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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.
4,160 topics in this forum
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- 6 replies
- 869 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, -
- 6 replies
- 819 views
I printed up the short cut keys taped them together(even took a highlighter to the odd numbers) and put them on the wall. Since i just got animation master this is very helpful. What would be even more helpful is editor keys for A.M. http://www.photoshopsupport.com/tools/editors-keys.html They would be easy enough to make. I would like to buy a set. ANYONE GOT EM?
Last reply by TeresaNord, -
- 6 replies
- 1k views
Hello, I'm busily working on my animation, and I'm interested in making my renders able to be played in a standard or widescreen DVD format. Can anyone point me to the correct resolution, acpect ratio, and rendering settings for being able to view the animation on a standard or widescreen DVD screen? Cheers!
Last reply by oakchas, -
- 6 replies
- 811 views
I am modelling a head, and I am having problems with creases around the neck, eyes, and mouth. I've attached some pictures so you can what I am talking about. I have only had A:M for a couple of months, so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.[attachmentid=16782][attachmentid=16783][attachmentid=16784][attachmentid=16785] I ran out of pace for that post, so here are the side views. [attachmentid=16787][attachmentid=16788]
Last reply by T-Dogg, -
- 6 replies
- 800 views
Hello everyone, I want to do the Exercise 2: (Chorus Line) cancan with an interesting twist but it's not going well. I'm hoping others (who may have run into this problem) can possibly explain what is happening and can also tell me a way to get this to work. My idea is a 30 second to 1 minute short of the "cancan" dance that has gone wrong. My idea is nothing long or laborious (I think). It's just a quick simple chain of events that is bestowed on the unsuspecting characters hehe. In general, what I want it to be is shaggy's foot slips out from under him and he falls (quite hard) on the stage breaking through the floor which a loose board then shoot…
Last reply by Jeetman, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 891 views
I have some live-action footage I am using in an animation. The footage used a green screen and in After Effects I eliminated the green to leave only the actors and an alpha channel. I imported the footage into AM as a TGA sequence. So far, so good. I want the footage to be lit by a klieg light that has volumetric turned on. The problem is that the volumetric effect is lighting up the transparent part of the footage somewhat brighter than background objects, so the actors appear to be in a rectangle that is unnaturally brighter than the surrounding scene. I don't understand what is causing the klieg light to (apparently) reflect off the transparent part of the…
Last reply by RoyBU, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 766 views
dose anyone know if theres a site were i can upload video's have have them "on" my site. useing html. and yes i did try you tube but for some reson i can ever get my e-mail confermation e-mail.
Last reply by Stuart Rogers, -
- 6 replies
- 1.2k views
Does anyone one know if Animation:Master allows you to install it on both a laptop and desktop? Most applications allow this nowadays...I just wondered if Hash was following the trend? Thanks. Dave
Last reply by PostTribber, -
- 6 replies
- 699 views
Ok..this is probably a dumb question, but, I want to create letters that can be used in an animation. (Letter falls and character picks up letter and puts it back in its place). I'm in model mode, and have created my letter, but, how do I create a MODEL from that letter to be used in my choreography mode? I've looked in the manuals and the new A:M book, but maybe i'm missing something. Any help??? Thanks. Steven
Last reply by Steven547, -
does anyone know how to make a character that you made yourself blink?
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 6 replies
- 751 views
I am struggling quite a bit with the door stuck project. To begin with, the help file isn't doing much good. I am having a hard time looking things up. For example, if you put the word keyframe in the search for the index, there is not an entry for keyframe Kind of surprising when that is so fundamental to the program. Anyway, my plan was to create Shaggy turning the knob back and forth and pulling back, which I did. These are represented on frames 0:00, 0:05, and 0:10 respectively. Then I would copy keyframe 0:00 and paste it at frame 0:15, copy keyframe 0:05 and paste it at 0:20 and copy keyframe 0:10 and paste it at 0:25 so that he would repeat the action.…
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 6 replies
- 647 views
I have created an action that I apply to knight in a new choreography. At the end of the action, when I attempt to move the right bicep or forearm in a choreography action, they won't move. All the other bones will move, but these two seem locked. Any suggestions?
Last reply by Dhar, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 911 views
Hi everyone, i'm new to Animation Master but from what i've seen it's a great piece of software. I'm having a problem and I can't seem to find anyone else with the same problem! Whenever I exit the program I get the following error: Animation Master 2006 /Applications/Animation Master 13.0/MasterPrefs.ini was not found I have to click OK about 10 times for it to go away! I've checked and the MasterPrefs.ini file is definitely there, i've got read+write permissions on it and i've even done a repair permissions on the disc. I'm running AM 13.0c on a MacBook Pro, OS X 10.4.7 (with all updates applied), 2.16Ghz CPU, 2GB RAM and a 100GB HD.
Last reply by tysono_71, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 921 views
What does the specular color, size and intensity do? Is that what color the lighter area's are going to fade to? Such as, if you had a blue diffuse color and a white specular color, the blue would be whiter in the highlights? Thanks, Ben.
Last reply by bedheadben, -
- 6 replies
- 681 views
I get an error probably 8 out of 10 times when I try to drag a model from the library to the Choreography window. The error simply says "The Parameter is Incorrect". I am using version 13c. Does anyone know why this is happening? Thanks.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 6 replies
- 853 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, -
- 6 replies
- 873 views
hello. im studying the Facial Modeling tute from Anzovin, and i was wondering if im looking to create more cartoon-styled face models, am i still to use as much detailed splinage like is taught in the tute? i was hope to just take simple head shape and basically add eyes, nose and mouth, something similar to a Bruce Timm type style, even how Jeff Lew did "Killer Bean". is there a way that supposed to be approached when modelling a toon thats more cartoon than realistic? and if there's info pertaining to this, could someone direct me to a link? thanks.
Last reply by urthmaan, -
- 6 replies
- 930 views
I have been working on making a path for my camera to follow in a choreography. I have "discovered" that when, after making the path, I move one of the control points to tweak its position, AM does not seem to realize that I've changed something and so no asterisk appears by the filename and I cannot save my project. If I do undo, then the control point moves back to where it was, so AM does realize I've moved it for purposes of undo. And if -- after I have changed a control point's position -- I then change something else, including something related to this path (like rotating the entire path), then the asterisk appears and I can save and the changed control point's …
Last reply by RoyBU, -
- 6 replies
- 828 views
when i put bones into a custom model i build, the bones move, but the model doesn't respond WHAT DO I DO?
Last reply by Saliz, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 549 views
I had a student ask me how to move the camera around in the choreography window and after showing him a truly awful way of doing it I realized I had no clue. =) Is there an equivalent to turning and moving like the modelling view that can be used to manipulate the camera views in choreography? Much obliged, Chris =)
Last reply by SplineSoup, -
I just got AM V11.1 a couple of days ago. When I try to load a Model or Project from the program I get alot of error messages saying that plugins and texures are not found. What can I do to fix this?
Last reply by newblood, -
- 2 followers
- 6 replies
- 763 views
Is there a way to create shortcuts to images, materials, models, and actions in bulk. This one at a time is ageing me real quickly. I even tried going into the files and placing all models in the model folder, images in images, and material in material but they still do not show unless I right click > creat shortcut > one at a time.
Last reply by ldgilman, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 630 views
Okay, I noticed that when you go to render the animation, you can choose from different resolutions... I wanted a kind of 'list' I guess from worst (as in, lowest quality) to best (as in, highest quality) resolutions. If there is one already here, could someone please give me a link? If it's not already here, could someone write it down? I'd appreciate it.
Last reply by zandoriastudios, -
- 6 replies
- 862 views
Can anyone point me toward a good plug-in [or tutorial] for trees and other vegetation?
Last reply by ddustin, -
- 6 replies
- 634 views
Can someone please tell me some good surface properties to create ice. I have been experimenting on my own, but I can't get it to look right. I was trying to adapt the ice settings in the current issue of 3D World magazine from Daz Studio to A:M, but I got confused because some of the D|S settings are named differently than the A:M settings. I decided it might be best to just ask people who specialize in A:M what settings they use. So I am asking... What settings do you use? Any help would be gratley appreciated. Thanks!
Last reply by T-Dogg, -
- 6 replies
- 687 views
I've posted a similar question before, and seen others post it, as well, but I am wanting to now how to delete and/or reorder the pose SLIDERS in Choreographies. I know how to delete the actual poses--that's easy enough--but what I want is to delete 1 and 2 to get them out of the way of remaining poses 3 and 5. Thanks!
Last reply by mtpeak2, -
- 6 replies
- 583 views
Hi, I'm not an AM user - yet - but I intend to be soon. However, my main interest at the moment is to purchase AM to use for modeling my company's products in domestic situations. That is, to use AM as a home-design program that can do beautiful and life-like renderings. I've spent a lot of time on the main site and browsing this forum, but I can't find a list of common objects included with the program. I've seen stunning still-lifes AM users have created, so I know that what I intend is possible. But I'm hoping to avoid having to design every item manually, such as a lamp or tree or couch etc. Is there such a list of items included? Or, in lieu of a detailed list, …
Last reply by Ethan Winer, -
- 6 replies
- 786 views
I knew I'd be buying this book. Many years ago I found Tony White's 'The Animator's Workbook' in the bargain bin of a book store for the hefty price of $1.99. This was a very nice discount from the cover price of $27.50. My only regret? I should have bought every copy they had that day! 'Animation: From Pencils to Pixels' is not an update to The Animator's Workbook but is rather a whole new book w/CDRom filled with information, tips, observations and lessons learned in pursuit of animation. At a cover price of $49.95 it made me cringe for a moment (hey... I'm cheap!) but I knew I'd be putting back the other books I thought I might buy that day. I to…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 742 views
Hello, recently I discovered that while working with A:M for a while, and rendering things using a few of the different pre-set options, all of a sudden the pre-set rendering options started to dissappear! (see the picture below) Can anyone tell me if there is an easy solution to this? If it helps, I am using A:M 2006, and using a MacBook.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 1.9k views
how do you make the legs follow the feet? like with those models in the extra cd?
Last reply by T-Dogg, -
I had a question. I'm looking to have a simple TV screen looking thing, and have the screen flash "Yes" and "No" about a second or so apart. I know an animated .Gif can do this, but I want it to continue in the background and loop. Is there a way to do that, or should I use a movie format and put that on there? Ideally, since its MOSTLY just those 2 screens, I'd like to keep the file small and easy for rendering purposes. Thanks guys! John
Last reply by lafnjack, -
- 6 replies
- 562 views
I just tried to flatten my exersize 11 for a decal, and I was unable to find the dilog FLATTEN in the Rotate Window. Has something changed in ver 13? I've flatten a face before and thought I had it all figured out. Also I tried to submit this to the Forum FAQ but it wouldn't let me Any help would be welcomed
Last reply by ArgleBargle, -
walk cycle
by bighop- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 575 views
I made a very simple model, and created a walk cycle for it. Now when I put the model on a path, and try to increase the time is walks the path, the model completes one walk cycle and freezes, but glides through the path. Any ideas anyone?
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 6 replies
- 936 views
I have a couple questions about how the "rotation" transform works. 1. Under the "Transform" property for the typical object in a chor are the "translate", "scale" and "rotate" properties. If I click the little triangle next to each, I can get the X, Y and Z (or X and Y for scale) listed separately. If I then click on just one of the dimensions under translate or scale, the graph for just that dimension will show up in the timeline and I can add or manipulate its keyframes. HOWEVER, if I click on just one dimension for the "rotate" property, I get nothing. The only way I can manipulate a dimension for rotate is to click on "Rotate" and get all three dimensions in…
Last reply by ypoissant, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 789 views
I have modeled a character, and for a scene I am animating his hand needs to appear to be on fire. So I created a material with particles, however, when I add the material to his hand and render it there seems to be a beam of random particles that are emitting from nowhere. I have included a pic illustrating what is happening as well as the specifics of my material. Can anyone tell me what is going on, and more importantly, how to stop it?? My Particle Material My crudely drawn example of the problem Any ideas as to what is going on??
Last reply by markeh, -
- 6 replies
- 702 views
Despite being inspired by the Tech Talks presentation on dynamic constraints, I am unable to reproduce any of the effects there with v13. Please correct me if I am missing a critical step or two: 1. I make a chain of three bones inside a simple tube of CPs. I assign the CPs to the bones. 2. I open an action with this model. 3. I translate the top bone back and forth in a couple of keyframes. 4. I return to frame 0, click on the lowest bone, and right click => new constraint => dynamic constraint 5. I still have an animation of a stiff three-bone stick moving back and forth. No swinging. Stiffness is set to 50% by default. If I try to change this value…
Last reply by mtpeak2, -
every time i try to upload one of the excersizes, it tells me i'm not authorized to use the file type or something like that...
Last reply by Muff, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 905 views
Hi, anyone can help me here? i just started my AM program....but when i creat splines or patches, i cant see my control points...y just reviewed in tools, costumize, and appearance, and it tells me that my control points are 2 in size and red in color....but i cant see them when modeling....why??? regards!!! DANIEL
Last reply by C-grid, -
- 6 replies
- 751 views
In a multi-camera setup, how does one make them so when you want to switch from viewing through one camera trained on one object to later going to another camera that is trained on another object? I have messed with the timeline but I'm unsure how to do this. Some assistance would be greatly welcomed. Kind of like having two people talking in a movie and the camera view switches from one face to another as they speak. Thank you ahead of time! Noganite
Last reply by Muff, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 775 views
Will this program, especially the 2007 version be compatible with Windows Vista? Thanks.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 6 replies
- 703 views
I am attemping to build a 3-d topographical map with specific terrain and colors at each tier. I attached a simple jpg I made in paint that is the rough 2-d version of what I am trying to do. I think I can get the model built with these tiers (blue being the lowest and high the highest), but I'm not sure how to get the coloring right to match the rough sketch. I haven't used A:M in about 8 years (1999) so I am trying to remember all the different ways to do things. If this is an really silly question and you feel that I should know better because of a tutorial somewhere, just let me know where it is, I haven't been able to find anything like this yet. …
Last reply by BrianJG, -
- 6 replies
- 459 views
Hello, there is a way to activate or deactivate certain materials to render it or not in the same way you can activate or deactivate any object visibility clicking in his Proyect Workspace's eye or something similar? I have some time consuming materials that I'd like deactivate until the last final render but I can't find the way, althought I think it must be there (I hope) ...THANK YOU!
Last reply by Ganthofer, -
- 6 replies
- 737 views
Whoa! So, I'm in the midst of doing the piston tutorial. Everything is going along swimmingly. The tutorial works. I can make a piston go up and down while the crankshaft turns. Exactly as advertised. Well, except for those inbetween keyframes where you have to make more keyframes to get the "shaft" bone to line up correctly with the crankshaft pin... Then it's "close enough," but it really isn't. Somewhere (early on) in the tute is mentioned the fact that we're going to "brute force" this animation without relationships, etc. Great, I can handle that, as long as it works. But, it really doesn't. Well, not accurately enough. It will look fine as it's m…
Last reply by R Reynolds, -
- 6 replies
- 824 views
When I try to add an AVI file either as a new layer or rotoscope, I get this error: Exception # 019 in the "AVI" image to plugin. This happens with most of the AVIs I happen to have available on my computer or create with my other software ( Sony Vegas Movie Studio). A few I tried from another source also wouldn't work because they are 32-bit. I don't think the ones getting the error above are 32 bit, so what's the problem? I've also tried adding MOV files, also created in Movie Studio, and get the error: Invalid image file Unsopported file type, or image plugin missing. I know I'm probably missing some simple step, but don't know where t…
Last reply by frosteternal, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 703 views
Hey everyone I'm sure I missed something but How do you make charecters solid, meaning that if one charecters cross pathes with something they wond go through it. Also if a charecter goes to pick something up that it attaches to them when they pick it up and detaches when they set it down.
Last reply by the_black_mage, -
- 6 replies
- 502 views
Hi there, Just woundering if you could put lights in the model panel. As this would help me with my road and my street lights. Will i have to just put loads of little lights on-top of the street lights? Would a glow effect work as a light? Elliot
Last reply by heyvern, -
- 6 replies
- 584 views
I have been toying around with a number of programs, recently I purchased a program called iclone studio. Do any of you know if AM is along the same line of program, well assuming you might know what iclone studio is. Anyway, it seems that it might have been wiser if I had found the program, AM first. Right now, it is not within my budget to purchase AM. But I intend to someday. I will keep exploring the forums and learning what I can. Thanks for aany advice in advance. Have a good day.
Last reply by KenH, -
- 6 replies
- 497 views
Hello guys... I have a basic question, so I thought it would be best to post it here. I want to combine live-action with a CG-character. The CG-Character is a simple one like Thom from the cd... (a bit more complex so, but doesnt matter...) The character is connected to a bunch of keys (key fob). A real person will throw the bunch of keys into the air and fetch it again, etc. There will be some detail-shots of the keys and the key fob. Now my question, What would you do: - Would you try to use a real key fob and key it away? After that, use the video as a rotoscope and add the 3d-character above? (I have a key fob which I painted violett/pink […
Last reply by itsjustme, -
- 6 replies
- 834 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, -
- 6 replies
- 640 views
I was just wondering if I were to create my own models using the program for commercial use such as a video game or 3d movie, would I have to pay royalties of any kind to Hash Inc? If so what are the terms of use of the program? I tried using the search feature for "Commercial Use" and "Royalties" in the forums however it did not come up with a definitive answer to my question. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Last reply by Rodney,
