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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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- 2 replies
- 298 views
In the project I'm working on, I want to set up a follow spot for the figure as it leaps about. I tried to set up an aim at constraint on the spotlight body but it didn't seem to follow the target, even though that was selected under properties. Could someone kindly explain how to achieve this? Working in the latest iteration on an I mac. Thank you in advance. simon
Last reply by Simon Edmondson, -
- 28 replies
- 2k views
Having issues creating the simcloth effect. I followed the instructions in the AM book, set up the force and turbulence. And yet when I clicked on simcloth simulate, nothing happens. I've looked for video's but there are usually non applicable. Or they are about what do do after creating all the stuff. Do you guys know a link that will show how to work in AM vrs 13 with Windows xp sp2? Meaning that when they go to a link that I should see the same link in my project as well Thank ya -Sean
Last reply by Sean delgatto, -
- 3 replies
- 558 views
Hi All, Anyone know if it's possible to use AO or Fake AO and maintain nice reflections like this video clip? Thanks in advance! ao_reflections.mp4
Last reply by new guy, -
- 6 replies
- 547 views
Hi guys .... I bought the amazing Jenpy's Fake/Fast AO too, but I can't put it to work.. A:M is crashing when it's being aplied ( after softening pass ).. If I model a simple ball it renders correctly ... but A:M crashs using complex objects ( characters, cars...etc...etc ) Windows 7 64 bits A:M v16 beta 5 / 64 bits check the video... FIXED in 1.03 thanks Jenpy bmw.mp4
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 reply
- 319 views
I buried this question in another question so I thought I would bring it to the fore-front. So how do I recover from an Auto Save? I don't think it is the Revert command because the auto saved file names are different. Do I just navigate to the Backup folder and select the last file?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 475 views
I’m having some issues with an “Ork” flag banner I’m creating. The banner is hanging from a “T” shaped pole similar to the following image. On top of the banner I will be modeling a skull with hair tied in a very long ponytail sticking out on top slightly backwards. But for now, it`s a sphere with one patch with a very dense amount of hair. The banner (or Cloth) I’ve under control, the pole is setup as deflector and the cloth will not pass through it. The hair on the other hand I don’t seem to be able to control From time to time, it will pass through the sphere or pole but most of the time it`s looking ok. But it’s piercing through the banner like it isn’…
Last reply by HomeSlice, -
I did a search for the extension 3ds but did not find any reference. Can this file be opened in A:M, or converted so it will open in A:M. If so, how?
Last reply by bubba, -
- 4 replies
- 441 views
i am stilling using V13. how can i copy an action sequence in AM so that i can ve a duplicate of my work in other frames.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 4 replies
- 388 views
I tried putting a model into another model (object) A:M crashed. I tried a second time - success. So I am wondering if this was a one time occurrence (either way) and do objects (mdls) have to be saved first?
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 3 replies
- 442 views
I can understand you might think this a strange question (because there is a simpler way - maybe) but if I were to create two separate boxes, then place one on top of the other and join the corner CPs, are there still two splines or now just one?
Last reply by bubba, -
- 1 follower
- 13 replies
- 736 views
Can Material Effectors be isolated to effect 1 single group? or specific groups?
Last reply by jason1025, -
- 1 follower
- 15 replies
- 874 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, -
- 6 replies
- 460 views
I'm still learning the basic's and am experimenting a lot by simply modeling and running in to problems and learning from those. Trying to build a Mad Cat (aka Timber Wolf), a battlemech robot. It has a lot of square,cylinder, octangle shaped elements in its design. out of a square shaped cube, like this missile pod, where missiles are sticking out. It took me a good deal of time of patch up the front (rendered as lines) but with all the patching I had the task of, trying to reduce the cp's and trying to reduce them. and this really gave me a headache, ran in to a lot of odd looking patches when making hooks. So i'm wondering if I could eliminate…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 4 replies
- 539 views
hey gang! my guess is that planet glow would give a texture such as this?
Last reply by detbear, -
- 3 replies
- 340 views
So I've a section of a model that I grouped and named group1, when reselecting it, I'm missing bits and pieces of my selection that I grouped. Now I've regrouped it renamed it and so on but it keeps on happening. Oddly enough when I change view point to any thing but front or back, I'm seeing all selection points of the created group. So only when I'm looking at the group form front or back view, its looks like I don't have cp's selected. This a common problem? using AM V15J+ (CD)
Last reply by wildcard, -
- 3 replies
- 520 views
I've been modeling basic object, with the least amount of patches and control points when ever possible. But as I'm exploring the forums and the Exta's DVD I've ran across a few projects that contained not all to complex model with a very high patch count. What are the advantages (or disadvantages) of having a high patch count on a model?
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 3 replies
- 334 views
I'm seeing the "Show Manipulator Properties" being selected in quite a few tutorial video's, the seem to be different looking than the one I'm seeing when I've multiple CP's selected. I've Animation:Master 2002:A Complete Guide, and it has tutorial video's that show the Manipulator Properties to show X,Y,Z Scale and X,Y,Z Pivot when having multiple CP selected. Mine only shows X,Y,Z Offset when having multiple CP's selected. Now I know I can find Scale and Pivot also in the Properties Tab, but I'm human and in nature very lazy, so if I can do some thing with less moving of my mouse I like to take the easy way All joking aside, is there an option to chan…
Last reply by MJL, -
- 1 follower
- 15 replies
- 871 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, -
- 6 replies
- 433 views
So I build my fist model, but when I render a lot patches don't render right. I found the solution and I had to flip normals on the patch that didn't render right. Any quick way to get all patches to be flipped in an outward direction so the render correctly?
Last reply by NancyGormezano, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 428 views
Hi Folks I am not good with expressions attached is a model I made. The numbers need to spin like a counter adding up to 103. That means the right needs to spin the fastest, the middle needs to spin a slower and the first digit needs to spin the slowest. Eventually the number needs to land on 103 for my project. I made some expressions. currently to animate the dial you need to rotate bone 4 in an action. Thats the fist digits bone. Although this can kind of fake what I need however the rotation of the 2nd and 3rd digits rotate from clockwise to counter clock wise at some points. so you loose the illusion if you spin too slowly. In my fantasy I w…
Last reply by jason1025, -
- 1 follower
- 9 replies
- 573 views
It seems that When glow is set to on and you have reflection on something like the ground, the reflection does not render correctly. Is this a known issue? Should I bother to put in a bug report?
Last reply by new guy, -
At the risk of sounding like a complete newbie (To late) how do you create hooks? I know what they are and how they work but I just dont know how to make them! Thanks in advance. Photoman
Last reply by Darkwing, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 437 views
I cant see any of my crowed in the flock. I think there is a trick to see them. I think you have to turn on particles but I dont know how?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 5 replies
- 476 views
Composite confoooses moi. I have 2 images - the depth buffer.png, and a color image.png I then want to combine these 2 images in A:M using the post effect fakeao, without always having to rerender, in order to try out the fakeao properties/settings. Is it possible to do this in ver16beta5 pc? using composite? some other way? Does composite only work on exr? I have read Holmes tutorial on Compositing Light Buffers - I believe I almost actually did the tut at some point in my life. I believe I got it to work. Somewhat. I could be lying. Or I was probably confused at that time as well. Here's what I have - how do I get the images into a compos…
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 405 views
does anyone know how to bring audio into a chor so you can sync animation to it? I have not done it before. Could you point me towards tutorials?
Last reply by jason1025, -
- 7 replies
- 654 views
I am having problem with the sprite system. I am unable to create a depth map when using a smoke emitter and fog. I looks like the emitter ignores the fog, and stays bright white no matter what. Using the depth Buffer doesn't work either, the Depth Buffer doesnt render the smoke at all. Can anyone take a look at this problem before I report it? I might have missed something elementary. I could fake it by giving the smoke a grey tint, but it would not be the best solution, since the camera is going to be moving smoke.zip
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 replies
- 456 views
I was doing some digging through the shortcuts in AM, looking for the Hook CP. It appears that there isn't one that we can customize. I say this because I use a Magic Mouse and with the magic mouse, you can't left click and then right click simultaneously, so I was thinking, oh, if I can just change it's command so that I hold down a key and click, that would work. So if there is a way to do this that I missed (cause digging out my older mouse and connecting it for one click is a bit of a pain) please let me know. If not, perhaps it could be added to the development of AM to be able to customize the Hook CP command. Thanks
Last reply by Darkwing, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 436 views
Hey guys my name is Adam Wermus and I am still trying to learn the ropes of Animation Master(v15) 1) How do you change which camera is dominant during choreography? Say from t= 0 sec to t=3 seconds I want camera 1 to be dominant, then t=3 seconds to t=6 seconds I want camera 2 to be dominant, and then back to camera 1 for the rest of the film? how do I do that? 2) When I try to render a file it takes hours to finish rendering (20+). Is there a way to make that process go by faster or do I just have to be patient? 3) When I have more than one object in a scene for choreography mode, when I play what I have it drags, skips and is very slow making it hard for …
Last reply by Xtaz, -
- 9 replies
- 699 views
Been working some more on terrain texturing today, trying numerous techniques and still coming up pretty blah. You can't really see much here since it's a low-res preview, but there's not much to see. Just giving you an idea of a section of ground I'm working on. Basically a large grid pushed and pulled into terrain shapes. Now, how do I go about texturing this properly? I can't figure out a good flattening technique; endless decals-on-decals to patch stretched looking sides are starting to look pretty lame, porjection mapping a material doesn't seem to be going anywhere useful... suggestions? Thanks a ton!
Last reply by mtpeak2, -
- 1 follower
- 5 replies
- 546 views
how do i change a characters preview to something even simpler than a wireframe? hiding is not an option. they all have the AO options set, beginning to suspect this somehow affects work even when in wireframe, is this possible? i've 11 characters in a scene and haven't even started on the sprites..
Last reply by dblhelix, -
- 1 follower
- 36 replies
- 4.3k views
When AM launches the file path to Data > Libraries > is never correct. We have a ten seat network > education license. When I log on to the computer all the libraries show correctly. When any of my students log onto the computer, none of the libraries show. No Models, no Actions, no Materials, etc. When I go to the Options menu and check the path to the data > library file, the path is always wrong (when my students log on). The path is directed towards the Shaders directory. Note: This problem is only happening on one computer. My other 9 seats work fine. I have tried changing the path in the Tools > Options > Folders tab to point to the …
Last reply by robcat2075, -
Glass Dome
by bubba- 6 replies
- 995 views
How do I make a glass dome, like on an anniversary clock? Thanks.
Last reply by bubba, -
- 1 follower
- 5 replies
- 465 views
so i'm on 15j+ and 32bit OS. and i'm in love with those "AO only" renderings people post on jenpy's fast AO thread. they gave me a new script idea. something similar should be possible with just light, shadow, in a colorless environment? it's the oomph in the beautiful blurry shape-moulding gradients that's the issue. actual question: what to study? a specific light category, exr, post? tips on how to make it swift? this project is aeons into the future, just need to nail a few images down, get the atmosphere recorded now that it's so alive in my mind's eye. (any chance one can learn to pose cloth -heavy, flowing cape- in, say, 3 days? needed for the sh…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 6 replies
- 436 views
I've been tooling around with the image sequence option for decaling, and simply can't get it to do anything. I've imported as a sequence, and they have little movie clip icons next to them in the timeline - - but I can't seem to get them to actually DO anything when I apply the decal. I've messed with the settings, looked through the manual... nothing. Help!
Last reply by johnl3d, -
- 8 replies
- 764 views
Hi all, I'm hoping some of you guru's might help my students out. We are using 3D Game Studio to develop a 3D game and AM for character development. When using AmxTex to export, AM crashes with some models; and some models it works fine with. Even when we remove the rigging and strip down a model we still encounter crashes. I've attached a simple model (designed after Jeff Lew's Killer Bean) that won't export. Any ideas on what we should try? Mike Bean.mdl
Last reply by wedgeeguy, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 326 views
my roto's gone missing. just now, it can't be far? clues; i'm in the bus stop project it's been unpickable (and visible) all the time (together with camera&lights) (i know how to hide objects) checked for weird keys in wrong places, everything's looks ok. the usual suspects: keys, num pad keys this time; i've hit several misses in that area which includes 'home', 'end', 'pg up&dn' keys. edit already: it's still in the materials, just not showing in render.
Last reply by dblhelix, -
- 1 reply
- 275 views
When an object is placed in a choreography, what controls (determines) where it is placed? Is it always placed at the center of the chor? Is it placed at the same coordinates as it was in say the model window? Thanks.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 25 replies
- 1.9k views
because I don't need all its capabilities and cross-application integration. I have Inkscape (Unix and Mac GNU) which works for me. I creates wonderful .svg file. But, A:M doesn't recognize .svg files - just .ai. Is there another program (preferably under GNU licensing) that will create pseudo-Illustrator files?
Last reply by itsjustme, -
- 4 replies
- 321 views
I tired Quicktime X - that doesn't seem to work. I tried "Play Animation" from A:M. I can only select one frame and that opens in Preview.
Last reply by bubba, -
- 7 replies
- 455 views
I'm trying to decal the entire surface of an eyeball using the "spherical" setting and I obviously don't know what I'm doing! I played around with the settings but didn't improve it. Can someone point me to a tutorial on this or explain it a little?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
- 379 views
if i make a path, in "bone position" at "end" the Z channel has a key at 25 hrs, at 25cm. v15 j+. is it just bugging me?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 336 views
I know that an object can be duplicated within a choreography. But is there a simple way to duplicate an object within the project? Thanks.
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 9 replies
- 432 views
How would I draw a spiral pathway in the choreography window so that I could have a camera, or light, travel in a 360 degree circle while moving up (or down.) Thanks.
Last reply by bubba, -
Art Nouveau Imagery 1 2
by MJL- 1 follower
- 98 replies
- 5k views
In the early 60's Stanley Mouse (Miller) was responsible for a large portion of the San Francisco concert posters at the Fillmore, the Carousel Ballroom, and the Winterland concert posters. He became closely associated with the Grateful Dead and did a ton of artwork for them as well. His early stuff had a very strong art nouveau influence. I've decided to emulate his style for my website imagery and have been playing around with the style. this is my first image. This is a jpg conversion of a TGA rendering from A:M. I'm having a problem getting crisp edges on the imagery (I'm using Corel Photo Paint X3). There are a lot of image specialists here on the…
Last reply by NancyGormezano, -
- 3 replies
- 357 views
I created a simple gear. I made a 360 degree rotation action that takes four seconds to make a complete rotation. When I drop the gear into a choreography things go wonky. The chor only runs for one second instead of four. Here are snap shots of the properties: If I can't get this to work for just one revolution, how will I be able to use it in an extended choreography? Thanks.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 5 replies
- 492 views
Hi, I don't know if there is a faster way to get help - other than calling Hash. Hopefully I'll get it here pretty quickly. I must have pressed a button, but i don't know what it was. My intent was to just press / to select all connected CPs, but somehow, several (not all) groups of CPs got selected and I can't seem to get them deselected. Any suggestions would be appreciated. (restarting software now). Thanks, Tommy
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 0 replies
- 342 views
Just wanted to think who ever put the Siggraph videos on AMFilms. I enjoyed all of them but, That human modeling one was just what I needed.
Last reply by Cool Scary Guy, -
- 7 replies
- 579 views
Is there a list anywhere - other than the list of fixes that comes out w/ each iterative update, that lists the major (and minor) feature changes and enhancements among the various versions? When I started using A:M back in '95, when there was a version number change (as opposed to a letter extension), there were pretty major changes, like adding hooks, hair, cloth, etc... However, for the past few versions, I have no idea what's changed other than bug fixes and can't seem to find a list of what enhancements or changes have been integrated. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks, TommyDAQ
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 replies
- 376 views
I've got a long, flow-y robe-like skirt that has a trail that drags along the ground. Is there any way to do this with cloth? I've been experimenting around and always just end up with the cloth catching repeatedly on the ground.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 6 replies
- 587 views
hello m new in A:M i have intel original 845 board with 1.7GHz 1gb of ram and 60mb of Gf mine render very slow i plan to buy new pc intel i7 with 3gb ram and 1gb Gf (video card) it increase mine render speed ?????????????????????
Last reply by Ravi Rajpoot,