The Ball is on a Roll!

One of the first challenges in beginning Animation Mentor was actually an inside job. Not an internal demon, but from my own computer, my trusted partner through this crazy adventure.

What the problem was:
I could not install the AM Tools Menu. (More?) This is a mandatory update that allows my Maya software to accept automatic updates from the Animation Mentor Program, as well as use any rig from Animation Mentor. I would install the Menu to the best of my abilities, following all instructions, but as any time I re opened Maya the tools and menus would be gone. Not to mention the sample rig, a simple Ball used to determine if the install had been done correctly, would become a hideous pancake on the grid of my workspace. I had sent in a support ticket to the technical staff but since it was Labor day weekend, we hadn't gotten past clarifying the problem. So we tried lots of things to fix the problem and here is what finally worked.

How it was solved:
My dad came to the rescue and showed me how to find the necessary updates from the Autodesk website. What we did was:

1. Uninstalled Maya 2011
2. Installed Maya 2011 Service Pack 1 ... AND!
3. Installed Mental Ray Satellite Service Pack1

Then we
Re-installed AM Tools Menu, and the Sample Ball rig. crossed our fingers and Prayed!

Low and behold, it finally worked! There was joy and dancing such as the likes my room has never seen before.

There was so much trial and error involved and I don't know what would have happened without my Dad to help me, but I learned that if you do the research, keep your cool, and keep moving forward success will not be far.

Now my rig is golden, round and ready to roll into the first day of class.

My first AM Rig...sniff... I'm so proud.

Thank you for reading,
 and Happy Animating!

Max