Considering buying AM

#1

Hi Everyone

I’m considering buying AM. Just a couple of questions.

  1. I read on the Hash site that they release a new version at the start of each year. Does that mean that ver 12 will come soon or is ver 11 the 2005 version?

  2. Am I losing anything from buying AM by buying from somewhere like Sharbour.com

http://www.sharbor.com/products/HASN0300002.html

Here I can buy it for $249 and airfreight will cost me $40. Will I still qualify for the 1 year’s worth of free upgrades?

I’m only looking to do character animation. I’m also running Cinema 4 8.5 but from what I can see the character animation tools look to be superior and the workflow when using bones looks much better as well.

Thanks in advance.

3DKiwi

#2

If you buy now then you will get 11.1 and all updates for it that come this year.

If you wait a little then you will get next years subscription which will give you updates for the rest of that year (no matter who you buy off). I can’t say when the break off point will be but I think it is before christmas (it varies).

Upgrading to a new version costs $99 no matter how many versions you skip.

#3

Hi John

Thanks for the info. Sounds like 1 January is the best time to buy. Guess I can hold out until then.

Regards
~3DKiwi

#4

You might also try to contact Steve directly and see if you could work something out so that if you bought now you would still get v12. He’s a good guy and always happy to help out, plus you can bribe him with beer :thumbsup:

#5

Thanks. A very good suggestion.

~3DKiwi

#6

Hey 3dKiwi,

I have seen some of your C4D tuts and they are very good. Anyway AM has some great animation tools but beware the modeling in AM is nothing like in C4D and you will find it pretty hard to get any models you may have made in a different app into AM for animating. It can be done but not easy. AM’s animation tools are pretty good and the work flow for animating and great so its a trade off. Also the renderer in AM is not what you are use to in C4D its an ok renderer but not even close to C4D for speed. There is a new plugin you can find on this form that lets you import MDD files but I have not used it so I dont know how well it works sombody else may be able to help you with that.

#7

Thanks for the kind words. Yeah I’d read the modeling or rendering weren’t it’s greatest points. I thought for $299 it may be worth it for a bit of fun character animating. The fur and dynamics look like a lot of fun as well.

I then also have something I can make character animation comparisons with to Mocca in C4D.

I like the way I’ve seen in the AM tutorials where the user just drags on the bone. C4D seems clumsy in how how bones are manipulated once rigged.

Cheers
~3DKiwi

#8

Hey Kiwi,

I’ve been working witn AM for a few years now but purchased C4D about a year ago to do some scientific/medical animation. I’ve tried Cinema for character work too, but while C4D is more stable and its renderer is faster and easier to get good results with than AM’s, the trade-off in workflow for character animation -especially things like lip synch and the godawful Cinema timeline- just isn’t worth it, even with the Mocca improvements in v9. I’m working on a project now that combines using C4D for some of the more technical medical renderings and AM for a character that demonstrates functional anatomy and it’s turning out pretty good. This isn’t to say C4D isn’t capable of decent character animation, but it’s nowhere near as easy as it is with AM.

By the way, your C4D Cafe tutorials have been a big help, keep up the good work.

Gregg

#9

Hi Gregg. Sort of my feelings as well. I just want to do a few fun character animations and from what I can see, the workflow with bones and characters is superior in AM. I’m not ditching C4D, just adding to my tool set. At $299 you can’t really go wrong and the fur looks pretty damn good to me.

Cheers
3DKiwi

#10

Don’t forget Softimage XSI at $499.

-=GB=-

#11

Yup, I’m running the demo of XSI foundation. While it does some clever stuff the work flow isn’t a patch on Cinema 4D and since I’m just a hobbyist I’d rather use something that’s enjoyable to use rather than something with an overly complex interface and slow workflow.

So I’ll still be running C4D rel 9 with all of the modules so I can pretty well do whatever I want. AM sounds like a bit of fun that I’ll be able to bang out a few cartoon like character animations. This comes in at about the same price as a bunch of Character animation plugins for C4D.

Thanks for all the words of advide everyone.

#12

Hiya.

Yup, I’m running the demo of XSI foundation. While it does some clever stuff the work flow isn’t a patch on Cinema 4D and since I’m just a hobbyist I’d rather use something that’s enjoyable to use rather than something with an overly complex interface and slow workflow.

I’ve been using Softimage since Softimage|3D 3.7, and now XSI 3 (havn’t upgraded to v4 yet…$$$ is a bit slow rightnow :slight_smile: ). In all honesty, I have to say that once you use XSI for a few days, the hotkeys and workflow starts to fly! I can work in XSI about 3 times faster than 3DS MAX and about 5 times faster than Maya (never could get into Maya’s workflow…must be a mental block or something :wink: ).

For $500 USD, XSI 4.0 Foundation is a no-brainer: BUY IT NOW!

I have AM (older versions), and I’ll just say it was “unstable and quirky” (major undestatement, but you get my point). I have been tempted to upgrade again, it is only $100, but…well, I use XSI. :slight_smile:

If you only have $100, then go ahead with AM…if you can save another $400, pick up XSI. You won’t regret it.

#13

Money isn’t really an issue. My 13 year old wants to do some character animation as well. I think he will be a lot happier with AM than XSI or C4D which is my main weapon and will continue to be. AM would be purely for some character animation fun. No serious modeling. My 13 year old can then just use some of the pre rigged character and have some fun. Me too!!

What version were you running when AM was unstable. From what I read it’s a lot better now. 3DWorld gave it a glowing review.

Thanks for the feedback.

~3DKiwi

#14

I’m interested in Animation Master too, the demonstration video of it on the Hash site was just awesome. Though, i heard that it has some problems importing stuff from other applications, or, rather the lack of support (Like theres no .obj import). Is that true?

#15

From the pdf brochure on Hash’s site it says dxf import.

I’ve been very impressed wtaching the training videos and also Jeff Lew’s (Killer Bean) training DVD. I think if all that you want to is character animation AM is superb. If you want to do complex modeling then Cinmea 4D or similar is the way to go.

~3DKiwi

#16

While obj import/export doesn’t come as standard in the current version of AM, there’s a free plugin floating round the net that does the job.

AM’s biggest sales gaf was to produce an un-stable version. They’ve learned that the hard way. That and being far too cheap…everyone thinks it’s a toy. You can’t win :shrug:

#17

AM’s biggest sales gaf was to produce an un-stable version. They’ve learned that the hard way. That and being far too cheap…everyone thinks it’s a toy. You can’t win

I’d have to disagree about it being too cheap. At least, where i live, $299 is not a toy by far. :stuck_out_tongue:

It’s great that they charge “fairly” low (Compare to others) So it’s within the reach of beginners. I mean, there’s no chance in hell that i could afford a program over $400 (Probably can’t get anything over $100. :p)

I don’t know why complain that it’s too cheap, and then say it’s too expensive. I like Hash’s plan, it brings thier software within the reach of the young CG folk, like me.

#18

As a professional AM user, I can tell you this: If you want to bring models that you have created in another program into AM to animate and render, you might consider this before buying it. Although it CAN bring DXF models in, and with plugins, other formats, there is a fundamental difference between splines and polys. You’ll have to end up cleaning up all your models if you plan to render in AM, and that is a slow, tedious process. If you plan to animate and render with AM, then you’ll want to build in AM too. But if you don’t want to render in AM, then by all means, get whatever you want into it however you can.

AM is by far the best rigging and animating program out there, and if the rest of the industry would follow suit, it would be well with them. But sinice AM tends to favor the process of keeping everything in AM from start to finish, it’s hard to make it any sort of pipeline tool, unless you have custom tools like we do.

If you want to keep everything within AM, it is awesome. The animation tools are great and the learning curve is quite shallow. You can get some amazing things out of AM if you can deal with the inevitable crashes, unpredictability, and finess it a bit. We did a lot of the Tak character renders in AM, and many other renders too.

I don’t think it’s too inexpensive. I think it’s a pretty good deal, but you also have to look at all the great deals in other software, especially XSI. But I have to agree with KenH: that stability is an issue that just won’t seem to go away. It has come a long way since v9, but there are still problems to be worked out.

In summary, buying AM is a decision that needs to be made after determining what you want to do. It’s a great program, but it has it’s flaws, as does everything else. If you want to create a character from start to finish, animate, and render it, then AM is a great choice. But you’ll have to put up with it’s quirks (stability, compatibility, render anomolies(sp?), etc.). If you want all the toots, bells, and whistles of Mental Ray, Final Gathering, predictable hair, dynamics, cloth, etc., then AM probably isn’t for you.

Sorry for the babbling, but I hope it helps in your decision.

#19

Cool! Thanks for that post Led. I’m looking into AM. Though, i don’t plan on doing any modeling in it. (I’ll model in Wings 3D).

And seeing that the renderer is slow, it’s probably what i’m not looking for. :confused:

(Sorry to hijack your thread Kiwi. I’m done with AM for now. :p)

#20

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