• Zaxwerks

  Moving Background reflection during shot in Proanimator 6?

  Posted by Mike Schmitt on October 5, 2012 at 6:02 pm

  Hi guys

  When I render chrome or a reflective surface, I always want to have the light moving on the object’s reflection to enhance it.

  In the past, I have either just took an alpha of the layer and applied glintwerks or my own reflection and enhanced that with Starglow and applied it on top of the animation.

  Or I move the objects in the animation in Proanimator to have the lights move across the object. Since this is on the actual object in Proanimator it looks better, but causes perspective shifts that look bad.

  What would be great is if there was a way to move the background being reflected in Proanimator from inside the plug. For all I know, you guys have already done that.

  Is there a way to do this?

  Thanks!

  Edward Wu replied 13 years, 7 months ago 2 Members · 7 Replies
• 7 Replies

• 

  Mike Schmitt

  October 5, 2012 at 6:08 pm

  Maybe a way to lock the camera to the object and then move the object? Trying that now
• 

  Edward Wu

  October 5, 2012 at 6:20 pm

  Hi Mike,

  One way to have a nice glint within ProAnimator is to use an animated Layer Map. Import an image you want to use as the Reflectivity Map into After Effects. Then, set the image as a Pre-Comp. Animate the image by moving the map side to side and set it as a Layer Map for ProAnimator. Once you go into the ProAnimator Set-Up window, load the Layer Map into the Reflectivity section. When using an animated Layer Map, the object can remain stationary while the glint/reflection moves across the object.

  Hope this helps.

  Best,
  Edward
• 

  Mike Schmitt

  October 5, 2012 at 6:26 pm

  Thanks Ed!

  I’ll give that a try when I get home tonight.
• 

  Mike Schmitt

  October 5, 2012 at 6:45 pm

  Ed, do you have a link to a tutorial on this?

  Thanks!
• 

  Edward Wu

  October 5, 2012 at 6:50 pm

  Hi Mike,

  Sorry, I don’t have a tutorial covering this exact topic, but I do have an Invigorator tutorial covering Layer Maps using Invigorator PRO.

  https://zaxwerks.com/training/?p=230

  If you are not familiar with working with Layer Maps, this tutorial should give you the basic ideas of how to set up the Layer Map. Then you can try the steps I mentioned in the previous post. If you get stuck with any of the steps, just let me know and I’ll do my best to help you out.

  Best,
  Edward
• 

  Mike Schmitt

  October 7, 2012 at 2:33 am

  I was hoping to get through this without having to ask for more help.

  If I’m working on a 1080P project, what size should the layer map be?

  I’ve spent the whole day tooling around with a precomp that is the same size as my project and it takes so long to see the results that I feel like I’m wasting too much time. Well, I am wasting a lot of time trying to figure it out myself.

  I also tried using environment maps, putting them in a 2d comp and moving it around in 3d Space in the comp.

  Now I’m going back to still pictures, which is what i was trying to get away from.

  Any suggestions are appreciated!

  Thanks!
• 

  Edward Wu

  October 8, 2012 at 4:50 pm

  Hi Mike,

  The map depends on the size that you need it. It should be fine to use a map that is the same as your project resolution. If you feel things are slowing down, you can set the ProAnimator layer to draft and it should speeds things up.

  I have sent you an example project showing you how to set up the moving reflections. There are two ways to set up the moving reflections. One is to animate the map directly within the Pre-Comp as I mentioned in the previous posts. The other way is to animate the Layer Map offset value. In the example project I provided, I used the Layer Map offset value. Both approaches are similar and you should get the feel of how everything is set up.

  Please check your e-mail for the example project.

  If you’re still having any problems, please let me know.

  Best,
  Edward

Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up