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4,164 topics in this forum

1. 

   system requirements

   March 29, 2011 by cribbidaj

   • 2 replies
   • 521 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, March 30, 2011
2. 

   Shadows only

   March 29, 2011 by Simon Edmondson

   • 4 replies
   • 886 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, March 30, 2011
3. 

   Mac Frustration - glitch

   March 20, 2011 by Simon Edmondson

   • 8 replies
   • 982 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, March 29, 2011
4. 

   needing help

   March 29, 2011 by Master chief

   • 4 replies
   • 686 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, March 29, 2011
5. 

   have old vesion95/98nt

   March 27, 2011 by stonewoven

   • 12 replies
   • 1.2k 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, March 27, 2011
6. 

   calling fae_alba

   March 21, 2011 by dblhelix

   • 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, March 25, 2011
7. 

   Data Folder

   March 20, 2011 by bubba

   • 4 replies
   • 704 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, March 20, 2011
8. 

   expression question

   March 19, 2011 by robcat2075

   • 6 replies
   • 815 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, March 19, 2011
9. 

   Hooks and hiding/showing patches

   February 17, 2011 by Meowx

   • 1 reply
   • 630 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, March 15, 2011
10. 

    Netrender RC02 works Great

    March 15, 2011 by jason1025

    • 1 follower
    • 2 replies
    • 569 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, March 15, 2011
11. 

    copying channels

    March 14, 2011 by bubba

    • 2 replies
    • 562 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, March 14, 2011
12. 

    Creating Dust

    March 10, 2011 by bubba

    • 1 follower
    • 12 replies
    • 1.5k 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, March 13, 2011
13. 

    Defualt Channel CP Interpolation setings

    March 12, 2011 by bubba

    • 4 replies
    • 615 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, March 13, 2011
14. 

    Copying keyframes

    March 11, 2011 by bubba

    • 1 reply
    • 582 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, March 11, 2011
15. 

    Invalid argument was encountered

    March 10, 2011 by Nik

    • 14 replies
    • 1.9k 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, March 11, 2011
16. 

    .sinfo files?

    March 6, 2011 by robcat2075

    • 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, March 8, 2011
17. 

    This Topic is for Gary (aka GVTV)

    February 23, 2011 by Rodney

    • 3 replies
    • 698 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, March 6, 2011
18. 

    Animation Master CD Rom

    March 5, 2011 by Megafant

    • 3 replies
    • 534 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, March 5, 2011
19. 

    Render to file background question

    February 27, 2011 by bubba

    • 16 replies
    • 2.2k 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, March 3, 2011
20. 

    Object Collision, how to make two object collide?

    February 27, 2011 by wildcard

    • 7 replies
    • 1k 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, March 2, 2011
21. 

    Two Percentage relationships within one pose

    February 23, 2011 by bubba

    • 8 replies
    • 823 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, February 26, 2011
22. 

    Aim At Null target not moving with bones - is this normal

    February 21, 2011 by bubba

    • 13 replies
    • 741 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, February 22, 2011
23. 

    Which constraint would be best

    February 20, 2011 by bubba

    • 5 replies
    • 637 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, February 21, 2011
24. 

    Finding unassigned CPs - Is there an easy way?

    February 13, 2011 by bubba

    • 14 replies
    • 1.6k 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, February 18, 2011
25. 

    Round Hole in a Square Peg

    February 16, 2011 by MJL

    • 10 replies
    • 1k views

    I started this a year ago as an exercise in splinemanship. Had a few minutes last night and have missed playing with A:M so I finished it up.

    

    Last reply by John Bigboote, February 17, 2011
26. 

    shapes for beginners

    February 15, 2011 by petokosun

    • 2 replies
    • 563 views

    On the 1st wk of next month, i am organising a workshop and it is going to be focused on modelling shapes, pliz can any body tell me types of shapes that will be good for beginers to learn with. thz

    

    Last reply by Rodney, February 16, 2011
27. 

    Rendered raw backgrounds

    February 12, 2011 by bubba

    • 6 replies
    • 655 views

    When I render to file a choreography that I have not touched except for placing a model in it, I get a different background color depending upon the file type I have chosen. Tga get me gray; mov gets black and jpeg is green Any one know why?

    

    Last reply by John Bigboote, February 14, 2011
28. 

    Hello Again!

    February 13, 2011 by seancwall

    • 1 follower
    • 2 replies
    • 661 views

    Hi everybody, Well, I'm back once again! I'm picking up where I left off after finishing exercise three, and I really want to get through the entire AoA:M this time. Actually, I'm working in a much less stressful job now, so it should allow me more time to work on my animation skills. I just want to say, the A:M community is one of the nicest bunch of people I've had the pleasure of talking to online, so I'm glad to be back. -Sean P.S. - TWO is looking awesome!!

    

    Last reply by robcat2075, February 13, 2011
29. 

    copying bones

    February 12, 2011 by bubba

    • 4 replies
    • 562 views

    I just copied a model that I had placed bones in into another model. The CPs and splines copied but not the bones. Each model was in the default model setting. Should I have changed to the bone setting first?

    

    Last reply by bubba, February 12, 2011
30. 

    Trouble with sound on AVI

    February 10, 2011 by RS3D

    • 3 replies
    • 649 views

    I am using vers. 15.0j+. I am able to render output files in MOV format with sound, but not in the AVI format. I seached the archives and this is similar to another person's problem from March 21, 2010. In that case, he just decided to keep using MOV. However, I would like to use AVI. Does anyone know where I can find some way of figuring out what the problem is?

    

    Last reply by RS3D, February 12, 2011
31. 

    New Saying Hello and Suggestions

    January 24, 2011 by MerrieS

    • 1 follower
    • 20 replies
    • 2.4k views

    Hello all Im looking at AM for my game creating projects, waiting on a return email from support on some questions. I would like to make a suggestion that one of the Admins or the webmaster make a quick webpage with the specifics of AM, file formats for import/export, video formats import/export etc so that folks can get a quick glance to see if AM will suit their needs. So AM is spline modeling? And doing searching on the forum I see that X format is supported, as I use Unity 3D Im thinking perhaps converting x to fbx. I would not need the advanced material support, just basic materials and I know those usually carry over in X. And video export seems to be Avi …

    

    Last reply by RU2D4, February 12, 2011
32. 

    Importing from A:M to Game Studio

    March 12, 2008 by Masna

    • 5 replies
    • 1.3k views

    Hey everyone, I wachted the 2006 training video. It talks about Dennis Borusso's game Froggy Boxing. It was supposedly made in A:M and then converted into Game Studio. I was wondering if this was actually possible. If anyone has any info. about Game Studio that would be great. P.S. I have posted this same topic on the Game Master forum. Thanks for your time, Masna

    

    Last reply by brainmuffin, February 10, 2011
33. 

    Smoothing and Saving

    January 31, 2011 by Simon Edmondson

    • 13 replies
    • 1.3k 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, February 8, 2011
34. 

    re-arranging channel keys....Hmmmm

    February 6, 2011 by detbear

    • 1 reply
    • 534 views

    Hey everyone, This is a basic question I have about the channels under the choreography of the PWS. Specifically the choreography action channels for the characters bones/controls keys. I have a character that I've animated in the choreography already. BUT...the bone/ control keys are seperated by unrelated controls..... Is there a way the move the channels around so that all the say.....left wing controls are stacked together. This will allow for much easier selection and tweeking the keys. Is this possible to do? William

    

    Last reply by robcat2075, February 6, 2011
35. 

    render artifacts

    February 5, 2011 by Hubert

    • 1 follower
    • 8 replies
    • 1.1k views

    Hi all, I was asked to do the opener animation for the local film fest here and had a blast animating the fesival's logo rocking out. However, 'm getting unwanted artifacts in my renders that I aren't visible when rendering a Quick Render (file below, "quick_render.jpg). When rendering the same frames to any format (AVI, BMP, TGA), they always come up with these unwanted artifacts, most visible in the light circle on the floor and the character's shaded side but if you look closely you see it's all over the character (test_render.jpg. I tried adjusting different render settings, changinging to Multi-pass (16x), etc., but no real change. My render settings are: …

    

    Last reply by Meowx, February 6, 2011
36. 

    Normals

    January 27, 2011 by Meowx

    • 19 replies
    • 1.6k views

    Not so much a question, more just a cautionary tale! I was working on a character and noticed some rendering artifacts on a 5-point. Shift-1 and sure enough, normals were flipped the wrong way. Corrected it and then noticed that there were some MORE normals nearby in the neck facing the wrong way, too. Started fixing them and was surprised at how many there were. So, just to be safe, I went and turned off "show back facing polys." EEP. Embarrassingly, there were quite a few normals facing the wrong way. Extrusions in particular seemed to be pretty nasty. This got me wondering, so I went back and opened up a model I had finished a while back. My reaction: …

    

    Last reply by Fuchur, February 4, 2011
37. 

    Hash Animation Master 2003

    February 2, 2011 by Talanquel

    • 5 replies
    • 708 views

    I bought Hash Animation Master in 2003 and it is very outdated now. Is the $300 something I spent on it just gone? How do I update it? Do I have to buy it all over again to get the current version?

    

    Last reply by robcat2075, February 2, 2011
38. 

    Yearly Subscription Applied to Purchase?

    January 30, 2011 by MerrieS

    • 1 follower
    • 8 replies
    • 1k views

    If you purchase a yearly subscription and wish to purchase the program, will that year subscription be applied to the purchase price?

    

    Last reply by Fuchur, February 1, 2011
39. 

    Can't view or play first video I have created.

    January 29, 2011 by tmaxx

    • 5 replies
    • 752 views

    I am following through the tutorial and I have just finished the first one which results in a short video .avi file. If I select "Play Animation File" in the A:M top toolbar, I can see the video file. It has a small lock in the lower left hand corner which I imagine means it's read only. Anyway, if I select the file, I get an error in the media player. I first tried WMP 12. Then I installed VLC media player and still get an error. The strange thing is if I use windows explorer to navigate to the directory which contains the video file, I don't see the video file listed in the directory. I am getting discouraged since I can't even get past the first tutorial!?!? …

    

    Last reply by Fuchur, January 29, 2011
40. 

    Mid air collision

    January 26, 2011 by detbear

    • 1 reply
    • 594 views

    Hey everyone. I'm attempting to simulate an object colliding with an airplane in mid air. It gets hit from the side rather than head on or from the rear and there is no explosion....just a physical hit that needs to break it apart. My question: Can some type of dynamics/ simulation break the plane up and simulate the pieces falling with drag? **Additional complication is that the airplane appear to be moving at about 100mph even though it's only moving up and down with a little rotation. So when the plane breaks up, there is no forward speed for the simulation to work with as far as the pieces dragging..... Is there a way to do this in A:M without goi…

    

    Last reply by robcat2075, January 26, 2011
41. 

    Bones and rigging for noobs

    January 25, 2011 by Pete Stoppel

    • 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, January 26, 2011
42. 

    Lost surface properties when I deleted groups

    January 25, 2011 by bubba

    • 8 replies
    • 660 views

    I need help. I set up the surface properties (color, transparency, etc) on several parts of my model. I then deleted the groups, not realizing what they do. I "Undo'd" and the groups came back but the properties are still gone from the model. Is there any way I can get the properties re-applied easily?

    

    Last reply by robcat2075, January 25, 2011
43. 

    My first Animation Short

    January 18, 2011 by Pinballwzd

    • 14 replies
    • 1.4k views

    Hello, I have been working with AM for about 4 months.. First time ever to explore animation, modeling etc.. I have really enjoyed the process and plan to continue learning and working on animation. Here is the video I made, hope you like it. David...

    

    Last reply by nino banano, January 24, 2011
44. 

    Modeling - Detach action

    January 22, 2011 by bubba

    • 7 replies
    • 856 views

    Is there anyway to detach (using the detach button) just a CP and spline segment. What I am asking is there anyway to select a spline segment and the associated CP and detach just the selection from a nexus of other splines?

    

    Last reply by DJBREIT, January 24, 2011
45. 

    Hooks and other things

    January 22, 2011 by bubba

    • 4 replies
    • 685 views

    I am having trouble with hooks. I get them when I don't want them. Is this an option that can be turned off and on? Also, if I try to put a new CP and spline very close to an existing CP/spline, A:M makes the new spline an extension of the existing CP/spline instead of making a new one. Is there a setting that I can change to change this behavior? Thanks.

    

    Last reply by bubba, January 23, 2011
46. 

    New to Animation - I need HElp!!

    January 19, 2011 by Azn Mien Boi

    • 5 replies
    • 970 views

    Hi im just join Today and getting started on animation. im like seriously animation illiterate atm ,but i consider my self as a fast learner. If u can help a fellow member out feel free to post or add me thanks...

    

    Last reply by TheSpleen, January 22, 2011
47. 

    Manipulator handles

    January 20, 2011 by bubba

    • 6 replies
    • 576 views

    Why is it that sometimes when I turn on the handles and select a CP with splines, they (the handles) do not show up? Thanks.

    

    Last reply by bubba, January 21, 2011
48. 

    Boolean cutter

    January 20, 2011 by jakerupert

    • 3 replies
    • 563 views

    I somehow forgot how to do this. I have made a boolean cutter that is meant to cut the hull but not the innertube of this screw. So, how do I achieve this? Cant get it to work: see picture BoolScrew.mdl

    

    Last reply by jakerupert, January 21, 2011
49. 

    Action Bone reversal

    December 24, 2010 by Simon Edmondson

    • 14 replies
    • 941 views

    Kinks.actFollowing the recent advice here I am plodding along with my project. However, I have encountered a curious problem ( another you ask ? ). I am going for the second pass on an action file to put it the hand and face movements when I noticed that, somehow or other, the left hand bone has reversed direction and is now pointing back along the forearm. It still affects the cps of the hand but can go a bit wild when I try to move it. Can anyone explain whats happened and, most importantly, how I can correct it ? Thank you kindly in advance. regards simonFingers_Janitor_15.mdl

    

    Last reply by Simon Edmondson, January 20, 2011
50. 

    Starting to Bone

    January 17, 2011 by bubba

    • 12 replies
    • 879 views

    I have finished roughing out the bottom portion of my BattleMech and now I want to start adding bones. I believe I should start in the middle portion of the "lower body." Should the "root" bone be perpendicular from a line drawn between the centers of rotation for the two legs? Do I need to add another bone pointing down? From the first (or root) bone I believe that I should draw bones out to the leg joints. Then down each leg, then through the foot pedestal and out to each "claw." All bones should be children of the previous bone - except of course the two in the pelvic region. Here is my model. legs0.tga Thanks.

    

    Last reply by bubba, January 20, 2011