Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator USER MANUAL
The Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator
for After Effects
®
™
User Guide
Covering Classic and PRO v.4
Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator for AE - User Guide 1
Zaxwerks Inc.
5724 Camellia Ave.
Temple City, CA 91780
(626) 309-9102 phone
(626) 309-9142 fax
http://www.zaxwerks.com
Sales: sales@zaxwerks.com
Tech Support: support@zaxwerks.com
© 1996 - 2005 Zaxwerks Inc. All rights reserved.
This manual, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under license and may only be used or
copied in accordance with the terms of such license. The information in this manual is furnished for informa
tional use only, is subject to change without notice, and does not represent product specifications or commitment on the part of Zaxwerks. Zaxwerks assumes no responsibility or liability for any error or inaccuracies
that may appear in this document.
The Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator is a trademark of Zaxwerks Inc. After Effects, Illustrator and Photoshop are
trademarks of Adobe Systems Inc. FreeHand is a trademark of Macromedia Inc. Apple and Macintosh are
registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Windows, Windows 2000, and Windows XP are registered
trademarks of Microsoft, Inc. OpenGL is a trademark of Silicon Graphics Inc. All other product names or
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator for AE - User Guide2
Table of Contents
A Word From Zax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
Macintosh installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Windows installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
BASIC CONCEPTS
Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Surface Set Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Scene Set Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
QUICK START . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Think Like A Photographer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
EXPANDED QUICK START
Create The Beginning 2D Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Adding The Shapes To The 3D Invigorator . . . . . . . . 30
Adjusting The Camera, Lights, or Objects . . . . . . . . 31
Creating The Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Rendering The 3D Graphic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Saving Your Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
TUTORIALS
Tutorial 1
A Camera Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Tutorial 2
A Walk-About Through The Set-Up Window . . . 51
Tutorial 3
Selecting, Renaming & Manipulating Objects . . 60
SELECT ARTWORK
Show All Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Open By Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Use Illustrator Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Dismantle Incoming Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Move Objects To Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
The EFFECT CONTROLS WINDOW
Scene Preview Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Mode Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Display Textured/Shaded/Wireframe . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Manipulator Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Tumble Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Roll Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Track Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Dolly Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Scale Tool For Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Selection Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
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Zoom Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Create Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Views Popup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Lights Popup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Sets Popup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Help Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Update Camera Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Update Lights Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Set-Up Window Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Linking To The AE 3D Cameras and 3D Lights . . . . 89
Limitations Of The Comp Camera Option . . . . . . . . 94
The ANIMATABLE PARAMETERS
Animatable Camera Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Camera Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Which Camera To Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Animatable Lighting Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Light Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Light Intensity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Light Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Animatable Set Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Set Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Set Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Set Depth Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Layer Map Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Layer Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Composite On Original . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
AE Reset Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Caps Lock Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
The SET-UP WINDOW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Scene Preview Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
The CAMERA CONTROLS
Camera Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Camera Manipulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Camera Tumble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Camera Roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Camera Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Camera Dolly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Camera Manipulation Shortcut Keys . . . . . . . . 126
Zoom Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
The Camera Tab
Camera Views Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Camera Lenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Super Fast Rendering (PRO Feature) . . . . . . . 130
Antialiasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Alpha Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Background Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator for AE - User Guide4
The LIGHTING CONTROLS
Light Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Light Manipulation
In The Scene Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Light Manipulator Ball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Spot Lights And Point Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Creating and Using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Lights List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Turn On This Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Disable All Shadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Light Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Light Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Light Color Picker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Light Color Eyedropper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Light Intensity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Shadow Casting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Shadow Darkness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Shadow Softness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Light Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Light Commands Popup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Save Light To Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Lights Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Lights Swatch Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Apply Swatch To Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Duplicate Light Swatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Delete Selected Swatches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Clear Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Lighting Styles Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Lighting Styles Swatch Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Save Lighting Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Apply Lighting Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Duplicate Lighting Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Delete Selected Lighting Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Clear Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
OBJECT CONTROLS
Object Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Object Manipulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Object Nudging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Object Tumble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Object Roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Object Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Object Dolly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Drag Using Object’s Axes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Object Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Selecting Objects
Selection Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Primary And Secondary Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Adding To And Removing From Selections . . . . . . 164
Drag Selecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Select All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Deselect All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Select Invisible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Using Manipulation Tools For Selecting . . . . . . . . 166
Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator for AE - User Guide 5
Small Object Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Object List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Bold Object Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Italic Object Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Bullets In The Object List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Set Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Make Invisible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Reset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Duplicate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Move To Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Create Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
User Prefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Clear Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Clear Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Large Object Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Object Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Object Stats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Reload Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Replace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
File Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Object Faceting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Draft Quality vs. Best Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Generate Model Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Front Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Back Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Outside Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Hole Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Spike Buster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
New Looks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Spike Buster and Edge Offsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Unbustable Spikes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Edge Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Outside Edges vs. Hole Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Edge Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Edge Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Use Same Profile for Hole Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Use Same Material for Hole Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Use Same Scale for Hole Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
The MATERIAL CONTROLS
The Classic Materials Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
The PRO Materials Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Materials Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Moving And Rearranging Swatches . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Selecting Swatches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Duplicate Selected Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Select All Unused . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Delete Selected Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Clear Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
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Material Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Loading A Material Into The Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Loading By Drag and Drop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Loading By Double Clicking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Material Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Material Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Eyedropper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
TEXTURE MAPPING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Picking A Texture Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Sizing and Positioning The Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
How Auto-Sizing Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Map Enabler Checkbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Layer Map Selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Image Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Decal Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Highlight Sharpness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Highlight Brightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Bumpiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Making Better Bump Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Transparency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Transparency Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Reflectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Reflection Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Highlights And Reflections By Surface Type
Polished Jewelry and Stone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Glass and Vinyl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Chrome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Polished Wood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Satins/Metals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Paper/Cloth/Rough Cut Stone/Unfinished Wood . . 226
How The Color Channels In A Map Are Used . . . . . . . 226
Channel Usage by Map Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Material Commands
New Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Duplicate Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Save Material To Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Clear Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Seeing Textures And Reflections In Draft Mode . . . . . . 230
223
OBJECT STYLES
Object Styles Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Applying Object Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Linking Objects To Object Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Renaming Object Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Adding Notes To An Object Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Object Styles Swatch Popup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
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Save Object Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Unlink Object Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Remove Object Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Duplicate Object Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Select All Unused . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Delete Selected Object Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Clear Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Moving Object Style Swatches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Regenerating Deleted Object Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
MATERIAL SET-UP & ASSIGNMENT
Material Set-Up Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Material Assignment Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Material Set-Up Toolbar
Display Splits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Split Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Grabber Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Dolly Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Zoom Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Palette Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Clear All Splits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Fit Edge Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Swap Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Delete Selected Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Materials Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Palette checkbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
USER PREFERENCES
Default Set Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Shadow Quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Duplication Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Hard Shading Angle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Save Project Data As . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Show Ground Plane In Preview Windows. . . . . . . . 255
Ground Plane Y Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
ADDITIONAL PRO FEATURES
EDGE OFFSET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
CUSTOM EDGE PROFILES
How To Create A Custom Edge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Each Layer Becomes A Single Edge . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Where Do Custom Edges Appear In The Menu? . . 261
Setting The Scale Of A Custom Edge. . . . . . . . . . . . 262
What Types Of Paths Can Edges Be? . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Crossing The Y Axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Crossing The X Axis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Editing A Profile While The Project Is Open. . . . . . 265
Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator for AE - User Guide8
Importance Of The Starting Point For Mapping. . . 266
How To Tell Where The Seam Will Be . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Edge Profile Examples. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Combining Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Cycling Objects Inside ElectricImage. . . . . . 286
Using Cycling Objects Inside Other Programs . . . . 289
286
LAYER CYCLING
What Is A Layer Cycling Object? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Understanding Layer Cycling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Example Uses For This Technique. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
How To Prep The Vector File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
How To Make A Layer Cycling Object . . . . . . . . . . . 278
The Layer Cycling Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
The Frame Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Total Frames Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Frame Counter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
The Playback Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Start Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Show Before Start Frame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Change Every. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Play Once . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Play Once And Hold. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Ping-Pong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Reverse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Randomize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Random Seed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Exporting Layer Cycling Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator for AE - User Guide 9
IMPORTING 3D MODELS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
EXPORTING 3D MODELS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Exporting All, Selected Or Visible Objects . . . . . . . 293
Baking Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
MESHING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
WHAT’S NEW IN 4.0 PRO?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
CREATING TEXT OBJECTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Text Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Setting The Block Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Font Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Leading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Spacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Kerning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Width Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Height Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Baseline Shift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Justification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Cleaning Up Problems With Font Models . . . . . . . . 304
3D Text Editing Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
3D PRIMITIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Making a Primitive Object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Changing A Primitive’s Shape. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Coloring A Primitive Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Animating A Primitive Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Making A Primitive Look Faceted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
How To Squash Or Skew A Primitive. . . . . . . . . . . . 309
THE .ZXO IMPORT / EXPORT FORMAT . . . . . . . 310
How To Save A .ZXO Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Adding .ZXO Objects To Other Projects . . . . . . . . . 311
Making .ZXO Objects Larger or Smaller . . . . . . . . . 312
MOTION BLUR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
LAYER MAP ANIMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
How To Animate A Layer Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Finding The Perfect Reflection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
HIGHLIGHT MAPPING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
How To Make A Highlight Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
How To Give A Material A Highlight Map . . . . . . . . 318
Creative Uses for Highlight Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
RENDER FARMING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL TYPES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Wireframe And Hiddenline Rendering. . . . . . . . . . . 322
How To Give Objects A Wireframe
or Hiddenline Look . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Making The Lines Thicker or Thinner . . . . . . . 325
Setting The Color Between The Lines . . . . . . . 326
Making The Lines React To Lights . . . . . . . . . . 327
Making Lines Shine With Reflections . . . . . . . . 328
Applying Grids Across Object Faces . . . . . . . . 329
Cartoon Coloring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
How To Give Objects Cartoon Coloring . . . . . . 330
Absolute Coloring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
How To Give Objects Absolute Coloring . . . . . 332
2D Graphics In A 3D World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Absolute Coloring For Pop Art Looks . . . . . . . 334
The Stroked Pop Art Look . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
The Modified Pop Art Look . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Making TV Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Making 3D Environments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
The Matte Color Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Making Transition Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Masking Out Unwanted Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Making Objects Circle Around 2D Elements . . 340
Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator for AE - User Guide10
The Shadow Catcher Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Setting Up The Camera For
A Shadow Catcher Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
TRACKING AE’S 3D OBJECTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
What Kinds Of Objects Can
Track An AE Plane? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
How To Make A Set Track A 3D Plane. . . . . . . . . . . 346
Animating With A Controller Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Adding Objects To The Tracking Set . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
What To Do If Objects Are Rotating Off Center . . . 351
Troubleshooting Tracking Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Using 3D Tracking To Scale In All 3 Dimensions . . 355
SPECIAL TOPICS
Changes To Swatch Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
What Is A Set? What is An Object?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
How To Place The Center of Rotation For A Set . . 362
How Do Materials Work?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Understanding Vector Shape & Text Objects . . . . . 369
Creating Spheres And Other Primitives. . . . . . . . . . 373
Creating Grids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
Working With Objects Outside The View
Of The Camera. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Preparing Your Vector Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
How To Edit An Illustrator File And Get The
Invigorator To Use The Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
Using Clip Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overlapping Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
The Holes In Objects Are Filling In . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Spikes On Smooth Curves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Spikes On Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Using Scanned Artwork. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
The Tiny Camera And Light Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
Making Projects Render Faster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
387
TROUBLESHOOTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
APPENDIX: The Edge Profiles
Bevels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
Inset Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
Pipes & Half Pipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
Sharp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412
Stacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
Chiseled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
Special Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
Woodwork. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator for AE - User Guide 11
A Word From Zax
Welcome my friends to the world of the 3D Invigorator. Like its name implies, the Invigorator will help bring energy and
life to your graphics.
The 3D Invigorator is the first 3D tool ever designed from the ground up for the needs of the graphic artist on a deadline.
Like the best ideas, it was born from the nursery of experience, and the school of hard knocks. Too much labor, too many
sleepless nights, there had to be a better way!
Current 3D tools have not been designed for the fast paced world of everyday graphics production. They are too difficult to
use, take too long to learn and produce modest results until you have “mastered” them. The Invigorator changes all that.
If you are brand new to the world of 3D you will find the Invigorator to be very inviting. You can play and experiment with
your designs as you go, refining your work in “passes” rather than working along a constricting series of steps. You can get
beautiful images right out of the box. These are concepts almost unheard of in 3D work.
If you are already familiar with 3D applications you’ll find tools in the Invigorator that you won’t find anywhere else. We
have broken new ground in 3D modeling technology enabling you to add details to text and logo models that are extraordinarily difficult to create in any other modeler. We have also created some exciting new techniques for texturing and
antialiasing that enable you to easily get images of beauty and depth.
As rookie or veteran, the 3D Invigorator will be an experience you won’t find elsewhere. Merging your 3D application into
your 2D compositor raises your creative work to new heights. It unlocks the restrictions of working in different environments and enables you to mix 3D and 2D at will.
So, welcome to a whole new way of looking at 3D graphics. The Invigorator makes working in 3D such a fun and fast experience I’m sure you will feel, like many of our users, that you have just stepped into the 21st Century!
All my best!
Zax Dow, President
Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator for AE - User Guide12
Installation Instructions
Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator for AE - User Guide 13
Drag the Zaxwerks folder into the AE Plug-ins folder.
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
System Requirements - MACINTOSH
- A PowerPC Macintosh running Mac OS 9.2.2 or 10.2.8 or 10.3.8.
- Apple’s OpenGL 1.2.1 system extension.
- A High Rez color monitor set to Millions of Colors.
- Adobe After Effects version 6.0 or 6.5
- 128 MB of RAM allocated to After Effects, plus 36 MB of “Largest Unused Block” RAM once all applications are open.
- 50 MB of unused hard disk space.
Installation Instructions - MACINTOSH
The 3D Invigorator software consists of a plug-in, several folders
of support files, and the OpenGL system extension. All of these
files are required for the software to run correctly. Fortunately it’s
easy to put the right things in the right places, so follow the directions and you’ll be up and running quickly.
1 - Insert the application CD and open it, or decompress the
archive you downloaded.
The disk or download archive you received contains a main
folder with the words 3D Invig in the title. Double click on this
folder to open it.
Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator for AE - User Guide14
Inside the window that opens you will find a folder called
Zaxwerks. Inside this folder is the 3D Invigorator AE plug-in, the
Zaxwerks Invigorator Startup file, the Zaxwerks Swatches folder
and several other support files and folders. Locate the Zaxwerks
folder. It will be used in the next step.
2 - Find and open the Adobe After Effects folder, then find the
Plug-ins folder inside of it. Drag the Zaxwerks folder from the
CD or downloaded archive into the Plug-ins folder.
WARNING: Do not move the folders inside the Zaxwerks folder!
Drag ONLY the Zaxwerks folder into the After Effects > Plug-ins
folder. This will copy all the required files into the appropriate
location on your hard drive. If you drag individual files you may
end up missing the swatch libraries and other support files.
The Invigorator requires Apple’s OpenGL system extension. If
you have OpenGL already installed on your Mac, then make sure
it is turned on. If you don’t have OpenGL then you must either
install it from your system CD, or download it from the Apple
website at http://www.apple.com/opengl/.
You are now ready to launch After Effects and create your first
Invigorator project.
The Invigorator, OpenGL and RAM Usage
The Invigorator is not an ordinary plug-in. It’s a
full 3D application that runs inside After Effects.
Because of this there are some important things
you need to keep in mind when using it.
1. Every Invigorator effect you add to a project
will use from 5 to 10 megs of RAM. It doesn’t
matter whether a particular Invigorator is visible,
invisible, in the current Comp or in a Pre-Comp
sitting off to the side. If it’s in the open AE
project, it’s using RAM. So if you have lots of
Invigorator effects in your project you may run
out of RAM and crash.
2. OpenGL uses its own RAM. (Mac OS9 only) If
you have After Effects set to use too much RAM,
or have other programs open that are using the
available RAM you may crash. OpenGL is a
system extension so it allocates more RAM as it
needs it. You can’t set aside RAM for it, you just
have to make sure free RAM is available when
OpenGL wants it.
Continued in sidebar on next page.
Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator for AE - User Guide 15
The Invigorator, OpenGL and RAM Usage
(continued)
3. The Invigorator uses additional system RAM.
The Invigorator uses a special type of memory
handling, similar to a system extension, that
will allocate system RAM on the fly. As you add
more Invigorator effects to the same project, or
work with high resolution renderings, you may
find that there is no free RAM available and you
may get a crash.
Solution: If you are experiencing crashes try
setting the amount of RAM allocated to After
Effects either up or down, and make sure you
don’t have other programs open that are taking
up additional RAM
If After Effects is set to use nearly all of the
available RAM (i.e. you are running with a “larg
est unused block” of less than 30 megs) then
turn the amount of RAM allocated to AE down.
NOTE: If you are on Windows or OSX you cannot set RAM sizes so you most likely won’t experience out of RAM conditions, unless you’re running less than minimum system requirements.
Authorization
You will find the Invigorator plug-in under the Zaxwerks menu.
(Effect > Zaxwerks > 3D Invigorator.) The first time you add the
plug-in to a project it will ask you to enter your Authorization
code. Enter your Name and Organization, and type the code
exactly as it was given to you, then press the OK button. If you
click the Demo or Cancel buttons you will have to relaunch After
Effects before it will give you the authorization window again.
System Requirements - WINDOWS
-
- Intel Pentium III or 4 processor.
- Microsoft Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
- The OpenGL system .dll file.
- A High Rez color monitor set to True Color.
(OpenGL accelerator card recommended.)
- 256 MB of RAM, 50 MB free disk space.
- Adobe After Effects version 6.0 or 6.5
Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator for AE - User Guide16
Installation Instructions - WINDOWS
The 3D Invigorator software consists of a plug-in and several folders of support files. All of these files are required for the software
to run correctly. Fortunately it’s easy to put the right things in the
right places, so follow the directions and you’ll be up and running
quickly.
1 - Insert the application CD and open it, or decompress the
archive you downloaded.
The disk or download archive you received contains a main
folder with the words 3D Invig in the title. Double click this
folder to open it.
Inside the window that opens you will find the main
folder. Inside this folder is the 3D Invigorator AE plug-in, the
Zaxwerks Invigorator Startup file, the Zaxwerks Swatches folder
and several folders of support files. Locate the Zaxwerks folder.
It will be used in the next step.
2 - Find and open the Adobe After Effects folder, then find the
Plug-ins folder inside of it. Drag the Zaxwerks folder from the
CD or downloaded archive into the Plug-ins folder.
(See the Warning sidebar.)
You are now ready to launch After Effects and create your first
Invigorator project.
Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator for AE - User Guide 17
Zaxwerks
WARNING
Do not move the folders inside the Zaxwerks
folder!
Drag ONLY the Zaxwerks folder into the After
Effects > Plug-ins folder. This will copy all the
required files into the appropriate location on
your hard drive. If you drag individual files you
may end up missing the swatch libraries and
other support files.
NOTE: The Invigorator requires OpenGL 1.1 to run. OpenGL is
a system extension (opengl32.dll) that comes with your Windows
operating system. If you try to run the Invigorator and get an
error saying OpenGL is missing, reinstall it from your System CD
or download it from the Microsoft website Downloads Center
(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads)
Authorization
You will find the Invigorator plug-in under the Zaxwerks menu.
(Effect > Zaxwerks > 3D Invigorator.) The first time you add the
plug-in to a project it will ask you to enter your Authorization
code. Enter your Name and Organization, and type the code exactly as it was given to you, then press the OK button.
If you click the Demo or Cancel buttons you will have to relaunch
After Effects before it will give you the authorization window
again.
TROUBLESHOOTING TIP
On some systems running Windows XP, you will not be able
to type any more than 2 or 3 characters per field. If this
happens to you, type the information into NotePad then
copy each line and paste it into the appropriate field.
Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator for AE - User Guide18
Basic Concepts
Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator for AE - User Guide 19
Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator for AE - User Guide20
BASIC CONCEPTS
The 3D Invigorator creates its own images. It does not process
existing footage to give it a “3D effect”. Instead, you create a
Solid and apply the 3D Invigorator filter to it.
The 3D Invigorator is more like a full application than it is a
plug-in. Like After Effects it has a workflow style that is straightforward and quick to understand. Like most other plug-ins it can
be used within minutes of opening it up. Unlike most plug-ins
however, it has the depth of a full application. There is a tremendous amount of technology and workflow design packed into this
program. The reason it was made as a plug-in is because a tight
integration of a plug-in with its host speeds up the workflow, increases flexibility and raises the overall quality of the final work.
To aid in getting the most from the 3D Invigorator, here is a short
overview of the steps for creating a 3D graphic.
Modeling
The creation of an object’s shape.
Surface Set Up
The “paint job” that is applied to the surface of the models.
Scene Set Up
The positioning of the objects and lights
within the 3D scene. Also the positioning of
the camera which views the scene and films
the animation footage.
Modeling
The 3D Invigorator creates its own models out of Adobe Illustrator files and Vector Clip art. Models can be modified using the
controls in the Object Tab. A selection of over 100 preset edge
“bevels” come built into the program.
The PRO version of the 3D Invigorator can also import models
that were created in other 3D programs, build basic shapes of its
Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator for AE - User Guide 21
Animation
The moving of the camera, objects or the
lights within the 3D scene.
Rendering
Processing the animation into the final
movie footage.
own, and create models out of fonts. There are thousands of 3D
models that can be purchased or downloaded for free from websites around the world. Look on the goodies page of our website
for links to other websites that offer 3D models.
(www. zaxwerks.com/goodies.html)
Surface Set Up
The Invigorator has a completely unique way of handling surfaces. Up to six different materials can be applied to each object
and that object may use those six materials in a variety of ways.
Once you use it you will see how the Invigorator has finally given
to 3D artists the tools to create a new generation of 3D title and
logo graphics. Graphics like you have never seen before.
Scene Set Up
Setting up a 3D scene has been streamlined to make it easier
for 2D motion graphic artists to make the jump to 3D. A scene
can have as many objects as you need and objects or groups of
objects can be rotated and positioned independently. Up to six
lights can be used, and once you get your lights perfect they can
be saved and reused in future projects.
Object manipulation within the 3D scene is being done in a way
that’s completely new. Single and multiple objects can be manipulated with speed and fluidity. There are a full compliment of
short cut keys. Even nudge keys are supported.
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Animation
The animation is handled completely from inside the AE Effect
Controls window and the AE Timeline. All your familiar methods
for handling Keyframes, Ease In/Out, Expressions and Animation
Assistants can be used. When animating, only the animation tools
are presented, so there is less to worry about and the workflow is
once again faster.
The rest of the manual is divided into the following sections:
The Quick Start section will give you a quick
overview of the 3D Invigorator process. It uses
standard 3D terminology and is geared toward
users with previous 3D experience.
Rendering
The rendering engine is designed for the rigors of professional
production. It creates beautiful images with excellent antialiasing,
image mapping, bump mapping, reflection mapping, soft
shadows, transparencies for glass effects, chrome effects, flythroughs, fly-bys and can even place After Effects movie footage
onto any object in the 3D scene.
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The Tutorials section will walk you through
the process of creating many different kinds
of 3D Invigorator projects. It’s best to follow the
tutorials in order since each builds on material
presented in earlier tutorials.
The Feature Reference section presents indepth explanations of what each tool and setting does and how to apply them.
The Special Topics section addresses common
questions and their solutions.
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Quick Start
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Quick Start
(Also see the Expanded Quick Start section)
These are the most basic steps required to create a 3D graphic.
1. Draw some 2D shapes in a vector drawing program or select
them from a vector-based clip art library. Save the file in Illustrator CS or earlier format.
Use vector artwork made in Illustrator or FreeHand.
2. Add a 3D Invigorator effect to a Solid and bring the shapes into
it by opening the Illustrator file made in Step 1. The shapes will
automatically become 3D objects. NOTE: Do not turn on the 3D
switch for this solid. (For the PRO version, first click the “Open
Illustrator File” button, then open the file made in step 1.)
Find the 3D Invigorator under the Effect menu. A
box will open for you to pick a vector file.
3. Open the 3D Invigorator’s Set-Up window (click the Red Ball
button) to enhance the object shapes, set surface materials, set
lights and position the camera. Use the Effect Controls window to
set keyframes for animating the camera, lights and objects.
The Set-Up window is where you do everything except setting
animation keyframes. Click the tiny Red Ball button to open it.
4. Create the final 3D image by setting the Solid to Best Quality.
The Invigorator contains dozens of presets you can use to make
your objects look like gold, chrome and glass, in a variety of
shapes and sizes. These can all be dropped onto your objects
from inside the Set-Up window.
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Turn on the Best Quality switch to see exactly
how the final rendering will look.
We highly recommend you read the Expanded Quick Start and
the Tutorials section. The Expanded Quick Start is short, and
contains information that will dramatically affect the quality of
your work.
Think Like A Photographer
It’s important to remember that when you work with the 3D Invigorator you are using a real 3D program. 3D programs simulate
a photographer’s studio. You can move objects, set lights, and
reposition the camera.
You are always looking at the scene through the lens of the
camera. The Preview window shows you what the camera sees.
What you see through the Camera lens (the Preview window) is
what you will get in the final rendering.
Thinking like a Photographer helps you figure out what to do.
For instance, moving one object closer to the camera will make
that object bigger. On the other hand, moving the camera closer
to the objects will make all the objects bigger.
If you are taking a picture of a group of people and you can’t see
them all in the camera’s viewfinder, what do you do? Have everyone move back? Or move the camera back? Both would work,
but one is easier.
Once you start to think like a person shooting a picture with a
camera, things start to make more sense.
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Expanded Quick Start Step 1 - Create The Beginning 2D Shapes
Draw some shapes in a bezier-based vector drawing program
such as Illustrator, FreeHand or Corel Draw and save them in
Illustrator format (CS version or lower) or select vector clip art
from a vector-based clip art library.
The shapes must be vector outlines. Pixel images or scans won’t
work unless you turn them into vector outlines by tracing them.
(See the section called Using Scanned Artwork in the Special
Topics section.)
Don’t over build. Keep the line art simple. Most of the pizzazz
comes from the Edge Styles and shading applied to the models
inside the 3D Invigorator.
When the vector paths are filled they create solid 3D objects.
Paths that only have a stroke create hollow 3D objects. Stroke
widths are ignored.
To create text in the Classic version, layout the text in your vector
drawing program, then convert the text to outlines before saving
the file. If you have the PRO version you can type text directly
into the text window and make unlimited changes at any time.
Use Vector Outlines
Stroked paths become hollow objects.
Filled paths become solid objects.
A Text Object Vector Outlines
Convert Text to Outlines before saving.
Raster images
won’t work
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Expanded Quick Start Step 2 - Adding The Shapes To The 3D Invigorator
Pick a vector file when you see this dialogue box.
Comp window
Effect Controls window
Add the 3D Invigorator to a Solid.
In After Effects create a Solid that you want the size of your 3D
rendering to be. The 3D Invigorator uses the size of the Solid as
the size of the final rendering. There is no limit on the size of the
Solid, however most times the solid is the same size as the comp.
NOTE: Do not turn on the 3D switch for this Solid. It
must remain a 2D layer.
Select the Solid and add the 3D Invigorator from the Effect menu.
(Effect > Zaxwerks > 3D Invigorator) A dialogue box will open
asking you to open the vector file you created in Step 1.
(If you are using the PRO version you will first see a window
with several buttons on it. Click the button that says “Open Illustrator File”.)
Select the file containing the vector shapes you want to invigorate
and click Open. The shapes will automatically be turned into 3D
models using the default Object Style.
The Effect Controls window will open and you will see a Preview
window of the objects in the 3D scene. A Draft mode rendering
will be done and placed into the Comp window. Draft mode has
no textures, shadows or antialiasing. However it renders in nearreal time so it’s perfect for motion tests.
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