Rodney

Congratulations! What a thrill to have a CG character of your own on everyones TV screens. The constant repetition of 'Belle-Tire' sure can be irritating but one thing is for sure... no one should forget 'Belle Tire'! Good to have you back Matt.

I thought I'd try HAMRviewer to see if it would display EXR images. I seem to be getting EXR files in HAMRviewer but not in all cases. I've been moving back and forth from v13 to v14 a lot and that would seem to indicate .PRJB files exported out of v14 don't display the EXRs in HAMRviewer. Also the EXR's alpha channels aren't supported. It may be that the EXR files get converted to another format upon export? That shouldn't be the case as they are external files. Easy enough to test by replacing the image I guess.

Same here. Perhaps a plugin needs to be installed?

Zola, As far as I can tell Libraries don't support shortcuts to Darktrees (.dtst). The Materials tab only supports .MAT files and none of the other tabs would seem to support them either. It won't be a suitable substitute but if you just have to have a part of them in the Library you could apply them to a plane and render them out as an image for use as decals. Libraries do support image files via the Images tab.

I accidently forgot the rule where if you demonstrate at SIGGRAPH you become a Hash Fellow. By the time I realized it... it was too late.

I was thinking more about internal conversion in A:M. Have you tested that? The main reason I use Targa is to gain the benefit of the alpha channel. If its an easy move from EXR to Targa within A:M while retaining that... I'm there. As of tonight I'm there anyway but would need to make allowances. Edit: EXR converted to Targa w/ alpha channel in A:M just fine. Most outstanding. For JoJo... If for any reason you cannot get EXR over into your other application you can convert from EXR to Targa in A:M and then use them.

Thanks for that info. I've been meaning to move toward OpenEXR for some time now but have enjoyed Targa so much its been hard to break the habit. You are right in that it should be easy to move from OpenEXR to Targa so... maybe its time to make the move. I'm still a bit wary and probably will be until I experiment and test. I assume/hope the alpha channel is retained in the conversion from OpenEXR to Targa? (Easy enough to test) I agree that the benefits of Open EXR are many. Time to leverage that I think. This then begs the question... why not use EXR format for TWO?

For 2007 these were transferred from the main A:M CD and to the Extra DVD. This does keep the main CD school friendly and for all ages. The Extra DVD is mostly what contributors decide to make of it. I think this was a great move by Hash Inc as the main A:M CD has everything required to get someone up and running and the Extra DVD provides additional resources. Dex and Lambrina should be in the models folder under Actors/Realistic. I cannot confirm at the moment but they are on the 2007 Extra DVD.

Thanks guys. Due to your overwhelming support I will be announcing shortly my run for the office of President in 2008. Now get back to animating before I get all emotional. *sniff* It's all of you that rock and you know it. So... keep on rockin'!

I keep pretty busy with my own job. ...and I hear Hash Inc makes you work for your keep too so that'd be a drawback. I'm happy to just do my little part and thank everyone for putting up with me.

You are very welcome Mr C! The A:M forum (and animaster email listserver before that) has been a great help to me. The people here always make my day.

Unless I'm mistaken most Open EXR formats are compatible 'within' their own program. Moving them back and forth between programs could get dicey. From what I can tell the Open EXR standard is mostly standardized at its base format. Once you start adding to it (and everyone seems to do that) you lose that standardization. I'll recommend using Targa format to import into your other program and manipulate from there. If you are a programmer you might be able to work a better conversion. I don't want to say you can't move Open EXR files back and forth but from what I've seen that been largely true. The format doesn't seem to be designed for portability as much as extensibility. Having said all this (without really knowing) I'd like to know more about Open EXR myself but my interest is mostly for leveraging the format for internal A:M usage. You can read more about OpenEXR here: http://www.openexr.com/ I hadn't realized that OpenEXR recently won an Academy Award. Cool. Info taken from the linked site: Information related to compatibility: Not that anyone outside of ILM is using version 1 files.

Not to undercut Creation Engine... but you can get at least the same deal factory direct. http://www.hash.com/2007web/lablicence.htm

Mr. C, I responded to your PM before seeing your post here so most of this will be a repeat of that information. A:M has built in chat capabity. Log into the A:M Community and just chat away. If your goal is to get ahold of Hash Inc they are right here in the forum with us. Most of Hash Inc is also available via Skype and various other means of communication. Precoordinate and Hash Inc will let you know when and what works best. Phones work well too! Perhaps even the best in some cases (especially where time is of the essense... or if ordering upgrades is involved) but... I'm not much of a phone user. Not sure why that is... Every Wednesday night someone from Hash Inc hosts the chat in the A:M Community (the chat logged into via A:M). You can chat there anytime of course but thats the designated time to meet with the creators of Animation:Master and have a great time. There should be a page that talks about A:M Community it in your manual.

Caroline mentioned Mike Flynn's A:M Terraform. A:M v14 also has the Terrain Wizard. (Note: The terrain wizard was created ages ago by Andy Whitlock but now ships with A:M). From the Modeling window Right Click > Plugins > Wizards > Terrain Then either paint or import your image to create your terrain. Fun... and 0 calories too! Attached: An example of A:M's Terrain Wizard in action. The image used was the Nighttime lights of the world. Blurred slightly in the wizards option panel.

Mr. C, Definitely use the TaoA:M curriculum. Its proven. It works. For a 10 hour course you definitely don't have time to do this one without a serious plan: As such I think it better to introduce characters that are already made and let the students animate with those first. If you want to add Modeling (and I know you do!) suggest that students might create a simple prop to be added in a scene. If each student makes a different prop... there could be a lot of props to share. Focus on the basics though... Lathing (This is how you do it. Now do it.) Extrusion (This is how you do it. Now do it.) Again... TaoA:M provides a proven method but you may want to deviate in some cases. Some of the more extensive exercises you can have them do (or at least study) outside of class. If you have limited time for modeling and want to concentrate on storytelling/animation for instance, you may want to provide the basic props and suggest that students modify them to fit their needs. I'm a big fan of TaoA:M but once you get into modeling a character... the average student is going to get lost quickly and need some serious hand holding. More advanced students can pursue character modeling and rigging but I'd say that is rather advanced and outside the scope of a 10 hour class. Now if you consider a flower a character.... TaoA:M's got a lesson for you there too. Students can model and rig and animate that one in good time. Bottom Line? If you run them through the basics... and get them into TaoA:M... they'll be set for success. Once they complete your course they can (and will assuming they have the continuing interest) move on to more advanced lessons on their own.

. What Jon said. Definitely contact Hash Inc. They'll point you in the right direction. Your attitude toward being on the up and up alone says volumes about you. I admire that.

Very cool. There have been some folks trying to get some effects like that rendered out for some time now. I think they were mostly using sprites. You've just made them very happy.

I believe it is. You are in. (Is that a self portrait?) (you are in too GDblEK)

Sorry, to enter the raffle you must own 2007. The SIGGRAPH videos don't require 2007 though.

No critique here (except... learn to decal to take your work to the next level!!!) Outstanding work! You have "Mad Skills" in modeling. (I believe that is the popular term)

Impressive!

Steven, I'm happy to report that not only will it be compatible... it IS compatible. I'm using both v13 and v14 on a laptop enabled with Windows Vista (Home Premium Edition) now. Watch out for graphics cards though. SE versions of some cards don't play nice with high end graphics programs. I can't speak for all versions of Windows Vista and haven't tested versions prior to v13.

I hear you Richard. I've taken a 'use what we have' approach to the forums. As things change I'll change too. A:M Stills and A:M Films do seem ideal for finished products. I suppose you could post your final image here first and then follow it with WIP and information too. When we had a 'Spotlight' forum I rarely went to A:M Stills. Now I have more reason to visit. I suspect its more a matter of mindset (and here I would agree with you). When you finish a product you no longer see it as a 'Work in Progress'. This is similar to my preference for the words 'New User' over 'Newbies'. But that is growing on me. Perhaps if the WIP forum was retitled (Work In Progress - Finished Work)?

Nice. Thanks for that. The rain effects from 'Boids of a Feather' were a favorite before (still are) but now I can add yours to the mix.