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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.
4,141 topics in this forum
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- 5 replies
- 553 views
Firstly dose anybody know what "Exception #035" is ? I'm getting it every time I try and bake particles and then A:M locks up. Mac v16b and v17beta. Here's a test project that consistently fails for me, maybe someone could see if it fails for them too. Or am I just doing something wrong again? The zip contains the .prj and the .tag sprite images used in it. Secondly, for speedier rendering I would like to use NetRender. Do I need to bake particles before rendering? Particle_Bake_Problem.zip
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 4 replies
- 566 views
Ok, so i photoshoped some gyroscopes i want to use but when i put them onto A:M they have a white background, even though i deleted it and made it transparent, i imported it as a .jpeg because A:M doesn't let me put in .psd im i doing something wrong? How do i make the white background go away and so it just the image i want? Thanks! -zam1137
Last reply by zam1137, -
- 15 replies
- 1.7k views
I am looking at coming back into the fold but was hoping some of you could answer a few questions for me. Back on v13, A:M used to really slow down if I had 10K patches or more. With the newest version (especially the 64bit), has this been taken care of or does it still slow down at 10K? If I purchase the v16, does that still qualify me for the v17 beta? What type of improvements have been made since v13? Ummm... I guess those are really the main questions I had to ask. BTW, last I heard, Martin had gone on a safari, returned but was rarely heard from. Hope things are going okay for him and he is still involved with A:M. Oh yeah, I had to …
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 6 replies
- 551 views
OK, so this is probably a dumb question with an easy answer but; how do you turn on and of sprite emitters during an animation? All the tuts about them seem to assume that you want them on from the very beginning and with some pre-roll. What I need it to do is to start emitting some 10 or 20 seconds after the start of the sequence and last for 3 or 4 seconds, then stop emitting briefly, start again for another 3 or 4 seconds maybe and then be off for the rest of the animation. This is also a one take shot with no camera cuts. As always any help and advise would be greatly appreciated.
Last reply by markw, -
- 6 replies
- 804 views
I am trying to get a piece of film to fly in from off camera. I have a path setup in the choreography and have constrained the model to the path. Only the model refuses to bend with the path, instead the whole model moves about the path as one. The short end of it is look at the home page for animation master, the strip of film in the upper left corner of the page is similar to what I want the piece of film (model) to do, but instead of modeling the entire strip, I want one small piece of the film to bend and fold as it runs along the path. suggestions?
Last reply by InsanitySurplus, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 606 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, -
- 9 replies
- 1.1k views
Help! I have two error messages I have researched and can't fix. 1. When I open A:M I get the message "unable to load plug-in [/applications/animation master 16.0/textures/simbiont2.atx], -err- This one doesn't seem to cause any problem, but because I have another error (below) I thought I'd mention it. 2. When I create a new dope sheet, I add a sentence then get the message "dictionary modified or index file missing. Recreating index file" This message takes me to a "locate file" dialog box, and at the bottom of the dialog I can see that it's expecting a *.i file. SOOOO, I can't make my characters talk! Btw, I have version 16.0b and I'm ru…
Last reply by purplegirl, -
- 2 replies
- 536 views
Heya all, any advice on the best way to do moving eyeballs? Either make the "white" of the eyes one with the rest of the face (no blinking on this model) and just have the "iris" move around or creat the eyeball and iris as one and have the entire globe rotate. Any ideas would be welcome. Thanks, Rich
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 512 views
I've noticed when I am trying to move part of a model by using the arrow keys, instead of being able to nudge that part in whatever direction I want it to go, I end up cycling through different parts of the model? I'm not sure why this happens, I hit the "N" key first to go into Translate mode, and then try hitting the down arrow to move the part down, but instead of the part moving, I end up cycling to another part of the model. It is starting to drive me loopy, since I'm not sure what I am doing wrong.
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 1 reply
- 382 views
I downloaded and installed the 32 bit version of AM so I could use it with TSM2. The 64 bit version executable is labeled Master_64, is the executable that is just called "Master" the 32 bit one?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 13 replies
- 749 views
I'm not a new user but am unsure where to ask the question so ...? I am doing a little character test for a figure and have it sitting on a stool but I keep getting positional drift on the hip null. I tried using Hold for the interpolation method to no avail. I tried using zero slope, again no joy. I deleted all the key frames for the hips except the one on frame 0, still no luck, It keeps drifting I have deleted the keyframes for the foot targets too so neither they or the hips should move after frame 0. ~Still the hips keep drifting position. Is there something I am missing here ? regards simon Mac OSX 10-68, V15J,
Last reply by Simon Edmondson, -
- 3 replies
- 470 views
Ok, so I have decided that rather than try and tackle brand new material when I'm exhausted at the end of the day, I'm going to try to finish things I'm a bit more proficient at, like modeling projects I've been working on. I only need to do a few more parts for my treasure chest, and it will be done. One of those things is a clasp for the padlock to go through. I'm trying to make a U-shaped piece of metal, and have drawn out my path and the cross-section for the path. When I do the extrude along a path operation, though, I get a strange twist in the object. I don't see any kind of twist settings in the plugin, so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. …
Last reply by Roger, -
- 18 replies
- 1.7k views
These letters are made is sections, like bricks. I wish them to go from shiny and new to old and rusty over a period of about 2 seconds. Hold for anther two, then begin falling apart. At first a few pieces, then faster, then all at once drop to the floor (about twice the 'letter height' ) in a pile. Animating the material strength wold handle the first part, but how would I go about that. This is a Darktree/Simbiont material. Would it be worth setting up a Newton simulation for the falling apart? I've never worked with Newton before. (I've heard he is a nice guy, but can be difficult to get along with.) Lock.prj
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 5 replies
- 695 views
I'm trying to create a Choreography, that is better suited to make reflective metallic surfaces more realistic. The default Choreography with ground and background makes a reflective objects look a bit unrealistic and dead. Adding more objects helps, but also increase render time. I've created a 360° skydome, what does a good job making it more live like and realistic looking, but it's missing a visible light source, the sun. SO I'm trying to make a light source to actually show up in the reflection instead of just emitting light with out being able to be seen. Problem is, I'm doing something wrong and I don't know what, any one able to give me nudge in…
Last reply by wildcard, -
- 12 replies
- 1.5k views
I'm trying to extrude along a path but not getting anywhere. I created my path in the shape of an arc (working on a handle for my chest) and I created the cross section ( an ellipse). When I choose Plugins > Wizards > Extruder then choose the arc as the path and the ellipse as the cross section to extrude along, I am not getting the results I would expect. I get something that sort of looks like I wanted, but not quite. One end is pinched, and I was expecting the cross section to stay more or less vertical in the middle and then curve off in the opposite direction on each side, like an arch. Here are two screenshots:
Last reply by Vertexspline, -
- 4 replies
- 522 views
I built a simple character, root bone and 2 eyes with a null for target. Wondering how to give aim at constraint in model so as to not have to apply constraint everytime in chor or action. Thanks!! Also...check out Rossproductions2012 on YouTube, see what I've been working on....
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 4 replies
- 458 views
When choosing File > Save Project As, shouldn't you get a field for the name, in case you want to update the name or change it in some way? I don't have that, and I'm pretty sure it's something I used to have.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 7 replies
- 869 views
OMG I can't get this subscription to work, support won't help me either. How did you guys get it working? I have tried everything here including stopping avast but nothing has worked. HELP PLEASE!
Last reply by Jason Simonds, -
- 7 replies
- 730 views
I have both the models for my treasure chest in the same project file, they both show up in the PWS. However, they're in separate windows and I'm not sure how to combine them into the same window, other than using cut and paste or exporting a model and then reimporting it into whichever window I choose to be the active one. Is this how it's done or is there something obvious I'm missing?
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 13 replies
- 1k views
At one point I modeled an old-timey padlock, but now can't find it. So I'm doing another one. Problem is, I can't quite close up front of it so it is a solid surface. The part that is giving me problems is the upper-right. I thought I was going to be able to have a 4 point patch and a 5 pointer, but the 5 point patch actually has six points, so I don't know how I'm going to fix this without creating a buch of extra patches. Also, it just kind of looks odd the way it is right now. I'm not sure that the splines are laid out right. The other thing, now that I've learned about beveling, I really don't have a clue how to bevel something like this. Its fairly …
Last reply by Roger, -
- 20 replies
- 1.6k views
I did an annual purchase of AM a few days ago. AM seems nice, was very happy to see the 3d connexion option, though every time I start AM the Windows Colors drops to the limited Windows 7 Basic palette. It's rather disappointing, as the windows 7 basic color palette looks ugly compared to the other palette. Does any know when this will probably get fixed? Also, what are the current rumors on OpenCL rendering?
Last reply by southpawami, -
- 6 replies
- 1.4k views
hi, all. I purchased quicktime pro and exported targa sequences... can bring them into my images in project but can't bring them into camera unless I bring them all one at a time...hmmm...
Last reply by tomross2002, -
- 2 replies
- 486 views
I brought a rotoscope in to help me make the side pieces for the top of my treasure chest. Now that I'm done with it, how do I get rid of it? I tried right clicking and deleting, tried hitting the delete button, nothing is working so far.
Last reply by Roger, -
- 5 replies
- 747 views
I've experienced a system crash, and AM needs my serial number to re-activate, which I can't seem to find. Help. John Bailey
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 39 replies
- 2.1k views
Here's a Noob question for you guys that I missed on somewhere down the road. Is it possible to snap a bone to a CP's position? If so, how might that be accomplished? William
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 395 views
Does a swept object appear as a just one piece to AM? I'm trying to select one of the cross sections that make it up to move it down or rotate it, but I can't. I don't get the yellow selection highlights like I normally do. I've tried Edit > Deselect all but all the CPs are still green. Any ideas what's going on?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 791 views
Hi, everybody. new forum user here. I am having trouble bringing an avi into my chor. as a camera rotoscope. some avi will work such as video that I have created with AM but video from my camera won't show up or render... any suggestions?
Last reply by Walter Baker, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 890 views
Hi everyone! To give you an idea of how far I go back: My first version was called "Playmation" and I had to travel quite a bit, to a person's home, to see a demo AND buy my copy. Really, the program was called Will Vinton's Playmation -- bet Martin wasn't too happy about that. I still have that copy, though the box needed taping up. Still have the disks. Over the years, I have bought at least 3 or 4 subsequent versions -- I'm looking at two versions on my bookshelf right now (at least another is in the debris under my computer desk). My question is -- are there any records here at Hash Kingdom of my copies? It would save me considerable archaeological…
Last reply by TheSpleen, -
- 2 replies
- 786 views
hi people, does any one know a tutorial that teaches head modelling.
Last reply by mouseman, -
- 11 replies
- 932 views
Hi I'm Keizerzilla and my mom got me Hash Animator for Christmas. We have tried to install it with the discs we were sent, but the program will not work. When we inserted the disc, the setup file did not come up. We tried double clicking on the file on the disc and it appeared to have downloaded it, but no icon of any kind to launch the program is on my computer. Does anyone have a suggestion as to what we failed to do or could it be that we didn't receive adequate disc info?
Last reply by mouseman, -
- 5 replies
- 690 views
v.13 Mac So I did a nice job on the Boneless Thom Lesson. How do I extract him (My Boneless Thom) and save him as a new .mdl so I can use him in other projects? How do you place him in "My Library" or is that not what I want to do? Where do you keep your collection of models after you create them?
Last reply by Schloss, -
- 4 replies
- 644 views
my new wireless keyboard has no number pad, how do I switch views? Thanks.
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 844 views
I forgot what it is called but I modeled half of my guy on the left side, and since he is symmetrical there was a way to copy, invert (mirror image) and attach the other part to him. I thought it was Mirror Mode but reading up on that tool it is designed for making adjustments to the right and left sides at the same time. I would look for it but I don't remember what it was called?
Last reply by mouseman, -
- 3 followers
- 33 replies
- 4.5k views
I bought my first copy of AM at a show in LA and Marshall sold me version 3 and told me to download version 4 when I got home. This was around the mid 90's give or take. I upgraded a few time and the last one around 2000 when they just made the native switch to the OSX. I upgraded again but was disappointed with the stability. I have a project coming up and thought AM would be good for it. So 11 years later I am tempted to get it. I did some searches here but nothing new came up. Is it finally stable or will I be disappointed? I know they were great at repairing bugs when they couple be replicated but that normal unexpectedly quieting and loosing work sucked to much.…
Last reply by Xtaz, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 933 views
Is there a newer version than Version 11? The store dosent say.I have v11 .It just says -This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 06 November, 2007.The only copyright date I see is next to Mr.Dodo ,copyright 2003 Zandoria Studios ,did know if that was for the book or just the "Mr. Dodo" character.
Last reply by livewiresrus, -
- 4 replies
- 1.2k views
So , lets suppose the big bad gods took away all your own characters and you were left with choosing only one library actor. Who would it be? I am asking because I am still working on learning modeling and do hope hope to create my own characters someday but in the meantime I need to also work on learning animation techniques and just wondered what some of your thoughts would be on that. Thanks.
Last reply by Vertexspline, -
- 1 follower
- 9 replies
- 1.9k views
I found these on Safe Harbor ,was just wondering if anyone has bought them or have heard anything about them be it good or bad.
Last reply by livewiresrus, -
- 16 replies
- 3.3k views
Hey everyone. I read that it is possible to run more than one instance for a second render if you have more than one core on your processor. How can you do this without slowwing down the other render? If I simply open the program twice and run the same render, the second render is much slower and seems to bog the firstdown too.....SO I figure there must be some other method of opening the software......OR is that just how it works. Are all renders(3-4) slower than just running 1 single render. That seems to defeat a multi-instance render. How do you set this up properly on a multi-core Vista or XP machine?? William
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 1.2k views
Im new to all of this and everthing im working with is old v12 and all old tutorials,im hoping to scrape up the money to get $79 sub,and should I (since im just learning) better off getting the newest version or is most of the program the same ,and if i get to know v12 ill still know whats going on in v16.In a nutshell what has changed or is that too much to get into with me just starting out?Are there alot of plugins that were separate from A:M now a part of A:M and does set up machine still work in the newer versions,if you could point me in the right direction I would be very grateful.
Last reply by mouseman, -
- 1 follower
- 5 replies
- 921 views
You know how we flatten models in a pose so that we can evenly distribute the decal. Well I cant remember how you actually apply the decal after you flatten the model in the pose.
Last reply by Vertexspline, -
- 1 follower
- 10 replies
- 631 views
SO I got my 2 new computers. I own AM V16 both Web and CD. I cant get AM to launch at all. I coppied my master lic but no help. I put in the code from the cd but no help. I also can not run the messengers for net render. Any ideas?
Last reply by jason1025, -
- 10 replies
- 1.1k views
Casting shadow but not seeing the object. I need to make an object cast a shadow but it need to be invisible. I did it in the past for composite scene but I am overlooking something.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 569 views
Hi, I'm trying to do a rack focus and I keep getting these bubbles around the objects. In the example image I've uploaded, thats suppose to be an X Wing Fighter! You can see the X Wing but these bubbles appear around it. I've set up the render in the options panel to "Use Settings From the Camera." I've tried to turn on and off motion blur, Reflections, and shadows. Anyone else have this difficulty?
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 1 follower
- 5 replies
- 787 views
Fluid Is it me or is there no mention of the settings in the tech ref?
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 484 views
In the tools tips Curved mode by selecting an object and hitting c or shift c. I cant find out what it does. Cant find it in the tech ref.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 15 replies
- 879 views
Hello ,new to the forum and fairly new to A:M i boughta copy on ebay v12 looking for plugins mainly sweeper for now ,found a place to download it but i dont have a key # to activate it,wish i had v13 i guess its part on A:M now.Can anyone help me out?
Last reply by livewiresrus, -
- 3 replies
- 414 views
I am hitting the "render to screen" button (the one immediately to the left of the render lock button) and am not getting any output to the screen - it renders like it normally does but then never shows the image on the screen. Render lock seems to work normally. Anyone have any ideas what may be going on?
Last reply by mouseman, -
- 3 replies
- 462 views
I remember a discussion recently about using bias handles; I think this post (Straighten a spline ring) was part of what I was thinking, but I vaguely remember there being more discussion on bias handles recently. Anyways, I'm starting to come to the conclusion that if I'm making a lot of bias handle changes, especially involving increase of the magnitude, the real problem is that I don't have enough geometry (splines and CPs) to support the structure that the model needs. For example, if I have rings of 4-CPs on the arms and am changing the bias handles to make them the right shape, I probably need 6- or 8-CP spline rings for the arm. Would you agree or disagr…
Last reply by mouseman, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
- 545 views
What exactly does the World Space button do? I pressed it but didn't notice anything happen.
Last reply by jason1025, -
- 15 replies
- 1.4k views
Hello and here is my scenario: I have developed MANY detailed models in A.M., V15 - that I want to have plastic Injection Molds made from. The Models are to Exact Scale because threaded Inserts will be needed and holes will need to be lined up and they need to interact with other components in the "Industry Standard" size. I am trying to convert one of the many files with little success. My Problems: 1. AM's MDL files are not supported except in Wings 3d (Old version). 2. When I export the model into a *.OBJ or *.DXF File - I lose my curved surfaces. I must have curved surfaces (I thought DXF supported that? No? How do Autocad users get their smooth model…
Last reply by Wildsided,