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.
4,161 topics in this forum
-
- 4 replies
- 629 views
I know I am missing something here, and even after surfing around the forum for firework effects and such I still am not able to animate my Streak Emitter properties. When I create a new material I can click on Attribute then animate such things as diffuse color in the timeline. However, if I click on the Streak Emmiter then try changing the rate of emmission at different frames AM does not set a keyframe. I even tried creating a new action, but I could not get the material to show up under the "Shortcut to Model" in the action. That was also the case when I tried looking for a shortcut to the material under the Model's Choregraphy Action in the Project Works…
Last reply by ccmsteach, -
- 4 replies
- 885 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, -
- 4 replies
- 703 views
Hi-- I just upgraded to v12 and am trying to weather a model. The online help says to right-click the model and a weathering dialog box will appear, but I'm seeing no such thing. What am I missing? Thanks for any help. I'm sure more stupid questions will follow!
Last reply by Gorf, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 771 views
I'm creating an animation of a person walking down some steps. I started with "Eddie" and got him walking down the steps ok, but in scaling his feet up to what I considered to be about the right size for the steps it seems that his legs are very short. So I want to scale his legs up (longer). That screws up the bones. In trying to fix the bones I reviewed the "Show some backbone" tut. The book has more detail than the video, but still leaves something to be desired. His lower legs seem to work, but his upper legs kinda crimp. This raises a broader question. Is there a better reference available that gives a lot of detail about how to set up bones, exactly…
Last reply by carlf, -
- 4 replies
- 752 views
Hi all, I'm new to 3d animation and wondering about rendering times. I've got a Dell Latitude 3Ghz Laptop with 2GB of RAM. It seems too slow for me (only a 64MB ATI built-in card). I have access to an AMD 64bit system with 1 GB of RAM. Would that work any faster? Does AM take advantage of 64-bit? How about multiple Processors? Thanks in advance! -Tim
Last reply by ddustin, -
- 4 replies
- 646 views
Hi, I've been doing a control points faces but, I realised that, if two faces that needs 5 control points are side to side, it won't work and, in another model (I didnt do), I saw something that might solve my problem but I don't know how to do it. Look at the picture: how we do that? BWT, the thing circeled in yellow has no control point, it is just a spline without red dot thanks tido
Last reply by tido, -
- 4 replies
- 752 views
I forgot how to asign a fixed distortion cage to a model, anyone know please advise. This is to be able to use the cage in conjunction with bones. Thanks
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 4 replies
- 613 views
Alright then, can anyone out there tell me how to render an animation out with more than one camera? You know, switching cameras and such...
Last reply by Smuschee Faces, -
- 4 replies
- 748 views
well i was just wondering how to take stills and not animations. I open director mode then lay everything out then i hit the render file do i type 00:00:00 or 00:00:01 or is there a diffrent way to go about this sincerly, |logan|-|BHS animator|
Last reply by BHS Animator, -
- 4 replies
- 648 views
i made this funny animation for a movie site me and some of my friends are starting http://youtube.com/watch?v=tiBLwYkgr2Q i let me know what you think if this is the wrong place to put it then show me were the right place to put it is
Last reply by the_black_mage, -
- 4 replies
- 733 views
How come sometimes when I want to create a five point patch, the interface won't allow it? Can you not have two five point patches touching each other? (sharing a commone spline segment). I got it to work...does the order that you select the points make a difference?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 4 replies
- 694 views
First off, I'm using A:M 2002 so this might be a non issue for a more recent release. I plan to upgrade eventually. I'm sure my methods are a bit roundabout, but since I'm currently lacking a decent graphics editing program at the moment, this is how I went about it. 1: Using MS Word 2003, I typed out the text, and formatted it as desired. (Center, italics, etc) 2: "Printed" out to "Microsoft Office Document Image Writer" to produce a TIF file. However, A:M 2002 does not like the TIF file generated this way, so I continue to the next step. 3: I used Paint to convert the TIF file to JPG. Letters look solid and the way I like it. 4: JPG loads in A:M i…
Last reply by Galtrol, -
- 4 replies
- 650 views
Hi, I'm working on adding some bones to one of my models (a scorpion, screenshot is attached). This is my first attempt at doing skeletal animation. As you can probably see from the picture, I was doing fine until I started to work on the legs. When I went to do one of the legs, I added four bones to it, then clicked auto-assign, and my bones were assigned to various unwanted locations (chunks of the two adjacent legs and part of the torso was connected to one set of leg bones). A few questions - 1) Is there a way to un-assign the bones? I've tried moving them around and clicking auto-assign again, but it still leaves them connected. 2) How do I…
Last reply by tysono_71, -
- 4 replies
- 729 views
What's going on? There's no libraries. When I open the library file from the disk I get the message that there is an "invalid library file". I've only had AM for a week. What do I do?
Last reply by LazyDude, -
- 4 replies
- 516 views
Completed exercise1 I hope there is no time restrictions on completing exercises for certificate as I am only home at weekends as work gets in the way
Last reply by Leo73, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 646 views
I am a newbie but I have been doing pretty good with the tutorials. I have been trying them first out of the book and then watching them online to pick up some extra tips, etc. However I can't seem to find an online version of Exercise 11, Giraffe. Does anyone know where I can find one? I am having some trouble following the book and could really use a visual tutorial. Thanks, Robbin
Last reply by robbin, -
- 4 replies
- 570 views
I have looked through every reference I can on the documentation for adding lights to a scene but I have not found how to do it. Everything I have found describes properties, luminence, etc but not how to add. Anyone here point me in the right direction? I know three lights are added to a new scene but I want to add more. Thanks a million! MrM
Last reply by MrMylesG, -
- 4 replies
- 708 views
I tried this with a nice sunset in the background but it renderd out a bit to big so I had to change it. Am I in line for my certificate now Rodney? flock2.mov
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 4 replies
- 550 views
I know I should know how to do this, but I don't. I've been messing around with it for forever and finally decided that I need help. It's probably something simple that I'm not doing, but I can't figure out what it is... Okay, so I'm playing around with the Knight and reusable actions in the Dark Room (in the projects folder). I have him be idle and then yawn. (No problem) Where I run into a problem is when I try to have him walk on a path after that. When I create the path and constrain him to it and the type of walk I want, then it automatically constrains him to the path when he is idle and yawns. So I end up with a knight yawning as he slides along a…
Last reply by TeresaNord, -
- 4 replies
- 447 views
I have been working on a scene with volumetric lights and wonder if I have discovered a small bug. Try the following: Open a new project, default choreography. Change the view/render mode to shaded. Turn off the KeyLight and FillLight. Position the Rim light so that the entire light and the beginning of its cone appear in the camera frame (something like x -125, y 180, z -30). Change the cone angle to something like 30 degrees. Reduce the falloff to around 600 cm. Change the camera background to black (so the effect is easier to see). (You can also place an object in the scene to confirm that shadows are in fact appearing, but it isn't necessary.) At this…
Last reply by luckbat, -
- 4 replies
- 495 views
Hello, I'm experimenting with depth of field in my animation. The problem I'm having is that I can't figure out how to actually determine distances within the program. My settings are in centimeters (cm), but I can't accurately determine lengths so that I can have the proper objects in focus. Are there ways of measuring how far an object is from the camera, or is using the side 'rulers' the best way? Any tips are greatly appreciated.... Cheers, Tim
Last reply by Laconic, -
- 4 replies
- 535 views
I found as I was doing Exercise #5, having the rabbit walk on a path, that as I was making the walk cycle, his feet kept sinking below the ground line. I know this is because A:M defaults to using a curved, flowy arc between keyframes instead of the most direct route. Usually this is fine. How do I turn this off so I don't have to key every frame to keep my foot on the ground?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 4 replies
- 661 views
I have been reading a lot on these forums. I see that this new Squetch Rig is being used in the TWO movie. The FACE setup also looks very powerful. My question is: Are these new rigs going to be included with A:M13, or will they have to be gotten elsewhere like TSM? Sorry I ask so many dumb newbie questions. I just figured that if these rigs are good enough for the Animation Masters to use on TWO, then that is what I would like to use as well when I finally get around to doing my own animations. Thanks for your time.
Last reply by T-Dogg, -
- 4 replies
- 643 views
I want to delete the bones from my Cheech Wizard model, and practice with TSM2. Is there a quick way to get rid of existing bones, [like in the Action Window you can 'Clear Action'] or must they be deleted one by one?
Last reply by Paul Forwood, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 603 views
i've been trying to work with primitives from the library. what i discovered is that altering the primitive in the model screen alters the primitive in the library. how can i alter the primitive and keep the library primitive in mint condition? r
Last reply by Dhar, -
- 4 replies
- 679 views
i want to make my tripod walk over a hill but i when i use magnet mode to make a hill it wont work it just makes this tiny square around the CP and it wont do anything any help with this?
Last reply by itsjustme, -
- 4 replies
- 495 views
I have created a model containing various groups with surface attributes assigned. When I choose the name of the model itself in the project workspace, various surface attributes are assigned in it's properties as well. When I right-click on the surface property (or properties) of the model, only "new relationship" and "properties" appear in the drop-down box. How can I set the model's surface to "not set" and preferably (but not necessarily) leave the groups' surface attributes intact? Thanks, Chris
Last reply by KenH, -
- 4 replies
- 695 views
I created a company logo using AM and would like to export it so that I can import my model into Digital Image Pro so that I can work with there gradient tools. Is there a plug-in out there that I can use to export an AM model into a picture format such as .png, .jpg, .bmp? Or for another imaging program such as AI? As of right now I have been using screen print platinum to take a screen shot of my images. If AM can import files from other programs such as AI, should we be able to export the models as an AI file also. Nicole
Last reply by Muff, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 845 views
What are nurbs? Thanx
Last reply by the_black_mage, -
- 4 replies
- 747 views
Hi.... I'm currently working on animating speech in spanish.... where can I find info on it??? That is phoneme poses for spanish and would I have to build a spanish dictionary file???
Last reply by C-grid, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 712 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, -
- 4 replies
- 726 views
I was searching the forums to find these 2 tricks in animation. None of the topic headers seem to have keywords to track down the info. Logically, they have to be common animation techniques for some time now: 1. Rotating a wheel such as a car, and to keep it spinning. 2. Animating a prop that pops up in one area and then disappears and something else pops up in the same location, like magic. For instance, a frog breakdancing and then instantly disappears and a prince pops up in the same spot.
Last reply by Dhar, -
OK...I think i'm missing something here...Where is the text tool? I want to create text in my animations, but can't find the font wizard or anything? Thanks. Steven
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 616 views
Does anyone have a tutorial or any other kind of help for rendering (to file)? Granted, I have only been using A:M for 1 day but I can't seem to get any of my rendering to work. It seems pretty straight-forward but for some reason if I render a tga file, it just comes out completely white with nothing on it. If I render a movie (i.e. Quicktime), it is just pure black. There must be something I'm not doing right. Thanks.
Last reply by Kurrykid, -
- 4 replies
- 578 views
I'm working on exercise 7 in the "Art of Animation Master", and I'm having a little trouble. When I open the dopesheet in the new action, it appears in the project workspace, but not in the timeline. In the manual and in the video tutorial, the words can be moved around in the timeline. I can only do that in the project workspace. Is this a difference between PCs and Macs? I've included a screenshot of what I'm seeing. Thanks. Bruce [attachmentid=18105]
Last reply by ytsorf7, -
- 4 replies
- 425 views
Hi, I'm new to A.M. I have modeled several objects, one inside the other, how do I animate the transparency of the outer object to reveal the inner one over time? Can I animate a property? I cant find a tutorial on this. Thanks Phil
Last reply by johnl3d, -
- 4 replies
- 590 views
dose hair flip when you set its thickness by time some of the hair on my model is flat.
Last reply by KenH, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 650 views
I bought A:M at NAB and just got time to install. Install hangs, asking for a serial #. The SN is not on the box, not on the CD disc, not in the manual, not in online tech support. Under "Installation" the manual doesn't even mention the prompt at all. Can anyone tell me where the Serial Number is? Thanks
Last reply by the_black_mage, -
- 4 replies
- 606 views
is there any way in A:M were i can make red weed like this quickly and not be to difficult to render? http://forums.eveofthewar.com//photos/disp...m=47&pos=11
Last reply by cuboos, -
YAY!
by bedheadben- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 625 views
I am getting my first copy of A:M ever at the Comic Con this weekend! I will go and get the 2006 version so it will run on my Intel-based mac. So, until then, I will continue modeling in blender, which is fun, but limiting, and hopefully I will be able to do some animation in A:M.... Oh, and not sure if any of you have heard of Ruby Gloom, but my dad's girlfriend is Rita Street, the executive producer, and she used to write for animation magazines, so hopefully she can teach me a thing or two! In the mean time, if anyone would like to see any of my work done in Blender so far, click the link in my sig...
Last reply by bedheadben, -
- 4 replies
- 719 views
Hi! There are animations which I'd like to do in which I'd rather buy a tree than have to model it. Is there a plug-in or way to import the more readily available formats like .max and .3ds? I'd like to know the options for this. Thanks, Tim R.
Last reply by Laconic, -
- 4 replies
- 506 views
In this model, the gun is over the soldier's shoulder. In the Modeling Window. And in Bones Mode. But when introduced to the Choreography, it jumps down below ground level. Any ideas on why this is happening? [attachmentid=18613]
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 4 replies
- 589 views
I get some terrible results when scrubbing my video. The animation is not timed and it is difficult to see if you have an accurate layout. For example, when doing the "Can You Say That" tutorial, scrubbing to verify the lip sync is just about worthless. So the solution is to render to see how it works. The problem is the render takes 1 1/2 hours to complete. Is there any kind of "quick render" that you can do that will do the entire 6 second video but quickly so you can just see how it looks. I am using an Athlon 64 dual core 4200+ CPU with 2GB of matched RAm and v13C of A:M. Thanks for the help.
Last reply by Kurrykid, -
- 4 replies
- 972 views
I would like to have 2 versions of A:M so I am considering buying a used version and paying the $99 for the upgrade. Is this an acceptable approach? As long as I have a valid serial #, is there any issues? I want to have a second machine that I can push my rendering over to while I am continuing to work on my main machine. Thanks.
Last reply by luckbat, -
- 4 replies
- 595 views
I have AM|13 (Yeti) While the program is running my computer keeps dinging, about every 20-30 seconds. Also Windows Agent starts when I start AM. can I stop this, or is it necessary? this never ending dinging sound. (Windows XP Exclamation) is really annoying. please help, if you know what's going on. thanks!
Last reply by heyvern, -
- 4 replies
- 630 views
can someone tell me which contstraint keeps a bone from moving at all? thx
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 4 replies
- 770 views
I've got the model nearly completed ... however, I cannot figure out how to put a small working light inside the Volume Meter. If I put it in the model, the entire model lights up ... any help would be appreciated. Thanks ... GW
Last reply by vf124, -
- 4 replies
- 714 views
Hi. I was hoping to start off my relationship with this board with something cool and interesting, but I have to start off with something very lame... I've installed/uninstalled this program four times on my Mac 10.4.7 computer. The reason? Within the very first lesson (Exercise 1) the book asks to go to the 'Library', click on the "Models" tab, double-click the "Actors" folder, and drag-and-drop "KeeKat"... Well, there is no "Actors" directory...within 'All Library" or "My Library". In fact, there are no directories at all in the Library section. I can find that specific file and Import it from the disc...but I don't think that's what the makers had in mind. …
Last reply by vf124, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 743 views
Dear Animasters, Does anyone recommend a link or process to create soft lighting effects that appear to be generated by a realistic background without using the time consuming GI function or HDRI? Also, to create a crystal glass object and glowing lights through skin, are there any cheats available? As I understand it, AM does not do this effect, so I thought, perhaps someone would have suggestions on how to set up a cheat. Finally, is it possible to do subpixel displacement maps to create subtle wrinkles and skin textures? Thanks, Michael Angelo
Last reply by luckbat, -
- 4 replies
- 702 views
Hola amigos soy de peru no se alguien me podria ayudar para instalar AM2006 en mi pc con windows XP. es que tengo los archivos pero aun no puedo instalarlo me pide un CD-ROOM que no tengo ya saben no domino tan bien que digamos el ingles... alguien ayudeme por favor mi correo es: wilcvelasquez@hotmail.com
Last reply by Shazam3D,
