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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.
4,140 topics in this forum
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- 1 reply
- 715 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
- 773 views
How does one find out how many patches in a model?
Last reply by largento, -
- 3 replies
- 855 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
- 3k views
I want to know are there any recent tutorials on patch modeling in version 17?
Last reply by Dpendleton77, -
- 9 replies
- 1.1k 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
- 692 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, -
- 4 replies
- 736 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
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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, -
- 0 replies
- 606 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, -
- 4 replies
- 936 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, -
- 2 replies
- 958 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
- 901 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, -
- 4 replies
- 1.3k 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
- 766 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
- 715 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
- 772 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, -
- 4 replies
- 778 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, -
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- 1.1k 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, -
- 3 replies
- 710 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
- 839 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, -
- 7 replies
- 1.1k views
Is there a model that blinks that we can study the bones in? -SB
Last reply by sb4, -
- 2 replies
- 725 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
- 1.1k 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
- 756 views
Seems I cannot render my scenes to anythign but 'Final' without getting a "Failed InitBoundRenderInfo" error! Any workaround? Cheers
Last reply by higginsdj, -
- 3 replies
- 744 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, -
- 3 replies
- 849 views
I'd like to copy a group splines from a model to another model window. I opened the model "Eddie" in a model window and found a group called "Eyes" and selected it in the Project Workspace. Some CPs are selected in the actual model. I use Edit | Copy and then move to a new Model Window. I use Edit | Paste and see a group appear in a new model called Model1 in the PWS, but no geometry appears in the model window. My intent is just copy the groups that comprise the eyes so I can experiment with deforming them to match a real face in a rotoscope -- but I can't copy them it seems. Perhaps they only exist as part of other splines and so cannot be copied? …
Last reply by sb4, -
- 6 replies
- 988 views
I'm wondering -- when we create a circular spline by lathing a line into a cylinder and deleting the CPs at one end, is the resulting geometry a true circle or do splines merely provide a very good approximation of a circle? -SB
Last reply by sb4, -
- 2 replies
- 644 views
I thought that in order to show all curves, you hit the button with the red, blue and green curves - how do you show the pose curves as well? I've gone back through my notes and am having problems finding that.
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 16 replies
- 1.7k views
Is there a forum here where computer jocks and motivated users can really work together on computer/AM compatibility problems in the interest of finding obscure workarounds if necessary, rather than just abandoning the computer or buying expensive new hardware? I'm having more display problems with my Vista laptop, but I don't want to give up. I feel there must be some workaround, such as a special OpenGL compatibility driver that can use low-end chips, even if slower, or DirectX option, or some other trick like using an older A:M DLL or such. My main problem seems to be repainting the screen. The latest showstopper is that when using a rotate manipulator, the…
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 1 reply
- 763 views
On my Win XP SP3 when I hit the "0" key for shaded-wireframe, my control-points are black. Is this an artifact, or is there an option for the color? The black CPs are hard to see. -SB
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 2 replies
- 719 views
In a model window, I have an unattached 4 point spline. I click on a CP to select it, then right-click to bring up the context menu. I select "Delete", and it asks me if I want to delete "Untitled". I click "Yes", but nothing happens -- the CP is still there. However, if I use the "Delete" key instead of the menu, I can delete the CP. Is this normal? Is the Delete menu reserved for something else? (A:M 11.1i, WinXP SP3) -SB
Last reply by sb4, -
- 15 replies
- 1.5k views
I bought AM at Wondercon last year and haven't looked at it since I installed it. Today I decided to learn a little about it. It asks me for registration info every time I start up, then gives me this error message: Unable to load plug-in [/Applications/Animation Master 16.0/Textures/Simbiont2.atx],-err- Then it opens and I can play with everything. I went through the first video tutorial but I couldn't save anything. This makes me think I'm not really registered. I have the disc with the activation code, but I thought I put that in when I installed the program. Thanks for any help you can offer.
Last reply by RobinR, -
- 5 replies
- 932 views
(I tried to post this in archive forum to not bother up-to-date users, but forum is readonly.) To any other AM 11 / Windows Vista users: I'm having display problems where the screen doesn't seem to refresh, or partially draws with my Windows Vista Compaq laptop. Particularly, when only one A:M window is open (say, chor or modeling) the background grid does not fully draw. Having two windows open magically makes the grid draw fully in both windows. In a Model window, I'll switch to "shaded" mode and a patch won't render. If I tweak a control point, suddenly it might render. Sometimes while drawing a spline, parts don't draw while making it. …
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 782 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, -
- 2 replies
- 725 views
I probably have some setting dinged somewhere but not sure. I'm just doing basic spline practice in a Model window. In pure wireframe mode, the splines look like normal smooth curves. In the shaded modes, each spline becomes a double line segment instead of a smooth curve. What do you think I have wrong? -SB
Last reply by sb4, -
- 5 replies
- 721 views
Hi, I'm trying to get my work to buy A:M, we are a training centre for children and i knew about Animation master years a go from the media place i used to work in. I loved it!, think it is fantastic for kids as well. We have PCs and Macs available, I downloaded the trial version for the PC windows 7 but have had a few crashes with it and the display seems to go off sometimes. I would like to trial it on the Mac but i don't think thats possible, i have 8 days left of trial on the PC. My question is, is it better running on the Mac rather than on the PC? If i can convince my work to buy it do i have to choose which platform to buy or can it be used on …
Last reply by markw, -
- 8 replies
- 936 views
Are there some recommended settings for A:M if you are working with "toons" style rendering that will be most efficient for rendering and overall workflow? -SB
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 0 replies
- 553 views
I know some versions of A:M have nicknames; 2004 "Orangutan", 2005 "Sorcerez",etc. Does anyone have a complete list of the years and names, or fairly complete? **** Edit -- I found the info on the archive pages. -SB
Last reply by sb4, -
- 9 replies
- 1.3k 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, -
- 1 follower
- 17 replies
- 1.4k views
This is just a nitpick, but: (Using A:M 11.1i) I noticed during rendering there is a small animation of a couple of aliens "boxing" during the rendering. Is there a way to disable that animation? -SB
Last reply by sb4, -
- 5 replies
- 874 views
Wikipedia mentions that A:M Version 14 (2007) introduces Ambient Occlusion (AO) and Image-based Lighting (IBL). Can someone explain what those are? Regards, -SB
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 6 replies
- 678 views
today my program went all crazy So I reset the settings....now I get this: dotted lines? and if I try to grab anything I see whats behind it and if I use the lasso tool this: seen these before but cant remember how we fixed it Please help Gene
Last reply by TheSpleen, -
- 5 replies
- 781 views
I was watching the "Flower Power" tutorial, and noted that the leaves were intentionally not connected via splines to the stem. Rather, they were just positioned adjacent and bones were used to constrain the movement so the leaves would position appropriately. When and when not should you attach various parts of a model to each other by splines? Is there a general principle to use? What are the advantages and disadvantes of attaching vs free floating? -SB
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 10 replies
- 1.3k views
Hi everyone! I've been an A:M user on and off over many years and was even briefly involved in the Scarecrow of Oz project. I recently watched the TWO DVD and really enjoyed it. It inspired me to pick up A:M again. I might even get through all the exercises in the AoA:M manual this time. Nice to see you all again! -Sean
Last reply by markw, -
- 1 reply
- 645 views
I'm wondering: when you are editing around in an animation and tweaking key frames, is there a way to "reset" a keyframe to the state it was in when you visit it and before you move off it? I'm aware of undo, but with subtle changes it seems it would be hard to tell when you get to the exact point you started, and maybe you would overshoot and undo something else you didn't want to. I suppose you could save project at each keyframe and reload it if necessary; seems cumbersome though. -SB
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 10 replies
- 1k views
Hi - I'm just restarting learning A:M (V11.1i) after years of fallow, so I have some really basic platform/environment questions. I was just fooling around with Keekat in a choreography window. I started in Chor mode. (Standard Mode was selected the whole time.) In Chor mode, it seemed there is only one selection I can make, the entire Keekat object, so I found a handle and tilted Keekat so he fell like a tree in one second (using 3 key frames) and was horizontal. It played back fine using the "play range" button. I tried clicking the "Modeling Mode" mode button and then "play range". It also played back the same animation, albeit with a different l…
Last reply by sb4, -
- 5 replies
- 1.3k views
I haven't been splining since 2006 but recently fired "my" latest copy of AM V15 up and am starting to model again. Never got too deep in the animation part of AM but I had forgotten how much I enjoy modeling and although still learning in the chorwindow I enjoy setting up the image's. Still have some health issue's but I hope to improve my modeling skill's and maybe spend a bit more time catching up here.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 10 replies
- 1.1k views
I have the Orangutan 10.5 disk which I installed, then applied the 2004 11.1i upgrade to. When I launch the 10.5 version, the help menu works fine. With the 11.i1 version (2005), everything seems to work fine except the Help menu -- it gives the error: "Failed to launch Help" I'm hoping it is some simple file missing from some place during the install. Does anyone familiar with old versions have an idea what could be amiss? My work around is to install and run both versions, just to access the help menu, which is awkward and space-busting. Is there some way to view the help without the program? That could be another workaround. Regards…
Last reply by sb4, -
- 7 replies
- 1k views
Hi there, i continue with my questions: If i understand it right, in V17 i can load .OBJ, and remodell them with the snap to surface function, right? How complex can the .OBJs be? Next question: Even in polygonland, a quad is now the best thing to have. I learned to model with quads only, and where you use a 5 pointer in AM, you have five quads coming together. My question: Is there another way to make such a region appear smooth other than using the porcelain material? Best regards, Heiner
Last reply by Heiner,