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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.
4,166 topics in this forum
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- 8 replies
- 977 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, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 1k views
Exercise 1 Completed
Last reply by FlyingMonkieBoy, -
- 3 replies
- 488 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
- 387 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, -
- 1 follower
- 10 replies
- 1k 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, -
- 4 replies
- 558 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, -
- 2 replies
- 420 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
- 0 replies
- 474 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
- 372 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
- 696 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, -
- 1 follower
- 10 replies
- 983 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
- 776 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
- 474 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, -
- 5 replies
- 855 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
- 501 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
- 472 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, -
- 4 replies
- 530 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, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 527 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 reply
- 493 views
Hi Rodney, Just wondering what we do when we finish the lessons... move on to the boot camp? How long to the new certificates come out? Thanks, John Booker
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 2 replies
- 568 views
Well, I'm modeling 1:1 ratio. I've modeled a sheet of typing paper (8.5X11") (wow, exciting isn't it?) I have text to go on the paper as though typed. the decal is cut off on the sides (only half of a line shows up) and the text doesn't reach to the middle of the page across when in the graphics program. So A:M's decaler is making the decal larger than it is and not getting all of it. My settings in the graphics program are to build the sheet 8.5 X11" at 200 DPI resolution... is the resolution too high? is that what's doing it? I realize that for PC video 72-90dpi is prolly sufficient. but I was kinda hoping for higher res for poster printing later.. …
Last reply by oakchas, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
- 433 views
In v8.0 I knew how to do a frame burn for the frame counter on my renders, but in v12.0 I don't know how. Has the function been discontinued?
Last reply by rusty, -
- 1 reply
- 408 views
Ok, never mind the title. I figured it out. Hello, my name is Christopher Harris and I'm an aspiring animator. I'm really wanting to help on the TWO project before its to late, so if anyone could review some of my animation skill, that'd be great. First, to let you know a litte bit about my skill level: I cannot model worth a flip, so I can't help with that. I can animator fairly well but I'm improving quite a bit. I can write screenplays (I've been produced in two other countrys) I can storyboard. And that's about it. I'd really like to animate for the TWO project. So if the animation directors are out there, PLEASE CONSIDER ME. I'…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 6 replies
- 878 views
I printed up the short cut keys taped them together(even took a highlighter to the odd numbers) and put them on the wall. Since i just got animation master this is very helpful. What would be even more helpful is editor keys for A.M. http://www.photoshopsupport.com/tools/editors-keys.html They would be easy enough to make. I would like to buy a set. ANYONE GOT EM?
Last reply by TeresaNord, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
- 703 views
From this thread... If anyone knows of additional tuts or discussions on these areas please post here or in the above thread so they can be added. My list so far: [attachmentid=16606] Cheers, Rusty
Last reply by martin, -
- 3 replies
- 692 views
Lee's World please check it out its cool and it has my pictures i made on it
Last reply by the_black_mage, -
- 8 replies
- 889 views
my movies are to big how do i make them less then 2 meg?
Last reply by LazyDude, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 1.1k views
it's just a thought.I'm making a movie of my own, and I have run out of relatives to do the voices, I was wondering if any one else has the same problem, I wonder if any of the hash animators would like to use there voices for others movies project , kinda like a bank exchange, the animator could send there script through email and the recording could be sent on a attached email, just a thought. Katt
Last reply by Karl, -
- 9 replies
- 890 views
Can anyone out there reccomend a good text on bones [theory and practice] that would have information applicable to A:M?
Last reply by Kelley, -
- 4 replies
- 582 views
I know I should know how to do this, but I don't. I've been messing around with it for forever and finally decided that I need help. It's probably something simple that I'm not doing, but I can't figure out what it is... Okay, so I'm playing around with the Knight and reusable actions in the Dark Room (in the projects folder). I have him be idle and then yawn. (No problem) Where I run into a problem is when I try to have him walk on a path after that. When I create the path and constrain him to it and the type of walk I want, then it automatically constrains him to the path when he is idle and yawns. So I end up with a knight yawning as he slides along a…
Last reply by TeresaNord, -
- 11 replies
- 901 views
is there a way i can upgrade my A:M from V. 11.1 to V. 12 or 13 with out having to spend another 300 bucks to purches it? if so how? and sorry about spelling tried to type this fast
Last reply by KNBits, -
- 1 reply
- 415 views
Rod, Would you rather we each had our own thread that we placed all out exercises in (Like in the ABC), or (Like I've been doing) putting exercise # 5 in the Exercise # 5 thread with everyone elses #5? I've read people saying to do it both ways. Which would you prefer?
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 547 views
I have been trying to viw on online help that came with my 2006 CD and that came is 13.0 beta, and it doesn't seem to work. I can open the nodes in the java applet but when I chose a topic nothing happens, I have tried double-clicking it, single clicking it, dragging it. Nothing seems to work. Am I doing something wrong? I will say that Spotlight in Mac OSX Tiger does a nice job of searching though, but it would be nice to see if catagorized. any ideas would be appreciated. thanks,
Last reply by thumperness, -
- 1 reply
- 461 views
I was wondering if there was a way to prevent Eddie from rendering with a cartoon look as he naturally does. I would appreciate any help.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 5 replies
- 781 views
Ok, I have been trying to figure out for the last 2 days how to make the background colors of a decal or rotascope transparent. I have done the exercise with the fighter jet, and maybe I missed it but I didn’t seem to tell me how to make a decal, and I cant seem to get my decals to not have that big white background. Iv searched the forum and cant find any topics of this, but maby me iz just stupid LOL Iv got PhotoShop 6 and have tried ever format combination I can think of, and still cant get it. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Last reply by Pengy, -
- 4 replies
- 732 views
I tried this with a nice sunset in the background but it renderd out a bit to big so I had to change it. Am I in line for my certificate now Rodney? flock2.mov
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 6 replies
- 977 views
Hi all, I'm starting up yet again with exercise 6 after being away for quite a while, and I'm running into the same problem that stumped me before. I hope I can explain it properly. I want to have Shaggy walk up to the door before he tries to open it, so Ive made a path, dropped Shaggy onto it and then dropped a "resolute walk" action onto him. The walk cycle lasts for 7 seconds. When he reaches the end of the walk cycle, I want to bring him to a standing stop with his feet together and his hands at his side, but the walk cycle goes about 3 or 4 frames too far in terms of the hand and feet positions. Can I stop him before the end of the path/walk cycle and make …
Last reply by Gary, -
- 2 replies
- 555 views
Now that I have vers. 10.5, 11.1, 12u & 13 running (with an upgraded dongle) ... I would like to redo many of projects, including all the lessions. Question One: Upon completion, will I be entitled to a new Certificate? Question Two: Is your "com.cast" email any good? TIA
Last reply by vf124, -
- 1 follower
- 13 replies
- 1.1k views
What has to be activated for Spherical Limits is show up in the Properties?
Last reply by Kelley, -
- 2 replies
- 531 views
I'm trying--struggling, really--to get my head around poses. As I try and fail to create new poses, the pose count attributed to the model keeps growing, so by the time I get one set, it's "Pose 8," and there seems to be no way to delete the other 7 so I don't have them cluttering up my project. This is especially true of the first 5, which seem to be default poses, but I can't find a way to edit them. How do I delete those I don't want and edit those I do once they're set? Thanks. I'm none too pleased with the pose tutorials I've seen--or, haven't--so I'm fighting my way through this, and losing!
Last reply by Stuart Rogers, -
- 6 replies
- 926 views
Hello. I'm an indipendent cg filmaker-artist, recently graduated. To produce my (3d) shorts I used till now 3ds max (character studio let even a single person be able to produce a nice animation, taking much less time to configure rigging, and animation itself of several characters at the same time). Since my budget isn't big,and i'm not a student anymore, I was considering switching to something like a:m..... the animation I've seen are really cool, comunity seems very friendly and responsive... but... well... It is there out any tool like character studio that will make my life easier? even a script, or something like that with a footsteep editor, some levels etc?…
Last reply by luckbat, -
- 1 follower
- 13 replies
- 1.1k views
OK... i'm seriously considering buying this product based on reviews, demos. But, the hefty $300 price tag is a killer. However, I did find a 2005 version of A:M for cheap. It says its version 11.1b ?? Is it possible to buy that and then upgrade to version 2006 for $100. Saving $150? Or is it better just to buy the 2006 outright? Thanks for any help. Steven
Last reply by Chad_Hunt, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 528 views
Hi I don't know if anyone else is having this problem as well as me. I'm trying to log into the community from ver 12u and keep on getting an error message that reads: Exception #23.Socket error in stream. And in ver13 beta 1 i am getting the following message:Cube Map (Cross) In both instances the program completely hang's and does nothing. Can anyone help or shed any light on this for me? Many thanks Jason
Last reply by youngman, -
- 7 replies
- 1k views
i made a movie but it takes really long to render is there anyway to speed rendering up?
Last reply by LazyDude, -
- 3 replies
- 600 views
ok rodney here are all of the stuff i have done [attachmentid=16383][attachmentid=16379][attachmentid=16380][attachmentid=16381][attachmentid=16384] and here are some links http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=12894&st=90 http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=12895&st=120 http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=12893&st=90 that should be all the ones that are missing
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 reply
- 520 views
I tried doing this one from the manual but hte flag pole was moving with the flag, so I used the video tut. waving_the_flag.mov
Last reply by Leo73, -
- 6 replies
- 899 views
Hi, I was wondering if it's possible to animate a photo of a car like this: http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/mustang/launch/ What steps would have to be done? (ie, import a photo of a car into animation master, animate the tire spin, somehow create the dust)?
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 2 replies
- 539 views
Well, I'm calling this done. I found this one very hard, I'm just waiting for those nice young men in there clean white coats to come and take me away ha ha. giraffe.mov giraffe.mov
Last reply by c-wheeler, -
- 0 replies
- 414 views
at the end of the animation some of the pins go through the bottom of the lane. I tried to move them back but without any succes I'm afraid. Bowling_Project.mov
Last reply by roger harradine, -
- 6 replies
- 656 views
Surely this is a stupid question, but what am I missing? About 2/3 of the posted animations--if not more--won't play properly on my computer using Quicktime, RealPlayer, or Windows Media Player. They'll play sound, but the picture is nonexistent--just a white field. I've even tried downloading the linked files and playing them off my desktop, to no avail. What obvious step am I skipping? Thanks for your patience!
Last reply by someawfulbridge, -
- 2 replies
- 532 views
I use a G5 Power Mac with an Apple "Mighty Mouse" which has a roller ball for scrolling horizontally and vertically, plus it provides "right click" cabpabilities similar to a PC mouse with two buttons and a scroll wheel. The problem seems to be that when using this mouse in A:M (Macintosh OS X 10.4.6 & A:M Version 2005 12.0u) the scroll function of my mouse is not recognized. If I switch to a third pary two-button mouse with a scroll wheel like Logitech's Optical Notebook mouse, I can scroll (up/down) within frames/windows that have scroll bars and within windows that use the zoom feature, the scroll wheel acts as a zoom tool that allows zooming in/out quickly. …
Last reply by BWCHAPIN,