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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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979 topics in this forum
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- 8 replies
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I'm told this is Shark Week? Here are a few of my old shark tests... more shark: My shark-themed entry in last year's "Summer Memories" Image Constest
Last reply by Roger, -
- 1 follower
- 10 replies
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Time was (in previous versions of A:M) when you were working with a BVH file in an action and you had it all setup with all your constraints, you could change-out the underlying BVH animation with an alternate BVH and not have to re-constrain everything. When I try to do that now in V19 and V18... the 'Capture Sequence' option is unavailable (greyed out) but I seem to remember being able to do this in older versions. To be clear- Capture Sequence DOES work initially when you bring in your BVH file... that is all fine. It is just when you want to alternate to another BVH file that the option goes away. This makes it so that every time you want to use a BVH action, you …
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
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I have a render situation where I am using volumetric light(klieg) shining at camera thru a .png sequence with alpha channel of little doors opening and closing. I am noticing the effect of the volumetric seems 'incomplete', unless I am seeing an illusion. There are areas close to the matted opening where the light does not appear and I feel it should. I have tried many various settings, Zbuffered vs RayTraced etc but as the sequence renders sometimes it looks right and sometimes the light appears cutoff like in the attached image... Known issue? Bug? Am I misusing the feature? Same results in V18 and V19.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 replies
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I have several fires going in a picture. I want to make some minor changes in another part of the picture, but every time I make any move, the computer goes into calculating dynamics. It is taking almost forever to get the changes made. Is there any way to turn off the calculating dynamics until I am ready to render? Thanks.
Last reply by Pitcher, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
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My mac crashed and burned so I will be receiving my new iMac in a week. I will be boot camping it so I will have a win 10 side and a Mac side. When I contact Hash and ask them how to get my subscription moved to my new machine, I'll have to make the age old decision. Mac side or Windows 10 side? What is the current leaning and why? Are there better codex on one side or the other? Is one currently more stable than the other? Does one have the always asked for 'Make a cool, rigged dragon button? Thanx for the relevant input.
Last reply by largento, -
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Can I turn an action into a percentage pose and if so, how? I think I need to take the basic tuts again. 8-o Rusty
Last reply by robcat2075, -
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A user of brand X finds that on one computer his file opens normally but on his other computer it looks like this...
Last reply by Roger, -
- 3 replies
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Hi, I haven’t done much with A:M for years. I need to install a head control rig like the one I installed on the model in the attached image (don’t remember if it has a name) on other models but…lol, that was years ago and I don’t remember exactly how to install this puppy. Is there instructions or a tutorial around somewhere? Thanks, Rusty
Last reply by rusty, -
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European animation fan website Zippy Frames is highlighting Dušan Kastelic's subterranean A:M animation "Perk." Perk was quite an advance in detailed texturing in 2002 and still looks detailed today. Perk by Dušan Kastelic
Last reply by Rodney, -
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This might be a question for JohnL3d... I may have a use for a 'sound triggered' action... and remembered that A:M V18 has a new feature called 'Amplitude'. IS THERE any instructions on enacting this new technology? I searched the forum, found some movies that John had made... just wondering what the process is to find it, get it to work, and what properties it can control. ?
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 5 replies
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This most likely includes your broadband modem at home which is often a router itself. F.B.I.’s Urgent Request: Reboot Your Router to Stop Russia-Linked Malware I'll note that whenever the tech support for my internet provider said i needed to reboot my modem, they said it needed to be unplugged for several minutes to really clear it.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
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For those that have the latest Windows 10 update there is a new feature called the Timeline. It's basically an updated Task Menu (and Microsoft's way to potentially sift through a ton of user usage data). Many of the programs I use don't seem to work in the Timeline. I must assume the reason they don't is because they are not native Microsoft applications. They don't appear at all in the Timeline except while active. Those that do can be reverted to the time they last saved something (at least that's what it looks like from here but there is strange stuff going on here) Of all the programs I've tried A:M is the one that works best. I think this is because A:M…
Last reply by pixelplucker, -
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Installed the Win10 Creators update and everything appears to be working fine. My primary interest of course is gaining access to Paint 3D and testing that out and while it's basic beyond belief I must confess that I'm excited by the prospects of the average Windows user being able to paint 3D models. I chose as my first model to paint the Goose from the A:M Library. Painting is pretty straightforward but minimum size for paintbrush is limited to 5 pixels in size. For smaller detail a pencil, pen or marker must be used. So... laying in a base color with the brush and then zooming in and adding detail is a must. Format-wise the trip from A:M to Paint 3D is n…
Last reply by Rodney, -
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Hello does anyone know if the current version 19 is backward compatible with older versions like 13 and 14? I spent months building models for a short film in the older versions and want to know if the new version will read those old project files before I spend money. Any help would be appreciated. Have tried sending support emails to Hash but no response. thanks
Last reply by svetlik, -
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Hey all, have a landscape with quite a bit of grass, and grass is doing something I don't understand; from frame to frame, it will just extend and go crazy, taking up half the landscape. This is what it looks like before and this is after most of the time, I simply remove and readd the patch, but it seems to be doing this more and more, and I can't figure out why. Any help is appreciated. Thanks, Rich
Last reply by Xtaz, -
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The user interface for this program isn't exactly intuitive but I thought it might be useful for those that don't have a dedicated viewer to open and adjust EXR renderings outside of A:M. Being able to relight images easily is very useful. https://sourceforge.net/projects/mrviewer/?source=typ_redirect The program can do a lot more than just open, display and convert EXR images so may be worth a look. Listed features: A video player, interactive image viewer, and flipbook for use in VFX, 3D computer graphics and professional illustration. Features Flipbook player HDRI viewer Multichannel Support in OpenEXR, PSD, MIFF and TIFF formats MultiView OpenEXR …
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
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For those interested, there is now an Animation:Master Discord Server. Visit the Animation:Master Discord - Collaborate - Chat and share files - Share News and information - Search for topics of interest - Edit documentation in real time. - Initiate group or private chats (voice or video) - Develop your personal projects and explore your ideas These channels are meant to supplement the A:M forum with capabilities we don't have.
Last reply by Rodney, -
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I am having trouble getting two constraints: AimAt and Path to work together for the camera in a choreography. I have done this successfully in the past, but it seems that it has become more complicated now. I load a model into the choreography located a little left of center - see untitled-1. I then add a constraint AimAt the model for the camera. see untitled-2. Notice that the camera does not work unless you change the animate mode property from -not set- (evidently the default) to 'On' . You also need to change RotateOffsets for x,y,z to 0 in the properties of the constraint, otherwise it will not directly AimAt the model (evidently the default is not…
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
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Tonight, I was putting different hands on one of the models I made several years ago. I imported the hands into the model file, and some of the patches on the model turned solid black and others were spotty and looked singed. I tried refinding normals and that helped some, but I still have areas that are a problem. I was wondering what might cause this and how to fix it? Is there a setting that has gone haywire? I will attach a picture showing an area that was affected. Thanks for your help.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
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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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Change is in the wind... As of yesterday 13 April 2018 Amazon Studio is no longer accepting script submissions. Any currently submitted scripts will be available until 30 June. For more information: https://studios.amazon.com/help/faq Their recommendation to aspiring filmmakers is to submit to festivals via without-a-box.
Last reply by largento, -
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I couldn't locate the previous topic on Davinci Resolve bSo... Black Magic has announced the release of Davinci Resolve from Beta testing. It is now available in free and paid versions. If you don't have a dedicated video editor this is well worth a look, especially as Black Magic also produces the compositing software Fusion (which is not a dedicated video editor) and integration between the two will surely continue as time goes on. The primary difference between the free and paid release ($995) is higher resolution capabilities used in professional studios. The free versions (of Davinci Resolve and Fusion) operate on Mac and PC while the full version work…
Last reply by Xtaz, -
- 1 reply
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Here is a very fun and quite astonishing project by Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/project-zanzibar-blurring-distinction-digital-physical-worlds-via-tangible-interaction-portable-implementation/
Last reply by Rodney, -
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Let me preface this by saying that I have not used A:M for quite a while. I do keep tabs on it though because it does hold a special place in my heart, I've still got a few buds around here, and I'm still seeing kick-arse art made with the program. Let's begin... ----------------------------- CPU+GPU rendering was a way to increase render speed for the Cycles render engine inside Blender. Now that EEVEE is coming on the scene and is basically a game render engine, Cycles will probably be used only for specific tasks that EEVEE can't handle (yet), such as caustics, etc. I don't know what went down when trying to get A:M to render on a GPU, or why there wasn't m…
Last reply by nemyax, -
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I'm wondering... Is anyone here in the A:M forums also in the Philadelphia Pennsylvania area and may be interested in meeting up to discuss all things Animation Master? There used to be a group here years ago called the MAAM (Mid Atlantic Animation Master user group). We don't meet any more and it seems that all of the members of that group, except for me, no longer use A:M or have moved on to other things. I think that it would be nice to actually meet other A:M users face to face again. It was pretty cool back then and I think that it could be pretty cool now even though it would not be the same group of people as before. I could go over some rigging stuf…
Last reply by Rodney, -
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Here's a free program that might be useful for those that want to get at quad based topologies quickly. It's based on fairly recent paper about 'instant field aligned meshes' (Link to project page here: http://igl.ethz.ch/projects/instant-meshes/ Binary files are available for Windows, Mac and Linux here as is the source code: http://igl.ethz.ch/projects/instant-meshes/ The quick tests I did turned out quite good. DIsclaimer: Don't think this will keep your textures mapped.... it won't as it's not that kind of program but rather one that works deeply on topology.
Last reply by Rodney, -
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- 1k views
Some of you may recall Jeffrey Dates 'Day Off the Dead' short from many years ago when he was an avid A:M user. Like many others Jeff used his time with A:M to move into the animation industry and is still quite active in animation. He has been working for The Mill of late and their efforts at The Mill to promote real time character animation has recently made the news https://www.cartoonbrew.com/vfx/how-the-mill-is-embracing-real-time-for-character-animation-157603.html
Last reply by Rodney, -
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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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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, -
- 1 follower
- 14 replies
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Last reply by nemyax, -
GPU Slave?
by Tore- 2 followers
- 37 replies
- 4.7k views
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Last reply by Tore, -
- 2 followers
- 4 replies
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Last reply by robcat2075, -
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Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
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Last reply by Fuchur, -
New Icons?
by Tore- 1 follower
- 10 replies
- 2k views
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Last reply by Tore, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
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Last reply by robcat2075, -
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This tech watch focuses on one specific foray into bringing image formats up to date with modern hardware and software but there is much more to come. I hesitate to say there is a war of sorts on the horizon but some negotiations are ongoing to determine which approaches get adopted and what settles in for the long term. Microsoft has initiated their roll out of the HEIT format. There currently aren't any editors for the format and the focus is on playback. This would appear to be a byproduct of Microsoft's purchase of Nokia several years ago. For more information see: http://nokiatech.github.io/heif/ Of interest, this format is one of many approache…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
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This little video explains the basics of PBR materials: https://youtu.be/_LaVvGlkBDs
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
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I'm making a masted ship. Masted ships usually have guy ropes going all over the place to hold up the masts and yards. I can model ropes and tie the knots, but that runs up the patch count quite a bit. Is there a better way to run the ropes?
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 reply
- 960 views
Way back in the day Computer Graphics pioneers Jim Blinn and Ed Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith conducted lectures on their work to young and eager minds that were interested in pushing the technology to its full potential. It would have been wonderful if someone would have thought to record some of those lectures. And they did! These lectures haven't been viewed a lot on youtube bit should be for historical perspective alone. The lectures dive more deeply into subject matters we are well acquainted with to include splines and patches: xhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNXre0qpHjdhC29xH8WkKnw/feed From my perspective, this timeframe was while I was in h…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 6 replies
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I had a random thought so thought I should investigate. The underlying observation/conjectures: Application (and Editing) of Decal assignment in A:M can sometimes run afoul of the inherent curvature of splines. This is one of the reasons why it is useful to flatten a model before applying decals. The question Would it generally be better to peak all the splines in a model prior to applying a decal? A follow up question After the application of the decal presumably the would be an adjustment of the assignment of specific locations of the image decaled onto the model. What impact (if any) should we expect to see as a result? I'm in the early stage…
Last reply by Rodney, -
Decal glow?
by Tore- 1 follower
- 39 replies
- 3.6k views
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Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 follower
- 9 replies
- 2.2k views
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Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 replies
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Google has released a "Machine Learning Crash Course" https://developers.google.com/machine-learning/crash-course/ Someone learn it and tell me if it's useful.
Last reply by Rodney, -
New website
by Tore- 1 follower
- 0 replies
- 770 views
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Last reply by Tore, -
- 8 replies
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The prizes may not be of great use to A:M users and the judging criteria are rather hazy, but a lot of you already have great looking female characters on the shelf that might be dusted off to be worthy entries. https://www.cgtrader.com/challenges/3d-challenge-female-characters#section-awards
Last reply by largento, -
- 28 replies
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Are there any brave souls out there willing to help me test some peer to peer file sharing? I'm looking for one or two people to help me test the basic process. The underlying idea is that of distributed computing where files are shared from my computer directly to anyone with the address without need for a middleman server. If they so desire they can also share files as if they have their own server. I'm leaning toward this approach for the next round of A:M Extras and other productions but it really needs to shown to work well first. I think I can only use WIndows users only at this time. Later testing should expand to Mac and Linux. For those to…
Last reply by rusty, -
- 4 replies
- 1.3k views
All you guys and gals knew this stuff already but I'm slow and only recently read the memo... Script Lining is something I have long knew needed to be present in the filmmaking pipeline but I had never really seen it in the wild. Having now seen it I gain that sense of satisfaction that I knew it was there but renewed frustration in that digital solutions still fall short of capturing it's potential. For those that share my lack of knowledge concerning Script Lining here's a good overview of the process and how it helps us break down a script to the point where we know where our cameras will be and what should be seen in the lens/renders: It can be a very useful…
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 1 reply
- 1.1k views
Just as a general curiousity, here's what an empty Project file looks like in JSON format: When converting back (to xml) there are a few formatting things to watch out for: Extraneous text in red. The extra space needs to be removed as well.
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 0 replies
- 1k views
Got these links in my email today: You can download a bunch of different LUTs here for free: 35 free LUTs And this page on using LUTs and color grading: Color Grading 101
Last reply by largento,
