New Users
Get started and learn the ropes!
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.
4,166 topics in this forum
-
- 1 reply
- 941 views
On my Win XP SP3 when I hit the "0" key for shaded-wireframe, my control-points are black. Is this an artifact, or is there an option for the color? The black CPs are hard to see. -SB
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 939 views
I have music I want to put in my animations, but an error message comes up saying it is in the wrong file type. What do I do?
Last reply by nimblepix, -
- 1 follower
- 10 replies
- 939 views
Hi everyone, I am begginer in 3D and I have AM2003 V11. I have some video presentation of AM in wich tutorial guy made in modeling mode wireframe model and then by pressing "some" button he made it becom grey and mashed like a real object. How to do that? Thanks
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 16 replies
- 939 views
OK i really somehow gotta learn this slowly, but i need to learn this, itll make my animating like 100x easier. Whats happening is when i animate someone in a choreography i make then maybe jump or jump then spin, or also recently happening the can can then a slap on the face, but whenever i do this it always starts from the begginning so for the can can move, it totaly ruin it, because he starts slapping himself in the face at fraom 0 moving his hand slowly up. and for jumping he starts rising into the air from the very begginnimg and for the jump and spin he start spinning from the very begginning too. i dont know how to make it so they start the second actio…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 939 views
Does anyone know how to create a Towel or Terrycloth material? Is this something that should be done with Hair? below is an example of the model just a test. but it has a burlap bag look to it instead of a towel. Any suggestions or donated materials much appreciated. I am not getting paid for this just helping out a friend and will donate all models and projects to the community when finished. Pocketowel_test.mov Pocketowel_test.mov
Last reply by jason1025, -
- 6 replies
- 939 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, -
- 5 replies
- 939 views
v.13 Mac So I did a nice job on the Boneless Thom Lesson. How do I extract him (My Boneless Thom) and save him as a new .mdl so I can use him in other projects? How do you place him in "My Library" or is that not what I want to do? Where do you keep your collection of models after you create them?
Last reply by Schloss, -
- 9 replies
- 938 views
Two question really. I'm working in V11 temporarily and I imported some images ( jpegs ) to use as rotos. They show in the PWS, they show when rendered or when the individual file is called up from the PWS but, when I try to open it in the view it only shows up as a white rectangle. Is there a way out of this? WXP on 1 Ghz machine with 512Mb of Ram I could try it in V14 or V15 but I'd like to fix it now. Second question is more general. I am working on my own animation which I hope to put out to festivals if it is good enough afterwards.A part of the story would involve people passing a shop window. They wouldn't be a integral part of the narrative just th…
Last reply by Simon Edmondson, -
A:M on EEE?
by Bryce- 10 replies
- 938 views
I use to use A:M on my desktop a lot back when I first got it, then I started slacking off. Recently, I found Anim8or and started playing with that and decided I wanted to install A:M again. Problem is, my EEE doesn't have a CD-ROM. I'd like to know if there is a legitimate way of running A:M without the CD (aside from a volume license). If A:M and Anim8or shared any format, it'd be a non-issue, but I'd prefer to use A:M. Like I said, its been a while since I used it. I have "Sorserez" version CD. (Old, I know.) My brother and I bought it at a computer show because the guy giving the demo showed how simple everything was. I don't remember exactly why I stopped using …
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 3 replies
- 938 views
the title says it all where can i find a smoke tutorial? thx
Last reply by HomeSlice, -
- 9 replies
- 937 views
ok trying textures for a bit to reduce rendering times and have run into a problem here is a pic of the rendered image , you can see a belt of circut like textures surounded by a distortion of the rest . when in normal mode it looks like its fully covered by the circut texture part2.bmp here is a copy of the model i used Model9.mdl
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 5 replies
- 935 views
Hi there, I've been an on-again off-again AM user since version 4. When I download the v12 updates or the v13 alphas I get this message when I try to install:- " An I/O error occurred while installing a file. This is normally caused by corrupt installation media or a corrupt installation file" It happens with any .exe file I try to download. Anyone got any idea what this is, as the problem must be at this end. Mike Logan
Last reply by mike logan, -
- 1 follower
- 11 replies
- 935 views
ok this is a multi part qustion so hear goes 1 is there a way to have part of a texture show and part not , such as glowing letters or the such 2 dose the texture require any special modifications
Last reply by Caroline, -
- 1 reply
- 934 views
Hello do you know the best style for rendering cartoon.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 7 replies
- 933 views
I've been trying to use the Edit->Move Frames-> Scale and Snap to Integers feature to slow down clips of mine, but it seems that this won't work when trying to change the keyframes on the model bone. In fact, I cannot move any of the keyframes on the model bone. Is there something I'm overlooking here or a better way to do this? I basically would like to slow down my movie but keep the keyframes on integers so I may go back and easily edit them. Thanks --Ross
Last reply by jakerupert, -
- 7 replies
- 933 views
For my mini-movie entry for the contest I've been trying to add several layers of sound. One audio file is for the background ambient noise, one is for footsteps, then a few for other random noises. In the realtime playback of the scene, all of the auido is lined up perfectly, but upon render the audio gets shifted. Secondly, when I try changing the sound volume or changing whether the sound is muted or not... it seems to have absolutely no effect in the realtime or rendered version. Any help or ideas on how to add sound properly? I've heard about rendering to TGA's and then loading them into quicktime pro to add the audio in there or something... but I would …
Last reply by rossk, -
- 1 follower
- 9 replies
- 933 views
Hi! I want to animate a little logo - i.e. spice up a fly-by type of scene that holds just one model that was done using the font wizard. Here's my problem however: I'd like to have the text object change it's appearance over time as the camera moves past it. I do see two options for this. 1.: Use a material effect and aminate it as desired. Problema: The effect just doesn't "look right". This may be a bug or the font wizard object I can't tell but the material just "dissolves" and not the way it's intended... Also the effect just ends with the effect object. So there is no way I can have the object "all 100% effected" at the beginning and gradually move to…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 933 views
I am trying to shape Eddie's eyes (Hash A:M stock model) to a rotoscope photo of a face. I select the eyes and pupil groups in the PWS (by control-clicking one after the other using my typical Windows ap habits, not sure if correct for A:M) -- a new group is created simultaneously it seems. Anyway, then I press "H" for hide, and as desired, the wireframe except the selected eye parts are hidden. Now I want to adjust the mesh to better represent the eyes (although there are probably better ways to go about this). My first thought was to group the pupil points and scale then down. The problem is, I cannot seem to select CPs in the Model window -- when I…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 9 replies
- 932 views
downloaded animation masters 2005 version 11.1 succefully but when i try to open it an error messag come up that says "This application has failed to start because KSAPI32.DLL was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem." but i reinstalled it like 3 times and it still is not working so i looked here and i found an older thread that said that i need to download the ksapI32.DLL but the link was inactive. im hoping someone can help.
Last reply by tommycs, -
- 12 replies
- 931 views
Didn't know wheather to post this here or in the TaoAM. I guessed here. I'm working on some simple smart skin for a petal on a flower. Is there a way to measure the length of the center spline before smart skinning and then while smart skinning so I can make sure the petal maintains its length? Seems like it should be simple but I can't find how to check a spline length between two CP's. Thanks,
Last reply by TNT, -
- 6 replies
- 929 views
I was trying to access the AM films section and it doesn't work. Is it down or is there another area to view animations created by AM?
Last reply by cribbidaj, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 929 views
was there some smart solution to rendering cloth in stills? once again i know i've read something about this on a couple of occasions and now can't find anything in searches. something about preroll, how not to render animation and use the last tga, but a different solution? i'm just dreaming?
Last reply by dblhelix, -
- 6 replies
- 928 views
Hello. I'm an indipendent cg filmaker-artist, recently graduated. To produce my (3d) shorts I used till now 3ds max (character studio let even a single person be able to produce a nice animation, taking much less time to configure rigging, and animation itself of several characters at the same time). Since my budget isn't big,and i'm not a student anymore, I was considering switching to something like a:m..... the animation I've seen are really cool, comunity seems very friendly and responsive... but... well... It is there out any tool like character studio that will make my life easier? even a script, or something like that with a footsteep editor, some levels etc?…
Last reply by luckbat, -
- 7 replies
- 928 views
I don't know how to really explain this one too well, so I'll try my best! I've been playing around with the camera trying to make real quick but stylish moves around the models (for instance, a 20 second clip with the camera basically flying around the model). The way I currently do this is to place the model in 1 location, switch to another view option (like "Fill Light"), locate the Camera 1 in free space and then transform it (zoom it closer to the model, spin it around the model, etc..) This is hard as often times with it being wireframe, you'll aim at something completely far off from the model even though it looks like its aimed dead-on. I usually have to…
Last reply by mrollers, -
- 5 replies
- 928 views
Hello, Have a spline ring selected and some of the points on that ring are not as even as I would like them to be. Tried selecting the whole ring and then setting Y and Z values to 0 in the Properties for the Y and Z translate values, but that doesn't seem to have done anything. Did I do something wrong? I guess it is not critical that they be perfect, I can eyeball them and get something acceptable but it seems like there should be a better way to do this.
Last reply by Roger, -
- 9 replies
- 927 views
Is there a limit to the number of decals I can apply to a model? I'm doing a model of a music keyboard, and its pretty decal intensive. I've reached a point where I can still apply more decals, but they will not show up in the render.
Last reply by oakchas, -
- 6 replies
- 926 views
I HAVE EVERYTHING SET UP CORRECTLY HALF THE PLANE SELECTED EXCULDING THE WINDOW AND SIZED THE DECAL TO FIT. WHEN I RIGHT CLICK IN THE MANIPULATOR WINDOW AND SELECT APPLY NOTHING HAPPENS.... THE DECAL DOES NOT STICK. HELP PLEASE!!
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 9 replies
- 926 views
ok i no there are constrants but i apperant dont kno whow to use them i have a model helacopter facing up with its blades and i need the rotor to only spin but when in the animation mode it like to rotate into its own body, what type of constrant do i need and what should it look like to make sure that the blade is all way flat with the body no mater how i spin it ?
Last reply by johnl3d, -
- 4 replies
- 926 views
I am rendering a scene with 2 models and a targa imported as a layer in a choreography. The tga image appears with a "white" outline when rendered. I have edited the image in photoshop, making sure all of the edges of the image are black, and included an alpha channel and played with the layer's options settings - "flat shaded", "occlusion", etc. - but the white outline continues to render. The image I've attached is a render using the"white render" settings I just found in another post in these forums (very beautiful, soft rendering style! - thanks, Jason!), but this "white outline/edge" I'm describing appears on the targa no matter what rendering options I choose. H…
Last reply by cribbidaj, -
- 2 replies
- 926 views
I use to have under properties a way of adjusting hair density, but My computer ran into issues and had to do a fresh install of XP SP2. However when I reloaded Hash V11 with Upgrade to AM V13.0 suddenly that Density option went missing. I tried reloading it, and will try again after I get done posting this. But its a real problem, I can't find any software update links other than for VS 17 web version, which I refuse web subscription, I only want hard copies of software. Anyway if you guys know what possibly happened so that I can undo it that would be great. Thank you.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 925 views
Hi! I dont know if this is the right forum to post in. I'm curently modeling a model of a character in A:M and it's beginnig to become a large mesh (loads of splines, cps etc...) The more i model the lower fps i get and this slows down the program, so i was hoping that someone can help me. Do i ned more ram? Or a better video card? My laptop has 512mb of ram with a 64mb video/3d card, is it possible to get better speed or fps if i'd upgrade to 1Gig of ram? Or do i have to have a better video card? Elias
Last reply by Muff, -
- 1 follower
- 12 replies
- 924 views
I just wanted to post a special thank you to all the nice folks that I have met here at Hash and online in the community chat room. A special shout to Martin, Rodney, George and Mark for all your assistence. I am going to be having brain surgery next week and won't be around for some time. Thank you for your kindness. Keith Buck BUDDHABUCK
Last reply by the_black_mage, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 924 views
Hiya all I got A.M. some years ago and from time to time go and rejigg old models when I get a moment. So my knowledge seems to be a bit static/non progressive. It's ok I have fun, there is someting that I was wondering about though. I tried Porcelain and it seemed to create a large ridge or crack in the faces of my models all in the same place running down the faces across the left side of the models nose. Once I realised it was Porcelain doing this I simply removing it from each model, that did the trick (so when I use Porcelain again I'll study it's properties first) no real problem there, what I also noticed during my worried hours was that not all the contro…
Last reply by Normy, -
- 6 replies
- 924 views
i was fooling around with some skin texturing in A:M and i can't get it to look photoreal. Can A:M produce photo real graphics or do i need to invest in another program? i have seen some amazing images done with A:M so maybe it's the images i am using. if it's me and not the program what could you all recommend to me to make the skin textures look more realistic?
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 17 replies
- 924 views
Ok for kicks and giggles i decided to try and make a model of some anchient guardian of sort i really dont know what to call it so ill just call it bob. like all anchient guardians i wanted to have it have the glowing lines thing and while i managed to get it to look good i did want it to "start up" with the lines flowing from the center. im sure there is a easy way to do this but so far anything iv tryed looks to square for lack of a better term
Last reply by johnl3d, -
- 8 replies
- 923 views
Hi! I've modeled my character for animation in the T-pose. I plan to use Anzovin's "Setup Machine" so I can start posing and animating my character. My question is: Should I do all the coloring and decaling of my character BEFORE rigging and animating, or should I animate my mesh, save the actions and then add them to a character who has been "decorated" after the movements are done? Any ideas would be appreciated, regarding flow. Tim
Last reply by heyvern, -
- 8 replies
- 923 views
I have a model with two user properties (pose sliders): "Twist left" and "Twist right". Sometimes I'd like the two properties two change exactly the same way for awhile. So in my chor I used keyframes in the timeline to define the "Twist left" property the way I wanted and then I selected all those keyframes with the mouse in the timeline. I right-clicked on the bounding box and chose "copy". Then I went to the timeline for the "Twist right" property and right-clicked on the timeline and chose "paste". Nothing happened. I tried the same thing but using the "Edit" button at the top of the screen and chose "copy keyframe" and then "paste keyframe". That pastes just t…
Last reply by RoyBU, -
- 10 replies
- 922 views
I'm having problems when first opening A:M. I click on File, New, then Model. According to the book, a grid is suppose to open, yet all I am getting is a blank screen with scales on the top and side, but I'm not able to draw anything. I tried opening multiple new model windows, then minimize and maximize the windows at random and MAY eventually get a grid. Any help would be appreciated.
Last reply by jason, -
hey every one im new to everything but im learning it at school and i love it already i just perchised it
Last reply by phatso, -
- 3 replies
- 922 views
I'm doing some stills with some primitive ojects and render them as PNGs. The good thing about pngs is, that the background is saved transparent and you can use the pictures in presentations or others. But i don't want just the object but also the shadow of the object. so I switched the floor to "shadows only" and it doesn't render anymore, but also there are no shadows. I rendered it with the toon renderer - does this option not work with this renderer?
Last reply by number, -
- 1 follower
- 14 replies
- 921 views
Hey everyone, This is my first attempt to add AM to live action. I followed the Sam Buntrock CD's, it's a good guide. Homer_in_my_house.mov
Last reply by bighop, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 921 views
Why in propertits are not displayed importances rotate for chosenned groups in modeling mode? Where see coordinates rotate?
Last reply by GAngus, -
- 1 follower
- 10 replies
- 921 views
I have a scene with particles that, when baked, has the particles apparently jumping back and forth from where they should be in time. For example "falling" particles might go down, down, up, down, down, up... instead of down, down, down, down... Is there a cause?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 9 replies
- 920 views
i finally got this animations file size lowered so it should be able to be uploaded here it is, i uploaded it finally!!!!!! ians_birthday_party3.mov if the sound happens to work for you then great because its not working on my computer or is it the file. i dont know, im not really sure
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 919 views
im doing a project in which two police thoms are trying to take out a giant rabbit... im done with everything but i still need a skycover so that whenever the camera moves the sky effect will look real. can anyone tell me how to do that?
Last reply by kalibur, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 919 views
I was wondering if there is a way I can recreate the ash effect like when a vampire dies in the Blade movies. I'm making a vampire movie and want to utilize this effect. I'll probably do it half real ash and half CGI but I'm not sure how to do make a person ash like they do in the movies. Can anyone help me out?
Last reply by Gorf, -
- 4 replies
- 918 views
After buying a new computer I installed AM2005. Made some animations and wanted to save. Suddenlly programm ends. Tried again, but for some reason the programm terminates. Iyt isn't a big animation, trying to make a wheel for a carmodel. The computer runs under WinXp Media Centrum. Second is my concern I can't copy my AM2005 disk, so is there a way to make the programm start without the CD input? When installing the whole CD on my computer there's still the question NO CD found. I would be glad to understand these questions.
Last reply by Atomike, -
- 11 replies
- 918 views
i´m workin on a hammy-like squirrel-character to learn more about hair. i figured out how to work with decals on hair, in this case i´ve decals for the color, the length and the density of the hair... first i had only one hair system, and it looked totally like a stuffed plush toy... then i added a second one, so that i now have a short one with a high density (375) and a long one with low density (25).. looks way better now, but i´m still not satisfied. i still get this kind of pattern, it looks not really natural... i thought about adding a third system, but i doubt my computer can take any more. the image i added took about 1 and a half hours to render (multipa…
Last reply by c-wheeler, -
- 9 replies
- 918 views
Copyflipped/attachted this modelhalf here, fixed the hooks and expected the mirrormode to work but nothing. What can I possibly be missing here? SimpleRigMan15H_130808.mdl SimpleRigMan15D_130808.mdl
Last reply by Luuk Steitner, -
- 5 replies
- 917 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,