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GENERAL FORUM GUIDELINES
The A:M Forum is for technical support and the sharing of tips and ideas between users/prospective users of Hash software. It is moderated constantly by technical support representatives.
DO'S!
-Ask questions about the software.
-Assist other users... everyone was new at this once.
-Inform people of your version/platform when asking for help.
-Share resources; tutorials, models, textures, tips and techniques (link to useful websites).
-Post links to your work, or where your art is being used online (on websites, in games, toons', etc.)
-Search the A:M Forum and FAQ. The question you are about to ask may have already been answered.
-Organize and inform others about user groups, IRC chats, image and animation contests, job opportunities, etc.
-Discuss what you are working on and let everyone know about magazine reviews and articles that relate to your projects.
DON'TS!
-Do Not be rude or disrespectful or mean to other forum members in any way. Personal attacks will be removed.
-Do Not post bug/crash reports to the list (send bug/crash reports to http://www.hash.com/reports.
-Do Not complain about forum content. Complaints or suggestions can be sent directly to hash@hash.com
-Do Not reprimand other forum members for violating forum rules, that's the moderators job, which (unless you are a moderator) you are not.
-No complaining or whining on the forum or distribution of misinformation.
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-No soliciting of any kind without prior approval.
-No threads or comparisons related to other 3D Applications.
-No "Wish list" or feature requests, they should be sent to www.hash.com/reports for categorizing and prioritization (User requests define the future development of the software).
-No "me too!" posts
-No discussion of Hash Internal Affairs (finances, advertising, PR.)
-No posting of private email to the forum unless permission of the author is granted. (Private correspondence should remain private)
-No very general questions like: "how do I make a good 3D model" make your questions as complete and concise as possible.
If you have questions as to whether it's appropriate, send it to: support@hash.com, We'll be happy to let you know whether it is, or is not appropriate.
User Led Forum Considerations
Firstly and foremostly, please remember this is Martin Hash's forum and that it is every A:M User's primary resource for information about A:M. In order to remain relevant we need everyone's continuing support and interest.
Secondly, understand there is a distinction between A:M (the program) and the A:M forum. There are some topics and issues that are outside the scope of this forum and most can be deduced by reading through the forum guidelines. These include such things as Hash Inc internal policies, business practices, trade secrets, and specific plans for the future not yet publicly released. Each of these would be fascinating topics of their own but are better reserved for private communications with a representative of Hash Inc.
Related to the second, is purchasing, customer service and other areas outside the purview of the common user who may have no interest in such things; subjects relating to money exchanging hands are beyond the scope of the A:M Forum and often can lead to conflicts of interest between users and/or Hash Inc. (If Hash Inc cuts you a deal on volume purchasing it's really no one else's business). Likewise, individual complaints about a product or service are best remedied by going direct with Hash Inc representatives empowered to make decisions. Please allow them them the time necessary to resolve your specific issue and consider the cost of customized solutions.
This last area is likely the source of much confusion because many see the A:M Forum as the official outlet for Hash Inc... and it is. But the forum is not designed for conducting business and private matters best resolved by going to Hash Inc directly. Similarly, bug reports are best resolved by entering them directly into the A:M Reporting system.
Many problems can be easily addressed at the user level just by asking fellow users in the forum. If someone at Hash Inc suggests the forum as a source, it is very likely a problem can be easily resolved. For tougher issues there is even more reason to take the issue directly to the source... you don't want the issue discussed... you want it resolved quickly.
Finally, remember that we want to pass this forum on to future moderators and generations of A:M Users in the absolute best condition possible. A:M is just that good a program and is worthy of our consideration.
Thanks for making the A:M Forum a great community.
4,140 topics in this forum
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- 5 replies
- 674 views
Hello, Have a spline ring selected and some of the points on that ring are not as even as I would like them to be. Tried selecting the whole ring and then setting Y and Z values to 0 in the Properties for the Y and Z translate values, but that doesn't seem to have done anything. Did I do something wrong? I guess it is not critical that they be perfect, I can eyeball them and get something acceptable but it seems like there should be a better way to do this.
Last reply by Roger, -
- 12 replies
- 970 views
I tried searching the forum but decided the quickest way was to just post a question. I'm doing a second Simcloth skirt on my dancing girl (some new steps), just resaved the chor with the original skirt animated and deleted the splines folder. But when I go to do the simulation, her skirt just falls through the floor. I know this has been brought up (probably by me!) but I can't find an answer and I recollect that it was a simple fix. EDIT: Got the skirt to stay attached but now the simulation isn't happening. The skirt stays rigid. Awhile back I downloaded and watched the video tute on cloth made from a scene in TWO, however I lost it when my external drive went bel…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 7 replies
- 501 views
I was making my archery bow and had some materials applied. When I opened my project today, the materials were still in the PWS but non of them are showing up on the bow?!?!?!? I made a new project just to see if they worked there and they did. Not really sure what got changed to where non of the materials are visible on my model. Thoughts?
Last reply by thumperness, -
- 2 replies
- 570 views
I have put a character on a path every moves fine but the arms. In my action window arms move but not in the choreograph. What am I doing wrong. Thanks.
Last reply by Kimberly, -
- 1 follower
- 20 replies
- 1.3k views
So as I am gradually tinkering with more and more aspects of AM , the idea of starting to focus all my work towards a project idea has come to the forefront. If there is one single thing that I have learned here is planning is so important. It is just such a huge time saver. (what surprised me more than anything was the need to plan modeling) Anyhow, so when you guys are working on a relatively small project (say 30 -60 secs) do you keep everything in one project file? All the different scenes and chors kept and saved in the one project? I guess I was wondering if there are any issues with AM bogging down if you start having…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 516 views
i'm working with a modified Gala. did something to her hair, it suddenly displayed double layers intricately woven into the geometry. decided that the fastest way to solve this was to make new hair model from the original Gala by deleting all but the hair. dragged the new hair model onto Gala v. 6 in a model window, styled it and of course it didn't work. in chor, the hair model now trails 20 cms behind Gala 5cms to the side. due to many versions, opened the original to compare with current Gala, both are positioned the same. opened current new hair model to compare its position to hair placement on original and current Gala, no problems. …
Last reply by dblhelix, -
- 4 replies
- 678 views
Hey guys, got hired to do a custom 3D deep fryer basket for a patent application. I'm rendering the final model and I noticed that the camera (as camera's will do) is sort of warping the edges of the model. The further out from the center of the camera lens the more the perspective changes slightly. Is there any way to get a flat perspective so I can render this model like it was a drawing on a piece of paper? Any help is as always much appreciated. You probably know what I mean but image attached just the same.
Last reply by Rob_T, -
- 3 replies
- 482 views
Campaign for a less wild transit. tapir. also means idiot or a person who disrupts traffic.
Last reply by Vertexspline, -
- 6 replies
- 643 views
I have worked through the tutorial in TAoAM on how to install the 2001 rig. and applied it to a simple model I have built. At the end of the tutorial it says " You may have to assign ~CP's to finger bones" but it doesn't explain how or where to look to find how to do that ? There is an earlier reference using the rabbit model to how to use the hand controls of the 2001 rig but I didn't see an explanation of how to assign points to the elaborate controls. I am probably missing something that is very obvious here but, could somebody point me to an explanation or tutorial on how to assign CP's to the hands in the 20001 rig ? I've got around it before …
Last reply by Simon Edmondson, -
- 4 replies
- 548 views
I have followed exercise 5 "Take a Walk" and everything works fine. I made walk action for Rabbit and then used it after creating a path for rabbit to walk on and everything was fine. I even used a 'stock' action and still everything was fine. As I experimented with actions using a path I chose a new ground (the ground that is slightly hilly that comes with AM) and then applied the path and Rabbit (as well as other actors) to the path with a walk action, his feet are in the ground and NOT on the serface of the ground. I have tried constraining rabbit to the surface of the ground; I have tried constraining the path to the ground but I cannot get rabbit to follow the path A…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 17 replies
- 897 views
So I have mastered modeling a vase (pronounced Voz) and wanted to move on to something a little more complicated. This is also somewhat of a test for me to see if I have embedded everything into my project so it can all be downloaded by you guys. There should be 2 rotoscopes and 1 spline in this project. The handle of the bow should be approx. 15cm tall/high. The question is: What would be my best approach to modeling at least the handle of this thing? I'm not necessarily looking for someone to just do it for me, but I'd like some instruction as to how to approach this thing. I'm guessing there should be some extrusion involved, but I do not have a top vi…
Last reply by thumperness, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 665 views
was there some smart solution to rendering cloth in stills? once again i know i've read something about this on a couple of occasions and now can't find anything in searches. something about preroll, how not to render animation and use the last tga, but a different solution? i'm just dreaming?
Last reply by dblhelix, -
- 7 replies
- 614 views
I'm trying to select just the points that make up the right half of the spline ring where the leg starts. However, when I do that the point right in the middle that I have circled in red keeps getting selected. If I try to deselect it, I also lose the point that is directly to the right of it. Any ideas what I am doing wrong here? I need to get my weighting identical to what it is on the other side.
Last reply by mtpeak2, -
- 3 replies
- 692 views
Hey, I had to uninstall Animation Master on my Windows 7 64 bit PC. I went through the normal windows uninstaller and then downloaded the 64 bit web subscription version of AM to reinstall. I went through the re-install with no problems but when I went to register using my same registration # I got the following error. "Bad return data from webserver (no status) (-134) "No such file or directory (error:2)" Can anyone lead me in the right direction to what this means and what I can do to get my version registered ? I know my Registration # is valid as it worked for my initial install on the same PC. Sorry if this is in the wrong forum section …
Last reply by Pinballwzd, -
- 9 replies
- 683 views
When exactly do you want to use an action? I have a bit of confusion as to when you would want to use them. I am guessing something like walk or run cycles would best be handled by an action, while blinks, winks or hand clenches could be driven by pose sliders. Am I correct in assuming that most animation you are (in general) going to want to do pose-to-pose in the choreography?
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 3 replies
- 345 views
On my iMac, I have opened the model 'Kid.mdl' from the extras DVD and I want to save it to my hard drive so I can give him some speech pose sliders. When I right click on kid in the objects section of the PWS, I get the option to 'Save As..' I choose that and the window opens for choosing where to save it. It does not let me select ANY different location to save on my computer. Am I missing a step?
Last reply by thumperness, -
- 11 replies
- 725 views
I can quickly get overwhelmed by wanting to know how to do everything in A:M. So I have finally decided to study modeling. I am by no means an artist, but that is no reason not to know how everything works as far as splinemanship et al. This focus will also include creating phonems(sp) for speech. I have some models, from the extras DVD, with which I really want to do some lip. sinc. I guess I'll start with making my set of primatives, how to make holes in things, etc...So you are gonna see alot of examples and questions of how to do it better. I'm going back to Jeff Canton's tutorials and then moving on to whatever else I can find. I want to make frie…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 5 replies
- 374 views
Ok, so I successfully made my smartskin, but now I have a strange kink in the spline running down the middle of the neck, and also the middle spline is bulging out on the righthand side (if looking at the penguin, lefthand from the penguin's point of view). Not sure what I did that this happened, and I'm trying to figure out how to fix it. May need to delete the smartskin and redo it.
Last reply by Roger, -
- 2 replies
- 416 views
So I am working on smartskin to adjust the area where my penguins flippers connect to her body. I am selecting the torso bone and doing New > smartskin. Problem is when it jumps to the 90 degree rotation. I understand this is normal, however, I can't see the bone to move it back and it seems to *really* distort the model. Should I keep my model in shaded wireframe mode while doing this, or would just wireframe make seeing the bone easier?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 replies
- 446 views
So I am going through all my "pre-flight" checks (so to speak) before starting trying to animate with this thing. I was looking at the bones that make up the spine and were a little concerned that they all seemed to be rotated just a few degrees off-center of the y-axis. Is this cause for concern? I have managed to get them more or less squared up, except for one. It still looks a little off to me. I took a screen grab looking up from the bottom. The pelvis and first spine bone look absolutely square, the 2nd spine bone and head look like they are still off a little bit.
Last reply by Roger, -
- 1 follower
- 5 replies
- 772 views
Hello everyone! I have a question, does anyone why whenever I use a translate and a orient constraint object on another object in a choreography file, but once you import that choregraphy file onto another, you have to constrain the object again? Another question I have is that I just added a translate and orient contraints from an object to a hand of a character and now the objects aren't attached to the hand. is there a way I can fix them without re-constraining them? thanks, J.w.
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 7 replies
- 620 views
This is my first time dealing with dynamic constraints. I applied a few dynamic constraints, put my model into a new choreography and I was pleased to see them working as I moved my model around in preview mode. But when I moved my model into a second new choreography, the dynamic constraints stopped working. What am I doing wrong? I'm using A:M v16.0a.
Last reply by gwinkelman, -
- 8 replies
- 930 views
I keep seeing mention of stuff not being beveled or being beveled as if beveling were a good thing. I'm assuming that it is desired to have bevels in your models of things like buildings or boxes. I did a little searching but have not been able to find good instruction on the whys or hows. I remember seeing a tutorial somewhere that even talked about doing the bevel(s) first before the rest of the model.
Last reply by ypoissant, -
- 14 replies
- 902 views
Hello I am not really sure what the yellow dot is done at the bottom near the origin and between the feet. I wonder if it is the model bone, but it doesn't seem to have any scale to it and if I rotate around it it appears to be a singel point. It has the name of a previous project ( think I opened that project and save it with a new name) and if I right-click it and choose delete my entire penguin disappears (which leads me to think it is the model bone but I thought normally those aren't visible?). Also when it is selected all the points on the left-hand side (right if you are looking at the model) are selected. Any ideas as to what the heck this might be?
Last reply by Vertexspline, -
- 1 reply
- 442 views
Was curious to learn how many folks have found this to be a useful resource. I know it has lots of models etc but wondered how many folks use things from it or not. I was contemplating purchasing it but was not sure.
Last reply by mouseman, -
- 8 replies
- 1.3k views
Hello, I am getting very frustrated trying to figure out how to get a flag animated using SimCloth. I believe I have followed all the steps correctly but my flag keeps flying away. I tried this on my own model as well as the model in the tutorial. This is what I have done ( hope you can follow ) I created a Flag and Pole model. Created a group for attached and another for the flag. Created a bone for the mast and applied all CP to the bone. Set attached to on for the attached group ( both in Model mode and Choreography mode ) Created the Force and Turbulence as outlined in the Tutorial. Created the Spring System by selecting the flag group i…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 11 replies
- 1.4k views
I have a character model with a 24-frame walk cycle that I rendered as a .tga image sequence that I want to use as a decal on another model. How do I get the walk-cycle image sequence to repeat as a decal on the other model within a choreography?
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 9 replies
- 847 views
How I can add video clips made by camera into AM V13.0 ?
Last reply by Rodney, -
I know it's been awhile. Bruce and Ken have been helping me with a little project I've got in the works and I've been a little busy as well. I drove across America and I now live in San Diego. I'm going to school at Platt College San Diego and I'm learning Graphic Design (for an A.A.S.) and either animation or video compositing (for a B.A. which will bring my college degree count to 4). I love Animation but the siren call of After Effects is pretty hard to resist. Fortunately I'll be taking at least some of both. After that I have to decide which one I want to specialize in. I've actually shown some of the stuff I've done in A:M to some of the 3D professors an…
Last reply by HomeSlice, -
Face Camera
by JohnP- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 855 views
Where are the instructions for adding a camera to point to a model's face? The manual that comes with AM 2006 talkes about using multiple camers but I cannot find any instructions to accomplish placing a face camera. Can someone help get started or point me to a place with instructions? Thanks.
Last reply by JohnP, -
- 1 follower
- 19 replies
- 1.7k views
why would I want to do 1, or 2 or 4 or 7 passes?
Last reply by Vertexspline, -
- 1 reply
- 395 views
Will importing a saved model file from your local disk screw up a project, such that you get the problems with prior versions losing their changes? I thought this only happened if you saved something from the project as a model file. So I am assuming it goes the other way as well? Or am I wrong here? Because I just imported an eyeball model from the extras, it turned my entire penguin orange (not sure why but it looks like it applied the beak color to the entire body) and then when I went back a version the penguin was also orange. The version before that is ok, and I didn't lose much in the way of work but this makes things difficult. I guess I will have to…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 12 replies
- 817 views
So I am working on cleaning up the penguin - I am redoing the patch coloring after doing my CFA. Is there an easy way to choose additional adjacent patches to have the color I want, or should I just create a new group and reapply the material? The only reason I am not doing that is I have a ton of groups as it is and probably should start deleting them. I'm not even sure what some of them are. I don't know how I ended up with so many groups, it looks like they are copies of the existing groups I have (numbered 2-7).
Last reply by Roger, -
- 6 replies
- 705 views
not urgent, just curious. if doing a close-up real close up, something makes the model partly disappear. parts closest to camera just vanish. i first thought it's about the FOV tool in camera - that anything between that line and camera didn't render. but no. moving that line didn't help. then i thought maybe patches actually interfered with "camera", so i moved the camera. no change. too close was too close. i read stuff back to 2004 and found a solution, change the camera view to match another view, so you can do the pose wherever it works. (haven't tested yet.) but does anyone know what's behind all this?
Last reply by dblhelix, -
- 2 replies
- 419 views
I have finished my flower and I'm now working on getting the bones installed. I'll get it posted once it's finished. I'm learning alot about how to get around in the interface, dealing with groups, parent child relationships, etc.. All good stuff.
Last reply by mouseman, -
- 5 replies
- 564 views
I had always been a fan of the written tutorials because I could go at my own pace and not have to worry about pausing the player and/or rewinding to catch something I had missed. But having been stuck on the flower modeling tut. I went ahead and watched most of the video tutorial. I am now hooked. There are so many hints and tips you can catch on a good video tutorial that never come across in the written tutorials. (BTW, who is doing the video tuts. for the TAoAM videos?) It's almost as if a picture is worth like 999 words. (Hmmm. That could almost be a proverb, I'll have to work on that.) I am aganin even more excited now about the prospect of the…
Last reply by NancyGormezano, -
- 6 replies
- 671 views
When you draw clothing do you leave the clothing single or extrude to give it that thickness look ? Oh yah where is WIP on the forum ?
Last reply by Vertexspline, -
- 7 replies
- 760 views
Trying to get the hang of doing lip synch and using the dope sheet by following the instructions in TaoAM, though I'm not doing the KeeKat exercise, just following the steps. It works up until I click "New dope sheet" and enter the text, a couple of words appear in the PWS, then it crashes. happened three or four times so far. They're all simple words, in fact I keep shortening the phrase to go easy on the app. Dictionary.dic is present where it should be. I know this is an area not a lot of folks here have experience in, but does anyone have an idea about how to proceed. I'm using v16b.
Last reply by HomeSlice, -
- 4 replies
- 465 views
There seems to be some circumstance that makes tooltips not appear even though "Show Tooltips" is checked in the Customize window. Anyone know how to get them back? Besides a Reset? (This is not "Tip of the Day" that I am asking about)
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 7 replies
- 784 views
I used Sprtite System created leaves for a tree, it's easy and look very good. I can use this technique in still images. But in animation it .... How can I freeze the sprite system? Thank you very much.
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 18 replies
- 1.1k views
Hi all, Back to working on the project after too long away from it. I am doing the last bits of cleaning up the rigging on my penguin character, and I have a pose that I have no clue what it does (or was supposed to do). I want to delete it, but can't seem to. If I hit the delete key on the keyboard with it highlighted, nothing happens. If I right click it, there is no option to delete. This happens in both the Properties area and in the Pose Sliders pane. Also, something I thought was strange, it does not show up in the Project Workspace. My other poses do (pose 2 and Leg Constraints) but not pose 1. I really want to get rid of pose 1, because if I tu…
Last reply by Roger, -
- 6 replies
- 637 views
Just have to give a shout out to all the great forum guru's here who answer and have provided such quick and helpful responses. I was a little worried when I came back here about three weeks ago that the forums appeared a little slow or sparse but what I learned is the wealth and quickness of responses answers most questions immediately and so not so much the usual fluff you may find elsewhere. These forums , and especially through searches , are an amazing resource and when you cannot find something you just ask and boom a few folks come in with help . And finally there is the posting of work and wip's simply awesome. …
Last reply by knipple, -
- 21 replies
- 1.7k views
I have come to the conclusion that animation is hard. This might actually take a little practice to have things do what I want them to. I do not even have the Stuck Door project to a point that I'm willing to share where I am. The frustrating part is I know what I want it to look like; I know what some of the comments are going to be, but it just won't come together like I wish it to. I guess timing is the largest issue followed by secondary motions. But we keep trudging along and practice practice practice.
Last reply by Vertexspline, -
- 14 replies
- 543 views
So I'm working on 'The Door's Stuck' and want to be able to quickly adjust timing between some keyframes. *** I am working on a Mac if it makes any difference. *** What are some techneques(sp) people use to add and delete space between keyframes to play with the timing? There is a command in the edit menu, (can't remember it's exact name) that I'm assuming is used to do this but it is asking for four different inputs and I am not sure what goes where. I'm hoping there's a way to just window select stuff in the timeline and drag it where I want it to be. Thoughts?
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 456 views
now what am i doing right (in racking up a fresh batch of newbie points); light affects model but not a prop. last time it was about light lists, so now i tried every option and ended up having to create a whole new light to believe that this is so. the prop does not receive light. and no, it's not black. the chor is saved as from another chor, prj from another prj that already rendered just fine. only thing i've changed is "lens" from 30 to 50, so that's hardly the solution. how do i troubleshoot this one?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 reply
- 470 views
I was really disappointed to find that about 98%+ of the character models on the Extras DVD did not have Phomnems(sp) created for them. You know, the pose sliders for speech. Is it really difficult to make those myself? Is there a tutorial somewhere that explains how to create pose sliders for, I'm assuming, muscle movement?
Last reply by Rodney, -
Auto-Assign
by Masna- 3 followers
- 18 replies
- 1.9k views
In the A.M. manual it talks about auto-assign. How do you use auto-assign and what toolbar is it on.
Last reply by mouseman, -
- 1 follower
- 12 replies
- 1.4k views
I just finished my first animation in Animation:Master, a 25-sec. opening piece for this installment of a medium-size annual film festival here in Thunder Bay (Canada). I had a blast doing it and thoroughly enjoyed working with the software. As an experienced stopmotion animator and stopmotion director I didn't have too many problems making the transition to computer animation, and Animation:Master definitely was a big help in making that transition. It's relatively intuitive (not always...), powerful but not overwhelming. I'm happy with the little piece below, but would love to hear some comments! I also would like to hear what could have been done in orde…
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 8 replies
- 637 views
On a Mac, does A:M have to run in full screen? I can't even find a button to minimize it if I want. I'm aware of Command/Tab to get to other stuff, but I'd like to have more control.
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 38 replies
- 2.2k views
Hello all, I been using AM for a few weeks now, gone through most all the tuts except the more comlex ones. Have a question, I was creating a model after the "Thom" model just to work on my modeling and the 5 point patch technique(and also to practice attaching arms, etc.) It was going well, I saved the project, all looked well in wireframe and shaded mode. I saved and closed the project, went to grab a drink and came back a bit later and opened. Here is what I saw... Evertime I close it now and reopen, I get stranger and stranger things happening to the model, am I doing something strange?!? It weird that it looks different and more messed up …
Last reply by knipple,