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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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- 7 replies
- 888 views
Hello again, Just popping in quick to see if anyone knows of any podcasts related to Animation Master? I have the privilege of being able to listen to music or what-not at my job, and so I usually like to keep myself entertained by listening to music or podcasts/interviews about various topics of interest. Since A:M is back on my list of interests, I'm wondering if there's anything about this program I could listen to? Google search hasn't really yielded anything, but sometimes it's just a matter of finding the right oddball combination of terms... Thanks!
Last reply by MikeV, -
2 questions
by Malo- 1 follower
- 14 replies
- 886 views
Hi, Is it a way to view all Falloff's bones, in mode bones? Is it a keyboard button to move a patch along the normal as there is one for X (1), Y (2), Z (3) axis? thank you in advance
Last reply by Malo, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 886 views
Hi. My name is Myron LeRoy andI'm coming back into the Forum community after several years of wandering in the wilderness. Although I made some small contributions to "The Scarecrow Of Oz" , my biggest claim to A:M fame is probably my collaboration with Gene Thompson, known as "Spleengene". I am looking forward to getting toknow the current cast of characters, new as well as old friends on one of the best Forums I've ever found. Happy Splining. Myron
Last reply by MJL, -
- 1 follower
- 15 replies
- 885 views
this is not a project i'm working on now, but i'd like to understand something and find out what that something is . to make a model come apart at the seams, think "Sarah's Asylum Nightmare" in T2, the nuclear explosion, she's at the playground fence or Iron Man says to computer "exploded view" - is there something called exploded view in reality? (yes i know where this might point and yes i might stray but it's a:m for me, period.) - is there a simple way to use the patch information to perform this type of operation in a:m? boiling down to, can i blow up any model, or should i for instance go find a polygon model and then explode it in a:m? i'd …
Last reply by jimd, -
- 9 replies
- 884 views
All, Just a note from your friendly neighborhood New Users Forum moderator to say I'll be out quite a bit in July. I may have limited connectivity to the internet so my ability to answer personal mail etc. will be effected. This is something of a summer family vacation that will take me to Illinois, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Los Angeles and a variety of other places in between. The tour should end with a visit to SIGGRAPH 2005 where I'm looking forward to meeting some of the great people that frequent this forum. If you see a guy that looks lost in LA it'll probably be me so please direct me to the Hash Inc booth! I'll be checking the forum every time I'm near…
Last reply by vf124, -
- 2 followers
- 10 replies
- 884 views
I've started playing with particles, and thought that blobbies would make a good blood effect. I may end up with streaks in the end, but in the mean time, I need to know what is causing this strange grouping of the blobbies. I've tried changing every parameter in the blobby emitter and the sprite emitter, but nothing seems to change the square groups of blobs to a continuous stream of blobs. Does the properties of the emitting surface effect the emissions? My emitter surface has four patches. If it had 49, would the emitted blobbies behave differently? The attached picture shows this unusual (I think) clumping of the blobs. When rendered, the blobs are sti…
Last reply by wingalls, -
- 10 replies
- 882 views
Anyone know about this.... I slapped my Al Capone rotoscope onto my model as a decal, and it looks OK until I move any of the 5 point patch CPs in the UV editor and then they look like a cigarette got put through them. They still look OK in a final render (left) but the real-time view is out of whack (right).
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 7 replies
- 882 views
Sorry if i am missing something obvious but I can not find this option anymore. Is this still possible with Animation Master? Thanks in advance for any assist possible.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 13 replies
- 881 views
Im trying to understand how to make custom particle for use as my jets after burner and a hot air baloons burners. Also need to understand how to make a missle blow up into pieces upon impact with an object. I guess this program is easy if you understand the jargon. Noganite
Last reply by HomeSlice, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 881 views
My software is leaving many after images and I do not know how to fix it, I have changed no settings only updates for computer. Can someone please help and advise a course of action, I have already uninstalled and reinstalled the software still no change I'm getting multi layered after images.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 replies
- 880 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, -
- 6 replies
- 880 views
Hello, I want to do a minecraft animation and I have started by creating a load of grass blocks, when I render them I get lines between the blocks and the textures just don't line up. I'll show you a before and after render and you can see what I mean - any suggestions would be useful. Thanks in advance. Cloister
Last reply by Cloister, -
- 7 replies
- 879 views
Hey all, I just recently built an amazingly overpriced computer ( Asus A8N-SLI Premium, AMD64 4400 dual core, and 2x Nvidia 7800gt in sli) specifically for rendering and animating and stuff. I know other programs out there support dual core/multi cpu setups, but Im wondering if A:M has high support with it, or am I better off turning of affinity to one core and using hyper transport? I havent really noticed a difference in rendering either way, just curious if theres a patch or a newer version that would support it.
Last reply by SirSpectre, -
- 10 replies
- 879 views
Long time no talk here. Nice to be back! I've been absent for awhile (job move to california, etc), and I had to reset my CPU. I currently have the 13.0 version on disc and want to update that to 14.0 c, but I can not find that update. Anyone have a link or know where I can get those updates? I went to the "latest info" on the forums here, and that link it mentioned for 14.0 doesn't work. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
Last reply by Zaryin, -
- 1 follower
- 15 replies
- 879 views
I have a layer and its in a chor its supposed to be a bunch of tiny lights off in the distance. Any ideas on how to make the lights which are basically circles of solid colors twinkle?
Last reply by jason1025, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 878 views
i wanted to know how to add a 3d character to a picture. I saw it done in one of the tutorials... but it didn't go over how to do that.
Last reply by ortanu, -
- 17 replies
- 877 views
Ok, so I'm trying to work through the exercises, but I've hit a wall... Where are the models? The latest CD I have is AM99, I think. (Whichever one the Dog is on.) For the most part, I go to the FTP to download and install everything. I've downloaded several Data folders off there, but 1) The libraries are different formats (one just goes through and lists a name and then a path. The ones I work with most often use block groups. [MODEL] FileName=../Models/Actors/Thom/Thom.mdl[ENDMODEL]) 2) I can't find the models I need. (The Rabbit, Knight, and KeyKat. I found KeyKat downloadable in the first example, but I'd rather not go searching for EVERY model I need.) So,…
Last reply by goodguy20k, -
- 10 replies
- 876 views
I'm new to A:M so naturally I jumped in over my head and started a big project. My WIP is a music video. I have a 2d model of a stage with some scenery in the background. I'm trying to fade the background to black (as the sun sets) and leave the stage lit up. I thought I could just make a black background behind the scenery then slowly make the scenery transparent with a pose slider, but it didn't work. I searched the forum and my manuals I have but haven't found anything to help. Any ideas?
Last reply by Kamikaze, -
- 15 replies
- 875 views
Hi, ive put 2 posts in here, but when i return to the forum few hours later...they disapear!
Last reply by chuchi_disturbed, -
- 10 replies
- 874 views
When you buy the downloadable upgrade, do you receive a link instantly or is there a wait?
Last reply by WolvenSpire, -
- 9 replies
- 874 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, -
- 7 replies
- 874 views
OMG I can't get this subscription to work, support won't help me either. How did you guys get it working? I have tried everything here including stopping avast but nothing has worked. HELP PLEASE!
Last reply by Jason Simonds, -
- 2 replies
- 873 views
A while back I discovered a bug with the way my GPU handles displaying animation playback/scrubbing in AM. There is a bit of a lag and/or dropped frames which can make it difficult to tell what is going on. I'm not sure if this is a problem with the Intel HD graphics, the Nvidia GPU, or the Nvidia Optimus feature which is supposed to switch between the 2 (I'm assuming it may be due to Optimus, but haven't been able to confirm by testing all cases yet). Currently I've got only the Nvidia discrete GPU enabled and am looking for my project file to scrub through the timeline to see if it is still an issue. Does anyone else with a similar setup on their laptop e…
Last reply by Roger, -
- 1 follower
- 12 replies
- 872 views
Yo guys, long time no post. I'll save the catch-ups for another thread, but I have a question that's been bugging me lately and I figured it seemed a little newb-ish, so I thought this would be the place to put it. The topic description pretty much says it all; I've been reading alot of 3D tutorials about edgeloops and I'd like to know exactly how they make facial expressions easier to work with. Maybe I'm just missing something cause I haven't really done much outside of blinking and some fairly simplistic expression work, but I feel like I'm kinda missing something here. Thanks in advance and I hope you hear from you guys soon.
Last reply by ypoissant, -
- 13 replies
- 871 views
There are many dilemmas we face as we try to learn any given subject. Animation is no exception. Where should we focus our attention? How much about a given subject should we learn? How many processes must we master in order to reach our goal. The questions you ask and the solutions you discover will vary based upon your goals. To the animator Lighting a scene for instance is often a secondary or perhaps even tertiary goal. But if you are the one who will eventually light your own project its still a very important thing to learn. Animation is our primary focus here in the forum. But others aspects are important too. Should you try to learn i…
Last reply by frosteternal, -
- 14 replies
- 870 views
Hello AM'ers.... been away for awhile, now I'm back. I've been having a problem for some time and haven't seen a forum that addresses this, there are so many to look through. When I'm posing a model periodically the figure will appear to stop moving (except a small area) and I have to click off the figure to regain control of the mouse, meanwhile the figure will have moved. It's difficult to control the posing when you can't see where you're moving something to. I've tried posing in wireframe, shaded, both and the problem still happens. It comes and goes as I'm moving bones about. Any suggestions would be most appreciated. Kevin
Last reply by playerktw, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 870 views
Alright, so anyways i was modeling, and ive notced that my Control Points are black, and my lines are white, and this gets insanely annoying, expecially for when i was modeling an eyeball (black and white) lol. Also one other thing, my graph seems to be really small when im zoomed, out. Im doing Excersise 10, the fighter modeling one, and the thing that you have to zoom out far, it just makes the graph looks like very many Teeny Tiiiny small square, and it really gets in the way, does anyone know how i can enlard these graphs?
Last reply by AMkyle, -
- 11 replies
- 869 views
I wanted to build a room. But the light didn't come through the window. The light came through the wall. In the testproject can you see light and shadows from other objects in a close(!) room (camera1). What make I wrong? room.prj
Last reply by cfree68f, -
- 2 followers
- 10 replies
- 868 views
I recently rendered an animation and I noticed 2 black pixels showing up on one of my models during the scene that keep flashing. What causes this?
Last reply by C-grid, -
- 1 follower
- 14 replies
- 867 views
I have the very rudimentary rudiments of cloth down--cloth and deflectors. What I can't figure out is how to make a blanket/piece of cloth move beyond just the dropping/deflecting. What am I missing? I've attached a quickie test involving some stairs and a grid for cloth. Attempting to get it to move I added two bones to two "attached" cps each, hoping to make those points by which I could drag the cloth. Keyframing those moving after 4 seconds did nothing. So then I tried keyframing the model bone to move after 4 seconds (and that's what's on the attached project), and the blanket still just sits there. What am I supposed to do that is eluding me? Tha…
Last reply by someawfulbridge, -
- 1 follower
- 11 replies
- 866 views
(is there something the matter with the off topic-forum - it only appears occasionally?) this sounds more complicated than it is; made a model, saved it. made others, saved them. started a new model in order to assemble these previous models into one. when assembling, ideas take progress back and forth in basic workflow - i make changes in components and expect them to travel to the end product. and they don't. i've just decaled the headband of a crown, but the headband of the assembled crown didn't update. is this a group dependent thing? = when i initially dragged the "headband" into a new model window, all that comes up is the group "headband"…
Last reply by dblhelix, -
- 3 replies
- 866 views
So for the time being I am working in v13 until I get my licensing issues sorted out. I thought I would start a goldfish model, something simple to get some practice in and I am happily modeling away and I think to myself "I should save this". So I got to File > Save Project as and I get a dialog with no place to input the name or hit "save". I can't resize it to get those things, either. Any thoughts as to what might be going on? I may be using v13 for a few days yet and don't want to not be able to save my work. I have posted a screen cap.
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 1 reply
- 865 views
Hi, I've installed the 2008 Skeletal Rig into one of my characters (as best as I could). However, it's a really complex rig with lots of constraints and other things going on with it. Other than the install instructions, are there any other instructions, or tutorials on how to use it properly? Other than that, is that the most up to date character rig publicly available for AM? Thanks! Tommy
Last reply by markw, -
- 1 follower
- 12 replies
- 864 views
Hey everyone! I'm Ryan and just purchased this software this weekend and I must say the examples of people's work is astounding for what this thing can do! I've always been looking for an affordable piece of software to do 3D, but they all seemed to be way out of my league. This software looks very promising and the work that's been coming out of this community is very impressive. I was wondering for those of you who have learned the program how hard the learning curve was for you? I barely used Maya and I do catch on rather quick to things, but this is pretty much my first 3D program I bought and am very excited to bring some of my ideas to life on scree…
Last reply by Eric2575, -
- 7 replies
- 864 views
I haven't found this question so I thought I'd ask it. It may be silly. Can you have faster rendering time if you have a better graphics card or ram?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 6 replies
- 864 views
I'm making animation frames for a game. These are made of a base model, construckting poses for their behaviour. This has going right always, but lately I find skipping bones appearance. So I start with an action from a base frame, and then suddenly in the 5th pose the bone looses its line shape. It becomes a sort of haze and as soon as I try to catch it with the mouse it's gone. The former radio button that showed off its "show bone"gets locked. The rest of the pose I can only hope the rest of the bones keeps its excistency. Here are some screens to show the effect. Did I miss a an option somewhere?
Last reply by Madfox, -
- 1 follower
- 14 replies
- 863 views
Hi Everyone, Someday I hope to make my own commercial, and perhaps even a short clip. I know I am WAY ahead of myself, but I am curious.... When creating a clip, do you create 4 or 5 choreography projects and then paste them together? If so, can it be done in A:M or is something else required? What techniques does someone use and has anyone ever made a tutorial or training vid for this. Also, I would someday like to add text in the clip such as subtitles and a tag at the end. Can it be done in A:M or is something else required? What techniques does someone use and has anyone ever made a tutorial or training vid for this. Thanks again, Bob
Last reply by Jentham2000, -
Face Camera
by JohnP- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 862 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, -
- 10 replies
- 861 views
Hi all! I'm working with Jeff Paries' Blobby Snowfall: ftp://www.hash.com/pub/Projects/V6.1/Snowfall.prj and the particles are coming out like little ping pong balls. I know I have to change the surface attributes of the blobbies but I can't seem to find settings that look even remotely like snow (although the movement looks great). Any ideas? Thanks, Mike
Last reply by mschoenhals, -
- 18 replies
- 860 views
Hello, I've been off this forum for quite a while and it hasn't half changed! I'm going to consider myself a "newbie" as I'm reminding myself of AM v11 and its features. I wanted to ask a couple of questions but firstly couldn't work out where to post! OK, question 1 - modelling in v11 (orangutang) I created some 5 point patches on a face model I'm working on and then added Porcelain - some of the patches turned black. I can't remember if I have to delete the material shortcut and re-apply or re-create the patch. (I have checked the direction of normals) Question 2 - are there any good tutorials on relationships and creating sliders for poses / constraints in …
Last reply by KenH, -
- 1 follower
- 13 replies
- 860 views
Hi all Sorry, very newbie question here. I am trying to make a short film with two different camera shots, but I'm having trouble. Can anyone tell me how to get two cameras to work and how to render them at different points of the film. I would like to have the first camera slowly zoom in one my actor then change to the next camera that is in a different place and continue the shot. Then may be go back to the first camera again. Hope this all makes scene to someone. Thanks for any help from anyone, if you could be as simple as passable because I'm not that up on tect talk. Thanks again Jeff
Last reply by Jeff B, -
- 7 replies
- 860 views
I'm back to the drawing board trying to figure if I can get to work in the first place. So I've got two bones, one intended to be setup with dynamic constrains and the other to copy the movement of the first bone. The second bone will be controlling the cp's. Both setup in a on/off pose of there own. Both bones are positioned horizontally The idea was to enable the dynamic constraints pose and have it get effected by gravity, once it's in a resting position (stopped bouncing around) enable the other pose and copy any movement changes from there on the second horizontally positioned bone. However, I'm failing to get it to work. It either snaps in the same po…
Last reply by wildcard, -
- 3 replies
- 860 views
I'd like to copy a group splines from a model to another model window. I opened the model "Eddie" in a model window and found a group called "Eyes" and selected it in the Project Workspace. Some CPs are selected in the actual model. I use Edit | Copy and then move to a new Model Window. I use Edit | Paste and see a group appear in a new model called Model1 in the PWS, but no geometry appears in the model window. My intent is just copy the groups that comprise the eyes so I can experiment with deforming them to match a real face in a rotoscope -- but I can't copy them it seems. Perhaps they only exist as part of other splines and so cannot be copied? …
Last reply by sb4, -
- 12 replies
- 859 views
I've tried everything and I just can't figure it out. Is there anyway to turn IK off for that rig without messing up all the other key frames? I tried adding a second chor action. This worked but then I can't key the bones. Is there a way to key all the bones at the point the second chor starts? I'm very desperate for a solution. Time critical. -vern
Last reply by heyvern, -
- 1 follower
- 15 replies
- 858 views
I'm working on a short that takes place in mostly one place. For that giant bulk where the scene is set, and most things won't be moving, would you make it all one choreography file, or would you arrange choreography on a shot-by-shot basis? My first sequence I began by going shot-by-shot, but by the end there were segments of action that were continuous, so it made more sense to render the various perspectives out of the same choreography file. I can imagine a variety of perks to keeping one file (not pulling out all your props for each new shot), but I also feel like there are advantages to having a clean slate for each shot (not confined to realistic object …
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 14 replies
- 857 views
Hi I'm right now working with a model and have encountered some problems, for example when I rotate my model AM runs very slow, lags. Same thing happens if I for example change the vertex positions or similar. I have checked if my CPU is overloaded or something similar but it is not, my model have around 4000 patches. What could be wrong? My PC is old but not very old, using Vista 32 bit, 2 GB RAM, AMD Athlon 2.6 GHz and a Radeon X1650. My graphic card is bad? Any suggestions of what graphic card is good for 3D animation/modeling? //Birdie
Last reply by birdie1, -
- 0 replies
- 856 views
Darrin Mossor has some really excellent tutorials on his website. There are several subject that I thought I would like to do a tutorial on but Darrin says it better than I ever could. Some of the information might seem a little outdated (most created in 2002) but they are must read tutorials. For instance: Layers Tutorial by Darrin Mossor Other tutorials can be found here: http://www.mossor.org/Desktop/index.html These tutorials include: - Writing with Sprites - The Duplicator Wizard -or- 5 minute instant DNA - Walking a Centipede Along a Path -or- Building Complex Animations from Simple Pieces - Footsteps in the Snow (using Animated Dis…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 856 views
Where i can find this model of a bathroom?
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 854 views
I forgot what it is called but I modeled half of my guy on the left side, and since he is symmetrical there was a way to copy, invert (mirror image) and attach the other part to him. I thought it was Mirror Mode but reading up on that tool it is designed for making adjustments to the right and left sides at the same time. I would look for it but I don't remember what it was called?
Last reply by mouseman, -
- 3 replies
- 854 views
In a model window, if I have some splines I draw from front view, with bias handles visible, I can manipulate the magnitude and gamma. If I switch to side view, sometimes the bias handle is end-on and directly in line with the CP. If I mouse over it, I can grab the CP and translate it, but can't seem to select the bias handle to adjust the alpha. Any tips? (I can rotate freely and do it in steps, but it seems awkward. -SB
Last reply by sb4,