Paul Forwood

If the bump map is the same proportions/ratio as the colour map they should automatically align when you add the image to your decal.

I have started getting exeption #019 since I installed A:M 14a. This only occurs at the end of a render and doesn't crash A:M or my machine. I have seen this in previous versions of A:M too but not for some time. The current occurence only showed up with A:M 14a. What version of A:M are you using? Is that 12s?

Congratulations on passing another milestone, Mark! Looking forward to seeing how your custom rigging stands up to the challenge.

Ah! Thanks, Mark. I felt that was probably an unneccesary step but is good to know for sure.

I'm still pretty new to CP weighting so my knowledge is limited but this is how I do it: 1) After rigging my model I go to the model window, right click and select "Compute All CP Weight". (Not sure that this step helps yet). 2) I create an action which exercises all of the model's joints, pushing the model through extreme poses. 3) Still in the action window, I switch to muscle mode, select CPs, right click and select "Edit CP Weights...". I usually start with 50/50 weighting on all the central spline rings for all the joints and work out blending the pecentage of the weighting as I go. I use rough balances of weights depending on how much I want a CP to be influenced but it's all intuitive. No calculators needed. 4) I scrub through and play the action frequently, checking the model from all angles, and adjusting weighting, until I get it right or as close as I am able. I have found that with careful weighting it is often possible to completely eliminate alot of the intermediate/fan bones that I used to use. I like that alot! I have never even tried Smartskin!

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Really nice work! I think the colour change that comes with the slash of the light saber was intentional wasn't it? Very cool! His sleeves could react to gravity a bit more and his shoulders/upper body motion could improve but I'm impressed too.

Drag your choreography action above the other actions in the Project Work Space and see if that gives you what you are after.

In the model window just select the patches that you want in a group and rename the selection. Drop your material onto that group and then adjust the material's properties from within that group.

Very nice work, Dhar! Amazing for a first model! If he is going to be naked, (or wearing a figure hugging suit), you might want to make his feet as elegant as his hands. The hands lookexpressive. If he is to be a clothed character you might want to keep the bulk but just taper them a little. Just my thoughts. He has lots of character!

Wonderful stuff, Lee!

Amazing! Just like all the rest of your work, Stian.

You can just add another hair material to your emitter, (or a new emitter group), and adjust it's properties or you could delve into using greyscale maps to control the density and length of hairs.

This will certainly be a big help for anyone installing the Squetch rig! Just keep shining your light, Rusty. Thanks!

Use the numerical keypad, not the numbers at the top of your keyboard, and make sure that "NumLock" is turned on on your keyboard.

Lots of fun and a very useful exercise. Now what are you going to tie to the x-translation?

Sorry. I forgot to add the link and now I'm having trouble pasting the link into this post. Hopefully it will attach again here: Like I said, it is pretty basic and remember to substitute the "Ctrl/A" for just "A".

I couldn't find my porthole tutorial but this one shows you how to put a hole in a sphere and the principal is exactly the same for cylinders or whatever. It is pretty basic. Download the zip file, unzip it and run it. It is in Wink format. Hope it helps. (Please note the mistake that I made: Press "A" not "Ctrl/A".

If enabled it should allow you to log on to the forums without having to type in your password.

These are questions that get asked often but seem to be left to us users to answer. Have you looked HERE yet? There is a dopesheet which uses the phoneme approach. You type in the dialogue and adjust it's placement which in turn controls a set of poses to give you the mouth shapes that you have initially defined. Many people prefer to animate the lipsync themselves. The Art of Animation:Master is a full colour book of excersizes and instructions which are designed to get you familiar with the basics of the interface, tools and animating. I believe that A:M now comes with a Technical Reference too. This tech ref is also available online. (See the link above). Follow the link above. Pixosaur/3D Painter has only recently been developed by a Belgian company and seems very popular. I haven't tried it yet but it does allow you to paint directly onto the surface of the model. Visit their website for more info: 3D Painter None that I know of. TWO, (Tin Woodman of Oz), is in production here and now by Hash Inc and community members. Check out the TWO forums for more info. All software has a learning curve to negotiate. If you are experienced with programs which use bezier curves, such as Illustrator, then you will probably feel quite at home fairly quickly. If you are used to modelling with a polygon modeller then it may take a bit of mental adjusting while you get used to splines. A:M is not too difficult to learn but is made a little more difficult by the lack of in depth documentation. The people in these forums are usually very helpful if you have any questions. It depends on what you mean by compatible. A:M can import and export a number of formats but conversion between polygons and splines is not something that A:M/Hash have much interest in. The policy seems to be that they provide tools that enable the user to create models and animation with splines to the best of their ability, and at a very low cost, but as Hash Inc is a small company they are not interested in trying to match and mingle with every piece of 3D software out there. They seem more interested in providing a high quality hobbyist's kit that is capable of producing a feature film and having fun. They don't want to be sucked into the professional market because the level of support required would cripple their ability to function. But don't let that put you off! A:M is capable of professional output but it is up to you to work with any restrictions rather than expecting Hash Inc to meet all your demands. It is a very flexible, deceptively powerful piece of kit that is very capable but quirky. Fun and capable but not as well supported for industry use as some of the other packages but just look at what you get for your money. If you are a professional you will be welcomed and supported as much as possible by the community but don't expect free professional support from Hash Inc. These are my personal observations and I am not associated with Hash Inc in any way. A:M is capable of professional output but the company policy seems to be to not encourage it. There is a 30 day money back guarantee with your purchase of A:M so why not suck it and see. Also take a look at A:M Films and A:M Stills to see if it meets the standards that you have set for yourself. If you are considering A:M as a purchase for enhancing your job prospects I would look elsewhere but if you are an indy film maker it may be just what you want. ----------- Oops! David answered before I could finish this response.

Yes decals are faster than using procedurals but then you have seams to take into account so they may not be as fast to prepare. I prefer decals for many reasons, mostly because I can paint them exactly the way I want them rather than trying to mix alot of values that I don't really understand. Materials do have some nice features though. You can alter the look of the surface by adjusting the surface properties or you can use maps for colour, speculars, bump, displacement, normal, etc, etc. Yes, you can combine decals with surface properties. You can have many different maps in one decal and you can even have many different decals applied to a surface. You can regulate the strength of the decals. It is very flexible.

Sorry for any hijacking on my part too, guys.

But this could be very restricting unless you build all your models from an uber model. Build in all the extra geometry that you might need for different physiques and then just dicipline yourself to not add any extra geometry until it is rigged. I guess for a cast of human models who have almost identical clothing it would work and it would get you most of the way there even if you were to make changes.

(Deleted) I just asked a stupid question before realising how stupid it was.

Yes. You are right. I have watched you developing the Squetch rig since the early stages of TWO and it has turned into a solid machine that is a joy to use. It is too easy to temporarly overlook the sterling work that Steven Cleary and Mark Strohben put into it and of course Mark Skodacek. Was there someone else? Martin and Noel and... well, yes, a whole community. Free's good. I can wait. No I can't. No I can't! I must have it NOW!! David, you have the stamina of two bulls... and a chicken and a goat and one of those old London buses that go on well over a million miles.