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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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963 topics in this forum
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Just updated to windows 8...don't know why. I guess I'm a OS junkie LOL. Will let everyone know how it works with AM.
Last reply by ruscular, -
- 2 replies
- 563 views
I've been watching a lot of older movies lately. Its a study on camera, lighting, and most importantly acting. The latest has been Fried Green Tomatoes! The best scene I think is near the end where Jessica Tandy's character points out Ruth's grave site. There is very little dialogue between the characters, but the acting is superb. Little has to be said I think. The actresses convey so much with just facial acting. If anyone gets a chance go and check out that small part. Really great scene.
Last reply by Simon Edmondson, -
- 3 replies
- 522 views
Here's a playlist of talks on "story telling". I haven't watched them all, but I have no doubt that there are some tidbits (for me, and probably others) to be found at: http://www.ted.com/playlists/62/how_to_tell_a_story.html
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 19 replies
- 2k views
Has any one been running A:M Netrender on the newer Intel CPUs that have "hyperthreading" virtual cores? What is the difference in thru-put with 4 real cores vs. 8 threads?
Last reply by thejobe, -
- 4 replies
- 830 views
There are many ways to approach the breaking down of scenes in a film but one of the best is to study what has worked (and worked especially well) in the past. For many years Hans Perk has posted the drafts from classic films on his blog where the films can be examined in light of these production drafts. These drafts attempt to break down the assignment of scenes as they are doled out to the various animators. Much can be learned from these drafts. As a means to understand the breakdown of timing in a shot or sequence we can see the timing of any particular shot from the vantage point of any animator or director. In this assigned shot, M…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 975 views
Far be it from me to recommend anything from Autodesk but this is really quite impressive; send Autodesk a series of quasi-random photos surrounding an object and they ship back a polygon model of that object, for free. This explains it well. Normally we`d be shut out but the V17 retopolgy tool makes it potentially useful to an A:M user.
Last reply by thejobe, -
- 7 replies
- 1k views
I have a question that I'm hoping some of you can weigh in on, especially those that actually has experience in making and finishing stuff and even more importantly, finishing big stuff (feature films essentially). But I'll take all opinions. First off, I'm going to post a script in CeltX format. Please don't redistribute the script and on top of that, if you're willing to read it at all that would be impressive (it's 130 pages.) Before I ask my questions, first make a couple of assumptions. One is that there would be minimal changes to the script, no reducing it to a short film or anything. The second, imagine it's a perfect and hypothetical world. So the ques…
Last reply by Darkwing, -
- 6 replies
- 811 views
Im doing hair on a charector and set the face cammera to 70 but think I need to change it but can,t seem to find it now anyone have clue to where its gone
Last reply by steve392, -
- 1 follower
- 14 replies
- 1.4k views
I asked a few months ago about file structures for people working on a project and was very appreciative of the responses received. I'm trying to plan a project which I hope to spend next year working on, could anyone kindly point me to a resource for overseeing the running of a complete project? I have no real experience in this area and have always relied on memory and catching up when needed. I'd like to try to do it better this time. Its not so much the particular details of individual areas such as models but the overall structure of a project and how to keep track of it as it unfolds? Any help gratefully received. Thank you. regards simon
Last reply by Simon Edmondson, -
- 2 replies
- 565 views
I want to move some bones in a head with the geometary ,is there some keys to hold ,Im sure Ive done this before cheers Steve
Last reply by steve392, -
- 1 reply
- 594 views
I'm working on a Mac so all the sound files I am able to make come in .mov or .m4v format or something to that extent. However, Animation Master only takes files in the .wav format, as you probably already know. How can I convert the files I have to the .wav format? Also, if possible I really don't want to pay for additional software to convert files. Thank you for whatever help you can give.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 6 replies
- 1.1k views
I'm running on a Mac and I can't figure out how to change .mov or .m4v files to .wav. Can anybody help?
Last reply by purplegirl, -
- 5 replies
- 731 views
Hi, Ten years ago, from this forum, I got some costs per screen second for animation. Does anyone have anything a little more recent? Thanks, Rusty
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 0 replies
- 504 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, -
- 0 replies
- 496 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, -
- 4 replies
- 664 views
http://www.animationbrain.com/2d-model-sheet.html While preparing some character designs for next year I found these. Its mainly aimed at 2D but might be of interest to otherstoo ? regards simon
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 4 replies
- 764 views
I'm on the tutorial exercise "Show some backbone" and I'm working on the smartskin. I did some work on the arm, but when I tried it out, a bunch of the splines disappeared! I'm not really sure what's wrong. Can you help? By the way, here's the project. Thanks for any help you can give! Exercise_13.prj
Last reply by purplegirl, -
- 5 replies
- 678 views
Is this April 1st? http://animationguildblog.blogspot.com/201...-lucasfilm.html and from another source: In other news (NY Times/LA Times etc.): George is retiring (with Kathleen Kennedy taking over as head of Lucasfilm) Disney is to pay $4.05 billion for Lucasfilm. Included in the deal are special-effects house Industrial Light & Magic, Skywalker Sound and video game company LucasArts.
Last reply by Roger, -
- 8 replies
- 865 views
Corel has followed suit with other companies in offering subscription services. The going rate for the latest Coreldraw Suite appears to be $24.99 a month or $198 a year. The areas I see as most beneficial to A:M Users are: - Publishing (many formats to chose from but PDF is a standard) - Compositing (composite back and forth between vector and raster via Coreldraw and Photopaint) - Textures - Limited Animation (there is a useful but very limited AVI to GIF capability) - Font Creation (Fonts can be imported into A:M via the Font Wizard) - AI export (these lines convert very well to splines in Animation:Master) - Power Trace (Raster to Vector con…
Last reply by pixelplucker, -
- 1 reply
- 530 views
These are a bit tough to wade through due to the age and poor quality but for those that take the time there is some real gold to be mined from these videos. Daniel Jeannette has come a long way from the days of tape playback and if nothing else this is a great demonstration of just how good we've got it these days when it comes to our ability to access, review and analyze animation. These guys really had to devote themselves to it. Read the quote at the very end of this post for Daniel's contextual notes that describe what prompted him to conduct his demonstration. Part 1: [vimeo]49005851[/vimeo] Part 2: [vimeo]49150442[/vimeo] Part 3: [vimeo]…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 3 replies
- 750 views
I'm mainly posting this as a test for posting vimeo videos but... the educational/animated videos that are being distributed these days are pretty impressive. [vimeo]41038445[/vimeo]
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 0 replies
- 499 views
Link: Gaming seems to be the real key to making this technology ubiquitous. Here's a link to their site: http://tech.yostengineering.com/3-space-sensor As near as I can tell each sensor sells for about $300. (This is the Bluetooth sensor) I would expect that price to fall pretty fast if it's going to sync in with the gamers. It's just a matter of time before you are walking around inside of A:M while drawing splines and extruding patches in realtime 3D. Here are some of the downloads and documentation.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 reply
- 648 views
While looking for information on the Rhino House video player I saw this article on animating quadroped walks. Lots of good reference and things to consider in a very short article. http://www.rocket5studios.com/tutorials/ap...he-walk-cycles/ Among other things it illustrates how an 8 cycle animation can have 4 key poses.
Last reply by Kamikaze, -
- 0 replies
- 571 views
I haven't even looked at the pricing but the general video and the video player look nice. I think the video player is a trend we'll see more of in the future with the ability to see Onion skinning, alter the frame steps, speed, etc. The frame step feature of the video player almost... almost... almost... breaks down the video into extremes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQJaqpKQtwI http://www.rhinohouse.com/ Ref: Ad/Write up at onanimation.com Note that downloads apparently are NOT included in the subscription to the service and because of that each download appears to cost 99 cents. Not sure but that's what it looked like to me.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 3 replies
- 778 views
I would love to find some fellow A:M users down here on the South Coast of Mass. I live at the tip of the red arrow, between Fall River and New Bedford. I know that confidentiality precludes giving out names and phone numbers, but if I could discover whether or not we have other users close by (or, reasonably so) I'd get on Craig's List, or tap into a friend's Facebook page. Any help would be appreciated.
Last reply by KJ'd Beast, -
- 4 replies
- 855 views
Can someone explain the 'direction' of splines? I have never understood that.
Last reply by Kelley, -
- 3 replies
- 734 views
9k8nDOM7LZ4 . Direct Link: What I really like about this review is how JP Sans covers the following: Lean (Setting a character off balance in order to motivate a movement) The Contact Pose (This pose is so important and JP Sans knows what to look for) Exaggeration (It is always best to exaggerate in cartoony animation. It is rare that you'll need to dial it back but will more than like need to push the pose more) Missing Poses (JP Sans's ability to quickly spot the missing poses is something is a point I'd like to get to myself and I know that is primarily the task of constant and continuous observation) Opposing Directions (He doesn't s…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 0 replies
- 682 views
Looks like Bluesky just got the greenlight to animate a feature film with Charlie Brown and the gang. I think it was Keith Lango that was involved in a test years ago but folks in charge of 'Peanuts' weren't satisified with the adaption to CG and went with the latest hand drawn shorts instead. Trying to remain relevant it looks like their two years worth of negotiations with Bluesky finally broke through to a feature film deal. http://blueskystudios.com/studio-blog/entr...-press-release/
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 1.1k views
Hello everybody！I’m Chris. I come from China.You know the “Unity 3D” is a good software for games making on mobile telephones and other Platforms.Unity 3D support the file of .FBX, include the animation of the bones. Generally I save the action as models,then exprot them to .OBJ,improt them in 3Ds and compose animation again in 3Ds.But the animation of the composition without bones doesn‘t work in .FBX In this way,so it doesn't work in Unity 3D too. I'm not sure if anybody had asked the same question before: Could anybody write a plugin about exprot to .FBX in AM? If we have this plugin,we could make the animation of the games in AM,then exprot to .FBX and im…
Last reply by jebeck, -
- 7 replies
- 922 views
Just recieved this notice from Kinetic School of Animation: Note: I assume this to be west coast time. Time is: 2:10 PM Central Daylight Time
Last reply by Rodney, -
3dcoat with AM 1 2
by ludo_si- 50 replies
- 4.3k views
Here is the explanation for texturing a model AM in 3dcoat. 1. Create your model 2. Use bake texture to save uv without difficulty. 3. export obj 16* with triangle. 4. Import your model in 3dcoat (option perpixel) 5. texture your model with symetry, bump, specular, emission, ambiant occlusion etc... 6. Export your model in obj to. All the textures are saved. 7. Import in AM. and decal replaces by new images. 8. It work and it's easy.
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 0 replies
- 688 views
This might be of use to some folks. If you already upload to Youtube you probably know about it already though... so apologies if this is old news. http://www.labnol.org/internet/add-logo-to...e-videos/25948/
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 0 replies
- 635 views
IMO this is one of the best kept secrets in the animation biz... It's still small enough to be personal and isn't overly commercial as of yet. http://www.ctnanimationexpo.com/ Is there anyone from the A:M Forum planning to attend? I haven't heard that Hash Inc is considering setting up shop but if they are I'd be even more likely to attend. Dates are: November 16th through the 18th. Location: Burbank, California I know some folks that have attended and they thoroughly enjoyed being able to interact with artists and animators of like interests.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
- 646 views
This will be of interest to those of you putting on your Director and Cinematographer hats and moving into production. Animation World Network is hosting a series of videos with a emphasis on Staging and Blocking and at this point there are about a dozen or so short lessons online. More is to be added over time. While the Poser-like quality of blocking may be a bit of a turn off there is a lot of information covered and those patient enough to watch all of the videos will begin to understand how to apply some of the lessons to their own projects. Subjects such as Deep Staging will be of particular value as they allow the camera to gain the best vantage point i…
Last reply by mouseman, -
- 2 replies
- 640 views
http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/10/02/compe...ake-a-3d-human/ It wouldn't be for me but some of the better modellers out there might be interested in this competition run by the magazine 3D World ? simon apologies, I just read it properly and its for other software, My mistake. I don't know how to delete the post. Sorry.
Last reply by Simon Edmondson, -
- 5 replies
- 712 views
In another thread about compositing, Rodney kindly supplied a link to a talk about the subject. I followed up the link provided and it asked me to update the Flash player. I did that and installed it but, when I went back to try the link again it still wanted me to install the latest version... This has happened before with other things, notably on Youtube, so I suspect it may be part of the Apple - Adobe battle I've heard about? Is anyone else using a Mac having this problem and, if so, does anyone know a solution ? I'm using OSX 10:68 with Safari regards simon
Last reply by Simon Edmondson, -
- 5 replies
- 891 views
Pretty amazing stuff. As amazing as this is we can come pretty close to that stuff where they draw on top of the guys hand and it inbetweens the rest automatically with A:M's new 'Snap to Surface' feature. Of course there is a lot more going on than just the matching of animation lines to surfaces in 'Paperman'...
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 7 replies
- 1.3k views
I'm not smart enough to get A:M data into it but I'm sure there are some folks out there that are. Dreamworks Animation recently released one of their proprietary tools: http://www.openvdb.org I found this while researching a project management program that I'm hoping will work well with A:M.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 reply
- 677 views
I'm on V16b and am trying to import an image sequence. On the images folder I and select Import Image Sequence. The problem is I don't get a file open dialogue displayed. This happens on both the 64 and 32 bit apps. I'm running on a win7 box. Any thoughts??
Last reply by Rodney, -
Circularise
by Malo- 8 replies
- 1.3k views
Hello, There is there a plugin or a function that transforms a closed spline in a circle?
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 3 replies
- 876 views
I know we can export Lights to a python script but... Can we reimport that script back into A:M or is this for external usage only? (If not I know the workaround... perhaps more direct route... is to simply save the Chor setup and import that back into A:M. I do note however that editing the script to create lights is easily readable via the python script) The same appears to be true for exporting Choreographies to python scripts.
Last reply by johnl3d, -
Unite
by jakerupert- 1 reply
- 777 views
For those interested in gamedevelopment there are some very interesting insights from the upcoming Unity 4.0 gameengine and its userconference at Amsterdam: http://unity3d.com/unite/#6947115
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 0 replies
- 676 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, -
- 3 replies
- 806 views
The best way to show you is with a video... sorry my poor english again erro.mov
Last reply by Xtaz, -
- 47 replies
- 6.1k views
This will mainly be of interest to programmers... and if you are into such things you likely know about this already but just in case... Pixar has released Open Subdiv as Open Source. What does that mean? I'm not a programmer so I really don't know. http://graphics.pixar.com/ http://graphics.pixar.com/opensubdiv
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 2 replies
- 748 views
Rather than add to the other topic that focuses on Phonemes I'll start a new topic where I hope others will feel free to explore A:M's Dopesheet. The Dopesheet has gained a bad name over the years and that is unfortunate because it can be used to do a lot of laborious work quickly. It can be used to block out stories, set up scenes and pose characters rapidly and without much effort. Folks see A:M's Dopesheet as only being good for Lipsync but perhaps it can do more than that...
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 16 replies
- 1.4k views
Another quick question. What is the deal with the timeline? While trying to setup phenomes shapes for the animation I can select a particular part of the text on the dope sheet and then hit the curve button to edit the curve and all I can see is the graph of the sound file. No matter what I do I can't find the curves for the phenome shape? There has got to be an easier way to do this!!!!!
Last reply by Ilidrake, -
- 13 replies
- 1.2k views
So I would like to get some feedback from the animators on this subject. How does one "block" in the animation poses using AM? I ask because doing so causes some issues with AM's auto curve of the timeline. How do you guys do it?
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 23 replies
- 2k views
I'd like to open a discussion on budgeting for projects. The primary bias I have going into such a subject is that I equate the outlay of a budget with the establishment of the project's priorities. As an example of this, lets say that you are allotted 10 bazoozas in which to apply to a production. These bazoozas are all that you have at the moment to pay forward toward the final product. You have considered approaching the producer but he's already complained that you are on a tight budget and you think you might actually be able to pull off preproduction on a 10 bazooza budget. The only guy signed up on your team as of this moment suggests the following …
Last reply by zandoriastudios, -
- 60 replies
- 4.7k views
Source: Heavily adapted and reordered from SIGGRAPH educational notes: The five key elements of a good story: audience, content, motivation, semiotics and timing. Audience: The goal of a story is to share knowledge (and experience) with the audience. If we are sensitive to an audience we can even use stories to move people from one understanding to another understanding (more often than not without their conscious awareness). Telling a story with no one in the audience is not storytelling. Consider the old adage, "If a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it..." If the event doesn't resonate with an audience it will be of little significance. …
Last reply by Rodney,