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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.
4,166 topics in this forum
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- 9 replies
- 764 views
I designed myself a new character today. Very happy with him but............ when I go to render him I get this................ I know it is a toon render. but his entire body and all the rest of him are not tooned! only his face! So I started with the nose of another character, that nose must have had the toon settings set on it. How in the world do I turn this off??????????? I have a half toon/half 3d character LOL
Last reply by TheSpleen, -
- 2 replies
- 764 views
Under the Newton properties for an object there is the line Extended Material Click to Select Is anything supposed to happen when i click that? The first time i tried it I got a little dialog box that said "Big Problem" But since then nothing, even after doing "reset all settings"
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 4 replies
- 763 views
What does Key Bone, Key Branch and Key Model do? I know one of the buttons is used in the doors stuck exercise. But what does each button actually do? Hmmmm....
Last reply by howboring, -
- 5 replies
- 763 views
I love the look that AO can give... but getting there is killin me! Friday I set up a AO render and let it fly all weekend... it was taking an hour per frame... not bad- I have some time to render this sequence. TODAY I am trying to do the same thing and NOT getting the same results (See image) Let me tell you how I go about getting AO and please check me if I am missing something: -Open up project and turn OFF or delete any existing lights. -Set the CHOR to GLOBAL AMBIANCE TYPE- COLOR -Adjust the color to an off-white, set the ambiance intensity to 70-90 ish -set the ambiance occlusion to 20-40 ish (higher equals longer renders...) -In the RENDER cue...…
Last reply by HomeSlice, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 762 views
I've animated tanks in Carrara, but this one is a first in A:M. I'm thinking that I should arrange one whole track [treads. drive wheels, armor. etc.] as a named group, animate a full cycle where each track-plate goes all the way around once, and save that Action to the Library. Then duplicate it, flip it on the Z-axis and drop the Action onto the new tread. Is there a better way? [in Carrara this was not difficult, but it was tedious. So before I launch in...] Secondly, in Carrara, there was a way to select groups of key-frame markers, and, [if I recall correctly, by holding down the Alt key] drag the markers out proportionally, thereby slowing the action, or compre…
Last reply by cstanton, -
- 1 follower
- 5 replies
- 762 views
hi- i have 2 questions for the group. i want to add my own material to the library but what format can i use? what is ".mat"? i'd like to add a photoshop file: jpg or bmp or ?. can i? and- if i want to create a cube with specific dimensions- can i do that? if so, where do i specify that? thanks much patter
Last reply by Fishman, -
- 7 replies
- 762 views
HI!!!, im a new user here at this cool forum. Guess what?, i think I know the basics of AM in such a way that i can create almost any mode, any coreography and any animation...but i feel a little bit stupid for asking this question, related with modeling... HOW CAN I ALING POINTS EXACTLY TO THE Y AXIS??? HOPE U CAN HELP ME!!! REGARDS!!! SERVO!
Last reply by Daniel Servolo, -
- 4 replies
- 762 views
How do I parent an object to another? I want to have my character pick up an object and hold it. I already have my character walking by the way as well cause if it requires to use kinematics, somehow when I moved back a couple of frames I got an error message. Thanks, J.W.
Last reply by jweinrub, -
- 7 replies
- 762 views
I'm lost when it comes to collisions and the like. What's the best way to simulate the effect of someone jumping around on a matress? Mainly, the indentations of the feet making contact on it. Thanks in advance.
Last reply by frosteternal, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 761 views
windows xp pentium II dual processors service pack 1 Hash 12 and 13b Is there a dual processor render option? Did a search on forum, did not find easliy any info. Thanks, Also, What is the most efficient path to follow for tutorials, any opinions appreciated. I noticed forum members are ranked, how is this done? I see there are forum tutorials, AN matrix tutorials, Sherwood Forest tutorials and manual tutorials, as a Zbrush artist, I am so bogged down in making zbrush textures that I was wondering what is the fastest path to getting to know the in's and out's of AM All the best, Michael Angelo
Last reply by artunemedia, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 761 views
Hello, I just got a one year subscription, and when i try to do flocking, for example if i right click, select flocking, then birds, it creates the flock, but when i drag a model to 'Shortcut to Birds' the models don't show up. This is the same with crowds and swarms. Also, I cannot create volumetric effects, when i right click, choose volumetric effects, then any effect, the wireframe circle shows up, but nothing can be seen in shaded mode. Please help, thanks.
Last reply by guy123, -
- 1 follower
- 5 replies
- 760 views
Hi there, I am rendering a scene for an animation, and am having a rectangular artifact appear in the final image. The animation is being rendered out at a multipass of 16 (4 x 4). The artifact does not appear until the 12th pass of the image. I am using A:M 13.0n on Windows XP Pro SP2. I have an ATI Radeon 9000 Pro video card and have all the latest drivers for the card and Windows. Out of 150 images rendered, 14 of them have the artifact in the same location and same height, but vary in width. Sometimes the frames affected are sequential, other times they are not. For instance, the frames affected are 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 then skips to 27, 28 then skip…
Last reply by C-grid, -
- 5 replies
- 760 views
Can someone tell me how do I Load a BVH file into A. M. I BVh files I Know there is BVH files that are reuseable. And since I just started to use this program I have not be able to import a BVH file to see if it works with a 3D Character. IF Somebuddy can explain a little bit how to do it I woud apreciate it.
Last reply by seduar, -
- 3 replies
- 760 views
I was wondering if there was an easier way of adding text instead of modeling them. I heard there was a wizard or something to do it for you. How do I do it?
Last reply by FlyingMonkieBoy, -
- 2 followers
- 5 replies
- 760 views
Hi everyone, I'm trying to learn how to use hair in v13 under the 2006 CD by following the Wookie's tut in 'the art of animation master' I've been very surprised on discovering how easy to use it is but I've found a little problem. I've been trying to vary the thickness of the hair in order to make its diameter to increase along the hair but I haven't been able to do it. I follow the steps of the book and I show the timeline in order to see the channels' timeline. Then, I'm supposed to see a 0-100% timeline but I only can see the typical 00:00:00 timeline with minutes:seconds:frames and not a % timeline. Why does it happen? What am I doing wrong? Maybe am I …
Last reply by loserem, -
- 6 replies
- 760 views
I wasn't having any luck getting a AM hair to fit with the style of the model I'm using, so I've set up an IK dynamic chain to control hair movement. Problem is, it seems to ignore the Euler limits I've set for the bones lower in the chain. Am I missing something or does a dynamic constraint just ignore Euler on lower bones? I know it adheres to the Euler limits on the dynamic constraint bone itself. Attached a movie of a quick motion test where the hair just kinda flys all over. I've tried Simulate on the Fly both on and off and get the same results, but that brings me to another problem - I can't seem to simulate spring systems. At all. It gets a few frames in …
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 7 replies
- 760 views
In earlier versions of AM ( V8) it was possible to specify Black and White as the output of the render then that began to change with V9 and V10, when it became necessary to treat it as a post render treatment. I am using V15 to redo an old project for a competition but I can't find where the BW option is, could anyone kindly explain where it is and how to use it? regards simom
Last reply by Simon Edmondson, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 760 views
goodnight-stories needed: looking for technical info with examples on interpolation and pre- & post-extrapolation in a:m? techref: nil site search: one (candy cane rotation repeat was conclusive) almost feels like i'm missing something here?
Last reply by dblhelix, -
- 5 replies
- 759 views
I have had this really odd error. Basically, I right click, <new>, <rotoscope> and then select an image. AM: Then gives me a white/blank image of the correct pixel dimensions. In the project workspace it lists the correct image, and if I double click on the image it opens up a new window in which the image is correctly displayed. These images are all comming straight off the CD and they worked prior to me attempting Exercise 10. (FW-190 Fighter) Midway through I had to save and quit. After that I have never been able to get the Rotoscopes to display. Any Suggestions on how to fix this?
Last reply by clonewar12345, -
- 2 followers
- 4 replies
- 759 views
I need to make a trafic light operational. I have the model created and all CPs in groups with materials applied. I'd like to have each of the three colors change from their "off" state to an "on" state. I think I can do this with poses, but I'm not sure how it's done.
Last reply by digitalqube, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
- 759 views
Hi, I'm currently messing around with Realm Crafter a MMORPG design tool. I can import models and animations of models if they're in .b3d file format (Blitz 3D) and soon RC2 will support .x file format. Is A:M capable of exporting models and animations in these formats. If so, you've sold an upgrade! Thanks for any help! Sritsod
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 1 follower
- 10 replies
- 758 views
During the modeling of a somewhat detailed FW190, I realized that I would have to apply cylindrical decals to some parts of the model. The only way that I know how to put cylindrical decals on a surface is to have the part on the 0,0 xy coordinate. How can I translate the decal to the model instead of moving the model part to the 0,0 point? Say I have 20 different parts all over the model that need cylindrical decals applied. It would be a real pain to move the part to 0,0 one at a time, then put it back in place on the model.
Last reply by NancyGormezano, -
- 6 replies
- 758 views
hello. i was looking throughtout the forum but couldnt find the info i was looking for, so here i go. i want to start modeling biped characters and i was wondering if i had an idea as to if i wanted to model/bone a character, say like Marvel Comics X-Men "Cyclops" or "Wolverine", who in real life might be 6ft. and 5ft.tall respectively, and im thinking of using a measurement scale of 6in./5in. or 6cm/5cm in relation to actual footage onscreen, would this pose a problem once i got ready to animate? and does modeling/boning something this small aid in creating smaller file sizes or faster rendering time? and if in doing so would cause a problem, how small could i model …
Last reply by dtu031770, -
- 8 replies
- 758 views
Is it possible ot make monthly payments on A:M? I'm going to have enough to buy it in a couple of weeks but I don't want to wait that long to order it. I relize this is silly cause A:M is only $300 compared to things like maya which go up to 7k. However I am a student and cannot afford somthing like that. (plus A:M looks way cooler) So, to sum it all up, is there a monthly payment plan with or without interest? /me blushes
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 8 replies
- 758 views
I have been on and off the video tutorials for the last 6 months, part of it being my problem to get AM to work. I followed video tutorial http://www.hash.com/ftp/VM/EX13BackBone/ about three times, and found that while I build the model, AM would somehow swap LEFT and RIGHT bones (arms and legs) in the middle of session. After my second try, I realized even if the bones were swapped (reversed), if I saved the model and re-open it, the bones revert back to it's proper orientation. However, when I opened up ACTION mode for each of the three models I built, the LEFT and RIGHT ankle seemed to be stuck in the same motion (when I moved RIGHT foot, LEFT foot would simulta…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 5 replies
- 758 views
Hi - I have been seaching the forum for materials trying to learn more about them. I see the following darksim link http://www.darksim.com/html/simbiontam.html How does this work - it says the Simbiont Plug-in is already in version 13... and up I am guessing. I just upgraded to the latest version - how do I know if I have the plug-in. Also, are the free materials they have on on the site applied like you would a regular material? Someone help me see the light, was a little iffy about downloading the plug-in, didn't know if it was just for an older version
Last reply by flashawd, -
- 9 replies
- 758 views
ok I have fluid working no problem. Problem is I need it to start at frame 48:00 and it wants to start at frame 00:01 how can I set it to start at that frame? Thank you.
Last reply by TheSpleen, -
- 2 replies
- 757 views
hi i am a newbie and i need someone to help me to get the right lighting effect to make the model look more real and not like a plastic puppet. is there any kind of softening render effect or something? is there any tutorials on the subject please help THANKS BILLY
Last reply by the_black_mage, -
- 6 replies
- 757 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, -
- 5 replies
- 757 views
i want to know how to know if the lip poses im making are the right poses
Last reply by HomeSlice, -
- 2 followers
- 4 replies
- 757 views
I am trying to decide on which computer to install AM 16 (I have AM11 on disk) I have a computer with both WIN7 Professional (64bit) and MAC OS Lion (not Bootcamp, but dual boot) and was wondering, since all the hardware is the same, if the program would run equally as well on WIN as it would on OSX. I do not want to buy two versions of the software just to satisfy my curiosity. Specs: i5-2500K, 8MB 1333Mhz ram, 90GB SSD, 1TB WD Black, 2TB Hitatchi 6gbs SATA, Radeon HD6870 So...does anyone have any idea which version if faster, all things being the same? Are there any usability features in one version that makes it better than the other? Additionally, I …
Last reply by largento, -
- 2 replies
- 756 views
I originally purchased A:M 2000 several years ago and it came with a thick technical reference manual. I understand that a year or two after that TAoA:M became the standard pack-in manual with A:M. This is the first year I've ordered the upgrade and am looking forward to the Tech Reference Manual, but would like the get a printed TAoA:M manual as well. Is that possible? Thanks, James
Last reply by jlummel, -
- 6 replies
- 756 views
Hi all! I've got this skeleton I'm working on and I want to make the surface look older. I'd like to keep it simple and found some of the tutorials rather complex (like UV mapping). Anyone have a good suggestion on how to weather his joints? It looks like the weathering option is gone from version 13; is there something similar?
Last reply by agep, -
- 1 follower
- 5 replies
- 756 views
Just messing around with materials; is something like the compositing in MAX possible with A:M? http://www.3dvalley.com/tutorialsdata/bk-shadingtut3.jpg Something like that is what I'm looking at.
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 5 replies
- 756 views
A strange problem is occuring when I try to render a QT to preview some animation. Working in 15J on an Imac under OSX 10.56 If I render the view using the Q ( quick render ) option, the image appears. If I try to render the same view to a QT file, I get a black blank. No image. This problem has not happened before. I get the same problem if I try to render a choreography from the camera view. ??? The shadows only option is turned off in the buffers. The other settings are standard. Does anyone have any ideas as to what might be going wrong ? Also, I don't know if this is related or not but, In my project I h…
Last reply by jimd, -
- 2 replies
- 755 views
I'm trying to model a '50's style fedora similar to the one shown. The hat itself is little problem, but my challenge especially concerns the portion of the band circled in yellow. Would it be better to model this in geometry or as a (bump, normal, or displacement) map... I'm concerned that a map would make it less 3D than it is, though the actual "bow" on a fedora is pretty form-fitting in real life, it does have dimension and this photo shows it fairly well at the rear of the bow where it is obviously not "decaled" to the hat, but a seperate piece. [attachmentid=12783] Of course, since it would be part of complex scenes (with a person under it) patch cou…
Last reply by oakchas, -
- 5 replies
- 755 views
hi!!! Check this trailer of this e-comic. All models are done with Animation: Master The comic is about to come with english subtitles on december 25. We are also working on the totally animated movie, but first we will publish the e comic because we want to know if all u guys liked it. Ofcourse, ANY SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOME. ENJOY! THE LINK IS http://mx.youtube.com/watch?v=rkVGPrj6xe0 (THE HIGH quality version will be available tomorrow at www.losmejicanitos.com)
Last reply by Aseddicu Member, -
- 3 replies
- 755 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, -
- 5 replies
- 754 views
hello all i used the dup wiz to make a length of rope,this worked fine. but i've hit a wall i need to make a circular length for a knot and i can't seem to figure it out.any help would be appreciated.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 5 replies
- 754 views
Hi I am really inspired to make a superhero movie with animtion master. So does anyone have a batman model. I know there is the russian batman but I need a regular one please. oh an maybe a iron man and a Joker.
Last reply by animation man hi, -
- 9 replies
- 754 views
Okay, I'm wandering into new territory again and need some help. :-) I'm working on a shot for the Christmas greeting I'm doing and I want to do a focus switch ...to transition from one character to another. So, I've turned on Depth of Field in the camera and set it up. When I do a preview render with no multipass, I get exactly what I would like. Foreground character is in focus, and background character and set are nicely out of focus. But when I do a multipass render, not so good... With more passes (say 9), there's almost no blurring at all. Is there a trick to this?
Last reply by largento, -
Will there be any more contests such as video or still image comming up? and if so what theme.
Last reply by Mr. C, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 753 views
I looked inside of the forum and also in the manual maybe I just missed it some where, if I want a video to play inside of my choreography like a person sitting in a chair watching a movie on a tv with it playing or do I have to use the green screen affect to get the movie to play on the tv. thanks
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 9 replies
- 753 views
i was wonder if anyone knows the link through which i can download the environment shader. Thank you
Last reply by jason1025, -
- 2 replies
- 753 views
Heya all, any advice on the best way to do moving eyeballs? Either make the "white" of the eyes one with the rest of the face (no blinking on this model) and just have the "iris" move around or creat the eyeball and iris as one and have the entire globe rotate. Any ideas would be welcome. Thanks, Rich
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 followers
- 2 replies
- 752 views
Hi everybody. While I'm new to the forums, I've been using AM since v9 in 2002 and was planning to upgrade to the 2006 version. So please bear with me as some of these questions might seem elementary. I was wondering what exactly the v12.Op Installer available at this site did, and whether that was the same as ordering the 2006 upgrade from the AM flyer that recently came in the mail. One thing that kinda worried me was accidentally scratching the AM CD, and having to buy the whole thing over again. It happened once before, with my 2002 CD. I had the Complete Guide to AM:2002 by David Rogers and the 2002 program itself, and was content to stick with that…
Last reply by NancyGormezano, -
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, -
still help
by cuboos- 2 replies
- 751 views
i need to know how do i make a still pic what i have been doing is making a small avi movie and then take a pic from it is this how i'm suppose to do it or is there another way?
Last reply by Stuart Rogers, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 751 views
Hi, I went to duplicate something in a simple model of a pegboard/coat rack kind of thing I need for a wall. I wanted to duplicate the pegs at certain intervals, but right clicking and going into the Wizards folder only revealed Extruder, Grid, Font, and AI. I created an HXT backup folder and stuck the Font Wizard in there temporarily, but then that only left the Grid and Extruder wizards as choices when I restarted the program. Is the Duplicator Wizard now unavailable in the Mac versions? I'm running Tiger here. Can I get it to work? At least to show up in the menu? Seana
Last reply by sbk, -
My mate Pengo!
by Guest SandGroper- 7 replies
- 750 views
Hey here is a model of my first character my mate pengo! Please dont laugh as pengy gets very upset if you do, he may even bite your nuts off so be nice . cheers groper btw : whats the deal with attaching him ....some upload error?
Last reply by higginsdj,