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
-
- 37 replies
- 3.5k views
I am running Version 18n 64 bit on a computer with 8GB of RAM and an i7 64 bit processor. Sometimes, it takes 10 to 14 hours to save my work. I work in wireframe and sometimes stop and render along the way so that I can see what the patches look like. I am wondering if there is a way to shorten the saving time, or is there a way to know when rendering time for a frame is going to exceed 7 minutes or so, before I press the render button. What happens when I render sometimes is that the computer buffers (twirls) and twirls indefinitely. I try to abort, and the rendering program seems to abort but twirling continues, and I cannot get back to where I can start the 10 to 14 h…
Last reply by Pitcher, -
- 0 replies
- 639 views
idea for 3D pantograph contraption DIY 3D Sculpture Pantograph for under $50 This is a bit more mechanized but doesn't have as much 3D angling... Building the 3-D pantograph
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 reply
- 710 views
This app for androids was available for $2.99 but I believe it has reverted to $11. Of particular interest is that it appears to support splines and patches. (It can reportedly create 2 sided, 3 sided and 4 sided patches) As it only exports to .OBJ I'm not sure how well that will work but it makes sense that a quad/spline/patch based model exported to .OBJ might import into A:M better than most. I don't have an Android based phone or tablet so can't test this out. There is a free version that limits the size of the model that can be saved. From their site: http://www.scalisoft.com/ Could be useful for creating assets for A:M while on the go.…
Last reply by Wildsided, -
- 3 replies
- 590 views
So does "mad science" count or is it more spaceships, robots, aliens and such? I'm interested in doing an entry but need to pick something g I can pull off with the new deadline.
Last reply by Roger, -
- 0 replies
- 960 views
Disclaimer: I have not yet purchased any of Scott Petersen's products so therefore cannot personally vouch for their thoroughness or quality. Scott T. Petersen has been an animator, director and teacher for quite awhile. Here's his basic bio: For those that tend toward a traditional hand drawn approach to animation you may find his current DVDs of interest. At this time he has three available: 1. Animation and Drawing: The Essential Basics 2. Lesson 2: The Power of Anticipation (Umm... no direct link... so see the preview below) 3. Dynamic Posing for Gesture Drawing h7HcAsuYl9o Here's a related video on anticipation that…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 2 replies
- 367 views
This guy shows a process for creating holographic images manually... by scratching plastic? He admits to difficulty in creating truly 3D shapes, but other people do it well. I'm wondering... Could A:M somehow be used simplify/streamline the planning for this?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 7 replies
- 2.7k views
There are a ton of video capture programs out there and here's yet another one (PC only... sorry mac guys/gals). http://www.screentogif.com/ Source code is available as well. This is definitely a progam to check out because it has most of the tools that standard screeen capture software doesn't have. A few quick pluses: - Capture to GIF animation, image sequences, avi (mp4 and other formats via FFmpeg tab) - A basic frame editor - Basic drawing on screen (or board recording) - Webcam recording - Lots of other stuff I'm forgetting such as text, cropping, basic transitions, etc) - It's free (donations to the creator welcome!) - Actively developed (las…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 4 replies
- 1.1k views
All you guys and gals knew this stuff already but I'm slow and only recently read the memo... Script Lining is something I have long knew needed to be present in the filmmaking pipeline but I had never really seen it in the wild. Having now seen it I gain that sense of satisfaction that I knew it was there but renewed frustration in that digital solutions still fall short of capturing it's potential. For those that share my lack of knowledge concerning Script Lining here's a good overview of the process and how it helps us break down a script to the point where we know where our cameras will be and what should be seen in the lens/renders: It can be a very useful…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 8 replies
- 925 views
Disclaimer: The title of this topic may change as the subject matter is refined. This is a spin-off topic from Robert Holmen's 'It can't be done' topic. The target appears to have moved a little but here's a beginning: Paul Harris:
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 86 replies
- 8.6k views
I got my feet wet in the '3D Printing' arena this week... turned out kinda cool! I uploaded a hash model of my Tireman character to sculpteo.com(via OBJ exporter with a .mat file for colors...) and interacted with their online 'repair-bot'... which sent me back to A:M to make revisions maybe 8-10 times as I learned what I could and could not get away with... and mostly what geometry was deemed 'too thin' for the scale I had chose... which was 3.8" tall. This print cost $80...I am pretty happy with what I see. My method was to pose the character using his TSM rig in a chor and save it out from there as a .mdl... which I opened and deleted all the bones and decals f…
Last reply by pixelplucker, -
Much like Scultpris but this sculpting application is WebGL and Javascript based. If you need to make some quick topology for use with the Snap to Surface tool in A:M this might do the trick for you as it exports to OBJ etc. Very interesting. http://stephaneginier.com/sculptgl/ Source code is hosted on github: https://github.com/stephomi/sculptgl Added: A quick paint job on Thom...
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 0 replies
- 737 views
Found a pretty neat program that creates seamless textures from Spiral Graphics ( www.spiralgraphics.biz ). There is a free program called Wood Workshop that allows you to create seamless wood textures with an almost limitless control over color, texture, pattern, etc. You can create the texture in just about any size you want, then export it to a .jpg, .png, .etc. They also have a program called Genetica 2.5 which allows you to create all sorts of other seamless textures, like brick, marble, cloth, wood, stone, metal and lots of others. The Pro version also allows you to create atmosphere and hair textures. They have a downloadable 30 day demo of Genetica. …
Last reply by Tralfaz, -
- 5 replies
- 1.3k views
This most likely includes your broadband modem at home which is often a router itself. F.B.I.’s Urgent Request: Reboot Your Router to Stop Russia-Linked Malware I'll note that whenever the tech support for my internet provider said i needed to reboot my modem, they said it needed to be unplugged for several minutes to really clear it.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 961 views
I have gone to bones, unhidden the fingers, assigned points to the finger bones, but now in the choreography file, I cannot get the finger bones to show when I go to the skeletal mode. The last time I needed fingers, I did the same steps, and the fingers showed, but this time they don't. What have I left out this time? Generally, is there a way to get the skeletal mode to show more bones than it usually does with the 2001 Skeleton? This is probably one that everyone already knows, but I don't. Sorry!
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 1.2k views
I am looking for aircraft cabin interior models including seats, dividers, commercial related aircraft models for a design project. Is there such a library?
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 10 replies
- 1.4k views
Hi Folks, I've an issues with AM and I'm not quite sure where to start looking for a fix. It's has been 4~5 possible more years that I had to set AM aside for other projects, hobbies and other time consuming things like family... A lot has changed, AM has it's share of updates as well as my own system OS & hardware. I'll be using my training wheels again to familiarize myself with AM again, but got an annoying selection issue to deal with first. Running on Win10, 64Bits OS, GTX 980ti Both AM32 and AM64 version 17g are installed and both have the issue. Only with the 32bit version there is an render option for Direct3D v8, that fixes the issue, but bind me to…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 647 views
Long-time A:M user Matt Campbell (AKA John Bigboote on the forum) has just had serious heart surgery. He'll be laid-up for a while but I bet he'd appreciate a good old-fashioned card with well-wishes from his A:M friends. You may send it to... Matt Campbell 561 Lakeside Dr. White Lake MI 48386 One of Matt's many contributions here...
Last reply by J. Baker, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 2k views
Hi all, do I need to get another serial number for AM Net Subscription if I want to install it on Mac through bootcamp - Win7 ? Have had it up to here " " with it crashing on Mac and not rendering rotoscopes and throwing my pallets everywhere cant use it for production - so windows it is, have sent a email to orders@hash.com but didn't know if the original serial would work ??
Last reply by a.quaihoi, -
- 1 follower
- 53 replies
- 7.1k views
For whatever reason--Maybe I pressed a button without realizing it or Maybe Windows 10 is doing something--shaded and wire frame does not look the same. Instead of showing the CPs and splines on the surface, it is showing them throughout the figure, even from the other side of the figure. The view just adds a semitransparent color to regular wire frame. What do I press to get just cps and wire-frame back on the outer surface? Thanks.
Last reply by pixelplucker, -
- 0 replies
- 1.3k views
The Tinkering Gnome clued us in to this site that frequently presents 100% discounts on software. (Thanks John!) On occasion some pretty useful software is shared. I've hesitated in the past to post some of these offerings for a number of reasons but I've found several of the software packages useful for myself so they might be for others as well. The way it (generally) works is that in exchange for your email address and occasionally a request to share the link to the site with others you get an activation code. Sometimes the code is one specifically used with that promotion. Other times its the same as you would receive straight from the software developer. …
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 8 replies
- 1.6k views
I'm told this is Shark Week? Here are a few of my old shark tests... more shark: My shark-themed entry in last year's "Summer Memories" Image Constest
Last reply by Roger, -
- 4 replies
- 1k views
I just recieved a note from Sherm Cohen that he'll be removing his Storyboard Q&A video to make room for his next online class. So go see it now or you may miss it. http://storyboardclass.com/q-and-a/ Note: I haven't purchased his DVD set (yet) but it's a great deal. Highly recommended.
Last reply by largento, -
- 11 replies
- 708 views
Edit: Apparently a false alarm with regard to A:M spitting out German shortcut key listings. However, you may have a German Shortcut Key listing in your installation directory. Now here is a learning opportunity. If you want to learn some snippets of the German language, v18 is currently spitting out the german words for A:M shortcut keys. In the attached I've translated all but one which I think is 'SPACE'. For those in the know what say you all... does "LEER" translate to "SPACE"? At any rate, if you wish to get a shortcut key listing in German go to Tools/Customize and on the Keyboard tab click the Export button. The shortcut key listin…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 0 replies
- 718 views
If you aren't following the Animated Spirit blog... you might want to add it to your list of resources. There have been quite a few useful and interesting posts there since James Chiang first launched the blog back in June. James is a 17 year veteran of animation. In the latest post James analyses a shot from Pixar's 'Ratatouille' where he delves into how the audience is directed right to the place you want them as well as what that means relative to characters /elements in the shot. There's too much to summarize here so go see for yourself. Amongst other topics James emphasizes that "Forces begin internally" and that "Understanding forces is the key to belie…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 5 replies
- 3k views
I saw this software mentioned recently and haven't investigated it very deeply but sense that it may be well worth considering... Edit: For a number of reasons, Shotcut is getting my recommendation. So, go get it! And yes, it can convert to .MOV format (as well as just about any other format including animated GIF) Shotcut is a free, open source, cross-platform video editor for Windows, Mac and Linux. Major features include support for a wide range of formats; no import required meaning native timeline editing; Blackmagic Design support for input and preview monitoring; and resolution support to 4k. Basic Features Support for the latest audio and video formats th…
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 1 reply
- 589 views
Project management for multimedia production has been a growing area of interest for many years so it comes as no surprise that Shotgun is positioned in an important niche. I've watched Shotgun since it's initial press release and made note of their quality and the potential to go far. The news was just released that project management software company Shotgun is 'joining' Autodesk. I take this to mean the company is being purchased. This is good news in that it should help bring project management for video production to the fore for many more projects. The cautionary note being that it becomes all the more likely that Shotgun will be at least as proprietary…
Last reply by fae_alba, -
- 1 follower
- 5 replies
- 869 views
Hi everybody, I have a chance to buy a second hand (version, copy, license) of an old A:M, but I don't want to fall into the error of "divide a license" cause that would be illegal... and plain piracy... The seller is not the original owner but a "second hand shop" then, He doesn't know all about the origin of that copy... So my question is, is there a way to know if a license was "divided"? is there a sign, a mark or something on the CDs that could help me to know?, Hash's people would get angry if I ask about the status of a license with the serial number, and even more, of an old version? Thank you ... a little question more, A:M was …
Last reply by Rodney, -
Hello everyone, I haven't been on this animation:master software as membership for last couple years ago. The last time i used this Hash3D, version 16.0. Now, I'm back. I was trying to make a movie that do magic way of this tablecloth itself flowing toward this old fashion round table. While I was working on Simcloth. I noticed there are two ways of doing simcloth? Not same way as it was in version 16.0. I noticed that every times i clicked on "cloth wizard" on group box and the yellow box disappeared and appeared at different location ( mostly on ground). After I tried to make adjustment to make this cloth to become smoothy flow but somehow it just went cr…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 0 replies
- 674 views
More SIGGRAPH 2012 related postings... This by itself is very cool and interesting but I'm already wondering how the tool can be extended. Rather than take multiple shots of a chrome ball to capture lighting, duffuse, mirroring/reflection, specularity etc. some folk decided to pursue the idea of having one single ball to capture all the sampling needed. http://gl.ict.usc.edu/Research/SSLP/A_Sing...IGGRAPH2012.pdf This has bigger more colorful imagery: http://gl.ict.usc.edu/Research/SSLP/ Now what I'm thinking is how we can use this idea to capture the environment that exists inside a manufactured 3D scene. There are obvious problems with this (…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 8 replies
- 4.2k views
I didn't get far in my initial look into this suite of applications. Perhaps others may fair better. http://www.sitexgraphics.com/html/air.html Note: I've bolded a few areas that piqued my interest for any number of reasons. The primary difference between paid and free versions is reportedly texture/image size. Note that Air itself (like Renderman) is command line driven but has applications/plugins associated with it that provide graphical user interfaces. For WIndows and Linux. Sorry Mac users.
Last reply by jalih, -
- 12 replies
- 1.4k views
(This topic moved from original topic by request. For more info see original topic) Although a little off topic, the folks at DIsney have an interesting paper that (very loosely) relates to this: http://www.disneyresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/Sketch-Based-Generation-and-Editing-of-Quad-Meshes-Paper.pdf
Last reply by nemyax, -
- 8 replies
- 9.6k views
https://sketchfab.com/maniacgraphics I just found this site still figuring things out Thought I would share my find
Last reply by Maniac, -
- 0 replies
- 503 views
I saw Skyfall this afternoon. A few shots have CG animals that are pretty cool. Specifically, the scorpion and the Komodo Dragons.
Last reply by KJ'd Beast, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 914 views
Do anybody know the story behind the small animations running next to the abort button when rendering in A:M? Some very nice animation in all of them. Are they made by the same person, are they made specifically for the render window, etc.?
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 13 replies
- 1.9k views
Hey all--- Working on an outdoor scene with a grassy plain that rises to a mountain. I'm looking at a grassy texture, then a rocky, then a granite-like one for the sheer mountain. Question is, how to effect a smooth transition from grassy to rocky to granite without them obviously being patch breaks. Just getting into texturing heavily and any head's ups or links to getting started would be appreciated. Thanks, Rich
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 9 replies
- 1.6k views
Hello Forum- have not been here in awhile! Busy! A client recently inquired if I could perhaps make a SnapChat lens... he may as well of asked if I could have made diced clabberboards, because I had no idea what Snapchat... or a snapchat lens even WAS! My research taught me SnapChat has been around since 2011 and is a popular (amongst the young-uns) social media chat and photo-sharing software, much like Facebook. After downloading it to my phone and playing with it i realized it was resonsible for much of what I have seen on Facebook as far as kids with bear-noses and fuzzy ears, face- paint and sparkles that track with them of distort their face and voice for the l…
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 1 reply
- 1.2k views
Who better to demonstrate the Dreamworks pipeline for making Animated films than the penguins of madagascar. Learn it. Live it. Love it. Then... go make another animated movie. xhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CbG0d_tnSg
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 1.3k views
I just installed the latest version of A:M, but when I try to run the program it gives the following error: "The program can't start because api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll is missing from you computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem." I've tried reinstalling several times, no joy. Anyone have a suggestion? I'm running windows 7 with Intel i7-5960X CPU on ASUS X99E WS MB
Last reply by Squirrelly, -
- 31 replies
- 6.2k views
(Moderator update: A work-around for this problem has been found. See post # 26) SO I'm sure that there is a place for this topic but I don't have time to go hunting. Here's my problem: So applied for the AM 18 trial version, downloaded it and followed all the instructions and it is telling me that I need an activation code??? I sent a message to support to see if I can get that resolved. In the interim and because I just did some serious upgrades to my machine, I thought I would try to get one of my older versions to work. When I say older I mean v11,12, or 13. Umm yeah, no matter what I effin do, they won't run. Even when I go through the "compatibility troubleshoote…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 6 replies
- 1.2k views
Was trying to use sweeper plugin and could not find it in 19 d or any other plug in ???
Last reply by robcat2075, -
Some ideas
by Malo- 3 replies
- 809 views
Hi, I don't know if it can interest somebody, but just in case, I post anyway. It is just some ideas and reflections about imagination's tools to help to model and rigg more quickly in AM. The idea, is to regroups modeling, armature, weigts and fan bones in a few clicks. I write the ideas in a PDF with pictures. PDF
Last reply by Malo, -
- 6 replies
- 2.2k views
Okay, I stand corrected. Robert had mentioned changing a texure from .png to .tga and my response was that I thought those were hard coded into the .OBJ file. We *can* change the texture format of an .OBJ and we can do a whole lot more too. The secret sauce is in the .MTL file which can be edited in a text editor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wavefront_.obj_file Look down until you get to the Material template library section. To go out on a limb and possibly be wrong yet again I'll say that perhaps it is that material that is assigned to the .OBJ that is interferring with the rendering of the image/texture? Attached is an image I got out of A:M's rende…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 0 replies
- 822 views
Since XML format, it is possible to read the MDL file by a text editor. Here is some information about the MDL format, that I could understand. Hope this can help someone. The CP: The splines : I have not found meaning the first number. Hooks: Patches : I have not found meaning the first and last number for patches. UV, Stamps:
Last reply by Malo, -
- 19 replies
- 1.9k views
Hello, I ask myself some questions about the history and evolution of the polygonal subdivision in Hash patches after reading this link from pixar, which reminds me a lot with AM patches : http://www.opensubdiv.com/?page_id=84 - When was the last consolidation made on patches? - When was made the triangle patches? - When was made the quad patches? - When was made the five sides patches? - Is that the subdivision of polygons in the interior of patches has evolved since the beginning? - Martin Hash did he actually abandoned his baby, or does he think back on it later? - Stephen Gross, does it have the right to change the code of the constitution of t…
Last reply by Malo, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 1.3k views
does anybody know what is going on over there? it seems like someone buys them... at least the mail i received is indicating that. see you *fuchur*
Last reply by ruscular, -
- 1 reply
- 845 views
tried loading a sound into project even tried one from data it does not play ....windows 10 issue?
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 7 replies
- 957 views
- and Yes - I worked on this from about 1977-1984ish? Not sure what year the video was taken. (after 1981 I would guess) In particular I worked on the real time software (project lead) that generated the simulated out-the-window imagery for the forward, aft, overhead windows of the shuttle as well as the simulated imagery as seen from the CCTV cameras located on the remote manipulator system (used to place payload objects from the cargo bay into space via remote manipulatur "arms"). In particular I worked on the fixed base and motion based simulators that were used for training the astronauts (landing, navigation and cargo bay missions). Yes. The imagery is pret…
Last reply by ypoissant, -
- 2 replies
- 644 views
Just noticed the Troll?, spinning the words Animation Master round, for the Special Topics forum Was that your handiwork Rodney!?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 20 replies
- 2k views
Hi, I know how to create the sphere, lol, but how do I make it spin evenly? A formula? Thanks for any help, Rusty PS: I use to know how to do this stuff, use it of lose it.
Last reply by rusty, -
- 1 follower
- 26 replies
- 2.5k views
Just read what gene posted on Face book Good Morning! All my life I have dreamed of being an animator. And through hard work by both myself and you great people I DID IT! now the bad news: Thursday morning I awoke and could barely walk, I have spent till now trying to shake it off.(ministroke) Today I feel no choice but to go to hospital. If for some reason I do not return to Facebook, I THANK ALL OF YOU.
Last reply by Vertexspline,
