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This is an open forum for discussing Animation:Master and discussions should relate to A:M in some capacity.
Ask questions. Share experiences. Outline goals and aspirations.
Discuss what you hope to accomplish with A:M and projects you are working on.
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939 topics in this forum
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- 28 replies
- 2.2k views
Are there any brave souls out there willing to help me test some peer to peer file sharing? I'm looking for one or two people to help me test the basic process. The underlying idea is that of distributed computing where files are shared from my computer directly to anyone with the address without need for a middleman server. If they so desire they can also share files as if they have their own server. I'm leaning toward this approach for the next round of A:M Extras and other productions but it really needs to shown to work well first. I think I can only use WIndows users only at this time. Later testing should expand to Mac and Linux. For those to…
Last reply by rusty, -
Pencil test
by Gerry- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 754 views
I copied these frames from a sketched run cycle I found with a Google search, but I changed the proportions of the cat to be fat with stubby legs, then made this quickie movie to see the end result. CatRun_h264.mov
Last reply by GAngus, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 949 views
Just noticed Perry Animation added a bunch of Petey & Jaydee shorts to their Youtube page. Some funny and well made A:M Animations worth checking out! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH9lVBbmbu_dQEl1CnAbNPA
Last reply by KingVidiot, -
- 6 replies
- 833 views
I've been meaning to post a few examples from a book I picked up years ago at a Library book sale. The book, part of a series of lessons on learning how to lip read... with accompanying video... which was missing when I purchased BTW... echos what most animators have been taught about lipsync but adds a few descriptions to assist with categorization. Those categories include: Blowing Wide Smiling Sealers Pinchers Forwards Lip Biters Peekers Pushers Teethy Lifters In theory, all dialogue can be shoe-horned into one of these categories. This is perhaps something to consider when rigging a face to achieve articulation for dialogue... although they very l…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 1k views
There is a filter, plugin for Photoshop that is great when using alpha channels. it spreads out the images edges with the same color. anyone remember the name?
Last reply by jason1025, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 669 views
I have a number of files that have been generated in Photoshop and saved as .tga files. AM will not import them, although it imports .tga files that were made by AM in the past. Do you have any advice for me? Thanks, marigoldatwork.
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 1 follower
- 10 replies
- 1.9k views
6WZZARzpckw This looks pretty incredible! Done in realtime! Can this be supported within A:M? Developer info: https://developer.nvidia.com/physx Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhysX
Last reply by pixelplucker, -
- 3 replies
- 417 views
I have not read the particulars regarding this contest but you may be interested. Animation Competition
Last reply by Roger, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 621 views
Mark Mayerson (of Mayerson on Animation blog-fame) has a video "Don't Pitch a Buyer, Pitch the Audience!" that is making the rounds that covers a good bit of territory of topics of interest to creators. The video is just short of one hour in length but will be well worth your time. xhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtQQmmbvmGc It's a great summary on topics that have been gaining ground, especially as more creative types vie for the attention (and money) to support their projects.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 2 replies
- 938 views
Pixar has teamed up with Khan Academy to offer a free course on how animated movies are produced. Introduction: https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/pixar/start/introduction Course page: https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/pixar The folks at Pixar can now point aspiring creators to the Khan Academy when they ask those inevitable questions about CG animation. The basic breakdown of course material: Environment modeling Explore how blades of grass in Brave were created using parabolic arcs. Modeling grass with parabolas Calculating parabolas Character modeling Explore how clay models are transformed into digital characters using weighted averages. …
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 0 replies
- 916 views
Source: Numberphile I've always like Tony DeRose and here he discusses the process of subdivision, averaging and such that they've used in computer animation. At the end he discusses the weighting that allows for smooth curvature by identifying the limit that can be used in smoothing that just happens to be an equivalent to smoothing to infinity. There is to be a follow up video but I don't think it's been posted yet.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 8 replies
- 1.7k views
the language in the patent is pretty dense, I'm not sure what it is they are patenting that is new... http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8358311.html
Last reply by largento, -
- 16 replies
- 2k views
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27677712 Sounds great, is animation master easy to export to renderman? or would extra work be needed to export it to renderman. I know this is not a commercial license but it would be great to use it as another option.
Last reply by frosteternal, -
- 4 replies
- 622 views
This is my kind of movie. I'm looking forward to seeing it. xhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-RgquKVTPE
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 47 replies
- 4.8k views
This will mainly be of interest to programmers... and if you are into such things you likely know about this already but just in case... Pixar has released Open Subdiv as Open Source. What does that mean? I'm not a programmer so I really don't know. http://graphics.pixar.com/ http://graphics.pixar.com/opensubdiv
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 9 replies
- 2.5k views
This is largely unrelated what is needed by the average A:M Users but I found some of the information about USD interesting for a number of reasons. The site provides insight into where PIXAR is heading and why some popular tech (such as Alembic) currently isn't sufficient to get them where they want to be. For the A:M User with an eye (and patience) for technical explorations much can be gleaned to spice up the ol' workflow or if nothing else to capture the imagination. From the site: http://graphics.pixar.com/usd/
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 9 replies
- 1.3k views
I need a model of the Earth, or if not, the best way to decal an earth map onto a sphere. Anyone?
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 1 follower
- 20 replies
- 1.1k views
Hi, Clearly A:M was not designed for anything like this but I was trying to think of some way to place multiple spheres and simulate each one attracting every other one--like planets and gravity, the gravity (attraction) having a fall off. Hell I can't even think of a way to have one object pull on another object! Any thoughts? Cheers, Rusty
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 9 replies
- 1.5k views
Hi Last week I lost the ability to open v17 and v18 in mac Mavrik and mac Yosomite the problem started after taking a break and relaunching (up until then no problems) I can use v16 but v16 will not render any files even though it says render complete (to clarify the render issue v16 goes through the render process says complete but I cannot locate the files anywere I suspect the the master0.lic thats my only guess and I'm not do to expire until 2-2016 I did the usual disk management on my drives and tried moving the master0.lik to v17 v18 but they fail and crash on load I did send an email to tech support but as of yet no and, so I'm here Thank…
Last reply by jimd, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 953 views
Hello everybody！I’m Chris. I come from China.You know the “Unity 3D” is a good software for games making on mobile telephones and other Platforms.Unity 3D support the file of .FBX, include the animation of the bones. Generally I save the action as models,then exprot them to .OBJ,improt them in 3Ds and compose animation again in 3Ds.But the animation of the composition without bones doesn‘t work in .FBX In this way,so it doesn't work in Unity 3D too. I'm not sure if anybody had asked the same question before: Could anybody write a plugin about exprot to .FBX in AM? If we have this plugin,we could make the animation of the games in AM,then exprot to .FBX and im…
Last reply by jebeck, -
- 14 replies
- 1.9k views
Hadn't modeled anything in awhile, so I thought I'd use the holidays to play. I had never owned one of these Funko Pop! figures, but for Christmas I was given a set of five of them (Animaniacs Yakko, Wakko, Dot plus Pinky and the Brain.) I've seen them everywhere, though. Just for my own amusement, I decided to make one of me. It looked like a simple model to do and it gave me an excuse to try out the v19 alpha on a modeling project. I'll have to check into trying to reproduce some of the issues I ran into. I had several times where I had to hit the "f" key multiple times to get the normals to flip and the delete key sometimes had the same problem. I actu…
Last reply by fae_alba, -
Sony Picutures/Imageworks is pressing toward the release of an updated Popeye. Initially I was quite skeptical but if anyone can pull off a decent Popeye feature it's bound to be Genndy Tartakovsky. The 'animation test' begins after a short intro. I have never been a huge fan of Popeye although at times I almost became one when a story hinted at his potential. But I watched him a lot when I was a kid. As a kid of four or five years old I use to have a recurring nightmare where I was down in a deep well being chased by a shark and it wasn't until (by happenstance in my late teens) I saw an episode of Popeye where that scene played out with Popeye as t…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 10 replies
- 1.8k views
My friend, Cedrix Hohnstadt, is starting a kickstarter campaign for a pose book he is creating.Check it out here. I think this a great way to push us into developing our posing skills.
Last reply by nimblepix, -
- 4 replies
- 519 views
http://www.animationbrain.com/2d-model-sheet.html While preparing some character designs for next year I found these. Its mainly aimed at 2D but might be of interest to otherstoo ? regards simon
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 9 replies
- 626 views
I'm new to A:M and the forums but I was amazed at the quality and diversity of the body of work done by former member Paul Forward whose untimely passing occured this June. He seemed to be very revered on the board and I wondered if A:M could somehow commemorate his passion for animation, creativity and skill with A:M by posthumously designating one of his creations as the 2013 A:M Mascot. Perhaps if his son, Josh, could give access to one of his best models. Someone could render it out in a suitable pose for the splash screen. Let me know what your thoughts are on the possibility of this idea are and if it is something the forum members would be in support of. Sin…
Last reply by KJ'd Beast, -
- 1 reply
- 466 views
This is pretty much textbook, animation school jumping here. Notice how the legs have extended to nearly a straight line in the direction of motion before they leave the ground and likewise, the arms have extended as far forward as they can go also. This gets the most mass moving in the intended direction before power is lost when the feet leave the ground. The tail action is a bit counter intuitive; instead of trailing behind, he is flinging it forward to get mass moving for the same reason the arms are thrust forward. http://youtu.be/UMv5pvsrzRU The landing isn't a standard landing on the ground but catch the overlapping action of the body hitting …
Last reply by johnl3d, -
- 4 replies
- 1.6k views
The book on animation by Preston Blair came up in anther topic. I thought it might be interesting to see some of the original art as it was put together to be published. (I'll try to organize these a bit more later) And here's the place where most folks go to find the books original scans: http://animationresources.org/instruction-preston-blairs-advanced-animation/
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 1.7k views
Is it possible to make a model of a prism in A:M and set up the lighting in a choreography to render a realistic spectrum? I tried a few times yesterday but never had any luck.
Last reply by Squirrelly, -
- 3 replies
- 1.2k views
Using v18 on windows 10. I get the error rendering out a .avi format. See error message below. Any help or guidance is appreciated.
Last reply by Jason Simonds, -
- 1 follower
- 14 replies
- 846 views
So I had to renew my license at the worst possible time (budget, time, job change (hopefully), Rear Window project, and a Christmas project). Bought a new copy, downloaded the latest 64 bit copy (17g) fired her up and tried to get back to work. But, after opening a chor that I created last weekend and tried to switch to shaded mode, A:M crashed, repeatedly. If I open the chor in 16b I have no problems. So I take a look at the OpenGL settings and notice a definite difference between the settings of my two versions. My problem is that A:M won't let me change the settings in 17g....so what to do guys (and gals)? settings in 16b settings in 17g
Last reply by Shelton, -
- 1 follower
- 23 replies
- 1.7k views
I'd like to open a discussion on budgeting for projects. The primary bias I have going into such a subject is that I equate the outlay of a budget with the establishment of the project's priorities. As an example of this, lets say that you are allotted 10 bazoozas in which to apply to a production. These bazoozas are all that you have at the moment to pay forward toward the final product. You have considered approaching the producer but he's already complained that you are on a tight budget and you think you might actually be able to pull off preproduction on a 10 bazooza budget. The only guy signed up on your team as of this moment suggests the following …
Last reply by zandoriastudios, -
- 1 reply
- 812 views
Just as a general curiousity, here's what an empty Project file looks like in JSON format: When converting back (to xml) there are a few formatting things to watch out for: Extraneous text in red. The extra space needs to be removed as well.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 14 replies
- 929 views
I asked a few months ago about file structures for people working on a project and was very appreciative of the responses received. I'm trying to plan a project which I hope to spend next year working on, could anyone kindly point me to a resource for overseeing the running of a complete project? I have no real experience in this area and have always relied on memory and catching up when needed. I'd like to try to do it better this time. Its not so much the particular details of individual areas such as models but the overall structure of a project and how to keep track of it as it unfolds? Any help gratefully received. Thank you. regards simon
Last reply by Simon Edmondson, -
- 6 replies
- 2.5k views
Heya! Cracked open A:M (v17 Mac) for the first time in ages, and it seemed like something was missing. Sure enough, it's the Project Workspace! I think it must be off-screen somewhere, but I'm having absolutely zero luck getting it to show up. Tried all the usual tricks (changing resolution etc). I've poked around in the prefs and even done a complete factory reset (which unfortunately does not seem to affect window position). When I open a model or a project, all the other windows are here... but the Workspace is completely absent. Hitting control-1 (hide/show) produces nothing. Any suggestions? Is there a way to reset window positions (reseting form the H…
Last reply by Meowx, -
- 1 reply
- 751 views
Here is a very fun and quite astonishing project by Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/project-zanzibar-blurring-distinction-digital-physical-worlds-via-tangible-interaction-portable-implementation/
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 2 replies
- 1k views
Body Mechanics Boot Camp won't be a "10 weeks to a new career in animation!" kind of class. Our goals are narrowly focused. As i have interacted with forum members over the years I've noticed that many are not using A:M to their advantage for animation and are often lacking in animation fundamentals they need to get good results. I'm envisioning maybe 10 exercises over 10 weeks with the aim of introducing proper use of the A:M tools and developing your eye for better motion in your animations. We'd start with a bouncing ball because that is a key entry point for some animation and workflow fundamentals. Hopefully we'd get up to walking characters because that also …
Last reply by Dpendleton77, -
- 2 replies
- 223 views
Numerous 1927 books, films and even the song "The Best Things in Life are Free" become Public Domain and free to re-use today. Public Domain Day 2023
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 4 replies
- 155 views
Hey everyone! Been a very very long time, and I have been meaning to get back to Animation Master after many many years! Before getting a subscription for A:M, I have a few questions: I use both MacOSX 10.13.6 High Sierra and Windows 10 Pro Will one license allow me to run AM on both my computers? I understand V19 was the last one supported on the Mac Will my one license allow for using V19 on my Mac and any latest version on the PC I guess this question is linked to the first one above I have many more questions, but would appreciate any help to the queries above so I can make a decision soon Any help would be much much ap…
Last reply by kujaibacha, -
- 3 replies
- 891 views
This program can be very useful for collecting references (and rendered images) and displaying them over/under and beside other programs. Use of shortcut keys is highly recommended. https://www.pureref.com/index.php It's name your price so feel free to enter $0 to try it out. Add a few more $ to support.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 982 views
Do the commonly available, ~$500 printers have the resolution to make threaded mechanical parts like nuts and bolts? Suppose I had something like a trumpet and the threaded cap on a valve was missing, could a printer successfully reproduce detail that small? Here's an example of such a part off my tuba...
Last reply by pixelplucker, -
- 3 replies
- 1.7k views
Just wondering since earlier posting mentioned trouble viewing my animations what codec people are using when they render I am working on a 64 bit windows 10 computer and have no issues watching anyone's posts John
Last reply by Bobby, -
- 2 replies
- 901 views
Hi, Re the face controls…the nulls in boxes drawn via splines…what keeps the nulls within the spline boxes???? Where do I find it? I thought it would be bone translation limits but no…nothing’s set there. What, LOL, and where the heck is it???? Thanks, Rusty
Last reply by rusty, -
- 3 replies
- 562 views
The oldest versions of AM I have are the hold MH:3D version 3 and AM version 5. Version 5 is probably the oldest version I would consider the modern version we all know and love. I'm trying to remember if v3 was a win 3.1 release or if it was the first to require 95. I know v5 was 95/98/NT. Anyone out there know?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 6 replies
- 1.7k views
I'm having issues with a rig i put on a character.... specifically (believe i mirrored bone plugin after using the 2001 rig as a base) my right forearm can rotate in all three axies... however my left forearm can only rotate in the y-axis (or the green circle). I can not figure out how to fix this and really don't want to have to start from scratch. Can anyone give me a hint or clue??? Thanks for your time
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 reply
- 587 views
Hey all, is there any resource out there concerning texture creation including how the "pattern" on the graphic is translated to the model (for instance, if I'm creating a human skin texture and I put a single age spot in the dead center, how will that be displayed on the model?) Is a texture just a glorified decal that's repeated over and over? Thanks, Rich
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 6 replies
- 1.1k views
Things I've just noticed in the Quicktime TOS. Even if you have the "Pro" version you can't be "pro" with it. Professional use of the important codecs isn't allowed without an additional license from the patent holders. It is even a violation if you watch some commercial content made by someone who doesn't have the additional license to do it.
Last reply by largento, -
- 1 reply
- 925 views
For those of you that want to delve into the world of PBR materials and texturing this might aid you in getting that ideal texture onto your model in A:M. Basic workflow would be to export OBJ models from A:M which would then be used as the basis for texturing your spline based models in A:M or to import as Props. This was (apparently) the the primary program used to texture that real time animation recently featured by Unity 3D and according to the hype (and 3D world) is 'this year's best texturing application'.* I note that there is currently a 40% off banner on their site so for those with the $ to splurge it might be worth investigating. Photorealistic text…
Last reply by detbear, -
- 13 replies
- 2.9k views
Been in the market for a new video card, looking for something that has workstation performance without the big price ticket and came across the Fury cards that have 4096 bit data path. Seemed interesting but wonder if they have any double precision available on them? Seems so far in my hunt for a new card the range I was looking at is the Quadro m4000 or AMD FirePro w7100 or w8100. Not even sure if those are worh the money they are asking. I don't run a 4k display and only use my single 21ux cintiq so 4gb of memory should be plenty. The issues I have with my GTX 950 is limited zoom range on cad models and the shaded surfaces aren't exactly matched with edges when…
Last reply by pixelplucker, -
- 3 replies
- 944 views
Hey, I'm guessing this topic has been discussed before and I've seen reference to it, but I am interested to know about the application of RAM with Animation Master. I have 32G of ram for my Mac and I feel that I should have some powerful efficiency with using dense meshes and more complicated hair set-ups but I feel that I am not getting what I need still. I am desperate to know how efficient I can get my set-up to be. I also run A:M on PC with solid state hard drive and 24G ram. I want to make some pretty complicated scenes that require a lot of processing. Is this possible with A:M? Can it utilize the RAM and processing to make the magic happen? Adam
Last reply by TheToadStool, -
- 4 replies
- 958 views
This has been making the rounds: The github site where the excel file can be downloaded has more information: https://github.com/s0lly/Raytracer-In-Excel
Last reply by Fuchur,
