Import options (What can you bring in to A:M?)

[aforetaste]

I'm currently looking at A:M's various abilities.

 

Can A:M import various scene files from other 3D app packages?

Can Animation Master import/open a Lightwave scene that contains only nulls?

 

What can be imported (other than images) and what can't?

 

Thanks in advance.

[KenH]

Images, animation formats, motion capture and some model formats are the only possible contact AM has with other software. That's not necessarily bad though as AM is a one stop shop that does everything you need to make a movie.

[aforetaste]

Images, animation formats, motion capture and some model formats are the only possible contact AM has with other software. That's not necessarily bad though as AM is a one stop shop that does everything you need to make a movie.

 

Thanks KenH!

 

Can you give me any specifics when you refer to "animation formats?"

Is there a comprehensive list of those imports?

 

Thanks,

[KenH]

By that I mean avi and mov formats. Don't know of a list.

[oakchas]

import options, What can you bring in to A:M?

 

 

Bring in your talent, your patience, your skill.

 

 

After you have transitioned those to the A:M way of doing things (without polygons), you will find yourself animating more and modeling less than you would (or already have?) in other 3D apps.

 

While no 3D aplication is the be-all end-all for making and/or animating objects of your own creation, A:M will create finished objects, images and animations that rival those expensive competitors (and will do it for considerably less cash outlay).

 

Now, if you really must have output to some poly based program, there are workarounds. If you must import from poly apps, the workarounds are a bit more cumbersome.

 

If you have some specific desires for import/export formats, list them here, someone will be able to answer them directly.

 

Look around in the galleries (still and film) to see what A:M can do. You will see every level of expertise represented... not just the cream of the crop... you'll see everything from works in progress, to ~30 minute movies. Some of them as good (or better) as you will find anywhere else.

[aforetaste]

Thanks, oakchas!

That was useful!!

 

What I'm specifically looking for in the ability to import a scene file out-putted from the new SynthEyes 2006½ in order to use A:M's ability to handle & clean-up motion capture data.

 

The problem here is that SynthEyes doesn't export it's mocap files in any common format (like BVH...). It's just a scene file with animated nulls (a scene file from the format of most any of the other more expensive 3D apps).

 

I'd like to use A:M's mocap features to both clean up those animated nulls (smooth the animation) and retarget them to a model (created within A:M is fine).

 

Thoughts on that pipeline?

 

Thanks in advance.

[oakchas]

I apologize...

 

for the usefulness or lack thereof. It's just that we have so many new users that want A:M to be something else, or to do it all for them.

 

I'm afraid I don't know much about mocap. And again, am sorry I can't be of more help. But, there are plenty of discussions about mocap, and about import and export options throughout the forums.

 

Best wishes,

[JohnArtbox]

Syntheyes exports to AM's native cho format, you just need to download the script from the Syntheyes' site. I'm not sure about the motion capture, it's on my list of things to try...eventually.

[aforetaste]

Thanks guys!

 

oakchas, I'm not trying to make A:M into my own image... I'd just like to know what it offers and what it doesn't. I'm not finding the documentation on it's features to be very detailed. Such as...

 

... Does A:M offer mocap clean up tools?

 

Anyone have experience with that?

 

Thanks in advance

[luckbat]

Well, you can definitely run "Channel Reduction" on any channel with baked keyframes, not just mocap:

http://www.hash.com/htmlHelp/v12.0/CustomH...l_Reduction.htm

[jet26man]

I"m still unable to import my poser faces in. Im new to 3d and have been learning poser 6.0 for the past 6 months. I have 10 character faces I would like to import and I've tried almost every export/import combination. Is it possible at all to import other formats ie: /maya into AM? I've been searching the boards for the last 3 days but I see nothing concrete.

[aforetaste]

Thanks luckbat.

 

I've got to say... your website (and sample files) are simply amazing!

Are you using mocap data on your models or is that all keyframed by hand?

 

Beautiful whatever it is.

 

Thanks again.

[luckbat]

Thanks, Aforetaste. I haven't worked with any mocap yet, but I do use the BioMotionLab Walker, which is based on mocap data, as a visual reference when building walk cycles.