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Invigorator newbie.
I’ve done some 3D text animations using the zaxwerks plugin in AE. Good results, except the letter ‘O’ shows up as a solid disc without a hole in the middle. I’m exporting the text file from photoshop CS to ‘Paths to illustrator…’ as an illustrator file after applying the ‘create work path’ option where the vector work path looks fine in the central hole, then opening it in AE to apply the zaxwerks effects. I’ve tried a couple of different fonts, having read some threads here, but results are the same. Any advice or feedback would be much appreciated. Tim O’Dwyer.
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4 Replies
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you can fix the compound path for the O using Illustrator. I’m not sure how to do this in Photoshop. If you email me the file I’ll fix it for you (and let you know what I did).
JD
John Dickinson
Motionworks
http://www.motionworks.com.au -
Hi Guys,
I spent houres to figure it out myself. I finally discovered that it’s possible to get perfect Os Ps…
if you simply check the import as layers option.Salut.
Serge -
It is actually pretty easy. This may seem a bit much, but I assure you, it is a breeze.
As John said, when making the O or P in Illustrator, they will need to made in to compound paths. This can be done 1 of 2 ways. Simply use the text tool to create your text, select the all the text, click on Type–>Create Outlines. Or, create your outlines using any way you prefer. For an O, you will find it easiest to create your circle using the circle tool and holding down the Shift key while you draw (–maintains uniformity). Once you reach the desired size, select the circle, copy is, and click Edit–>Paste in front. Now go to Object–>Transform and set your uniform scale to a desired setting (80% does a nice job). Now you have your circle. The next step will be to select the inner and outer circle, and when they are Both selected, go to Object–>Compound Path–>Make (or Command+8)
Zaxwerks recommends that you save your project as an Illustrator 8 legacy file. I have used 10 from time to time, but for best results, 8 is where it is at. When you import it in to Zax, I usually always select Open By Layers. (This will help you out in the future if you would like to change and reimport your Illustrator file with changes at a later time)
Now, if you would like to work some more on this circle in Zax, you can select the circle. Under the Object Tab, lower left, you will see 4 check boxes. By clicking each one individually, you can turn off certain faces (Such as the front of the cirle) or edges (such as the outer edge).
I hope this helps!Tim
Tim
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Tim,
The Pro version of ZI has a pretty darn good text engine with kerning and all.
Also, check out Kinemac if you’re on a G5, an amazing real-time 3D program that’s only 250 bucks. Great text tools in there too. wwwikinemac.com
Have a wonderful day.
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