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GENERAL FORUM GUIDELINES
The A:M Forum is for technical support and the sharing of tips and ideas between users/prospective users of Hash software. It is moderated constantly by technical support representatives.
DO'S!
-Ask questions about the software.
-Assist other users... everyone was new at this once.
-Inform people of your version/platform when asking for help.
-Share resources; tutorials, models, textures, tips and techniques (link to useful websites).
-Post links to your work, or where your art is being used online (on websites, in games, toons', etc.)
-Search the A:M Forum and FAQ. The question you are about to ask may have already been answered.
-Organize and inform others about user groups, IRC chats, image and animation contests, job opportunities, etc.
-Discuss what you are working on and let everyone know about magazine reviews and articles that relate to your projects.
DON'TS!
-Do Not be rude or disrespectful or mean to other forum members in any way. Personal attacks will be removed.
-Do Not post bug/crash reports to the list (send bug/crash reports to http://www.hash.com/reports.
-Do Not complain about forum content. Complaints or suggestions can be sent directly to hash@hash.com
-Do Not reprimand other forum members for violating forum rules, that's the moderators job, which (unless you are a moderator) you are not.
-No complaining or whining on the forum or distribution of misinformation.
-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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- 2 followers
- 9 replies
- 1.1k views
Hello all, Just wondering if there is a list of usable image file formats that can be used for decals. I know '.jpeg' can be used, however after modifying an image in adobe photoshop and then applying it to my model as a decal, nothing showed up. Sorry I can't say what file format it was, I'd scrapped it and used a .jpeg instead. However after a while I started to wonder. So does anyone have a list? Also more to the point can I use a .gif or .png image file without changing settings in decal? Happy animating!
Last reply by AProd, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 1.1k 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, -
- 13 replies
- 1.1k 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, -
- 5 replies
- 1.1k views
two questions: one, how do you make something look magnified by looking through a model, like a magnifying glass? two, what are the hash contests for and how do you enter them? thanks
Last reply by Bruce Del Porte, -
- 7 replies
- 1.1k 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, -
- 3 replies
- 1.1k views
Hi! i'm new to this forum and Animation Master, so maybe will discribe my problem with wrong terms, but basically what i want is the view to rotate around all visible CPs when nothing is selected. Right now as far as i can tell it turns around scene center or global model center. or maybe at least there is an option to keep rotation center from previous selection?
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 12 replies
- 1.1k views
Hi there, I've bought AM a few days back, so I'm a newbie here... I can model basic stuff so far, extruding splines, connecting and so on. No problem. The video-tutorials are very helpfull so far. I work also with polygon modelers like Silo, Wings and Strata, so there is a big differents in working with splines. What I really need (and don't find) is a basic tutorial how to: - add points on a spline (If I have points, i can connect them, but I need new ones) - how to connect curved edges to a flat surface (like a tube on a cube) - how to make sharp edges - how to smooth out hard connection/extrusions - how to add tickness - and so on..…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 10 replies
- 1.1k 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, -
- 1 follower
- 12 replies
- 1.1k 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, -
- 11 replies
- 1.1k views
So I am making a short film and it calls for a crumpled paper. I tried using the distort mode on a 32 patch sphere. it didin't look that realistic. And would probably take forever to model. Anyone know of a way.
Last reply by animation man hi, -
- 2 replies
- 1.1k 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, -
- 7 replies
- 1.1k views
I went out bought widows 7 pro was useing 7 home i had copyed master0. lic. Did my format down loaded A:M paste master0.lic in A:M folder tryed to run program and it comes up with"Worng host for license(-4)" can anybody help with this. new hard drive . Still can retreive any other files needed still have all info on other hard drive can hook it backup if needed.
Last reply by Maniac, -
- 5 replies
- 1.1k views
Wikipedia mentions that A:M Version 14 (2007) introduces Ambient Occlusion (AO) and Image-based Lighting (IBL). Can someone explain what those are? Regards, -SB
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 13 replies
- 1.1k views
I made a monster head and tried adding bones. when I added a bone to the lower jaw and moved my model into a chor and tried moving the bones the whole model moved instead of just the lower jaw how do I fix this.
Last reply by animation man hi, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 1.1k views
I'm not new to 3D modeling, I've owned Animation master for 6 years but sadly never used it as I found it intimidating at first. I am now at a point in my skillset to be able to create cartoon characters but need to be able to add bones and rig them for posing, maybe even export as rigged models for resale. The thing is I use another 3D app to model with and import my models into AM via 3ds, so the question is can I use an imported mesh in AM if yes how? I'd like to assign bones and rig them if possible.
Last reply by Pete Stoppel, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 1.1k views
Hi everyone! To give you an idea of how far I go back: My first version was called "Playmation" and I had to travel quite a bit, to a person's home, to see a demo AND buy my copy. Really, the program was called Will Vinton's Playmation -- bet Martin wasn't too happy about that. I still have that copy, though the box needed taping up. Still have the disks. Over the years, I have bought at least 3 or 4 subsequent versions -- I'm looking at two versions on my bookshelf right now (at least another is in the debris under my computer desk). My question is -- are there any records here at Hash Kingdom of my copies? It would save me considerable archaeological…
Last reply by TheSpleen, -
- 1 follower
- 14 replies
- 1.1k 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, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 1.1k 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, -
- 6 replies
- 1.1k 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, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 1.1k 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 reply
- 1.1k 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, -
- 4 replies
- 1.1k views
Does anyone know where to access the "Post Effects" for V.19? I thought that there was a folder with them, but when I looked I didn't see them anywhere.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 7 replies
- 1.1k 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, -
- 15 replies
- 1.1k views
HELLO! Well, at first I thought that in A:M there must be some feature that let you have a proyected surface over other surface subordinating the last one to the first one, or something like that... ehm, well, I really don't know if I can explain it in english... but sure you know how NURBS works, isn't? You can have a curve subordinate to another surface so you can deforme that surface and the proyected curve automatically follows it and is deformed consequently... And well, as Spline systems are a little "similar" to NURBS in a certain way... I wondered if I was missing something and that feature can be done or even be emulated in some easy way with A:M, really it'd be …
Last reply by Ramón López, -
- 14 replies
- 1.1k views
In the project on which I'm working, I have a medley of famous songs I animated to. When I started they were all split up into separate parts and each bit done as an action. With fresh eyes I realise that may not have been the best of plans (?) so now I am trying to put it all together as one with the whole 1min 54 seconds of medley. I tried to do this in the choreography but could not get the separate actions to run concurrently, even when I adjusted the input/output settings in 'properties'. So I tried to copy all the bones info in one action and paste it into a new one, along with the full medley. That did not work either. Is there a way to s…
Last reply by Simon Edmondson, -
- 1 follower
- 10 replies
- 1.1k views
hi all are there any battlestar galactica ship models for download for use in A:M
Last reply by oakchas, -
- 11 replies
- 1.1k views
Hello, I have been trying to model a wedding dress for a long time. I have a problem with the legs comig out of the dress. How do I avoid that? I try to use the cloyh material but is showing me an error. And I try to use the same bones as the body and this what happens. The legs come out the dress. picture here. Help please!
Last reply by seduar, -
- 11 replies
- 1.1k views
I have modeled a box and applied decals for a realistic look. When I brought it into a default chor it looked fine until I moved off frame 0, whereupon all the decals disappeared and the shading reverted to the plain, non-decaled look. So all frames after frame 0 fail to show my decals. Presumably there is a setting that needs to be changed. Could someone clue me in? Thanks.
Last reply by ronburk, -
Landscapes
by Masna- 10 replies
- 1.1k views
How exactly would you go about making landscapes? Do you create a grid, manipulate that grid, and place it on top of the ground? Or can you manipulate the ground in a choreography? If anyone could give me some tips that would be great.
Last reply by Masna, -
- 16 replies
- 1.1k views
Hello, I am looking into different 3d animation programs and found out about Animation Master. I am mainly interested in animating realistic people, like the kind that Poser and Daz3d can do. But A.M. seems to be easier to use so that's why I'm considering it. I've looked at the A.M. examples and have read some forum messages but I'm not quite sure if A.M. is best for what I need so I thought I'd ask here. Specifically, I read that importing Poser/Daz3d human models into A.M. is not wise, but how hard is it to build a "person" from scratch in A.M.? Do A.M. humans look as good as Poser/Daz3D humans? I saw the talking male head in A.M. and that was pretty imp…
Last reply by phatso, -
- 2 followers
- 10 replies
- 1.1k 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, -
- 7 replies
- 1.1k 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, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 1.1k views
Hello, I continue to explore AM with the tutorial on youtube: https://youtu.be/1CFLb0w4X4A I have some questions : - Realtime rendering looks weird !? Do you know what this is due to ? Did I make a bad handling or a bad adjustment? - Some of my model's normals are in the wrong direction. How do I unify the normals? Thank you in advance and have a nice day teo
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 1.1k views
Just purchased your yearly subscription. Windows 64 bit type in my shiny new activation code and get this... Bad return data from webserver (no status) (-134) no such file of directory (erno:2) I deactivated my anti virus and it still does it. Help please
Last reply by Jason Simonds, -
- 1 follower
- 5 replies
- 1.1k views
You know how we flatten models in a pose so that we can evenly distribute the decal. Well I cant remember how you actually apply the decal after you flatten the model in the pose.
Last reply by Vertexspline, -
- 6 replies
- 1.1k views
Does anyone know how to use the PlanetGlow diffuse shader??? I've been trying to get it to work and I can't do it. I tried making a planet using the Darksim Planet_Terran plugin, and then adding the PlanetGlow to it. That doesn't work. So I tried making a second, larger sphere and givng it the PlanetGlow but that doesn't work either. How do you do it?!?!?! HELP!!!
Last reply by DeltaCommando5, -
- 9 replies
- 1.1k views
Hey Gang! I am going to get a PC to run AM. Anyone know what specs I should get? Is it possible to get something for $500 or less? I am currently running a Mac with 10.6 and I've heard that AM (currently) runs better on Windows 7. Any input would be wonderful. Thanks in advance! Shawn
Last reply by HomeSlice, -
- 9 replies
- 1.1k 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, -
- 10 replies
- 1.1k 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, -
- 7 replies
- 1.1k 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, -
- 5 replies
- 1.1k views
(I tried to post this in archive forum to not bother up-to-date users, but forum is readonly.) To any other AM 11 / Windows Vista users: I'm having display problems where the screen doesn't seem to refresh, or partially draws with my Windows Vista Compaq laptop. Particularly, when only one A:M window is open (say, chor or modeling) the background grid does not fully draw. Having two windows open magically makes the grid draw fully in both windows. In a Model window, I'll switch to "shaded" mode and a patch won't render. If I tweak a control point, suddenly it might render. Sometimes while drawing a spline, parts don't draw while making it. …
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 followers
- 8 replies
- 1.1k views
It's probably something really stupid that everyone knows how to fix but me, of course, I'd really appreciate any help. I've attached a file to show my issue, see the little black things on the side of my mode? I want them gone, makes rendering fuzz, how do I fix it? Thanks in advance for any help. untitled.bmp
Last reply by phatso, -
- 2 replies
- 1.1k 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, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 1.1k views
Hi, I wonder if there is any issues running A:M in windows 8 and if we change computers, how to reset license for new installation. Anyone use laptop and what is the machine spec recommended? Thanks.
Last reply by Philip Fong, -
Render Times
by danf- 12 replies
- 1.1k views
What are the factors that influence render times?
Last reply by danf, -
- 1 follower
- 11 replies
- 1.1k 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, -
- 10 replies
- 1.1k views
When you buy the downloadable upgrade, do you receive a link instantly or is there a wait?
Last reply by WolvenSpire, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 1.1k views
Is there a newer version than Version 11? The store dosent say.I have v11 .It just says -This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 06 November, 2007.The only copyright date I see is next to Mr.Dodo ,copyright 2003 Zandoria Studios ,did know if that was for the book or just the "Mr. Dodo" character.
Last reply by livewiresrus, -
Rodney When I render in Quicktime, I get a black background. It renders sky color in AVI or JPG. What's up with that? Can that be fixed? Or, what am I doing wrong? Johnnyb
Last reply by JohnnyB, -
- 2 followers
- 8 replies
- 1.1k views
Anyone know a good tutorial to model a simple building? Thanks.
Last reply by jweinrub,
