[Edward Wu]

Hi Glenn,

You could change the bevel of the text to whatever shape you want it to look like. This is done by creating custom bevels. To do this, go to your “Documents > Zaxwerks > 3D Invigorator Pro” folder, then go into the “Custom Edges” folder. You will see an “Edge Examples.ai” file. Open this file with Illustrator, then create a new layer and draw your edge. You can use the other sample profiles to see how to create the bevel that you want for your text.

In terms of the look of the text, I was suggesting Digital Juice Fonts because they have a wide variety of looks for fonts including Gel looking fonts. However, you can use any texture maps you like in 3D Invigorator, so if you find your own gel looking texture maps, you can still create the same looks without using the textures from Digital Juice.

For Edge Offset, if you set too much of an offset, it could cause the text to fall apart. This is because the text is extruded from the front face, so if you adjust too much offset where the front face is removed, then this could cause the effect where you see the text becomes a scattered shape.

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Glenn,

Digital Juice Fonts are sold by the company Digital Juice. The program is an extensive series of fonts where you can create cool 2D image files. You can choose different picture formats such as JPG, PNG, PSD, etc. You can then use the images and convert them into paths, and extrude them in 3D Invigorator. Then, crop and apply the images as texture maps.

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Glenn,

If you’re looking to make 3D Text that looks like gel or silicon, you will want to check out our Video Tutorials that show off Digital Juice Fonts with ProAnimator in the link below:

https://www.zaxwerks.com/training/

Even though the tutorial covers some aspects of ProAnimator, most of the tutorial focus on creating unique looking 3D Text with Digital Juice fonts. From the program, you’ll be able to create very interesting looks such as the gel, silicon, and many interesting looks such as fur, metal, and more.

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Cliff,

Sure, I’ll fill you in on what was shown at NAB. Too bad you didn’t have a chance to attend though. It was a fun event!

Here’s some of the features we showed for 3D Invigorator Pro version 5. One of the things that was immediately noticed was our revamped interface. Our new interface looks much like the AFter Effects workspace, which allows you to open and close panels, re-size and reposition everything, as well as the ability to save and load different workspaces.

Our biggest feature was our new drawing window. We’ve now incorporated a very comprehensive drawing window within 3D Invigorator Pro as well as ProAnimator. With the new drawing tools, you’ll no longer need Illustrator or Photoshop to create your logos. The drawing tools are very much similar to Illustrator, so you’ll see the usual selection, pen, pencil, and shape tools. In addition, many tools are improved for greater workflow. You’ll be able to draw any shape, and have it instantly extruded. Any changes you make to the shape will be immediately updated as well. What’s very fun is the ability to draw the bevels right within program, as well as the ability to draw lathing objects directly within the program as well. It’s amazing how fast you can draw very complex looking wine bottles or glasses with just a few clicks.

One other thing we showed off was the object deformations. You’ll now be able to use any of the 3D Warps features with the objects you create in 3D Invigorator. This means you’ll be able to bend, fold, twist, or wrap your 3D text or objects whichever way you want.

These were just some of the new additions for the new release. We’re going to have a bunch of other new features that is going to be really exciting as well.

Stay tuned!

Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Eric,

Glad to hear that you are enjoying 3D Serpentine. Maltaannon showed off some great 3D Serpentine demos at the NAB show this past week. It was very interesting to see him build a very complex looking animation with just 3-4 layers, and a wiggle expression.

In regards to your question, ProAnimator and 3D Serpentine works similarly. Both create the body (sides), as well as the front face and a bevel. When you are increasing the Bevel Scale/Edge Offset in ProAnimator, you are essentially increasing the size of the front face. To do this in 3D Serpentine, you can change the size of the Serpent body by controlling the size of the path layer, or the Custom Cross Section layer (if you are using custom cross sections).

Then, you can add a bevel to the end cap by choosing “Beveled” for the “Head End Cap”, and adjusting the Head End Cap Size setting. However, like ProAnimator, if you take the front face off (Selecting “None” for the Head End Cap), then you’ll see that the side/body is just a flat plane surface.

Therefore, if you want to “thicken” the walls of the Serpent body, I was recommend making an outlined shape as the Custom Cross Section. This means, if your Serpent body is a circle, draw a “doughnut” shape as the Custom Cross Section shape, and use “Flat” as the “Head End Cap”. This way, when the Serpent is extruded, it will look like the Serpent body has some thickness to it.

If you have any questions regarding this, let me know.

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Christina,

For your mask project that you’re working on, I’d recommend working with the displacement maps. This way, you’re able to create a map where you can control how much bulge you want for each area. You can create a gradient color near the nose so that it gradually protrudes. That should work pretty well to get the realism that you’re looking for.

As for rendering times, try keeping the project in draft, and also keep the draft and best geometric map low so that it speeds up the preview time.

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Christina,

The preview in ProAnimator should typically be very fast. With that said, if you are using big files as your texture maps, this may slow down your preview.

To help speed up preview in ProAnimator, try the following:

1) Increasing the Preview Object Faceting. Keep this value at “3” or higher. The lower the value, the smoother the edges are for your object. However, lowering the Preview Object Faceting slows down the preview as well.

2) Turning the 3D Display Style to either Wireframe or Greyscale. You can find this button next to the “Object Mode” button.

3) Turning the Renderer to “High Quality OpenGL” The High Quality OpenGL renderer will provide faster rendering and preview times, but be sure to switch back to Invigorator Renderer because the High Quality OpenGL Renderer will not render effects such as bump maps or shadows.

To abort a render, click the Red “X” button on the top left of the window, and it will quit the rendering process.

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Jason,

Try registering on our web site to get the authorization code, or if you need the code urgently, please give us a call and we will provide you with your permanent key. I’m not sure why you are unable to press the “OK” or “Register” buttons, but once you get the permanent code, create a new After Effects project, and apply 3D Flag. Then, try entering the permanent authorization code, and you should be good to go.

If you’re still running into issues, please let me know.

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Mark,

Be sure that the edges of the Illustrator file is smooth. If there are too many unnecessary anchor points, the edges may be rough. Also, be sure you are using a low value (such as 0.5 or lower) for your Final Object Faceting value. A lower Object Faceting value will make your edges smoother.

If you’re still having issues, please send the Illustrator file to me at ed@zaxwerks.com and I’ll take a look at it for you.

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Stef,

Try making the plane no bigger than necessary. The shadow map size is spread onto the plane, so if the plane is much bigger than the shadow map, the shadows will look jaggedy. So, try making the floor plane smaller, or use Shadow Diffusion/Softness to soften the look of the shadow.

Best,
Edward