...which is virtually invisible or just impossible to get..does anyone here have any information as to how this might be still acquired even though is has been discontinued? I'm open to suggestions, above-board or creative. Most toon shaders or flat drawing render turorials achieve the same results: cheesy youtube videos created by kids messing with AE plug ins. The other option is expertise and technical wizardry, which is not in my skillset. Has anyone used Expressive Effects or aware of other plug-ins that come close? THis is for a personal animation project. After 30 years doing it for mindless broadcast, I'm finally getting time to revisit the artform I fell for in the first place. I am using Maya 2011 on OS X 10.6.7. I appreciate input. Really need to solve this issue quickly. thank you!
Mostly you dont need the plugin, maya toon/mentalray toon rendering does same thing. Now what we need to know is what particular effect your after to give any hints whatsoever. (norealistic rendering is about 2 times as big subject as realistic rendering, which is so big it can not be understood by one person alone)
Anyway some of the effects are very easy some are a bit harder and only one is nasty.
how this might be still acquired even though is has been discontinued?
if you dont have a licence form before its dicontinued then you have no chance.
Thank you, Joojaa for your clear and informative response.
I was attracted to Expressive Effects because of a few demo samples that showed 3D objects/animation rendered
to appear as pencil sketches. My project features two human characters, slightly stylelized, modelled and animated in Maya, but hopefully rendered with a graphic novel feel. ( B&W but a slight tint of colour on each jacket. ) There are 3 layers to composite and blend:
1. live action background footage of dark street passing ( as seen through a bus window )
2. Interior bus ( 3D maya model)
3. 2 3D characters, not textured or UV mapped
4. "extras" as drawings mapped onto planes
All of these are to be blended together as a cohesive image, painterly or "pencil-sketched" with some depth, but mostly mood and atmoshpere achieved by hand.
I have continued to look at other tutorials and software packeages, but I am hindered by both time and limited expertise in rendering.
Perhaps there is a simple yet elegant post-processing plug-in that I can engage in the final composite of Background and Characters in AE.
again, thank you for your response, I welcome further thoughts if you wish to offer them. Cheers!