• Zaxwerks

  Combining 3D primitives in ProAnimator FX

  Posted by Duncan Ellison on August 12, 2009 at 11:14 am

  Hello all,

  I am using ProAnimator 4.9.0. with Motion 3. I want to animate a customer’s logo within a ProAnimator scene I have already created. The customer’s logo is made up of 6 x 3 sided pyramids so the obvious plan to me was to use the 3 sided pyramid primitive already in ProAnimator. I brought 6 of them into my scene then arranged them side by side so that when you look down on them they form a hexagon. I then needed to animate them as one object but I have not been able to achieve this. I have tried:

  1. Moving selected objects to track.
  2. Exporting a 3D model then re-importing it.
  3. Scene merging from a separate ProAnimator project where a created the logo again.

  When I use pose positioning adjustments on my new ‘combined’ object the 6 primitives move in relation to each other rather than as a unit moving in relation to the scene. I know this is probably something I’ve missed and if someone could put me straight I would be very grateful.

  On the other hand, if it’s a limitation of ProAnimator, if anyone knows how to create this combined object from an illustrator file that would be great.

  Thanks in advance,

  Duncan.

  Duncan Ellison replied 16 years, 11 months ago 2 Members · 4 Replies
• 4 Replies

• 

  Edward Wu

  August 12, 2009 at 5:53 pm

  Hi Duncan,

  You’re on the right track when you used the command “Move Selected Objects to Track”. Select all six pyramids, then move them to one single object track. Now, once they are in the same object track, move them using the “Pose Positioning” tools in the “Animation Controls” panel. As you’re using the pose positioning, your pyramids should move together.

  Let me know if you are still having any issues.

  Best,
  Edward
• 

  Duncan Ellison

  August 13, 2009 at 8:20 am

  Hi Ed,

  That works great. Thanks, Ed. I think in my earlier attempts I may have got confused between ROTATE AROUND COMMON CENTRE and ROTATE AROUND LOCAL CENTRE.

  When I animate my new ‘combined object’ successfully, only one component part of the new object is highlighted in red even though all the combined parts are moving as one. Is this correct?

  I am unable to scale my new ‘combined object’ as one. I select the ‘combined’ pose in the timeline, then the scale button in the 3D Preview window, then I drag diagonally over my new combined object but only one component part will scale on it’s own…not the entire new object in unison. I notice in the OBJECTS tab that the 6 component primitives that make up my new combined object are still listed separately under their original names. Can you help me with scaling?

  Thanks again,

  Duncan.
• 

  Edward Wu

  August 13, 2009 at 9:04 pm

  Hi Duncan,

  Right, each object is still an individual piece from one another. To scale them up together, you can select all 6 and them perform the scale command. Otherwise, you can select all the objects and use the “Pose Grouping” > “Make Group” command. This will group all the pyramids together, and you will get a blue selection around all your objects. When scaling up the objects, they will all scale together.

  Best,
  Edward
• 

  Duncan Ellison

  August 14, 2009 at 8:06 am

  Thanks Edward, that worked nicely.

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