Text disappears when I make them 3D! How can I fix this problem?

[Walter Soyka]

Because you’ve moved the camera, it’s pointed away from the default position with Z=0 that you get when you promote a layer to 3D.

My free script keen-3dLayerTools [link] can help you. It has a tool that promotes layers to 3D but keeps their apparent 2D position.

Walter Soyka
Designer & Mad Scientist at Keen Live [link]
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
@keenlive   |   RenderBreak [blog]   |   Profile [LinkedIn]

[Roland R. kahlenberg]

If you select a layer and hit CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+\, the camera will re-position itself such that the selected layer is centered to the camera’s view.

HTH
– Roland

TypeGEMs – the Definitive Type Gizmo for AE
https://broadcastgems.com/typegems/

Intensive mocha & AE Training in Singapore and Other Dangerous Locations
Adobe After Effects CC ACE/ACI
Imagineer Systems (mocha) Certified Instructor

https://www.broadcastgems.com/mographintensity_shapestext/

[Jeremy Mccloud]

I tried the script, unfortunately it didn’t work for me. Now it just looks like something is blowing the camera, and is all blurry. But no matter where I try to move it, I can’t see it. The weird thing is, if I switch to the front view, I can see if fine like how it’s suppose to be, but when I switch back to the camera just a blurry blob. Any other ideas?

[Jeremy Mccloud]

Thanks, but the keyboard short cut didn’t seem to do anything. The weird thing is if I click the layer, I see the bounding box for it, and it looks like it’s right in front of the camera, but there is no text. It’s so frustrating.

If I bring up a composition that already has the camera and text in it, I can see it, but if I create a new composition, with a new camera and new text, nothing, just the bounding box.

[Roland R. kahlenberg]

a) Do you have Depth of Field set to a very high value?
b) What other layers do you have in the Timeline?
c) Is there an effect applied to your Text Layer?
d) Is your Text Layer set to per Character 3D?

1) Take a screen cap of your Timeline – ensure that we are able to view all the Transform props, Switches and Blending Modes
2) Take a screen shot of your Cam Settings

Hmmmm … howzabout you inadvertently messing about with opacity? And try another font.

HTH
– Roland

TypeGEMs – the Definitive Type Gizmo for AE
https://broadcastgems.com/typegems/

Intensive mocha & AE Training in Singapore and Other Dangerous Locations
Adobe After Effects CC ACE/ACI
Imagineer Systems (mocha) Certified Instructor

https://www.broadcastgems.com/mographintensity_shapestext/

[Jeremy Mccloud]

THANK YOU!!!

For some reason my camera was defaulting to some very low value for Focus Distance, it was set to 35 pixels, even when I create a new camera. I had thought when creating a new camera it defaulted to the same settings each time.

Once I turned it up to 1500+ pixels my 3d text came back into view!

Thank you for your help! Thank you to everybody!

[Roland R. kahlenberg]

When creating a new camera, the camera settings default to the previous values that were applied within the dialog panel (Cam Settings dialog window). This is how AE works with Solids, Shape Layers, Comps and Lights – essentially, anything layer that has a dedicated dialog window.

Cheers
– Roland

TypeGEMs – the Definitive Type Gizmo for AE
https://broadcastgems.com/typegems/

Intensive mocha & AE Training in Singapore and Other Dangerous Locations
Adobe After Effects CC ACE/ACI
Imagineer Systems (mocha) Certified Instructor

https://www.broadcastgems.com/mographintensity_shapestext/