Open Forum
Don't know where to ask your question? Post it here and it'll find a proper home
Open Forum Rules
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.
There is one rule: Be kind.
Posts that violate this rule are subject to removal.
961 topics in this forum
-
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 1k views
I was good in Algebra, 35 years ago. My 12 year old is in 7th grade and is bringing home Algebra problems and wants help. OK, I remember alot of procedures to solve problems in Algebra. To bad the procedures I remember do not apply to the problems he is bringing home. Really, I dont remember anything. I am having to re learn and learn the new procedures in solving Algebra. My brain hurts.
Last reply by pixelplucker, -
- 3 replies
- 1k views
https://www.facebook.com/aescripts/videos/956695491034110/ AE Scripts has a new hand-drawn cel animator that lives within After Effects... Looks like they have a cool 'decal' mode that tracks to CGI renders like AM would render... If I am seeing it correctly. Have not looed into price yet.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 reply
- 787 views
If anyone out there wanted to get Painter for cheap, now is your chance: https://www.humblebundle.com/software/painter-create-with-confidence?hmb_source=navbar&hmb_medium=product_tile&hmb_campaign=tile_index_2
Last reply by Wildsided, -
- 4 replies
- 1.6k views
Rob, Found this stuff online, not sure if this helps you: xhttps://vimeo.com/channels/219173/79500922 xhttp://www.marvelousdesigner.com/community/forum/News/4596?culture=en-US xhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1524070306000622 xhttp://www.textures.com/category/wrinkles/112397 Some are tutorials, others are more general reference.
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 5 replies
- 697 views
Okay.... this is cool: [vimeo]54967505[/vimeo] More on how the sculpts are put together: [vimeo]55336193[/vimeo]
Last reply by NancyGormezano, -
- 2 replies
- 1.2k views
Long-ago forum member Zachary Brewster-Geisz's acting career continues to edge upward. Behold, a very favorable mention in the Washington Post review of "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Zach, seen reclining below...
Last reply by itsjustme, -
- 3 replies
- 1.1k views
Hi! Been enjoying playing with A:M again. However, ran into a stupid problem. I’m in the chor and I want to create a path to animate an object along and I can’t find the path tool!!?? I can picture the tool icon in my head…I’m I thinking of another program??!! Am I nuts? Confused, Rusty
Last reply by rusty, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
- 1k views
This little video explains the basics of PBR materials: https://youtu.be/_LaVvGlkBDs
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 4 replies
- 1.1k views
I purchased the disks for AM. My PC crashed, now I'm trying to install on a new computer. I get a "activation code already used" message. I sent the "your_host_id.txt" file as requested and along with my Activation Code. I received a codes.txt file and the link to install v17 which I did. I clicked the link and installed. It asks for my activation code and I still get the same message, "already used". What do I do with the codes.txt file? I was told they'd send a new master0.lic file, so I thought I'd have to rename and replace with codes.txt file. I searched and couldn't find a master0.lic. What am I missing? Thanks, Michael
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 28 replies
- 3k 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
- 989 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
- 1.4k 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
- 1.1k 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
- 1.2k 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
- 803 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
- 2.4k 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, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 1k views
I have not read the particulars regarding this contest but you may be interested. Animation Competition
Last reply by pixelplucker, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 836 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
- 1.1k 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, -
Pixar Layoffs
by Tom- 1 reply
- 368 views
Pixar is laying off 14% of their workforce, animators seem like another career threatened by AI- https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/pixar-animation-lay-off-about-14-workforce-2024-05-21/
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 0 replies
- 1k 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
- 2.1k 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
- 2.4k 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
- 792 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
- 6k 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
- 2.7k 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
- 1.5k 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
- 1.5k 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
- 1.8k 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
- 1.1k 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
- 2.2k 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
- 2.3k 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
- 663 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
- 844 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
- 559 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
- 2k 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
- 1.9k 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
- 1.4k 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
- 1.1k 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
- 2k 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 follower
- 1 reply
- 129 views
Do anyone know if AM 19.5 needs to have Internet connection to boot?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 reply
- 964 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
- 1.4k 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
- 2.7k 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
- 897 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
- 1.2k 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
- 383 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
- 343 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
- 1.1k 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,
