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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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939 topics in this forum
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- 2 followers
- 22 replies
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I'm toying with giving the Body Mechanics Boot Camp another try after the holidays. It would be a free class where you learn some basic character animation essentials. The curriculum might be something like -Bouncing Ball -Broad Jump -Weight shift -Side Step -Generic Walk It would need about three or four interested people who have the spare time to work on the exercises and who could all meet once a week at the same time on Skype.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
I seem to have lost the lic file and cant find the backup anywhere.I dld the latest version update and now it tells me the host is wrong any help would be good thanks
Last reply by steve392, -
- 1 follower
- 21 replies
- 1k views
First of all, I've been out of it a while. Pretty much ever since school started, I've not done anything animation related or been around on the forum even, so hello again! So, I have a question, which I'm sure is a question many have had who've attempted to produce anything at all, which essentially is this: how does one successfully produce their own animated short? First I suppose I should define successful. By successful, I mean, have completed in its entirety (so basically script straight through to release) a short film (maybe no more than 5 minutes in length). Furthermore, how long did it take to produce it? What are certain goals a person should set f…
Last reply by Vertexspline, -
- 1 follower
- 21 replies
- 1.7k views
I seem to have run into son banding when mixing the Screen Based Ambient Occlusion and Depth Of Field. Is this a biproduct of the two being used or is there a setting in the SBAO that will decrease the dark "halo" like banding on things. Thanks for any suggestions, Kevin
Last reply by NancyGormezano, -
- 1 follower
- 21 replies
- 4.7k views
after the wonderfully long windows 10 update I got attached error This for both v18 and v19 The realtime driver I have been using was GL3 but now windows want GL It works with that but now I am getting some issue with cloth simulation not work properly was wondering if they could be related
Last reply by pixelplucker, -
- 1 follower
- 20 replies
- 2.9k views
http://vimeo.com/68195050 [vimeo]68195050[/vimeo] Information
Last reply by itsjustme, -
- 1 follower
- 20 replies
- 1.1k views
Hi, Clearly A:M was not designed for anything like this but I was trying to think of some way to place multiple spheres and simulate each one attracting every other one--like planets and gravity, the gravity (attraction) having a fall off. Hell I can't even think of a way to have one object pull on another object! Any thoughts? Cheers, Rusty
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 followers
- 20 replies
- 1.3k 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, -
- 20 replies
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I took the plunge and decided to install the Windows 10 preview. Just prior to installation I tweaked a few settings, cleaned up a few things and moved important things to an external drive. As I was installing an uneasy feeling crept over me... what if this doesn't work out so well? My primary concern in updating Windows being how well A:M will run (of course!). While installation moved along it seemed to stall at about 2/3rds through so I browsed and continued to organize files on my other monitor (which I'd thought to turn back on and make sure was working prior to install. Still stalled at the same location for entirely too long I bit my tongue and initiat…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 20 replies
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I'm posting this here not so much to plug the kickstarter but to highlight one of the interviews/demonstrations that relates to it. Over on the Traditionalanimation.com site, Lavalle Lee conducts an interview with Don Bluth, then one with Gary Goldman and then raps up with a few question with both that dovetails into the announcement of the kickstarter. The main event however is saved for last and that is an animation demonstration by Don Bluth with him breaking down a simple animation of DIrk the Daring swinging his sword. A few highlights of the video include: Don demonstrates the traditional art of animation Don uses an exposure sheet and metronome as an aid…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 20 replies
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Hi, I know how to create the sphere, lol, but how do I make it spin evenly? A formula? Thanks for any help, Rusty PS: I use to know how to do this stuff, use it of lose it.
Last reply by rusty, -
- 20 replies
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Hi All, I'm new to Animation Master (I just started using it today), and I'm encountering a problem when I try to add a dope sheet. I can type a sentence, but when I OK that Animation Master crashes out. I've tried different sentences, and different sound files. I'm not sure if this is related, but when I scrub through any sound file on the timeline, I don't hear anything. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to hear something, but the tutorial seems to indicate I should hear the sound. A I doing something wrong? Do I need to configure something? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Last reply by robcat2075, -
Waiting for a new PC to arrive for new AM rig and I got to tinkering trying to get AM to run on the Mac I have now, first tried Parallels which worked craptacular, then tried through wine, after reading on how to set it up and going through the process a few times, finally figured out how it all works. So, AM actually works fast and smooth without emulation penalty through WINE, BUT the graphics driver support is not working, I think WINE is using a translation thing and passes graphics instructions though the host platform which translates it to the GPU, when I looked into the Open GL settings it look like it is using the stock minimum drivers /extensions and obviously…
Last reply by a.quaihoi, -
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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, -
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Hello, I ask myself some questions about the history and evolution of the polygonal subdivision in Hash patches after reading this link from pixar, which reminds me a lot with AM patches : http://www.opensubdiv.com/?page_id=84 - When was the last consolidation made on patches? - When was made the triangle patches? - When was made the quad patches? - When was made the five sides patches? - Is that the subdivision of polygons in the interior of patches has evolved since the beginning? - Martin Hash did he actually abandoned his baby, or does he think back on it later? - Stephen Gross, does it have the right to change the code of the constitution of t…
Last reply by Malo, -
- 1 follower
- 19 replies
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More often than not creative types find themselves locked in a self contained cycle of non-creativity at one point or another. One of the most significant of locks they place on the imagination is that of the eternal self fulfilling prophesy of 'I can't draw.' Let's cut to the chase. To draw is to pull something up or toward you (although if something or someone else is drawing in an opposing direction it might also be said to be drawn away or down) One need not place lines on a piece of paper with graphite, pen or other instrument capable of producing a visible line but some form of line must be placed in order to reveal the structure of a visual idea. One…
Last reply by pixelplucker, -
- 19 replies
- 1.3k views
About a minute or two after my computer has finished booting, the monitors go blank as if the video signal had stopped, as if the computer had turned them off for sleep mode. However the computer is not sleeping, it is still running and functioning. If I run a music program i can still give it keyboard commands and it responds correctly although the monitor is blank. If I reboot up in SafeMode (what I am in now) the monitors stay on and don't blank. This has happened after no obvious change by me. I haven't changed any settings or installed any new programs.
Last reply by pixelplucker, -
- 1 follower
- 19 replies
- 2.3k views
Hi, I am an old user (still using v10) and is looking at the current version for a possible upgrade. But the subscription method is making my head spinning. (May be I'm really too old ) If I purchase a subscription, will the software stop working after one year? Or can I still work with it but with no access to updates only? Also I read somewhere that A:M now supports STL export with improvement in subdivision of patches, but cannot find information on Hash's site or the forum here. I'm using A:M to build real physical models with 3D printer so that could be the one feature that makes v18 a must have for me. Another issue is using Win XP with v18. Seems tha…
Last reply by rijklau, -
- 1 follower
- 19 replies
- 1.6k views
I just like to thank everyone here for there help. I will not be getting A.M software again nothing wrong with it but I Am so AT lose right now.just crushed me this is the second time windows 10 has done this. blue screen of death i lost all my new work Again. My year is almost done so no point in bothering someone to get it A.M back. Guess I will Wait till Windows comes out with some new crap and try again then. I DO NOT LIKE WINDOWS 10 it is Garbage A.M is the Best Animation Software love it But can not handle The lose of work got it all working again did repair since i lost all i might as well do a fresh installe of windows 10 crap so it can crash fresh again …
Last reply by pixelplucker, -
- 19 replies
- 1.3k views
I am trying to import files that have alpha channels in them. Sadly these are comprimised in - *.pdf - *.psd - *.pxr - *.raw - *.tiff extentions. These extentions can not be imported in Animation Master. Is there a plugin that can do so?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 18 replies
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Recently, I was trying to animate bubbles coming from my scuba divers' regulators. I constructed about 50 bubbles and put them inside my diver in an action file. I then tried to move different sized bubbles from inside the diver to just outside the regulator in groups of 12 or so bubbles that I would arrange in some sort of random formation. I then would try to move the group (mixing them up and changing the arrangement) every 10 frames further away from the diver. When I got them about two steps away, they started trying to come back to the diver. I would advance 1 frame and about 1/3 of the bubbles started shooting great distances back toward the diver. I had to chase t…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 18 replies
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Octane Renderer is extraordinary. The company that sells it creates plugins for many software like Blender, Carrara etc ... And why not Animation Master. I sent an email to see if they have plans for plugins AM. It would be good that many send an email if interested in this renderer. Octane is a GPU engine Unbiased. User-friendly gpu allows use to make an image from 10 to 50 times faster. I use octane and it's really impressive.
Last reply by Xtaz, -
- 18 replies
- 3.8k views
Several years ago, I bought the blu-ray of "How The West Was Won," one of the few movies shot in true Cinerama, using a camera with three lenses and magazines, able to record a 146° viewing area. These three strips of film were then projected by three projectors onto an enormous curved screen. The results were supposed to be spectacular. I've never seen Cinerama in person, but to simulate the effect, they mapped the movie onto a 3D curved screen and presented it on the blu-ray in what they called "Smilebox." The effect is pretty spectacular. Got me to wondering if a Cinerama Camera and screen could be simulated in A:M, so that you could end up with a Smilebox movi…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 18 replies
- 1.5k views
Hello esteemed Spliners! I am working on getting 'game-ready' assets out of A:M- hoping to get them into Snapchat, and have made good use of Gerald's(Fuchur) 'A:M to Unity' video tutorial where models and actions are exported from A:M to Ultimate Unwrap via the .X file format... and as always I figure that Sketchfab is a great place to view, test and share your UU exported FBX file. However- I am finding that when I employ my 'Bake Surface' option in A:M- it looks good there but in Sketchfab I see overspill or some anomoly that I would like to lose or lessen. Take a look here at my Sketchfab model with animations: https://skfb.ly/6JSDM Latest rev: https://skf…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 18 replies
- 1.2k views
Like the title says, looks great in HASH, but exporting to OBJ gets wrecked. Not sure what I'm doing exactly wrong, might be export settings... Or maybe I screwed up making the model... Goal is making something 3D printable. I've included the file if anyone wants to poke around. MG Rings Fix.prj
Last reply by fae_alba, -
- 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, -
- 17 replies
- 1.3k views
Here's a brief clip of me waving my Cintiq pen around the screen. You'll see that the cursor is always about 5-6 video frames behind the position of the pen. cursorlag.mov I'm wondering why it should ever be more than one screen refresh behind. Consider that the screen is refreshed at 60 fps. On a 2.5 GHz computer that means there 41.6 million clock cycles between every screen refresh. I would think that on an otherwise untasked computer it should be possible to read the position of the pen and update the cursor on the screen in less than 41 million clock cycles and yet there seems to be a pipeline of delay built into the process.
Last reply by pixelplucker, -
- 1 follower
- 17 replies
- 1.4k views
It's been a year but my M3D micro 3D printer arrived yesterday and I finally got a chance to get it a try. The two initial runs didn't work so great, so recalibrated... created much simpler test models... and am seeing better success now. I just put in a print of Thom to test the yellow 3Dink but (at 9% complete) it looks like his neck broke off in the process and the printer head melded it into his hip... Abort! Abort! Abort! It looks like most of my models will need to be set to print with higher quality... i.e. more solid. I'll post something if and when I get something worth posting.
Last reply by jakerupert, -
- 17 replies
- 3.4k 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, -
- 2 followers
- 17 replies
- 1.5k views
I was watching a retrospective documentary that was an extra on the final Clone Wars release and part of it was dedicated to something I found interesting. At a certain point, Lucas realized that in order to keep on schedule, they needed to forego the storyboarding stage and go straight to pre-viz. Lucas went to his guys at ILM and a team was put together to create a piece of software called "Zviz" that would make it easy to create a pre-vis version of the episode first. The tool would not only allow you to import and animate assets, but you could create assets and most importantly, shoot and edit the material. Using Zviz on a laptop, directors could set up or change …
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 17 replies
- 1.7k views
Autodesk has gobbled up yet another company. This time the makers of the Arnold renderer, Solid Angle. Here's an interview delving into the decision to sell to Autodesk (the owner and originator of the Arnold renderer) courtesy of MIke Seymour at FXguide: https://www.fxguide.com/featured/autodesk-buys-arnold-2/ Two primary takeaways: - This will be the first time Autodesk has an in house high end renderer (other renderers have been licensed. Ex: Mental Ray/NVidia) - According to the article "Rendering is certainly one of the hottest areas in 3D right now". This no doubt ties in with Autodesk's longer term plans for render in the cloud. Recent deals l…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 17 replies
- 2.5k views
OK, So I want to export a model from A:M and import to Unreal Engine 4. However I have just tried exporting as an OBJ file and importing the model into UE4 and the mesh that is displayed in unreal has lots of holes in it. I am a big noob when it comes to this sort of thing so does anyone have any ideas on what I'm doing wrong here? two pics are attached. Thanks C
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 1 follower
- 17 replies
- 676 views
Small search on my side. After finding the download page for Animation_Master it seems as if the links to: "Subscription" "Never Expiring" and "Rendernodes" always return to the same first page. A bit confusing, as I need one of the other two. Is there a more practical way to get used to a multiple choice admitment? 🤔 🙂
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 16 replies
- 1.1k 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, -
- 16 replies
- 2k views
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27677712 Sounds great, is animation master easy to export to renderman? or would extra work be needed to export it to renderman. I know this is not a commercial license but it would be great to use it as another option.
Last reply by frosteternal, -
- 16 replies
- 1.2k views
http://www.cgmeetup.net/home/kick-ass-animated-3d-comic-book-sequence-breakdown/
Last reply by pixelplucker, -
- 16 replies
- 5.3k views
One problem I have had more than once is that foot targets become disconnected. I move them and nothing on the model moves. I seem to remember that one time I fixed the problem by opening the basic skeleton model and dragging the foot targets from the skeleton model to the model with the foot target problem. That was couple of years ago, and I have forgotten what I did exactly. I am not able to do a repeat performance. Does anyone know a slick and easy way to reestablish foot targets? Foot targets, by the way, seem to be the most vulnerable part of the skeleton. If something goes wrong with the skeleton in my brief experience, it is usually that the foot targets cease…
Last reply by Madfox, -
- 16 replies
- 1.5k views
My daughter is interested in going to college. She wants to learn character design and level design for games. I am just a novist designer for cg animation. I would like advice from people in the biz. (I'm going to teach her what I can. She's already getting better than me. I feel like Yoda in "Return of the Jedi".)
Last reply by DZ4, -
- 16 replies
- 1.9k views
They make this sound like a bit more of a caper than it really is (I'm not sure that the shape of the bust of Nefertiti was a big secret) but now you can get her in inconvenient polygon form, ripe for your retopology experimenting. Artists Covertly Scan Bust of Nefertiti and Release the Data for Free Online
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 16 replies
- 2.1k views
Hi there, every once in a while (mostly in my holidays) I return to A:M and try to make it really work for me. Still dreaming of an animators career, doh. However, one point where I still have huge problems with are Normal and Displacement maps. While mighty and powerfull I was never able to make them really work for me. When I render in A:M I only get unpredictable results, which by far not what I expect. Therefore it woud be nice, if you could tell me what to look for when using this kind of maps. Info about where you do the maps, how you export, what type of Normal adn Displacement maps you us would be also cool! Thanks in advance!
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 16 replies
- 1.9k views
Hmm. Thought I posted this last nite, but don't see it. I've made about 1,000 models in A:M, but only now started to animate. I must be doing something wrong: A:M loses things. About every 5 minutes I get a real time render error message, so I save, and when I re-open the project, patches and decals are missing. Also, even more of a problem, in the timeline the lines and keyframes show up...and then they don't. Dunno what I'm doing to cause this, they just disappear, and they don't even wait for a save/reopen to do it. I click on a group and see the lines, click on another group, then come back to the first group and the timeline is blank. Along the same …
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 16 replies
- 1.9k views
I’m trying to get to grips with Sub Surface Scattering, but at the moment I’m at a loss on how to get it to work properly. What I cant quite understand is that the sss effect seems evident in the modelling window when rendered out in final, however not all evident in the default choreography window. I’ve been using some of Yves Possaint’s sub surface scattering value examples and testing them out on basic primitives with no luck. I was told by Robcat that John Bigboote uses sss a lot, any help from anybody would be greatly appreciated.
Last reply by markarjun, -
Ok, so I posted about something like this before. It seems that I can't apply decals to ANY model. Whenever I try to, the program crashes. Contrast that with the fact that the models that already have decals applied still show up in real time. I've included an example. The one on the left has the decals, the one on the right doesn't. Both were created using the exact same version of the program, but at different times and on different machines. The decals on the left model are TGA files. I have no way of saving to that format anymore. Suggestions?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 16 replies
- 820 views
I knew my subscription expired on 1/7/2022. When I tried to start A:M: on that day I got a message RLM error -3. I sent the following email on 1/7/2022: I paid for a subscription update and got a new serial key, but when my current subscription expired, I got the message RLM error -3 Please email support@hash.com to activate by email. It has been 4 days with no response. How long do we go before we conclude that nothing is going to change?
Last reply by Jason Simonds, -
- 16 replies
- 736 views
Hello Hashers- I'm guessing many of you have seen the new text to AI art engines out there like Midjourney, Dall E and Disco Diffusion (to name a few). They are rather awesome and also bit scary with the excellent images these engines create just using a few word prompts. They leave the carbon based artist (at least me) a bit perplexed...Computer generated images are not copyrightable and yet they will soon overwhelm all aspects of our life. Seems like a steep road for the carbon based artist to compete... I just discovered a new Text to Animation (!) engine and wondered what the communities thoughts are regarding this new way to move models around:
Last reply by fae_alba, -
- 15 replies
- 1k views
This will be making the rounds... Don't Go to Art School: Why Traditional Art Schools are Failing Us by Noah Bradley. He outlines the issues and provides some resources to help address the problem. Here's a brief snippet of Noah's recommendations: His main point is that the debt incurred in attending a traditional art school is not worth the cost (a concept most will readily agree with). Agree or disagree (like most folks his solutions align fairly close with his proximity to those solutions), Noah has many interesting and thought provoking things to say and considerations to contemplate on his blog. Like this article entitled, "Start of…
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, -
- 1 follower
- 15 replies
- 896 views
I see its yoda64's birthday today! Happy birthday Steffen. Have a good one!
Last reply by serg2, -
- 15 replies
- 1.7k views
Microsoft explains what you’ll lose by upgrading to Windows 10 Apparently you can't play "Hearts" anymore. I will admit I never understood that game anyway. Also... no floppies, no DVD player included.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
Hello Admired, Inspiring and Appreciated People of this A:M Forum, my best wishes for you all!!! ******** I was writing this topic, because is kind of interesting to me know a little bit about the current lives of this "Great Heroes" of the History of the Great "Animation Master". ******** Especially when I see that Jeff Lew in his website "killerbeanforever dot com" says that is "OUT OF BUSINESS". It is for me a little sad to think that a Great Talent and Ability like his, can't find a place and a long and profitable career to make a happy living in the CGI World. Also I would like to know about Stephen Millingen (and his currents animations, if any), J…
Last reply by zandoriastudios, -
