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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.
4,157 topics in this forum
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- 1 reply
- 264 views
So I wanted to use a bone connected to a simple model to cut a hole through the side of a vehicle that has a Darksim Material on it. 1. I went to the "Boolean" bone's properties and turned "Boolean Cutter" to "ON." 2. I did both final renders and progressive renders and the boolean doesn't seem to work. Did I forget a necessary step......or might some misfortune have happened to A:M's boolean function?? Detbear
Last reply by detbear, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 328 views
Been using AM for more than just a few yrs. and still having trouble understanding action blending. Does the blending function mean how it blends with previous or next actions? I understand the transition to next action when you have a gap from one to another but doesn't have anything to do with the blending directly, right? Been trying to match the end of a saved action with a chor. action (just one lousy arm) and thought that just entering the rotation numbers from the position in the chor. into the last keyframe of the saved action would work but just whacked everything out. Been trying to duplicate the problem in a smaller chor. file but can't even get that …
Last reply by svetlik, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 389 views
Does Netrender get angry when you have it running and minimize it or switch the monitor to watch cable? It was running fine on the desktop and I switched the monitor to cable and when I came back all the nodes were offline and the messengers disconnected. After much vulgarities I found there was AM running in the Task Manager, even after I had shut Netrender off and once I ended the task I was able to use Netrender again. So, that's my question-can you NOT minimize Netrender or switch your monitor to something else whilst it's running er whut????
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 1 follower
- 9 replies
- 439 views
Never have to wait very long for something new to pop up. Animated decal on leg. Have tried AVI, JPG & TGA with and without alpha channel. No change. Granted the skin is flexing but have run out of ideas for fixing it myself. Any help greatly appreciated. Results are the same when rendered with Netrender.
Last reply by svetlik, -
- 3 replies
- 421 views
While working on my model (which is inside a project) I constanly used 'Save Project As', thinking I always have previous versions of my model if I dont like the current edition. Only now I realised that all project versions have the same version of my model. Is this how it should be? Maybe there is an option to have all models inside a prj file or smth?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 13 replies
- 744 views
Hey, just wated to ask if there is any way to show objects in viewport faceted rather than smooth. Here is a pic to illustrate what i'm looking for https://imgur.com/RSqtLWT
Last reply by robcat2075, -
Question on hair direction [solved]
by Guest Dan- 4 replies
- 467 views
Hi, I'm using the 2008 version on animation master on xp. When I place hair, a lot of times the program places the hair on the wrong face of the object, so it's pointing the wrong direction. Is there a way to change the face? Thank you
Last reply by Animationdan, -
- 1 follower
- 11 replies
- 629 views
Everything checks out but yet this decal is rendering chopped off like this in the chor. Any help appreciated.
Last reply by svetlik, -
- 2 replies
- 583 views
So I set up a Dynamic constraint in an action and it is working very well. But when I go to render it, there is no constraint in the resulting render. Do I need to run some kind of simulation or bake it to get it to show up in the render? How might one get this to work?? Detbear
Last reply by detbear, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 608 views
Hey all, its been a tough few months but I'm really doing all I can to learn this beautiful app. Just need some help on a few things on modeling if y'all can be so helpful to clarify how it's done. When I select CPs to hide or lock, it will do the operation on the unselected CPs instead. Is there a way to reverse this feature? Can't seem to find it in the settings. Also I use to monkey about in NURBS back in the day when foolin around with Rhino and was wondering if there's any way to do a Rail Sweep or a loft? Seems like I'm just stuck with lath and extrude. I'll keep this thread active with my modeling progress and hope to really excel in this wonderful…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 399 views
Anyone run into this besides me? Lots of work lost if there isn't a fix. Any help appreciated.
Last reply by svetlik, -
- 2 followers
- 33 replies
- 1.3k views
Apologies for the butt shot. Anyone else run into this??? Cps wrinkle in objects when twisting/turning and whatever it is is truly happening to The CP and shows up when rendered. Only happens in action or Chor. As soon as you click on the Cp it straightens out but then goes right back to being twisted when you advance a frame. This seems to show up randomly.See Pic This is shutting down my 5 yr. project unless I can fix it. As always ANY help appreciated. These CPs are in their natural state - no bias tweaking at all.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 replies
- 409 views
What is Move CP along Spline key shortcut I have not used this in a while. I forgot must be getting old thank you Whoops Found it Number 4 is key short cut
Last reply by Maniac, -
- 1 follower
- 5 replies
- 611 views
Boy these quirks just KEEP finding me. When copying a Prj from Computer 1 (System 7) to Computer 2 (System 10) the Prj files refuse to update. Have tried re-naming the Prj files-no effect, tried closing AM down before transfer-no effect. This involves 3 Material effector objects. When the transferred Prj file is opened on machine 2 the objects are in the Object list but will NOT show up in the Chor and with none of the animation that was saved. Have tried to replicate this with smaller sample Prj files without success. Also had this problem with Lights and Models not showing up when transferred. Anybody else run into this? Have run out of ideas to try. Any …
Last reply by svetlik, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 640 views
Got a new mini pc but it came with OS11. Anyone know of any compatability issues?
Last reply by Madfox, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 421 views
I've searched, poked and clicked and can't figure out how to adjust sound volume when compositing in AM. What am I missing this time???? Any help appreciated.
Last reply by svetlik, -
- 5 replies
- 504 views
HI A:M community! Just want a quick intro. My name is Matt I am a 46 year old cg boomer (darn kids and their zbrushes and material nodes!), I have been doing 3d on and off for over 20 years now I am a 2d artist by trade but 3d is my passion hobby. Turns out doing what you love as a job really kills your love of that thing. So I will never do 3d for money haha. Animation Master was the first program I learned 3d on. I got the millennium edition in 2001ish. Still have my big fat instruction book and cd after that I jumped to 3dsmax as I was dabbling in game modding in Unreal 2004 then moved onto Softimage XSI. But I always dipped back to this wonderful program. e…
Last reply by Shelton, -
- 1 follower
- 12 replies
- 745 views
Go thru this every year when I renew (Got a new Computer and trying to get AM on it.) but run into this every year, I buy it-money is charged from my card- and ??????? no serial number, no download and no instructions- just a receipt in my email with no serial or download instructiions. Is it just ME? What am I doing wrong? Any help appreciated. Admin update: Jason has fixed this license mishap and Edward is back in operation!
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 4 replies
- 531 views
A long time ago, I used A:M for titling and some minor add-ons to video projects. I have a multi-media idea and think I can use the cricut for making a mold. I am talking 5-10mm in size. With the text to object feature, I can do personalized things. It is a challenge. I want cricut instead of a 3d printer because I can use a soluble mold. I do gemstone composites and have an idea. Sorry, no like to an example as FB url or non-https are not allowed.
Last reply by g3ellis, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 485 views
Have a walking character (driven by walking action) with stride length on & constrained to a path. Fine so far but now I need to tweak the walking so that the characters stance comes to stand straight up at the end of the path but can't alter any skeletal motion with a chor action on any frame where the stride length is active. So does stride length "lockout" anytweaking???? Any help appreciated.
Last reply by svetlik, -
- 2 replies
- 457 views
Hi guys, I was in the q and a this weekend and tried to ask this question, but I don’t think I communicated it very well. Attached below are scans off the tutorial I’m trying to follow. The main question is: How do I select modeling mode from inside the choreography? I can’t, it’s grayed out. What is bizarre is that somehow or other I got it to work briefly, I have no idea how… I was testing things out, pressing a number of options at the top and all of the sudden it became selectable. I selected it and started building the cube as instructed, and when I turned my head (or whatever), it went back to being unelectable, and the cube I had drawn could not be selec…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 replies
- 626 views
Hi guys, Well, I come to you now because I find myself at another impasse. This is something which I get the impression should be simple but I’m making it harder than it really is. This is also an instance where I think I would benefit much more from an in-person, class type setting then trying to interpret words out of a book. It’s a communication issue. The project is the creation of a gear. Everything up through the first image I am fine with. I can get something which looks like figure 6.13 I have also gathered that when they go on to say “select two CPs, skip two CPs”, we are actually talking about groups of eight CPs at a time. The illustrations …
Last reply by Kaijubait, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 499 views
Thought I had done this before but now can't bring up the curves for the CP's moving in a Pose. I have a Pose of an eyelid blinking from 0 to 100% and a keyframe at 50% but can't find a way to see the keyframes/curves in a timeline. I'm getting radical splining happening at the keyframe. Any help appreciated.
Last reply by svetlik, -
- 4 replies
- 578 views
Long ago I used to think that decalling was a simple process but then this started happening. I can stamp this image a dozen times and sometimes it ignores different patches randomly.Anyone else ever run across this or is AM picking on me again? Have tried making the patches larger-no effect. Tried applying decal in an Action with all the CPs flattened completely-no effect. Tried a TGA-no effect. Higher rez image-no effect. I've run out of ideas to try. Any help appreciated. LandTest.prj
Last reply by svetlik, -
- 2 replies
- 1.1k views
hi, I've been changing some of the shortcut keys so I can work on my laptop which doesn't have the numeric keypad. One key I want to remap but can't seem to find in Tools/Customize/Keyboard tab is the "*" key, which Expands/Collapses the PWS. Is it not exposed or am I missing it? -Jim EDIT: sorry for posting this here and not New Users. I was here looking at the existing Keyboard shortcut list!
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 1 follower
- 5 replies
- 810 views
Working in a chor, hit "H" to hide but now all other objects are GONE. Still listed in the PWS but not visible. Anyone heard of this? Can't send the PRJ too complex referencing millions of outside items and haven't been able to reproduce it but can't see all but the object i had on when hitting "H" Only want to salvage many hrs. of work. Any help appreciated.
Last reply by svetlik, -
- 1 follower
- 11 replies
- 1.1k views
Can anyone guide me to some tutorials on thread/cloth texturing techniques? Tried the Weave plugin but couldn't get it to do anything. Any help appreciated.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 5 replies
- 790 views
What did I do??? See attached pic. NOTHING in the prj. was changed. Open it up today and all my chrome is gone. Environment map worked fine 3 yrs. ago so what has changed and how do i get my chrome back?? I'm sure I'm missing some small detail but can't get the env. map to work like it did before. Any help appreciated. Checked the image used and it seems fine.
Last reply by svetlik, -
- 5 replies
- 607 views
Messed up a pose and can't delete it. What am I not seeing? Any help appreciated. Apologies if I've asked this before.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 reply
- 578 views
Hello All, I am new here. I just use Hash recently. Just to say Hi to all
Last reply by itsjustme, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 773 views
Set up the gradient materials and the pose sliders exactly as robcat did but can only get the trailing end to work. Been over and over all the details for 2 days and I give up. See attached prj file. Hope your listening robcat. I'm missing something obviously. Just can't find it. ThreadsEnigma.prj
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 replies
- 770 views
Howdy guys, I run across a new problem today as I continue my AM learning journey. Suddenly, when I use "copy, flip, attach" on my model, the objects are placed on top of and upside down to the original piece rather than becoming an attached mirrored image (thus making a whole) like I want (and what I used to get). I assume this means that an X or Y axis needs to be changed somewhere, but where, on what, and how? Thank ye much... - Mikre
Last reply by Kaijubait, -
- 5 replies
- 716 views
Greetings. I've had a question pop up in my head while going through tutorials, looking at others' work and so on. I notice some projects set lathe cross-sections to 4, others to 6, or to 8. I saw one using 12. And I wonder "how would I know how many to use in my projects?" So, I decided to stop trying to figure it out myself, and just ask. What a concept! Is there a certain method used to work this out? Is it "pick one and adjust as you go?". Are there specific factors to determine this? Is it something where it's "okay" to choose too many or too few and adjust later as needed? Thanks!
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 3 replies
- 801 views
Hey everyone. I was hoping to download a version of V.15 in order to access TSM2 rigging. However.....when I click on the FTP link, I get a blank window. Does anyone have a way to access the proper V.15 version of A:M? Detbear
Last reply by Fuchur, -
I have v.19 installed on a couple of Dell INSPIRON 7490 (6RKVN1) laptops (I7 10510U/16GB) as a replacement for lab computers. The software is working, but I don't see any other libraries, projects and files in the tabs on the left side of the workspace. Where do I need to copy the data files for them to be available?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 587 views
Hey all.... I can't seem to hear an imported sound(WAV) in the choreography. Seems like you could at one time. Am I missing something, or perhaps forgotten how to toggle it on?? Detbear
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 11 replies
- 784 views
Thanks to all the help from robcat and others with my "thread" reveal pose I set it up and it works fine in the pose window, and the threads flow as wanted but as soon as I put it into the choreography - ZIP! NOTHING! No effect and the pose slider is wigging out-displaying numbers that aren't the same as the timeline. See attached PRJ and JPG file screenshot. Any help greatly appreciated. Why would it work in the pose windows and not the chor?????? ThreadsTest01.prj
Last reply by svetlik, -
- 8 replies
- 957 views
Hi, Is there known issues with the CutPlane Wizard plugin? I've tried to use it a few times to create a 45 degree cut so I can make a corner desk. It works fine until I close the the widget window. Then AM crashes to desktop - no warnings or anything. It just shuts down. Is there another, better way to accomplish this?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 10 replies
- 875 views
I remember having trouble with this in the past, but I was hoping that it had been solved simply. When I render an image file from Hash as a PNG, JPG, or other, the Alpha channel doesn't export automatically. As a result, when I import the image back into A:M to be used in a "Layer", it has black instead of transparency. If you have an Alpha channel set in the render, it should show up in the image as transparent. But in an A:M render this is not the case. Am I missing something. 1. Render an object as a PNG with "Alpha" buffer set on. 2. Import that image back into A:M and create a layer with it in a Choreography. 3. Does the transparent area sho…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 10 replies
- 925 views
Hello, I continue my exploration of AM which I find brilliant in the design. On the other hand, the tutorials are not progressive enough. to explain the details ;-). When you are looking for something, you very quickly come across sometimes complex tutorials ... which is great when you have already acquired the basics of use! For example, I'm looking for a tutorial that could help me build a character with a basic IK skeleton. In the exercises, I only find examples with compensation bones and other somewhat complex details that I don't want to tackle until I have fully understood the basis in an exercise that takes me when up to interesting movements. …
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 reply
- 862 views
Over the transom... Each of those is a deep topic, but.... CP weighting allows you to apportion the influence of more than one bone to a CP, rather than having it rigidly attached to just one bone. This is useful for the stretches and shrinks that surfaces between bones do, such as at the elbow or knee. Fan bones are another way of creating that in-between behavior, but slightly different outcomes than CP weighting. At the Sept 26, 2020 Live Answer Time I showed several comparisons of fan-boning and CP weighting. We talked abut rigging and CP weighting quite a bit last year at LAT. Several of those might be worth watching. my tutorials…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 782 views
Hello, There is an important procedure that I do not understand in animating a character and his poses. 1 - I created a model: the head 2 - I created a bone to be able to move my eyes horizontally or vertically. 3 - I assigned the points of the eyes to the bone 4 - I created two poses (vertical and horizontal) for the eye movements. When I place the head object in the choreography, the pose sliders work but the eyes don't move !? Is there a basic tutorial (exercise) that allows you to follow the different stages of a simple creation chain: from modeling to the calculation of movement in the choreography ? The tutorials that I find always c…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 5 replies
- 689 views
Hello, Here in France I have a few days of vacation to accelerate my exploration of AM which I find brilliant, only the rather long calculation times bother me. The rest of the program is fine with me. In the tutorial : at 8:57 the user clicks on a bone and duplicates it with the control key. I can not reproduce this action !? I do not understand why ? Do you have another example please? I don't have any examples of how to use smartskins, do you have any? This is what animation master lacks. These are simple examples of simple situations. When I understand the basics of AM better, I will try to find time for many very simple examples. This can help…
Last reply by createo, -
- 1 follower
- 23 replies
- 1.8k views
I found my disc copy of am I bought back in early 2000s, it has disc and book with code to activate.. The problem is my newest computer i built doesn't have a disc drive any longer.. idk it the disc today would be able to run in a new disc drive.. is there a way to download the program and still use the old activation code in the book.. I know it was supposed to be a bound to one computer only.. Just curious.. Thanks
Last reply by Jason Simonds, -
- 1 follower
- 11 replies
- 1.1k views
Hello, I am continuing my face creation tutorials and I have a group duplication problem with its decals. At 10:00 we duplicate the eye patch to create the second one and the decals are duplicated with it. When I do this, the decals don't duplicate !? What am I forgetting ?? greats
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 960 views
Hello, I continue to explore AM with the tutorial on youtube: https://youtu.be/1CFLb0w4X4A I have some questions : - Realtime rendering looks weird !? Do you know what this is due to ? Did I make a bad handling or a bad adjustment? - Some of my model's normals are in the wrong direction. How do I unify the normals? Thank you in advance and have a nice day teo
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 4 replies
- 686 views
Hello, I continue my exploration of AM. Despite the technical documentation ( in English), I do not understand the direction of operation of the function copy / flip / attach. Does anyone have a simple example please? thank you in advance. teo
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 5 replies
- 800 views
Hello, That's it !! I finally bought AM 2021, for 1 year. If in a year I am still going, I will buy the CD version! I thought about it a lot because my main problem is the rendering speed which is not in current standards. As soon as several "complex" parameters are used, the calculation times become disproportionate It is still possible to render with another software like Blender but I don't want to switch from one software to another as needed! When I will test the export plugin to blender I am amazed that the extrusion extrudes all the points, even those "inside" the object !? Is there a specific procedure to have only the "outer points" extruded…
Last reply by createo, -
- 4 replies
- 1.1k views
Righty-O folks, I come before you with a new quandary today. I am working my way through the tutorial attached in David Rogers' "Animation:Master A Complete Guide" book (modeling a face). I am ok up through what you see in figure 5.38. I break the spline and it looks just like that. It is what comes next that gives me issues. I am unable to create the nostril hole as instructed in figure 5.39 WITHOUT that hole patching/filling in. It is obviously not supposed to fill in, it is supposed to be a hole, but it isn't happening for me. Two other things that confound me, but not as much as the first, main issue are that: 1. In addition to drawing the loop in figure 5.…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 5 replies
- 2.1k views
Hey Hashers, Didn’t think I would be back so soon with another question (s). I tell ya, I was doing just fine breezing through this book until I got to Action Basics. This is deceptively the shortest chapter in the tome, yet it’s the one that’s caused the most head scratching. Ok, so I tried to scan the part of the book that's befuddling me and upload it here, but that's just not working out for me. I will retype it: “Each driver has it’s own setting for it’s default interpolation, located in the PWS next to the name of the driver. There are actually three pull-down menus located under that image, the first and last of which look ghosted out and are for …
Last reply by robcat2075,
