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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
- 339 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
- 739 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
- 554 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
- 359 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
- 356 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
- 439 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
- 431 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
- 342 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
- 1.1k 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
- 411 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
- 317 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
- 493 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
- 1.2k 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
- 715 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
- 476 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
- 558 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
- 572 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
- 343 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
- 350 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
- 668 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
- 463 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
- 329 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
- 326 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
- 301 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
- 991 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
- 375 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
- 414 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
- 367 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
- 353 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
- 365 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
- 736 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
- 313 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
- 602 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, -
- 0 replies
- 359 views
First test And second test that i've done whiles half asleep (not a good idea as you will see the thing that went wrong) Holding test: found the timeline to make it all work this time. lighting test and camera control test, again half asleep. Camera control, edit, one sound, pause and movement test.(before i went to bed) The one second front n rear punch in the dark.
Last reply by crimsure, -
- 5 replies
- 544 views
Trying to get a sprite particle system set up, and can't help but think I'm missing something basic here. I can't get the opacity to change over time. It's just constant. I adjust the opacity over time on the timeline, but it does nothing. And is it possible to use an animated format for a sprite? .gif or .mov? Had no luck with .mov, nothing renders. Thanks!
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 6 replies
- 628 views
Hiya. A couple of Q's regarding workflow stuff... Just wondering if there is a way or a plugin that allows the selection of a patch straight away? Basically, I want to select a patch or series of patches and have the CP's attached to that patch selected. Thinking in polygon terms, it would be like selecting a polygonal face, but using hash patches. Is there a way to us "raytrace selection" or "only front-facing" selection? Say I have a simple vase. I want to move a few patches outward. If I drag a rectangle selection box around the CP's I want, it selects the CP's 'behind' the ones I want. I don't want those ones in the back. Is there an option for this somewh…
Last reply by pming, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 404 views
When I watched the video tutorial for Exercise 5: It's a Pitch the narrator on the video ended up having trouble with bones moving that were not suppose to move. The narrator pointed out that whenever bones are not moved on a particular keyframe their position is not remembered at that keyframe. My question is... After manipulating some of the bones on a keyframe would it be a good idea to press the Force Keyframe button at the bottom of the screen if you wanted to make sure everything is anchored (or keyed)? Would forcing keyframes assign keys to all the bones regardless if they were moved or not?
Last reply by Ralph, -
- 3 replies
- 420 views
I have finally gotten around to start learning either illustrator or A:M. I have been working on my SolidWorks and PhotoWorks and can now start on a new software. The eventual project will likely have to be done in Adobe Illustrator. I need the illustration to have a chalk drawn look. I would rather learn A:M first. Can a still image be saved in a format that can be adjusted in Illustrator? Changing pens and fills? Or can something like this be done in the toon mode in A:M? Thanks David
Last reply by pixelplucker, -
- 7 replies
- 558 views
this is in the 3rd video of the FW-190 exercise, around 6 minute mark in the video, the author draws 2 splines to attach to the circular opening in the front of the plane model in order to close it. when going into side view, the 2 splines after deleting the tails, dont show in the exercise, which means they connected to the other control points, but mine do and it means the attachment wasnt completed. he mentions about performing some keyboard Tilda key or mouse shortcuts to make sure they attach but i tried what he says and it doesnt work. please help
Last reply by north, -
- 1 reply
- 329 views
ehmm, could someone give me a property set up for a metal shing surface that can be used for a car and a cool glass surface. thanks.
Last reply by itsjustme, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 399 views
well the fun four days are over, here's the result. a whopping two seconds. on the bus stop theme though the set is not there. this would be the beginning so yes, he just missed the bus. only just animated the hands today, couldn't post without at least an inkling of follow through. arms were the hardest thing to do. the balance i've been at for the longest, have a hearty go! it was very interesting to move the hips in relation to the feet to experiment where he is the most tired, when the motion is the most cumbersome. what's here is not the only thing that worked, but the most "thom organic". a dead tired jogger does his best to not let the hips sink cause …
Last reply by dblhelix, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 427 views
Hi, I'm starting to use A:M again having left 3D behind and returned to 2D. Now I'm determined to crack it. Previously I had managed to build models, but rigging was where I fell down. I now finally have my head around fan bones and have got them working successfully in the relationships window. Trouble is, if I create a new action or choreography using the model, the fan bones are there, but no longer have any effect. I'm sure there's a simple explanation, but I've tried all sorts of things. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 1 follower
- 23 replies
- 2.5k views
what is the collective name of the different views, the ones we choose with the numpad 1 2 3 etc? a single term for those, please?
Last reply by dblhelix, -
- 1 follower
- 22 replies
- 810 views
no point in starting a WIP just yet, i'll just keep spamming the newbieland; i've just played with the toggling of perspective/non-perspective views (using the keys involved) and seem to have blown thom's hip null out of view. first i didn't even notice it, then it was easy to ignore and now it's all i think about. everything is fully functional, the n and r tools appear with normal sized visual tools, but the null star is like four times the height of thom (but centered where it should). it's possible this could have happened while testing the mouse earlier; shift-dragging w middle button down. i might accidentally have nudged a wrong button and given a shortk…
Last reply by dblhelix, -
- 8 replies
- 614 views
on the exercise fw-190 fighter jet, watching the video and i am trying to understand on how he calculates and draws/traces the tires, he is using advance manipulator to manipulate the pivot then he starts position it and that it has to be in the y-axis. im trying to understand but it is hard, also since the problems with these videos is that the sound and video are way out of sync. with each other. he starts doing this in the second part of the lecture around the 11 minute mark to finishing around 15 minute mark.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 6 replies
- 338 views
Working on trying to get a robe around some legs, and the robe is completely ignoring all CPs assigned to certain bones. I tried assigning the CPs to a different bone and the cloth detects them just fine... usually. The CPs assigned to the bones also seem to "snap" back into place if I pause an animation in the middle. Anyone got any experience with something like this, or know how to fix it? Using 15g on OSX 10.5.8.
Last reply by Meowx, -
- 2 replies
- 355 views
I preface this with saying I realize I'm missing some simple step to this. I don't think its a bug. So I apologize for the boneheaded question...however... So I've previously used AM on my windows machine and had no issues. I even used an older copy (with CD) on my Mac without issue. But I'm having some difficulty installing the AM web subscription on my Mac. I was wondering if someone could help me out. So installing it directly under my admin account works just fine. Its installing it under one of my "user" accounts where I have issues. Although I went through multiple permutations of this formula, this is the last install I did. I installed under my…
Last reply by lafnjack, -
- 7 replies
- 387 views
Hi I’m new to the world of AM I’m still learning the basics and all and am using a book to assist me in my learning process, Animation Master 2002 by David F. Rogers Now a while back I read in some article or magazine about AM being used for photo manipulation. My memory is somewhat fuzzy on the article, but I believe it got used to enlarge their heads and alter them in shape somewhat. All I can recall was that a grid/mesh was placed over the picture, adjusted to in shape of the head and neck and next thing, the picture stuck to the mesh and it could be readjusted and dragged apart. After the heads/bodies were somewhat adjusted shadow/light effects where added w…
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 6 replies
- 398 views
say where can i find the Maps folder? i went to the ftp site and i couldnt find it since i need the folder to get the fw-190 image.
Last reply by mtpeak2, -
- 18 replies
- 547 views
Working on an Imac in OSX snow leopard in V15 ( the one off the installation disc ) I am having trouble with the sound in an action file. It was going OK until a few days ago and a glitch slipped in (?) . I was working with .wav files and was using one 2 mins long. Thinking it a bit large I split it down into smaller parts using Logic express. I tested the files outside Logic using QT and they worked perfectly. When imported into AM they wouldn't play and just gave a distorted noise. I tried the sound editing several times with the same effect. So I went back and converted them to MP3 but that was not accepted. So I have just converted them to aiff…
Last reply by HomeSlice,