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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.
4,141 topics in this forum
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- 1 follower
- 14 replies
- 1k views
i tried to save my best modle in the "my library" section and when it did, it was denied, so i quit and came back to see if it would work better, but instead, my weeks and weeks of work on my modle was erased and never seen again. is there a way to save in the library and if not, please tell me if i can ever retrieve my weeks of work!
Last reply by pwknox, -
- 1 follower
- 17 replies
- 1k views
Ok, Rodney's topic brought up something I've been scratching my head about for a while now. I'm rendering out displacement maps for footprints. The displacement maps render fine, but now come the next step. I need to combine the frames so the footprints "add up". I'll try to say this simple and clearly. So, you have the first frame: ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- No footprints. Second frame: ---------------- ---x------------ ---------------- First foot print. Third frame: ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- Nothing. Forth frame (and so on): ---------------- ------x…
Last reply by Ganthofer, -
- 1 follower
- 15 replies
- 1k views
Hello, all. I am new to the forum. I have a problem getting a good transition between a walk cycle (as example) action, and the continuation into more choreography. All I have tried so far is to make the character pose and wave at the end of the action. I have been using 'new/choreography action' then starting the continuation from there. Buuuuuuuut...it keeps making all sorts of strange things happen like: changing my character's position, moving his foot in contorted positions, and even switching the moving leg. Can you tell me how to fix this? It must be possible (and easily so) to make smooth transitions into a new action or choreography. What settings am I…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 7 replies
- 1k views
Hi, everybody. I actually have some time off from work to animate! I have a great character modeled and it's time to really learn these constraints. I'd like to know some great tutorial resources that will help with picking up objects, surface constraints (ie. a hand not going through a table top). I'm finding it's difficult to manuever hands and arms realistically and easily. Any suggestions on specific tutorials would be great! Thomas
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 followers
- 16 replies
- 1k views
Hello all, My name is V... I am not a newbie yet, since I am still trying to make my decision whether to buy the DVD or to get 1 yr subscription. I hope someone could tell me PROs and CONs between them. Thank you!
Last reply by StormedFX, -
- 3 replies
- 1k views
It used to be that if you would customize which panels were open, and their location, then quit the app. It would remember where they were when you relaunch the app. However, with v18, that doesn't seem to be the case. Each time I either quit the app, or it crashes (which is still quite frequent - very disappointing), the panels are always restored to their default location. Is there a way to get the software to remember which windows I want open and where? Thanks, Tommy
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 18 replies
- 1k views
how do i lock a light on a model?? im making the starship enterprise, i want to put lights on it to shine on the letters: uss enterprise 1701-a then animate the ship, flying. thx
Last reply by Walter Baker, -
For now I'm stuck with the 2002 version of this software, and I need to make some text. It would be tedious to model each letter from scratch, not to mention challenging, so I hoped there was a text option somewhere. There isn't. I've heard about some Wizard Font plug-in that provides text, so I looked it up on Google, hoping it was freeware I could download....no luck. Can somebody help me out?
Last reply by Distress, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 1k views
I'm still learning expressions. Is there a simple way to save a randomly generated value so that it can be used throughout the animation after it's been generated at frame zero? I have a "flock" of stars, and want them to rotate about the Y axis by a constant amount of between -1 and +1 degrees per frame - a bit like they are hanging from a child's mobile. I've used the flocking plugin to generate all my stars - would each have its own variable or would they all rotate by the same amount?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 replies
- 1k views
Snap Group to surface is "view dependent" which I take to mean that it will move the CPs in what ever direction you are viewing from, right? However, i can only get it to move in one direction. I filed this as an A:M report which is why it's in German but maybe someone here has an answer before Steffen gets to it... SnapGroupToSurfaceQuestion.mov SimpleSnapTest02.prj
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 11 replies
- 1k views
Hello, Any time there are four points that are comprised of two splines, a face is created. Some of these faces I don't want. Now, I know that I can get rid of them by adding a fifth vertex, but this creates a good deal of complication as the fifth vertex breaks the adjacent face (which I want to keep), which I have to deal with by adding more vertices, and creating more polys than I wanted to. so, to make a long story short, is there any way to make a face go away? For example, select it with the face selection tool, and then _do something_ to disable it ? Thanks!
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 followers
- 12 replies
- 1k views
OK due to some post by other iv come to the conclusion that textures most likely wont do it for me( note there was nothing wrong with the post they just steered me in a new direction) so i need to know how to make materials, any help would be nice
Last reply by Helojammer, -
- 2 replies
- 1k views
Was just wondering why, when I change the view settings (clicking off Community and Property Info) this black are remains in their place?
Last reply by kem, -
- 6 replies
- 1k views
Does anyone one know if Animation:Master allows you to install it on both a laptop and desktop? Most applications allow this nowadays...I just wondered if Hash was following the trend? Thanks. Dave
Last reply by PostTribber, -
- 18 replies
- 1k views
I'm working on an entry for the 11 Second Club, which has three Squetchy Sam characters in it, plus a couple of stationary props. My problem is that the choreography is playing back so slowly that I can't get any sense of the motion or the timing without rendering out a quicktime every half hour or so. I've got relatively big iron hardware (3.0ghz P4 HT, 2GB RAM, 80gb HD running WinXP and AM14), and I usually I can get 30fps with an older rig, like the Knight or Shaggy. I know that the squetchy rig is more complex, but does it really slow things down that much? I've got version 15 on my dual core Mac, but I can't even run this choreography at all on that machine …
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 15 replies
- 1k views
I'm trying to add detail to some vents and wall outlets. Namely, screw heads. For the the life of me I can't figure out how to make a bolt, or screw head...any tutorials or suggestions?
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 8 replies
- 1k views
is there some sort of function that welds verticies that are near each other?
Last reply by eptigo, -
- 6 replies
- 998 views
I'm wondering -- when we create a circular spline by lathing a line into a cylinder and deleting the CPs at one end, is the resulting geometry a true circle or do splines merely provide a very good approximation of a circle? -SB
Last reply by sb4, -
- 2 replies
- 998 views
Overview of Fishdom - an amusing puzzle game on Android Fishdom is a three-in-a-row puzzle game developed by the popular company Playrix Entertainment. Due to the bright graphics and continuous gameplay, the application has gained high popularity among users in all countries of the world. Here the player has to build and decorate a virtual underwater world. Let’s go through our article to understand why you should download this game right away! About the game This game project is a Puzzle game classic in the "three in a row" genre. You will need not only to decorate the underwater kingdom where the f…
Last reply by Rodney, -
Glass Dome
by bubba- 6 replies
- 996 views
How do I make a glass dome, like on an anniversary clock? Thanks.
Last reply by bubba, -
- 22 replies
- 993 views
I am working my way through David Rogers book and I am stuck on creating the windows for the building (page 227.) David says that the Duplicator Wizard to create the grid of bricks but I just can't understand the wizard. Nothing I have tried results in a grid of bricks. Please help. Thanks.
Last reply by bubba, -
- 13 replies
- 993 views
As some of you know, I had a few problems in December with files going awry. Fortunately I haven't had a recurrence of those problems yet but I have noticed a curious factor with the current iteration of AM. If I work in the current project, save, close the project and shut down AM. When I reopen, there is a little asterisk on the actions folder indicating there has been a change which needs saving ? When I open the folder it varies as to which action has the change indicator showing. Has anyone else noticed this and, has it given any problems ? Pt two Working on an action file I noticed that there is an option to 'Smooth' the interpolatio…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 12 replies
- 990 views
transparent Glass text look Can someone talented in Material create this look? You can do it easily with Pro animator but I of course want to use my favorite program. This look is very hot right now so I think it will come in handy for all of us. It has a high production value, in my opinion. Kind of reminds me of something apple would do. glass_text.mov
Last reply by jason1025, -
- 5 replies
- 987 views
I've probably asked this before and gotten good answers but... I know that CTRL-click is the one-button mac equivalent of a right-click in A:M Is "Command+" still the MacOS equivalent for CTRL+ combinations on a PC? What is the equivalent of holding ALT on a PC to subtract things from a selection?
Last reply by largento, -
- 2 followers
- 11 replies
- 982 views
I've been reviewing that some 3D artist start their models in 2d. They draw up the left/right side and then front/back. In which, they then integrate those two 2D outlines and make their 3D model. Other 3D artist seem to start off with just a couple patches and keep extruding and tweaking step by step. Apparently, there is no true way to model, I presume. My question is this though, how do you as a 3D artist/modeler start your day when you begin making a model? Also is there an effective way to model, to speed up the process at times?
Last reply by Xtaz, -
I have a scene in the shower. This will be composite shot. The character is hand drawn but I need to have an effect of water droplets coming down and off the body. for shower effect I will be using robcat2075 shower spray. But I need to make the water droplets on the body. I have made a model of the image for the effect. Any idea’s?? Also dose any one have a shower head with a coord?
Last reply by johnl3d, -
- 17 replies
- 981 views
Hello All, I was just attempting to complete the fighter plane tutorial and had a few questions about A:M performance issues. Basically, A:M has been running very smooth with every tutorial until the fighter one. I am having terrible performance issues making A:M completely unusable. Here are some of the issues and steps I've taken to resolve them: - When loading the fighter project that I have been working on it takes over a minute to load. - Once the project loads I am trying to put the back fin on and when I click a node there is a delay of over 30 seconds for it to select. (spinning colour wheel of doom entertains me while I wait) - Once the node f…
Last reply by Mark3D, -
- 5 replies
- 981 views
I just downloaded A:M v16 on my iMac. I'm running mac OSX v. 10.6.8. When I put in my activation code I get an error: "Error writing license file / Application / Animation Master 16.0 / master0.lic" When I cancel it pops up "Bad parameter passed to RLM function (-123)" I have never installed A:M on this machine before. There is no master0.lic in Animation Master 16.0 at this time. What do I do now?
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 1 reply
- 981 views
One of the easiest ways to combine Choreographies is to create a third (empty) Chor and import the others into it. As a cautionary note, saving that Chor will result in one that is truly merged and combined so make sure you save your originals. For realtime organization and planning of Projects consider creating Choreographies with themes. For instance you might have one Chor named 'Characters' that has all of the actors needed in a particular storyline. Similarly, a Chor named 'Props' can be populated with all manner of props. As you need these resources simply drag and drop from the Character Chor into the active Chor you have set up for with a camera for that s…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 13 replies
- 980 views
I just got around to checking out the chat room for the first time and there was no one home. The last few messages were from some dude plaintively mewling for help with rigging and a bit of a troll correcting his spelling. LOL. But those were days old. I'm surprised such a neat feature gets so little use. Does anyone know if the Hash, Inc. reps still do a once a week chat in there or not... and if so when?
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 11 replies
- 980 views
ive been working on a model for awhile now and it came time to do a flip copy attach. the hand came out distorted. i deleted the hand and just took the left hand and copied it and did a flip hoping that it would be okay. unfortunatley it came out distorted. any ideas as to why this is happening?
Last reply by Walter Baker, -
- 18 replies
- 978 views
]It seems to be the season to ask questions about shadows ( !)... I am trying to be more systematic in my approach and, after losing a lot of time due to operator error. I finally got a lighting set up in a choreography that I liked. The shadows were an interesting shape and lead the eye into the picture. As part od the new approach I re read the section on lighting in the old V8 manual and in the new Technical reference book and thought I'd try it with more than one way cast for the shadows. The results were a big disappointment and I don't know if its me or a problem ? The two included files show what I mean. Example 1 is using one ray cast p…
Last reply by Simon Edmondson, -
- 1 follower
- 15 replies
- 976 views
Im working on a movie for The mini movie contest, and when i render it, theres this Y,X,Z manipulater in the far bottom left corner how can i get rid of it when i render it?
Last reply by Robert-Jank, -
ive heard people refer to "hooks", what is a hook? how do you make one?
Last reply by nimblepix, -
- 12 replies
- 976 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, -
- 8 replies
- 975 views
i bought and installed my copy of AM whislt i Was in my college library on their wifi network, I'm now sat in a different part of the library and the wireless network is not working, not your fault, lol. But when I run A:M I get the error message wrong host for license (-4). why is that, I won't be going home for another two hours yet, do I need to be connected to the net for A:M to work?
Last reply by higginsdj, -
- 14 replies
- 974 views
Before choosing between jumping off a nearby cliff or dusting off the old light-box having ripped the rig out of this model three times and still having the same problem - I thought I'd put this to the forum. The character is rigged with the 2001 skeleton. As soon as I move the arms downwards they flip and/or disappear. It's most likely a constraint problem (?) but after much trial and error and comparing arm bone by arm bone to models with the same rig and that work, I admit defeat. Any ideas? Attached is a top view in which can be seen that the right forearm has boldly gone where no forearm has ever been (eh - no rude comments please lads) and the left has flipped ba…
Last reply by PaulX, -
- 8 replies
- 973 views
I'm making a porno, and i was wondering how can i make semen look realistic.
Last reply by ddustin, -
- 7 replies
- 973 views
Is there any way to bevel after the fact? I'm racing to finish my contest entry, and one of the parts is looking really awful with knife-like edges, but I'm not sure how best exactly to bevel it. I could try adding more CPs and then smoothing the points, and seeing if that helps. It looks really rough right now, though.
Last reply by Roger, -
- 1 follower
- 15 replies
- 972 views
I have searched on "render farm" in this forum, but could not find any postings on this topic. I assume many users would be interested in this - perhaps there is already a posting on this network rendering, if so, how can I find it here? Here's what I wanted to know.. 1) Is there a built in network rendering capability so that I could assign the rendering to other machines in my network? 2) What external render tools exist that are compatible with A:M? 3) What platform(s) are supported in network rendering? 4) What Mac specific hardware requirements are there for network rendering. 5) How many seat are included - assuming there is a network renderer…
Last reply by Rob_T, -
- 2 followers
- 18 replies
- 969 views
I'm stumped. I have a very simple animation. I am using the Hash supplied cube model. Each major face has a decal with an image. (Think of a )photocube. I get my decals applied, but the image associated with the image object keeps getting reset to 'None'. I run through the six faces, and re assign the images, then pretty shortly thereafter, I'm seeing a gray cube again and all of the images have been reset. It seems that as soon as I save, the image reverts back to None. As you can imagine, this is very frustrating and any clues would be very welcome.
Last reply by AndyDavis, -
- 24 replies
- 969 views
I just got Animation:Master 2004. And I know everyone is going to tell me to look through the tutorials. But my question is... what do I do after that? I want to know how to create my own animation, whether still frame or music video, but I'm a complete newbie. I know next to nothing about animation but I really want to know how to design cool things. Could someone tell me how to do this? I was looking at Thom in the wireframe mode and I moved all his segments around and everything. Which project do I go to to make things like him? How do I create segments? Can someone please help me with this gigantic challenge? If you could, it would be greatly appriciated.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 12 replies
- 967 views
Hi, I would like to make a series of children's cartoons based on religious principles. I have a very talented artist but who has no computer skills. I am a programmer with little natural artistic talent. I'm researching the feasibility right now. Can anyone provide me their opinion if I am being realistic with this and what kind of commitment I'm looking at? I have wanted to learned 3D animation for a while but have never been able to get the right software or spend enough time. I am proficient in Photoshop and Flash. Thanks, Luke
Last reply by phatso, -
- 1 follower
- 13 replies
- 967 views
Any suggestions as to how I might be able to make sprites glow?
Last reply by Tom, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 967 views
hi! where did you find the a:m compatible, animatable pidgeon for your fun contribution to the bus stop? my libraries contain 3 birds no pidgeon.
Last reply by dblhelix, -
- 1 follower
- 15 replies
- 964 views
Hey folks, can anyone help me, I'm working on a model and suddenly I can't select any control points. If I click on one or any of them nothing happens that I can see. On a rare occasion if I try and grab a whole section of points the green selection box will grab another area of the model. I tried opening older versions and the same thing happens, which is nothing, so then I thought perhaps reinstalling the software might help. It didn't, same problem. I'm going through the Posts now to see if this has happened to anyone else but I may as well start a new post also and get the ball rolling, Help me animation masters, I'm getting desperate. Aj
Last reply by largento, -
- 4 replies
- 964 views
In Hash pressing Shift + middle Mouse button will give you the "Turn tool" for rotating in the scene/ model/ action/ view, etc. HOW can you customize this to be Alt + Left Mouse button? I haven't learned that golden knowledge during my last 11 years of Hash use. Anyone know how? I Know how to change short cut keys via the "Customize/ Keyboard" window.....but I haven't figured out how to make the "Mouse buttons" work in combination there in order the re-customize the view interface ......(Turn, Move, zoom)
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 replies
- 964 views
For some reason I can't find an "Add-Lock" tool, or access it. I open a Model window, and see the "A+" tool (cursor with +), and I see a grayed out "Lock" (but no +). It is referenced in the AM V10.5 help, so I'm sure it should be somewhere, just can't find it. Any ideas? -SB
Last reply by sb4, -
- 1 follower
- 14 replies
- 963 views
I started in modeling a face per the excercies. I created a nose and added an eye. So far so good..then I tried to tie the eye to the forehead and the cheek. My smooth curved splines suddenly became sprung wire angles. I tried adjusting the bias handles and things seemed to get worse. I kept tweaking the splines in the problem area until I would get them "kinda'" like I wanted and wamo zamo my tweaking had changed the spline bias for another area. I went back and watched the tutorial video. The instructor didn't seem to have a problem with his eyes and nose attaching nor did the example in the manual. What did I miss and what should I know to keep my models fa…
Last reply by Russell, -
Hi everyone, I would like to put a heart shaped window in a door. I have my heart shape-----I have my door----and I have A:M's documentation. But I can't seem to find the "Boolean Cutter" option anywhere? Is using the "Boolean Cutter" the best way to go about building a window? Thanks -Josh
Last reply by Luxo,