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A:M Forum Rules
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.
-No flames of any kind.
-No Off Topic posts. (Posts in the Off Topics section should be related to A:M in some form or fashion or benefit the A:M community as a whole).
-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.
4,160 topics in this forum
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- 4 replies
- 642 views
Hi, I'm working on adding some bones to one of my models (a scorpion, screenshot is attached). This is my first attempt at doing skeletal animation. As you can probably see from the picture, I was doing fine until I started to work on the legs. When I went to do one of the legs, I added four bones to it, then clicked auto-assign, and my bones were assigned to various unwanted locations (chunks of the two adjacent legs and part of the torso was connected to one set of leg bones). A few questions - 1) Is there a way to un-assign the bones? I've tried moving them around and clicking auto-assign again, but it still leaves them connected. 2) How do I…
Last reply by tysono_71, -
- 13 replies
- 2.8k views
Hello Everyone, I have a question about how A:M can be like Auto CAD. (if there is a section about this then please let me know or direct me) (sorry) Years ago I used Auto CAD / Inventor and it was the easiest program to use to make any object. I liked how that in the program I can make a basic object and edit it in a breeze by clicking on parts and setting a measurement and it would auto correct and align itself. An example would be a simple Lego piece. I can make a block and add 1 cylinder at a corner. Then I can simply click on the block and type in the measurements to make a rectangle, and then click on the cylinder and input how many to copy/ paste and …
Last reply by pixelplucker, -
- 2 replies
- 615 views
...HI! I wonder how I could make that a bone or an object or anything reacts according with the gain of an audio file, there is an easy & quick way to get this in A:M as I hope? THANKS!!!
Last reply by NancyGormezano, -
- 4 replies
- 525 views
I found as I was doing Exercise #5, having the rabbit walk on a path, that as I was making the walk cycle, his feet kept sinking below the ground line. I know this is because A:M defaults to using a curved, flowy arc between keyframes instead of the most direct route. Usually this is fine. How do I turn this off so I don't have to key every frame to keep my foot on the ground?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 10 replies
- 847 views
For some reason, when I move one CP the other one moves automatically. Can anyone help me solve this problem?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 35 replies
- 1.7k views
This really has nothing to do with A:M. It's about the avatar (if that's even what they're called) that is placed next to your name. I can't seem to find the setting to add an avatar to my profile. Are there certain specifications that you have to follow when adding an avatar? Thanks, Masna
Last reply by Masna, -
- 7 replies
- 725 views
i have seen some other members have a movie for their avatar insead of a picture, is there any way that i can do it to?
Last reply by johnl3d, -
- 0 replies
- 345 views
there seems to be no setting here and i was wondering if the avi dv export no compression is progressive or lower field non progressive?
Last reply by sir fen the usa, -
- 4 replies
- 1.5k views
I've installed AM 17.0e SSE4 on a new Dell XPS 8500 Desktop Computer with a 1GB AMD Radeon HD 7570 Video Card and I get the AVIFileCreateStream Error when trying to do Final. When I try wireframe I get "Failed InitBoundRenderInfo". Need assistance. Thanks, Michael
Last reply by believesailing, -
- 3 replies
- 1.2k views
I've started work on my Prehistory entry but I have a number of five-point patches. While I know how to close these, is there a recommended technique for avoiding them in the first place? (Don't be fooled by my forum membership longevity. I'm still a noob, I've had a twelve-year hiatus and wasn't particularly good before that!)
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 4 replies
- 689 views
Hola amigos soy de peru no se alguien me podria ayudar para instalar AM2006 en mi pc con windows XP. es que tengo los archivos pero aun no puedo instalarlo me pide un CD-ROOM que no tengo ya saben no domino tan bien que digamos el ingles... alguien ayudeme por favor mi correo es: wilcvelasquez@hotmail.com
Last reply by Shazam3D, -
- 17 replies
- 922 views
Me again - I have been playing around with the Babbage Patch water tutorial for the past 6 hours and having problems making it work. I downloaded the project file - and have it in AM 14. Anyone that has done this tutorial in a recent version and got it working - I would love some help. I have the "final scene" open and put the two created actions "displace motion" and bump map in it. I go to render it for 5 seconds and it just renders the image w/ no motion... not sure what I am doing wrong - I have trying things over and over an no success. I did get the displacement map motion working when I rendered it. Thank you - Eric
Last reply by flashawd, -
- 5 replies
- 1.5k views
I haven't been splining since 2006 but recently fired "my" latest copy of AM V15 up and am starting to model again. Never got too deep in the animation part of AM but I had forgotten how much I enjoy modeling and although still learning in the chorwindow I enjoy setting up the image's. Still have some health issue's but I hope to improve my modeling skill's and maybe spend a bit more time catching up here.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 replies
- 420 views
Hey all. Been using A:M mainly for creating 3D printable models over the past few years, but looking for ward to getting back into rendering and animating. Looking forward to bothering all you Maestros again. Thanks, Rich
Last reply by Shelton, -
- 3 replies
- 573 views
Hi guys, OK, I have the potential to use A:M at work for some business projects. I've been given an assignment to animate a big assembly project we have going. If it turns out good, My company will let me animate more in the future. I'm currently using my V14 CD so I can do this during work and hopefully not interfere with my SO assignment while I'm home. Not to mention it's great to be able to use A:M for a work project instead of AutoCad and Inventor hehe. OK I have to model a huge multimillion dollar assembly process and then create an animation of it in action. It's for our company's website to give a visual of what our product does. Again if they like it, I…
Last reply by Master chief, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
- 389 views
Hello, I forgot how to NOT display back faces in the modeling window. Would someone be so kind to enlighten me as to how I turn them off? Thanks, George [edit] I found it! For anyone else wondering, to set your model display to not show the back faces (makes it a lot easier to see where to flip normals), first you have to set your render mode to shaded (the default is final). Then the option to "show back facing poly's" is available in the render options. Check out the pic. George
Last reply by Caroline, -
- 5 replies
- 2.1k views
Coming back to something I really enjoyed a long time ago. My last foray into AM was with 2005 version. I've created a short animation using Windows Movie Maker. It consists of 13 images with some simple transitions, basically a slideshow. I am using Pazera PS MPEG to AVI converter to get the AVI. I have tried every CODEC available with the converter, but when I attempt import the AVI I just get a dialog box saying "IMPORT NULLOBJECT". What am I doing wrong? Should I be using a particular CODEC? Thanks for any help, glad to be back!
Last reply by Rodney, -
Hello again, I took a break from animation but I'm gonna start again. Just saying hi.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 2 replies
- 278 views
Hello - does anyone know if you backup a model - does it also backup all the pose sliders associated with it? Or is that something you have to do seperately? Thanks, Eric
Last reply by flashawd, -
- 2 replies
- 404 views
Looking into picking up AM again....this will be my 3rd try in 10 years....for characters. Have a simple question regarding basic operations. I am wondering if AM can export models to other apps yet, say as .OBJ's? Never used to be able to but am wondering if that changed? Thanks much, RonB
Last reply by RonB, -
- 1 follower
- 5 replies
- 1k views
Hello, I teach high school multimedia and my class and I are working through the tutorials in "The Art of Animation Master". I have not used 3D software for the past 5 years, however I did teach 3D Studio Max for 6 years. So far, we have finished exercises 1-5 and now we are starting on The Door is Stuck. The videos are very helpful and we are doing OK with the tutorials, but it seems we are getting into some very detailed concepts without a working knowledge of the basics. I think we need to go back over some basics before we continue. My question is this - What other training materials do you recommend that will cover the basics? I feel like these tutor…
Last reply by ssappington, -
- 5 replies
- 600 views
I need to change the background in the choreography so I can chroma key. How do I do this?
Last reply by NancyGormezano, -
- 5 replies
- 488 views
Ok I know the answer yet I cannot find where to change it. My background is black although I have a sky/cloud rotoscope showing. I know I need to change my alpha channel either on or off, but no matter where I look I cannot find where to change it. Thanks, Gene
Last reply by TheSpleen, -
- 3 replies
- 344 views
Hi - I am having a rendering issue, at the point that the Sprite System "smoke" and "fire" kick in it does something to the background, when the sprite system is changed back to 0% is goes back - can anyone tell me if this is avoidable? I tried putting new lights in different areas and getting the same effect. http://www.flashanimationwebsitedesign.com...nimFanMan10.mov Thank you - Eric
Last reply by NancyGormezano, -
- 3 replies
- 821 views
I am trying to change background color, permately if possible, so I can key out background when compositing. I can't find the color chip mentioned in the help files to save me. I find a control for the ground color but not background color. Any help is appreciated.
Last reply by luckbat, -
- 4 replies
- 741 views
Hi All - I'm hoping someone can help me with a problem. In my camera properties, I set the background color (in this case to white). When I click the onscreen render button, the background is white. When I render my final animation, the background is black. I tried changing the bg color to all kinds of crazy colors. Same exact results. I'm sure I'm just missing a setting somewhere. What setting am I missing? Thanks. - Michael
Last reply by mfortunato, -
- 3 replies
- 742 views
I've tried changing the color on the Camera background... no matter what color I choose... even white... toon renders the background black. How do I get the background color I want in Toon?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 replies
- 532 views
Hello everyone, In the modeling window there is usually a gridded background, but I accidentally hit a hot key, and it disappeared. Does anyone know how to get it back to normal? Thanks in advance, Masna
Last reply by Masna, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 816 views
Hi, I added a background image (jpg), an underwater scene, to an animated fish I created. Some of you who have been assisting me may be aware of the fish. Anyway, every time I render the animated fish with the background the background image is washed out almost completly. This happens with every image I add not just the under water one. I tried removing all the lights to figure out which light was the problem but even with NO LIGHTS it comes back as washed out. Any ideas or suggestions. I really am stuck. THX all. 4 got to add that my modeled fish is lookin like it's got lights beaming out of it in wireframe mode. What's that about? See atache…
Last reply by El-manchego, -
- 3 replies
- 461 views
I'm rendering my "Knight Pitch", but when it renders it, the background turns black and not the default blue? But when I'm in the choreography with the "view shaded", it displays the blue background? Anyone know what is going on?
Last reply by agep, -
- 3 replies
- 377 views
I cannot figure out how to put a still image or AVI in the background of my character animation. I want to do my digital sets in LightWave 9.3 and then bring them into a Hash scene for compositing.
Last reply by GUERIN, -
- 4 replies
- 622 views
As a guitar instructor, I sometimes forget to remember that the knowledge of some basic things that I take for granted, they have yet to learn. I've had no experience with animation of any kind, but the concepts of posing and lines of motion & force, along with exaggeration and how to make an animated character behave like a real actor are understandable to me. I'm about to approach ToaA:M exercises again. There are a few things I don't quite understand: Scene & Background: sky & ground, how to change & manipulate Lighting: Tutorials? Cameras: Tutorials Editing: The steps for turning the animations I make into "film" form …
Last reply by MJL, -
- 1 reply
- 328 views
is there some sort of Animation Master back up file thing that saves the last file that you have been working on every 10 minutes or so
Last reply by heyvern, -
- 15 replies
- 2.2k views
No. I didn't lose an important file. No. I didn't corrupt a model I had been spending days to create. No. I didn't save over the top and overwrite my beautiful project. Well. Not recently at least. It just occurred to me that it had been a long time since a warning was put out and I hope that by spreading the word we can save people the trouble of learning the hard way. I'm not sure that I've ever emphasized backing up to new users. TIme to do something about that. If anyone would care to elaborate on their backup methods I'm sure others would be greatful for your time. It might even save them a scream or two.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 680 views
I'm an oldie-newbie. I was an AM user up to v.13 and I'm wanting to dust off some of my old v.11-13 projects with v.15. Are there any issues/procedures I should become aware of ta do dis ting, right? I searched the archive but found no clear answer. MAC G4 Quicksilver, Leopard Thanks, Mike Hart
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 680 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, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
- 500 views
are there any common errors when working with splines? what constitutes good spline continuity verses bad spline continuity? rich
Last reply by Stuart Rogers, -
- 4 replies
- 456 views
Hi - has anyone done the Baggage Patch Water tutorial in verion 14? Link to Tutorial I am having trouble with the channels section - is that layed out differently in version 14? Thanks
Last reply by detbear, -
- 1 follower
- 10 replies
- 852 views
I have a scene with particles that, when baked, has the particles apparently jumping back and forth from where they should be in time. For example "falling" particles might go down, down, up, down, down, up... instead of down, down, down, down... Is there a cause?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 550 views
If I have baked the particles in my scene, am i supposed to leave "render particles" ON when render or turn it OFF?
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 5 replies
- 733 views
Firstly dose anybody know what "Exception #035" is ? I'm getting it every time I try and bake particles and then A:M locks up. Mac v16b and v17beta. Here's a test project that consistently fails for me, maybe someone could see if it fails for them too. Or am I just doing something wrong again? The zip contains the .prj and the .tag sprite images used in it. Secondly, for speedier rendering I would like to use NetRender. Do I need to bake particles before rendering? Particle_Bake_Problem.zip
Last reply by robcat2075, -
There's been quite a few threads on the forum lately referring to baking of this and that in them. Its something I would like to know more about. And I was wondering, as this was not around (except for the baking of actions), when the TechRef was written would someone like to add an entry to the Hash Wiki about Baking? What can be Baked? Why you would want to do it? The pros & cons of doing it. etc... Think this might be helpful for other users and the curious.
Last reply by NancyGormezano, -
- 41 replies
- 2.6k views
Ok, I'm going for a real simple IK leg rig. Here is what I've done so far: 1. Moved the left and right foot to the same level as the pelvis (hips) 2. Kinematically constrained the left foot to the left femur and right foot to right femur When I move the hips, the feet don't move, which is good. However, when I move the feet, the legs don't follow. I know I must have missed something but am not sure what it is. Is there a constraint I missed? I have 3 poses - one governs the fan bones in the body and neck, I'm not worried about that one. The other 2 poses are set to on, so I'm not sure why the legs aren't following the feet. Seems like ther…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 691 views
I am trying to get the effect of a light shining through a doorway into a very large dark room. The doorway won't be visible, but that seemed like the easiest way to change the light cone's shape from a circle to a rectangle. The problem I'm having is that if I turn volumetric on for the light, then the light rays are visible as they cut through the air in the dark room (which is what I want), but the doorway does not block any of the light. If I turn on shadows for the light, then the doorway blocks the light as I want but now the light cone is no longer visible. How do I get both shadows and volumetrics to work at the same time?
Last reply by RoyBU, -
- 1 reply
- 530 views
I asked this Q a long time ago but couldn't find the original post, so: Where can I download the basic male model character? He's not on the '05 extras DVD i have. Thanks!
Last reply by DeltaCommando5, -
- 6 replies
- 477 views
Hi - I have run into this issue several times and not sure if it is correct or there is a better way of doing it. For example I am working on a "Teddy Bear" for a client and at the tip of his nose there are 6 CPs - in a case like this what do I do. Should I add a CP at the tip and bring the 6 into 1 or zoom way in on the 6 and scale them close so when I zoom out it isn't noticable. Would love any input on how to work with this situation. Thanks - Eric
Last reply by flashawd, -
- 1 follower
- 14 replies
- 1.1k views
I know these are most likely going to be very basic questions, but we all gotta start somewhere right... I would know how to do these things in a polygon modeling app, but with splines are a bit different, so even the basics sometimes are a bit misleading. I want to build a very small, very cartoony building. Big enough for maybe two people to stand in. The front of the building needs to have a working door, that opens to show the inside of the cude, as well as a hole for a window. No glass in the window, just a hole that someone could lean through if they were inside. Something similiar to the GIF file attached... So how would I start this? Oddly enough, …
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 393 views
anyone know where I can find a simple full-body rigging tutorial, not just how to put an already made skeleton into something? If not, can someone tell me which constraint I should use to make feet not go through the ground? thanks !
Last reply by itsjustme, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 1k views
switching emphasis between projects on monday, summing up and after gathering a foundation for troubleshooting one last area is as basic as it is murky. i can't confidently use terminology yet, so this is going to sound a bit weird: lots of people have time and again made the same mistake, as have i - confusing in which window to set the value for a certain thing. and they are different things. each time someone comes to help asking 'have you set the parameter in this window you have to remove it and do the same in that other window'. (PWS vs. chor window, object properties vs. right clicking etc) this was at its most confusing when reading about lighting a scene. …
Last reply by dblhelix, -
I am very new to this and it would be very helpful if someone has a tutorial that follows the same process as the Demo Video on the main Hash page. I've tried to follow the steps he uses to animate that vase several times, but it's obvious some steps are gone over so fast you don't notice them, and you can't stop and start it anyway. I want to make my own model and animate it, and things aren't going well as yet. For instance, how do you save a model to begin with? I can save my project, but don't seem to be able to save models. I can make new folders but can't see any way to get my models into them. And bones are eluding me. I draw bones and attach cps to them -- get the…
Last reply by jim dodds,
