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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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- 2 replies
- 486 views
Why can't find dictionary.dic on the cd? Thanks aj2 im using AM 12.0v+
Last reply by aj2, -
Hello Guys... When i actually installed Hash Animation Master, for the 1st time all the libarys where there in place all good. But then i did a format due to some computer problems and when i installed Animation Master the libary wasnt there? in the libray folder there is Hash Installed Libary, but no Data/Models this time any body know where i can get that data/models folder from, the 1 with keekat etc in. Thanks People just wanna hurry up and start! PS: its version 11.1 second hand...
Last reply by T-Dogg, -
- 5 replies
- 488 views
Iam having some probs with hooks .I can get them to work but go a long way round ,by stitching as normal then breaking and deleating the unwanted cp and then making the hook ,is there a key to press or some way of doing it without the rigmarole ? cheers
Last reply by KenH, -
- 7 replies
- 686 views
My husband purchased A:M from a "Comdex" show back in "03/04". He never had the time to put into learning A:M so it sat in its box on the shelf till last week when we gave it to my son. I would like to update it using the downloadable updates on the Hash site. So my silly question is... Being that the version we have is from 03/04 should I download all update versions from 04-06? Will downloading Animation:Master v12.0v contain everything in previous updates? Thanks for your patience, Kayellen
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 14 replies
- 1.6k views
is there a way i can copy a group of bones and past them on another area? i have made new arms on my tripod and i rigged one arm but i want to know if theres a way i can copy and past them to the left two times heres a screen cap [attachmentid=17049]
Last reply by NancyGormezano, -
- 4 replies
- 655 views
I have been reading a lot on these forums. I see that this new Squetch Rig is being used in the TWO movie. The FACE setup also looks very powerful. My question is: Are these new rigs going to be included with A:M13, or will they have to be gotten elsewhere like TSM? Sorry I ask so many dumb newbie questions. I just figured that if these rigs are good enough for the Animation Masters to use on TWO, then that is what I would like to use as well when I finally get around to doing my own animations. Thanks for your time.
Last reply by T-Dogg, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
- 558 views
i've been having a heck of a time learning how to model with splines. i would like to announce i have successfully attached a leg after numerous tries and i do mean numerous. call me crazy but i'm on to the arm. richie
Last reply by Stuart Rogers, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 888 views
I have some live-action footage I am using in an animation. The footage used a green screen and in After Effects I eliminated the green to leave only the actors and an alpha channel. I imported the footage into AM as a TGA sequence. So far, so good. I want the footage to be lit by a klieg light that has volumetric turned on. The problem is that the volumetric effect is lighting up the transparent part of the footage somewhat brighter than background objects, so the actors appear to be in a rectangle that is unnaturally brighter than the surrounding scene. I don't understand what is causing the klieg light to (apparently) reflect off the transparent part of the…
Last reply by RoyBU, -
- 2 replies
- 554 views
I just upgraded to v12v+ and I have read Yves Poissant's Mini Tutorial on AO but I can't seem to find it in the Choreography properties. I can't even find a Global Ambiance property under Choreography. Can anyone help?
Last reply by dsommers, -
- 2 replies
- 457 views
I 've been using this software for a while but this just came up. Everytime I try to output my animation using something other than "final" as the quality setting, I get an unhandled exception, and then Animation Master closes. I tried reinstalling, but I still get the same message. I noticed this after I updated my version to 12.0v+.
Last reply by KenH, -
- 3 replies
- 663 views
What types of files can be imported in and out of AM? I don't have the software but am considering it because of it's animation prowess, but not real keen on the whole "spline, patch modeling process" and wondered if I had a modeling software like Silo or Hexagon can I have some file format that I can import in and out of.
Last reply by Kelley, -
- 2 followers
- 3 replies
- 625 views
Hi All, I figure I should start by way of introduction as this is my first post. I have never animated anything in my life. However, that did not stop me from picking up a copy of Animation Master at NAB 2006 after watching the demonstration a couple of times. Kudos to the demonstrator for a very lively demo and for knowing the product well enough to make EVERYTHING look easy! That being said, part of the demostration showed how one of the 'Tak' commercials was donw using objects layered in the camera's view. Something that stood out was that there was a card (for lack of a better term) off to the side that the camera panned over to that had the logo and inform…
Last reply by scottl, -
- 15 replies
- 1.4k views
I've seen mention of the plugins on this page ( http://www.innovateenterprises.com/AM/ ) in several posts here on the forum. First I tried the LWO13 and OBJ13 plugins using A:M 13beta2. I opened a new model window and clicked file/plug-ins/import/ and tried to import LWO and OBJ. In both cases, no new window ever popped up to let me choose a file to import. When those didn't work, I went back and opened up A:M version 12.0v+ and tried using the LWO12.hxt. This time a window did pop up to let me pick a file. Then it asked at what angle control points should peak. After that I got the following error message: "Not a Lightwave object (Missing LWOB tag)". …
Last reply by walasek, -
- 2 replies
- 577 views
Hey, guys-- I'm trying out A:M for a logo design that has decaled typewriter keys followed by 2-D panels with type set up to be cookie-cutter panels. It all renders fine as a standard rendering, but I was hoping to get a toon line version as well. The problem is, when I render it as toon lines, the "panels" holding the cookie-cutter type render only as rhomboid panels, and the decaling and cookie cutting render not at all. Furthermore, the decals don't render. I figger I could get around this by recoloring everything white (the bg color) and rendering it with flat shading, so the labels show up, but I was wondering if there is a way to get toon line rend…
Last reply by someawfulbridge, -
- 1 follower
- 10 replies
- 1.1k views
hi all are there any battlestar galactica ship models for download for use in A:M
Last reply by oakchas, -
- 1 reply
- 461 views
Hello Everyone! I recently purchased Animation Master after seeing it demonstrated by the fabulous James Hash. The robustness of A:M blew my mind. Name: Cole Cash Exercise completed: Exercise 1 date completed: 05/22/2006 Instructor: Tao:AM Comments: The tutorial was simple yet you learn a great deal about the navigation tools. Every time that I dropped KeyKat into the Chor his left right foot seemed to be twisted. I tried to drop him into the chor several times and even re-installed A:M. I finally solved the problem by rotating the (I believe) null. On to exercise 2!
Last reply by MMZ_TimeLord, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
- 435 views
How do we render the background as one color besides black? We want to edit our cat into a film so it is dancing with a live person. Our teacher can't figure it out when he is supposed to help us!
Last reply by steve392, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 540 views
How do we render the background as one color besides black? We want to edit our cat into a film so it is dancing with a live person. Our teacher can't figure it out when he is supposed to help us!
Last reply by Rocky Heights, -
- 1 reply
- 553 views
Hey, all-- I'm wondering if there is a (glaringly obvious, which I missed?) function in A:M that allows you to subdivide a model's mesh to increase patch density--automatically generate splines halfway between existing splines, so that if you need more control points down the line you can add them, so that it doesn't have to be done by hand? Cheers-- Mark
Last reply by luckbat, -
- 3 replies
- 555 views
Morning everyone. Ok, i'm going thru the tutorials (again and again!). I'm trying to have my character walk a path, then wave. However, I can't seem to have my character mimic what the tutorial does. My character walks, then "glides" for a bit, then waves. What am I missing? I thought I followed the tutorial, but maybe I keep missing something? Thanks. Steven
Last reply by Steven547, -
- 3 replies
- 613 views
When I start A:M, the MS Agent Wizard's hat pops up in my system try. It doesn't seem to do anything other than just sit there in the tray. I was just wondering what's the point of that? Thanks again for your time and I apologize if this is a stupid question.
Last reply by T-Dogg, -
- 5 replies
- 1k views
I'm using version 12.0 Socereze version. I have to render a few animation files for my class in .mov format. The short I'm doing first is 10 seconds long and is simple enough to render in 12 minutes as an .avi. When I render with default settings, it takes the same 12 minutes. But when I go to watch it, an error pops up that says " This is not a movie file. When I render with Sorenson Video 3, no error pops up but my computer completely locks up. Another, not so serious, problem; when I rendered the above mentioned animation as an avi, the sound was this loud static type sound and not the music it ws supposed to be. And another animation I've done as a…
Last reply by Chrury Sanson, -
- 10 replies
- 1.2k views
Hi all, I'm looking at trying to do post editing completely in AM and create an animation showing that you can do post effects without having to spend big money for programs like after effects (I'm not a student so I'd have to pay about a grand for the professional version of after effects). My question is, can you control the shudder of the camera to create fade effects? I've got a work around that works very cool if not but I'd think you could. If so how? I'll tell you my work around after I get responses. Jeetman
Last reply by Stuart Rogers, -
- 1 reply
- 490 views
You asked: I am a new user of A:M and I'm having trouble importing Illustrator files into A:M. I have done this: plugins> wizard> AI> then browse to my file, adjust the settings, but nothing happens. Can you guys give me a hand? what are you trying to import into A:M? The AI wizard is mostly for importing AI vector files into A:M in order to make them 3D. It will extrude a shape created in AI, but it will not take an AI graphic that appears to be 3D and make it 3D... (if that makes any sense( Post the graphic here as a jpg, and expand on what you want to do with it.
Last reply by oakchas, -
- 10 replies
- 939 views
OK...sorry if this has been brought up...(i'm sure it has, I just couldn't find it in the search), but what does everyone turn off on the computer to increase render time? (Virus programs, etc). There was a post talking about what to turn off, but I can't find it. Thanks.
Last reply by Ganthofer, -
- 3 replies
- 609 views
Exercise #6 is going to be a large learning curve for me because not every step is spelled out (which is good) and I'm taking some liberties by adding my own touches to it. The oportunities for learning started when I couldn't figure out how to save the project w/ the model with out A:M squawking that it could not save the model back to the CD. Got that question answered and banged head 1st into the next issue. I knew there had to be a way to add a keyframe for a single bone with out keyframing everything on that frame. Every time I have tried to learn this software I always get jammed up about those buttons at the bottom left of the screen. (Forgive me when I use th…
Last reply by TeresaNord, -
- 5 replies
- 813 views
anybody know were i can find a dragon model
Last reply by thumperness, -
- 2 replies
- 429 views
I have set up my scene for Exercise #6 and have struck my 1st pose. When I try to save or do a save-as, it keeps squawking at me that it can't save the model back onto the CD. Is there something I can do to make it save the model to my hard disk or in my project WITHOUT having to redo everything?
Last reply by thumperness, -
- 2 replies
- 489 views
Hey, all-- I'm doing my first (really tiny) animation, involving a B17 flying from the horizon, over and past the camera. The backdrop/cityscape is a simple rotoscope. (This is going to be used as part of a Flash site, so the rotoscope will actually be incorporated later as a layer in the Flash file.) The problem is, no matter how far away I drag the plane model, it never quite "disappears" into the horizon--it will only get so small. Is this something that has to be cheated (scaling down the model in the distance, for instance) or is there some camera or rendering option I need to be checking?
Last reply by NancyGormezano, -
- 6 replies
- 808 views
I am modelling a head, and I am having problems with creases around the neck, eyes, and mouth. I've attached some pictures so you can what I am talking about. I have only had A:M for a couple of months, so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.[attachmentid=16782][attachmentid=16783][attachmentid=16784][attachmentid=16785] I ran out of pace for that post, so here are the side views. [attachmentid=16787][attachmentid=16788]
Last reply by T-Dogg, -
- 3 replies
- 462 views
Can the A:M Splash Screen or the little walk cycle animations that appear during rendering be replaced? I'd like to add my own original creations if possible. I just thought I'd ask. Thank you for your time.
Last reply by T-Dogg, -
- 2 replies
- 356 views
On occasions, the Shaded, and Shaded Wireframe, image in the Modeling Window appears to have a high intensity light illuminating it, and it's difficult to see what's going on. Other times, not. What causes this? [attachmentid=16750]
Last reply by Kelley, -
- 8 replies
- 909 views
I'm attempting to create a simple prop for a friend's use in Poser, in this case a Falcata sword (really nasty weapon back in the day, I'd like to get one, heh). The problem is, when I get to the edge portion, the edge itself going up and down the length of the blade is curved, but on the sides of the blade, it's relatively straight. The problem I'm finding is when I engage the angle tool on the spline on the side to keep it straight, the spline going down the length of the cutting edge also is angled, which makes the cutting edge look blocky. How do I make it so that only the splines I want to be at hard angles remain at hard angles and the splines I wan…
Last reply by kthardin, -
- 2 replies
- 392 views
I am messing around with lip-syncing with an original model. In both my action and choreography I am able to hear an imported .wav file, but can not hear it in (nor is it in the movie properties of) my .avi or quicktime files that I render to. What am I doing wrong? I'm using the latest version of A:M (yeti disk). - Chris
Last reply by cribbidaj, -
- 1 follower
- 10 replies
- 954 views
Is it possible to have an object that is behind a transparent object not be affected by the color of the transparent object? I have a head and a space helmet: [attachmentid=16725] The green helmet is 50% transparent. The helmet and the face are simply flat grids. What I want to do is place the face behind the helmet so it looks like it's inside of it but I don't want the helmet's color to affect the color of the face. I want the original skin color to remain. As it is it looks like this: [attachmentid=16726] Does anyone know how to prevent a transparency's color from affecting a model that's behind it? There must be a simple way to do that. (I k…
Last reply by luckbat, -
- 1 follower
- 0 replies
- 440 views
I want crosshairs that have a zoom in component to my chor, or action/chor. How can I achieve this feat? specifically, the cross hairs are fine, it is the aiming ring I want to resize during the chor/action. It would be even slicker for the aiming ring to maintain its' width, while shrinking down in size, but I'm not that picky.
Last reply by kkwaters, -
- 1 reply
- 349 views
Hello, I just received my copy of A:M a couple of days ago and installed it on my Win2K machine. When A:M loads, I receive two error messages (not exact messages but similar as I'm not at that computer right now): 1.) "Could not load...H3ds.hxt. Could not find the specified module" and 2.) "Could not load...GridTurbEx.trb. Could not find the specified module." Both of these files are in the directories A:M is trying to find them in. When I move these two files out of their respective directories I no longer recieve these messages. I tried installing A:M on a different WinXP machine and it starts up fine with no error messages. On a separate issue whenev…
Last reply by KenH, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 642 views
Hi Guys! I've tried a few tutorials on making a round ball but am not succeeding I make a line, lathe it. Then go to top view and rotate it so it lies on one of the axis. Then I delete the left side and the center line so it's a half circle. Then I get stuck Anyone know a easy way of making a round ball? Thanks Ken
Last reply by howboring, -
- 29 replies
- 2.2k views
Sorry I didn't post this in the FAQ forum. For some reason, it wouldn't let me post there. Anyways, I'm really interested in this program, and before I buy it, I'm wondering about something: If I film my whole fan film, leaving places for CGI and such, will I be able to completely add in CGI with Animation Master once Im finished filming? For example, if I want my alien tripods to walk behind a forest, so the audience sees them through the trees, then can I: 1. Film the forest 2. Generate the CG tripod 3. Place the CG tripod animation moving behind the forest... so we can see bits of it through the trees on the other side of the forest Exam…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 5 replies
- 703 views
everytime i make a movie on quick time theres always a black sky how can i make the sky blue?
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 2 replies
- 436 views
Hello, I'm making my first forays into animating my character, and I have a question about compressing or stretching the frames for an action. Assuming that I keep the frame rate the same: Let's say that I've completed a complex action that takes 00:03:00 frames, but I'd like the entire action to take place in 00:02:00 frames. Is there a mechanism I can use, or what's the best way to make a whole action (consisting of a number of moves) be compressed (or stretched out) into a desired number of frames? Cheers!
Last reply by Laconic, -
- 1 follower
- 10 replies
- 914 views
hi, just purchased A:M, but am experiencing problems on my mac. I've a MDD DP 1gHz Mac, with 1.5GB ram , OS X 10.4.6, and standard graphics card (Radeon 9000 Pro, 64MB). I am forced (!) to use a PC at work (trans to I rarely use it), and compared the performance of the two. I used Lambrina, with a Can-Can chor. On the PC (a very lowend P4, standard GPU) it will play without dropping frames, no problem. On my Mac, the same file is practically unuseable - it drops so many frames. Am I missing something? If it's the GPU, would something like a 9800 Pro (either 128 or 256 MB) make a difference? At the moment, it makes using A:M for animation nigh impossible. Hope you guys can…
Last reply by popster, -
- 5 replies
- 807 views
Hi everyone, I'm still relatively new to AM so please forgive me if these sound like a stupid questions. I've seen some incredible animated shorts posted at AM Films. I'm working on one myself ("The Door is Stuck" exercise). My question is, How do you create a final render with different camera angles? I was told it can't be done in AM but people are doing it some how. I'm hoping you can do this completely in AM and not have to buy another software package. Specifically, Is there a way to see camera changes in the previewed animation before rendering? If no, then why allow you to turn camera's on and off? Basically I want to make my "Door …
Last reply by Stuart Rogers, -
- 3 replies
- 479 views
Hi All, I started doing the exercises in the TAoA:M book last night and was wondering if the render time I got on "A Chorus Line" was typical. I did a render to a Quicktime file and it took over 4 hours (using whatever the default settings are). I'm running a 1 GHz G4 MAC Powerbook with 1 GB ram, OSX Tiger, and AM version 12. Any insight would be helpful. Thanks, Keith
Last reply by kkessler, -
- 4 replies
- 526 views
I found as I was doing Exercise #5, having the rabbit walk on a path, that as I was making the walk cycle, his feet kept sinking below the ground line. I know this is because A:M defaults to using a curved, flowy arc between keyframes instead of the most direct route. Usually this is fine. How do I turn this off so I don't have to key every frame to keep my foot on the ground?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 4 replies
- 481 views
Hello, I'm experimenting with depth of field in my animation. The problem I'm having is that I can't figure out how to actually determine distances within the program. My settings are in centimeters (cm), but I can't accurately determine lengths so that I can have the proper objects in focus. Are there ways of measuring how far an object is from the camera, or is using the side 'rulers' the best way? Any tips are greatly appreciated.... Cheers, Tim
Last reply by Laconic, -
- 6 replies
- 1k views
Hello, I'm busily working on my animation, and I'm interested in making my renders able to be played in a standard or widescreen DVD format. Can anyone point me to the correct resolution, acpect ratio, and rendering settings for being able to view the animation on a standard or widescreen DVD screen? Cheers!
Last reply by oakchas, -
- 4 replies
- 440 views
I have been working on a scene with volumetric lights and wonder if I have discovered a small bug. Try the following: Open a new project, default choreography. Change the view/render mode to shaded. Turn off the KeyLight and FillLight. Position the Rim light so that the entire light and the beginning of its cone appear in the camera frame (something like x -125, y 180, z -30). Change the cone angle to something like 30 degrees. Reduce the falloff to around 600 cm. Change the camera background to black (so the effect is easier to see). (You can also place an object in the scene to confirm that shadows are in fact appearing, but it isn't necessary.) At this…
Last reply by luckbat, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 492 views
Hi guyz Ive just been wondering about something, have been working in Maya and have recently moved over to Master and find it an awesome package. question is: in Maya you can take two CV's (as they call it) and attach them (merge them into one) how can I do that with A.M? what I mean is, if I want to attach two pieces (splines) that are seperate, and want to make it into one spline. have made a character and in the modeling process it came up. am just curious to know if it is necessary to do this? I know it probebly sounds like a stupid question but,hey Im a nube to A.M,,,,,,,,,, gimme a break! hehe
Last reply by Duke, -
- 1 follower
- 18 replies
- 1.6k views
Rather than take too much time investigating I'll ask to be reminded here. Having one place to look will help immensely. So... Who do I owe a TAoA:M certificate to? Please post a note here so I don't forget you. I'll try to catch up quickly but it may be after Hash Bash before any certificates get out. Seeing your post here should expedite the process. Thanks in advance, especially to those that have emailed and expressed their interest. If you've completed TAoA:M... I O U!
Last reply by Atomike,
