yardie

What book. Hey I hope your not make yourself money from my tips because I sure have loads more and I would like my share for doing most of the hard work

After 5 years of using AM I have found that when some task you perform in AM does not work the way you want it to, then it is best to start again from scratch. We all have tendency to cling to or 1st attempts when we are new to anything. The problem is with the computer having to do many millions of calculations when you set up a pose. If something small should go wrong that you do not notice then the chances are you project will not work so well the next time you run AM. My tips for making poses are to 1) work with just the one model in a blank project. 2) After making the pose and save the model and test the pose. 3) Shutdown Animation Master. 4) Reopen Animation master and reopen the model and try out the pose. The pose should work and can be tried in the chory or with other models in an action. 5) If you then want to save the model in a project, then crack open the models properties and makes sure the option to have the model embedded in the Project is on. 6)Watch what you have copied onto you clipboard. If copying and pasting take a longtime then save the task at the 1st instance. 7) Once you restart AM flip copying and pasting should work fast. 8) Finaly if you do not have a super fast and stable pc Save and Shutdown AM frequently when performing tasks that take up a lot of CPU power. Don't wait for things to go wrong. I have used this rule consistently with AM for the last 2 years and I have been amazed to find stuff I thought did not work doing it's stuff. Because you CPu has to make many millions of calculations Having other objects in the open project might interfere with the computations. Try and keep to working with just one file at a time and then build your project up. You will also find that if you scrap tasks that are not working out early you will get faster @ creating and completing tasks. The logic behind this thinking is that your not spending many hours fault finding . You just doing what you want to do.

You luck Guy. I had the same problem and it's caused by you possible copying smart skin from one model to the other. Hopefully this link should help solve your problem. I am still on AM version 12 BTW . I am not sure there was smart skin when the Fat guy was made. The might be relationship poses stored in the bones that you copied and pasted with Cp's. the is also a very good tutorial in the Relationship Forum on setting up what might appear to be invisible poses in a model. Any way this link should help give you an insight on transferring and copying model parts. http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showt...hl=stolen+bones Also check out the video tutorial on Relationships cause it will come in handy with your model

Thanks Rodney. It looks like you have pointed me in the right direction [attachmentid=23218]

"Helper and Solver Tools" are the terms used in 3ds Max to label the tools that act like some of the plug ins and constraint systems used in AM. bones are used to in Max but they call there null objects, "dummies". It's possible to get a free trail download of 3ds Max 8 and 9 that you can use for 30 days.

Only if the answer isn't been transported It does make a difference from whom an answer is coming but yet telling truth could reside in all. Niels If only all the philosophy you guys are pumping out could be digital converted to do something useful. Maybe I should go back to programing and set up the forum so people have got the choice of getting notification to answers that are useful. The Internet is loaded with chat rooms and forums dedicated to people playing out drama. When I get tired of the drama I come to this kind of forum and the programming ones to exercise my mind and learn new things. I all so know what it is like to have successfully accomplished something complex in with CG software. One is very keen to show of there results. But when it comes to describing the steps taken to achieve the results most people don't have a clue and will waffle as if everyone listening is on the same page as them. Then one becomes real lazy and will not continue to develop the creation further until someone points out how much it sucks on it's own. @ this point some people come back with anger. Try going for a week without a bath and see how you react when you are reminded by someone you don't know. The same sadly is true for most of the west world. Most people do some kind of job for a living but explaining the step required to complete a task can be a very painful process. Most Employers often complain they can't find good workers or workers that will stay in the company. I my experience I have found most of these employers have communication problems when it comes to explaining the job. And to me the biggest cause problems in the world right now is human communication. Overloaded with information and spoiled with possessions the human mind has become lazy and is incapable of solving simple problems and if left along to long the simple problems become major

Well Rod is you get a chance download thorm Sim_prj. When you 1st run simulation it generates all the key frames required for the animation. Then if you select all the cp's of the action in the time line- 1) Right click and from the pop up menus choose Curve then Post-Extrapolation Method 2) then Repeat or Ping Pong the action is repeated indefinitely without any new cp's being Generated. If you go to simple walk cycle you know it can be pretty hard to keep the feet from slipping if you don't set the stride length properly. And if you constraint your character to a path you can use the ease channel to get the cycle you fit the length of the choreography. The walk cycle can be a bit jerky on it's own but if you add a repeat curve it smooths it out some what. If you don't animate regular cause you don't get the results you want it could be because you are not aware of the AM "helper and solver tools" I figured out how to use the reaper and ping pong functions ( or curves) from the Fire and Smoke Tutorial in the Manuel. One of the hardest things for me to animate was having a character hold and play a guitar or violin. I had been trying such a feat from the 1st time I got AM. Then I solved the problem when I found the Aim at and Aim like two constraints work beautifully when set up properly. setting up constraints can be a real pain if the order of the set up is not right. Example: if I need to have a camera aim at an object while the camera is constraint to a path then I make sure the camera is constraint to the path 1st before I apply the Aim at constraint. When I 1st tried use constraints I was not sure what I was doing and I would often give up and go back to manually doing things and then giving up( LOL). I used to work as a CNC machine operator and I learnt that spending some time with setting up the machines made made them run smoothly and correct. If the set up was not right then one would have a lot of rework and blame the machine or someone else. Just like Scottie from Star Trek I found my self on many occasions telling the boss, " need more time, if we rush this job the drills will over heat and cut every thing to the wrong size". The were times that I or the boss would scream @ each other but when the job was done and out of the way we were still friends and very often laugh at our past arguments. Why laugh? simple because most Angry people are just simply funny.

My anger was not personal but I am glad you saw my point we all make noise we are not aware of.

After trying out other GC software I became aware it was possible to get very realistic and smooth motion by using the motion modifiers provided. When I went back to AM I found AM had similar types of plugin or constraints that aid with Animation. Without these aids the example gif animation I made in AM would have been impossible to make. After looking @ the thorn Sim_prj by Steffen Gross I realized it was possible to cut down Render time significantly using this plugging. The problem with most new people to animation including myself is we tend to do things the hard way for a long time and find it hard to change. Most people fear the maths that is sometimes involved or they give up if some thing does not appear to give them the right results. I have found it rewarding @ to push myself when I try something new that does not work. My rule is if it does not work the 1st and 2nd time then delete the whole thing, reboot your system and start again. If your tired then go to sleep and try again the very next day. It is far easy to get things right if you don't know how to do things the wrong way. So if anyone out there can speak German then I would be grateful if the could translate any information on setting up the plugin for the Newton Dynamics projects. I am still on AM v12. The Thorn project also uses Simo Cloth in combination with the Newton Dynamics. That is why I am puzzled as to how to get the set up project to simulate like the example.

Well My question is quite simple. how did he set up the simulation for his throm sample. I could swear about a year ago there was more information on setting up his projects because I had a go with a sample that worked. I had to reinstall AM a number of times in between and left the Newton Dynamic alone for a while. I am sure I saw some of his instruction in German but the site is not there any more or the information removed. If he has the any useful documentation in Germany then that should be no problem I would rather get the documentation in his mother language than English. Finding someone to translate it in to English should be no problem for me. I am also sure there are German users of AM that might be of help. I agree with everything you say about helping the community I also believe recycling stuff to because I care a lot for the planet we live in. To care sometimes means sacrifice and working just that bit harder to figure stuff out. It's true to say that I can have a very foul temper if I feel I am being short changed or bluffed. But in General I am a very easy going person that likes to communicate. When I barriers to communication like emotional anger rear there head i try and keep to logic thinking and not carried away with the drama

Making a visual tutorial using wink does not require a lot of written explanation. All people have to do is follow your cursor movements. I made 2 short tutorials on "Squash" and "Expression" with wink. The other good reason for making good notes is it helps you to remember. There is just so much to remember with AM that I spend more time making notes on how to get over or achieve certain things with it. My visual note are easy to follow than written notes. The only problem with writing a book is I have only kept to version 10.5 and 12. Taking the time to know how everything works means leaving the upgrades alone. The v13 is not compatible with older versions so I guess right now I want to know what the demand is. Other wise I could be wasting my time. And AM might not like me doing there work for them but one has got to make a living were one can.

Why didn't you send it back for a refund, if you weren't happy with it? There is a 30-day money back garauntee on my online store. The book was described as "226 pages black & white". How can you imply that you thought that it would be in color? Your comments are offensive, libelous, and ungrateful (since that entire project was done to answer a desire in the community for a printed version of the tech reference...and was made available at an extremely low price). If YOU ever come out with a book for A:M, then you might appreciate the amount of work is involved. But until then, I think my opinion of you will be that you are an ass.... I might be an ass but I dont make threats and get hot headed when I am critsized.

well the party has began somewhere else see for your self what happens when software engineers push themselves to get a result without waffle. For around $2450 you can get software that has lasers hardware attached to your computer that can scan small and complex objects like aerosol cans or mobile phone and reproduce the results as a 3d model in your computer. The software also recreates all the material and fine detail of the object. Most new people to 3d graphics I guess would go for the new software and laugh at the slow trail and error methods. I love making models and animation but I have come to believe if you want to successful then you have to use what ever software that you can get your hands on to do the job. Having said that I rate AM above other CG software. The only problem is the with AM is the pages of repetitive information in it help files. They are many times when I look up a word and the explanation does not really relate to what I want to know. ResonantChamber.wmv

The BPM and FPS attracted me to this topic. But you guys sadden me when you leave the topic and start to act like Latin students. It only takes one person to distract from the topic and you all follow. Most of the people that bought the soft ware would like to get the most out of it. I like most people spend hours trying to figure the relevance of most topics on this forum. If people don't know the answer to a problem they should say so or say nothing. The whole forum should be cleared of relevant information. a good 95% of the forums are littered with garbage or information people could pass privately. Information on aspects of the software are the reasons people come to the forum. I have personally learnt a lot from Animation Master v10.5 and v12. I was going to add to the debate on sound but I found it pointless as it would not follow on from the nonsense before hand. And some of you guys that make video tutorial need to listen to you stuff cause most of it is repetitive and just plane boring . Either you repeat one explanation so many times and omit other explanations and speak too fast. tack note

I am I the only one that does not see what the fuss over Matt. The information he is putting is already in the AM help files and in the manual. I foolishly bought the AM Technical Reference 2 years ago only to find all the pictures were in black and white yet it made many references to color. I too would love to write a manual or tutorial that shows you step by step how to make a face or using constraints and a promise that if you did not get the required results you would get your money back. But I guess that would not be allowed as you would have thousands of people that could real make stuff work with AM. I have taken the time to work out a lot of things in AM that help to get smooth animation and models without using tons of computer power.

I just got to tell you that if you try something complicated in AM and it does not work out then the answer is far easier than you think. Have you tried applying the decals using the cylindrical Method. I found with a simple patten it works. If your having such difficulty try the simple approach first. A lot can be achieved if you take your time and read up on the documation. Most of the documation on flattening is for the face. The few example that have used flattening on clothing have used simple pattens and they could have achieved the same results with applying the decal, cylindrically

hey roger your tutorial is just what I have been looking for. It is very clear and well written I now can't resist having a crack at it.

Thanks Robcat and Stuart for the quick replys. I will give both your methods a try Oh dear looks like your on Am V13. sorry but your model wount open in my Am V12

Here are the screenshots. I hope there are self explanatory. As you can see trying to make the splines fit only causing distortion audi_tt.zip

Hi. I don't have problem with making faces or other object. When it came to making a car model I thought that would be dead easy as I have all my rotoscopes matching evenly. But when I get to Extruding Splines ( example the car wind screen) I find I cant get the splines that make up the part to spread or curve evenly. I cant post a WIP as I keep deleting and starting all over. Some were they has to be an example of a curved object made from a Rotoscope showing what to do as one extrudes from on edge to another. Most of the WIP on car modeling have models that are complete. I am sure that I am missing out something very subtle. After all I figured out how to get all the Rotoscopes for a blue print to the same scale. I tried changing some of the CP's bais but that made the part more of a mess

I think the reason you sound might be going out of sync with your animation is the origional MIDI file. I got a couple of Midi drums and Key boards with Midi Drums. In my early days on Windows I tried hooking up my MIDI drums to my PC to get it to work with Cakewalk and QBase. I always had a problem with sync in the 2 together. I also had problems playing gutire to MIDI Drums. Humans dont play music like machines. So I guess some clever guy or gal has made it possable for a drum beat to slide in and out of sync and make it sound natural.A human drummer reliase on both Audio and visual clues for keeping the temp a drum machine depends on the programmer. sounds made by MIDI I belive rellay on a clock to generate the beat (Tempo) and the beat you were using might not have been quntized so as to let it sound natural. quantizing might make it sound to mechanical. When somthing dont work in Am I try an old but simuler projet made in the passed. some versions Of AM can do things other cant and it worth you while taking note. sometimes Reinstalling AM is the only Answer.

You cant remember how's about $500,000. Will that help you. Seems your have made hash's phonemes dictionary obsolete. The demo is usless without instructions Any way nice to see your back on the sence shaun

Hello everone does anyone have any idea what happed to shaun freeman. The first and last I heard of shaun was form the hash demo sync he made for AM. His demo is the best and most realistic I have ever seen. But his Demo act has no dope sheet for the words. So I am guessing he must have used some other program to do the lip sync. His poses for the Lips and mouth have noe Phoneme, Mind you I think the dictionary needs to be edited. The C D G N R S TH Y Z dont real make the same lip poses nor dose M P B. I guess shaun realised this and has found some t other way to do the lip sync. I have re worked his modle to use the phonemes that hash uses but the effect is not the same. you should all have the demo on you AM v12 I am sure

If it worked once before then I would scrap your present project and start from scrath. It is not always easy to see what is wrong once a Window based program starts missibhaving. Up untill the middle of 2005 I was uninstalling and reinstalling AM 2 to 5 time a week. I am still using AM v10.5 but inbetween the last 6 months XP has upgraded to its best for AM. when ever I have to Update Windows I do clean reinstalation of AM. By the way draging and dropping can get trick and I would bet you might have missed the target for you action. I have stuck to the old right click on the model and chossing " import action". Try reinstalling AM.

Hi angus, and welcome to the world of computer animation. Hint spend some time reading some of the good tutroils out there. There is alot of good looking bad Tuts out there that are not proof read. as a result they leave a lot of useful information. I notice you make no mention of keyframing your choryograpgy action. When an Object completes an action and then has another added in the choreyography it helps if after every action you add a keyframe. Try you project with out the path and the contstraint. Another hint when filiming a walk action is to have your character in one place and have the background, groun/floor or camaer do the walking. You get a better effect if you leave the constraint to path when joining action. I hope that helps.... or should I just quit work and do a full AM tutorial PS Sorry my spelling sucks and the fourm spell checker not working.