Subject: Tank treads easier than Lightwave Pro
From: Andrew Hofman <[email-masked]>
To: Multiple recipients of list <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 14 Dec 1995 02:59:55 -0500

The November issue of LightWave Pro (just got mine today) has a tutorial on
making tank treads and animating them.  I read it with great interest, but
felt the method left something to be desired. The author takes a straight
tread and wraps it around the wheels using 18 Bones. And when you're done
wrapping, the ends had better line up or you'll have a gap. I'm an obsessive
perfectionist, and felt there had to be a method that was both easier and
would provide cleaner results. The one I came up requires no math, much less
time and and not a single bone, unless you want them for aesthetic reasons.
Its primary advantage is in providing a very clean endless loop of any kind,
but the method will work for open-ended conveyor belts and other such stuff
as well. I don't have much free time, so I need to see what kind of interest
there is before I sit down and write a tutorial. Let me know!

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   * Andy Hofman       |    LumaQuest Productions *            
   * [email-masked]  |             3D Animation *
   * 513-643-7333      |  Dual Raptor 3 Rendering *
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