Xara 3D Maker - 6.0 Instruction Manual

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Welcome to

MAGIX 3D Maker is the Number 1 tool for creating stunning, professional-quality still and animated 3D text and graphics, such as logos, titles, headings and buttons. MAGIX 3D Maker can produce both still and animated graphics that are anti-aliased and optimized for the best possible on-screen appearance, and exported in all the popular formats such as GIF, PNG, AVI and Flash. 3D can add impact to any message but typically these sort of results are very difficult to achieve and require complex 3D software. But MAGIX 3D Maker is so simple to use you will be creating high quality images, animations, movie sequences and even animated screensavers in seconds.

Note: This program is identical with the program Xara 3D 6. In addition, it contains an option to export transparent title animations for use in MAGIX slideshow and video editing programs (MAGIX Xtreme Photostory on CD & DVD, MAGIX Movies on CD & DVD or MAGIX Movie Edit Pro).

Last changed: 8/21/2008

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Support

If you experience any problems with your software, please get in touch with our support team: Support website: http://support.magix.net

This website will lead you to the MAGIX user service page, which, among other things, contains the following free offers:

FAQs (frequently asked questions) and general tricks and tips. In most cases you'll find the solution to your problem here. If not, use the Email support form:

E-mail support form. Via the special form you inform our support staff about your system. This information is used to solve your problems quickly and competently. Simply fill out and send with a mouse-click!

Support forum: You are not alone. Perhaps other users had a similar problem and can help you solve yours. Our support staff are also regular contributors.

Download section: Updates, improvements and patches are likewise offered free of charge via download Many problems you may experience are well-known to us, and which can be solved by downloading the latest patch. Besides patches, there are also wizards for checking and optimizing your system

Links: In the links list you will find the contact addresses of all the most important hardware manufacturers.

You can also reach our support team by telephone:

UK:

0905 118 0888 (25p/min)

 

(open Monday to Friday 9:00 - 16:00 GMT)

Denmark:

077345695

 

(open Monday to Friday 10:00 - 17:00 CET)

Finland:

0942597819

 

(open Monday to Friday 10:00 - 17:00 CET)

Norway:

021543223

 

(open Monday to Friday 10:00 - 17:00 CET)

Sweden:

0852507027

 

(open Monday to Friday 10:00 - 17:00 CET)

Email: info@magix.net

Please have the following information at hand:

Program version

Configuration details (operating system, processor, memory, hard drive...)

Sound card configuration (type, driver)

Information regarding other audio software installed

Further assistance on using MAGIX 3D Maker

If you can't find the answer in this manual, the Help menu has several options:

Use menu "Help > Play Movie" to watch a program introduction movie.

MAGIX 3D Maker Support links to our support website (support.xara.com) which includes comprehensive FAQs.

MAGIX 3D Maker Forum links to the TalkGraphics discussion forums (www.talkgraphics.com) where you can ask other MAGIX 3D Maker users for advice or suggestions.

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Further assistance on using MAGIX 3D Maker

If you can't find the answer in this manual, the Help menu has several options:

Use menu "Help > Play Movie" to watch a program introduction movie.

MAGIX 3D Maker Support links to our support website (support.xara.com) which includes comprehensive FAQs.

MAGIX 3D Maker Forum links to the TalkGraphics discussion forums (www.talkgraphics.com) where you can ask other MAGIX 3D Maker users for advice or suggestions.

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Working with MAGIX 3D Maker

This section describes the basics of using MAGIX 3D Maker. Later sections provide more details of the various dialog boxes and toolbars and how to perform particular actions.

In this chapter

The MAGIX 3D Maker window Getting started

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Xara 3D Maker - 6.0 Instruction Manual

The MAGIX 3D Maker window

Display of the toolbars and Status Bar is optional. The Window menu lets you select which to display.

Standard toolbar: This provides common editing functions such as load and save. For more details see The standard toolbar

.

Text toolbar:_This provides quick access to the main text editing options such as font and size. For more details see The text toolbar

.

Time line: (Not displayed by default. Select Time line on the Window menu.) This provides greater control over animations. It lets you start, stop, pause and step through animations. For more details of the Time line see The time line. For more details of creating animations see Create animations

.

Preview area: The main part of the window shows a preview of your graphic as you create it. You can edit the graphic by, for example, dragging on a shadow to move the shadow, or dragging on the graphic to change the extrude or bevel

.

Options toolbar:

This provides short cuts to the different options available. These are:

Animation options

Bevel options

Color options

Design options

Extrusion options

Shadow options

Text options

Texture options

Option bars: Each bar contains settings for the options listed above. They can be accessed by clicking on the required bar or by clicking the required button on the options toolbar above. For more details see Option bars

. You can move and dock the option bars, or remove it completely.

Design toolbar: Offers shortcuts to the different design types of: text only, button, board, board with

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holes and border. For more details see Design options

.

Status bar: This provides feedback on available editing options and also shows you the current size and rotation angles of the 3D graphic. For more details see The status bar

.

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Getting started

Traditional 3D programs are notoriously difficult to use and understand. This is not the case with MAGIX 3D Maker. MAGIX 3D Maker is so simple to use, literally anyone can produce high quality still and animated 3D graphics in minutes.

Typically the first step is to enter your own text which you can do by just deleting the default text with the regular Delete key and typing your own. You can position the image in three dimensions by simply dragging it on screen (as long as you don't have a background texture, in which case use the scroll bars). You can also drag the shadow to the required position, and dragging on the graphic itself can change the extrude or bevel

. Select a font of your choice from the drop-down list in the text toolbar. You will likely also want to customize it, which you can do by clicking any of the option bars on the right hand side of the window (the buttons on the options toolbar also open these). Any changes you make are reflected instantly on the image, making it easy and fun to experiment.

Creating animations is just as easy. The animation options offers a wide range of different animation types from simple rotation of the image to multi-page animations with alternating animation types per character. And if you don't want to create your own headings you can simply copy one that's already been created (there are over 700 on the CD) by using the design picker (under design options) to copy some or all of the attributes of an existing file to the current heading, or use the animation picker to copy animation settings.

When you're happy with the results, you can export either a static image or an animation or movie in any of the most popular file formats. You can even create an animated screensaver either for use on your own computer or for distribution to other people.

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How To ...

This section describes using MAGIX 3D Maker to create quality 3D headings or buttons and then exporting static or animated files. In these descriptions we use 'graphic' as shorthand for the text or shape shown in the MAGIX 3D Maker window.

In this chapter

Open a new document Change the text

Rotate and position the graphic Light the graphic

Color the graphic Resize the graphic Add bevels & extrude Select characters Add shadows

Create animations Save and export Importing 2D objects

Apply the style of an existing graphic

Create buttons, boards, boards + holes and borders Create screensavers

Create Flash files Customize

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Open a new document

Click New on the File menu. This loads the default graphic. You can replace this default graphic with your own — see Customizing MAGIX 3D Maker

.

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Change the text

The easiest way of changing the text is to delete the existing text (using Backspace) and then typing in the wording you want.

You can also display the text cursor. Select the show/hide cursor button on the standard toolbar.

You can then use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move the cursor in the text and to select part of the text — for more information on this, see select characters

.

To change the font or apply affects such as increasing the space between characters, you can use the options in the text toolbar

.

Alternatively you can use the text options dialog box

to select and change text and apply affects. This is often easier when you have several lines of text such as in multi-page animations.

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Rotate and position the graphic

The easiest way to rotate the graphic is simply to drag on it in the MAGIX 3D Maker window or drag on the background if you don't have a background texture (don't drag on the shadow — this moves the shadow). This lets you rotate the graphic horizontally, vertically or around its center line. Otherwise, use the scroll bars.

Status bar

The Status bar shows the current angles (horizontal, vertical and rotation around the center line.)

Rotate options

Vertically only

Shift-drag on the window

or use the up/down arrow keys (1º rotation)

or use Ctrl and the up/down arrow keys (15º rotation) Horizontally only

Ctrl-drag on the window

or use the left/right arrow keys (1º rotation)

or use Ctrl and the left/right arrow keys (15º rotation) Rotate the graphic around its center line

Ctrl+Shift-drag on the window

or use Shift and the up/down arrow keys (1º rotation)

or use Shift+Ctrl and the up/down arrow keys (15º rotation) To cancel any rotation: (graphic is face-on) press Alt+Home

(You cannot use the arrow keys when the text cursor is displayed. Click the show/hide cursor button again to remove the cursor.)

Positioning options

Normally the graphic is centered in the window. Alt-drag moves the graphic off-center. To return the graphic to the center of the window press Alt+Home (this also cancels any rotation.)

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Status bar

The Status bar shows the current angles (horizontal, vertical and rotation around the center line.)

Rotate options

Vertically only

Shift-drag on the window

or use the up/down arrow keys (1º rotation)

or use Ctrl and the up/down arrow keys (15º rotation) Horizontally only

Ctrl-drag on the window

or use the left/right arrow keys (1º rotation)

or use Ctrl and the left/right arrow keys (15º rotation) Rotate the graphic around its center line

Ctrl+Shift-drag on the window

or use Shift and the up/down arrow keys (1º rotation)

or use Shift+Ctrl and the up/down arrow keys (15º rotation) To cancel any rotation: (graphic is face-on) press Alt+Home

(You cannot use the arrow keys when the text cursor is displayed. Click the show/hide cursor button again to remove the cursor.)

Positioning options

Normally the graphic is centered in the window. Alt-drag moves the graphic off-center. To return the graphic to the center of the window press Alt+Home (this also cancels any rotation.)

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Rotate options

Vertically only

Shift-drag on the window

or use the up/down arrow keys (1º rotation)

or use Ctrl and the up/down arrow keys (15º rotation) Horizontally only

Ctrl-drag on the window

or use the left/right arrow keys (1º rotation)

or use Ctrl and the left/right arrow keys (15º rotation) Rotate the graphic around its center line

Ctrl+Shift-drag on the window

or use Shift and the up/down arrow keys (1º rotation)

or use Shift+Ctrl and the up/down arrow keys (15º rotation) To cancel any rotation: (graphic is face-on) press Alt+Home

(You cannot use the arrow keys when the text cursor is displayed. Click the show/hide cursor button again to remove the cursor.)

Positioning options

Normally the graphic is centered in the window. Alt-drag moves the graphic off-center. To return the graphic to the center of the window press Alt+Home (this also cancels any rotation.)

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Positioning options

Normally the graphic is centered in the window. Alt-drag moves the graphic off-center. To return the graphic to the center of the window press Alt+Home (this also cancels any rotation.)

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Light the graphic

Three colored lights create the highlights and shadows on the graphic. You can change the positions and colors of each light. The fourth light (shown striped) controls the position of the shadow — see shadows

.

To display the lights:

click the 'light bulb' button

or choose Display lighting on the View menu To change the color of a light, display the color options dialog box by

double-clicking on the light

or choosing Light color 1, 2, 3 on the View menu.

To move a light just drag it. To move a light from in front of the object to behind it (or from behind to in front) keep dragging the light left or right.

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Color the graphic

You can color the graphic either by changing the colors of the graphic or by changing the light colors or both.

If you are creating a graphic and you want two or more colors on the text, it is easier to use pale colored lights and to color the text. (The default text of X3D Version 6 is an example of this: the X3D is pale gray, the Version light blue and 6 dark blue. The light shining on the face of the text is an orange cream color.)

The colors you see depend on the overlap of the lights, their colors and the graphic colors. The colors are also influenced by whether the graphic has a matt or gloss surface (selected in extrusion options

.)

The graphic can have different colors on the faces (front and back) and on the sides. You can change the color or texture on a per-character basis.

An example of an incut bevel with white face color and dark gray sides and bevel

Bevels display the color of the sides. Using square, round or triangular-faced or incut bevels can give the effect of two colors on the face of the graphic.

You can also use textures to color the sides or faces. You can import any BMP. GIF, ICO, JPEG or PNG file as a texture. Texture options let you scale, move or rotate the texture. Color options

let you tint a texture (an effect similar to placing a colored film over the texture.)

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Resize the graphic

The easiest way to resize larger graphics is to resize the MAGIX 3D Maker window by dragging the corners or sides.

For smaller graphics this can make the MAGIX 3D Maker window too small and you cannot see all the buttons. To avoid this, choose Display frame on the Window menu or click the display frame button ( Standard Tool Bar

). This displays the graphic in a smaller frame which you can resize independently of the main MAGIX 3D Maker window.

An advantage of the frame is that you can set it to a specific size. Use Frame size on the Window menu. When you save an X3D file when using the frame, MAGIX 3D Maker remembers the frame size and always opens the graphic at that size.

To make the exported image the same size as the frame area, select Current window size and uncheck Crop in the Export dialog box

.

Alternatively you can fix the graphic size using Font size on the Text toolbar. Choose any value except

Fit to width

.

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Add bevels & extrude

The bevel is the decorative transition between the faces and the sides of the graphic. The extrude is the depth of the sides.

Bevel designs range from a simple angled or rounded bevel on the corner to complex rippled bevels that run the length of the sides. Bevels are always applied to the sides of the graphic, not to the faces. The result is to make the graphic larger and, with larger bevel sizes, text characters can merge into each other. This also has an effect when the faces and sides are different colors — the bevel takes the side color. To alter the bevel, hover you mouse over the edge of the text while holding the shift key.

When the cursor changes to the bevel tool you can click and drag the bevel to the required size.

Bevel options

let you have more advanced control, like choosing a bevel style. For small extrude values there may not be enough space to display the complete bevel (depending on the bevel design.)

To change the extrude depth, just click and drag on the side of the text. You will see the cursor appear when altering the extrude.

Extrude options

gives you more advanced control over the extrusion, and whether the graphic is matt or gloss. You can also choose the surface, either Gloss (reflective) or Matt

(non-reflective.) The surface affects the entire "feel" of the graphic. Gloss (shown left below) creates shiny, metallic effects; matt (shown right) more subtle, toned-down graphics. When swapping between the two surfaces, you often need to move the lights to get the best results for that surface.

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Select characters

Almost all MAGIX 3D Maker attributes (such as colors, bevels, textures, animation types) can be applied character-by-character. (The exceptions are the shadow, the lighting and some animation types.) Before you can apply an attribute to a character or block of characters, you must first select that character or block.

First step is to display the text cursor. Click the show/hide cursor button on the standard toolbar:

Then:

Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move the cursor.

Shift+left/right arrow keys selects the character on the left or right.

Ctrl+Shift+left/right arrow keys selects all the characters from the cursor to the left or right of the line.

Ctrl+A selects all characters.

Ctrl+P selects all characters on the current page (for multi-page animations.)

When you have a selected character or block any changes you make apply only to that character or block.

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Add shadows

A shadow behind the graphic gives an impression of the graphic floating above the surface and adds realism.

To create a shadow, open the Shadow options dialog box and check Shadow

.

To move the shadow, either drag the shadow — the cursor will look like this when you hover over the shadow and can drag:

Or display the lights. A fourth light (shown striped) controls the shadow position—drag that light.

To change the color of the shadow

either double-click on the shadow or shadow light—this opens Color options ready to edit the shadow color

or choose Shadow color on the View menu

or click Color options and choose Shadow from the drop-down list.

To change the shadow transparency, use Transparency in Shadow options

. Real shadows are usually semi-transparent and the shadow looks better when you can see some of the background behind the shadow.

To change the shadow blur, use Blur

in shadow options. Real shadows do not have sharp edges (no blur) and you can use blur to soften the edges. Large blur values are useful for creating "halo" effects. Move the shadow directly behind the graphic and give the shadow a bright color to emphasize it.

Shadow styles

Shadow options have two styles of shadow:

Style 1

is a simple offset copy of the graphic. Artistically this is incorrect but looks 'right' for static images.

Style 2

is artistically correct and looks best with animations where the eye is more aware of the shadow shape.

Shadows and Flash vector format

Flash vector format does not support shadows. If you want your graphic to have a shadow, use a different export format such as GIF or bitmap Flash.

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Shadow styles

Shadow options have two styles of shadow:

Style 1

is a simple offset copy of the graphic. Artistically this is incorrect but looks 'right' for static images.

Style 2

is artistically correct and looks best with animations where the eye is more aware of the shadow shape.

Shadows and Flash vector format

Flash vector format does not support shadows. If you want your graphic to have a shadow, use a different export format such as GIF or bitmap Flash.

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Shadows and Flash vector format

Flash vector format does not support shadows. If you want your graphic to have a shadow, use a different export format such as GIF or bitmap Flash.

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Create animations

You can easily create animated graphics using MAGIX 3D Maker. You have the option of either a single image (single page) or a sequence of images (multi-page).

To create a single page animation, just create the image in the regular way then display Animation options and choose the required options.

To create a multi-page animations, create the first image. Then press Ctrl+Enter to start a new page and create the image for that page.

Alternatively you can use Text options. Click Insert page break to start a new page.

Continue until you have created as many pages as you want. Then display Animation options and choose the required settings.

These options apply only to multi-page animations:

Step animation

Overlap pages for Pulsate animations

Animation options and file format

MAGIX 3D Maker can save animations in several different formats: AVI, ANI, Flash SWF and animated GIF. Some options in the Animation dialog box are not supported by all file formats. Pause is supported by all formats except AVI movies. Loop

is supported only by animated GIF format (other formats play continuously.)

To preview an animation

Select the start/stop animation button on the standard toolbar.

To preview the animation in real-time, MAGIX 3D Maker displays a reduced-quality image. You have greater control over quality when exporting to disk.

Editing the text for multi-page animations

Unless you have the cursor displayed, new text is added to the page currently displayed in the MAGIX 3D Maker window. This can make editing slightly tricky. Either stop the animation and edit the text or use Text options

.

The time line

Displaying the Time line

lets you step through an animation, frame-by-frame, or pause, stop or run the animation.

You can export an individual frame by pausing the animation at the frame you want and using Export on the View

menu.

Applying animation effects to selected text

The animation style applies to all characters (see notes below) but you can apply most attributes of the animation to just a selected character or block of characters. For example, for a Rotate

animation, you could have some characters rotating in a different plane to the others. Notes:

Rotate, Swing and Pulsate animation styles have two versions, 1 animates all characters as a group and 2 animates each character individually. You can mix versions by selecting part of the text and selecting the other version (1 or 2.)

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Fade, Step and Typewriter animation styles: you cannot apply different settings to a selected area.

Tips for creating animations

Animations can create large file sizes, which are slow to download over the Internet. To keep animations small we suggest:

Make the image as small as possible by selecting the Crop option on export.

Select Front face only for Rotate animations.

Have no more than about 20 frames per animation. (The fewer the better for keeping the size down.)

For multi-page animations avoid having too many pages.

When exporting try selecting 16 colors (4-bit) with no dithering and optimized palette. When images are animating, the banding is far less obvious than with a static image.

When exporting GIFs (animated or static) that have a complex background, try exporting them as transparent GIFs.

Rotating the lights changes the file size only slightly.

For Flash animations, Fade or Step animations create much smaller files than the other animation styles. For multi-page Pulsate animations, overlapping the pages creates smaller animations.

Don't get carried away! For example using loads of textures can create very large animation files.

Turning the shadow off can reduce file size.

When exporting select to optimize 'per frame'.

For tips when saving as a Flash SWF file see Tips for creating flash files.

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Animation options and file format

MAGIX 3D Maker can save animations in several different formats: AVI, ANI, Flash SWF and animated GIF. Some options in the Animation dialog box are not supported by all file formats. Pause is supported by all formats except AVI movies. Loop

is supported only by animated GIF format (other formats play continuously.)

To preview an animation

Select the start/stop animation button on the standard toolbar.

To preview the animation in real-time, MAGIX 3D Maker displays a reduced-quality image. You have greater control over quality when exporting to disk.

Editing the text for multi-page animations

Unless you have the cursor displayed, new text is added to the page currently displayed in the MAGIX 3D Maker window. This can make editing slightly tricky. Either stop the animation and edit the text or use Text options

.

The time line

Displaying the Time line

lets you step through an animation, frame-by-frame, or pause, stop or run the animation.

You can export an individual frame by pausing the animation at the frame you want and using Export on the View

menu.

Applying animation effects to selected text

The animation style applies to all characters (see notes below) but you can apply most attributes of the animation to just a selected character or block of characters. For example, for a Rotate

animation, you could have some characters rotating in a different plane to the others. Notes:

Rotate, Swing and Pulsate animation styles have two versions, 1 animates all characters as a group and 2 animates each character individually. You can mix versions by selecting part of the text and selecting the other version (1 or 2.)

Fade, Step and Typewriter animation styles: you cannot apply different settings to a selected area.

Tips for creating animations

Animations can create large file sizes, which are slow to download over the Internet. To keep animations small we suggest:

Make the image as small as possible by selecting the Crop option on export.

Select Front face only for Rotate animations.

Have no more than about 20 frames per animation. (The fewer the better for keeping the size down.)

For multi-page animations avoid having too many pages.

When exporting try selecting 16 colors (4-bit) with no dithering and optimized palette. When images are animating, the banding is far less obvious than with a static image.

When exporting GIFs (animated or static) that have a complex background, try exporting them as transparent GIFs.

Rotating the lights changes the file size only slightly.

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For Flash animations, Fade or Step animations create much smaller files than the other animation styles. For multi-page Pulsate animations, overlapping the pages creates smaller animations.

Don't get carried away! For example using loads of textures can create very large animation files.

Turning the shadow off can reduce file size.

When exporting select to optimize 'per frame'.

For tips when saving as a Flash SWF file see Tips for creating flash files.

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To preview an animation

Select the start/stop animation button on the standard toolbar.

To preview the animation in real-time, MAGIX 3D Maker displays a reduced-quality image. You have greater control over quality when exporting to disk.

Editing the text for multi-page animations

Unless you have the cursor displayed, new text is added to the page currently displayed in the MAGIX 3D Maker window. This can make editing slightly tricky. Either stop the animation and edit the text or use Text options

.

The time line

Displaying the Time line

lets you step through an animation, frame-by-frame, or pause, stop or run the animation.

You can export an individual frame by pausing the animation at the frame you want and using Export on the View

menu.

Applying animation effects to selected text

The animation style applies to all characters (see notes below) but you can apply most attributes of the animation to just a selected character or block of characters. For example, for a Rotate

animation, you could have some characters rotating in a different plane to the others. Notes:

Rotate, Swing and Pulsate animation styles have two versions, 1 animates all characters as a group and 2 animates each character individually. You can mix versions by selecting part of the text and selecting the other version (1 or 2.)

Fade, Step and Typewriter animation styles: you cannot apply different settings to a selected area.

Tips for creating animations

Animations can create large file sizes, which are slow to download over the Internet. To keep animations small we suggest:

Make the image as small as possible by selecting the Crop option on export.

Select Front face only for Rotate animations.

Have no more than about 20 frames per animation. (The fewer the better for keeping the size down.)

For multi-page animations avoid having too many pages.

When exporting try selecting 16 colors (4-bit) with no dithering and optimized palette. When images are animating, the banding is far less obvious than with a static image.

When exporting GIFs (animated or static) that have a complex background, try exporting them as transparent GIFs.

Rotating the lights changes the file size only slightly.

For Flash animations, Fade or Step animations create much smaller files than the other animation styles. For multi-page Pulsate animations, overlapping the pages creates smaller animations.

Don't get carried away! For example using loads of textures can create very large animation files.

Turning the shadow off can reduce file size.

When exporting select to optimize 'per frame'.

For tips when saving as a Flash SWF file see Tips for creating flash files.

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Editing the text for multi-page animations

Unless you have the cursor displayed, new text is added to the page currently displayed in the MAGIX 3D Maker window. This can make editing slightly tricky. Either stop the animation and edit the text or use Text options

.

The time line

Displaying the Time line

lets you step through an animation, frame-by-frame, or pause, stop or run the animation.

You can export an individual frame by pausing the animation at the frame you want and using Export on the View

menu.

Applying animation effects to selected text

The animation style applies to all characters (see notes below) but you can apply most attributes of the animation to just a selected character or block of characters. For example, for a Rotate

animation, you could have some characters rotating in a different plane to the others. Notes:

Rotate, Swing and Pulsate animation styles have two versions, 1 animates all characters as a group and 2 animates each character individually. You can mix versions by selecting part of the text and selecting the other version (1 or 2.)

Fade, Step and Typewriter animation styles: you cannot apply different settings to a selected area.

Tips for creating animations

Animations can create large file sizes, which are slow to download over the Internet. To keep animations small we suggest:

Make the image as small as possible by selecting the Crop option on export.

Select Front face only for Rotate animations.

Have no more than about 20 frames per animation. (The fewer the better for keeping the size down.)

For multi-page animations avoid having too many pages.

When exporting try selecting 16 colors (4-bit) with no dithering and optimized palette. When images are animating, the banding is far less obvious than with a static image.

When exporting GIFs (animated or static) that have a complex background, try exporting them as transparent GIFs.

Rotating the lights changes the file size only slightly.

For Flash animations, Fade or Step animations create much smaller files than the other animation styles. For multi-page Pulsate animations, overlapping the pages creates smaller animations.

Don't get carried away! For example using loads of textures can create very large animation files.

Turning the shadow off can reduce file size.

When exporting select to optimize 'per frame'.

For tips when saving as a Flash SWF file see Tips for creating flash files.

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