FREE Character 4 U: "MIKI"

Ok, judging by the HUGE amount of downloads for the "Danni" character I posted a little while back, I can see that you all seem to like the iClone girlies. So here's another in a series of future "Clone Cuties". I call her "Miki". I don't know why many of us here in the USA (especially us animation geeks) are so attracted to the Japanese culture. Well actually, I do know. It's the people, the fashion, the food, the rising Hip Hop craze, and yes of course, ... Anime.
Me personally, ... I dig the chicks.

Till Next Time, .... "Keep Cloning" ....... Pauly

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD "MIKI" CHARACTER

FREE Video Tutorial: HOW TO MAKE iCLONE CHARACTERS

I've been fortunate enough to now be a featured Expert in 3d animation & iClone character creation, over at www.expertvillage.com (the world's largest HOW TO site. Great site, by the way). Expert, huh? This concept makes me laugh. It just proves how amazing iClone is. I mean, this time last year, I knew absolutely NOTHING about 3d. But Reallusion has made such a user friendly product in iClone, that even a schmuck like me, can now be looked upon as an "Expert". Anyway, below I've posted the first of fifteen VERY easy step by step clips on HOW TO CREATE A 3D CHARACTER IN iCLONE, complete with little extra tips I do to create unique characters.
Or you can click here and watch all 15 clips.

Enjoy!

Till Next Time, ....... "Keep Cloning" ......... Pauly

Click here for more on "Creating 3D Characters & Animation in iClone: Free Online Video Series"

FREE Character 4 U : GOLLUM

Here's another "classic" iClone character for you. It's my tribute to "Gollum" from "Lord of the Rings". I had spoken about him in an earlier post, but never actually shared him here. I created him about a year ago, and had posted him for sharing over at Renderosity. So if you never got a chance to get him, you my now DOWNLOAD THE GOLLUM PROJECT HERE. Funny story, .... I didn't get hooked on "Lord of the Rings", until the 3rd movie came out. I remember seeing LOTR 1 on pay TV. I loved it, and was thrilled to see that LOTR 2 was to follow directly after. So I stayed home and watched the second film. When it was done, I ran out of the house, straight away to the movie theater and caught the evening show of LOTR 3. So I had my introduction, satisfaction, and addiction to the full LOTR trilogy, conquered all in one "Precious" day. Enjoy the file!

Till Next Time, ...... "Keep Cloning" ....... Pauly

A Year of iClone – the beginnings

Written by contributing author, LilacBoy, of www.mellor-media.com

When Reallusion first mentioned that they were due to release a ‘new’ 3d character programme called Cyclone, I was gutted, almost sad. I’d been working on a few animation projects with another of their products named ‘It’s Me’ (which later became, "iClone"). This programme was cool, easy and really, really cheap. ‘Wow, this sounds like fun’, I initially thought, as I read the product description. I’d always wanted to produce a few ‘cartoons’, as I’m from the generation that sat glued in front of the T.V. watching the likes of ‘Tom & Jerry’, ‘Bugs Bunny’, ‘Daffy Duck’ and ‘Captain Pugwash’ , Reallusion’s little gem, "It’s Me", had finally help release the creative side of my imagination and was refreshing the parts that other beers couldn’t reach.
The young people who came to us from the school quickly engaged with the Reallusion software, and occasionally I saw a few of them break into a smile. It may have just been wind, but the smiles were nice to see anyway. …..

You can learn more about LilacBoy and read the rest of his article at www.spotlight-studio.co.uk. And please check out his very cool new Face Packs at the Reallusion Content Store.

FREE Character 4 U : VENOM

I've decided to post some previously shared characters for all the new iClone users who never got a chance to download them. And for those of you older users who already have these files, fear not. I'll post new ones for everyone, as well. But here's an oldie. It's my salute to Venom. I made him in iClone about a year ago. This is a loving tribute to a very cool Super Villain, so please just use it for fun.

And please check back daily for more FREE iClone characters, tips, news and techniques, PLUS a few upcoming surprises.

Till Next Time, .... "Keep Cloning" ...... Pauly

DOWNLOAD VENOM CHARACTER HERE

FREE iClone Character 4 U : Classic Old Man

One of the very first iClone Characters I ever created, was this old man character. I loved the way the texture came out, giving him sort of a kind and innocent personality. I've posted this character on several sites in the past, including Renderosity. I'll probably have some new older characters available at Reallusion soon, as well. But now you don't have to sort through the archives of these sites. Just download the old man character here for FREE. Enjoy!

And please check back daily for more FREE iClone characters, news, tips & techniques.

Till Next Time, ...... "Keep Cloning" ......... Pauly

AMERICAN HISTORY Volume 1: New iClone Characters

Wow! Two new releases at Reallusion in two days. Not bad! Ok, another shameless plug, .... the new iClone character series called AMERICAN HISTORY VOLUME 1 , is now available. It's a tribute to great American historical figures, which for THIS series includes Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Albert Einstein, and Benjamin Franklin. Like the other series, you can get it in a bundle or separately (which I've posted the links for, below) or here at the Reallusion Content Store. These are ideal for educators, students, class presentations, reports or any creative use you can come up with. Check 'em out. I think you'll like 'em a lot. Also, I plan on posting a new FREE iClone character here about every other day or so. So please come back daily for more FREE stuff, tips and techniques. And remember, if you've got something iClone related you want to share (an article, news, content, etc.) Email me so I can post it. I believe if one of us succeeds with iClone, we all succeed. It just makes our content, sites, and efforts more valuable. I hope you agree. Ok, nuff said.

Till Next Time, ... "Keep Cloning" ....... Pauly

PS: Links to Seperate Characters .....

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

ALBERT EINSTEIN

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

"COOL TOWN STORY" iClone Characters WITH Character

Ok, it's a shameless plug, I know. But for some strange reason, I haven't been able to post the news where I would normally do so. So I'll post it here. And by the way, if you're an iClone content developer for Reallusion and you have something being released there, please let me know about it so I can post your news here. Ok then, here's MY news,.... the latest installment of iClone characters are now available at Reallusion. It's the "Cool Town Story" collection. There are 4 volumes so far, with about 6-7 "full use" unique characters that you can use in iClone. The other cool thing about the series is that each character comes with 10 voice phrase files, which you can, in turn, use for ANY character in iClone. At Reallusion, they refer to these voice files as "Facial Animations". But I don't think that's an accurate description, as these are actual phrases with the individual character's voice saying them (as opposed to just facial animations/expressions). But anyway, you can get the characters, accessories and voice files in a bundle or separately. The following are links to the bundle packs for each series. Or you can go here to the Reallusion Content Store , and get them individually. Here are the bundle links below....

COOL TOWN STORY Volume 1

COOL TOWN STORY Volume 2

COOL TOWN STORY Volume 3

COOL TOWN STORY Volume 4 (Just Released!)

I'll keep you posted on new releases of the series, and some other upcoming ones. Also, the guys at Mellor Media have created some great new iClone face packs which are available there too. Very cool stuff! So check 'em all out. And please check here daily for more FREE iClone characters, tips and techniques.

Till Next Time, ....... "Keep Cloning", ....... Pauly

How to Make another "Object" Character

Well, I'm back from my 'ol home town, New York City. Man, I really miss the "Big Apple". But that's ok, because I can create my own "Big Apple" character in iClone. You can too. Here's how you do it. It's similar to the "talking tree" method I posted the other day. Simply choose a character. Then go to FACE, MODIFY, choose the MOUTH, and bring the lips/mouth out as far out as you can. SAVE the face. REPEAT the process, over and over, till you get the lips as far out as you need them. The idea is that they will petrude out of the apple. Do the same SAVE and REPEAT process with the EYES, by going to TOOLS, EYES, MODIFY. Bring the eyes forward and you can also make them big if you want by using the scale buttons. Bring the eyes far enough out so they too will stick out of the object (in this case, an apple) , which you'll later affix to the character's TORSO, as an ACCESSORY. Go and grab your apple accessory. If you don't have one, make one as I did using the building blocks. Just remember to copy the finished apple PROP into your ACCESSORIES folder, otherwise you cannot bond it to the character's torso. Now play with the FEET size if you want, and presto ..... a cartoon-like Apple Character! Try it with other fruits/vegetables too, or any object.
And by the way, thanks for all your support. I'm flattered with all the nice Email I'm getting about the blog. Very cool!

Till Next Time ...... "Keep Cloning!" ..... Pauly

CLICK THE PLAYER BELOW TO WATCH "APPLE GUY"

Tips & Techniques: How To Make a Talking Tree

I'm off to NYC till Tuesday, so I won't be posting for the next few days. But before I leave, I want to share this neat method with you. A while back, a user made a talking tree in iClone. I thought it was a really creative idea. I elaborated a bit on the method, in regards to making the texture for the face, match the rest of the tree. So with the Doctor's blessings, I made the one above. The way it's done is pretty simple. Import a tree prop into iClone first. Go to TOOLS, IMAGE, then snap a close up photo of the tree and save it. Now go into PHOTOSHOP and grab the bark texture off the tree image that you saved, and make a new .jpg entirely of the bark texture. Save it. Now re-open iClone. Make a character, and LOAD the full bark .jpg to make the characters face. Now you have a character with bark texture on his face. Now here's the fun part. Go to TOOLS, CHARACTER, MODIFY and pull the HEAD SIZE slider all the way up, to make his head as large as it goes. Save the character. Import the newly saved character and make the head even bigger, as far as the slider will allow. Keep doing this process repeatedly till the head is so big, you can no longer see the body. Once it's all head, shrink the head down by bringing the BODY SIZE slider all the way down (You'll have to save and repeat like before). Now bring in your tree again. Position the face/head/character, where you want him in the tree. Presto! .... A fully functional talking tree character. Try it, with other objects too, and have fun. I'll see you next week with tons of more FREE iClone stuff. For all of you in the USA, have a great Holiday weekend!

Till Next Time, .... "Keep Cloning" ........ Pauly

Tips & Techniques: The Blank Face Trick & FREE Character For You

Did you know that you can make a face in iClone, with no face? I mean, no picture of a face. The end result is perfect for when you want to make a character with no particular textures as far as wrinkles, skin, facial hair, etc. I'll break it down for you and try to explain this better. First, go in your PAINT or PHOTOSHOP program, and make, then save a WHITE jpg (look at the first photo (1) above, top left). Now open iClone, and click on TOOLS, LOAD IMAGE. Find the white/blank jpg double click on it to load it in to iClone. Next, click ALL the "NEXT" buttons, following through to the final OK button. In other words, DO NOT ADJUST OR TRY TO FIT THE FACE. Save it and name it. You now have a blank face on the iClone character in the window (top middle picture, #2). Bring some eyes in....they'll fit fine. Now go play and be creative with the FACE sliders (found in TOOLS, FACE, MODIFY) . Then maybe go to SKIN in the TOOLS section and change the color, add hair & accessories (top right picture, #3 of Chinese Server) . By doing this, you save time, number one,...and you also have some neat creative possibilities with such a clean texture. I find this ideal when I create "Cartoon-ish" iClone characters (Final Picture above). Go try it and see what happens :).

Till Next Time, .... "Keep Cloning". ....... Pauly

DOWNLOAD "CHINESE SERVER" PROJECT HERE

To 3, or Not to 3... That is the Question.

3dsMax.....do we really need it? Well, sure, it’s a great program. But I’m talking about for our work in iClone. Is it really necessary? iClone used to be just a fun little program, which allowed you to create 3d versions of you, your friends and family. But, man, it has become so much more in so little time. “3d Real-Time Filmmaking” now, as opposed to the previous “Animate Your Digital Identity” (or something like that). This time next year, it’s slogan will probably be, “Best Damn 3d Program on the Planet, Which Even That Pauly Guy Can Learn”. The present version of 1.52 allows you now to not only create characters, but also to create your own props, accessories, and environments. With time, patience and creativity, you can use the new features, like the building blocks and billboards, to create absolutely ANYTHING. An artist known as DoctorLegua, recently made his own versions of characters based on Reallusion’s newly released “Dungeon Quest” characters. He shared them with users. But he simply made his own accessories in iClone, and added them to the characters to alter their physical appearance (extremely creative end results). Yeah, ok, so I guess if I want to make an original character with a whole newly shaped body, upper, lower or face, I need to create it in 3dsMax and import it into iClone. But I’ve said it before; … I have no idea how to use 3dsMax. And let me make this clear, …. I’m not putting 3dsMax down. It seems great, and I really DO want to learn it one day. My hat is off to those brilliant artists who have taken the time to learn it. But so far, and 200 + iClone character creations later, I still haven’t had the need for it. So if you’re wondering if you’d be better off “3dsMax-ing” it, here’s what I suggest. Open your iClone program and play with ALL its functions, VERY SLOWLY, and at your own pace. The discoveries you’ll make will freak you out. I’m even convinced that as brilliant as the guys at Reallusion are, they probably still don’t realize half the things that their iClone program is capable of. Many iClone “back door” discoveries were made by users like me and you, … like how to import multiple characters into a scene, how to create a motion path, how to make new hair (will share this one soon). So I believe it’s just a matter of time before someone says, “Hey, I just made a whole new body” in iClone. And I did it without 3dsMax”.
So, the question still remains, …. to 3 or not to 3? Hmmm,…well, … for me at the moment, …..NOT!!!!

Till Next Time, … “Keep Cloning” ……. Pauly

FREE iClone Character: PRINCESS SELENIA

Well, I didn't realize he'd be such a hit. But so many of you have gratefully Emailed me and downloaded my iClone version of "Arthur" I made the other day (based on the new movie "Arthur and the Invisibles"), that I've decided to create his counterpart. So here's my iClone version of "Princess Selenia", from the film. She is a character file, so be sure to extract this .vns file into your iClone custom character folder. I'm feeling mighty creative and generous this week, so please enjoy, and do come back for more!

Till Next Time, ... "Keep Cloning!" ......... Pauly

DOWNLOAD "PRINCESS SELENIA" HERE

Clone Cutie: DANNI

Here's another iClone character. She's actually the first iClone character I ever made. I call her "Danni". She's a 'lil cutie, eh? If you want to see Danni and her friends do a little dance, click the player below. And be sure to check back here daily for FREE characters and iClone tips.

Till Next Time, ... "Keep Cloning" ....... Pauly

Today's FREE Character: ARTHUR

Here's another FREE iClone character I made for you. It's "Arthur" from the new movie,
"Arthur and the Invisibles". It's a project file which also has his sword accessory. This was made as a tribute to the new film, so please do not use this character for commercial purposes. More free iClone characters to come, so check in daily!

Till Next Time, ... "Keep Cloning" ..... Pauly

DOWNLOAD THE "ARTHUR" PROJECT FILE HERE

Tips & Techniques: Creating a Closed Mouth Character from an Open Mouth Photo

Ok, so now you know how cool iClone is, with all it's great features for 3d Real-Time Filmmaking. And you know how simple it is to take a photo of someone, and turn them into a 3d character. Well most people use photos of folks with closed mouths. Yes, this is ideal. However, what if there is a great high resolution photo (high-res: a must BTW) that you've found, but the person in the photo has their mouth open? Very easy to fix this. Look at the photo above. The first face on the left side, is a front view photo of a girl with her mouth open. After you've sized up the points in the LOAD IMAGE mode, and then SAVED the face, go to TOOLS, ... TEXTURE, ...and use the SMUDGE TOOL (that's the little hand with the pointed finger) to carefully smudge the bottom lip up towards the top lip, in turn, closing the mouth as much as possible (shown in the Middle image above). After that, click on the SMOOTH tool (the one that likes like a teardrop) and click along the smudged section until it blends in with the face nicely (Seen in the extreme right face above), and presto, a face with it's mouth closed which you can use beautifully in iClone! And by the way, if you don't want the chin to look as big as my creation above, simply bring the FACE FITTERS ever so slightly under the bottom lip of the opened mouth face you're working on, so that when you fix the mouth later, the chin looks more natural. Hope this tip helps you.
Till Next Time, ... "Keep Cloning" ..... Pauly

Tips & Techniques: How To Create Unique Body Shapes & Sizes

Firstly, Happy New Year, everyone. I can't thank you all enough for coming back here and seeing what's up. Your kind Emails since I started the blog about a week ago, have made me obliged to keep on going with this. So in appreciation, here's another tip & technique for creating unique iClone characters. Someone recently Emailed me and asked if I use 3ds max for creating the bodies for my characters. The answer is no. I have no idea how to use 3ds max (although I hope to one day). But the body templates already provided in the full version of iClone, are more than enough for you to create multiple & unique body types. Although there are only 6 body types in iClone, you can use the same one over and over, and still make it appear different in shape. The trick to this illusion, is adjusting the size of the head, hands, & feet. For example, the photo above shows several characters who seem to all have different body types. However, the Dwarf, Ogre and Nerd characters, were all made with the MINIATURE body type in iClone. By adjusting the head, hands & feet, you can make an Ogre seem gigantic and muscular,... a Dwarf, seem short and stubby, a cartoon, Nerd type, seems, ...well, "cartoonish" and nerdy :). And the last picture shows characters made with some of the other body types provided in iClone, but again, with head/hand & feet adjustments. Also, when you open iClone, use the default character already in the window, as a reference for your new characters' size. For instance, when I made the Ogre, I knew I had to make him huge. So although I clicked on MINIATURE for the shape of his body, I proceeded to scale him much bigger than the default character that had been in the window previously. This way, if I import him into a scene with other characters, he will already be the right size in relation to them. So try this technique and see what you come up with. And if you want to see a little example of all the body/character types you can create in iClone, click on the player below.
Till Next Time, ... "Keep Cloning" .... Pauly