Bruce Del Porte

A large number of the tutorials are on the extras DVD and the rest are linked on the tutorials forum. None of them are locked or require a key. AM is keyed to the CD, it must be in the drive to boot. TAOAM is a book that shipped with previous versions of AM however the video tutorials are on line and TAOAM has its own forum, everything you need can be downloaded there. No key is required. Welcome and good luck

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Nice job! Recreating a known character is almost harder. Bravo!

Yes, since you need the CD in he drive of the computer you are using, you really only have one version operable at a time.

On my 2006 disc (Yeti) they are both under data/models/actors/realistic and they each have their own folders. They are on the program CD.

This is Raf's tutorial on compositing AM to live video. http://www.hash.com/Camera_Guy/lighting.html

1. I would use the Font wizard to make the text in the font of your choice 2. Since each letter will be separate, you can make a template and arrange the letters around the cone and then delete the cone, 3. I would use one of the granite materials, or you can use the texture and bump map of your choice It should be very easy

The look is a combination of lighting and the surface properties of your model. Check out the Tutorials section of this forum, there are a number of useful threads on material, texturing, and lighting.

Here is a Font Wizard video tutorial. http://www.s1.hashmirror.com/ftp/pub/movies/FontWizard.mov The tunnel should be fairly easy to make with the Extrude tool, or the Sweeper plug-in if you want to go wild. I would model the video screens separately and adding video is as simple ad decaling it to the screen. I would start with the modeling tutorials in the Art of Animation Master and watch all the video tutorials and Tech Talks on the Hash site, most of those skills are covered in depth. Come back here when you get stuck.

You could watch the Tech talk training video http://www.s1.hashmirror.com/ftp/pub/movies/FontWizard.mov

The dual core support only in V14 Alpha. You can use 100% of both processors with the version you have by running two instances of AM and having each instance render every other frame to a file. You will get a 2X render speed increase.

Very cool! Will he star in your first animation?

AM will ask you to redefine the path as it looks for files, not really a big deal, just time consuming. A thumb drive will work fine.

Apple's QuickTime Pro is $30 and does a good job assembling scenes. If you want editing capability, I think what you are looking for is a non-linear editor (NLE). Sony's Vegas Video or Adobe's Premiere both do a good job. Vegas sells a version for under $100. An NLE will allow you to edit/sync both video and sound files.

I copy the project folders to a CD and then copy from the CD to the new computer. I try and keep the file path structure intact as much as possible.

What other model? If the model doesn't already have the phonemes set up as poses, you will have to add them to get the dope sheet to work. Most of the models on the CDs are not set up for dope sheet lip sync. Sixteen bit wavs should work fine, can you post it and we can take a look at it.

Revenge is best served cold, in this case perhaps with mustard on rye.

Learning animation software is like learning to play the piano, you figure out the key placements fairly quickly, the art part takes time, patience, and practice. It will be years before you are ready for Pixar.

A little more data will help here. What type of file are you trying to upload the where? What is the exact error message?

The links don't seem to allow me to see the photos. I think what you are after from the description is having the bars on the windows cast shadows. 1. Make sure the light is set to cast shadows 2. Make sure the model you want to have the shadow cast on is set to receive shadows 3. Make sure that shadows are on in the render dialog box. The second effect is called volumetrics. Adding volumetrics to a light is in the options box of the properties window. Lighting is an art unto itself. Both take quite a bit of experimenting because the quantity and quality of the effects are very set-up dependent. Both are covered in the technical manual.

If you are registered, e-mail support@hash.com. They keep good records.

If you are running on a stable computer, AM is as stable as Maya. Both are currently very stable. I have the current versions of both. What I mean by a stable machine is a fast and well cooled processor, sufficient RAM, and a high end video card running certified drivers. Minimizing programs running in background, particularly freeware/shareware, helps. There is a 30 day return policy and I believe if in the rare instance the CD dies, they will replace it for you.

What kind of computer and what operating system are you using. You can check your ram usage in Windows by opening the Task Manager and looking at the Performance tab. If you want better real-time performance, you will probably need a faster video card. Overall, your computer is probably on the lower end of performance to doing CG and video.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMPTE_time_code

No, AM rendering is not GPU accelerated, all of the render is done with the CPU AM doesn't use polygons, so there is no polygon limit. The look of any render is as dependent on the way you set up you surface attributes, and the way you light the scene as it is on the geometry of the object.