Gerry

That's great!

I would think anyone interested in getting into A:M would spend maybe a couple of hours checking out the forums instead of just flaming the place on their first post. That's what's strange.

Whoa, I can't believe theSpleen has been using A:M for only 2 MONTHS! I am completely green with envy. I've been using this app for going on ten years and have only begun doing characters and character animation in the last two years, and not very successfully! The Spleen's progress is in itself is a great testimonial. I wonder if MajorDill and pjfife are even stopping back here anymore. But by making a snap judgement they are really losing out.

A:M uses patches instead of polygons so even though you can import .3ds files they won't be usable as articulated models that you can animate or otherwise manipulate.

You can also add a second (or third or fourth) camera to a choreography, say, one for a long shot and another for closeup and render frames from each for the relevant sequence. As robcat said you can keyframe your camera to move to the "closeup" shot but you have to be very mindful of the keyframes that are created and peak them, or the camera will do a long swoop before any dramatic camera moves. For me it's always been easier to just add cameras. Hitting "1" on the keypad will cycle through all the various camera views. And there's the NLE editor, which I haven't used yet but sounds pretty cool, for compositing your renders.

Hash is a small company and they spend all their time improving the program, so some of these details may get overlooked. As Rodney said, spend some time doing searches for user sites, testimonials and tutorials and other support resources to get a full picture. A:M users have been described as a cult on CG Talk! EDIT- Hey, those are some great links Rodney! I've never even seen some of those pages!

This is my first visit to this thread. It's all looking just great, David!

Rodney, you have more patience than me! But to clarify a couple of points: I think "lack of info on the site" meant on the Hash Inc. site and not the forums. I think this is a fair observation because we all have come to depend on the forums for info. I also suspect that "manual downloads" was referring to the manual. But jpfife is wrong about this one. He is just unfamiliar with the enormous quantity of support info available.

If you have questions, just ask!

No, you should definitely be able to have a vol slider. I'll look into it a bit more.

A:M is great for mechanical stuff.

Hi and welcome to the forums! If by 3Ds files you mean 3DS Max, you won't be able to import them as fully functioning models. A:M's patches aren't compatible with the polygons used by Max, Maya and other 3D apps. You'll need to use models that are created specifically for A:M. The only way A:M will import poly models is as "props", which can't be manipulated as a regular model is. I hope this helps!

Sorry, can't help with the vol control. I built an mp3 player as a class project awhile back and had to get a look at it. Unfortunately it's got everything but a volume control! Hey but I just thought of something. Are you pubbing these as .flv files? If you are you can put in a control bar with a vol control, can't you?

Nice start. Are those edges beveled?

Ernest, nice work once again. the volume was not a problem but the video was a bit dark. I may be able to help with a volume control. Give me a day or two and I'll let you know.

It looks like libraries go in the data folder. You may have to map the path from Tools/Options/Folders and select the libraries in the data folder. Start by looking in your Data folder to make sure all the library items are in there. If not I think you can just copy from the install disc. I'm not the expert on this, hope it helps!

Nice!

If I understand your question, you can select the constraint in the Project Work Space, and in the Properties panel you should see Enforcement. You can set that at any amount from 0 to 100% and when you do it should make a keyframe. Is that what you're asking?

Don't feel bad for the snail, he'll still have his cameo. I'm just cutting away a second sooner. We're launching a new business venture in Washington (DC) so there will be a lot of new law firms getting a holiday greeting from us for the first time and my boss is a little leery of emphasizing the snail too too much; ya know, first impressions etc. But she's 100% in favor of having the snail in there. And she really liked the idea of linking to the two past animations. So it's win-win. She lets me have a lot of fun with these so I can't complain. And even though I've got 3DS Max on my machine, she lets me work in A:M.

I just noticed a few minutes ago that if I click on the page with the .wmv it will launch in a Mac version of Windows Media Player in a separate window. Not what I was expecting but it plays. It's not Flip4Mac though. I do have that installed somewhere I think. But isn't that for playing .wmv's in QT?

Thanks everyone! I am making one tweak, my boss thought the snail was a little too in-your-face and wants me to tone it down a bit. I'm going to, but I've also added links so folks can view the animations from 2007 and 2006. So if you stop back you can view the earlier ones, but they're in .wmv format so I don't think Mac users can view them. Just yesterday I downloaded and installed a .wmv Mac plugin, but I'm still not able to view them at home. Anyone know anything about this?

The way that object rotates when he picks it up is a little sudden and mechanical. I wasn't able to view the previous version.

There are also spheres in the library. Open up the library and drag one into a model window. Then be sure to click "embed all" under the project menu! And welcome to the forums!

Stick a fork in this baby, it's DONE! http://www.visualexllc.com/vlexholiday2008/2008Holiday.html Gerry

Hey, that's great fun so far! Your progress is amazing, great work and fun characters. I wanna see that spider scurry up the the title sign!