Rodney

If you carefully select the specific areas you want decaled you may not need any transparency at all. In other news... I'm attaching a project that has a basic example of an alternate method using Patch Images instead of decals. I did this mostly as a demonstration that there are several ways to approach the problem. You could also just adjust the surface property of the area you want over time without or without Patch Images or Decals. There is also the Material route as well which are quite customizable. Again... my addition here is just to demonstrate that you can solve the problem completely in A:M if you prefer to do that. There are other methods you could use as well... such as creating your transparent decals in A:M. If the transparency is generated by A:M then you know it'll work for you. In the attached project I've created a sequence of 30 grayscale images from white to gray that once rendered are in turn used in the project as the patch images. The blue of the iris has no images applied to it. The white of the eyes has the grayscale image sequence applied. Note: You must render the grayscale images found in Action 1 in order to have the project file find the images to work with so my apologies if that trips you up or sends you in a direction you don't need to go. I'm adding this to the discussion just to show there are several ways to approach the problem. Decals with Transparency is one. Adjusting surface properties another. Patch images or materials yet others... If you are working with clients you should have a copy of Photoshop, Photopaint, Gimp or some other equivalent to help create your decals. EyeColor.prj eyechange000.mov

Just a follow up to the links that were reported broken on the video tutorials page. As far as I can tell the only link broken right now is the 'html version' link under 'History of Animation Lecture'. You should be able to view the SWF versions online or download the zipped contents of the lecture for offline viewing. http://www.hash.com/2007web/vm.htm These videos provide a nice overview of basic history of animation and where A:M fits into the history of it all.

Myron, As with many things in life there are different approaches to take that vary the results and determine the end state. One person picks up a guitar and plays country music while another pursues his own thing. Similarly you'll find different approaches to take in animation and filmmaking. In the end only you can best determine your approach. I'll run through your specific questions and see what springs to mind. Others can add their thoughts too. If you are waiting for someone to create a tutorial that answers all your questions though... you are going to be waiting a very long time. Better to dig in and experiment. The lessons learned will sink in even more. TaoA:M (the manual) will answer this question (both sky and ground manipulation) but the answer is going to depend on what you want to do. Ground The default ground plane in A:M is a model. Replace or change that and you have a different ground. Sky You can add elements into your scene to render as the sky or you can set up your projects with transparency (Alpha Channels) in order to add the Sky at a later time. The answer is going to depend on whether you want to modify the sky 'in scene' or set it up for manipulation at a later time. One good method a learning is to learn from the work of others. Find a scene/project file that you are interested in and dig through the options. What did they do with the ground and sky? You'll learn a lot from looking at the work of others. It takes a lifetime to master all the varied aspects of lighting but there are some tried and true techniques. A:M comes with a basic 3 point lighting setup by default but you can add and manipulate lights as needed. Run a search for 'lighting' here in the forum and you are sure to get some great information. Digging deep into tutorials by the likes of Yves Poissant will keep you occupied for years. I would suggest that you keep this very simple at first. Then add to your storehouse of knowledge as you go. Most of the tutorials that deal with Cameras that I'm aware of don't focus (ha... get it?) on cameras alone. They deal more with how you use a camera to accomplish another more specific goal; adding your cartoon characters into a Live Action scene for instance. Besides working through TaoA:M, which will give you a good basic introduction to the camera open up the Camera's properties and experiment... break stuff!!! Save often and incrementally (project001.prj, project002.prj or something similar) if you want to keep what you've got. There are entire websites devoted to the art of filmmaking. I recommend approaching your projects with an eye for connecting the various parts of your film (shots and sequences) into scenes which will form your final film. Look into the recent TWO project here in the forum for an example of how that works. You can edit shots, sequences and scenes together in A:M or in other video applications. There are considerations when taking your film to final release that I would suggest you consult with those that have been there. If your film will only be shown on Youtube... the requirements will be minimal. If you are creating the next Star Wars... expect to spend a lot more time in research and development. Again, those that have been there can help. I believe the resources there are being updated. Not sure... I'll check. There is a lot of good information on animation history out on the internet. Those links primary dealt with where Animation:Master fit in. As you look into the history of animation it should be fairly obvious where A:M fits in. Hash Inc has been in the business for 20 years now and we are the beneficiaries. Short of working with Anzovin to get access to the tutorials I would suggest looking for A:M User Groups or A:M Users in your area. The tutorials have been in circulation for many years so a lot of A:M Users have them. Bring it on! We are all in this crazy world together. Might as well animate.

Interesting. I don't think I'd want to meet the character who created that sword (or the one who carries it if it's not the same character) without some serious backup!

Very nice Matt. You make this stuff look easy. Thanks for sharing your technique.

Thanks Paul. I had missed that announcement. I haven't had much time to keep up to date lately. I understand the background behind their decision and the reality of their studio's mission. I hope Anzovin will consider licensing or releasing the training material to someone else to keep it in circulation. The training material may be slightly dated but is certainly still of value. Its hard to support what isn't there. My thanks still goes out to Anzovin for their service and support to us through the years. Who knows... if the stars align perhaps we will see them return with more useful offering in the future.

Much respect goes out to Anzovin for not only keeping TSM2 in circulation but for going the extra mile and letting us have the power of TSM for free. Resources like TSM need to be kept in circulation. I agree that a Paypal button would be a nice thing for Anzovin to add to their site but I wouldn't want that to detract from the generosity and good will they've shown with this gesture to the A:M Community. Perhaps there is a different way to say thanks? I would suggest that rather than a donation anyone who finds TSM2 of use should purchase some or all of Anzovin's Training CDs. This is a win-win situation for everyone that sends a clear message of support to Anzovin and lets them know we are still very interested in their products both past and future. Anzovin would sell more Training CDs and you would be the recipient of information needed to increase your skill with A:M. If you already have the Training CDs perhaps you might consider purchasing them for a friend? This in turn would help the A:M Community continue to grow and prosper. Growth and prosperity isn't free but takes time and investment. I hope Anzovin will see a nice return on the investment they have made here by releasing TSM2 to the A:M Community. See Anzovin's announcment of discontinuing the A:M Training CDs to see why this suggest is no longer an option. Thanks Anzovin for releasing TSM2!

One of the classic techniques to handling a dive/spin is to create and animate a Null object that has the character constrained to the Null. If you have Jeff Lew's Training DVD he covers it there. (Not diving but center of mass and character spinning in the air) The idea is to move and rotate the Null to account for the center of balance (which as Robert states is not the center of the character but the center of mass of the character) and movement of weight and then animate the character's arms legs... everything else... separately. Separating this out you should be able to address the twinning Rusty mentions more easily. I'm running a search on 'diving board' videos on the internet but 'tis locking up on me at the moment. Edit: There are quite a few on youtube. .

I've been meaning to do a seamless tile tutorial for A:M for years now. If I'm not misunderstanding that might address the effect you are looking for. One thing you can do would be to limit the number of clouds in your image to one... then adjust the 'repeat' value on the image to add clouds. The images can be patch images applied to a mesh, decals applied to a plane... rotoscopes... whatever. For ease in manipulating the shape of the image I'd suggest using a grid and modifying it in an Action. That way your original shape is maintained in the model. You can play with multiple levels of images with/without alpha channels, adjust transparency... too many options to mention here. The attached image is just a basic patch image on a grid. Again... not sure what you are looking for here but offering it just the same.

Ah yes! Very well done too! ...and they aren't from 1 to 150 are they... I'm so forgetful. Still... post them here for completeness sake. Pretty please!

What Robert said. As I recall you (Robert) were one of the champions, if not the primary champion, of keeping the PWS timeline (what I call the Channel Editor). I've grown more use to using the Timeline these days but there are times when I find I prefer to use the PWS timeline almost exclusively. I'm not sure I favor one over the other... I like to use them both. I've yet to really get set up again after my recent move but hope to be there soon. Its been entirely too long since I've worked on any project short of small tests in A:M. Little things like optimizing windows/screens for better playback can make a big difference in workflow so I'm enjoying the discussion.

Just to be clear as there is often confusion between the Timeline and Channel Editor (apologies if I have it wrong!)... In the attached image the Timeline is turned off entirely. The Channel Editor to the right of the Project Workspace (PWS) cannot be turned off. It can only be hidden. If it is showing --even a sliver-- A:M reads... updates... maintains... the Channel Editor data which requires computation/processing. The only way to tell A:M to free that up is to hide the Channel Editor window. During TWO production the idea of discontinuing the Channel Editor was considered as the Timeline can provide this functionality. As I recall the decision was that the Channel Editor is too essential a feature to users to abandoned but... consider why discontinuing it was considered! Most of us don't think about hiding the Channel Editor. We just use what is there. Note that I cannot recall whether Hash Inc made changes to the Channel Editor based on this finding. They may have. (all this for what its worth and for further clarification of my suggestion)

Exercise 6: Custom Car in the manual (TaoA:M) has an introduction to Distortion Cages. Thats a good introduction to the process of deformation in Modeling. I suggest reviewing that first and then applying what you learn to animated distortion cages. From there you can do much of the same modification in an Action which will provide the Animated Distortion Cages you are looking for. Interestingly enough Holmes Bryant has created two tutorials on this very subject. Don't forget to look in the Tutorials forum or run a search in the forum for key words. Thanks for the tutorials Holmes! Modeling with Distortion Cages Animated Distortion Cages

I haven't seen this one mentioned yet so will offer it. Martin Hash was the first to identify the issue here in the forum Hide your Channel Window if you aren't using it (thats the timeline-like area/dopeheet to the right of your Project Workspace for those that don't know). A:M reportedly can be slowed down considerably as it has to update if its in view. The memory hit should be more if animating or modeling but might slow playback down as well.

I like. Someone else here already modeled the 'unknown' characters. I think the topic was called 'unnown' or something similar. Think... think... Who was it... Kamikaze? Hope others join in or you are going to be working through the rest of the 150 for the better part of the year! Maybe you could work out some kind of trading system to reward others who join in and help make the rest by sharing the models? Very nice Mewtwo.

I think to a very good degree this illustrates why animators adopted 'Squash and Stretch' and 'Exaggeration' as fundamentals with regard to animated bodies. This is no doubt why more cartoons have been used than realistic humans over the years. You can get away with more with squash and stretch in imaginary characters. Vern hits on an excellent point with the camera's view/perspective. For some poses we may need to break the model's rig in order to get the proper effect of foreshortening. We may often find poses where 'reality' doesn't look right or where something not filmed realistically looks somehow... better. I think this is why I am attracted to the cartoon form over more realistic rendering/porportions. In its own way the exaggeration makes a lot more sense to my brain... with stylized exaggeration I immediately accept that what I'm seeing is 'real enough' and I suspend my belief and move forward into the story. Going too realistic reminds the brain that what it is seeing is created with a computer and that can break the storyteller's spell. The roto you've placed next to the character has considerable exaggeration however even for a line drawing. That first one has very 'superheroic' porportions. In order to get closer to that (I think) you would have to break with realism. (go with the flow.., chart your own course... break the mould) From what I've seen of your characters thus far I can see you've strived to reach a good degree of realism in your work and I'd say you've achieved considerable success there. Keep it up!

For anyone following along... Myron was not clicking on the right button/icon. It looks like he was clicking the 'Patch select' icon instead. Read the play by play (and more useful advise!) here: http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showt...mp;#entry272118 As newbies (and oldersters too!) we not only learn from our own mistakes but also from the mistakes of others.

Myron, The 5 point patch looks fine from here. Perhaps you just aren't activating it? By this I mean to say that once the 5 point patch icon activates (which you've indicated has happened) that is showing you that its a valid 5 point patch. Then just click the 5 point patch icon and WALAH! the patch will be created. Looks like you are off to a great start!

Hey Matt! From one military guy to another... I want to welcome you to the A:M Forum! I know exactly what you mean when you talk about circumstances in Iraq that prevent downloading... been there... done that! I was fortunate enough that I eventually got a reliable connection but it cost me plenty to get it done. Worst of all was the time it took to download anything... with the connection constantly timing out. Ah the memories... I must say... your relative has great taste in software. Since you don't have a good connection I'll suggest that even more than for most people this is a great time to take advantage of that manual. Work through it and take notes along the way. When you do finally get some connectivity download the video tutorials that go with the exercises and then go through the exercises again. You'll be amazed at what you find you've learned (and remembered) along the way. If your connectivity allows get involved here in the forum. Make a lot of mistakes! Hurry home... and be safe! Hi Myron! I've send a reply to you in your PM inbox but want to officially welcome you here. Welcome to the A:M Forum! The '5 point patch problem' won't be a problem once you get the hang of it. When starting out though I would suggest to simply avoid it altogether but I understand that you'll eventually need to master it. If you must use one then you might want to share either a file or image of what you are experiencing. That'll help us help you get it straight. Without knowing more I can only assume that the area is not valid for the creation of a 5 point patch. Too many variables to consider without a look at the file. Hang in there. We are here with you. Rodney

Not to make little of the author of Jpatch or his work here... its a really amazing program... he programs it in his spare time... and its almost all programmed by one guy. But... in my estimation Jpatch is less than 5% of what A:M is with all features and functions factored in. Its really that significant a difference. There really is very little to compare between the two apps besides the common elements that inspired each of the apps creators. Jpatch has a few things that A:M doesn't too of course but that is to be expected... the programs aren't the same. Years ago I wanted to recommend JPatch as a good 'demo' of the technology and workflow of A:M at its core but I find it rather hard to do. The primary comparison might be in pricing. If we could round *free* up to $1 for JPatch we would find A:M to be really really REALLY cheap when comparitively pricing. I do keep my eye on Jpatch from time to time. I'd like to see more programs strive to be as compatible with A:M as Jpatch has been. Unfortunately Jpatch's author has been taking it farther and farther away from A:M over the years. For instance, the new development branch is no longer patch based.

Fuchur, My thanks to you for highlighting Marcel Bricman's work. I had started to type about Treez... and BitmapPlus... AM2SWF... etc... and realized my post was not going to do him justice, especially when my point was to resist the call of plugins when first starting out. I knew someone would add his name to this topic though and you did! The problem with giving contributors credit where credit is due here in the A:M Community (this from those at Hash Inc down to the newest contributor) is that it is entirely too much of an impossible thing to do. Hopefully those that have contributed over the years realize just how important that effort is and has been to all of us. My thanks certainly goes out to them.

The current release is considerably different than version 9.0. I don't know enough to guess at the functions called by each version but it would not be unlike comparing a program like notepad.exe to Office 2007's MS Word. There really is no reasonable comparison other than they perform some of the same basic functions. The suggestion that has worked for most people: - Update video drivers - Turn off Vista's Aero feature - Disable Desktop extensions Its always possible you have a corrupted installer... but rather unlikely.

Nice modeling and render. You are definitely NOT wasting your time. You could go the route of particle hair but I think your best bet may be to use images. Frank Silas use to have perhaps the definitive tutorial on that method but he no longer maintains those resources. If you have access to the Extra DVD it may be there. I'll look for a similar resource but the idea is to use a series of layered meshes all decaled with strands of hair. The hair image has an alpha channel that allows the lower levels to show through. Of course a mix of decaled hair and particle hair would probably look even better. For those not familiar with the reference dailan dropped you'll want to check out Matthew Krickets's tutorials. He hits all the basics and beyond from modeling, to rigging to decaling to toon rendering and more. Great stuff! http://dement3d.com/tutorials/

Oh yeah. Thats already looking sweet. Very nice Stian.

Needs more baby raptors chasing her. I think you've got in mind the areas that come to mind for me. Adding the toe animation (with a noticeable upward push as the raptor lifts off) will help perfect it. I'll suggest adjusting the direction of the raptor slightly to keep it from traveling straight across the screen. The combination of the straight/mostly unbroken horizon line with the movement of the raport makes the scene look 'designed'. I can think of two ways to attack that... redirect the raptor... or add additional environment into the scene. Of the two... redirecting the raptor is easier and might provide a sense of tension if moving closer (attempting to circle?) to the viewer. I'm not trying to redirect your goals here... just wondering out loud. Edit: It occurs to me that the horizontal walk would work really well if this were a seamless panoramic background and the walk cycled all the way around. This would place the viewer right in the middle of a very dangerous situation.