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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.
4,157 topics in this forum
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- 14 replies
- 1.9k views
Hello everyone! My name is Steve and today I purchased my copy of A:M 18. I know nothing about 3D and animation, and can't wait to learn. My first impressions of A:M are not going so well though. After starting the program, I get a nice welcome screen, with a list of tutorials. After getting through the first two, which I enjoyed, I get "videos not ready yet". This is a bummer and not very professional. Are there alternative tutorials? I don't want to jump around from specific tutorial to tutorial, I just want to learn in a structured way, or at least learn the basics of modeling in A:M. Thanks, Steve.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 1.5k views
As I am reading through the manuals, I keep hearing about plugins. Eventually I would love to make some of my own. 1. how do you get started in plugin development? 2. any tutorials? 3. is there a scripting language inside this wonderful program? Thanks, Stede
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 1.3k views
Greetings, A returning A:M "user" from long ago. Air quotes because I played with the software, but not to the extent of many famous A:M alumns (B. Prince, Raf Anzovin, Victor N., many others). I'm looking forward to exploring the latest and greatest. I'm a long time 3D artist working in research, creating environments and models for interactive simulation. I recently came to the conclusion that I need to step up and take my work to the next level. My first CG workshop (Become a Better Artist with Rob Chang) was an eye-opener for this atelier-trained artist, and a step on the path to self-improvement. I have some big goals personally and profes…
Last reply by markw, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
- 1.1k views
Howdy from Tucson, As I'm creating lip poses to be used in lip sync animation, I find it difficult to hide certain control points. Perhaps, as I'm a newbie, is there an "Eye" icon feature to hide/unhide groups as you are editing? Right now, I have a "tongue" and "teeth" groups I'd like to hide while manipulating the lip without accidently hitting a tooth. Any suggestions? Thanks! ...doobie angorabell.wordpress.com
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 8 replies
- 2k views
Been a while so I just wanted to say hi to everybody and wish all Good Things for the upcoming holidays! This is Robert, my latest BigHead endeavor.
Last reply by Vertexspline, -
- 2 replies
- 1.1k views
Snap Group to surface is "view dependent" which I take to mean that it will move the CPs in what ever direction you are viewing from, right? However, i can only get it to move in one direction. I filed this as an A:M report which is why it's in German but maybe someone here has an answer before Steffen gets to it... SnapGroupToSurfaceQuestion.mov SimpleSnapTest02.prj
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 4 replies
- 1.2k views
In this PRJ, Model 1 has two groups, "target" and "original" SimpleSnapTest02.prj I want to Snap the CPs in "original" so they are on the surface of "target" and I want to do it in a Pose. They don't have to be in some exact spot but i do want to get them on the surface of "target" What is the proper way to use Snap TO Surface for that? I haven't had much success with it.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 13 replies
- 1.5k views
from model [baldy_ready_update.mdl] and [my model] I can't create folder and sub-folder in Relationships folder of my model, please tell me how to group them in folder and sub-folder? thank you very much Bobby
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 23 replies
- 3.5k views
I am having problems getting the Surface constraint working. I think I have done it by the book, but the bone that is supposed to move in line with the aiming bone does not move at all. I have set the aiming bone to aim at a target but when moving the target, the aiming bone follows allright but the bone is not following. (If I test by changing the enforcement on the Surface constraint it moves. But when moving the target it does not). If I make the bone a Child of the aiming bone it moves but it "hops around" sometimes and does not follow the surface smoothly all the time. (But the bone should not have to be a Child to follow the aiming bone, should it?) I…
Last reply by Visping, -
- 8 replies
- 1.5k views
I was saving a newly rigged model in A:M v15j+ on my Mac running OS 10.4.11 when the power to my computer was disrupted during the save. Now, when I try to open the model in A:M it's properties (bones, groups, etc.) are listed in the workspace window, but the model itself, and it's name, do not appear (see attach picture). The model is still listed in the folder in which I saved it, showing a file size of 553k, but it won't "appear" in A:M. I do have a "pre-rigged", "pre-copy-flip-attached" model saved under a different name, but I'd like to know if there is a way to access the rigged model again before beginning the rigging work all over again. Thanks.
Last reply by johnl3d, -
Forum Filter
by AZ3- 1 reply
- 879 views
I'd like to see only the forums I have posted in as an option. I'll bet there's a simple way to do it, but the older you get, you know.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 0 replies
- 1.9k views
RAN ACROSS THIS LISTING ON EBAY ALTHOUGH THE LEARNING MATERIAL IS A LITTLE DATED A LOT OF GREAT STUFF FOR SOMEONE STARTING AM . SOME OF THE ANZOVIN TUTORIALS HELPED ME GREATLY THE BOOKS A PRETTY COMPLETE STARTER KIT . THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE OF USE TO SOMEONE IN THE GREAT AM COMMUNITY !!! HERE IS THE LINK [url="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=161137167254
Last reply by mulls, -
- 14 replies
- 1.8k views
Ok, onto my next question... I searched the forums but didn't find what I was looking for. I probably just didn't have the right terms.... But now, I want to have Woody walk through a live action scene. He's going to come out from behind something. Scenario: I have a still of the interior of a bar. I want Woody to enter the scene at the back of the shot, entering from the far end of the bar. Therefore ,when he first enters, the bar is blocking the lower part of his body from being scene. Please remind me as to how to set an object in my scene so that it receives a projection map (I think - the camera rotoscope), but yet still has geometry that will block o…
Last reply by frosteternal, -
- 1 follower
- 17 replies
- 4k views
Hi Guys, I've been away from this software too long. I've lost my modeling techniques... I'm looking for a pretty basic, but good head modeling tutorial. Which do you recommend? The model I need to do is a cartoon character - it's basically a "ball" head (no ears, pretty simple features, but fully functional mouth and expressions) - Actually, it's going to be a flaming head (another challenge). I'ts a stick figure that is going to be a character for a wood burning pizza place - like a match stick with a flame for a head. I'd love your recommendations... (BTW, I did not design this character, I just have to build, rig and animate it!)
Last reply by TommyDAQ2, -
- 5 replies
- 1.4k views
Boy, I really wish you could just right click on a pose in the PWS or in the Pose Sliders or in the Relationships Window and select "Duplicate Pose". So many poses have such similar starting points. It sure would be nice to be able to duplicate them easily. Here's a newbe question though. How do I clear out values - restore them to the default position on a pose? I inadvertently set up my pose at 0% instead of 100% and I'd like to get the 0 back to default. Anyone? Anyone??? Bueller??? Anyone???
Last reply by largento, -
- 8 replies
- 1.4k views
I needed a simple project to get back on track, so I thought I'd have a go at a fish. It is still really rough. This is very much going to be a stylized fish as opposed to a photo-real fish.
Last reply by pixelplucker, -
- 6 replies
- 1.2k views
Hello folks; greetings from Brisbane Australia, I've used Animmaster since V10 (currently V15). The model densities I am now generating exceed the limitations of 32bit OS. The checkdiskCD makes for a portable application that can be tried on various OpSystems. (I use XPSP3 rather Wind7 due to better behaviour from AnimMaster. I can't find a lot of information about the new downloadable application format (or much else that may be related). I would be highly appreciative, (perhaps remember you in my will), if someone could point me to where these answers lay... I need a 64bit version. How do I know I am downloading the 64bit version? I run AnimMaster on an …
Last reply by painterpete, -
- 10 replies
- 1.3k views
Hi All, I've been trying to create a dimension rounded bump on the surface of a globe. Using the library materials, I'm getting either spikes or rectangular protrusions, but not a smooth rounded look. It would also be wonderful to have some size variation in the bumps. What is the best way to approach this ? Thanks for any suggestions.
Last reply by itsjustme, -
- 8 replies
- 1.3k views
new audio for using forces force tut using_forces.mov force_tut_better_audio.zip
Last reply by Vertexspline, -
- 1 follower
- 33 replies
- 2.6k views
(How do you place the) camera at the same view as perspective view?
Last reply by Vertexspline, -
- 9 replies
- 1.4k views
I just noticed under my A:M 11.1i File | Plugins I have an Export category with three items, including: Poly Model 3D Studio Avatar These look like they give A:M some interoperability with other programs. Have these proved to be useful? -SB
Last reply by myrakern279, -
- 4 replies
- 1.2k views
I haven't used animation:master in a while, a long while, in fact I can't find my CDs so I soon plan to repurchase (or subscribe or whatever the deal is now), what might have me interested in playing again is this: For about a year now I've been playing more and more with my NVidia 3d vision display. I now own 3 pairs of 3D glasses, so I can use it to watch or show what is on the screen to others. I know for a fact (from memory) that Hash A:M supported 3d *rendering*, that is when I used it a few years ago it supported I think it was the red/cyan 3d rendering so if you used the glasses that came with it, it would display the 3d image though a little discolored. …
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 874 views
Can anyone help out with combining this I have been trying for a few hours to no avail. Basically I cant fill the empty gap. I have too many splines on the bottom and not enough on top. When I use hooks it just causes more problems. Front_hinge01.mdl
Last reply by jason1025, -
- 1 reply
- 773 views
Just installed my brand-new AM subscription and I saw a new option during the install process...Timelog plugin? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess this lets you keep track of use but I haven't managed to find it anywhere yet.
Last reply by itsjustme, -
- 1 reply
- 838 views
How does one find out how many patches in a model?
Last reply by largento, -
- 3 replies
- 945 views
So for the time being I am working in v13 until I get my licensing issues sorted out. I thought I would start a goldfish model, something simple to get some practice in and I am happily modeling away and I think to myself "I should save this". So I got to File > Save Project as and I get a dialog with no place to input the name or hit "save". I can't resize it to get those things, either. Any thoughts as to what might be going on? I may be using v13 for a few days yet and don't want to not be able to save my work. I have posted a screen cap.
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 2 followers
- 23 replies
- 3.3k views
I want to know are there any recent tutorials on patch modeling in version 17?
Last reply by Dpendleton77, -
- 9 replies
- 1.2k views
I want to know how to make an eyeball. I tried to follow some tuts on here but they really did not show me what I needed to do on some parts. Thanks.
Last reply by Dpendleton77, -
- 1 reply
- 770 views
I've been thinking about doing a short project, something like a goldfish in a bowl and I was thinking about using cloth to generate the fins. Does anyone know of any good cloth tutorials?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 877 views
Sometimes when I'm animating, I'll have one bone not moving for a few seconds, then when I do move it for another frame, it's moving during the whole animation!!! Of course, I try to set it back in each frame where it's not supposed to move, and then everything starts wiggling like crazy because I'm not very precise. I've heard of weights for cp's...is there some kind of "weight" like that for bones that will keep it in place while I don't want it to move? Thanks for whatever help you can give me!
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 4 replies
- 846 views
I seem to have gotten that almost perfect angle with a window in perspective view. I would love to make that view into the camera view. Is there a way to turn the persective view into camera view? Thanks, William
Last reply by robcat2075, -
I'm interested in getting the look of 5 frames per second animation, with no interpolation. I'm wondering what is the most efficient way to do this. For example, I can set the FPS in A:M to 5 FPS and render an AVI file. I'm not sure what is in the AVI file -- is it just 5 frames of data per second of action, or is it translated to 30 frames per second for display purposes? Or is that a meaningless question. I guess to display my animation on TV, I need to make a DVD, which requires using a DVD-making program that will input an AVI file. I'm wondering if the 5 FPS avi file I make with A:M will be interpreted correctly by the DVD-making program to create a…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 8 replies
- 1.4k views
Still in the process of learning the program, but i cant find anything in the manual or here that explains why im consistently getting these odd shaded triangle sections whenever i try to make a sphere of any kind. They originate from the top and bottom where all the CPs meet and extend out along the surface when i put it in shaded wire-frame view, has anyone else seen this or am i just missing something downright obvious?
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 4 replies
- 1.1k views
I'm finding if I create a new Action window with a model, and I like the model default pose for my first and last keyframe, I can't just press "Force KeyFrame" on frame 0, move to frame xx, press "Force KeyFrame" again, and get keyframes. They just don't "take". However, it seems if I perturb a bone once in a keyframe (such as keyframe 0), and do the same procedure as above, the keyframes are "recorded" -- meaning I can skip back and forth to the keyframes. I typically have the filters: Key Skeletal Translations, Scaling, Rotations active and the Key Bone filter activated, and the other filters inactive, but I don't think any combination of filters has changed …
Last reply by sb4, -
- 0 replies
- 688 views
Bizarre stuff keeps happening as I try to learn how to make an action with my flour sack (chapter 4 AM A Complete Guide). I made an action with the flour sack "hopping" which looks fairly OK when I play it. However, somehow the keyframes are "lost" to the toolbar -- pressing next or previous keyframe does nothing. And the action defaults to keyframe "1:00" when I load it -- when I play it, I see the counter jump to 0:00 then play to 1:00 where it stops, as expected. But I can't jump to any of the keyframes Now, I think something changed, because when I built the action, I was jumping from keyframe to keyframe. But I took a side experiment to see what wou…
Last reply by sb4, -
- 2 replies
- 1.1k views
For some reason I can't find an "Add-Lock" tool, or access it. I open a Model window, and see the "A+" tool (cursor with +), and I see a grayed out "Lock" (but no +). It is referenced in the AM V10.5 help, so I'm sure it should be somewhere, just can't find it. Any ideas? -SB
Last reply by sb4, -
- 4 replies
- 1k views
Following chapter 3 of "A:M A Complete Guide" by David Rogers, I'm rigging my flour sack with bones and assigning CP Weights. When I turned on "Has Falloff" to the bones, all the numbers assumed some default values, for example: Pivot Outer 35%, etc. As instructed by the book, I used "Compute All CP Weights" from the model window contextual menu. However, I don't know what effect that is supposed to make. I don't see any changes in the "Falloff" numbers, for example. I tried "Remove All CP Weights", and likewise don't see any change anywhere, either in the property values or the coloration in Shaded mode. The Shaded mode coloration seems normal, wit…
Last reply by sb4, -
- 7 replies
- 1.2k views
Is there a model that blinks that we can study the bones in? -SB
Last reply by sb4, -
- 4 replies
- 1.4k views
I've installed AM 17.0e SSE4 on a new Dell XPS 8500 Desktop Computer with a 1GB AMD Radeon HD 7570 Video Card and I get the AVIFileCreateStream Error when trying to do Final. When I try wireframe I get "Failed InitBoundRenderInfo". Need assistance. Thanks, Michael
Last reply by believesailing, -
- 2 replies
- 845 views
After working some on my "flour sack" model, I saved the model, then decided to close A:M. When I agreed to save the project, the error: "RPC Server unavailable". Then when I went to close it again, it crashed. Any configuration issues I should change? Or just one of those things? -SB
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 reply
- 787 views
I see this popup error occasionally: Error Loading String: -1 It seems most repeatable when I group-select some CPs and activate the "Scale Manipulator", and put the mouse over one of the CPs in the group. I think it's harmless, just wondering if there is some configuration I should do; or maybe it's just a version 11 glitch. -SB
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 852 views
Is there a keystroke to save the model in the model window? "Ctrl-S" seems to bring up the save project dialog. I got spoiled working with a video-editing program called "Liquid Edition", one of whose virtues was "instantaneous auto-save" (as well as vast undos). If the program crashed (rarely), you just restarted, and all your work was there. It was amazing how much good will the program bought from that one auto-save feature. Don't know how they did it, I've never used another program that did. -SB
Last reply by sb4, -
- 5 replies
- 1.2k views
Not sure if this is possible or makes sense, but I'm working on a beveled cube example from "A:M A Complete Guide", and I made a beveled cube with straight splines by setting peaking. Now I want to slightly round the bevel, so I want to selectively set some gammas on the bevel splines. But first, I want to set all the alphas to zero and all the magnitudes to 100% just for uniformity. If I "select all" with ctrl-A and then set the bias properties for all, some of the biases on the model do not change, and are still odd-ball values. Is this supposed to work, setting all at once? -SB
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 4 replies
- 868 views
Is there a way to copy properties from one CP to another (in this specific case, I'm interested in bias properties). -SB
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 3 replies
- 781 views
Is there a way to select an arbitrary set of CPs or splines sequentially, similar to a bunch of "ctrl-clicks" in most Windows aps? My purpose is, for example, to select a set of "CP - spline sides" in the geometry and then set their bias gamma simultaneously by entering a gamma value into the property box. -SB
Last reply by yoda64, -
- 3 replies
- 917 views
In a model window, if I have some splines I draw from front view, with bias handles visible, I can manipulate the magnitude and gamma. If I switch to side view, sometimes the bias handle is end-on and directly in line with the CP. If I mouse over it, I can grab the CP and translate it, but can't seem to select the bias handle to adjust the alpha. Any tips? (I can rotate freely and do it in steps, but it seems awkward. -SB
Last reply by sb4, -
- 3 replies
- 858 views
Seems I cannot render my scenes to anythign but 'Final' without getting a "Failed InitBoundRenderInfo" error! Any workaround? Cheers
Last reply by higginsdj, -
- 2 replies
- 797 views
I have the Eddie model in a model window. In the PWS, I open the Splines group and click on a spline (Spline #....). I would expect to see the corresponding spline in the geometry highlighted, but don't. I then click a CP in the geometry, which I'm not sure if selects a spline? (green highlight on part of the spline). I would expect to see the spline, or the CP, highlighted in the PWS, but don't. ... Ok, I now see that clicking on a named group will highlight that group of CPs in the geometry. I would just expect clicking on a spline in the PWS would also highlight the spline, and vice versa selecting the spline in the geometry would highlight th…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 8 replies
- 1.3k views
Just a workflow question -- it seems you can't drag a model from the library into a model window to work on it. Instead, you must "open" the model. Then I presume use "save as" to make a copy if you don't want to affect the original, or if the original is from the CD. -SB
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 825 views
I am trying to shape Eddie's eyes (Hash A:M stock model) to a rotoscope photo of a face. I select the eyes and pupil groups in the PWS (by control-clicking one after the other using my typical Windows ap habits, not sure if correct for A:M) -- a new group is created simultaneously it seems. Anyway, then I press "H" for hide, and as desired, the wireframe except the selected eye parts are hidden. Now I want to adjust the mesh to better represent the eyes (although there are probably better ways to go about this). My first thought was to group the pupil points and scale then down. The problem is, I cannot seem to select CPs in the Model window -- when I…
Last reply by robcat2075,