New Users
Get started and learn the ropes!
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
-
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 408 views
sorting out weird patches i run into one that refused to get covered. then i realize this could have something to do with the shape of the piece; it could be interpreted as i kind of tube. and i know for a fact there's a page about this somewhere but i can't find it. what is the logic here; if i have a hole - well, two holes - with 4 or 5 CP's then it's not doable (=a patch) in principle; i need to plan around and model more to make the piece more of a mesh formation?
Last reply by dblhelix, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 582 views
i need to ask something but i can't make an image to illustrate... i can't render in the model mode, in the model window. trying a jpeg, tried particles ON if that was an issue; wireframe; i need an image that shows normals, my actual question is about those. help please?
Last reply by dblhelix, -
- 1 reply
- 368 views
I would like to use some of the Math Functions that AM has to offer - but I need to know what the Functions / Variables are so they can be used - I dont see any Help. Tom
Last reply by HomeSlice, -
- 4 replies
- 963 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, -
- 3 replies
- 350 views
I'm a bit confused on how to use onion skinning. I'm animating a character and would like to see frame 15 as that's the mirror of a walk cycle. I know about paste mirrored for characters but the way this character is setup it's not an option. So I'm trying to match frame 45 with frame 15 except mirrored (to some point). My problem is that I can't make the onion skin feature JUST show me frame 15... Any help would be appreciated. Thanx everyone.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 11 replies
- 817 views
Hello Working on the "move it" tutorial, using the Rabbit. I've noticed that sometimes when I select bones, only the rotate and scale manipulators are available. Why is that? Shouldn't the translate manipulator be available as well? Am I clicking on the wrong part of the bone? I am in skeletal mode, so that's not the problem. Not sure what I'm doing wrong.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 10 replies
- 676 views
Any Ideas?
Last reply by UNGLAUBLICHUSA, -
- 9 replies
- 586 views
(This topic has been split off from another discussion.) I would like to see a basic discussion first of how A:M uses percentages. I am of the old school that says a percentage is a fraction of something (and that 0 and 100 are the min and max.) So I would like to know the basis that A:M is uses for each property. Same for numbers. Some are easy like particle count or size (cm default but whatever the unit.) But velosity - is it furlongs per fortnight or what? I know it is probably just me, but it would go a long way to helping me be a better animator.
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 11 replies
- 740 views
Somehow my choreography settings are going haywire. From one day to the next they change. I have been working on a fluids project for several days. Last Saturday I thought I just about had it right. When I started again on Monday, nothing was the same. Real-time rendering slowed to a crawl. I could not change the size of the particles, Nothing was the same. I started from scratch by creating a new project. Last night I left it this way: Fluids7e.mov When I started again today this is what I got: Fluids7f.mov Even though I had changed the size in the channel (by dragging the key frame marker) it did nothing. I then opened the the property pane…
Last reply by bubba, -
- 1 follower
- 5 replies
- 748 views
Hey everyone... I remember something like this happening awhile ago. I've searched, but the "solutions" I've found didn't work. I recently purchased the 1year subscription (vers 15.0 J ). I downloaded the complete "data" folder also, and per the email instructions, placed it in the program files / hash inc / ver 15 folder. I have other models I've used in other version of A:M. I copied the one model folder (toon shark) to the same destination directory, but placed the "Toon Shark" folder inside the Data - Models - Aquatic folder. When I boot up A:M, I don't see that model or the others I placed in that default DATA folder. What am I missing? Tha…
Last reply by HomeSlice, -
Fluid model
by bubba- 15 replies
- 1k views
I have been working with this project for some time and cannot seem to get it to look any better. Here are the settings: and here is the output: Fluids3.mov
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 4 replies
- 355 views
Would some one look at this picture and tell me why the red blob appears in the model window? It has no CPs, there is no way to grab it. If it is the fluid material then I would think that it should only appear in the choreography window.
Last reply by bubba, -
- 5 replies
- 447 views
I'm a bit stuck on my personal project right now, and waiting for a new license key, so I'm back in v13 at the moment and thought I would go through the tutorials. My thinking is it is better to be doing something than nothing. I sort of glossed over the earlier tutorials in favor of the modelling tutorials, as that is what I was having problems with at the time. I loaded the Keykat model and noticed there is something a bit off about him - his eyes look like they are too far back in his sockets and one of his fingers has a CP jumping way off it. Is this normal? I loaded him directly from the CD. I can fix the eyes simply enough, by moving them forward, not sure…
Last reply by markw, -
- 1 follower
- 12 replies
- 1.8k views
has any one ever had this happen. I'm trying some new stuff using the dark tree materials ( dsts files) when i get this at the basic material render screen. i have tryed loading 6 different mats all encountering the same effect. noting that this has only happened after my system upgrade( win7 from vista) but as far as i know i set up AM the exact same way and everything else is more or less working
Last reply by Master chief, -
- 6 replies
- 1.2k views
Has anyone attempted to make a animation of a welding torch raining down sparks and what not?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 5 replies
- 517 views
A strange problem is occuring when I try to render a QT to preview some animation. Working in 15J on an Imac under OSX 10.56 If I render the view using the Q ( quick render ) option, the image appears. If I try to render the same view to a QT file, I get a black blank. No image. This problem has not happened before. I get the same problem if I try to render a choreography from the camera view. ??? The shadows only option is turned off in the buffers. The other settings are standard. Does anyone have any ideas as to what might be going wrong ? Also, I don't know if this is related or not but, In my project I h…
Last reply by jimd, -
- 10 replies
- 1.4k views
Alright, kinda fundamental modeling question here. Typically, when modeling something round that needs to be capped off smoothly (and no hole/point from lathing), I'll do something like this: Unfortunately, this always seems to create creases - particularly in the three-point patches - that no amount of bias tweaking gets rid of: I've included the model in the screenshot; it's just a 2-second deal with no polish or anything. round_cap.mdl Is this just a fundamentally bad way to model stuff, or is there a way to get rid of these creases? Thanks!
Last reply by Malo, -
- 2 replies
- 876 views
Discovered while messing with something else... this is made with a grid combiner, animated in the chor. The actual mesh never moves. DomePanels.prj Dome.mov
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 16 replies
- 748 views
Hi y'all! I hope, my thread won't get deleted, i dont mean this offensive, just out of curiosity. Animation:Master was my first love in the 3D World... Well, actually the third after Ray Dream 3D and Softimage 3D on the SGI Workstation of my father... But i always loved the ease of use of A:M, but have since moved on to Blender and a little App for the Mac called Cheetah 3d. I haven't heard much of A:M on the other Boards or in 3D circles in general. The Website isnt very informative either. A lot of Message Boards are dead silent which saddens me a lot espcecially, since i already thought about maybe buying a subscription. I think A:M has still a lot of go…
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 1 follower
- 18 replies
- 1.3k views
Hey Everyone, I've worked with .obj export & import many times, but I have run into a new question: I have a very smooth obj imported model(Must have been created with Quads rather than triangles ...... Anyway, heres my problem: 1.I want to use the UV map that the model has in the other App. 2.I exported it as an obj 3.I imported it into Hash 4.The model mesh is awesome....but no texture/ UV map. 5.How do I know if the UV info is still there and How do I get the stamp onto the model in AM. BTW: I know some may be thinking that I should use a .3ds instead, but I can't get a .3ds to export from the other App. William
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 493 views
I got AM a couple years ago at comic-con but I haven't had much time to mess with it, but I'm pretty used to making the models and rigging them. I was recently asked to help make a little game and stuff, so I need to send them the files, but they're useing blender, and I think the files I need to export are either blend, dae and fbx I looked around but I'm kind of at a loss. I need a plugin to export them like that right? I can only really do the basics with this program. I need to be able to send him the model with it all rigged.
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 2 replies
- 367 views
I'm not sure if I'm blind or something, but where can I find the info on a model after I'm done with it. I'm required to tell my superior the vertex amount and.... well, don't know where that would be. Or if there is one... Or I might end up counting them...
Last reply by omtay, -
- 1 follower
- 13 replies
- 1.5k views
planning stage: what's a smart way to have jewels reflect light? i'll be making crowns, they have different kinds of stones in/on them. the light won't be that of the sun or lamp, cheats are sort of built in. i'll be compositing excessively, no problem to add a layer or three. but how to think/plan/execute?
Last reply by dblhelix, -
- 3 replies
- 579 views
alright this ones a bit out there but bear with me. thanks to the help i have been getting i have managed to get some of my AM skill back and have rendered a few short animations to my liking ( again thanks guys). my main concern now is that i want to put these in a web page, but try as a might i cant find an option to render as a animated gif. that said first question is does AM have this capability. second question is that if AM does not, does any one know of a way to load a small movie file into a web page to auto run and repeat as if it where a animated gif? hopefully with out the pause paly bar?
Last reply by Xtaz, -
- 6 replies
- 584 views
Well i have upgraded to the most current version (V15.0j+) when i encounter a new problem it appears that every time i try and undo a action AM freezes then dies horribly forcing a full restart and reload of the project. while i am generally very good at saving every few changes its beginning to become quite bothersome due to my natural nature of trying different effects and positions and such. that said any one encounter this or have any idea what i can set/change to make am more undo friendly?
Last reply by mouseman, -
- 9 replies
- 1.3k views
ok i used to be able to do this but i think AM is laughing at me...... I have a ball for lack of words, over this ball is another one with a semitransparent material pattern, in the choreography when i try and rotate the material it like AM simple does not want to accept what I'm telling it to do, i have turned on show more than drivers and even made sure that i have placed keys in the time line. i have uploaded the project file as that seams to be able to help more. I know this should be easy ( as i have done this before) but it may be the new version or lack of using AM for a while Game.prj
Last reply by mtpeak2, -
- 2 replies
- 399 views
What are the system requirements for running the latest version of A:M on Mac OSX? Am I just dense, or is this information very difficult to find at the Hash Store or here at the forums. I'm already running one subscription on a Mac running Tiger, but am wondering when Tiger is no longer supported.
Last reply by Meowx, -
- 4 replies
- 716 views
A couple of years ago, someone kindly pointed me to an info file which dealt with "shadows only" rendering. I used it but in the interim have been distracted by many things. I recently reorganised the house and, when I went to get it it again couldn't find it ( it was a big change around ! ). The file described the basic wok flow behind using shadows only and then compositing in AM. I think it was part of the official documentation (?). Could someone kindly point me to the files again, or a good description of the method used? Thank you very much. regards simon
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 8 replies
- 755 views
I am running an IMac 3.03 with 4Gb of RAM, using OSX 10.65 and 15J of AM. I am trying to finish off a project that has had a few difficulties but, I have a recurring problem which, if I was a less affable fellow, would have me screaming. This afternoon ( UK time ) I was rendering out some test QT files of Action files for the project. One file would render and I would select the next one. When I go to save file as, to change the name, the program freezes up and every time I click the mouse I get the fault sound. I can't even click CANCEL . The only way to get out of it is to Force Quit under OSX. Then reload. This happens each time I have rende…
Last reply by Simon Edmondson, -
- 4 replies
- 542 views
Ello I have recently taken it upon myself to get back into the animation business and so once again i am in need of help. having taken a 6 month hiatus from AM i find that my skills with sprites have essentially fallen apart. what I'm trying to do should be simple but it causing me no end in trouble. I'm trying to create for lack of a better word Elemental spheres. as an example an ice sphere would look frozen with frost clouds drifting of it and snow particles forming around it , while a fire sphere would be, well on fire. I know there are tutorials to help do this but i for what ever reason cant quite find them any help you could provide…
Last reply by Master chief, -
- 12 replies
- 891 views
hello everyone I am wits end. been tring to download service pack 3 from 1997? my pc won't give me any answers. Havent used AM since 2001 ,should i just get new package?????????????????? iam new here to dont know what to do
Last reply by stonewoven, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 961 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, -
Data Folder
by bubba- 4 replies
- 531 views
Does this folder "need" to be here? I cannot see anyway that A:M looks inside automatically. So, can it be moved somewhere else?
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 6 replies
- 601 views
If i want to have an object decrement its Y position every frame I should be able to do a standard value reassignment like Y=Y-1, shouldn't I?
Last reply by Xtaz, -
- 1 reply
- 498 views
Hey there, something I've always wondered about... does anyone know how AM decides which patches should be shown when hooks are involved? For example: I'm adding some pants texture on these legs. You can see the patch with a hook is also making part of the skin decal show up. When I select the hook, it automatically brings that extra CP along with it. When I specifically click that CP and make it go away, the hook's patch ALSO goes away: However, on the other leg? Exactly the opposite. Here, you can see that the "skin" patch is hidden, but the "hook" patch shows up just fine. I'm planning on just decaling over the skin on the one side and then remov…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 415 views
RC02 works Great Just need to make sure the ip address of the server is up to date on all messengers.
Last reply by jason1025, -
- 2 replies
- 430 views
I just spent the last several days making the dust for the left leg in a five step walk. Is there anyway to copy the keyframes from the left leg to the right? I know I have to off-set the start and change the x,y,z starting co-ordinates, but that my only take several hours not several days.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 12 replies
- 1.1k views
Here are two short animations of my BattleMech. This is an 85 ton machine so it should kick up a lot of dust. But I am having trouble deciding which is best or how I can improve them. Any help would be appreciated. Cone: Side_View_Dust_v3_cone.mov Sphere: Side_View_Dust_v4_sphere.mov Thanks.
Last reply by bubba, -
- 4 replies
- 458 views
Where does A:M set the default value for Channel Interpolation? In the Channel CP Settings dialog box it lists Default, linear, etc.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 reply
- 465 views
I know this subject (copying frames) has been covered before (again and again) but I did not see anything about restricting what keys are copied. I am creating dust for my BattleMech and after I do it once for the first step I would like to copy just the keys attached to the dust object. Does hi-lighting the object in the timeline restrict what is copied?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 14 replies
- 1.5k views
I was trying to hide none animating bones in a model which i was rigging I edited their visibility property But when i tried to save , it is not saving and it is giving me the following error message : "An Invalid argument was encountered" I repeated the process more than one time and it kept on giving me the same message . I appreciate your help
Last reply by Nik, -
- 9 replies
- 871 views
When you render to an image sequence A:M creates a .sinfo file to somehow connect sound that was in the chor with the image sequence. How do i get that to work when I import an image sequence back into A:M?
Last reply by HomeSlice, -
- 3 replies
- 561 views
This topic is for Gary who is having some problems posting a new topic. Hopefully he'll see this topic and be able to post here. Here's Gary's first question (somewhat rephrased) for those who would like to lend a hand and welcome him to the forum: Welcome to the A:M forum Gary!
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 3 replies
- 372 views
Hello. below is a question I emailed to Hash. Thought I'd throw it out here to see if anyone has the answer. Hello. I purchased a copy of Animation Master about 6 years ago at a comic book convention. The price of your software attracted me and the demonstration at the convention displayed it's user friendliness. I later learned that I needed the CD Rom to unlock the program each time I wanted to work on it. So I hesitated installing it on any computer fearing I would loose the disk. Needing the CD Rom in hand to unlock the program is very impractical for me. Does Hash offer a new version of Animation Master that does no…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 16 replies
- 1.8k views
Why is the background to my choreography different when I render-to-file than when I am working with the choreography? This is my working screen. This is the rendered file. Walking_Lower_Body_F1.mov
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 7 replies
- 800 views
I've toyed around with hair and cloth dynamic's a little bit and they need to be setup with a deflector. But now I want to try and have two object to not pass through one an other like they ain't there. Did some searching, but not really sure what the right search terms are. Most hits I'm getting are hair and cloth threads. I'm starting simple, a Sphere what will act as ball and the ground. How do I proceed from here? (Is there a tutorial, online or may be even in the AM documentation/guide what I've missed?)
Last reply by HomeSlice, -
- 8 replies
- 598 views
I created two relational poses (percentages) within one pose window to two different bones within the model. Both showed up under user properties. But when I apply them individually within a keyframe they seem to interfere with each other. When I set the right one to 100 the left one goes to some positive value (it is supposed to be zero) Think of toes on a foot. I want to squeeze them at some point in a walk. But when I set the right foot toes to 100, the left pose slider has moved also. Should I have created each percentage pose separately in a different pose window?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 13 replies
- 433 views
I have an IK chain of two leg bones. The knee has a null target. I noticed in a chor that the null does not follow the knee as it moves forward. Because it doesn't, I believe that it is causing the knee to bend inward somewhat. Here are three screen captures of what I am talking about.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 5 replies
- 477 views
My BattleMech model has three two-jointed "toes". When the foot pedestal rises, the "toes" should flex downward. And when the foot is planted they should return. Each joint has a bone. I am looking for someway to "flex" just one "toe" and have the others follow. Which constraint would accomplish this? Is there some other "easy" way? Thanks.
Last reply by bubba, -
- 14 replies
- 1.2k views
I have a model that has bones and CPs assigned to these bones. Or so I thought. When in bone mode and I click on the top level object in the PWS, a black bone shows up. According to what I have read, this is the default bone to with all "unassigned" CPs are assigned. I have looked and looked at my model and cannot find any black CPs. What can I do?
Last reply by Muff,