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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.
4,160 topics in this forum
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- 18 replies
- 1.4k views
how do i lock a light on a model?? im making the starship enterprise, i want to put lights on it to shine on the letters: uss enterprise 1701-a then animate the ship, flying. thx
Last reply by Walter Baker, -
- 1 follower
- 10 replies
- 679 views
Hi - I am playing around creating an animated fan character and I am getting these weird distortions when I render the image in different areas of the model - Here is a pic of the back of the fan - I have the distortion circled. Thanks
Last reply by zandoriastudios, -
- 9 replies
- 993 views
I was wondering if anyone one would be interested in me making a tutorial. I don't claim to know all the ins and outs of AM but I have learned a lot working full time for the past 2 1/2 years. I mainly am a modeler, so I could do some tutorials showing how I built some things. I was thinking about some exercises for beginners, then move to more specific items like cars or buildings. So anyone interested? They would be free for all. Hopefully I could post them on the forums.
Last reply by Stronghorn, -
- 3 replies
- 508 views
Hello all, I am not sure if I am messing up the applicatoin of my "toon" material or if it is an issue with AM 2005 (Version 12.0w). When a 5 point patch falls along an edge during a render, the toon line color is wrong. This picture shows the under arm area of my model. Notice how the area under the arm has a hazy orange outline. This material should render as a cyanish-blue with a black outline. Does anyone have any tips? Do I need to do something special when applying a material to a 5 point patch? Thanks.
Last reply by animsakari, -
- 4 replies
- 435 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, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 758 views
Hi - can anyone tell me a quick and easy way to make a perfect circle for an eyeball - also can someone point me in the direction of some eye images I can use as decals or tell me if you have any tricks to making them. - Thanks again for all your help.
Last reply by the_black_mage, -
When I try to work with sound, AM 10.5 crashes every time. I have made a sound file (wav) and have put this file in the sound library. When I, according exercice 7 "Can you say that", select the dope sheet, type the sound text in the box and klick OK, the dictionary does his work properly and all boxes are grey. As soon as I drag the frame marker in the timeline window, AM crashes directly or after some dragging. WHAT MAY BE THE CAUSE ?
Last reply by jannus850, -
- 3 replies
- 365 views
Hello again - been quite some time since I played w/ this program, so having to relearn - so probably many more questions to come. I have half of a circular tube - I had a full circular tube, but screwed it up, so now I have a half. I need to copy/flip/attach it but where do I put it to do that - it sets it right next to it. -Thanks
Last reply by phatso, -
- 15 replies
- 1.2k views
Hi, ive put 2 posts in here, but when i return to the forum few hours later...they disapear!
Last reply by chuchi_disturbed, -
- 22 replies
- 1.8k views
The production company I'm currently Interning for uses a combination of Maya and 3DS Max for all their 3D work. We work closely with sports teams and produce 3D logos for in Arena playback. To do this, we import Illustrator files as editable splines and texture and extrude the logo's faces. As i use A:M at home, I'd like to know if anyone has tried this function?
Last reply by SCDonnelly, -
- 1 reply
- 421 views
Hello amigos, is there any way (easier) to put sky lights?
Last reply by MMZ_TimeLord, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 680 views
Hi all, I can't make any good models, and i want to use other ones, so i was wondering where i should go to get models for free that i can use on AM. If you know it'd help me out a lot if you could tell me. Thanks
Last reply by Bruce Del Porte, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 587 views
Hi, I'm not sure if people are able to send the models they have made to other people. If you know can you please tell me? Thanks
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 5 replies
- 599 views
Hello - I want to copy/flip/attach part of an object to make all the sides exact, but I need to delete a portion of it before I do - when I select the cp and click on "delete" on the keyboard it deletes the cp's, but attached what is left to other cp's - is there a way to select and delete the faces so it just removes it all cleanly? - hopefully I explainded what I am trying to do - Thank you.
Last reply by rusty, -
- 3 replies
- 400 views
is there a way to duplicate a simple shape randomly across a surface?
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 463 views
I'm working on a choreography, and I made a lot of mistakes moving the model around. Now the character is far away from the model bone, and I need to animate a long straight ahead walk (no walk cycles). I'm finding it difficult to get the character to walk smoothly. I'd like to replace the model with a new instance at the exact same point in the chor. I guess it would be like a stunt double. My current approach is to move the model bone of the original character out of the range of my camera with a hold interpolation, so the original model instantly dissapears, and replace it with the new model at the same location in the same pose with a hold interpolation. I'm…
Last reply by Bruce Del Porte, -
- 1 reply
- 463 views
Hi, Here are some good site's for blueprints and rotoscopes. http://www.the-blueprints.com - Very good site for everything e.g Planes, Weapons, Cars http://www.militaryfactory.com/blueprints/..._blueprints.asp - Useful for planes and helicopters (basic blueprints). http://www.frazmtn.com/~punstr/blueprint/ - Less detail but good for Star Wars Blue prints If you have any more please add them below, and I will add them to my list. If you can't find a rotoscope or a blueprint that you want please reply with the name of it and I will try to find it Enjoy Elliot
Last reply by R Reynolds, -
- 3 replies
- 604 views
Hi all, I was just wondering how you make water? Elliot
Last reply by johnl3d, -
- 1 follower
- 10 replies
- 733 views
Hi - I am running through exercise 11.5 - the face. I am having trouble w/ the 5 point spline where the eye and the nose meet. I have the 5 control points set up but when selecting the 5 cp's the "5 point spline button" doesn't activate. So I try a few more times and about the 5 time of selecting the 5 cp the button becomes active to where I can press it and it creates the 5 point patch. Is there a certain order you have to select the cp for it to activate - not sure what I am doing wrong. Thanks - Eric
Last reply by flashawd, -
- 2 replies
- 534 views
I figured I would post this to show, I've working on walks, and doing some jumps, i decided to see if I could make a character just stand there and be believable as opposed to the static frozen pose. I've had AM for a week and half.
Last reply by Lee, -
- 4 replies
- 673 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, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 859 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, -
- 1 reply
- 395 views
HELLO! Somebody knows how can I choose which Choreographic Actions must be affected by SimCloth simulations and which not? I mean, if I run "SimCloth Simulate" it affects and modify all my actions and sometimes it overwrite those actions where I've make some manual CP animation, plus it take more time generating unnecessry simulations and bring other disadvantages trying to work with this "layered" animation" technique... Well, any clue about this? (I'd be very grateful ) THANKS!
Last reply by Ramón López, -
- 7 replies
- 907 views
Well I'm in the process of using hair to create foilage. So far so good. Now I need to model a vine. I was thinking of using splines to simulate the vine. can i use a single spline as an emitter?" One more question... Can an emmited object be given more flex points like an emmited streak?
Last reply by the_black_mage, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 945 views
Hey so i was trying out the sweeper plugin that comes with animation master and i cant get it to work. There is a drop down list for crossections but mine stays blank. I looked at the tutorials on the sweeper website and i follow the directions percicely (i think) Is there some hidden setting or a secret code i have to know? I named the crosection the right way but it dosnt display. If anyone here uses sweeper could you please help me with this? Thanks
Last reply by clonewar12345, -
- 3 replies
- 655 views
Whenever i go to import 3ds files in AM 10.5 with the 3ds import plugin it starts to load the 3ds file until it get to 20% and AM closes instantly. Any advice?
Last reply by Muff, -
- 3 replies
- 561 views
I'm having a strange problem with a model - I modelled it on my laptop using AM v11.1i and it looks like this - (see "strange") but the original model (created in AM11.0t) looks like this on my desktop (see "Thomas") I only need an answer - I must have phrased my question wrong in my original thread that got deleted - but do I need to delete the hair material shortcut and re-apply or should I start the hair all over again? Apologies to Hash if I say anything wrong, I've been off the forums a few years and may say the wrong thing the wrong way. Alf
Last reply by Bruce Del Porte, -
- 1 follower
- 12 replies
- 1.2k views
Hi, I would like to make a series of children's cartoons based on religious principles. I have a very talented artist but who has no computer skills. I am a programmer with little natural artistic talent. I'm researching the feasibility right now. Can anyone provide me their opinion if I am being realistic with this and what kind of commitment I'm looking at? I have wanted to learned 3D animation for a while but have never been able to get the right software or spend enough time. I am proficient in Photoshop and Flash. Thanks, Luke
Last reply by phatso, -
- 1 reply
- 488 views
I have some problems and therefore question with the use of multiple chor actions: 1) Multiple chor actions are used for better structuring a scene, correct? 2) When I create a new choreo action, the first key frames are always automatically drawn at the beginning of the whole choreo (starting that way long before the action's chor range; see attachment). Can't I have the action really only start at the exact frame the action is meant to begin? 3) Do I have to start every chor action with a full keyframe on all bones to get my desired action? An unkeyed bone - due to the effect from my previous question - gets his "history" from the first choreo frame! …
Last reply by Bendytoons, -
i have a prob, im working of flower power and when it says open the attributes of the stem the little arrow isent there any ideas?
Last reply by C-grid, -
- 2 replies
- 447 views
Hi! I am a long time user of A:M but sometimes even we have newbee-questions So: How do you set the pivot of a model to a new position? When I model a character and rig it and than I want to reset the pivot of the model (in the model-window) to a new position so that for example the feet of my character are at the 0 / 0 / 0 point. I could translate the geometry and after that the bones with a translate-comment on the highest hierachy-level, but I wounder if there is a way to just set the model-pivot with a number-input like "Set new pivot to 50 cm lower."? Thanks for your time and your answers *Fuchur*
Last reply by Fuchur, -
Hey, Im curious as to how you get involved in working on TWO i would love to help but i would obiously need to concentrate on working in certain areas before i get involved. Do you have to show a certain proficency or what? Thanks Geoff
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
- 521 views
Dear Animation Masters, I am using Zbrush to make models and texture them as low rez poly cages, creating displacement maps to add detail and would like to import them into AM and use the displacement maps. Are there any plugins around that are recommended for this process? Also, I have spline models in IGES format, would they import as spline objects in AM using a plugin? Thanks for any suggestions, Sincerely, Michael Angelo
Last reply by noober, -
- 0 replies
- 297 views
hey no need to post ne thing here this is a test A_wing.prj
Last reply by Geoff, -
- 2 replies
- 456 views
I've been practicing the walk cycle, and then I decided to try making a hop cycle for rabbit, but can anybody give me a idea of how I would set up the stride length for a hop, or how I would gauge it correctly? I've been experimenting, and I've gotten the animation action to look good, but the stride length is somewhat hard to gauge what I need to base it on. I keep seeming to end up with rabbit either hopping way too fast across the screen when I set up the choreography of it, or if I slow it down, every time he lands he slides forward a bit.
Last reply by Lee, -
- 3 replies
- 376 views
I have the 2007 version of A:M. Using 13.0s. On the extras disc, there is a Penguin.mdl. When I bring that into my choreography, 1/2 his body is in the ground. Do I need to "pull" him up or is there a setting to make the "floor" non penetrable?
Last reply by Steven547, -
- 8 replies
- 740 views
I have a decal applied to the floor. And it repeats over and over abot 20x20. My problem is when it renders it realy starts to blur as you get closer to the camera. I thought i read something about antiailising. Is this what I need? If so where are its controls? Please someone help. I'm at work working on this right now. Help before the next hour or so is crucial. Thanks for yalls help.
Last reply by clonewar12345, -
- 1 reply
- 388 views
Is there an auto save feature on animation master?
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 reply
- 405 views
OK, now im getting ashamed of asking a lot os q´s , i bought the book "Complete guide to animation master" and on some point it says that to make a perfect sphere i have to use the porcelain material, but i cant find it, does any1 knows where it is?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 0 replies
- 345 views
Hi, another question....being a noob and all, is there any way to loop a video decal, you see, im doing this 10 secs animation and on the background i aplied a video decal, wich is only 2 secs, is there any way to loop it to 10 secs?
Last reply by chuchi_disturbed, -
- 1 reply
- 296 views
Hey guys, Im back with another question thanks for the help with the las question i asked i was able to get my canyon model built. Now i am having trouble getting a model to load up into A:M that i got from another A:M user. It will load but say there are a bunch of compnents missing so i worked on it saved the project and when i loaded it back up the model i was putting bones in that i got from the other user wouldnt load up. Please help. Thanks Geoff
Last reply by Geoff, -
I'm having trouble getting the right results using the flatten command, and its mostly because of the instructions in the manual. It says "To correctly orient the pivot, click on the Red handle at the end of the Green Axis (to orient the pivot around the X axis) and drag in the direction of the arrow in the image below until the Properties panel shows -90° rotation in the X axis." But the properties panel doesn't tell me anything!
Last reply by heyvern, -
- 5 replies
- 695 views
I appologize if this question is in the wrong place, but I couldnt find the info through several searches. I currently use version 12, and am seriously considering upgrading to 13. I was just curious what the new features are in 13 and if you guys thought it was worth the money to upgrade??
Last reply by KenH, -
- 2 replies
- 332 views
Is this a bug or something I'm not doing right? I am trying to make the distortion toolbar visible. I went to Tools-Customize and picked the Toolbars tab. I clicked the check box for "Distort." The distort toolbar appeared. I clicked "OK" and the distort toolbar vanished. I tried it several times and even re-installed the software. No joy. Why won't it stay? Running version 13.0s on an Intel Macintosh.
Last reply by BrainLock, -
- 4 replies
- 497 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, -
- 3 replies
- 509 views
Hi everyone! when im doing the distortion mode is there any way i can change the default number of points i can select to distort the model?. On another topic, when i do the scale mode (example im doing a banana), is there any way i can close the top/botom of the banana by using the scale mode?
Last reply by T-Dogg, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 364 views
I'm working on rigging a character and noted that most models have a folder called "relationships" that define bone/null constraints. In an Anzovin tutorial I went through, I made a new action to define bone constraints but it was all outside the model in the end. What is a good resource to learn about constructing a model's constraints internally with relationships? Almost there! Chris =)
Last reply by SplineSoup, -
- 4 replies
- 500 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, -
- 2 replies
- 417 views
]HEY I RECENTLY BROUGHT THE LATEST VERSION OF A:M BUT I'M HAVING TROUBLE WITH ROTOSCOPING. I'M TRYING TO MODEL OVER FACES I FOUND ON THE INTERNET, AND ALSO ON CHARACTERS I DREW AND SCANNED INTO A:M BUT THE PICTURES DON'T SHOW UP IN THE PROGRAM FOR ME TO MODEL OVER. NO MATTER WHAT I DO I CAN'T GET THE PICTURES TO APPEAR ON THE GRID TO BEGIN TO MESH THE SPLINES OVER LIKE THEY DO IN THE DEMOS AND TUTORIALS. PLLLLLEEEEAAAASSSSEEEEE HELP!!! [THANX
Last reply by clonewar12345, -
- 2 replies
- 638 views
Hi all, I just wondered that in A:M there was a way to add titles and credits to my films as i am using Microsoft movie maker for them at the moment. Elliot
Last reply by AJS007,
