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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.
4,155 topics in this forum
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- 2 replies
- 395 views
Old time A:M user here, Has Biased normals replaced porcelain as an option for smoother model surfaces in the current version of A:M? In the old days there was default/normal patch surfaces, which are great for most models, and there was also a Porcelain.mat that would average the surface for smoother surfaces that worked great for some other kinds of models. Maybe a cartoon baby, for example. They were both great and both had advantages and disadvantages. (Don't worry folks, I'm not trying to avoid good modeling technique). The technical manual says that Biased Normals is now the default. Does that mean there is biased and unbiased rendering available now? Or i…
Last reply by Glen Crowell, -
- 5 replies
- 559 views
Is there a place I can go to learn more about how to model and set up things like tubes sliding around circular rods, making cymbals flop around on a stand when struck by a drum stick without the stick passing through the cymbal, making machine type assemblies rotate on an axle without sliding through the axle. The learning experience has been hard for me, but I am determined to learn no matter how long it takes. Thanks in advance! Tony
Last reply by itsjustme, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
- 361 views
Hello hashers, After a long time in the wilderness I'm trying to get back in to A:M. I feel like a newbie all over again. I'm very familiar with A:M V8.5 p++, but it will not work on our new WIN XP CPU. I've installed my A:M V9 2002. My old A:M model work uses half traditional modeling and half use porcelain depending on the type of character. Is there a different way of making porcelain.mat to work in V9.5f? When I apply it to a model it doesn't work like i'm used to. It has no effect at all. Any one have any ideas what I'm doing wrong? I look forward to upgrading to V13 as money and time free up. Thanks, Glen Crowell long time A:M user.
Last reply by KenH, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 423 views
I've got a very detailed photo-realistic facial mesh that I'm trying to re-fit to a 3ds prop that's a 3D scan of an actual person, I then have high resolution flat lighting orthogonal photos that I'll be using as decals... The eyes, nose, mouth, and ears are obvious things to group and move around to match their positions on the actual face, so I've made groups for these and the surrounding patches. Later on the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears will have to be tweaked, adjusted, and (possibly) remodeled (a bit) to closely match the real person - but I'm just wanting to get them into the right relative positions to start. The problem I'm running into is that as I move…
Last reply by ypoissant, -
- 7 replies
- 599 views
I am currently working with Animation Master version 11.1 Does anyone know what file formats work for exporting models into After Effects 7.0 Are there special plug-ins that I need to download for this? Thank you.
Last reply by rickh, -
- 1 reply
- 499 views
sometimes i would like to render amovie in the shaded mode, because it doen't need to be that detailed, i am just trying to get an idea across and don't need hair or fire, but it has the pink camera frame in it, is there a why to do it to get rid of the frame
Last reply by Noel, -
- 4 replies
- 350 views
I was reading Dec 3d World, and there's an article in there about making the Caltex advert, that had a car made out of flies. So, seeing as I'm studying particles, I thought I'd have a go: [attachmentid=22919] It raised a number of questions - like did I do it the easiest way? I emitted fly sprites from the undecalled transparent Porsche, and applied a lot of force to make it go backwards, and then reversed the rendered TGAs. So you can't send particles along a path? I wanted the swarm to form a ball and then swarm along a path to form the car, but I could not get them to join up with the backwards rendered TGAs convincingly. If you send out partic…
Last reply by Caroline, -
- 3 replies
- 552 views
OK. I found out why my ver 11.0 A:M doesn't install on my new mac mini via OS X...thanks to the message board folks So, my next attempt at getting things up and running was to install Parallels to run XP virtually on the mini. Everything installed well (seemingly) but clicking on the icon on the desktop (again, in virtual XP) gives me a 'can't find CD drive' error. It found the CD drive well enough to install the program...what gives? Anyone know the answer? All the settings for Parallels that pertain to the CD drive have been enabled. It took a lot of lobbying to purchase the upgrade to 11.0 as I don't use the prog religiously enough for some peo…
Last reply by cwaters72, -
- 1 follower
- 22 replies
- 1.2k views
I'm trying to get a StarTrek warpdrive like effect on a flying logo. Any tips on how it's done? I'm using a Mac G4 OS Tiger 10.4.8. I have AM 12.0u. I like the elongated looks of the stars also. Thomas
Last reply by tjherr, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 458 views
I've searched through the forums and found some great tutorials on flattening models for decal preparation. I have had some success using this technique, but am not sure how to proceed with a particular model. The tutorials that I found deal mainly with the face, and not the whole head. Can someone explain or point me in the right direction on how to flatten an object like a pair of pants for decalling? Is it possible to flatten the pants so that both the front and back of the pants are visible at the same time? I tried flattening and decalling the front first, then the back, but you can definitely see where the different decals were applied to the two ar…
Last reply by zandoriastudios, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 281 views
Hello all, I have a character that I want to have them write on a board, or wall. Does Animation Master have tools to animate that? or do I have to use Adobe After effects? Any ideas? Thanks!
Last reply by Caroline, -
Ok Ive been gone a long time. School and everything. But where can I find info on v14? I see the download but is their a website? Can I buy v14 upgrade yet? Cheers--
Last reply by Bruce Del Porte, -
- 10 replies
- 655 views
Hi folks! It's been a while. I own version 10 of A:M and I bought it back around the time it came out. It was when I was just starting to get into animation, and I didn't really understand anything I was doing. I still don't understand much that I'm doing, but the difference is I understand that I don't understand it. A while after getting into A:M I tried a bunch of other programs. Around last August I switched to Maya and have been using it since. I've drifted from doing modeling (which drives me insane) to effects work (which is pretty cool), but the reason I originally got into this field was to do character animation. I'm starting to return to that now. …
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 12 replies
- 743 views
I just wanted to post a special thank you to all the nice folks that I have met here at Hash and online in the community chat room. A special shout to Martin, Rodney, George and Mark for all your assistence. I am going to be having brain surgery next week and won't be around for some time. Thank you for your kindness. Keith Buck BUDDHABUCK
Last reply by the_black_mage, -
- 17 replies
- 1k views
Ok, so I'm trying to work through the exercises, but I've hit a wall... Where are the models? The latest CD I have is AM99, I think. (Whichever one the Dog is on.) For the most part, I go to the FTP to download and install everything. I've downloaded several Data folders off there, but 1) The libraries are different formats (one just goes through and lists a name and then a path. The ones I work with most often use block groups. [MODEL] FileName=../Models/Actors/Thom/Thom.mdl[ENDMODEL]) 2) I can't find the models I need. (The Rabbit, Knight, and KeyKat. I found KeyKat downloadable in the first example, but I'd rather not go searching for EVERY model I need.) So,…
Last reply by goodguy20k, -
- 4 replies
- 420 views
I'm a retiree looking to expand my creative juices. For years I have dabbled in photography/videography, video editing, and simple graphic work. The A:M application really caught my eye, and I will probably purchase it. I've gone thru most all of the information on Hash's home page, including the tutorials. It looks like I should be able to get a handle on the operational techniques. How far I'll be able to go with it depends on my commitment and interest. (and lasting brain cells!) But my question is, how well will my little puter handle the application and it's rendering chores? I'm running an iMac with PowerPC G4, 800 MHz; 768 MB SDRAM; 60 Gig; OSX 10.4.8. …
Last reply by DonnyG, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 482 views
Hi. I'm wondering if there's a tutorial that would show me how to make realistic snow like in the "Paulie Mouse" film on the Hash website. I found a link to a tutorial in Sherwood's Forest once, but the link was disabled somehow. Any other resources? Thanks, bRaD
Last reply by C-grid, -
- 24 replies
- 1.8k views
It looks like when you weld control points Shift+Weld vs Weld (right click while holding the left mouse button on PC, or a ~ click on mac) the behaviors are different. It looks like Welding the ends of a spline together joins the spline, making one spline, while Shift+weld seems to attach them, but they don't form one smooth spline. Can someone point me to documentation that explains this better. The book also mentions something about spline direction, which I can't seem to find information about either. I've looked at the basic splinesmanship web pages, and they are great, but also dated. Also, in an attempt to force me to do things rather than just see…
Last reply by C-grid, -
- 4 replies
- 400 views
Hello All, I'm running A:M v13.01 on a new MacBook with Intel processor. A:M seems to work fine, as it should. I'm experimenting with HDRI lighting, and was trying to follow the instructions to load an .hdr file into A:M from the HDRI Tutorial thread. It was suggested that the binary .hdr file (I got the "uffizi gallery" HDR file from the Debevec site at http://www.debevec.org/Probes/) should be imported. When I right click on the images directory in the Workspace and attempt Import>Image..., and then select the "uffizi_probe.hdr" file, it says "Unsuppported HDR Format." Any suggestions on what I'm doing wrong? Alternately, can I change the HDR…
Last reply by Laconic, -
- 1 reply
- 317 views
i have seen allot of people in the wip and TWO sections do a white render on there work but when ever i try to do the render it doesn't look like the whit renders i have seen on the forum i'm guessing that the renders are a radiosity setting or some kind of A.O. but can one of you tell me the settings to use?
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 0 replies
- 263 views
Hello all, I'm working on a small project, and I need a chalkboard. A free standing chalkboard. Does anyone have one or know of anywhere I can download one? Thanks
Last reply by bighop, -
- 2 replies
- 697 views
Ok, I'm sure the problem is on my end, but I thought I'd post here and ask just in case anyone has any helpful information. I have a number of object in .OBJ format, with materials. Import seems to be a bit hit and miss on whether I get any materials in at all, which is pretty understandable. I have texture maps for all the materials but I'm sure there are some odd settings somewhere! Is there anything I should look out for in importing/exporting OBJ files to use in other applications? Any gotchas, or things I shouldn't do? I have Silo and that's what I've been using to twiddle my OBJs. I'm on AM V12 (latest release of that). If AM V13/14 has better OBJ …
Last reply by ddustin, -
- 7 replies
- 622 views
I am working on the legs of a person, and I have this unwanted crease that I just can't seem to get rid of. I have tried deleting CPs and re-connecting them. It will get rid of the crease in one direction, but then the crease will appear in a different direction. For instance, If I get rid of the vertical crease, it will appear horizontally and vice versa. I have attached a shaded view, shaded wire view and a close-up shaded wire view of the problem area. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks... Al [attachmentid=22630] [attachmentid=22629] [attachmentid=22631]
Last reply by Tralfaz, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
- 279 views
Hi everyone! I just got this Animation Master (V 11.1) and I love it!!! I am upto exercise 8: Customized car. When I click on the Sedan.mdl , file (on the AM disk)to open, the A.M. program shuts down. So I copied the file to my desktop to try to open it from the desktop to Animation Master but still the program shuts down. Any suggestions to open these files in A.M.? Thank you.
Last reply by speedy, -
- 4 replies
- 558 views
Hi new today with hash animation master and will it install? will it certain exazerbations in four worded modes. I would really appreciate why a G5 Powermac micro processor 2ghz Pc can not run Animation master 11.1 on an O.S OSX 10.4.8...What Am I doing wrong?
Last reply by Bruce Del Porte, -
well, i did the advice on the magnifying class one, and it looks all blury( i use it for a sniper rifle scope). does anyone know how to make something appear at least 3x larger by looking at it through a model (or patch) without looking blury like under a magnifying glass? (hope i'm not being complicated) NEVER MIND FIXED one more thing, how do you make something completely transparent and have a reflection, like a glass window? thanks again.
Last reply by Bruce Del Porte, -
- 5 replies
- 1k views
two questions: one, how do you make something look magnified by looking through a model, like a magnifying glass? two, what are the hash contests for and how do you enter them? thanks
Last reply by Bruce Del Porte, -
- 3 replies
- 433 views
I am createing a simple model to export to photoshop for a logo, however i would love to have a shadow to drop on the ground. but my problem is that i am not using a ground. i deleted it because i dont want it. my question is... how can i get the shadow to fall as if there was a ground there but have the ground completely transparent, except where the shadow is? Thanks, -ALL
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 427 views
Hi, Guys...!!! I am new on your site and I am amazed by the skills of some people here... not too sure if this is the right place to be posting this msg Let me introduce myself first : I am Yann, a webmaster and dive instructor, 27 years old. i have many questions about music, web , PC and education... Where i can post my messages... So, thanks a lot!
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 0 replies
- 278 views
Hey guys. So I have created a live webcam chat room. If you have a webcam and mic you can grab a cam slot and chat, otherwise it doubles as a text chat room. It can be found at http://www.stickam.com/profile/animation It should be up most all the time, note you have to register (free) with stickam.com to use the cam slots. See you there! Oh, and it is called Animation Station.
Last reply by Heath_Naylor, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
- 323 views
is there any way to add a cp weight to a bone, like adding a point?
Last reply by zandoriastudios, -
- 6 replies
- 478 views
Hi, I'm not an AM user - yet - but I intend to be soon. However, my main interest at the moment is to purchase AM to use for modeling my company's products in domestic situations. That is, to use AM as a home-design program that can do beautiful and life-like renderings. I've spent a lot of time on the main site and browsing this forum, but I can't find a list of common objects included with the program. I've seen stunning still-lifes AM users have created, so I know that what I intend is possible. But I'm hoping to avoid having to design every item manually, such as a lamp or tree or couch etc. Is there such a list of items included? Or, in lieu of a detailed list, …
Last reply by Ethan Winer, -
- 1 reply
- 311 views
I was browsing through the FTP site and came upon models, then skeleton 2000. ? is this missing? I really was looking for a skeleton model. thanks
Last reply by Rodney, -
I had a question. I'm looking to have a simple TV screen looking thing, and have the screen flash "Yes" and "No" about a second or so apart. I know an animated .Gif can do this, but I want it to continue in the background and loop. Is there a way to do that, or should I use a movie format and put that on there? Ideally, since its MOSTLY just those 2 screens, I'd like to keep the file small and easy for rendering purposes. Thanks guys! John
Last reply by lafnjack, -
- 3 replies
- 429 views
Hi Im sorry if this is a silly question, im not sure whether to upgrade, i would like to know what the difference is between AM2005 and AM2006. I can find any info,.... Marios
Last reply by mario, -
- 2 replies
- 395 views
OK, everyone. I have been on this for days now and can't quite seem to get it right. I've searched the posts so that I am not duplicating a previously discussed post issue, but I can't quite find what I'm looking for. I want to create a highly polished surface looking like gold, but the only thing that it will be reflecting is the light from a single stage light, no other objects. I have the surface reflectivity, blend, and filter all set to 100%. I have also tried some polished looking materials. I have tried using the light as klieg, sun, and bulb, different intensities, different positions, but I can't get the light to bounce back into the camera with a s…
Last reply by jmdsbussrv, -
- 4 replies
- 294 views
This is probably staring me right in the face, but can some one please tell me how to remove a pose slider from the Pose window? I have been unable to find any way of doing this, other than manually editting the project (.prj) file. Thanks in advance... Al
Last reply by Tralfaz, -
- 2 replies
- 297 views
trying to create a new model, do you make a stright line when adding control points, hit the add key and hold down the shift key while draging the mouse the lines come out with a curve, need help
Last reply by the_black_mage, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 631 views
Hello, recently I discovered that while working with A:M for a while, and rendering things using a few of the different pre-set options, all of a sudden the pre-set rendering options started to dissappear! (see the picture below) Can anyone tell me if there is an easy solution to this? If it helps, I am using A:M 2006, and using a MacBook.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 481 views
I shot a mail message to support but I thought I'd cover this base as well. I got a Mac mini from work so that I could work from home. Since my home PC is way old, I wanted to install A:M on the mini. The install of A:M 11 goes OK, but after entering in my info & serial the program just shuts down. System stats are as follows: 1.83 gig core duo 2 gig Ram Mac OSX I checked the FAQ but didn't find anything similar to my situation. Sorry if this isn't the place for this question. Also, I know a mini is hardly the workhorse that should be running A:M but it it's all I got. Any help is greatly appreciated. C.
Last reply by cwaters72, -
how do you make something change color? like in an action or something?
Last reply by Ravager, -
- 6 replies
- 690 views
I knew I'd be buying this book. Many years ago I found Tony White's 'The Animator's Workbook' in the bargain bin of a book store for the hefty price of $1.99. This was a very nice discount from the cover price of $27.50. My only regret? I should have bought every copy they had that day! 'Animation: From Pencils to Pixels' is not an update to The Animator's Workbook but is rather a whole new book w/CDRom filled with information, tips, observations and lessons learned in pursuit of animation. At a cover price of $49.95 it made me cringe for a moment (hey... I'm cheap!) but I knew I'd be putting back the other books I thought I might buy that day. I to…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 7 replies
- 621 views
i have seen some other members have a movie for their avatar insead of a picture, is there any way that i can do it to?
Last reply by johnl3d, -
- 2 replies
- 389 views
I started to understand pathanimation a bit better by using a very simplistic project. I can slow the object down now by prolonging the chor-action. Also I can alter the speed of the object along the path with the ease-percenntages. But I find this rather indirectly, like an try-and-error-principle. There must be away to get an object to acellerate on a path from start to end at a mathematically exact constant pace I guess? And to steer it lets say go to a certain point on the path accelerating , then continue steadily to the next point and then slow down again till the end? Would you do that with expressions maybe or overlaying actions or mul…
Last reply by DarkLimit, -
- 1 follower
- 0 replies
- 329 views
Exercise #11.5 Animated by: Keith BUDDHABUCK Completion Time: 3 1/2 hrs. Date Completed: 11-16-06 OOUUHH SCARRY KIDS EXERCISE__11.5.prj
Last reply by BUDDHABUCK, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 364 views
Hi, I'm new to this forum but have been using Animation master for 2 years. I recently lost my A:M cd while traveling. I have my serial number but can't start the program because, as you all know, you need to have the cd in the drive in order to start. My question is as follows: Is there any file or anything that I can download that will get AM to start even without the cd? Or is there any way to get the cd using my serial # ? Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you! Bruce
Last reply by NancyGormezano, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 500 views
Hi I am on the fighter tutorial and when given instructions to delete the canopy from the body to make a "new Body" in preparation for decalling, the video said to do an edit, complement all. I don't have ths selection. I also noted I don't have complement spline either. Any ideas? I have the most recent version. Lori Hiatt
Last reply by zandoriastudios, -
obj export
by G.o.D- 4 replies
- 735 views
i have to exports models made in animation master to wavefront obj. i think i stumbled over an export to wavefront anywhere in animation master, but i dont remember where and i have searched long now, i cant find it. where is ist , and if i am wrong, how can i achieve to export directly to .obj files? is there some good a:m plugin link list out there? there are plenty, but for example the reason for me coming back to animation master after 6 years was the torque exporter, which i didn't find in any of the plugin link lists out there, just stumbled over it accidently thanks in advance
Last reply by G.o.D, -
- 2 replies
- 538 views
Is the server down? All of a sudden when I log on to The community window in A.M. I get a can't find server message. Help
Last reply by BUDDHABUCK, -
- 3 replies
- 475 views
Hi, I am working on my flower project and creating an action as review. I can get copy keyframe and paste key frame to work but not copy keframe/paste mirrored to work. Here's a screen shot after I did a mirrored paste for frame 25. Lori Hiatt
Last reply by Lori Hiatt,
