Gaming Site Using iClone Newscasters

Binary Picture Show is an amazing site for gamers, created by Leo Lucien - Bay, otherwise known as Dr. Nemesis. It's a must see site for any gamer today, with a forum, downloads, latest news and more. Dr. Nemesis has recently added a blog site to the main site called Gnews. How does this relate to iClone? Well, rather than just read the news from the page, the major stories are presented by "iClone created" news readers.
And they're very cool iClone characters too, like the lovely Lady Mainframe. I had a chance to talk to the good doctor and asked him to explain the connection between iClone & his site(s) ......

Doctor Nemesis: The two things the video reports need are lively facial animation, and the ability to create the videos relatively quickly.
iClone, (with the help of Crazytalk) is the easiest way to do that, as they make it possible to easily tweak the facial, or character animation
to suit what's being said. The show was first made using the Quake 2 engine, which was an achievement but it didn't give the control or speed needed to get reports out in a timely fashion. We hope that in the near future we'll be able to make more use of the other things that iClone offers, such as the 3D sets and possibly particle effects to make the iClone segments of the videos more eye catching.

Please go and check out Dr. Nemesis' great sites at www.binarypictureshow.com & his GNEWS blog site found HERE.

Till Next Time, ..... "Keep Cloning (and gaming!)" ....... Pauly

It's All About Texture: FREE Character 4U

As I've said before, it's all about texture when you create unique characters in iClone. Hi-res images are the best things you can use. In doing so, you're able to zoom in with nice close ups on the character. And please take the time to make the eyes and mouth fit just right , so you have that flawless facial movement you really want. Here's a character I made quite some time ago. Don't ya just wanna plant a kiss on those lips? I know I do (What a dork!). I think I shared a similar one a while back, but I'm almost positive this is the first time I've shared this particular one. I call her "Mia". If you get close enough, you'll even see the pores on her skin. Again, hi-res, folks. Try it and see the amazing difference. (SMOOCH!)

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

DOWNLOAD "Mia" CHARACTER HERE

Get iClone

Visit the iCLONE UNIVERSE Content Store

OUR CONTENT STORE IS NOW OPEN!!!

Well, we've officially opened our iClone Content Store. We will be transfering our new domain name to the site within the next 30 days. But for now, you can go to iClone Universe and check out the TEN cool products we currently have available. The concept of the store is to bring iClone filmmakers, a cast of "Digi-Actors". Basically, if you have, let's say, an idea for a Fantasy project, you can get 5 basic iClone textured fantasy characters, perfect for your production (Leading Male, Leading Female, Comic Relief, Villain, etc.). Presently, we have 2 themes available, ANIME & TOONS. We will be adding, FANTASY, ACTION and more as soon as we upgrade to allow more products. So check out iCLONE UNIVERSE, the official online store for our MyClones For iClone blog spot. And don't worry, the free content here will still keep coming regularly. Enjoy!

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

Great New iClone Content Store ....

Lisa Scragg is a very talented 3d artist who is also a certified content developer for Reallusion. Like me, Lisa also began to explore her desire to create 3d art and animation, only within the past year or so. Lisa made quite the career change, as you can read all about in her interview at Reallusion. I also enjoy her iClone movies on YOUTUBE. She has made some VERY cool characters, and I can't wait to see what's to come. Lisa has now been one of the first artists to open her own iClone (& Poser) Content Store (beat me to it, Lisa!). It's officially opened for business now. So drop on in and check out her excellent work at LRS3D.COM . Big congrats to you, Lisa!

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

(...and if you still don't have iClone, BUY IT HERE!)

12 BRAND NEW iCLONE CHARACTERS 4U

Ok, here's a shameless plug. My new Cool Town Story Collection, series 5 & 6, has just arrived on the shelves at The Reallusion Content Store. Each series has 6 very cool and unique characters. You can get them individually or in a pack. It took a while to create these, and I hope you like them. Remember as with all of my Cool Town creations, these also come with TEN VOICE PHRASE FILES for EACH character. And you can also use these voice files for ANY character in iClone.

You can check them out at the link above, or right HERE.

Till Next time, .... Keep Cloning, ...... Pauly
( And if you still don't have iClone, BUY IT HERE )

CONVERT YOUR .OBJ & 3DS Files into iClone VNS!!!

THIS JUST IN: Breaking News!!!!!!....Could it be? Is it finally here? A way for us to convert all of our .3ds and .obj files into .vns for iClone? Seems like that day has come. Reallusion has done it again! Big thanks to Jason (aka mrJrm2) of the famed iClone "Racketman"series, for sharing this breakthrough of a find. Reallusion is inviting us all to try out the new 3dXchange Beta Converter v1.0. Seems like you can try it till early May. But if this works, this is going to be a major breakthrough for iClone. So what are you waiting for? .........

CLICK HERE TO GET TO THE "3dXCHANGE BETA" DOWNLOAD

....and if for some strange reason, you still don't have iClone, BUY IT HERE!

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

FREE Project File, with Little Girl Character

I've been a bad blogger. I normally post something here every two days. But I've slacked off. Actually, my house had to be tented for termites. Nasty little buggers. So I apologize, folks. I dug into my old library of iClone creations and found this "termite free" house. It's a project file I made and shared a while back. I shared the character at Renderosity a while back too. Nothing magnificent. Just small and sweet. It has a little girl and the animated cat prop character that came with your program. So save this file as a PROJECT. Then if you want, save the girl as a CHARACTER, and the cat as a PROP. The scene was easy to make. Just used the building blocks. Someone Emailed me today and didn't realize he could do many of the things I've shown here. It sounded like he really didn't dig into iClone and experiment too much. I encourage you all to do so. I , myself, am finally getting around to working with the timeline and more building blocks. But when he asked how to use the building blocks and more, I told him to hang in there because www.iclonetutorials.com will be opening on the 21st. NOTE: I don't own the site. It's run by another iClone fanatic :). It sounds like a really great place to learn. Ok, termites are gone, Pauly's back. Enjoy!

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

DOWNLOAD "LITTLE GIRL & CAT" PROJECT HERE

FREE Prop/Accessory 4U: "Old Time Telephone"

Sorry, I skipped a day for posts. Been swamped with some neat stuff coming up for all of you. But I wanted to share with you, this prop I made. I know it's not much when you compare it to the characters I usually share. But I thought it was cool nonetheless. I normally don't build my own props, but I needed one of those old time telephones for an iClone movie I'm making. So I turned to our handy "building blocks" that come with iClone. I LOVE the building blocks. Seriously, you can build ANYTHING you need! This phone here comes in TWO files. The part that is dialed, and the part that is held up to your ear. To make it work for your needs, you should first save them separately as PROPS. And to get them to load into your scene already together, you should use your MERGE button and then saved the merged version as a PROP. To get it to work as an accessory, so that your character can hold the phone pieces, you need to also save a copy of BOTH files into your ACCESSORIES library. Then you can attach the pieces to your characters' hands. Little by little, I'm experimenting more and more with the building blocks. I'd suggest you play with them too, if you haven't already. They REALLY are amazing!

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

DOWNLOAD "OLD TIME PHONE" PROP HERE

DOWNLOAD "OLD TIME PHONE" RECEIVER PROP HERE

(And if you still don't have iClone, then BUY IT HERE)

Another kind of Easter Chick 4U

Happy Easter, everyone! What a lovely holiday. A time for Bunnies, Chocolate, Baskets, Bonnets, Colored Eggs, ... oh and cute little chicks. Well, I can't give you any of these through the Internet, .. but I CAN give you a chick of sorts. So here's a FREE "Anime Chick" for you.

Ya gotta love Anime chicks. Every Nerd should have one (me included).

Enjoy, and Happy Bunny Day!

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

DOWNLOAD "ANIME CHICK" CHARACTER HERE

(If you don't have iClone yet, Buy It Here.)

FREE Character 4U: "HUNTRESS"

Women are amazing creatures. I've been married for almost 16 years, and through the years my wife has evolved into a fierce warrior. She's able to run her own business, put our daughter through school, take care of her elderly parents, and deal with my crazy artistic highs and lows. Gotta give the woman credit. For the past two years she's been studying and competing in Martial Arts. The girl can kick butt. But it sure is a night and day difference from the young girl I met 17 years ago, and the "huntress" she is now. So here's my salute to all the strong women out there. It's a character I shared a while back at the forum. But if you never got it then, now's your chance. It's based on a gaming character, with a similar name.

Bless you women. We men need ladies like you to set us straight.

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

DOWNLOAD THE "HUNTRESS" HERE

By the way, if you still don't have iClone, what R U waitin' for? BUY ICLONE HERE!

FREE Character 4U: "Death Monk"

I shared this character some time ago with only a selected few. I'm making it available to everyone now. I call him "Death Monk". He's a Buddhist Monk gone bad, kind of like another Rebel Monk character I posted here a while back, "Ogdor the Rebel Monk". So now you have two Mad Monks. Download them and have an all out Monk brawl. My money is on this guy.




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


DOWNLOAD "DEATH MONK" HERE

The Real Clone Wars & New iClone Tutorials Forum

A couple of days ago, I posted an article about a new alternative iClone forum called The Freedom Forum. As I said, it is a place to let your hair down and say things you normally would refrain from saying at most iClone forums. I myself, have already indulged in the "brutally honest, speak your mind" concept over there. It's kind of like a pub hangout for iClone users, so needless to say, children are not allowed. Although recent rivalry between forums has shown that we can ALL act like children at times. I'm guilty as charged and would publicly like to bury the hatchet and move on. Having said that, it's refreshing to see a site emerge, like the one I'm about to tell you about. iCloneTutorials.Com is here. It's a place where you can take a deep breath and go back to the basics of what is truly important in regards to iClone, ...learning from eachother,...and all the amazing newly discovered possibilities. The site was created by Neil Armstrong, a highly talented artist and MAJOR supporter of Reallusion's iClone. I had a chance to talk to Neil about his work and his new site. .....

PAULY: Tell us about your background in digital art.

NEIL: I started out in the early eighties as a Commercial and Industrial Professional Photographer as an f.m.i.p. I started out with the best income from freelance work, diversifying into Computer Graphics from Photo graphics in the early Nineties, saw headway with clients like Rolls Royce Caterpillar, Boots the Chemist, Zanussi, Electrolux, S.A.S., I.C.I, to name but a few. One site I created was hailed by the UK Chief of Police as Europe's Safest Child site with VPN for child mail, and a follow on contract saw one of our creations officially Launched in England's Parliamentary House of Commons with Tony Blair interest, Chriss Tarrant, David Blunket, Charles Clarke and so on and so on. Medals of Freelance Determination. We're not new to success stories.

PAULY: What gravitated you to iClone?

NEIL: For years I've watched technologies grow. I was disappointed at the prices of the giants which to me, kept their software in an elitist boundary inaccessible to those who can be deemed the more creative through diversity of lifestyles and geographical location because of idiot prices. Reallusion's iClone Studio smashes through these ostentatious barriers with a fire.

PAULY: Do you use any other programs when working with iClone?

NEIL: Yes. Usually, Paint Shop Pro, once JASC now Corels, SwishMax for Flash, Turbine Video Encoder for ultimately superb Streaming flash play web side. Camtasia Studio, Windows Movie Maker, Windows Media Encoder and many others but they're my choice and not all necessary for the beginner.

PAULY: What is your philosophy on networking with other iClone users?

NEIL: The elements are such that we should be working AMONGST other iClone Studio users and WITH Reallusion. We should all be individual with our approach and creative output. Working tightly with Reallusion will promote their operations which in turn keeps development levels up, sales high and output cost effective. ...Vitally important.

PAULY: Tell us about your new site/forum?

NEIL: The new www.iclonetutorials.com forum is being officially launched on the 21st of April, but is open for testing now. Many tutorials are ready for posting, just being polished. In a simple graphical format, lessons will show elements totally being ignored at the moment simply because people are ramming up forums but ignoring the primaries. iCloneTutorials.com will be unique, beneficial to all levels of expertise and incorporate plenty of ideas that will entertain, educate and open doors currently not even built let alone closed.

PAULY: Where do you see iClone and it's community of users, in about a year from now?

NEIL: I see Reallusion's iClone Studio breaking down all the obstacle barriers in this field of Animation online and off. Already they're bringing the 'big boys' down to the correct perspective. In a years time??? Full screen streaming. Very high resolution Character, accessory and Prop creation even more advanced, integrated development tools and another element I can't discuss at the moment here, as it's the initial launch subject of iCloneTutorials.com, this week. You'll have to wait.

PAULY: Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?

NEIL: All those currently using iClone... It's fun to have Guys and Gals running about in the Pink, sure. I'm as red blooded as the next Guy. But be careful not to trash iClone and make it look like an idiots zone. Reallusion's iClone Studio is an international breakthrough and one that we need to present with a little tact, class and thoroughbred appeal. I've seen companies stall before because of their user-failings. If we want to see Reallusion & iClone Studio grow and grow fast, it's up to US to make sure the impression is mind blowing. If you do this and one person is inspired enough to make a purchase from your work, you're succeeding, and on the way to enhancing development superiority and cost effective as a result. Post ONE superb image, not ten mediocre ones. Post a Mind blowing 10 second animation. Not a 3 minute one.

Thanks, Neil. We'll be seeing a lot more of Neil and his great work with iClone.

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