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A:M Forum Rules
GENERAL FORUM GUIDELINES
The A:M Forum is for technical support and the sharing of tips and ideas between users/prospective users of Hash software. It is moderated constantly by technical support representatives.
DO'S!
-Ask questions about the software.
-Assist other users... everyone was new at this once.
-Inform people of your version/platform when asking for help.
-Share resources; tutorials, models, textures, tips and techniques (link to useful websites).
-Post links to your work, or where your art is being used online (on websites, in games, toons', etc.)
-Search the A:M Forum and FAQ. The question you are about to ask may have already been answered.
-Organize and inform others about user groups, IRC chats, image and animation contests, job opportunities, etc.
-Discuss what you are working on and let everyone know about magazine reviews and articles that relate to your projects.
DON'TS!
-Do Not be rude or disrespectful or mean to other forum members in any way. Personal attacks will be removed.
-Do Not post bug/crash reports to the list (send bug/crash reports to http://www.hash.com/reports.
-Do Not complain about forum content. Complaints or suggestions can be sent directly to hash@hash.com
-Do Not reprimand other forum members for violating forum rules, that's the moderators job, which (unless you are a moderator) you are not.
-No complaining or whining on the forum or distribution of misinformation.
-No flames of any kind.
-No Off Topic posts. (Posts in the Off Topics section should be related to A:M in some form or fashion or benefit the A:M community as a whole).
-No soliciting of any kind without prior approval.
-No threads or comparisons related to other 3D Applications.
-No "Wish list" or feature requests, they should be sent to www.hash.com/reports for categorizing and prioritization (User requests define the future development of the software).
-No "me too!" posts
-No discussion of Hash Internal Affairs (finances, advertising, PR.)
-No posting of private email to the forum unless permission of the author is granted. (Private correspondence should remain private)
-No very general questions like: "how do I make a good 3D model" make your questions as complete and concise as possible.
If you have questions as to whether it's appropriate, send it to: support@hash.com, We'll be happy to let you know whether it is, or is not appropriate.
User Led Forum Considerations
Firstly and foremostly, please remember this is Martin Hash's forum and that it is every A:M User's primary resource for information about A:M. In order to remain relevant we need everyone's continuing support and interest.
Secondly, understand there is a distinction between A:M (the program) and the A:M forum. There are some topics and issues that are outside the scope of this forum and most can be deduced by reading through the forum guidelines. These include such things as Hash Inc internal policies, business practices, trade secrets, and specific plans for the future not yet publicly released. Each of these would be fascinating topics of their own but are better reserved for private communications with a representative of Hash Inc.
Related to the second, is purchasing, customer service and other areas outside the purview of the common user who may have no interest in such things; subjects relating to money exchanging hands are beyond the scope of the A:M Forum and often can lead to conflicts of interest between users and/or Hash Inc. (If Hash Inc cuts you a deal on volume purchasing it's really no one else's business). Likewise, individual complaints about a product or service are best remedied by going direct with Hash Inc representatives empowered to make decisions. Please allow them them the time necessary to resolve your specific issue and consider the cost of customized solutions.
This last area is likely the source of much confusion because many see the A:M Forum as the official outlet for Hash Inc... and it is. But the forum is not designed for conducting business and private matters best resolved by going to Hash Inc directly. Similarly, bug reports are best resolved by entering them directly into the A:M Reporting system.
Many problems can be easily addressed at the user level just by asking fellow users in the forum. If someone at Hash Inc suggests the forum as a source, it is very likely a problem can be easily resolved. For tougher issues there is even more reason to take the issue directly to the source... you don't want the issue discussed... you want it resolved quickly.
Finally, remember that we want to pass this forum on to future moderators and generations of A:M Users in the absolute best condition possible. A:M is just that good a program and is worthy of our consideration.
Thanks for making the A:M Forum a great community.
4,140 topics in this forum
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- 2 replies
- 505 views
Hi. I need to use V 15 for something and can't remember how to transfer license to it, then back to 16. Could someone please tell me how. Thanks Much
Last reply by Douglas Ferrin, -
- 3 replies
- 383 views
Hello! I have a simple model made in A:M v15 and would like to decal it with an animated Quicktime ".mov" file. I created both the model and .mov file and tried to decal in A:M but the decal did not show up on the model. The .mov file successfully imported (I can see it in the Project Window) but it showed up only as an empty frame on top of the model and did not apply to the object. 1) When making the .mov file, are there certain types of compression that must be used (animation, H264) for it to work? Frame rates? 2) Are there special procedures that need to be done when applying a .mov file as a decal? A Screen Grab is Attached Any help wou…
Last reply by nimblepix, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 459 views
Hi folks, I'm trying to install A:M 15.0c on my Intel MacBook running Mac OS X 10.5.3. I have the yearly subscription version. After install, when I try to open one of the tutorial projects, say, the flag tutorial, I get a message about 'Missing image IO plugin for 'BetsyRoss.bmp'. I checked the Image IO plugins folder preference and it looks okay, with the exception that the capitalization of the path was off. The path that was set ended in 'ImageIOs'. The path on install was 'ImageIOS'. So I corrected the path and restarted A:M and then I was getting 'Cannot load 'TGA.iio' or something like that. This is very odd behavior. This is a fresh install of Mac OS …
Last reply by bighop, -
- 4 replies
- 451 views
I am working on the Cooper face project and am having some trouble with valid patches. I have looked over the Giraffe project and think i am starting to have a better understanding. However, I am running into a few patches that are not working and I am not sure why. If anyone can explain it would be a big help.
Last reply by Darkwing, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 627 views
I was wondering if there is a way I can recreate the ash effect like when a vampire dies in the Blade movies. I'm making a vampire movie and want to utilize this effect. I'll probably do it half real ash and half CGI but I'm not sure how to do make a person ash like they do in the movies. Can anyone help me out?
Last reply by Gorf, -
- 8 replies
- 537 views
I'm using V11.1 and iIwas using the program like normal when all of a sudden all the things in the Library has been drawn blank. Models, Actions, Projects, ect........all blank. What could be the problem? Should I reinstall the program?
Last reply by TRN, -
- 2 replies
- 379 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, -
- 2 replies
- 239 views
Hello - I am taking a stab at photorealistic modeling of a person. My question is when it comes to the skin of the face and body what is the best thing to do? Let's say you don't have an actual pic good enough to use the actual photo as a decal. Would us use a material combining 2 "skin" colors - and then use seperate decals possibly for eyebrows? Any help, suggestion or techniques that anyone uses would be much appreciated. Thanks - Eric
Last reply by flashawd, -
- 1 reply
- 296 views
...and the 2004 support files reference an 'Orangutan' on the CD. Will these files do for my ver 11? I believe ver b was the one that comes off the CD. Thanks, C.
Last reply by Dhar, -
- 1 reply
- 357 views
This is really a non-important question, but does anyone know why they changed the interface from version 11 to version 12+? I really liked the collapsable panels and the cool Office 2003 look.
Last reply by pdaley, -
- 1 follower
- 9 replies
- 645 views
downloaded animation masters 2005 version 11.1 succefully but when i try to open it an error messag come up that says "This application has failed to start because KSAPI32.DLL was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem." but i reinstalled it like 3 times and it still is not working so i looked here and i found an older thread that said that i need to download the ksapI32.DLL but the link was inactive. im hoping someone can help.
Last reply by tommycs, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 600 views
Hi, Just got back into AM11.1 was wondering what Rendering options are available for this version? I read something about net rendering and it comes with so many licenses however i don't even see that option in my version so maybe its to old. 2nd Question: I have a duel Core CPU, is there anyway to make AM11.1 use both cores? Thank you in advance for your answers. Wayne
Last reply by NETech2470, -
- 2 replies
- 299 views
I've installed the new version (14), but when I open the program, I have no libraries to select models, etc. The folder to select is grayed out as well. What happened? Any ideas?
Last reply by Steven547, -
- 10 replies
- 869 views
Long time no talk here. Nice to be back! I've been absent for awhile (job move to california, etc), and I had to reset my CPU. I currently have the 13.0 version on disc and want to update that to 14.0 c, but I can not find that update. Anyone have a link or know where I can get those updates? I went to the "latest info" on the forums here, and that link it mentioned for 14.0 doesn't work. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
Last reply by Zaryin, -
- 3 replies
- 459 views
Well finally took the plunge and upgraded to ver 16 web sub from my old version 12 cd. My first impressions are very favorable. Everything seems faster, tighter , snappier. It feels very nice to use and renders seem faster indeed and have not even figured out net render yet. I even like not having to have the cd handy but will miss the functionality that brought. Anyhow the purchase and installation went super smooth! Maybe as I move past learning to producing I will face the idea of the more perm solution. I wondered if HASH Inc sold extensions to their versions in case someone was working a big project and did not want to risk a new version an…
Last reply by Vertexspline, -
- 5 replies
- 645 views
Ok, I purchased what was listed as Animation:Master 2006 a couple of weeks ago. The box has a witch and broom on it. The CD has a Yeti on it. The software version is 12.0 and everything in it states that it is AM 2005. (Help/About), etc. Now, I somehow came across Version 13 Alpha and have been using that (as I am a bleeding edge kinda guy and love to debug things). Today, it said my "trial" is over with and to call a 1-800 number. So - What am I supposed to run? What did I purchase? How do I work on the TWO project without version 13? IS AM 2006 even out yet? Thanks all! -Tim
Last reply by T-Dogg, -
- 2 replies
- 367 views
I'm not sure if I'm blind or something, but where can I find the info on a model after I'm done with it. I'm required to tell my superior the vertex amount and.... well, don't know where that would be. Or if there is one... Or I might end up counting them...
Last reply by omtay, -
- 4 replies
- 714 views
OK this is a newb question hehe when i try to make a path for a toon to walk on it only want to make it vertical at the start then it will bend after i make a second CP i know i pushed somthing to change this can you please let know what to do to undo it Thanks
Last reply by Tarantula, -
- 4 replies
- 350 views
Alright so anyways, on the characters, when im trying to move their bones, or pose em, on choreography, there is this huge bone at their feet getting in the way. I saw it a while ago, then didnt see it, and now im seeing it again. Heres a picture of it do you see that large black bone right at his feet, it is really blocking the view from bottom view, side views, top view, birds eye, and even camera view. and if i accidentally click on it, it rotates my whole character. Can anyone lend me a hand?
Last reply by AMkyle, -
- 1 follower
- 15 replies
- 868 views
this is not a project i'm working on now, but i'd like to understand something and find out what that something is . to make a model come apart at the seams, think "Sarah's Asylum Nightmare" in T2, the nuclear explosion, she's at the playground fence or Iron Man says to computer "exploded view" - is there something called exploded view in reality? (yes i know where this might point and yes i might stray but it's a:m for me, period.) - is there a simple way to use the patch information to perform this type of operation in a:m? boiling down to, can i blow up any model, or should i for instance go find a polygon model and then explode it in a:m? i'd …
Last reply by jimd, -
- 1 follower
- 0 replies
- 291 views
To all those that helped me with my other question, THANKS~~~~~~ here is what I got to work. First I took my video and converted it in QT to TGA sequence Image Sequence format: TGA FPS: 30 Then opened AM New Project New Choreography Went to Images Images Import Animation/Image Sequence find files ( just saved from QT ) Click the first Image in the sequence ( it will import all the rest ) Open Then 'Short cut to Camera 1' right click New Rotoscope Select Image At this point the video should appear in the chor. window Go to the…
Last reply by Walter Baker, -
- 2 replies
- 436 views
I've had A:M in my hands for over a year now ever since our Man with the money met (I think) Martin Hash at a trade show and came back with the software and told me to check it out. I regret that I've failed to take advantage of this forum the way I should... ditto with contributions. I'm trying to make up for lost time. Anyway, to the point: when I started out rendering, I went directly to AVI/MOV files. I've since realized that's wrong. I'll skip the long stories about how I learned them, but here are things I've learned: Products like Sorensen Squeeze (or Divx products) do a heckuva better job as a post-process product than any part of a direct render outpu…
Last reply by Slipin Lizard, -
- 1 follower
- 23 replies
- 1.4k views
I am trying to animate an item that has moving video on it within the animation. Plan 'A' is to have a television in the background. I have tried to use one of my previous animations as a decal. I can import it, I can apply it (although it is a blank image at time of application) and then it's lost. Still shows up in the image folder in the decal area but doesn't show up rendered or in choreography. Ideas? Plan 'B' is to build a movie projector in an animation. Thorough the manuals, It would seem I can just import a video and use it as a light gel, but I am running into the same issue: I can import it to the image file, even adjust/crop etc. But nothing…
Last reply by Glider, -
- 3 replies
- 343 views
Hello everyone, this is my first post since I have only been using the program for a few hours. I'm understanding everything so far from the tutorials (no problem). My question is, How can I make my personal videos (from video camera) as the backround to my animations? I just bought this program this week at a convention, and the demonstrator showed us an example that you can do it with this program. Thanks for the help...
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 216 views
I have tried many video players from the internet and even found that AM when importing jpgs animation can play clips by opening the image and hitting the "play" button in the playback bar at the bottom. (something that would have been handy to know yrs. ago.) But it plays slowly first time and then at hyper speed or unpredictable speed after 1st time. And the windows playback is just as unpredictable. My question is-Anyone know of a good player? Need'nt point out how much an animator needs to see stuff play in real (correct) time. Any help appreciated (sorry, no cash awards)
Last reply by robcat2075, -
Video Codecs
by greg- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 432 views
Hi there, I've been trying to get a video clip converted from WMV to AVI so that I can bring it into A:M. I've tried Movie Maker, which I understand from another thread here that it probably won't work, Ulead Video Studio and Virtual Dub. Working with the A:M support people they suggested I might try a more standard codec than the ones used, Virtual Dub uses Microsoft DIB and the Ulead codec was not obtained by AVICODEC. Does anyone know of a rendering package which will create an AVI movie which A:M can bring in? Or, can someone tell me how to change the CODEC on the packages I am using? I can't seem to find a place to change the COODEC to one of the ones sugge…
Last reply by greg, -
- 0 replies
- 260 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, -
- 2 replies
- 477 views
I have a small issue with video decals. I have three separate quicktine decals that load and play no problem. Two of them sit off screen for a bit (inactive) for a delayed entry. I don't want the decal to "play" until I activate it. Right now, the third video is finished playing before it even gets on screen. Can someone tell me how to set the playback start for a video decal? Thanks!
Last reply by albee01, -
- 7 replies
- 629 views
I am having trouble rendering a video with horizontal lines (siding) on a building. The horizontal lines appear to swim across the building as the camera moves towards it. I’m not sure what you would call it, Aliasing? Video Noise? Once the camera gets within about 5 to 8 feet of the building, it suddenly stops – (actually it drops to a reasonable level). I have tried changing the focal point & depth of field – see below. I’m planning to do a virtual walk thru of several buildings. The camera is constrained to a path for its movement relative to the buildings. The building is a simple rectangle with decals applied to it. The decals are bitmap images …
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 4 replies
- 228 views
How do I actually get a video for rotoscoping purposes to play inside AM? Yes I have converted to .mov file. Thanks for any help.
Last reply by Stronghorn, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 306 views
Hello all, I'm trying to put an AM character into a video. I'm trying to import a video file (quicktime) but nothing works. I have quicktime pro so I can export the video into different formats. However none of them seem to work.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 205 views
hi i was watching a dvd called "learning 3d animatipn with jeff lew". he showed that a video could be put into animation master, example: seeing a person move and have ur model move like him, but he didnt say how he was able to put a video in the hash program :s can any one tell me how? thx
Last reply by Eric2575, -
- 2 replies
- 500 views
I have AM 11.1b and each time i render a video the video finnishes but when i try to go to the folder and view the file the computer says windows has experienced an error and needs to close. is there any type of patch or solution to this problem?
Last reply by gsellis, -
- 3 replies
- 436 views
hello all you talented animators!!!, You probably herd this 1000 times but can I use a video as a rotoscope? like Live reference and animate it by frame by frame? if so.....HOW? because i think itll be easer to record myself and others and overlap it and animate it.... Can one do this?? THANKS a BUNCH
Last reply by TRN, -
- 1 follower
- 9 replies
- 698 views
Any tips on importing a video rotoscope into the action window? Only the first frame appears and I can't seem to find any explanations on how to set the properties - length, crop, range - in the technical manual.
Last reply by PaulX, -
- 2 replies
- 270 views
Hello, I have been having a little problem getting AM to let me import Quicktime Movies into the Action part of the program. I want to be able to sync animation with the Quicktime movie, but I get a message that says either that it is not supported, or it does not like 16 bit Quicktime. I saw the other thread about saving it as a TGA, is there another way as well? Is there a way to use Quicktime files from other programs like Final Cut? I have been able to use Quicktime movies that I have created in AM, but not successful with movies I saved from Final Cut into a Quicktime movie. If someone could shed some light on this that would be great. Thank you very muc…
Last reply by braintree, -
- 3 replies
- 390 views
sorry 2 bother u guys but, is it just me, or should i say my pc? or is the video tutorials at http://www.hash.com/VM/ not working.? let me know thx:)
Last reply by LIGHTBEING, -
- 5 replies
- 564 views
I had always been a fan of the written tutorials because I could go at my own pace and not have to worry about pausing the player and/or rewinding to catch something I had missed. But having been stuck on the flower modeling tut. I went ahead and watched most of the video tutorial. I am now hooked. There are so many hints and tips you can catch on a good video tutorial that never come across in the written tutorials. (BTW, who is doing the video tuts. for the TAoAM videos?) It's almost as if a picture is worth like 999 words. (Hmmm. That could almost be a proverb, I'll have to work on that.) I am aganin even more excited now about the prospect of the…
Last reply by NancyGormezano, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 601 views
dose anyone know if theres a site were i can upload video's have have them "on" my site. useing html. and yes i did try you tube but for some reson i can ever get my e-mail confermation e-mail.
Last reply by Stuart Rogers, -
- 1 reply
- 141 views
Hi - I am playing around w/ one of the characters "Eddie" to see how the skeletal structure is set up and I am not seeing the bones for his eyes, I am guessing they are turned off - where is the setting to see all the bones of a character? Thanks - Eric
Last reply by flashawd, -
- 3 replies
- 951 views
Hi! i'm new to this forum and Animation Master, so maybe will discribe my problem with wrong terms, but basically what i want is the view to rotate around all visible CPs when nothing is selected. Right now as far as i can tell it turns around scene center or global model center. or maybe at least there is an option to keep rotation center from previous selection?
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 4 replies
- 388 views
Alright, real simple. How do you view decals in real-time (in shaded or shaded/wirefreame)? I swear there was an option/key for this but for the life of me I can't find it. Or am I just imagining things.
Last reply by Meowx, -
- 5 replies
- 447 views
Hello How can I set a vewport image in the background of a view, only to draw splines ont it. Remy
Last reply by urbssenator, -
- 13 replies
- 693 views
i was wondering how to make it so that something can be completely invisible, yet you can see reflections and/or specularity on it clearly.... and i have no clue how to do it, can anyone help?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 325 views
So when I import something into a choreography or model they look like this. It just cuts off the screen. Any help would be nice.
Last reply by animation man hi, -
- 9 replies
- 799 views
can the last version of AM run normally with windows vista!!????? REGARDS!!! DANIEL.
Last reply by Zzzippo, -
- 2 followers
- 2 replies
- 381 views
I dont know how to make put something on a model as if it were....i guess you could could say the paint job of it. What im trying to do it put lines of color on my model and at any view it looks like its part of the paint job, and i've tried making a material for it but that hasnt worked for me. If anyone can help me that'd be great!
Last reply by rusty, -
I have my doggle on one vlan and my computers on another. Thus does not work unless someone can give me a work around. I can't put them all on the same vlan for they are at different campuses. Help. Thanks Andy
Last reply by Andyjoh, -
- 1 follower
- 5 replies
- 545 views
how do i change a characters preview to something even simpler than a wireframe? hiding is not an option. they all have the AO options set, beginning to suspect this somehow affects work even when in wireframe, is this possible? i've 11 characters in a scene and haven't even started on the sprites..
Last reply by dblhelix, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 411 views
Hello again, I'm making progress with A:M but of course now I get to the hard part adding a voice. I have a choreography where at the end I want to have a character, Eddie for the time being, say a sentence. I've watched the "Can you say that" tutorials and I think I'm doing things correctly. I've created a new action in my choreography for Eddie, imported my WAV file, created the dope sheet and moved the words so that it synchs up. I've saved the action and then put it into the choreography where it is supposed to go on the timeline. However, Eddie's lips don't move. The audio file plays but no lip movement. Earlier in the choreography I did make Eddie smile …
Last reply by greg,