. 9907 minutes to go....(sigh)

 

[Termhn]

Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

35 minutes at 1920p, 29.97fps, high-speed DSL connection. File size is 54 GB. Just about done exporting and then I'll start a new try at uploading it. Can't wait for you all to see it - I'm such a critical perfectionist and I'm grinning while I watch it.

Uploading now. 9907 minutes to go....(sigh)

54 gigs is huge! Did you export to a lossless codec or something? If so, that's pretty much pointless because YouTube butchers the quality anyway. Better to export in H.264 or similar. With the default settings in premiere for H.264 (VBR 1 pass, 10mbps target bitrate, 12mbps max bitrate) I usually get about 75mb/minute @ 1080p with motion video which would only be about 2.5 GB for 35minutes.