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Ask questions. Share experiences. Outline goals and aspirations.
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977 topics in this forum
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- 3 replies
- 745 views
Here's a video that is making the rounds. There is nothing particularly new represented here but it's a very nice and concise (even entertaining) look at the 12 principles of animation as outlined in Johnston and Thomas's book 'Disney's Illusion of Life. [vimeo]93206523[/vimeo] Direct link to video on Vimeo Note that at the end of the video there is a link to a tumblr site that doesn't appear to work. The correct address (that links to a webpage where each of the principles/examples is separated) is: http://the12principles.tumblr.com/
Last reply by serg2, -
- 22 replies
- 2k views
Something is very wrong, and it might be because I don't understand optimizing win7 or..I might have purchased a DOG. I need help with finding out why new system is performing so badly (compared to old)..not much of a speed up at all, and in the case of running 16b/32 - it's slower. OLD system: xp pro 32, core2duo 3.2ghz, 3GB, nvidia 8600 256 NEW system: win 7-64 pro, i7-4770 3.4 (up to 3.9 - whatever that means), 16gb, nvidia gtx 650 1 gb. (dell xps 8700 special edition) I am running Robs benchmark test and results are disappointing, surprisingly. I can only compare old and new with render times for ver16b/32 since old system was Xp pro 32 OS …
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 7 replies
- 728 views
I have a model performing a dance action and am wondering if there is a quicker way to mirror the whole action other than to "copy/paste mirrored" each keyframe. Using A:M 15j on Mac OS 10.6.8. Thanks.
Last reply by NancyGormezano, -
- 3 replies
- 741 views
This is from 2013 but I haven't seen it linked here in the forum. Part 1 is "Acting for Animators" with Ed Hook: z8TS-E2pxek Part 2 is "Improv for Animators" with Dörthe Eickelberg: yUNRDtKKIOs There are lots of nice insights to glean from both interviews. Source: AnimatorIslandTV (Animator Island has a pretty biting commentary/satire on online animation schools. A little fun/funny)
Last reply by NancyGormezano, -
- 4 replies
- 670 views
Could someone help me to find a tutorial about facial rig and weight.
Last reply by JimFier, -
- 10 replies
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for fun trying to have random color changes in models but using a rand() expression in the color numbers causes AM to crash ..tried RGB(r,g,b ) with random numbers ..crash played with x,y,z size expressions and tried to have those number go into color number slots...crash weird numbers do not need to be integers so rand()*255 should work without color changes quick test front model has pose turned off randomize.mov
Last reply by Rodney, -
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- 871 views
It's been awhile since we've seen a post about 3D Printers on Kickstarter... Here's one that recently launched that is already exceeding $2 million of their initial $50K goal with 24 days still to go. At a glance I'd say there is some interest in the technology... It's certainly small. Added: It seems the majority of folks are opting in to one of the various $299 options. AND NOTE... MOST OF THESE OPTIONS ARE GONE. What they appear to be doing is adding new $299 options but with subsequently later release dates. As of this moment it looks like that tier would expect a February 2015 shipping date. The Micro: The First Truly Consumer 3D Printer …
Last reply by robcat2075, -
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This is somewhat related to Robert's 'Painting with Light' series but the methodology is very different (I'm not as smart as Robert!) It's something I stumbled upon last night while exploring things in A:M I've never considered beyond the tried and true and defaults. At the end of the video I show some other stuff that can be done with this technique that goes beyond painting clouds. Midway through the cloud painting portion of the video you can see the shape that I'm painting with. It looks like two oval shapes, one inside the other. Everything is created in real time directly in v18d with no plugins or extras. Strickly A:M stuff. cloudpainting.mp4
Last reply by Rodney, -
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- 1.1k views
For those of you wth money to spend... Zurbrigg has released their video player that is enhanced for filmmakers and animators. Their site states that introductory pricing is $25. Keyframe MP is currently available for 64-bit version of Windows (Vista or newer) with an OS X version in development. http://zurbrigg.com/keyframe-mp There are several videos that demonstrate usage: [vimeo]90056692[/vimeo] Getting Started with Keyframe MP (Direct Link) [vimeo]89196777[/vimeo] Keyframe MP Overview (Direct Link)
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 4 replies
- 914 views
When I first saw this I thought it was a trailer for an upcoming movie... did I just imagine that it's suppose to eventually be a full feature? Hmm. Aw well, at any rate they've released this short (starring the voice of Steve Martin as the alien leader) for all to see: FavW-Y1kaxs Something to note: The length of this film is a good measure for shorts. It runs 4 minutes 7 seconds which includes intro and credits. And yet it is more than sufficient to tell the story. It also reminds me of some old A:M shorts.
Last reply by Rodney, -
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- 1.6k views
Disclaimer: I haven't tried this out yet but spotted it and wanted to see if anyone had given it a shot. Anyone? http://www.greentoken.de/onlineconv/ Obviously when you upload a model you have shared it with the server. If the model you want to convert is precious to you and you don't want it out there then don't use these types of converters. Here's the basic info (from the website): If enough people upload .MDL files (which will fail to convert) maybe they'll write a converter for A:M model files. One can dream. The author is a/the developer behind the Open Asset Import Library (Assimp) and associated viewer (C++ etc.)…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 5 replies
- 888 views
For both PC and Mac... I don't know a lot about this so wont comment much except to say I'll put in a recommendation to check this out. (translation: Go get it!) Especially for those of you included toward music, foley and audio effects. What's the skinny? Unless your budget is $100K or more you can now use these tools for free. If over $100K then you'll need to license. Note: FMod was free for non-commericial projects before but now it is officially free for independent commercial projects. http://www.fmod.org http://www.fmod.org/download/ The pitch here is more toward realtime audio for development of games but this can be leveraged…
Last reply by Rodney, -
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- 903 views
I can see why they are doing this but... The BBC reports that Getty images is releasing 35 million photos from its collection for use by bloggers, etc. but will still charge for commercial use of the photographs. There are some prid pro quos and caviets attached. http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26463886 The plan is to have those using the images embed them with code through which they may eventually be able to generate revenue. Although not likely to dissuade pirates and producers of derivative works at least that part of the plan is innovative. Providing a means for everyone to legitimately reference their image collection is a good idea.…
Last reply by Clipping Path Specialists, -
- 1 reply
- 759 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, -
- 0 replies
- 500 views
While I'm in the mood, I'm looking for some real projects to model (characters or soft body - not hard surface). Not talking designing the characters - if you have model sheets or well drawn concept images - hey I'm looking for something to do (free of charge). I need to hone my skills. Cheers
Last reply by higginsdj, -
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- 586 views
Skip ahead to 12:35 This is the first time I've ever seen him on film. 9JpfUK53lug
Last reply by largento, -
Mr Homeslice
by Xtaz- 1 follower
- 11 replies
- 2.1k views
I'm missing Mr. Holmes Bryant. Does anyone know where he is? He doesn't appear here since 2012
Last reply by thefreshestever, -
- 8 replies
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I almost hesitate to share this because I'm a firm believer that you shouldn't go into any major expenditure unprepared... so this only applies to you if you are already prepared. Animation Mentor is currently offering a 'one time only' discount on their Animation Basics course. Some caveats (in my opinion): *If* you already versed in Maya at least to the point where you can find your way around easily, or... *If* you've already taken a course in Maya (preferrably the intro to Maya course at Animation Mentor), and... *If* you have a lot of free time in your schedule, and... *If* you've currenty got the spare cash on hand, or... *If* you were planning…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 1k views
The folders of my Windows 7 can show me thumbnails of .jpg, .png and .bmp picture files. But when it comes to targa files (which I nearly always use) there is no thumbnail. Anybody know of a way to get .tga-thumbnails?
Last reply by Tore, -
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Hmmm... looks intriguing. As it is already funded and still has 18 days to go... I might have to bite at this one. Although in many ways this is more of a novelty item it does have some practicality to it also. This might be primarily of interest for those of you with a desire for a Cintique but a budget closer to an iPad. Of interest to me is how this effort actually helps to bridge the gap between old 2D methodology and the newer digital approaches. CAEgL3kJyBs https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/964133...n-desk-for-tabl Edit: Grrr... I hate it when kickstarter projects limit the number of distros in the tier I want and don't allo…
Last reply by ruscular, -
- 11 replies
- 1.2k views
For the second time I've had A:M hiccup and save an empty file of a model I had been working on. The model exists on screen, but what is saved is looks like this: ProductVersion=17 Release= PC FileInfoPos=162746 This obviously is wrong. I would suggest a warning message be displayed and a prompt to continue before actually destroying what is on disk. Fortunately I didn't lose much work, but it is frustrating when it does happen, and could be (and has been) catastrophic. Just sayin.
Last reply by Mechadelphia, -
- 2 replies
- 613 views
Materials is one of those areas I haven't mastered yet, so over the years I've built up a library of canned ones, just in case I needed them. But for the life of me I can't seem to get my hands on a decent felt material, or any felt material. Anyone happen to have one kicking about in the dusty corners of their 'puters?
Last reply by largento, -
- 2 followers
- 11 replies
- 1.4k views
Here is a Theremin simulator that runs in your browser. http://femurdesign.com/theremin/
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 replies
- 697 views
Is there a video of the live AM presentation that is performed at the conventions?
Last reply by edifex, -
- 2 replies
- 653 views
During the live demo, the presenter had a 3D Bugs Bunny. He then did something that turned it into a 2D character which resembled traditional animation. Does anyone know how he did that?
Last reply by edifex, -
- 23 replies
- 2.8k views
I suppose this is old news, but... Microsoft is ending security updates and bug fixes for Windows XP Does A:M v18 still run on XP? I couldn't find the current system requirements on the Hash.com page. support for Windows XP will end on April 8, 2014
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 9 replies
- 1.2k views
Years ago when I was working regularly with A:M, I watched a video in the A:M showcase with two swordsman on an island. The style was like flat animation built from 3D. Anyone know where that can still be found? The current showcase only has some 200 videos so I know the ones from 6 years ago or longer are not around. Any way to see the archived videos?
Last reply by ArgleBargle, -
- 3 replies
- 713 views
FYI... If you are in the US or get US TV shows, long-time veteran Disney animator Floyd Norman will be on "The View" on Tuesday. It's a very odd place for him to show up but my guess is that his personal experience with Walt Disney will come up and it will be framed against recent claims that he was not a nice person.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 11 replies
- 1.8k views
Fresh Spleen Update: Gene was moved to the new building this morning., and I hear his spirits are better. So the prayers must be working. Keep it up.
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 3 replies
- 687 views
Hello again, Ive done it before, but I cant do it right now. I create a spline in front view, grab the CPs, and then go to click the lathe button to create a lathed object, only the lathe button is unavailable. Hiding everything but the spline doesn't work. Starting a new model doesn't work. Even closing the program and opening it again doesn't work ( "Have you tried turning it off and turning it back on again?" - The I.T. Crowd) What am I missing? Thanks!
Last reply by Vogelmort, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 1.5k views
Myron LeRoy I just got off the phone with Gene "Spleengene" Thompson. He is back in the hospital with another stroke. His balance is severly affected. They cannot do an MRI because of his pacemaker. He will be moved today to the physical therapy building and is sounds like he will be there for a week. For those of you who are the praying kind, he could use a bunch of them about now.
Last reply by Gerry, -
If anyone is interested, I'm currently Beta testing an online tool called RGBnotes. Simon recently posted a refernence video of a weight lifter that would be great for testing the RGBnotes annotation and onionskinning modes. So I might use that video for the purpose of sharing RGBnotes with folks here on the forum. (To join the Beta, projects are simply shared with others via an email) The program is very basic....very basic... at this point but the creators hope to make it a very useful collaborative tool and have started adding features. At any rate, during the beta period the way to get other people into the program is to share a project with someone vi…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 14 replies
- 3.2k views
Go check out this software. It's for special effects, compositing and video editing and it's free for the PC and the Mac today only. http://hitfilm.com/express/free The pro version (which adds 3D and particle effects) is also deeply discounted. Go get it quick!
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 31 replies
- 3.3k views
Hello All- Was playing around with this cool old tutorial using "forces" and am having trouble deconstructing how it was achieved. I wanted to upload the zipped project file but it is over the 2Mb limit for the forum. It is 3Mb. What I could do was upload the movie. You can see from the wmv movie what the project looks like. I tried adding another leaf like object to the scene but the forces did not have any effect on the object that was added. The new leaf-like object was added as a dynamic object and told to respond to Newton Physics but it did not move. Can anyone explain how those leaves are made to respond to the force fields? Thanks for a…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 5 replies
- 817 views
Hi! New to this forum 8) I did search a bit in the forum to see if anyone had my issue. I didn't see anything. My problem is a simple one. I'm selecting a group of splines with the intention of making another copy of them with the copy/paste feature. I hit Ctrl-C to copy, then Ctrl-V to paste. Nothing happens. I get a new group, but the group doesn't have anything in it. There is no copy of the object. I even tried copy/paste from the pull down menu. same result. What am I doing wrong?
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 3 replies
- 669 views
Hi. Just downloaded V18(64) and entered the activation code. That part went well, except there's an "ERROR:" message in the modeling window. Project Workspace looks correct. Tried to open other V17 projects, other tabs, and start new ones, but nothing shows other than the error. Was using V17 with no issue. Have an HP Windows 7 machine with an i3, 4G RAM. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, CS
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 4 replies
- 731 views
I'd like something like this for a musical instrument project and I'm thinking I've seen them before, but I'm not sure what they are called. They would be about a half inch at the base, ideally. Sturdy metal, of course. Am i just dreaming, or is this a commonly available piece of hardware?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 followers
- 9 replies
- 1.2k views
Mr Largento is having a birthday I believe ....happy birthday Mark
Last reply by jirard, -
- 1 follower
- 26 replies
- 2.8k 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, -
- 0 replies
- 652 views
Sad news for animation fans and especially for those that followed his blog (splog). Michael Sporn died on 19 Jan after a three year battle with pancreatic cancer. Michael Barrier has a bio up on his career on his blog. http://michaelbarrier.com/Home%20Page/What...elsporn19462014 It isn't clear what will be done with his blog and it hasn't been online for some time. Michael had amassed a considerable amount of history and commentary on animation that was greatly appreciated by followers of animation.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 8 replies
- 1k 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, -
- 2 followers
- 5 replies
- 1k views
People sometime ask why A:M isn't frequently mentioned in the magazines. Short answer... you have to buy advertisements in magazines to get treated as newsworthy. It's a very expensive way to generate not very many actual sales. Here's a documented example of the practice from the music industry press where the same thing is common... How to buy a record review
Last reply by largento, -
- 5 replies
- 717 views
Since I am having trouble with decals and v18 on my laptop, and I am working on a new cartoon-ish fish model, I decided to create his eyes with the eyeball material. I had an eyeball model with the material already applied that I imported into the fish model, but of course i needed to move the eyeball and rotate it a bit so it would fit the model. What I discovered is that the material also needed to be translated and rotated as well. My question is when I animate the eye, what is the best way to get the material to move along with it?
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 1 reply
- 596 views
The Tinkering Gnome is one of the few who have bravely ventured into the realm of midi music and A:M and I've long thought to exploit the technology. I still haven't. I am however, moving in that direction. Here is a site that has a 3D keyboard that plays midi music that may be of interest to some (especially programmers as the code is available via github). Of specific interest to me is that this is similar to several sites where you can simply drag and drop the midi file into the browser window and the page's code takes it from there. http://qiao.github.io/euphony/#211 The song that should play by clicking the link above is Tchaikovsky's Sweet …
Last reply by johnl3d, -
- 0 replies
- 566 views
Here's a really quick tip (inspired by an excerpt from the book 'Professional Storyboarding' by Sergio Paez and Anson Jew) Change in size The underlying thought being that objects that do not change size on a 2D screen are static, unmoving and suggest the scene has little or no depth. Changing shapes is a fundamental of animation. When analyzing animation that appeals to you pick a shape on the screen and follow it... (a nose, a mouth, a hand... pick something. Anything!) How does it change position? How does it change shape? How does it suggest motion and depth in a scene? If change of shapes is so important in animation what does that say abou…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 2 followers
- 71 replies
- 5.7k views
Is there something you think can't be done in A:M that it ought to be able to do? Is there something you'd like to see figured out and explained? Perhaps A:M does it already but no one has tried it yet! Here is your chance to nominate a topic or task that you would like to see someone figure out how to do with A:M. I will choose one and make a WIP thread out of it in February 2014. The nominator of the chosen topic will receive some fabulous prize, possibly a copy of one of Martin Hash's "Memoirs" books. (Did you know there's three of them?) My Rules: -Task will be something reasonably appropriate for a full-featured 3D app like A:M. For example, "…
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 1 reply
- 699 views
For no particular reason today I found myself doing a little reseach on gaits (human and animal) and I ran across this walking alligator. It's interesting to me because I know I tend to think of alligators as being on the ground more and only moving quickly in the water. Wanna see how the dinosaurs moved? No mystery there. They didn't move much differently than modern day animals. MR8UO-Y0Ca8
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 874 views
FopH8W10a7s
Last reply by Roger, -
- 2 replies
- 521 views
Recent US court ruling in favor of ISP allowing them to favor some traffic and disadvantage other. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/14/n..._n_4597831.html I don't know where an independent presence like Hash, Inc would fall on the favored/disadvantaged line. I'm going to guess that Youtube might go into the disadvantaged hole unless Google starts paying ISPs to favor it.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 31 replies
- 3.7k views
I'm getting intrigued on the way to use alpha channels on models to obtain partial transparance. On the Extra-DVD there is a tutorial about it and while I'm following the example my results fail. Point is that I can't save a *.TGA file with an alpha channel. I'm using Photoshop 7.0 and when it transports the file, I can only use *.TIF and *.PSD to implement the alpha channel. Using *.TGA saves the file, but AM0.16 doesn't show it as an alpha channel. Afterwards this "*.TGA" file doesn't have the alfa channel when I import it back to Photoshop. I tried another graphic program CorelPainterIX, but there also I wasn't able to export a *.TGA file with a…
Last reply by Fuchur,