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Bending a rectangle to create a curve???
hey all,
I’m creating a 3D hockey rink. The problem i am having is at the corners of the rink. I cant seem to figure out how to create a curved rectangle. Im just learning AE, so please bear with me if it seems like a stupid question (I quickly found out that Avid alone can not do an entire project).
On another note, i keep running in to troubles while using the (totally awsome) 3d shape extruder on actual shapes. It just says “missing PS …” Is it just an instillation problem?
Any help would be very much appreciated!!!
thanks alot!
A defenseman speaking about his recent concussion:
I should fully recover…If i dont, I can always come back as a forward! -
5 Replies
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if you just want to create a rectangle with rounded corners, there is a mask shape that will do that…
in cs3, select a layer (a plain solid is fine), click and hold the mask tool (usually just bellow the edit menu, next to the pen tool). a group of mask choices should pop out. one is a rounded rectangle.
select it and draw a shape on your layer… before releasing the mouse button, you can use the arrow up/down keys to adjust the radius of the curve as you draw it.
hope that helps…
as far as the shape extruder, sorry i can’t help you there
Kevin Camp
Senior Designer
KCPQ, KMYQ & KRCW -
Ok here goes my best shot. The idea is to create a bend using multiple thin & tall rectangles. The smoothness of the curve depends on how thin the rectangles are and how many you make. This is basically making facets similar to 3D polygon modeling done in a real 3D app.
We just need to achieve it with what after effects lets us get away with.
Do this in a new empty project to get the hang of what is going on here. Don’t worry about a specific curve or any other fine details. Once you get one basic curve made you will understand what to do to fit your needs.
–Draw a shape layer or make a new solid to get a rectangle on the stage. I suggest a solid to start with.
–Now turn it into a 3D layer, open the layer properties by twirling down the arrow beside the layer name. Twirl down the contents arrow, then the transform arrow so you can alter the scale,anchor point,and rotations.
–Resize the rectangle with scale into a tall and thin rectangle. (vertically tall, horizontally thin, it should look about the same shape as one of those 12 inch rulers we’ve all used in grade school).
–This is Important! Make sure the anchor point is as close to the center of the rectangle as possible to start with. You most likely will need to adjust the ‘x’ and ‘y’ anchor point if you start with a shape layer. You can easily center the z if it is not already centered by giving it a value of ‘0’(zero)… If you started with a solid, like I recommended, it will automatically center itself with the anchor point when you create it. Solids and Shapes have their different qualities. It’s up to you to know which works best for your needs and your knowhow.
–Ok, now that your anchor point is centered on the middle of the rectangle as close as possible (Don’t worry about being precise, just eyeball it), take the ‘Z’ property of the anchor point and change the value to a negative number. You will notice that this is moving the rectangle back in space. Dont move it back too much, just about the same distance as the rectangle is tall.)
–So you’ve moved the rectangle back in space with the ‘Z’ position of the anchor point, now you’re ready to start “curving”. That anchor point you’ve just move away from the rectangle is now the axis of your curve. The distance between the anchor point and the rectangle is the your radius.
–The easy part… On the rectangle ‘Y’ Rotation property, alt click on the stopwatch beside the ‘Y’ rotation to create an expression. Paste or type this into the expression field..
rotation+[(index-1)*4]
Go ahead and hide all the layer properties by twirling the arrows back up.
–All you have to do is duplicate the layer (control + D) as many times as you need to create the desired curve. Here’s the coolest part, that expression you just put in offsets the ‘Y’ rotation in relation to the layer’s order in the stack. So each time you duplicate the layer it will rotate incrementally on the ‘Y’ axis. A pretty useful and simple expression. You can change the last number in the expression to what ever number will space the rectangles properly. I used the number 4. The larger the number the more spacing you get. The thinner your rectangle the smaller number you’ll need.
–Last thing you need to do is select all the layers in the comp – “after you get the desired curve” – and pre-compose them. Now you can reuse this precomp and duplicate it 4 times to put them at the 4 corners of your hockey rink.
Hope that wasn’t too confusing and hope it helps. Once you get the process understood, you can create your own imagery for your rectangles to get the desired surface and transparency you need. I’m assuming you’ll be depicting glass.
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Your post isn’t real clear on what you want to do.
Do you just want to create a rectangle (shape layer), then bend it?
Puppet tool, Mesh warp, etc.
Or, are you trying to create something 3d?
As you can see, everybody’s got a different mental picture of what you’re asking for.
Please clarify.
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thanks for everyones input. I’ll try all of these teqniques and see if they do the trick. Sorry for any clarity problems. What i am looking for is a way to create a 3D curve (for the corners of a hockey rink).
Thanks again for everyones input
A defenseman speaking about his recent concussion:
I should fully recover…If i dont, I can always come back as a forward! -
Invigorator is well worth the $$ and can do this for you.
Todd Morgan
Creative Director
morgancreative
http://www.morgancreative.ca
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