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Is Invigorator the right tool for this?
I’m a newbie, so maybe this is out of my realm right now but:
To setup the scene, I’m trying to create a 3D cube(will be a shipping crate) that is supposed to be suspending just in front and above of the camera. All that is visible is the bottom and a few inches of the side. Within a split second, the crate will fall, crashing to the ground(not breaking up just falling). Eventually I want to make 1 of the sides of the crate fall open revealing what’s inside)
I’m having a tough time with 1) Whether to use the comp camera or Invig Camera, 2)Whether to use the comp lights or invig lights 3)Whether this should be done in invigorator at all.
I’ve seen some really great 3D things done in Invigorator, but just not sure if this can be done where it looks good.
Suggestions, idea and directions?
Thanks,
Jeff
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6 Replies
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Jeff,
You could most certainly use Invigorator for this job, but you should keep some things in mind:
I wouldn’t use comp lights and camera unless they give you something specific that using the Invigorator lights and camera cannot. If they do, go right ahead.
Since all of the edges would be visible, I’d make separate objects (with thickness) for each side of the shipping box. Put all of the sides except one in the same set to keep them locked together.
Create another set. Add a null object to designate where the hinge on the side would be. Add the shipping crate side to that set.
You could match move the side and the rest of the box to fall at the same rate, then have the side fall open. An easier option would be to move the camera vertically, rather than the box. That way, the box and its side stay together in a fixed position until the side falls open. The movement of the camera gives the illusion that the box has fallen. This gets around the fact that Invigorator doesn’t have a way to link objects and keep them separately animatable.
Does this help?
Jon
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Jon,
Thanks for the info. I tried using a plane, but it looks like I’ll have to experiment with an Illustrator file to get the desired look and edge. I can tell this will not be as straight forward as I had hoped.
Learning more about Invigorator. I had hoped to be able to write an expression to make the crate appear to be hanging from a rope/chain(out of site) and make the crate twist slowly, but I being led to believe that Invigorator is pretty much its own thing and can’t really be scripted.
Am I correct in that assumption?
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Did some more playing around and managed to get a decent panel look for the crate. Is there a “best practices” for create a box in Invigorator? I’m really struggling getting these panels to match up.
I ended up create 6 squares in Illustrator and imported the AI file. -
Jeff,
First, an answer to your other question about scripting. Take a look at the effect parameters under Invigorator for your layer. You’ll see the various keyframes that control the position of the sets over time. These keyframes can be affected by basic things like ease in and out… and any other keyframe manipulation tool.
Your question about positioning. Remember, this is done in the set-up window, rather than the scene preview window, before you start animating things. You can use the object stats box to make sure each side is sqauare to the rest and located in the appropriate position in 3D space.
Does this help?
Jon
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Jon,
yes. Thanks for the help. There must be a bug in 4.09 because the stats box is empty.
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Are you certain you have an object selected when you look at the stats box? It may very well be empty if no object is selected.
Jon
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