Zaxwerks PROANIMATOR, PROMODELER USER MANUAL
Zaxwerks ProAnimator / ProModeler - User Guide V. 4 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 - 2006 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 informational 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, ProAnimator, and ProModeler are a trademarks 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 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 ProAnimator / ProModeler - User Guide V. 42
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
WHAT’S NEW IN VERSION 4? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
BASIC CONCEPTS
Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Surface Set-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Scene Set-Up & Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
ANIMATION TUTORIALS
ProAnimator Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Creating An Animation in Five Clicks . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Changing The Text In An Animation. . . . . . . . . . 34
Changing The Speed Of An Animation . . . . . . . . 35
Changing The Camera’s View
Of The Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Rendering An Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Rendering A Single Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Saving A Single Frame Rendering. . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Rendering The Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Rendering Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Changing The Timing And Speed
Of An Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
What is A Pose? What Is A Transition? . . . . . . . 42
Creating A New Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Creating The 3D Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Adding An Animation Preset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Changing The Track Name. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Moving Splice Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Adding More Hold Time To
The Beginning Pose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Changing The Position Of A Segment
Without Changing Its Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Slowing Down The Motion Of A Transition. . . . 47
Resetting An Animation Back
To A Saved Preset. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Increasing The Length Of
An Entire Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Setting The Loop Points For
The Work Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Shortening The Length Of
An Entire Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Selecting Segments That Are
Difficult To Click On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Changing Object Motion During Transitions . . . . . . 53
Changing The Curve Of A Motion Path . . . . . . . 53
Changing The Direction Of
The Arch In The Path. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Zaxwerks ProAnimator / ProModeler - User Guide V. 4 3
Controlling When Objects Start To Move. . . . . . 56
Controlling The Order Of Objects
As They Cascade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Adding Start Ease And End Ease
For A Professional Touch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Changing The Positions Of Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Moving Objects To New Positions . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Spreading Objects Apart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Bunching Objects To A Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Making Objects Spin As They Move . . . . . . . . . . 67
Randomizing Object Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Shuffling Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
ANIMATION CONTROLS REFERENCE
Easy/Advanced Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Track Segment Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Selecting All Objects On A Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Track Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Add Camera Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Duplicate Selected Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Move Selected Objects To Track... . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Reset Selected Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Delete Selected Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Select All Segments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Flip Selected Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Object Animations Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Add Object Pose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Set As Starting Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Save Preset. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Rename Preset. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Delete Preset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Append Preset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Last Applied Preset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Object Animations Preset List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Object Animation TRY Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Camera Animations Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Add Camera Pose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Save Preset... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Rename Preset... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Delete Preset.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Append Preset... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Last Applied Preset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Camera Animations Preset List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Camera Animation TRY Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Animation Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Current Time Marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Current Time Readout (The GOTO Field). . . . . . . . . 86
Project Start Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Project Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Frame Rate Popup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Motion Blur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Shutter Angle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Time Line Track Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Visibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Solo / Ghost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
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Animation Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Play Work Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Work Area Start And End Markers . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Jump To Beginning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Back One Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Play Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Stop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Forward One Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Jump To End Of Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Loop With Hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Show/Hide Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Animation Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Animation Poses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Pose Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Animation Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Path Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Primary vs. Secondary Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Pose Positioning Controls For Objects . . . . . . . . . . 100
Advantages Of Using The Pose Controls. . . . . . . . . 101
Easy Controls For Poses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Bunch/Spread . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Randomize. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Shuffle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Local Center Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Move . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Advanced Controls For Poses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Start At Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Advanced Move Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Numeric Move Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Scale Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Local Center Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Common Center Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Distribute. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Range Control for Circle
& Square Distributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Distribute Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Pose Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Timing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Pose Action Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Use Common Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Making Adjustments For Smoothness . . . . . . . 125
Visibility Actions For Poses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Visibility Action Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Using Visibility Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Pose Action Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Pose Start / End Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
What Is A Tweak? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Reset Tweaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Reset Pose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Reset All. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Transition Controls For Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Easy Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Zaxwerks ProAnimator / ProModeler - User Guide V. 4 5
Ease - Start & End . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Cascade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Cascade Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Arch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Arch Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Advanced Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Cascade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Cascade Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Ease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Ease Amount. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Start Gaps & End Gaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Clump Size. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Transition Presets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Keyframe-Based vs. Generated Paths . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Start/End Smoothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Advanced Arch Amount. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Arch Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Advanced Arch Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Direction Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Arch Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Overshoot Start/End . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Flatten Start/End . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Twist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Path Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Timing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Path Action Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Making Adjustments For Smoothness . . . . . . . 163
Visibility Actions For Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Visibility Action Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Using Visibility Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Grouping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Pose Grouping And Transition Grouping. . . . . 166
The Effect Of Grouping On Timing. . . . . . . . . . 167
Groups And Hard Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
When To Use A Hard Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Group Text By (Para/Line/Word/Char) . . . . . . 170
Make Independent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Animation On/Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Add To Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Rename Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Select/Structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Select All. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Pose Controls For Cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Transition Controls For Cameras. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Camera Timing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Start Ease / End Ease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Ease Amount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Camera Paths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Start Smoothing / End Smoothing. . . . . . . . . . . 177
Zaxwerks ProAnimator / ProModeler - User Guide V. 46
MODELING, SURFACING, & LIGHTING
Basic Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Creating And Working With 3D Text . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Applying Object Styles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Changing The Depth Of An Object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Coloring Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Coloring Objects: Method 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Coloring Objects: Method 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Coloring Objects: Method 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Editing 3D Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
How To Set The Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Using Lighting Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
How To Set The Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Saving A View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Think Like A Photographer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
How To Render An Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
How To Get The Background To Drop Out. . . . . . . 203
Advanced Tutorials
How To Create a 3D Logo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
How To Make Objects Invisible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Moving 3D Objects - Part 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
How To Reset 3D Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Moving 3D Objects - Part 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Camera Shortcuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Camera Shortcuts Exercise. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Adjusting The Thickness of Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
How To Apply An Edge Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
How To Apply A Single Material To An Object. . . . 223
How To Add A Second Material To An Object . . . . 225
How To Split A Profile To Fine Tune
Material Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
How To Create An Object Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Coloring The Other Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
How To Make Lights Cast Shadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
How To Move Lights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
How To Save A Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Additional Types When Working With
Illustrator Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
MODELING, SURFACING, & LIGHTING
Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
The Start Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Create Text Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Text Entry Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Setting The Block Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Font Popup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Leading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Spacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Kerning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Width Scale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Height Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Baseline Shift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Justification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
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Create Whitespace Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Center Text Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Text Window Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Cleaning Up Problems With Font Models . . . . 248
Open Illustrator Artwork. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Show All Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Open By Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Open As Layer Cycling Object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Use Illustrator Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Dismantle Incoming Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Move Objects To Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
3D Primitives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
The PROJECT WINDOW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Project Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Scene Preview Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
The CAMERA CONTROLS
Camera Mode Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Camera Manipulation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Camera Tumble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Camera Roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Camera Track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Camera Dolly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Camera Manipulation Shortcut Keys . . . . . . . . 267
Zoom Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Small Camera Tab Area
Views Popup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Lens Popup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Antialiasing Popup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Super Fast Final Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Resolution Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Pixel Aspect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Alpha Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Background Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Backgrounds Images And Movies . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Onscreen Grids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
The LIGHTING CONTROLS
Light Mode Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Light Manipulation In The Scene Preview . . . . . . . 277
Lighting Manipulator Ball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
The Lights List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Turn On This Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Disable All Shadows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Light Editor Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Light Name Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Light Color Picker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Light Color Eyedropper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Light Intensity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Shadow Casting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Shadow Darkness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Shadow Softness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Light Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Zaxwerks ProAnimator / ProModeler - User Guide V. 48
Light Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Save Light To Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Lights Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Lights Swatch Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Apply Swatch To Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Duplicate Light Swatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Delete Selected Swatches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Clear Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Lighting Styles Bin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Lighting Styles Swatch Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Save Lighting Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Apply Lighting Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Duplicate Lighting Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Delete Selected Lighting Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Clear Bin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
The OBJECT CONTROLS
Object Mode Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Object Manipulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Object Nudging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Object Tumble. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Object Roll. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Object Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Object Dolly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Drag Using Object’s Axes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Object Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Selecting Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Selection Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Primary And Secondary Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Adding To And Removing From Selections . . . . . . 303
Drag Selecting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Select All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Deselect All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Using Manipulation Tools For Selecting . . . . . . . . . 305
Small Object Tab Area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Object List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Bold Object Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Italic Object Names. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Bullets In The Object List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Reset Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Make Invisible. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Delete Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Duplicate Object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
The Object Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
User Prefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Clear Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Clear Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Large Object Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Object Name Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Reload Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Replace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
File Name Field. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Object Faceting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Draft Quality vs. Best Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Zaxwerks ProAnimator / ProModeler - User Guide V. 4 9
Generate Model Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Spike Buster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
New Looks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Spike Buster And Edge Offsets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Unbustable Spikes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Edge Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Outside Edges vs. Hole Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Edge Profile Popup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Edge Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Edge Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Use Same Profile for Hole Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Use Same Material for Hole Edges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Use Same Scale for Hole Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
CUSTOM EDGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
How To Create A Custom Edge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Each Layer Becomes A Single Edge . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Where Do Custom Edges Appear In The Menu? . . 333
Setting The Scale Of A Custom Edge. . . . . . . . . . . . 334
What Types Of Paths Can Edges Be? . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Crossing The Y Axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Crossing The X Axis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Editing A Profile While The Project Is Open. . . . . . 337
Importance Of The Starting Point For Mapping. . . 338
How To Tell Where The Seam Will Be . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Edge Profile Examples. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
The OBJECT STATS DIALOGUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
MESHING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
IMPORTING 3D MODELS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Move Objects To Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
EXPORTING 3D MODELS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Exporting All, Selected, Or Visible Objects. . . . . . . 350
Baking Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
LAYER CYCLING OBJECTS
What Is A Layer Cycling Object? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Understanding Layer Cycling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Example Uses For This Technique. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
How To Prep The Vector File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
How To Make A Layer Cycling Object . . . . . . . . . . . 357
The Layer Cycling Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
The Frame Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Total Frames Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Frame Counter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
The Playback Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Start Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Show Before Start Frame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Change Every. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Zaxwerks ProAnimator / ProModeler - User Guide V. 410
Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Random Seed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Exporting Layer Cycling Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
Combining Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Using Cycling Objects Inside ElectricImage. . . . . . 365
Using Cycling Objects Inside Other Programs . . . . 368
Wireframe And Hidden Line Rendering . . . . . 380
How To Give Objects A Wireframe or
Hidden Line Look. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Making The Lines Thicker Or Thinner. . . . . . . . . . . 382
Setting The Color Between The Lines . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Making The Lines React To Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
Making Lines Shine With Reflections. . . . . . . . . . . . 384
Applying Grid Lines Across Object Faces. . . . . . . . 385
MATERIALS
Materials Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Materials Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
Moving And Rearranging Swatches . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Selecting Swatches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Materials Tab Swatch Commands
Duplicate Selected Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Select All Unused . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Delete Selected Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Clear Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Material Editor Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Loading A Material Into The Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
Loading By Drag and Drop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Loading By Double Clicking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Material Name Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Material Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Eyedropper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
New Material Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Zaxwerks ProAnimator / ProModeler - User Guide V. 4 11
Cartoon Coloring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
How To Give Objects Cartoon Coloring . . . . . . . . . 387
Absolute Coloring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
How To Give Objects Absolute Coloring. . . . . . . . . 389
2D Graphics In A 3D World. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Absolute Coloring For Pop Art Looks . . . . . . . . . . . 391
The Stroked Pop Art Look. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
The Modified Pop Art Look. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Making TV Screens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
Making 3D Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
The Matte Color Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
Masking Out Unwanted Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
Using Matte Objects To Create Wipes . . . . . . . . . . . 396
Using 3D Mattes For Object Replacement . . . . . . . 397
Making 3D Objects Circle Around
2D Elements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
The Shadow Catcher Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
Setting Up The Camera For A
Shadow-Catching Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
Duplicate Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
Save Material To Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427
Clear Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427
TEXTURE MAPPING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
Picking A Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Sizing and Positioning The Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Map Enabler Checkbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
Image Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
Decal Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
Highlight Sharpness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
Highlight Brightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
Highlight Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
How To Make A Highlight Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
How To Give A Material A Highlight Map . . . . . . . . 412
Creative Uses For Highlight Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . 413
Bumpiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
Making Better Bump Maps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
Transparency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
Transparency Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
Reflectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
Reflection Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
Highlights And Reflections By Surface Type . . . . . . . . . 421
How The Color Channels In A Map Are Used . . . . . . . . 424
Channel Usage by Map Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
Material Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
New Material. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
OBJECT STYLES
Object Styles Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
Applying Object Styles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
Linking Objects To Object Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
Renaming Object Styles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
Adding Notes To An Object Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
Object Styles Swatch Popup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
Save Object Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
Unlink Object Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
Remove Object Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432
Duplicate Object Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432
Select All Unused . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
Delete Selected Object Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
Clear Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
Moving Object Style Swatches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
Regenerating Object Style Swatches
That Have Been Deleted. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
MATERIAL SET-UP & ASSIGNMENT
Material Set-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
Material Assignment window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
Material Set-Up Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
Display splits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
Zaxwerks ProAnimator / ProModeler - User Guide V. 412
Split tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
Grabber hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440
Dolly tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Zoom tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Palette Commands Popup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Clear All Splits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
Fit All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
Swap Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
Delete Selected Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
Material Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444
Palette Checkbox. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
USER PREFERENCES
Shadow Quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
Duplication Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
Hard Shading Angle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448
Save Project Data As . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
Show Floor Grid In Preview Windows . . . . . . . . . . 450
Floor Grid Y Offset. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450
OpenGL Texture Previews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451
Real Time Slider Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452
Restore To Factory Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
ProAnimator Plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456
Differences Between The Invigorator PRO
And ProAnimator Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
ProAnimator Plug-in Quick Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
How To Enter ProAnimator’s World . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
How To Close ProAnimator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
How To Make A ProAnimator Animation Match
With Your After Effects Animation . . . . . . . . . . 462
Synchronizing The After Effects And The
ProAnimator Cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
Making The ProAnimator Camera Follow
The After Effects Camera. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464
Important Note About Merging 3D Images
From Two Cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465
Making The After Effects Camera Follow
The ProAnimator Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
Applying ProAnimator Object Motion To
After Effects Planes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469
Speeding Up The Import Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470
Using After Effects Layers As Texture Maps . . . . . 470
Layer Map Offsets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
Exchanging Files Between Plug-in And
Standalone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
SPECIAL TOPICS
Opening Version 3 Projects in Version 4 . . . . . . . . . 476
To Convert Or Not To Convert. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477
Merging Scenes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
Changes To Swatch Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
How Swatch Handling Now Works. . . . . . . . . . 479
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Benefits Of The New Swatch
Handling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
Range Dragging For Double Arrow Sliders. . . . . . . 481
Offline Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
How Do Materials Work?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483
Understanding Vector Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
Creating Basic Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
Creating Grids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
Preparing Your Vector Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495
How To Edit An Illustrator File And Get The
3D Model To Use The Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
Using Clip Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503
Overlapping Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504
The Holes In Objects Are Filling In . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
Spikes On Smooth Curves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506
Spike On Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507
Using Scanned Artwork to Create Models . . . . . . . 508
Working With Objects Outside The View
Of The Camera. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510
Making Projects Render Faster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
TROUBLE SHOOTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516
APPENDIX: The Edge Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520
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Introduction
This user guide covers the ProAnimator and the ProModeler software.
The ProModeler is used for creating 3D models and rendering still (single) images. The ProAnimator is used for creating
3D models, animating them and rendering movies. The two programs are very similar. If you took the ProModeler and
added an animation window you would have the ProAnimator.
This user guide is divided into four major sections. The first section is a series of tutorials on how to create animations
with the ProAnimator.
The second section breaks down and explains the animation capabilities, feature by feature.
The third section is a series of tutorials on text creation, logo creation, surface coloring, manipulating the objects, moving
the camera, setting up lights and finally rendering. These features are the same in both the ProModeler and the ProAnimator. Since these features are nearly identical in both programs, the word ProAnimator is used to talk about the software.
However if you have the ProModeler just understand that we are talking about your program too. When there are differences in the way the two programs work, these differences will be noted in the text.
The fourth section breaks down and explains each feature for modeling, surface coloring, object and camera manipulation,
and lighting.
For further assistance we have additional resources on our Web site: www.Zaxwerks.com. These include a User Forum,
Troubleshooting page, a list of Frequently Asked Questions, and demonstration movies.
Have loads of fun with your new program! ProAnimator and ProModeler ROCK!
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Installation Instructions
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System Requirements
System Requirements - MACINTOSH
- G4 Power Mac (G5 recommended)
- Mac OS X 10.2.8, 10.3.9, 10.4.6
- Apple’s OpenGL system extension
- QuickTime 5 or above
- Color monitor capable of displaying at least
1024 x 768 in Millions of colors
- 128 MB RAM, (256 MB recommended)
- 100MB unused hard-disk space
- CD ROM drive
Software specifications subject to change without notice. Software used under license.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Refer to the Zaxwerks End User License for more information.
System Requirements - WINDOWS
- Intel Pentium III or 4 processor
- Windows 2000 or Windows XP Pro or Home Edition
- OpenGL system .dll file
- QuickTime 5 or above
- Color monitor capable of displaying at least
1024 x 768 in True color
- 128 MB RAM (256 MB recommended)
- 100MB unused hard-disk space
- CD ROM drive
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Installing ProModeler
The ProModeler does not use an automatic installer. There is
only one step to install the software.
If you are installing from a CD ...
1- Find the ProModeler folder on the CD and drag it into the Applications folder (Mac) or Program Files Folder (PC).
If you are installing from a downloaded fi le ...
1- Unstuff or Unzip the download, then drag the ProModeler
folder into the Applications folder (Mac) or Program Files Folder
(PC).
To launch the ProModeler, open the ProModeler folder and
double click on the ProModeler application.
Installing ProAnimator
The ProAnimator can run as either a standalone or a plug-in. If
you only want to run it as a standalone follow the directions for
installing the ProModeler. If you want to run it as a plug-in do the
following:
If you are installing from a CD ...
1- Find the ProAnimator folder on the CD and drag it into the Applications/Adobe After Effects/Plug-ins folder.
TROUBLESHOOTING TIP!
TROUBLESHOOTING TIP!
The ProAnimator/ProModeler folders contain
The ProAnimator/ProModeler folders contain
many fi les and folders. DO NOT touch the
many fi les and folders. DO NOT touch the
contents of the main folder. During installation,
contents of the main folder. During installation,
drag ONLY the top level ProAnimator/ProMod-
drag ONLY the top level ProAnimator/ProModeler folder and all these other fi les and folders
eler folder and all these other fi les and folders
will be moved to the Applications folder too.
will be moved to the Applications folder too.
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Fill in all fields then click the OK button.Fill in all fields then click the OK button.
TROUBLESHOOTING TIP !
TROUBLESHOOTING TIP !
On some Windows systems you may have trou-
On some Windows systems you may have trouble typing into the Authorization Window. If this
ble typing into the Authorization Window. If this
is the case, open a program such as NotePad
is the case, open a program such as NotePad
and type the information there. Then copy and
and type the information there. Then copy and
paste the information, one line at a time, into
paste the information, one line at a time, into
the Authorization window.
the Authorization window.
If you are installing from a downloaded file ...
1- Unstuff or Unzip the download, then drag the ProAnimator
folder into the Applications/Adobe After Effects/Plug-ins folder.
We recommend that once the ProAnimator is installed, you open
the ProAnimator folder, make a Shortcut (Alias) for the standalone version and put it on your desktop.
To launch the ProAnimator standalone double click on the Shortcut (Alias).
To use the ProAnimator plug-in, launch After Effects, create a
new comp, create a new Solid that is comp sized, then from the
Effect menu choose Effect > Zaxwerks > ProAnimator.
Entering An Authorization Code For The First Time
The first time you launch the software it will ask you to enter
some information. Type your Name and Organization, and type
the Authorization Code exactly as it was given to you. Then press
the OK button.
A Temporary Code looks like this: A1234-B1234. A Permanent
Code looks like this: IPMS40-A1234-B1234-C1234 A Temporary
Code lasts for 30 days to give you time to contact Zaxwerks and
register the software. Once registered, Zaxwerks will give you a
permanent authorization code. (See the next section for infor-
mation on how to enter a permanent code.)
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If you already have a Permanent Code there is no need to enter
the Temporary Code first. Type the Permanent Code when you
see the Authorization window and you’ll be ready to go.
Demo Mode
If you don’t have either a Temporary or a Permanent Authorization Code you can run the program in Demo Mode by clicking the
DEMO button at the bottom of the authorization window. Demo
mode adds a watermark to the renderings and also limits the program in some ways, but other than that most everything works.
Demo mode lets you get an idea of how the program runs so you
can see how fast and easy it is.
Entering A Permanent Authorization Code
(If this is the first time you have run the software see the previous section titled: Entering An Authorization Code For The
First Time.)
If you have been running the software using a Temporary Authorization Code, double click on the program icon to launch it. You
will see a message window saying how many days you have left
to run the program. At the bottom of this message window there
will be a “Register” button. Click the “Register” button then enter
your Permanent Authorization Code.
A Permanent Code looks like this: IPAS40-A1234-B1234-C1234
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Click this link on the Zaxwerks Home page to
Click this link on the Zaxwerks Home page to
get to the registration page.
get to the registration page.
How To Get A Permanent Authorization Code
A Permanent Authorization code is sent to you directly from Zaxwerks. Contact Zaxwerks in one of the following ways:
Register by email: register@zaxwerks.com
Register online: www.zaxwerks.com/Register_English.html
Register by phone: 1-800-549-0250
You will be asked for your Temporary Authorization Code and
your contact information so you can receive notices about bug
fixes and updates.
If you bought the program directly from Zaxwerks you will have
received a green Invoice/Receipt with the Permanent codes
printed on stickers at the bottom.
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What’s New In Version 4?
Welcome to version 4 of the ProAnimator and ProModeler. This
is a huge upgrade from version 3. We have improved the programs so you can work faster, create prettier images, and build
more interesting animations.
1 - Workflow Enhancements
New features that help you work faster and keep more organized.
This includes new features such as an Offline camera, real time
slider interactions, merging scenes, a new central file system for
swatches and the ability to use movies as texture maps or backgrounds.
2 - Animation Enhancements
New features that enable you to do previously impossible animations. Highlights include duplicating tracks, flipping tracks, path
actions for creating new types of motion, new scaling controls,
new types of object distribution, locking and soloing of tracks
and a feature to animate cascading visibility.
3 - Modeling Enhancements
Now you can make spheres, cube, cones and other shapes, reuse
your text and logo models in new projects, and handle foreign
language fonts (not double-byte). If you are a ProModeler user
you get the whole text engine as a new feature too.
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4 - Surfacing Enhancements
New kinds of material controls elevate the look of your images
to new levels. Highlights here include Wireframe, Shaded Wireframe, Reflective Wireframe, Hiddlenline, Filled Hiddenline,
Cartoon Coloring, Absolute Coloring and Highlight mapping.
Materials can be mixed and matched for outstanding new looks.
There are also two special purpose materials, one for catching
3D shadows and applying them to 2D background images, and
the other for turning any 3D object into a mask. These surfacing enhancements are included in both the ProAnimator and the
ProModeler.
5 - The Plug-in version.
ProAnimator now works as a plug-in too. This means you never
have to leave your compositor in order to create amazing ProAnimator 3D elements. As a plug-in all elements are “live” so you can
make changes to any part at any time of the production process.
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Basic Concepts
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BASIC CONCEPTS
The ProAnimator creates its own models and images. It does not
process existing footage to give it a “3D effect”. You create models that have depth and size, arrange them in space, and then take
pictures of them.
The ProAnimator is a true 3D program, but it has differences that
make it unique from any other 3D program. There is a tremendous amount of technology and workflow design packed into this
program, in order to make it easier to learn and faster to use.
If you are new to creating 3D graphics here is a short overview of
the steps involved:
Modeling
The ProAnimator creates models out of Adobe Illustrator files
and fonts installed on your computer. Models can be modified using the controls in the Object Tab. A selection of over 100 preset
edge profiles come built into the program or you can make your
own. You can also import models created in other 3D programs.
Surface Set-Up
The ProAnimator has a completely unique way of handling surfaces. Up to six different materials can be applied to each object
and those materials can be used in a variety of ways. Once you
DEFINITIONS
DEFINITIONS
Modeling
Modeling
The creation of the objects and adjustment of
The creation of the objects and adjustment of
their shape.
their shape.
Surface Set-Up
Surface Set-Up
The paint job that is applied to the surface of
The paint job that is applied to the surface of
the objects. Often called “Surfacing”.
the objects. Often called “Surfacing”.
Scene Set-Up
Scene Set-Up
The positioning of the objects and lights
The positioning of the objects and lights
within the 3D scene and the positioning of the
within the 3D scene and the positioning of the
camera which views the scene and takes the
camera which views the scene and takes the
picture.
picture.
Animation
Animation
Moving the objects or camera over time.
Moving the objects or camera over time.
Rendering
Rendering
Creation of the final 3D image or movie.
Creation of the final 3D image or movie.
“Taking the picture”.
“Taking the picture”.
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try it you will see how the ProAnimator has finally given
artists the tools to create a new generation of 3D title and
logo graphics. Graphics like you have never seen before.
Scene Set-Up And Lighting
Setting up a 3D scene has been streamlined to make it
easier for 2D 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 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.
Animation
Animation is created in a new way that is visual rather
than technical. Feedback is continuous so you can watch
the animation as you edit it. There is no need to stop and
render a preview.
Rendering
The rendering engine is designed for the rigors of professional production. It creates beautiful images of any
resolution with excellent antialiasing, image mapping, soft
shadows, transparencies for glass and chrome effects. Images and movies come with alpha channels for compositing
without the need to key the source footage.
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Animation
Tutorials
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