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This is an open forum for discussing Animation:Master and discussions should relate to A:M in some capacity.
Ask questions. Share experiences. Outline goals and aspirations.
Discuss what you hope to accomplish with A:M and projects you are working on.
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961 topics in this forum
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- 1 follower
- 8 replies
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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, -
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Can someone explain the 'direction' of splines? I have never understood that.
Last reply by Kelley, -
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Recently someone posted (facebook) an animation serie called spookiz, there are 2 characters exactly the same JohnArtBox's Kapsules... check it. https://youtu.be/SH_RwE6N2bk
Last reply by robcat2075, -
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Hi, I’d like to open a discussion on creating springs in Animation:Master. Rob created a great tutorial demonstrating the bone-to-spring system, which is an older method in Animation:Master. My question is whether it would be possible to use Bullet to create springs, as they could be considered soft bodies in Animation:Master. Thanks,
Last reply by Tom, -
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Hi yall. I want to show gas molecules bouncing around in a bottle. I've got Collisions turned on to contain the molecules, and for the most part it works, but about 5% of them zip right through the glass. Judging from the angles, many of these are escaping on 2nd or 3rd bounce. (Drag set to 0.) Still using V13 (blush). Any ideas?
Last reply by phatso, -
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Hello Hashers- I noticed these cool time lapse clouds that sort of roll inside out- xhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3-BVBocCxI and wondered if anyone has been able to achieve this with sprites (or otherwise)? Tom
Last reply by Tom, -
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As opposed to the less stable neo hookian flesh simulations... PDF and video are available here: http://graphics.pixar.com/library/StableElasticity/ Addititional info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Hookean_solid
Last reply by Rodney, -
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- 2 replies
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Last reply by Tore, -
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Even if you don't follow the games world much, these new "next gen" titles are visually stunning. Rendering at 60 fps real time(or something like that.) The real time render world and games show the value of GPU and physically based texturing/ lighting. Light years ahead of CPU. You can catch a look at these all over YouTube in HD. What do you guys think?
Last reply by largento, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 887 views
No details yet, but the official Star Wars website has announced the awards for Star Wars Fan Films is returning next year. Wikipedia has a page about past contests, rules and winners.
Last reply by largento, -
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I just returned from the theater and enjoyed the film a lot. Well worth the price of admission. (no surprise there) This felt like (at least) three movies in one as the various stories of the characters played out on the screen. I'm glad Disney doesn't break them down into three movies but they certainly could be and... it may be that they are playing to the idea of serials even more with logical drop off points where one story ends and others continue on. The storytelling is very well done with lots of little surprises along the way. This is (to me) especially interesting given that there seemed to be a limited way forward and yet the writers managed to bui…
Last reply by Rodney, -
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I am having trouble posting links here, but I put an update on my website http://www.monoboom.co/ Sorry to say I've lost my other downloader so I'm back to 1 download on Play for my app (me!). Anyway, with a green screen, and the ability to convert that to a black background PNG, I think a lot could be done... But I'm on moderator queue and you took down my topic. Am I really that bad at posting? Looks like http://www123videomagic.com/ has a green screen kit that could create an image sequence (with a not included camera to a RAW file) that could be converted to PNG (with other software) for color transparency (which is not the old color transparency just…
Last reply by DZ4, -
- 2 replies
- 687 views
My major complaint about Youtube for animation is that you couldn't step thru something frame-by-frame to study the motion. But now you can, at this site (and Vimeos too) http://anilyzer.com/ I'm not sure it's frame accurate but it seems to get most of them
Last reply by fae_alba, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
- 890 views
Finally finished with school. So now I can get back to my real show. I am working on getting a bunch of still images turned into a video. The version of FCPX that I am using is: The directions I am using are: In your FCPX preferences/settings, change the default still frame duration to 1 frame. Import all of your still image files into FCPX. Create a new project and drag all of your still images into the timeline. ‘Select All’ so that every image in the timeline is selected. Right click and select ‘Make Compound Clip’. Use your new compound clip as a video file in any regular project. Line 1 mak…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 29 replies
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The irony of having a modeling program with infinite resolution is that its stl export is lower resolution than any of its competitors. Its unfortunate because Animation master could if presented / marketed the right way could have a second wind because of the the 3d printer revolution. within 10 years 20% or more of hose holds could have a 3D printer. The bottleneck right now other than price is lack of easy to use 3D modeling software. But in our case we have the software and know how to use it but we cant get a high resolution stl file to the printer. Most people are using google sketchup, this program takes about 8 minutes to create a wine glass, as s…
Last reply by pixelplucker, -
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Aaron Blaise is branching out to offer some additional courses via his site. I'm posting this here... now... because the introductory pricing of $29 ends 14 hours from the time of this post. For those pinching pennies... that makes a big difference. I've purchased and have started watching the videos. I anticipate that much of what will be presented won't be new but will help to solidify what is already known. The underlying theme is.. Writers write. Directors direct. "Go out and do it!" That's the best way to learn. Here's the link:https://creatureartteacher.com/product/story-course-film-and-animation/ Here's the write up of the course. Here's …
Last reply by Rodney, -
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Chuck Williams and Aaron Blaise have launched a kickstarter to fund the initial creation of their current effort; a movie called "Art Story". But that isn't what I'm posting about here... Previously to this effort Williams and Blaise were working at the ill fated Digital Domain on several other story ideas. During that process they recorded a TEDx presentation about their creative process in creating their stories. hSIfGs-DGQ Some concepts covered: Starting out Spaghetti Pitches Inspiration Capturing Moments Evoking Emotion (Emotional Experiences) Research/Reference Connecting with Real Life Beat Boards Non…
Last reply by Rodney, -
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After installing AM.V16 on my new computer WIn10 64b I can't write out avi files. For some reason it gives me a stream error : AVIFileCreateStream Error : C:/ProgramFiles/HashInc/V16.0/Libarys/indy_thom.avi I see the counter runs on, but the file gets jammed. I never had this error with the program. Does anyone encounterd this before, or is it Win10 Pro that blocks up. Some avi files play, other won't because of a codeck.
Last reply by Madfox, -
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Ive got a charector model that is to short is there away to strech it including the bones Im sure ive done this before but my memmory just aint what it used to be
Last reply by ChuckGram, -
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I used to be able to get a reference grid to appear when using the stride length option in an action. The one I am referring to is: (from the A.M. reference manual) From a Bird’s Eye view, a reference grid is visible beneath the character’s feet (it can also be seen from a side view, but offers better visual feedback from Bird’s Eye). Stepping through the frames (use the scrub bar, frame buttons, or the and keys on the numeric keypad) will cause this grid to move forward/backward. By lining the foot up with one of the lines on the reference grid, any adjustments that are necessary can be made to the character’s stride to prevent slipping. It no longer appear…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
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My subscription ran out, I'm low on cash and can't afford to update right now. Are there any problems with AM 2006 on Windows 7 with the latest update?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
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On another forum someone asked how to "study" a shot Here was my response... At AnimationMentor they told us it's better to study live action shots than to study animated shots. You don't want to be re-creating other animators' mannerisms if you can help it. None-the-less there are some things you can ask yourself about any shot, live or animated... -What is the goal of the character? What are you seeing getting done that advances the story? -How does the character visibly change to show thought or action? -What are the main poses and changes of appearance the character goes through to show you what he is thinking or doing? When a character comes to a hol…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
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Hi, Attached is an image of my A:M 19.0 Help->About. I attempted to install and run the latest version (19.0d) and it asked for an activation key. My current subscription expires 17-Jun-2018. Shouldn't I be able to run 19.0d and how do I get my activation key? Sorry, its been several years... Rusty
Last reply by robcat2075, -
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Just purchased update subscription, installed it and it still tells me that AM expires in a few days. Just spent 80. bucks. Emailed from AM's support page-no response - Sent email from receipt email - also no response. Nobody seems to be at home at AM - no phone number to call. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Last reply by svetlik, -
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Hiya! I've recently purchased MODO Indi (to give it a serious look see to see if I want to save up to buy a full-on version of MODO), and so far I'm rather impressed. It hasn't crashed once on me, and it's work flow and my brain flow seem to be more or less on the same page. Anyway... ...I was fartin' around on their site looking for any of the extra stuff for MODO that I don't get with MODO Indi (mainly the scripting and plugins stuff), and came across something called "ACS 2 Kit" ("Automatic Character Setup 2 Kit"). One thing that instantly popped out at me was just how similar it seemed to be to a lot of the built-in stuff we have here in A:M. One thing in …
Last reply by Rodney, -
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- 1.5k views
I have a box full of old A:M books and dvd's that I would like to find a good home for. I used to play around with animation with my kids, but they've lost interest. I don't see a lot of stuff on ebay, is there a better place to sell?
Last reply by Rodney, -
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We animator types are an eclectic bunch of characters with diverse interests, so I was wondering. Is anyone watching Summer Slam tonight?
Last reply by Wildsided, -
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Hey all, anybody got any info on Hash Support or Orders? Trying to re-up my sub, but not getting any response and just wanna make sure everything's alright. Rich
Last reply by Jason Simonds, -
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- 642 views
Disclaimer: The following video contains a bit of cartoon nudity [vimeo]68229816[/vimeo] http://vimeo.com/68229816
Last reply by NancyGormezano, -
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- 915 views
Hello fellow hash'ers, I'm creating the cover for my next book and also it's book trailer. Unless I'm missing something, it seems that the most awesome sweeper plug-in, in copy mode, will not copy the model's surface attributes (color and I presume materials or decals...nor group names which would also solve my problem). I have a long complex tentacle with hundreds of parts strung along it and I'm looking for a way to create these with surface attributes (or like group names) without having to do each individually as this would take a long time. Anyone know of a way to accomplish this? Thanks for any help you can offer! Rusty
Last reply by johnl3d, -
- 2 replies
- 848 views
I've brought a wav audio file into choreography for lip-syncing and have synced the actions to the file, but when I play the action the sound plays faster than the wav file I've synced the actions to. The time code/frame tells me the wav file is 72 frames in length, but on playback, the sound does not sync with the frame count. It plays much faster. How can I sync the syncs?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
SyncSketch
by Rodney- 0 replies
- 830 views
We are seeing more and more of these type of applications... a definite trend in collaborative software. While useful and interesting once online sketching is ubiquitous I imagine many of these application will either fade from existence or be assimilated into other products. I fully expect Youtube and other video services to move in that direction as well. But... in the meantime these application are available and can help bring collaborative projects to life. Like several similar offerings SyncSketch provides online annotation of video uploaded to the cloud. Sharing a link with someone else allows you to then share that information with others. Here are a fe…
Last reply by Rodney, -
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Yet another online collaboration and review tool has appeared. The drawing tools are basic but adequate to communicate the reviewers intent. The free tier should satisfy basic requirements for a quick review but likely won't meet the needs of projects in full production. It's interesting to see where these online collaborative tools are heading. Worth checking out. https://syncsketch.com/#features I've lost track of similar products in circulation but a few of those include: RGBNotes Frame.io Artella While these services all have much to offer I think these may all be surpassed and eclipsed by what I'm seeing referred to as Web 3.0 (with a litt…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 991 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, -
- 1 reply
- 815 views
It's getting bad. All I did was *think* about getting a larger SSD and then the next ad that shows up on Facebook is for... a 2TB SSD!
Last reply by Wildsided, -
- 1 reply
- 579 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, -
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- 494 views
If you visit the Adobe site or attempt to update to the recently released Adobe Reader XI you'll currently get an update to Adobe Reader X instead and if attempting to update via the Reader itself a message that says you are currently up to date. This despite the fact that the Adobe site showing the XI version available for download. Since the XI release has been out since late Sep I can only assume the current buglist is large enough to keep Adobe from promoting/releasing it fully. For those interested the XI release is available at the following location: http://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatet.../11/11.0.0.html DISCLAIMER: YOU SHOULD READ THROU…
Last reply by Rodney, -
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- 668 views
I saw that Jason posted a link to video outlining Youtubes plans to allow 360 degree videos to be played on youtube. 360 degree videos that we can scroll around in and zoom in/out are certainly an interesting technology. My interest of course is more on animation so I'm curios about the potential for creating 360 degree animated short films and movies. The basic premise is to create have six or more cameras all record the same event and then stitch those video streams into an interactive 360 degree video. If anyone has more info on how we might set this up in A:M I'd be interested to know. I assume that rather than use multiple cameras each rendering the sam…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
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- 918 views
This is pretty neat technology that will have many applications. In a way it's not unlike a very different technology 'seam stitching' but from a very different approach with different applications. Article: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/08/05/429720274/obstructions-vanish-from-images-treated-with-new-software-from-mit-google Video: xhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoyNiatRIh4 Of specific interest (and a bit scary... although sure to be useful to reveal who took a picture/video) is the ability to pull the obstruction out of the image as a separate Alpha Matte. For those that recall the movie's look at technology.... shades of Bladerunne…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 2 replies
- 741 views
The one thing that my current workflow lacks is a high end video editor that doesn't break the bank. Several companies may help to resolve that. Avid is on the move lately with some major purchasing of other companies and an announcement that later in 2015 a free version of Media Composer will be released. While I don't imagine the free release will meet all the esoteric requirements needed the entry point is priced to make the determination of how well the program can fit into a production pipeline and fit current needs. It is also worth noting that a company recently purchased by Avid (Orad)is known for their realtime 3D technology. Sign up to receiv…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 replies
- 708 views
This is for folks that use TechSmith's Camtasia screen recording software. With the recent update to Camtasia 8.4 the recording file format has changed to allow full compatibility between PC and Mac. Good news. The bad news is that this change makes files recorded in the latest release incompatible with earlier releases. You can't open them, etc. This is something to consider if you use more than one release version of Camtasia or work with other who do. Note that a general workaround is to save/produce the content as a video file and share that but all of the specialized recording data (mouse movement etc.) will be lost (flattened?) as you do. Also noted,…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 10 replies
- 1.1k views
But will it run A:M? Hmmm.... xhttp://www.geek.com/news/intels-150-windows-pc-on-a-stick-is-now-on-sale-1619738/ Even if it does run A:M it (and similar tech) might be worth a look.
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 1 reply
- 737 views
This one almost doesn't rate a 'tech watch' label but there are aspects to it that certainly lend itself to further exploration. xhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWzurBQ81CM
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 0 replies
- 1.3k views
This is fairly self explanatory. Folks have long desired to be able to make sense of audio waveforms...
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 0 replies
- 538 views
This relates to some previous musing on devices that are 'constantly on'; something that is fairly common now that wasn't all that long ago. The term 'pre-record' can be a little hard to research online because of the use of the terms such as 'prerecorded' which imply video recorded for later viewing. This aspect of pre-record has to do with cameras/sensors that record continuously so they can time travel into the past from the moment where the user of the device first hits the record button to retrieve data. Generally, 30 seconds of video footage can then be recovered prior to the moment the recording was triggered. A downside of this in first generation models is…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 reply
- 888 views
Why did I think of Nancy when I saw this... http://www.disneyresearch.com/project/printed-teddy-bears/ Of course, automated sewing has been around for a very long time...
Last reply by NancyGormezano, -
- 2 replies
- 908 views
Can 3D printed objects (plastic or otherwise) without batteries and electronics be connected to the internet? Apparently so although that may depend on what you define as electronics. The approach uses ambient wifi to absorb or reflect signals and communicate in a binary (on/off) manner. With this method buttons, knobs and sliders can 'talk' to each other and other devices via wireless connection. So basically, anything that can move or rotate can relay it's current state. Obviously power is present somewhere in loop of the greater system (via smartphone, router etc.) but no power is required in the sensor itself thus suggesting almost any object can become a s…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 reply
- 2k views
Computational Thermoforming is an old technology (paints applied via immersion in water) modernized an applied to 3D printing with impressive results: xhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFkVxurKeAs More closely aligned to the older methodology, hyrodgraphy is highly useful as well. Both approaches are familar to those who texture models in Animation:Master and other programs. The trick being to do the texturing as precisely as possible with minimal passes to achieve the desired results. That (wet method) can be seen in a more modern form here: xhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlUhPrAqiY0 There are quite a few youtube videos that demonstrate the h…
Last reply by EmilyBrown, -
- 17 replies
- 4.4k views
This topic was previously titled: Thor - a new (open) video codec championed by Cisco For those with an interest in such things... https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-fuldseth-netvc-thor-00 The primary impetus for bringing it into existence appears to be to ensure the codec is free from patents. The linked document goes into detail of how the codec processes data.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 3 replies
- 989 views
What is larger than a nanosecond but shorter than a second? If Facebook (and presumably others) have their way it is a 'flick'. A flick is defined as: 1 flick = 1/705600000 second Somewhat usefully (mathematically) a flick can "in integer quantities exactly represent a single frame duration for 24hz, 25hz, 30hz, 48hz, 50hz, 60hz, 90hz, 100hz, 120hz, and also 1/1000 divisions of each." This helps with conversions of frequencies and image/audio sync. One potentially useful bit of information I saw outlined in the write up on flicks is this on the NTSC standard of 29.97 frames per second... something I have always thought was painful to consider: …
Last reply by Rodney,
