Fuchur

The CD will give you the update-rights for about one year. since the CD is out (not when you buy it). So with the 2007-CD (Oz-CD) you will be able to update till something like february or march 2008. Most likely Hash will give you the oportunity to use the Alpha-versions of A:M 2008 too. (After that you will have to upgrade to a new CD for 99 Dollars). *Fuchur*

You are selecting them each one by its own? Just select one and select the checkbox in the left down checkbox "TGA-Sequence" or something like that. That will import it as an image-sequence which is handle like a video. That should normally do what you are after and it should work out right. *Fuchur*

If you are forced to do it with Polygon-models, you should try the OBJ-format. It is much better suited than the 3ds-format as far as I know. But in the end, it is always (really quite always) better to remodel it. If you dont have to edited or animate with bones etc. you can use the prop-option which works quite well... *Fuchur*

*grin* "I think the background could use some more work..." That was fun *Fuchur*

Hi! I have a question and dont know if it is possible to do that. I animated something. Now I realized, that I should use several Chereographie-Actions for my Character which will hold several different bones in them to easily blend between reuseable actions etc. So I want to transfer one "bone" (for example the Animation-Channels of the Model Bone) to another Chereo. How can I do that? I tried to drag and drop the bone to the next chereo, but that doesnt work. I would prefer not to copy pase every keyframe to the new action, so is there a different way? Thanks in advance. *Fuchur*

Use the Translate-Tool on the rootbone and simultanious the CRTL-Key... that should work. *Fuchur*

Really, really, really amazing! *Fuchur*

Nice done my friend Here for everyone who is to lazy to copy Trailer for Subject 99 *Fuchur*

From my Website: Splines and Patches: Splines are vectorial, non-linear curves. This curves are calculated by the computer. So it is not possible to create edges just 'close' curves. The splines can be manipulated by 'bias'-handlers and Control Points (CPs). A:M works with Hash-splines, which have got some advantages to normal splines. Splines are not the geometry but only the borders of the 'patches' A patch contains of 2 splines and 4 Cps. But Hash-patches can be created from 3 CPs and even with 5 CPs although. Splines are trhough just a few controlpoints and very smooth forms good for characteranimation. Informations of how many of them are there can be found in the modelingwindow if you click with the right mouse button into it and select "Info". *Fuchur*

Thanks everybody... *Fuchur*

I had to look it up too It is just a small part of the animation itself. It starts with a closeup on the key bunch lying on a table or something like that. There will be some characteranimation... after that someone will grab the key bunch and there will be the blurry stuff and than the key fob will be free from the key bunch on the ground... On the Close-Ups I will use CG but I am not quite sure what to do on the blurry parts... *Fuchur*

Hello guys... I have a basic question, so I thought it would be best to post it here. I want to combine live-action with a CG-character. The CG-Character is a simple one like Thom from the cd... (a bit more complex so, but doesnt matter...) The character is connected to a bunch of keys (key fob). A real person will throw the bunch of keys into the air and fetch it again, etc. There will be some detail-shots of the keys and the key fob. Now my question, What would you do: - Would you try to use a real key fob and key it away? After that, use the video as a rotoscope and add the 3d-character above? (I have a key fob which I painted violett/pink [a color that wont appear my image...]) - Would you model the whole key-bunch with the key fob in 3d and add the whole thing to the liveaction? - Would you just use the key-bunch without a key fob and add the keyfob afterwards to it? Thanks for any suggestions... *Fuchur*

Thank you! I learned a very useful new trick *Fuchur*

Hi! I am a long time user of A:M but sometimes even we have newbee-questions So: How do you set the pivot of a model to a new position? When I model a character and rig it and than I want to reset the pivot of the model (in the model-window) to a new position so that for example the feet of my character are at the 0 / 0 / 0 point. I could translate the geometry and after that the bones with a translate-comment on the highest hierachy-level, but I wounder if there is a way to just set the model-pivot with a number-input like "Set new pivot to 50 cm lower."? Thanks for your time and your answers *Fuchur*

You can make a Screenshot by pushing the print-button on your keyboard, than go to photoshop, or you favorite Graphic-programm and paste it there... *Fuchur*

If it already takes 30 min. I wouldnt use multipass... You are rendering with AA normally. That means, A:M tries to get rid of the stairs-effect at the corners of the models by "bluring" them a bit. Multipass would render the scene several times and A:M will be able to make a better not aliaised edge. Try it with a simple still, and you can see what will happen. Multipass can be set to a quite high level, providing a very smooth edge-look (only in terms of the stair-effect) but a 9-passes multipass will take about 7 times longer than a AA for some models. (depending on the scene). Multipass is very suitable for stills and if you set it to for example 16 Passes, the image will look better, but it just takes much more time. *Fuchur*

"5.Bend/Twist/Taper:" I hope I understand what you mean... I think you are talking about drawing a curve and the geometry will be deformed like the curve, right? Such a tool isnt there in A:M, but it is often not needed due to the much lower resolution of Patch-Models. So lets assume you are modelling a technical object with many details in it and you need something like that... the magnet-mode could help you there... The magnettool has a fall-off-value which can be set like you want it to be set... (but only for all 3 axes at the same time)... First select a bunch of CPs which you like to be in the middle of the curve, for example. Now activate the magnet-mode-tool. Go to rotate-mode and rotate the selected cps... The geometry will be deformed in a smooth way around the selected cps (depending on the fall-off-value...) A falloff for Distorting-boxes isnt there. But you can of course hide the parts of the model which shouldnt be affected by the distortion box. That like a very hard falloff. Due to the continuity of splines, there will be some sort of softer fall-off anyway. Than the D-box will only manipulate the visible CPs... You can set different D-Box-Resolutions at the options-menu du produce you own fall-off of course. This tools however are more of a poly-world-toolset. There you often have to manipulate existing geometry... in Patch-World you most often model the things from scretch and so you dont need a bend tool too often... Hope that helps a bit... *Fuchur*

Merlin is a thing from older days... Once it was intended to let merlin show you what anmation:master does and how in some in-programm-tutorials of A:M... since I havent seen many tuts of that kind and I never found out how to write them, Merlin is useless. When you get one of the few tuts around, he can however show you what to do... *Fuchur*

Very cool... For all who dont know what I meant... his butt is to small... *Fuchur*

But be aware that v14 is in alpha for now... download it at "Latests Infos"-Forum at the main-forum-view. It can handle multiprocessors (up to 32 Cores) but I would use it for my projects now... you can however install both of them, modell and animate in A:M 13 and try to render in v14... but as stated: It is in alpha... so it will properly crash at some time... *Fuchur*

Normally, that should be the same package, so if Hash gave the Package to them, there should be the extra-dvd in it too... *Fuchur*

Very cool... but he has to be crying in pain when he tries to sit down... if you know what I mean *Fuchur*

Did it appear when you did a preview-rendering or only not when you used the shaded-view? *Fuchur*

You will get a smooth surface if you first model it with very few splines and CPs and than add new once at the same point where the curve would have been without the new CP... Smoothness will be archieved, if you make the spline "flow" *Fuchur* PS: There is a plugin at sgross.com called smooth, which does basically something like comparing a spline with less CPs to the one you got, but it jsut works with smaller values and smaller problems, because otherwise you will loose to much detail... feel free to test it. BUt be sure you save your work and do it on a copy... a plugin cant be undoed...

And did you ever try to use the Porcelein-Material from the CD? (DATA->Material->Geometry) Be sure the normals of the patches point outside and that you restart A:M after flipping normals. Otherwise, the material will produce black patches, etc. There is a tutorial in the forum... just search for porcelain. It can help, but you have to provide a nice model. *Fuchur*