MJL

As a guitar instructor, I sometimes forget to remember that the knowledge of some basic things that I take for granted, they have yet to learn. I've had no experience with animation of any kind, but the concepts of posing and lines of motion & force, along with exaggeration and how to make an animated character behave like a real actor are understandable to me. I'm about to approach ToaA:M exercises again. There are a few things I don't quite understand: Scene & Background: sky & ground, how to change & manipulate Lighting: Tutorials? Cameras: Tutorials Editing: The steps for turning the animations I make into "film" form On the HASH Resources for learning animation page, thei link shortcuts to "History of Animation" and "Evolution of 3d Animation Tools on the Desktop" do not seem to work. Now that Anzovin studios has ceased it's HASH support. How can I get my hands on the tutorials that they used to offer? As I gain more knowldge and understanding I'm sure my questions will become more specific. Thanks

thanks, mtpeak2, I'll be able to play with these things this evening, my other life keeps intruding on my A:M time. In the mean time I think I've embedded the model file this time. Embedded_Upload_thom.prj

Thanks for your reply, mtpeak2, I downloaded your model. Sorry to ask such newbie questions, but I suffer from ignorance till I am healed with knowledge. Can I make this change in the 2001 Skeleton rig that is in my library, and if I can, how? In trying to finish exercise 13, when I tried to apply smartskin to the knees & elbows like it suggested in the manual everything twisted in a wierd manner. Is this supposed to happen? I moved the cp's back but the process was time consuming and tedious, am I doing something wrong? Also, how do I make a screen capture to upload instead of uploading the whole project? Upload_thom.prj

Just finished doing the tutorial again. Same place, same problem. (checking for pilot error) I did notice, however, that by toggling the IK Arm button on & off the right arm would jump around to different places. robcat2075 suggested the IK Hand target, and thefreshestever suggested the relationship folder. I will experiment with the both and see what happens. I mispoke before when I said that I had "finished" the tutorial. I had sone it up to the point where I turned the Ik Arms setup to on. This time after turning on the IK arm setting I noticed the elbow "rotation bone" (I don't know the proper term) was different from side to side. after tweaking that into an approximately mirrored position with the left one, rotating some of the arm bones I finally got it to work and finished the tutorial for real this time. I'm sure there is a better, more sophistiscated way to resolve the issue. While I'm waiting for it to come to me, I think I'll browse through the forum on rigging and relationships that I probably should have read sooner.

Just finished doing the tutorial again. Same place, same problem. (checking for pilot error) I did notice, however, that by toggling the IK Arm button on & off the right arm would jump around to different places. robcat2075 suggested the IK Hand target, and thefreshestever suggested the relationship folder. I will experiment with the both and see what happens.

Hello Gang, Just finishing up tutorial "13 Backbone" and ran into the same problem. When I turned on the IK setup the left arm was fine but the right arm sticks up at the elbow. Why & How does one reconcile this? Is there another thread or tutorial on this? Here's the model file. Thanks, Myron My_BonelessThom.mdl

Thanks, You Guys !!! The knowledge that you folks are out there (in here?) is a major comfort. The exercise was extremely valuable. I've gleaned a major amount of knowledge and experience from it, as well as a couple of new friends. I've "completed" the exercise, kind of it's not perfect, (too many splines made the contours rougher) I'll probably revisit it again later. Here's a JPG of what I ended up with. At this rate I may be able to start producing my video in a decade or two. This software is more fun than any game ever invented! In the immortal words of Bartles & James: "Thanks for your support." Myron

Thanks Robcat2075, you have set the universe aright. The cosmos is spinning once again in greased grooves. But what, pray-tell, does the purple"patch Group Mode" do?

Pardon my density, Rodney, but why is it not then filling it to the shaded mode?

It was suggested that I start a new topic thread on 5 point patches. It is an issue that evidently keeps popping up. In searching the archives I found A couple of suggested remedies (hitting the period key twice, among others) that haven't seemed to work for me. The situation has cropped up, for me at least, while doing exercises 10:The FW-190 Fighter , 11: the Giraffe, and 11.5: Make A Face from ToaA:M. When I click on the 5-point patch button (at the right side tool bar) the cursor acquires a '5-point patch" icon and the button goes dark, but no matter where or how I click with the 5-point cursor nothing happens and the cursor returns to normal. Feeling like an idiot is not an unusual feeling for me, but I've got a hunch I'm not alone. It may be a commonly occuring phenomenon that needs to be addressed. When the holes happened in exercised 10 & 11, I faked my way through it, but it has become apparent I need to understand why it is not working. Awaiting enlightenment from the great gathering of knowledge from the massed minds of fellow inmates. Thanks, Myron Cooper_1.prj

Thanks for your response Caroline. If I knew how to start a new topic for this, I would, but I'm still learning how to use the forum as well as the sortware. You are right, I ran into the same problem above the eye but I can't remember how (I'm not sure how) I jury rigged my way out of it. I wish to understand the problem, it's the only way to truly overcome it. I shall attach the project to this reply and await enlightenment. While I'm waiting I will check out your suggested tutorial. Thanks again Cooper_1.prj

I thought I sent a reply with a jpg attatchment but somehow it didn't post. here it is again just in case, sorry if it shows up twice. when I saved the jpg the control points didn't translate. How would I save an image from my project window that would look like the ones in the manual? I'm taking my time with the tutorials because I want a thorough command of the software. The 5-point patch seems to come up quite often so it's something I would like to master in my art of animation. i'm in the make a face tutorial, trying to follow it closely. Im at this point and . . . . Myron

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

HI, my name is Myron. I've been a musician for more years than I care to think about. About 20 years ago I wrote a screenplay for an animated video to go with a song that I wrote 30 years ago. At the time, in my imagination the video was done in claymation which was state of the art at the time. I got A:M a few weeks ago and have been working my way through the tutorials. I am excited in the extreme. I have however run into the "5 point patch" problem. I did a search through the forum and found the page where it was discussed. tried the period twice remedy- no luck. same with the hide trick- no luck. when I select the 5 points and then hit the button the cursor aquires a "5-point" icon but when i click with it nothing happens (no shading). I tried it with the plane, the giraffe, and now the face with no luck. Help. ThanksVisit My Website:myronleroy.com