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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.
4,168 topics in this forum
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- 4 replies
- 602 views
Hi! I'm looking to create a field of grass with the "Flocking" technique in A:M. I have created a very simple "blade of grass" with two bones that will allow it to sway. I've followed the instructions on how to create a flock (using the "crowd" plug-in). My "population" setting is at "20," which is the default, but when I drop my blade of grass on the flcoking manipulator I create, only two (2) blades of grass show up. I'd like to populate my scene with more than 20 blades, so how can I populate the flock? It doesn't seem to make sense that the program isn't filling the scene with the default 20, and only populating with two. Any help would be much app…
Last reply by clonewar12345, -
multi view
by Mr. C- 4 replies
- 700 views
Ive noticed on thing about A:M after using it once. It dosent seem to support multiple views at the same time (such as in maya or max) will that be adressed in future realeses?
Last reply by Mr. C, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 748 views
I'm modeling the fighter from the toturial, i have all the pictures in and locked, but I can't seem to make splines... is there a button I need to press?
Last reply by AJS007, -
- 4 replies
- 685 views
How do you add blood and gore? like if one character takes off other charaters head with sword how do I do a "fountain of blood" affect? particles and sprites?
Last reply by Mr. C, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 606 views
Hello, I'm still working out of the David Rodgers book. I set up a choreography, put in some model buildings, etc. Saved it, embedded the files. When I go to open it up.....nothing. The computer keeps asking me to find stuff. Do I have to put(or copy) all the models, decals, etc, into one project file when I make something? Thanks, Andy
Last reply by Dhar, -
- 4 replies
- 714 views
Hi, i have a problem using the distortion mode, when i distort something and then i go back to modeling mode i can only select control points by clicking one by one, but then i cant un select them, why is that?
Last reply by chuchi_disturbed, -
- 4 replies
- 545 views
Ok...apologies for this "simple" task I'm sure, but I'm having trouble understanding this. I've read the other posts and probably need it explained in "dummy" fashion. I have a character that moves his left leg. Then, later in the animation, he moves his right leg. However, when playing back, the left leg moves AND the right leg slowly moves at the same time. What am I missing here? It has to do with the keyframes right? Or am I thinking of something else? I want the leg or body part to move first, THEN the other to move after that, not during. Thanks for any assistance. Steven
Last reply by Dhar, -
- 4 replies
- 545 views
So I'm not fully comprehending what in the world this problem is. I've been running through the tutorials in the book. They've really been helping me out, but I got a problem. On lesson 5, where you learn how to create loops such as walking, running, sitting, and etc. Well, I was pasting the final frames, you know, where the mirror pasting is put, and I made a mistake. I accidentally placed a mirrored paste, when I wanted a normal paste. So I quickly did undo, and tried to paste... It wouldn't work, I don't know what it is. For some reason, it just wont let me paste on the final frame. I tried deleting the frame, and so on. I'm working within the time line setup up of man…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 933 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, -
- 4 replies
- 736 views
I was wondering what is considered good spline and patch design in A:M. So far I'm up to exercise 11, and it seems like TAOA:M always has 2 splines running through each control point - as a result, 3-point and 5-point patches are necessary. I have an acquaintance who is very experienced at modeling, and he claims 5-point patches are a bad habit and should be avoided; according to him, models should be made entirely out of quads to prevent creasing. However, he works with LightWave, so I don't know how applicable that advice is to A:M. Here's an example of a foot he modeled: (copyright oDDity) Although it's made entirely out of quads, that seems to necessitate oc…
Last reply by frosteternal, -
- 4 replies
- 476 views
Hi Again - I have an object grouped and gave it a name and colored it red. I wanted to change a color of the portion of it to black, so I grouped that portion and gave it a seperate name - I tried to change the color of that to black - it is showing as black in the properties box but the model is still red- can't figure out what I am doing wrong. Thanks.
Last reply by flashawd, -
- 4 replies
- 477 views
Hi - I created a character and need to set up some pose sliders for eye lids shutting, turning left & right, etc. Should I set these up using CP's or put small bones for the eyelids, eyes, etc? What is the proper way? Thanks - Eric
Last reply by flashawd, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 442 views
Hello - The character I am creating for a client is a fan (burning fan) that is going to fly around with a jet pack on it's base. and I am having trouble w/ the Smooth Skinning. I want him to be able to bend left, right, back, forward, side to side, etc and have the shaft of the fan look the exact same throughout the movement. As you can see from the 15 second test animation of all the movement I did at the link below the smooth skinning attempt I did was pretty bad. http://www.flashanimationwebsitedesign.com...burningFan.html When you click on a bone and choose new SmartSkin it bends the bone at a 90 degree angle are you supposed to then fix the mesh at that…
Last reply by flashawd, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 650 views
hi, i want to light up, a square patch, i know how to make a light bone, and i know how to make a klieg light, but i need the whole suare patch to light up without anything els around it lit up, i can light up the patch with the klieg light but it looks like a spot light is on it. i also know i can make the whole patch glow, but i dont want it to glow, i just want the square patch to be lit, can any one help? thx paul
Last reply by zandoriastudios, -
- 4 replies
- 637 views
Are there any good tutorials that will help me learn to animate??? (Besides the ones in TAO:AM) What confuses me the most is the keyframes!! I do not understand them at all. For instance, how would you make something move really slow, then, make that object suddenly move fast. Everytime I ask this question, a person always mentions that it depends on the timing. Is this true? How do you even set the timing?
Last reply by phatso, -
- 4 replies
- 723 views
Hi all! I have made some spaceships that I have made shields for. And I need an effect when something hits the shield. Any ideas on how it should look? I have thought on a "rings on water" effect. But more ideas would be great! Thanks!
Last reply by johnl3d, -
- 4 replies
- 466 views
AGGhh! Outbid with five seconds to go on AM on ebay. Looks like it will be a little longer before I get AM. OH well I will just have to save alot of milk money for awhile. lol! I will have AM one day, I just hate waiting.
Last reply by Stronghorn, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 563 views
Ok, I know this has been covered many times.....I have v15, and I downloaded the data file. The models appear, some of the actions appear, two materials appear. Everything from my Extra CD appears. I can't get my materials and actions to show up. I know I did the file location correct, because I have my extra CD's data in my libraries. Any ideas? I'm on a Mac using 10.4 Thanks
Last reply by bighop, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 755 views
When i make something, and i pess low quallity shading it looks for the most part fine and when i make it high quality it looks terible and theres all these andom lines that i didn't make. why is that and how do i prevent it from happening if you know? Pictures:
Last reply by Ganthofer, -
- 4 replies
- 533 views
hi every one i lost the name of the extension to make swf from a:m scenes pleaz help me to find it out best regards from france steff
Last reply by stefff285, -
- 4 replies
- 560 views
i dont know how to save a model seperate of a project, i know how to use libraries, i just cant find that save option, please pretty please someone help!!!
Last reply by LeadTaco, -
- 2 followers
- 4 replies
- 490 views
if i wanted to get my particle emitter to start emitting at a certain point in time id just modify the time in "Preroll" under properties for the particle material but if i wanted to get that same emitter to stop emitting at a certain point in time, how would i do that?
Last reply by MattWBradbury, -
- 4 replies
- 510 views
what are patches? and how do you find the amount there is in a model?
Last reply by phatso, -
.gif
by elliotclem1- 4 replies
- 727 views
hi there, I would just like to know if A:M can render as .gif's?? Because i wanted to make MSN emotions. How can I put an animation on my fourm avater? Elliot
Last reply by BrainLock, -
- 4 replies
- 543 views
i screwd up my disc to the point of it barely starting the program (once in every 5 tries basically), i dont think it can read the disk image anymore, and i (obviously^^) dont want to repurchase the program, so how would i get it replaced by Hash?
Last reply by Steven547, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 544 views
Hi - doesn't anyone know of any links to decals for eyes, or a tutorial on how to make realistic looking decals for eyes they can point me to. Thanks - Eric
Last reply by flashawd, -
- 4 replies
- 715 views
Is there a way to render files through the command prompt? For instance they have the following command that will render a single frame: Then the command prompt spits out the output. Saved: ..\render\yourfile0001.jpg Time: 02:16.60 Does AM have a similar command?
Last reply by Lokinz, -
- 4 replies
- 483 views
Hi - I am creating a walk cycle for a character and I have the first pose at 00:00:00 - I am trying to "copy frame" and "paste mirrored" into frame 00:20:00. For some reason it isn't pasting the "hips" and "pelvis" movement. Has anyone run into this problem - where it didn't copy the whole keyframe - that can let me know what I am doing wrong? Thanks - Eric
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 4 replies
- 493 views
When I render my project, there is a shadow of my model on the ground but I want to set the shadow properly in the choreography window. I have done this before but I can't reproduce it. What are the parametersettings to do this.
Last reply by jannus850, -
- 4 replies
- 473 views
Hi - I created a Dope Sheet for a character and going through and spacing it appropriately, but for some reason between a couple of the words - her mouth opens. Am I supposed to key a frame or something? Not sure what I am doing wrong. Thanks- Eric
Last reply by Rodney, -
Light Type
by bighop- 2 followers
- 4 replies
- 448 views
Hello everyone, I am going nuts over this: I put some lights in, and I want to switch what type of light it is. There is no option in the properties menu to change the light type. There is Animate Mode, and Width. The Type is just not there. I am using a Mac, and I'm running 10.4, with Animation Master 2006, with the latest update. Any ideas would help!
Last reply by bighop, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 644 views
I created a model. A wedding suit. I have a question about how do I get the jacket and pants to follow the arms and the legs when the character starts walking. If I have the character walking. It jumps out of the suit. How do I avoid this from happening. I just started modeling and I would like to learn to animate. I apreciate your help.
Last reply by phatso, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 471 views
I've been trying to render this thing but it keeps looking a cartoon. No, I'm not rendering in Toon, and the Toon lines are off in the model. Any ideas anyone?
Last reply by bighop, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 548 views
and it should be here by Friday. 8-3-07 Yay me! Thumperness
Last reply by oakchas, -
- 4 replies
- 400 views
How do I actually get a video for rotoscoping purposes to play inside AM? Yes I have converted to .mov file. Thanks for any help.
Last reply by Stronghorn, -
- 4 replies
- 526 views
heyo, it's been months since i left v8.5 for the latest production version of a:m, but i'm still struggling with some of the new tricks. fer instance, how do i set up a relationship that changes one or more group's colors. ideally, i'd have 6 or 8 color sets in one pose, but i'll take what i can get. ' ' ) thanks! -jon
Last reply by jon, -
- 4 replies
- 598 views
Hi all, I'm doing a project that involves rotoscoped video with animated characters. I've found that AM will not accept DV AVI's and when I use cinepak or indeo to compress the video, upon rendering in AM the digital video turns out terrible - get lines all across the screen. Any suggestions on how I should bring the digital video into AM and then render? Thanks, Mike
Last reply by itsjustme, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 624 views
I need help modeling a rose and I'm having a hard time getting the rose petals right. If you have any tips please post them.
Last reply by johnl3d, -
- 4 replies
- 889 views
I reloaded windows and when I reinstall v12, it says it can't start because it can't find mfc71.dll. I've downloaded it, installed it in both the AM folder and the system folder, but I still get the same error. V11 starts ok from my disk. How do I solve this? Searched on mfc71.dll and got 0 results. Thanks.
Last reply by Eric2575, -
- 4 replies
- 683 views
Hi everyone, I asked two weeks ago some questions about modeling leafs and grass in A:M by using the Hair plugin in V13. I was refered to this URL: http://www.hash.com/Technical_Reference/v110/Hair.htm where I found everything I needed to know about. Now, I've modelled some trees and I'm interested in blowing some air to make the leafs move softly. If I could softly move the branches too it would be even better. Can anyone guide me in the best way to simulate this? Is there any tutorial that explains something similar? Thanks a lot for your help
Last reply by loserem, -
- 4 replies
- 627 views
I have recently made a scene in which I used sprite particles to create leaves on a tree. On a still frame, I am happy with the results. However, since it is a particle system, if I jump to future frames, the leaves will move (according to the particle system). So here is my question: does anyone know a simple way to "freeze" a particle system, so that it looks the same regardless of time. I have the same problem when I was using a particle system to create clouds (how do I freeze the particle system so that the clouds are not moving from frame to frame). Any ideas? Thanks.
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 590 views
Hi folks, Could somebody please clarify some "simple" question about texturing for me? -Decaling renders faster then the procedural materials right? So if I would paint ,for instance Tom, in color red in 3D-Painter he would render faster as if I would set his surface property-color from yellow to red, correct? So would I gain some substantial time saving effect in rendertimes in big chors/scenes this way? Would I have this effect as well, if I would use the toonshader? -then ,If I would like to have Tom shiny (reflective) in the painted/decaled version, I would have to make reflection maps for Tom, right? or could I combine the decals with su…
Last reply by zandoriastudios, -
- 4 replies
- 465 views
i've been making models for a little while, putting them into a choreography, and animating with them. but now i made a new model, and when i try to import it into my chor, the model gets a huge bounding box around it with a huge bone somewhere away from the object. if i edit the model, the root bone is smaller and placed correctly. but back in the chor, it has this huge misplaced one. how do i get the bounding box to appear normal again, so that i can easily manipulate the model (ie, rotate it, animate it) ? i have found other threads where people have this or a similar sounding problem, but i have yet to find a clear answer i cold grasp. any help would be appreciat…
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 443 views
Hey has anyone had to deal with this.....I changed a color on a model, and one of the groups was changed that I didn't want to be changed. So I selected it, but it won't change color. Is there a way to reset a color on a group? I thought I could just change the setting and it would change the color.
Last reply by bighop, -
- 2 followers
- 4 replies
- 915 views
I copied the head of "Fat Guy" onto an re-rigged body. The old rig wouldn't work with the v13's Rig. I re-rigged the body, and it works, however the face is another problem. Using basic face bones and groupings for the face, but the face distorts when I added an action from the library. So I copied and pasted with bones from the first model, but as you can see the face is a bit messed up. Even when I create new bones, and attach them, the face distorts when I apply an action. Is there too many bones? Not enough?
Last reply by KenH, -
- 4 replies
- 672 views
Allrighty--I've attached the project with the walk cycle-in-progress, and here is the really screwy thing that messes everything up. If you move one of the foot controls down in the y axis, even just one click, the whole foot control goes flying out and away--but this only happens on frame 20! Unhiding the knee controls, it looks like they're misbehaving--but just sometimes. I am able to do a clumsy and still unreliable workaround by hitting frames 19 and 21 and then keyframing the resulting interpolation on frame 20, but that shouldn't be necessary. Also, rendering the test choreography of him walking along a path doesn't render right. He walks correctly onc…
Last reply by someawfulbridge, -
- 4 replies
- 457 views
I have been trying to render an AVI in A:M that I can use in a Pinnacle movie I'm creating. According to Pinnacle, I need to have the following settings on the AVI: Quality: DV TV Cropping: Yes NTSC: 720x480 Audio: 44 kHz 16-bit Stereo So far I've made several attempts to render AVIs but once I insert them into the Pinnacle movie and burn it to DVD they only appear as a green screen on playback. I've adjusted the frame size on my animation to 720x480, but this still hasn't corrected the issue.
Last reply by rusty, -
- 4 replies
- 458 views
i try to select a light that is with a model, and it won't let me select it, or even move it. what do i do?
Last reply by Ravager, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 406 views
This is driving me nuts. I set up a new choreography, added elements, lights, characters, etc. Did the animation, now I want to make changes and nothing will let me select it. Nothing is locked, I can't change anything. Does this mean the file went bad?
Last reply by bighop, -
- 4 replies
- 546 views
Hello again... now i try do simple physcis practice.. i try shaggy throw ball on frying pan..... but ball come through pan.. first i have problem to shaggy keep hold on pan. now its move his arm with. any idea how i can make that. and what i do wrong now... or link where is tutorial or viedo.. Physics_test.prj
Last reply by yoda64,