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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.
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-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.
4,157 topics in this forum
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- 6 replies
- 550 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
- 918 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
- 412 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
- 343 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
- 2.2k 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
- 417 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
- 681 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
- 443 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
- 423 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
- 575 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
- 5.7k 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
- 432 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
- 586 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
- 392 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
- 694 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
- 440 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
- 674 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, -
- 2 replies
- 395 views
Seems like I recall there was a way to tile decals, and you could choose whether you'd want to flip them horizontally and/or vertically, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to do it. I made a small decal for a road surface, and I want it to repeat for the length of the road. Is there a way to do that without having to place a million different stamps? thanks, Tommy
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 10 replies
- 889 views
Ok, I'm not quite newbie... but I haven't really used this software (regularly) in over 10 years, so bear with me (no pun intended Ken - yes, I'mn on a Mac). I've got a very simple scene together in which I need to set up about 10 different camera moves, each that render a 20 second animation very quickly. The scene is made up of about 6 simple models: a ground plane, a long, flat, straight road, a car (the Porche from the CD), a simple scanner that the car passes through, a simple control booth, and a stop sign. All very simple. I've reduced the lighting in the scene to 1 klieg w/ Z-buffered shadows set very high in the scene acting as a sun. I've done this …
Last reply by TommyDAQ, -
- 6 replies
- 639 views
Hello! Is there anybody out there?! I'm trying to purchase the subscription version of A:M and the store won't let me. I know I have funds available on the card. All my info on the cart/site/login is correct. I've triple-checked. I've tried calling Hash Inc. I've sent emails to "orders" and "support". Nothing. I just took on a modeling/animation job based on previous knowledge/experience with A:M while working at another company. Now I've got a deadline of Friday, but no software to work with. I can make the deadline if I can get the software by tonight or tomorrow morning. Is there a webmaster or forum moderator out there who can help me? Or perhaps …
Last reply by cjmagee, -
- 2 replies
- 420 views
I am trying to add an Action to a mechanical gear I made. I created the model and added a bone - starting at the very center of the gear and extending to the edge of one of the teeth. When I try to move the end of the bone 90 degrees the model starts to turn and go off-axis. How can I constrain the model so that it turns (rotates) in only one plane and direction?
Last reply by bubba, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 410 views
Currently whenever I try to select multiple objects via clicking and dragging in windows vista I get a square the size of the selection field that stays after I have released. Its color changes depending on what appearance scheme I use. Most commonly it is black or dark grey. Is this a problem with my vid card? I have an nvidia 6900GT.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 10 replies
- 585 views
While applying bumpmaps and flippinh them to cover the counterside I find them inverted. Is there a certain trick to avoid this?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 replies
- 515 views
I have been working on a practice choreography out of the David Rogers book. I initially set the time to be 5 seconds so that the flower sack action which is one second long, could hop across the screen 5 times. But the range setting for the choreography property keeps changing to 25 seconds. I change it, save the project, re-open it and the setting is back to 25 seconds. A:M 16 beta3
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 2 replies
- 412 views
Ok heres my problem , I'm trying to create a ship design for the EVE ship design contest. on of the requirements is that the model is all white with black lines, I have finished my models set the surface to white and the lines to black , but no matter what settings I try it always shades parts of the model with Grey. I tryed using the wireframe mode but that just causes AM to crash. Any suggestions or help ?
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 18 replies
- 1.2k views
Is this correct. I select Render Animation Preview button in the choreography window and it does it thing for 30 frames (and I can see the camera view in the right-hand pane) then nothing (black pane) Then, when I do a Save As... I get this. renderanimationpreview.mov This can't be right.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 3 replies
- 496 views
Greetings, I'm looking for some help with a project that I am working on. I am making a wine bottle, it is hollow and has interior patches. The problem that I am faced with is putting a label on the wine bottle and maintaining the flat appearance of the bottle's label. I know how to use specularity, reflectivity, transparency maps. The problem is that when I apply the decals in the model window is that after applying the color label using a decal I really have no way of precisely applying the follow up transparency, reflectivity, and specular maps to control the appearance of the label on the bottle in the final render. I have tried using guide lines in the modeling …
Last reply by ArfGraf, -
- 3 replies
- 382 views
Let`s say you have applied a decal to some patches and lateron you have changed the patches and added some cps. Do you have to apply the decals a new always in any case or is there a possibility to include the cps into the existing stamp afterwards so that the whole decal is showing up again?
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 5 replies
- 576 views
now i was just interested in what the Extra DVD has, does it have video tutorial on it that shows how to model human characters and mecha robots? i already did the F-150 fighter jet tutorial on how to rotoscope to model an image but that is how it went and it didnt show you how to create eyes, mouth, how to color it, and so forth. also it seems that in order to rotoscope, you must have different pictures of the same object from different views. i was wondering if there were any plugins that would help in modeling human characters and robots.
Last reply by Darkwing, -
- 1 follower
- 36 replies
- 1.6k views
i made a run cycle; a choreography that i saved as an action. created a new chor for testing speed in relation to distance, imported the runcycle and scaled its length in the view that's all white with only red squares. prolonged the cycle to span the scene, then proceeded to animate the cycle nailing toes so thom wouldn't ski. took a break, closed am. came back, worked on an object in the same project then returned to the finished runcycle across the stage. thom was skiing. i cursed "must have scaled something by accident" and did it all over again. rendered, pondered, took notes and went to bed. today i open the project and whaddyaknow, thom is skiing…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 10 replies
- 838 views
can someone tell me where to find the tutorial on particle, fire, and smoke? that was created by Shaun Freeman??
Last reply by HomeSlice, -
- 7 replies
- 575 views
Hi! Well, that is, I remember to have read that it was possibble, but now that I can't get it in no way I'm not totally sure yet... But... anyway it should be possible, isn't? I mean, to click over that little four arrows icon at the left of a pose in the "User Properties" of a Model and can arrange it or put it from one folder to another, but the case is really I can't do neither of two things, look it... ...and cause of this the poses remains every time in the same order that it was created and if I put a pose inside a certain pose folder, that I can, then I can't undo or variate it anymore, so... it'll remain inside the folder forever? Hmmm, strange... a…
Last reply by cribbidaj, -
- 7 replies
- 652 views
How do you set up a set of image sequences so they loop. I tried it as a decal but there is no option to loop the sequences. Is there any other way of doing this other then copying the images and renaming them in sequences.
Last reply by DJBREIT, -
- 7 replies
- 691 views
i am looking at some of the products there for sale...5 cds and SIGGRAPH DVD Trainings...also 3d AM Paint and so forth. what are the 5 CDS in the AM package about? it is about $500. i really want to create anime on it but it seems that just the AM software is not enough. 3d paint looks pretty cool to draw your models though.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 417 views
Using 15.0j on an Intel iMac 10.5.8. It seems that many patches don't emit sprite particles... randomly. I threw together a project quick to test it out, and a simple model revealed the same results. spritebug.zip If you've got the time, I'd love to hear if you have problems with this. Try dragging the particle emitter to different groups, or try copying the groups and then moving the emitter around. It sometimes seems to only work with certain patches of the groups, or emit unevenly. I haven't touched this particle system since I got it running great back in this thread, and I loaded it up today to find it not working at all. It coughs out a poof from a singl…
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 2 replies
- 448 views
Hello I'm currently getting back into AM and as such have a fresh install. I have found however that should I have a cylinder and i shift to shaded view , its all blocky and chunky , and there used to be a way to make it smoother, however going through my option menu nothing springs out , I am currently using version 15.0i
Last reply by Master chief, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 786 views
Hi, I'm needing to make a snowball being thrown at the camera. I'm using the "It's a pitch" tute for the character action (using my own character). When the snowball hits the lens/screen, it needs to splat out (like snowballs do!). Any thoughts on how I can make this happen effectively? Thanks. PAUL
Last reply by Sollywood, -
- 6 replies
- 569 views
okay, i finished the exercise, but when testing the model on how it moves, everything worked great with the exception of lower right leg that seems to have control points not assign to the right leg since it basically doesnt move with the rest of the leg. i attached an image of what i am talking about.....it seems to me that all the control points are assign.... i am thinking of doing the draw lasso and just assign the control points all over again, though still they seem to be all assign already...please help.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 replies
- 392 views
There was an option in older versions of AM to set the patch color of something - this was a quick and dirty way to get a "textured" model without creating a material - I used it to get a rough idea of what things would look like. Do they still have patch materials or no? I can't find them. I thought you could just make a selection, right click, and that would be an option - at which point you would get the color picker to pick the patch color. Its been a while since I've used it, the last version I can remember it being in was v12 or v13. Maybe it was just moved.
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 2 replies
- 393 views
Having initially had problems with sound files ( thankfully fixed due to forum users advice ) I have completed the animation first part of a little project I'm working on and want to fine tune it using the f curves ( ?). I'm not sure if that is the correct term for them ? What I mean is the way of changing the curve that flows through the timeline to affect the interpolation method of the keyframes set. To get a hold, constant speed or the normal spline. I have never done this before and wondered if anyone could point me to the relevant section in the Tech reference/ TAO/ forum archives to try and learn a bit more about it ? I am using V16. Thank y…
Last reply by Simon Edmondson, -
- 2 replies
- 369 views
I know I can align CP points to a common grid point, but is there an "easy" way to align whole objects. Most vector graphic applications have an Align/Distribute function. Thanks.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 22 replies
- 1.2k views
I am working my way through David Rogers book and I am stuck on creating the windows for the building (page 227.) David says that the Duplicator Wizard to create the grid of bricks but I just can't understand the wizard. Nothing I have tried results in a grid of bricks. Please help. Thanks.
Last reply by bubba, -
- 6 replies
- 461 views
Sometimes when a spline is directly over a grid line it disappears. I am using the version 16 beta and I am wondering if this is normal behavior, nor not. These really are square objects - a four-sided box.
Last reply by bubba, -
- 4 replies
- 500 views
Does the Choreography window automatically create perspective? If I place two objects of the same size in a window, does the object further-est from the camera appear smaller?
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 2 replies
- 432 views
How can I set the Choreography window to have the same scale as the Modeling window. I created a building that was 50 feet tall in the Modeling window and when I put it in the Choreography window it was so big I could not see the edges.
Last reply by bubba, -
- 2 replies
- 418 views
Doesn't A:M automatically update instances of a model when the basic model is modified? Should it? Or Not?
Last reply by bubba, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
- 429 views
simplest basics trouble; trying to make thom's hand stay in one place when doing a walk cycle (but i'm in chor). tried some constraints and a null but it seems i'm not understanding something basic, since nothing achieved anything. could someone give me the name of the null i need and say if i need to brush up on my so-called understanding of hierarchies? edit, the hand should stay in one place in space regardless of the motion of the rest of the body
Last reply by dblhelix, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 827 views
Hi, I'm currently modelling a cartoon polar bear (see attached) and I want to add some fur to his body. I've tried to do this following the tute in the help section in A:M, but haven't quite got it to look any good. Either the fur is not dense enough, then too dense, then it hangs down perfectly, but the hair at the top hangs through the patches making any upward facing part look bald. I've also had a problem with the fur sticking through things like the character's nose, scarf and gloves. Any tips on decent settings for the emitter and other fixes would be gratefully received. Thanks. PAUL
Last reply by HomeSlice, -
Data Files
by Kirby- 0 replies
- 360 views
I have install v14 on a couple of Dell Latitude D630 laptops as replacements for lab computers. The software is working, but I do not see any of the libraries, projects and other files under the tabs on the left of the work area. Where do I need to copy the data files so they will be available? Thank you in advance.
Last reply by Kirby, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 711 views
Ok i tryed a little test but my two actors are doing things at the same time. E.G Doing: 00:00:00 >>>>00:01:00 actor1 walk to yellow man and yellow man sinks ment to do actor1 walks to yellow man and then stamps on yellow man and as the foot touches yellow man it sinks into the ground. heres a link its project two. please help i cant even have one guy stand let another walk up to him and then the other guy jumps at two diffrent times, its always at the same time i even adding frames and moving them when i want them to. please help me.
Last reply by robcat2075,