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939 topics in this forum
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- 1 follower
- 26 replies
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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, -
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- 501 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, -
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- 698 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
- 675 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
- 434 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, -
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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, -
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- 393 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
- 4.1k 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
- 516 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
- 595 views
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Last reply by Roger, -
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- 378 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
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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, -
- 1 reply
- 458 views
And the trend continues as more animation legends offer video lessons. These are of personal interest to me because they focus on hand drawn animation. Of course the classic concepts can not only be transferred to 3D... they must! Instructors: John Pomeroy Tony Bancroft Tom Bancroft Michel Gagne At $10 a pop... affordable. http://taughtbyapro.com/courses/all/ Added: At 24 minutes they appear bitesized enough to assimilate quickly and incorporate into one's workflow. (I assume all lessons are roughly the same length)
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 569 views
This is the first I've heard of this next big thing... 21:9 format TV. http://www.redsharknews.com/technology/ite...reen-is-instead How long before it just wraps all around you?
Last reply by Shelton, -
- 0 replies
- 392 views
Here's something to put on your radar. Not long ago I said, "The time is coming and now is that rendering (as we know it) will be obsolete." or something to that effect. This site is an example of the moving in that direction. Although this is not a renderer as we know it the site does purport to encode media with a hands off approach. What does that mean to you? If you've already rendered a file and need it converted to another format you don't have to spend time rerendering or searching for proper programs and codecs if you can drag and drop the file and get the conversion done while you do other (more important) work. Concerns about security? …
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 11 replies
- 470 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, -
- 5 replies
- 669 views
Hello everybody... Perhaps you have seen this video before on Youtube or perhaps not, anyway I want to share it here cause may be we can make use of this idea somehow... If anyone has a comment or knowledge about this technique... Perhaps it could be implemented in A:M with some Mouse Motion Capture and something else... Note: It's interesting what is written in the description of the video on Youtube... Good day, bye
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 8 replies
- 1.2k views
I noticed this with 17g and simply reverted to v16. Yesterday I jumped on the V18 bandwagon, hoping it was a transient issue, but found it aint. It seems that my laptop, which happens to be my only workstation since I am a road warrior, has an Intel HD graphics card with OpenGL (here is a sys check) Video Card Vendor: Intel Renderer: Intel® HD Graphics OpenGL Version: 2.1.0 - Build 8.15.10.2104 GLU Version: 1.2.2.0 Microsoft Corporation Current pixel format: 6 Card name: Intel® HD Graphics Manufacturer: Intel Corporation Chip type: Intel® HD Graphics (Core i3) DAC type: Internal …
Last reply by fae_alba, -
- 1 follower
- 31 replies
- 2.5k views
lovely new forms of life - Strandbeests Organization doing Kinetic-DIY creatures inspired by the above Image shows details for the leg mechanism (taken from strandbeest site)
Last reply by Shelton, -
- 1 follower
- 5 replies
- 592 views
It's always interesting to see how tech folds back upon itself. The latest buzz word in cg hair is something of a convergence between hair and cloth. Super Space Clothoids Whitepaper SIGGRAPH 2013 There is tech/math going on here which I don't claim to follow but when I suggest folks consider using geometry for hair this is the general idea and when one considers the possibilities much of what is outlined can already be created with A:M.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 509 views
Dusted off my old HASP dongle and was going to mess around with A:M over the break, but it seems that the HASP software isn't working on Windows 7. After getting through a few other hoops, I'm stumped on this HASP error, when I try to open A:M: "HASP not found (15)" My USB HASP Dongle is plugged in and lit up, Windows seems to think the drivers are up to date, but A:M won't see it. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 6 replies
- 588 views
Software expired but new activation code gives this error even after un and re instal Bad return data from webserver (no status)(-134) No such file or directory (errno: 2)
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 followers
- 20 replies
- 1.4k views
I had been working on this story since before Halloween. In the beginning I felt it should be an easy one to pull off. The original concept contained no human actors, so the animation should be easy, simple sets so that should be easy, short story so no time would be required. Well, that's not really how it worked out. The first script felt too light to properly convey the story I envisioned. Characters were needed, humans. A deeper plot was needed to create a back story. No worries, I had some models built a while ago, not rigged very well, but it should do. So I soldiered on. I thought that I could jump right into the choreography, skip story boards, skip the animatic. …
Last reply by fae_alba, -
- 2 followers
- 9 replies
- 939 views
I hope you all have a fine holiday! My 2013 musical Christmas card. Gustav Holst's "Cranham" also known as "In the Bleak Midwinter" uy26H7oMGZg
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 0 replies
- 426 views
Good Taste Makes 'Bad Taste' is a documentary on Peter Jackson's earliest work before his rise to fame with 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Hobbit'. It's easy to image that big time film directors appear fully formed but the truth is much more educational. Several videos chronicling Peter Jackson's early effort to learn filmmaking and special effects are available online and should encourage everyone that they can be creative filmmakers and animators too. Of particular interest to many here will be Peter's innovation and work in stopmotion and innovation when trying to produce quality results on little to no budget. QcxMUZjaT4s cK-q6IJ-qo0 …
Last reply by Rodney, -
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, -
- 2 followers
- 7 replies
- 795 views
A site I like to keep an eye on is 'floobynooby' which collects a lot of animation related content similarly to sites such as onanimation.com Quite often the links that appear on one site will appear on the other. Every now and then however the content differs and I'm reminded again why I visit both onanimation.com and floobynooby.com regularly. In this case the posting of the first part of a three part analysis of the cinematics of PIXAR's 'Incredibles': http://floobynooby.blogspot.com/2013/12/th...les-part-1.html For anyone interested in filmmaking and animation, the article is well worth taking the time to purview. Folks pay good money for this kin…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 2 replies
- 624 views
Hello appreciated people of this forum!! I was researching about Anzovin's Training Videos here in the forum, and I read they are free to share here in the community... so I was wondering if they were uploaded somewhere... and if not, I was wondering in they could be uploaded in Low Quality for someone here, at least, to have the information they are teaching there, no matter if they wouldn't look so good... I have been compressing some videos with a software called BENCOS, and it compresses a lot the videos without take off too much quality... I've been compressing with a relation 1Mb / 1Minute video + size of audio track at 32 kbps, that's to say, a video of 6…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 2 replies
- 753 views
Here's something cool and useful. This guy has drawn skeletons into cartoon characters. Interesting to see where he has placed the joints and something that could be handy when you are thinking about rigging your character.
Last reply by thefreshestever, -
- 3 replies
- 684 views
I updated to AM v18 today. Before this I was using v14 so there is no doubt many changes for me. I have opened an existing project into the new version and found I can't get the hair on the model to render. When the hair is turned on I see it on the model, but it disappears when I render. I've gone through all the setting in the options and done some searching in the forum, but haven't found a solution. Does anyone have an idea what setting I have wrong? Or is it possibly a glitch? It seems unlikely to me to be a glitch so I'm hoping someone can find a setting I have wrong. I've attached the project in hopes someone can find the problem. Thank you for your help. …
Last reply by jnord71, -
- 22 replies
- 1.9k views
So I'm trying like the dickens to get this Christmas short of mine done, started rendering and decided that a) the lighting sucks, and I'm not happy with the render settings. For the lighting I'm using the basic default lights from a new chor with the addition of a sun. The sun is set to have a soft yellow color, set at a 100%. I'll confess that lighting and rendering are two areas that I haven't had the chance to experiment with yet, and I'm down to the wire on this project if I'm going to get this done, so I'm looking for suggestions. I've attached the camera presets as well as a base project. Thanks for any suggestions: SampleProject.prj Preset.pre
Last reply by fae_alba, -
- 1 follower
- 15 replies
- 901 views
I see its yoda64's birthday today! Happy birthday Steffen. Have a good one!
Last reply by serg2, -
- 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, -
- 7 replies
- 724 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, -
- 1 follower
- 10 replies
- 946 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqWig2WARb0 XqWig2WARb0 This is the ad [vimeo]78254514[/vimeo] http://vimeo.com/78254514 This is the making of Both are worth a look ?
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 15 replies
- 2.9k views
Aaron Blaise is another Disney artist/animator who has resources available online. He considers himself primarily a painter and from what I have seen has some great insight into how the real world informs art (and vice versa). Aaron is perhaps best known for his work in 'Beauty and the Beast' (Mulan, Brother Bear, etc. ) and for some nice behind the scenes insight into his work there see Art Tip#4 on thumbnailing. There are also at least four books/tutorials on drawing and animation (average price around $15 each) available online at his website: http://creatureartteacher.com/ These include: - How to animate a four legged walk cycle - How to animate a t…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 2 replies
- 427 views
I just put in a new graphics card in my Mac Pro. I'm going from a ATI 2600 with 256MB to an ATI 5870 with 1024MB. I wondered if there'd be any difference in render times. I don't think it had any effect, but just to share the results. This was a VGA size render with 16 passes and 60% Ambient Occlusion. No reflections, no hair. Mac v17G = 8:43 Mac v18beta2 = 8:45 Win v17G (running under Parallels) = 7:23 That's a pretty big advantage to running the Windows version. I'm not sure if it would make any difference to change the allotment of resources to Parallels. Right now, I'm letting it use 4GB of RAM and 4 CPU cores. I also gave it 512MB …
Last reply by largento, -
- 7 replies
- 1k views
Article from the NYTimes about the problem of presenting "The Wind Rises" outside of Japan. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/06/movies/h...l?smid=pl-share
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 followers
- 29 replies
- 1.8k views
Ya know, when it rains it pours. I've been working like a mad man trying to get this off the cuff Christmas short done before the 4th of July 2014. Had the set built, had props built, and was ready to put the pieces together. Tweeked my truck model, and was really quite stoked that I pulled that one out of the hat, saved the model, saved the chor, saved the project. I then decided to look at some other human models I had kicking around to see if I had one rigged well enough to do what I needed...found one (yeah for dusty archives!). Reopend my opening scene project, and noticed my truck was missing from the chor, and not even in the objects list of the project. Went …
Last reply by fae_alba, -
- 0 replies
- 299 views
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Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 532 views
If you watched Saturday Morning cartoons as i did you certainly saw Filmation's work, including Fat Albert, Archie and Star Trek. Filmation was one of about three significant producers of animation for Saturday morning TV in the US in the 60's, 70's and 80's but the only one that was able keep the production in-house and not outsource it. Lou Scheimer somehow made that work. http://www.newsfromme.com/2013/10/20/lou-scheimer-r-p/
Last reply by largento, -
- 0 replies
- 301 views
I know we have a number of self-employed freelance artists here and people with "day jobs" that have inadequate or over-expensive health insurance. The ACA should be a dramatic improvement in that situation. Forget the hysteria you've seen on cable TV, here is a low-drama explanation of what to expect and what to do. The Uninsured Musician’s Guide to The Affordable Care Act If you want coverage to start on Jan 1 you need to get enrolled by Dec 15. The actual Healthcare.gov website that handles enrollment on the internet seems to be a work-in-progress still. I'd say wait a couple weeks on it. People do report that enrolling by phone or paper form is…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 14 replies
- 844 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, -
- 3 replies
- 597 views
For those following the (general) software trend toward subscriptions etc. this may sound familiar... Autodesk has announced they will terminate 'upgrades' in 2015. What options are left for users of their products? Apparently, an annual purchase and/or subscription. Here's a write-up at AWN: (Link) The header: Much of this move is surely designed to catch more of the revenue stream generated as software is inevitably pushed downward (outward?) toward the periphery where lower end users will not pay thousands of dollars for software but pay more if spread out over a longer term. They have calculated that a greater saturation in the market w…
Last reply by detbear, -
- 3 replies
- 452 views
If you are an Adobe customer you may need to pay attention to this problem Adobe reports massive security breach
Last reply by jakerupert, -
- 1 follower
- 17 replies
- 1.3k views
I have no experience of using full exposure sheets, but begin to feel that I should be using them. I have been trying to follow an article on AWN about setting up a spreadsheet in Exell to make an exposure sheet template. Only slightly more experience of spread sheets, mean that its proving awkward. A few questions if I may, Can anyone kindly point me to a resource on how to use x sheets and how to set up and use them in exell ? I will be using it with AM but the immediate use is for a Stop frame project as a means of getting familiar with the process. regards simon
Last reply by Simon Edmondson, -
- 32 replies
- 1.8k views
I'm looking at running Windows via Parallels on my Mac, so that I can take advantage of some of the A:M plug-ins that don't work on the Mac (ie DarkTree textures, Setup Machine2, etc.) In order to do this, I have to purchase Windows and in trying to sift through the stuff, I find myself scratching my head. Windows 7 OEM 64-Bit seems to be an attractive option, yet it says in the eula that I can only purchase this if I'm building a PC that I'm going to sell to someone else and provide support for. Yet, Windows 8 OEM 64-bit says I can use it personally. Windows 7 is a bit cheaper, but Windows 8 apparently offers a free option to update to Windows 8.1 pro…
Last reply by pixelplucker, -
- 6 replies
- 544 views
Hello- I have been using Windows XP for years and because Microsoft is abandoning support for Windows XP I am about to upgrade to Windows 7. My AM web subscription is due in 4 days and I won't get the new Windows 7 in place for another 10 days to two weeks. If I renew AM and am sent a subscription code to be used to activate the new yearly license, will I need a new code when I upgrade the OS a few days later? I have been using AM everyday so I don't want to have a lag in service. Will the new bought subscription number work with both the old and the new Operating Systems? Or will Jason or Heath need to send me a follow up code? Any …
Last reply by Tom, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 540 views
Hello everyone. I had some thoughts today about artists and their potential works. Specifically I was thinking about the kickstarter world and all the projects that have had the dreaded "Funding Unsuccessful." By no means does this mean the project is unsuccessful!!!! But it has to be a real downer to put one's heartfelt work out there and have it seemingly rejected by the world. Kickstarter, although a clever way to get a project done, should by no means be viewed as a "Project Killer." O.K. ......So maybe the thing might need more work......Maybe people need to learn more about it or see it a little closer to finished quality. Maybe people …
Last reply by Gerry, -
Howdy animators, I'm wondering if any one knows where I can buy the 3 training DVDs made by Jeff lew??? I had them but I seem to have missed placed them. Any help at all would be great Thank you mike
Last reply by Dpendleton77,
