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Extruding a layer
Hello, I am trying to give some depth to a flat layer on a 3D comp in after effects but I don’t want to use INVIGORATOR. Do you know of a basic way to extrude a layer to give it a simple thickness.
Thanks very much! -
5 Replies
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There’s only one way outside of invigorator or Digital Anarchy’s 3DLayer: Shatter.
You’ll have to use the text as a shatter map, basically exploding everything else, leaving the extruded text. (since shatter can give thickness to a layer)
For more info, check out the Shatter tutorials on the COW.
Steve
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How about a way to just bend a layer in 3d? Say I have a line of text that I want to bend in Z-space like a wave?
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How about a way to just bend a layer in 3d? Say I have a line of text that I want to bend in Z-space like a wave?
P.S. – sorry for the double post
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You need Forge Freeform for that. Or a 3D app. AE doesn’t bend anything in 3D space without a plugin. And if you want to do some really complex bends, you’ll have to go to a 3D app, since FF makes your layer a NURBS patch, and there’s only so much you can do with one NURBS patch. You could also do it with Invig by extruding a wavy shape, then mapping your text onto the side of it.
More and more users are experiencing AE’s 3D limitations because they expect 3D motion graphics nowadays, but they expect to achieve them in AE, since it is a motion graphics app.
This is actually a transition period for most of them, since they now need to learn how to use a 3D app for motion graphics. A 3D app is not just for robots, cars and VFX, it is now being used for motion graphics. The app of choice for motion graphics seems to be Cinema4D, since it has a flexible (for me) workflow for those clients who like to make changes and don’t understand the usual 3D workflow. Among other reasons. I wouldn’t do realstic VFX with it, but I really like it.
my 2 cents,
Steve -
Steve,
Thank you for your thorough response. It’s true that AE’s next upgrade should probably take a few more steps in the 3D realm. It’d be nice to be able to curve things in 3D space, and make use of AE’s camera and DOF. I may try to find some workaround for now. I’ll give Invigorator or Freeform a shot as well. I’ve gotten the effect I want by taking each letter and moving it back and forth in 3D space. But this will be tedious, as it’s an entire title sequence. There may be a way to do this with parenting and expressions, but I don’t know expressions well enough to know how to make something move in Z space in a back and forth motion, while parented to the letter next to it.
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