Ease of Use - iClone

Before I purchased iClone, I designed clothing for online dress-up dolls and won several competitions in this field. It seemed a natural progression to try my hand at clothing on the G1 Characters and when the Clone Cloth was released¡K¡K.well, that made my day. It's only recently that I actually found the time to start animating, so unlike many others, I'm learning the program back to front but loving every minute of it.

I plodded on with animating and found the timeline a bit unnerving but after attending a Skype class with `Cricky`, it all just fell in to place and became much more fun and opened my eyes to the capabilities of iClone.Like so many other iClone enthusiasts, I was an `It`s Me`; user and utilized the software mainly to make animations for family and friends. It was just after we settled in the country that I spotted the newly released iClone. At that time I was still using Windows ME on my PC but installed the trial version on my partners computer. Needless to say he had to buy me a new machine so that he could get the use of his own.

Q: How long does it normally take to create one of your fantastic creations?

It can vary anything from five minutes to five hours. I'm still experimenting in a lot of areas but I like to try and pay attention to detail, so that always takes a bit longer. I don't like fixing things either, so usually end up starting again from scratch. Some days I bin as many as I create and other days the ideas just fly along. I've found some really neat actions for Photoshop recently and these can create ruffles or lace-ups, so it's still very much a learning process for me.

Q: What other software do you use apart from iClone and Crazytalk?

I have been a Photoshop user for many years and this of course made it easier for me when Clone Cloth was released. I have also used Paint Shop Pro, Daz, Poser, Ulead Photo Impact and 3ds Max to name a few and of course 3DXchange. At the moment I am in the process of learning Carrara 6 Pro. I've been a Crazy Talk user for several years too but it's only recently as I have created more nimations that I have really appreciated its usefulness.

Q: What do you like most about Reallusion products?

With all the Reallusion products I have tried, I think what most impressed me was the ease of use. I'm not very technically minded, so the simpler the better and with iClone in particular, you can be animating in no time at all. The pre-made Motions available from Reallusion were a great help till I got more familiar with the Motion Editor and Timeline features.

Q: What are you looking for in iClone 3.0?

The ability to create better animations. I've definitely neglected using that side of the program because I love creating clothing but I've watched the previews and it looks amazing. I can also hear the enthusiasm by Reallusion personnel when they speak about it and like so many other users, I can¡¦t wait for its release.

Q: Please tell us anything else you would to add?

Not only has using iClone given me hours of pleasure and enjoyment but I have also made some really great friends along the way. As well as the Reallusion forum, I am also an active member on Cool Clones forum and I'm one of the Cool Creators who submit to the Reallusion Store. I spend many hours chatting and discussing ideas and projects with the other Cool Creators and the enthusiasm and enjoyment we all experience from using the software is still as real now as when we first installed.

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