TaoA:M and the A:M Technical Reference

Exercise 1: You're the Director

January 18, 2008 by Rodney

2 followers
36 replies
13.6k views

The art of Animation Master Part I: Animation Example from Exercise 1 by Dan Roberts ------------------------------------ ANYONE CAN ANIMATE Exercise 1: You're the Director ------------------------------------ An introduction to the Animation Master interface and basic navigation in a Choreography. Approximate time to complete: 20 Minutes Each exercise video can be either viewed online or downloaded (Right Click and choose 'Save As'). Video Tutorial Web/Online (6.6MB) Download Exercise 1 Zip ( 6.34MB) Assignment Watch the video and then read along in the manual as you complete the exercise. Post your results from Exercise 1 he…

Last reply by Clipping Path Specialists, July 23, 2014

TaoA:M and The A:M Technical Reference

January 30, 2008 by Rodney

0 replies
2k views

There are some distinct advantages to using the electronic PDF versions of TaoA:M and the Technical Reference. One benefit is in searching for specific topics of interest. You can't do this with paper-based books. When you are working through the TaoA:M exercises you may find turning on Bookmark view to be useful too. This will let you access all the exercises easily from the same menu. Both TaoA:M and the Tech Ref can be downloaded via Hash Inc's Reference Materials page.

Last reply by Rodney, January 30, 2008

Exercise 11: Geeeeraff!

July 25, 2012 by MikeV

28 replies
4.2k views

So, started on Exercise 11 last night, here's what I got to prior to continuing on it tonight. Hopefully I can have the body modeled and be attaching the legs before I hit the sack tonight. I notice they seem to leave a bit more up to your imagination/discretionin this one, given that there's no front rotoscope and only a partial top one to work with. That's fine, though. Make me think on my feet a bit more . Going to have to really pay attention when I'm extruding the body though, to make sure I have what I need to stitch the legs on. Anyway here ya go...

Last reply by robcat2075, August 3, 2012

Exercise 15 - Eat My Dust!

July 28, 2012 by MikeV

9 replies
2k views

So, I decided to do another animation exercise, this time featuring particles. Easy enough and really quick exercise. Here's the results! EatMyDust.mov

Last reply by MikeV, July 28, 2012

Exercise 10

July 21, 2012 by MikeV

6 replies
1.8k views

So this isn't done, yet. It's still a work-in-progress. I'm about to go for a walk, to stretch the legs a bit and get some exercise, but wanted to at least show what I'm up to so far.. Next up is the rear wings. Good times!

Last reply by MikeV, July 23, 2012

Exercise 9

July 21, 2012 by MikeV

2 replies
1.7k views

Just a quick render from Exercise 9... I was in a dangerous mood, so I added a third leaf on the stem...

Last reply by MikeV, July 21, 2012

Exercise 3: Move it

July 20, 2012 by MikeV

2 replies
1.5k views

A bit too tired to work with spline modeling tonight, but decided to go through one of the quicker TAoAM tutorials, to at least do something toward using and learning AM, even if it's not what I'd wanted to do this evening.. Here's a few shots of the results. Working with the bones is a bit weird at first, not knowing if you're moving or rotating them, but I think by the end I was getting the gist of it. I think I got it pretty close to the picture (which is what I *think* the book is referring to when it says to match the picture at the beginning of the exercise). He is hovering a bit above the ground plane, so the shadowing looks a bit weird beneath him.

Last reply by MikeV, July 20, 2012

Exercise 4: It's a Pitch 1 2 3 4 9

March 31, 2004 by Rodney

12 followers
413 replies
42k views

Note: Users of A:M 2006 (Yeti CD) please read information at this link for more on troubleshooting a problem with the Knight's knees. Read about it ]HERE. The Art of Animation Master Part I: Animation ANYONE CAN ANIMATE 1 - You're the Director 2 - A Chorus Line 3 - Move It 4 - It's a Pitch 5 - Take a Walk 6 - The Door's Stuck 7 - Can You Say That? ------------------------------------- The Art of Animation:Master Exercise 4: It's a Pitch ------------------------------------- Approx. time to complete: 1 Hour Exercise 4 is the first really in depth look into animation. Exercise 2: Chorus Line certainly had animation in it... but n…

Last reply by robcat2075, May 9, 2012

Exercise 3: Move it 1 2 3 4 8

March 31, 2004 by Rodney

12 followers
399 replies
38.1k views

The Art of Animation Master Part I: Animation ANYONE CAN ANIMATE 1 - You're the Director 2 - A Chorus Line 3 - Move It 4 - It's a Pitch 5 - Take a Walk 6 - The Door's Stuck 7 - Can You Say That? ------------------------------------- The Art of Animation:Master Exercise 3: Move It ------------------------------------- Approx. time to complete: 20 Minutes Web/Online ( 7.55MB ) or Download Zip ( 7.3MB ) Update: in post #391 of this thread is a video with notes on alternate ways to pose Rabbit's arms, which you may find useful if you have difficulty with the method demonstrated in the TAoA:M book/video.

Last reply by robcat2075, May 1, 2012

Exercise 10: FW-190 Fighter 1 2 3 4 6

March 24, 2005 by Rodney

7 followers
251 replies
25.9k views

The Art of Animation:Master (Online) Please add your exerices to this topic and others will join in. The Art of Animation:Master is being completed on a continual basis in the New Users Forum. Meeting deadlines can be an important skill to master early on but this course is self paced to allow each person the flexibility they need to learn the basics of Animation:Master. The course can be completed in as little time as necessary or as much as is needed by each participant. Note: You may want to download the videos first. All available Video Tutorials related to TAOA:M can be found on one page: The Art of Animation Master Video Tutorials The Art of…

Last reply by jakerupert, October 19, 2011

Excercise #9: Flower Power

October 12, 2011 by thumperness

2 replies
1.3k views

I'm enjoying the modeling and video tuts... Flower Power

Last reply by thumperness, October 12, 2011

Excercise #7: Can You Say That

October 2, 2011 by thumperness

4 replies
1.6k views

Here's my shot at 'Can You Say That' Can You Say That. 4.7mb It's compressed. Not sure how to make it smaller yet...

Last reply by thumperness, October 3, 2011

Take a Walk

September 19, 2011 by thumperness

12 replies
2.5k views

Working on walk cycles and secondary motion. 1st try Take a Walk

Last reply by robcat2075, September 23, 2011

It's a Pitch

September 19, 2011 by thumperness

7 replies
2.1k views

Re-doing this animation from way back. It's a Pitch

Last reply by Rodney, September 20, 2011

TAoA:M forum activity

July 3, 2011 by mouseman

14 replies
2.5k views

The forum for TAoA:M has not had an update since October. Maybe it is buried too deep? http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showforum=108 Would it be worthwhile to move it up a level, to the top of "General Discussion"?

Last reply by Rodney, July 11, 2011

Exercise 5: Take A Walk 1 2 3 4 9

April 1, 2004 by Rodney

13 followers
411 replies
40.4k views

The Art of Animation:Master (Online) Please add your exerices to this topic and others will join in. The Art of Animation:Master is being completed on a continual basis in the New Users Forum. Meeting deadlines can be an important skill to master early on but this course is self paced to allow each person the flexibility they need to learn the basics of Animation:Master. The course can be completed in as little time as necessary or as much as is needed by each participant. Note: You may want to download the videos first. All available Video Tutorials related to TAOA:M can be found on one page: The Art of Animation Master Video Tutorials The Art of…

Last reply by robcat2075, October 26, 2010

how to add color

October 23, 2010 by Ravi Rajpoot

2 replies
1.6k views

hello to all m trying to make a flower with the help of flower power video tut. am not able to select all points i mean in front view i draw a box for selection points of STEM but some points not selected after making STEM and LEAF i want to add color but in mine A:M Project Workshop there is no (>) button for adding color IN VIDEO TUT in mine A:M PLZ HELP ME

Last reply by HomeSlice, October 23, 2010

The Art of Animation:Master 1 2 3

October 21, 2005 by Rodney

3 followers
110 replies
22.5k views

Welcome to the Art of Animation:Master! Did you know you can get credit for completing the exercises in The Art of Animation:Master? There are many benefits of certification. They include: - Your very own personalized certificate - Eligibility to work on Hash Inc's movie projects - Qualification for the A:M Community's mentorship program - Cool prizes! (For instance, you are automatically enrolled for a chance at a free upgrade *every* year) - You learn with others while comparing notes along the way - You'll have the benefit of knowing other TAoA:M Alumni that you can collaborate with in future projects ...all this and more. Now you can…

Last reply by Rodney, June 30, 2010

Exercise 20: Its getting a bit hairy

June 27, 2005 by pwaslen

3 followers
44 replies
5.5k views

I added this one here, as there is not a thread for the hairy wookie yet Name: Paula Waslen Exercise Completed: #20 It's getting a bit hairy Date Completed: Jun 26, 2005 I had a lot of challenges with this one. I couldn't get the color images to go on to the short hairs, only the long hairs. When I was switching the image to be Property Driven, about 20 entries for each property appeared in the drop down and I had to go through each of them to see which was the correct one (screen shot here). I'm not really too happy with the outcome, but hey, it's my first try.

Last reply by robcat2075, February 26, 2010

Exercise 19: Flying South 1 2 3

June 12, 2004 by Rodney

4 followers
109 replies
17.4k views

Important note: Flocking requires Particles to be turned on in the Render Options Panel. The Art of Animation:Master (Online) Please add your exerices to this topic and others will join in. The Art of Animation:Master is being completed on a continual basis in the New Users Forum. Meeting deadlines can be an important skill to master early on but this course is self paced to allow each person the flexibility they need to learn the basics of Animation:Master. The course can be completed in as little time as necessary or as much as is needed by each participant. Note: You may want to download the videos first. All available Video Tutorials related to …

Last reply by robcat2075, February 17, 2010

Exercise 18: Waving the Flag 1 2

August 22, 2004 by Rodney

3 followers
97 replies
15.1k views

The Art of Animation:Master (Online) Please add your exerices to this topic and others will join in. The Art of Animation:Master is being completed on a continual basis in the New Users Forum. Meeting deadlines can be an important skill to master early on but this course is self paced to allow each person the flexibility they need to learn the basics of Animation:Master. The course can be completed in as little time as necessary or as much as is needed by each participant. Note: You may want to download the videos first. All available Video Tutorials related to TAOA:M can be found on one page: The Art of Animation Master Video Tutorials The Art of…

Last reply by Timekiller, February 15, 2010

Exercise 17: Cosmic Bowling 1 2 3

June 24, 2004 by Rodney

3 followers
122 replies
18.1k views

The Art of Animation:Master (Online) Please add your exerices to this topic and others will join in. The Art of Animation:Master is being completed on a continual basis in the New Users Forum. Meeting deadlines can be an important skill to master early on but this course is self paced to allow each person the flexibility they need to learn the basics of Animation:Master. The course can be completed in as little time as necessary or as much as is needed by each participant. Note: You may want to download the videos first. All available Video Tutorials related to TAOA:M can be found on one page: The Art of Animation Master Video Tutorials The Art of…

Last reply by robcat2075, February 15, 2010

Exercise 16: Smoke, Wind and Fire 1 2 3

March 12, 2005 by Rodney

3 followers
115 replies
17.9k views

Note: The 2005 Edition of The Art of Animation:Master has updated Exercise 16 to include Particle Sprites. You are welcome to complete either the old or new version of the exercise but the new version is recommended. You can download the 2005 manual here: ftp://ftp.hash.com/pub/updates/windows/Am2005/2005Manual.pdf *Note that this is a 25MB download. The Art of Animation:Master (Online) Please add your exerices to this topic and others will join in. The Art of Animation:Master is being completed on a continual basis in the New Users Forum. Meeting deadlines can be an important skill to master early on but this course is self paced to allow each …

Last reply by Timekiller, February 15, 2010

Exercise 15: Eat My Dust 1 2

March 18, 2005 by Rodney

3 followers
93 replies
14.6k views

Note: Users of A:M 2006 (Yeti CD) please read information at this link for more on troubleshooting a problem with the Knight's knees. Read about it HERE . The Art of Animation:Master (Online) Please add your exerices to this topic and others will join in. The Art of Animation:Master is being completed on a continual basis in the New Users Forum. Meeting deadlines can be an important skill to master early on but this course is self paced to allow each person the flexibility they need to learn the basics of Animation:Master. The course can be completed in as little time as necessary or as much as is needed by each participant. Note: You may want to down…

Last reply by HomeSlice, February 15, 2010

Exercise 14 - Playing Marble 1 2 3

August 15, 2004 by Rodney

5 followers
109 replies
15.5k views

The Art of Animation:Master (Online) Please add your exerices to this topic and others will join in. The Art of Animation:Master is being completed on a continual basis in the New Users Forum. Meeting deadlines can be an important skill to master early on but this course is self paced to allow each person the flexibility they need to learn the basics of Animation:Master. The course can be completed in as little time as necessary or as much as is needed by each participant. Note: You may want to download the videos first. All available Video Tutorials related to TAOA:M can be found on one page: The Art of Animation Master Video Tutorials The Art of…

Last reply by HomeSlice, February 15, 2010

Exercise 13: Show Some Backbone 1 2 3

May 16, 2004 by Rodney

1 follower
110 replies
16.4k views

ATTENTION! You now have new options in completing Exercise 13. The Squetch Rig is now being used in Hash Inc movie projects (Tin Woodman of Oz, Scarecrow of Oz) and as many are sure to use it in their own models it can be used with this exercise. Information can be found on a variety of rigs here in the A:M Forum. There are several forums designed to help you through the installation process: 2001 Rig (The rig you'll find used in the manual) The 'Squetch' Rig Rigging and Relationships Forum Links to Rig Installation (PDF file), the final Squetch rig and sample models will be posted here in the forum as they are made available. If you discover so…

Last reply by robcat2075, February 14, 2010

Exercise 12: Lip Poses 1 2

June 26, 2004 by Rodney

1 follower
83 replies
13.6k views

The Art of Animation:Master (Online) Please add your exerices to this topic and others will join in. The Art of Animation:Master is being completed on a continual basis in the New Users Forum. Meeting deadlines can be an important skill to master early on but this course is self paced to allow each person the flexibility they need to learn the basics of Animation:Master. The course can be completed in as little time as necessary or as much as is needed by each participant. Note: You may want to download the videos first. All available Video Tutorials related to TAOA:M can be found on one page: The Art of Animation Master Video Tutorials The Art of…

Last reply by Timekiller, February 14, 2010

Exercise 11.5: Make A Face

November 6, 2008 by number

1 follower
38 replies
4.8k views

Name: Tim Roberts Exercise Completed: Exercise 11.5, Make A Face Date Completed: Nov. 6, 2008 Instructor: Manual, forum Comments: A couple rounds of working on the face. At one point, I had the full head textured, but no ears. It was impossible to add the ears simply, so I went back to the half head, modeled the ears, flip attached the head and re-textured! Wife asked, "Is he supposed to be an elf?". So, I could see tweaking the ears. Most challenging AM model to date. exercise_11.5_anim_draft2.mov

Last reply by Timekiller, February 9, 2010

Exercise 6: The Door's Stuck 1 2 3 4 7

April 5, 2004 by Rodney

9 followers
337 replies
35.8k views

The Art of Animation Master Part I: Animation ANYONE CAN ANIMATE 1 - You're the Director 2 - A Chorus Line 3 - Move It 4 - It's a Pitch 5 - Take a Walk 6 - The Door's Stuck 7 - Can You Say That? ------------------------------------- The Art of Animation:Master Exercise 6: The Door is Stuck ------------------------------------- Note: There is no video tutorial for Exercise 6. This is considered something of a course exam... and personalization counts! For those contemplating Exercise 6: The Door's Stuck There is an updated Shaggy with his "fixed hand clench" at the Free Models page. Older A:M CD's…

Last reply by robcat2075, January 29, 2010

Exercise 11: Giraffe 1 2 3 4

December 7, 2004 by Rodney

3 followers
193 replies
33.5k views

Look out! There is no video tutorial for exercise 11. This assignment will be to work from the text of the manual alone. This is an excellent opportunity to stretch your skills to the limit and see what you are capable of completing based on text description only. Good luck! The Art of Animation Master Part II: Modeling MODELING TAKES TALENT 8 - Customized Car 9 - Flower Power 10 - FW-190 Fighter 11 - Giraffe (No available video tutorial) 12 - Lip Poses 13 - Show Some Backbone (Adding a Skeleton)

Last reply by robcat2075, January 23, 2010

Exercises 9: Flower Power 1 2 3 4 5

May 30, 2004 by Rodney

4 followers
204 replies
27.9k views

The Art of Animation:Master (Online) Please add your exerices to this topic and others will join in. The Art of Animation:Master is being completed on a continual basis in the New Users Forum. Meeting deadlines can be an important skill to master early on but this course is self paced to allow each person the flexibility they need to learn the basics of Animation:Master. The course can be completed in as little time as necessary or as much as is needed by each participant. Note: You may want to download the videos first. All available Video Tutorials related to TAOA:M can be found on one page: The Art of Animation Master Video Tutorials The Art of…

Last reply by Rodney, January 17, 2010

Exercise 8: Custom Car 1 2 3 4

May 30, 2004 by Rodney

3 followers
152 replies
21k views

The Art of Animation:Master (Online) Please add your exerices to this topic and others will join in. The Art of Animation:Master is being completed on a continual basis in the New Users Forum. Meeting deadlines can be an important skill to master early on but this course is self paced to allow each person the flexibility they need to learn the basics of Animation:Master. The course can be completed in as little time as necessary or as much as is needed by each participant. Note: You may want to download the videos first. All available Video Tutorials related to TAOA:M can be found on one page: The Art of Animation Master Video Tutorials The Art of…

Last reply by robcat2075, January 16, 2010

Exercise 7: Can You Say That 1 2 3 4 5

April 14, 2004 by Rodney

4 followers
234 replies
26.8k views

The Art of Animation Master Part I: Animation ANYONE CAN ANIMATE 1 - You're the Director 2 - A Chorus Line 3 - Move It 4 - It's a Pitch 5 - Take a Walk 6 - The Door's Stuck 7 - Can You Say That? Modeling Takes Talent, TAoA:M: Part II, Exercises 8 - 13 Technical Directors Training, TAoA:M: Part III, Exercises 14 - 19

Last reply by robcat2075, January 11, 2010

Helping out

August 5, 2009 by Shelton

1 follower
13 replies
2.1k views

I have been asked to help out with a home school group that wants to learn to animate. Since I am still a noober myself on animating this will be some what blind leading the blind. They are all on AM which is a big help. So it starts next week. I have d/l all the tutorials I thought I could use for beginner. If there any others that might be helpful let me know. I will keep you up to date. Steve

Last reply by mouseman, January 5, 2010

Exercise 2: Chorus Line 1 2 3 4 8

August 7, 2004 by Rodney

11 followers
373 replies
33.1k views

Note: Users of A:M 2006 (Yeti CD) please read information at this link for more on troubleshooting a problem with the Knight's knees. Read about it HERE . The Art of Animation Master Part I: Animation ANYONE CAN ANIMATE 1 - You're the Director 2 - A Chorus Line 3 - Move It 4 - It's a Pitch 5 - Take a Walk 6 - The Door's Stuck 7 - Can You Say That? ------------------------------------- The Art of Animation:Master Exercise 2: Chorus Line ------------------------------------- Image courtesy Dan Roberts Approx. time to complete: 20 Minutes This exercise is a quick one! It is comprised of an introduction to the basic concepts of Popu…

Last reply by Timekiller, January 2, 2010

First pass at Exercise 4

November 22, 2009 by seancwall

6 replies
1.4k views

Hi everyone, Okay, here's my first pass at exercise 4, It's a Pitch. The timing suggested by the book seems too quick to me, so I may adjust the key frames a little bit. I also had to flatten the tangents a couple of times on the feet targets because they sank below the ground a few times. Otherwise, it was a fun exercise! KnightPitch.mov

Last reply by seancwall, November 23, 2009

Coming back to A:M

November 14, 2009 by seancwall

5 replies
1.8k views

Hi everyone, I'm getting back into computer animation, particularly A:M, and since it's been a while (over a year), I decided to just start the TaoA:M exercises over again. I figured it's a good review of everything. I'm determined to get earn my TaoA:M certificate this time! Anyway, here's KeeKat striking his pose. I discovered that if you hold down the SHIFT key while in camera mode, the Turn and Zoom commands turn and zoom the camera view, as if you were sitting behind the actual camera. Neat! -Sean

Last reply by John Bigboote, November 16, 2009

Exercise 3 - Move It

November 15, 2009 by seancwall

1 reply
1.4k views

Hi everyone, Here are my stills from Exercise 3, Move It. I did the required pose: Then moved on to one of the extra poses: Then I channeled a little Bugs Bunny for inspiration for this last one: What do you think? -Sean

Last reply by robcat2075, November 15, 2009

Ex 2: Chorus Line

November 14, 2009 by seancwall

2 replies
1.2k views

Hi everyone, Here's my entry for Exercise 2: Chorus Line. I moved the camera off to one side to avoid that "straight on" look! -Sean Dance.mov

Last reply by seancwall, November 15, 2009

Modeling with VISTA

November 4, 2009 by tiggerbill

1 reply
1.4k views

I cannot seem to do the giraffe tutorial in VISTA. I am having trouble getting into the Rotoscope mode so I can open up the giraffe project. I either get a white box or the giraffe without the grid and I am not able to draw the splines. I was using Windows XP and was able to do the tutorial but since I got a new computer with VISTA, i have been having problems getting into the tutorial. Any suggestions?

Last reply by robcat2075, November 4, 2009

dictionary.dic file isn't installled

October 1, 2009 by stevej2

2 replies
1.2k views

Recently started with AM subscribe edition, put the download CD data file in, extra tutorials and models all seem to be there but when I tried doing the dope sheet, it can't find dictionary.dic I don't see it in the data folder. Where can I get the dictionary?

Last reply by stevej2, October 1, 2009

Rabbit, change where he's looking? change his finger positions

May 14, 2009 by thebadgerette

1 follower
6 replies
1.6k views

So I'm fiddling with Lesson 3 in A:MTao and having finished the basic position assignment I started with the secondary ones. I managed to get him to squat down but I want him to look sad and depressed, with one arm across his knee and his head in his other hand. But I want his eyes not merely half closed but for him to be staring down at the floor in front of him - how do I get his eyes to track in some direction other than up, apparently at the camera? I'd also like to open the spread of his fingers more, he's holding his chin, I'd like to manipulate the fingers, spread them a bit, maybe curl differently. How do I unhide and use these finger bones? Thanks fo…

Last reply by Rodney, May 16, 2009

exercise 6 door stuck 1 2

September 27, 2008 by TheSpleen

55 replies
6k views

doorgene.mov very tough and I know I did alot wrong. the feet kept wanting to move, how can I keep feet planted while I make his body tug? I had to go back and adjust hands alot and the still are not perfect. Although I am not completely unhappy with the outcome.

Last reply by robcat2075, May 13, 2009

Double image shaggy Ex6

February 22, 2009 by ref

1 follower
6 replies
1.7k views

Exercise 6 the door's stuck After constraining hand to knob shaggy's hand became 2 hands I checked the constraint by turning the knob to test the constraint and his right hand remained on the knob and his 2nd right hand left the knob. This is the second time for this to occur. After the first time I reloaded the program by down loading v15e. I downloaded this upgrade a week or so ago. ref

Last reply by ref, February 23, 2009

Exercise 5 Take a walk

February 17, 2009 by ref

1 follower
7 replies
1.9k views

Well, at long last here is walking rabbit. Exercise_5_TAKE_A_WALK.mov

Last reply by ref, February 20, 2009

Exercise 4

February 9, 2009 by ref

1 follower
5 replies
1.5k views

It is easy to get side-tracked in this forum. A lot of information. That's a good thing. ref Exercise_4.mov

Last reply by ref, February 9, 2009

Help me Rob cat

February 5, 2009 by jason1025

1 follower
8 replies
1.8k views

SHaggies footing pops when I fallow your tutorial Help_with_action.mov

Last reply by robcat2075, February 9, 2009

Exercise 10: FW-190 Fighter

February 1, 2009 by TNT

20 replies
2.7k views

Exercise 10: FW190 Fighter I modeled the plane today. I added the wheel wells as boolean cuts and modeled the wings and tail so I could install a rig. Have not got the rig yet but the plane came out pretty good I think.

Last reply by TNT, February 5, 2009