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RELEASED HiveWire House Cat Begins
- Thread starter Chris
- Start date
That sir, is an understatement.
Hi Randy! Good to see you here! and love your avi! giggle! I have to add too that the MANY dials, the additional body parts (that add to the wonderful suppleness of a real cat), the REALISTIC claws/toes...the "real" hair in the ears (mapped on special ear hair planes in the ear!!) the EAR POCKET modeled in, the MUCH BETTER EYE MAP/MODEL are HUGE PLUSES for having the new cat! The shoulder blades, too...oh I could go on and on! And the mil cat WAS my most favorite model back then too... but I have to say, for one thing...er for another thing- Chris, Paul and Laurie made the Big Cat - leopard JUST AS GOOD AS THE HIGH END MODEL IN THE NEW JUNGLE BOOK MOVIE!!!!!!!!! I am SO NOT kidding!! (Take a look in my gallery here, for an art piece of "Mowglie and Bagheria"!!) The EXPRESSIONS this cat can get... well... as I said... OH AND the team made it so the big cat's MAPS will go on the house cat too!!! WORTH IT'S WEIGHT IN GOLD I TELL YOU !
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The weight mapping is just one piece of it for sure. Rigging doesn't make up for a poor mesh or structure, right?
I'm totally amazed by the brilliance of everyone involved in the HiveWire animals.
I'm totally amazed by the brilliance of everyone involved in the HiveWire animals.
I couldn't resist... although my Wild Cats morphs/maps (and dialing) stand the test of time using the Mil cat... the models themselves...
well... NOTE: I have not yet dial-shaped "Travis ears" on the HW cat, and I believe I may have on my (now) default Travis mil cat I had saved as a figure....
It's important to note that the EYES on the mil cat were NOT on a separate model/map! It was very difficult to map them on the mil cat, and the pupils did not dialate as they do now on the HW cat- (I use the "Eyes Pupil Small" dial backwards to dilate it's pupil). There are so many things that I SEE when I'm working on mapping...Note the HW cat's nose is a more accurate shape, and the teeth are definitely more accurate for one, er two things... and look inside that mouth with Chris's YAWN morph- at Laurie's inner mouth mapping! Just a SO A REAL WOW ! Also, I mapped the "real" Travis ears onto both, but Chris's ear hair plane/Laurie's ear hair mapping add another level of realism too! As I said... I could go on and on... !
well... NOTE: I have not yet dial-shaped "Travis ears" on the HW cat, and I believe I may have on my (now) default Travis mil cat I had saved as a figure....
It's important to note that the EYES on the mil cat were NOT on a separate model/map! It was very difficult to map them on the mil cat, and the pupils did not dialate as they do now on the HW cat- (I use the "Eyes Pupil Small" dial backwards to dilate it's pupil). There are so many things that I SEE when I'm working on mapping...Note the HW cat's nose is a more accurate shape, and the teeth are definitely more accurate for one, er two things... and look inside that mouth with Chris's YAWN morph- at Laurie's inner mouth mapping! Just a SO A REAL WOW ! Also, I mapped the "real" Travis ears onto both, but Chris's ear hair plane/Laurie's ear hair mapping add another level of realism too!
As I said... I could go on and on... ! 
randym77
Member
Great comparison, Lyne. Thanks. The inside of the mouth is definitely much more realistic. I notice the tail looks much smoother, too.
I think the ears are the most noticeable cosmetic difference between the old and new cats. I think I like the old MilCat's ears better. Out of the box, they are smaller and pointier, and more on top the head, while the new cat's ears are larger, rounder, and lower on the head. I assume there are morphs to adjust this.
I think the ears are the most noticeable cosmetic difference between the old and new cats. I think I like the old MilCat's ears better. Out of the box, they are smaller and pointier, and more on top the head, while the new cat's ears are larger, rounder, and lower on the head. I assume there are morphs to adjust this.
@randym77 ... hmmm glad you brought my attention to dial-shaping the ears NOW...as I found a mapping boo boo... I need to get the "ear pocket" of my ear photo ON to the real ear pocket, it's in the wrong place... but yes.... so many dial possabilites... this is just some quick playing to bring the cat's face/ears more to Travis and Nickie's.... and look how GORGEOUS the ears cock back.... he's staring at "me" but hearing something off to one side... cool, huh!??! I also found a bit of my mapping not right on the side of the nose, so working to correct that too... of course nose is on it's own layer so will be easy to "fix" Nickie as well, thank goodness!
I may dial the ears still shorter ... not sure... this is ONLY A WIP!!
I may dial the ears still shorter ... not sure... this is ONLY A WIP!!
Laurie (CWRW) took a look at my WIP runtime...and I really CAN'T use the material file.... so my Travis and Nickie will JUST BE THE JPG MAPS... with full instructions on how to switch out the 'fur parts' for my maps.... I'm also making SURE about the body shape POSE and the poses I want to share too.... got to do the right and legal thing! Hopefully folks will know (or learn?) how to use poser's advanced material room...it's really quite easy!
eclark1894
Visionary
You just have to love cats. They are the epitome of "Not giving a damn!" Of course, when they do pay attention, then they stare at you so hard and you just know that nothing is escaping those cat eyes.
tiggersprings
Eager
Can I put in a "vote" for a "yellow" manx texture and morph set for the cat? We used to have an old manx (with a bobbed-tail) that was a warm yellow and more visible stripes than that... I'd love to make something look like our long-gone, but much remembered monster. Couldn't really find any good references...
scratching_cat_2652
scratching_cat_2652
*waves*
That's a definitely interesting breed, Tigger!
Manx Cat Breed - Facts and Personality Traits | Hill's Pet
and this:
Because the hind legs are thicker (in comparison to the average cat) and longer than the front legs, the Manx has a tendency to run like a hare. The normal walking, running and turning actions of this cat are affected by this body conformation.
Color sort of looks like Laurie's Tabbys, but the body shape and that stump of a tail are sure unique!
That's a definitely interesting breed, Tigger!
Manx Cat Breed - Facts and Personality Traits | Hill's Pet
and this:
Because the hind legs are thicker (in comparison to the average cat) and longer than the front legs, the Manx has a tendency to run like a hare. The normal walking, running and turning actions of this cat are affected by this body conformation.
Color sort of looks like Laurie's Tabbys, but the body shape and that stump of a tail are sure unique!
Welcome Tiggersprings, and thanks for the suggestions. Much appreciated and noted.
A bobbed-tail would be a good option.
I did get a short bob-ish type tail by going through all the tail nodes and scaling them 25% to get a Manx type (they do come with a stubby tail as well) I don't know how much you can tweak to get the different type legs (I chose this pose because you can't really tell) but I think CWRW's ginger texture is just what you need
(thumbnail, click to view larger)
I did get a short bob-ish type tail by going through all the tail nodes and scaling them 25% to get a Manx type (they do come with a stubby tail as well
) I don't know how much you can tweak to get the different type legs (I chose this pose because you can't really tell) but I think CWRW's ginger texture is just what you need (thumbnail, click to view larger)