[Edward Wu]

Right. If you go to your “Documents (My Documents in Windows) > Zaxwerks > 3D Invigorator” and look for the “Custom Edges” folder. Inside, you will see the “Edge Examples.ai” file. You can use this file as a reference to how to create different custom edges.

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Maria,

1) To do a camera fly-through, you’re on the right track. You can definitely use the Poses to create an animation where your text flies through the camera. Have either the object onscreen or offscreen at the beginning Pose. Then, in the ending Pose, take the object either offscreen or onscreen (depending on your fly-through animation).

2) The camera fly-through uses the same technique as the object fly-through. You set a starting and ending camera pose, then set the camera to the appropriate starting and ending positions.

3) In terms of training videos, we have a DVD Training series called “Making It Look Great”. The series is produced by John Dickinson, and includes training from Alan Shisko, Harry Frank, and John Dickinson himself. The DVD Training includes all the example projects so you can follow along step-by-step.

John Dickinson is also working on a set of animation presets for ProAnimator. When finished, it will be a set of fully customizable presets so you can use them to quickly set up animations that you need in production work. In terms of having multiple steps or ways to do something, that could be true. The program allows you to take multiple approaches to do a certain types of animations, so while it can be time consuming to do learn more approaches, it can also be advantageous when you need to approach the project in different ways.

In terms of shortcuts, I would look into John Dickinson’s preset animations program when it gets released. The program will have everything set up already, so you can look at all the different kinds of setups and see which ones work well for you, and learn to customize them to make even better animations.

Hope this helps. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Chris,

If you look at the right hand side of the Illustrator toolbar, you’ll see the “X” and “Y” values.

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Bill,

If you’re not using the Comp camera, you can zoom out and adjust the angles to what you like in the Camera section. Since you are working with a large Solid, you will have to lower the value of “Camera Lens” to have the layer fit inside your Composition.

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Chris,

I’m not well versed in writing expressions, but if you’d like you can send me the project file and I can take a look at what you are trying to set up, and also see if there are any workarounds to what you are trying to achieve.

My e-mail address is ed@zaxwerks.com

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Dave,

So far, I haven’t heard of any issues with changing the QuickTime player into Safe Mode. I have After Effects and Photoshop on the system, but haven’t had any problems when the QuickTime Player is switched to Safe Mode.

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Bill,

I’m thinking you are probably running into a clipping issue when you are using the option to “Use Comp Camera”. The After Effects camera has a clipping distance of 30,000 units, so when you are making large objects, and pan out on the camera, eventually you will reach a point where the camera clips the object and it might look like your image disappears.

If you have an example project for me to look at, you can send it to ed@zaxwerks.com

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Chris,

When you create an object in Illustrator, you can see the X, Y coordinates in the top tool bar. You will be able to see a section where it lists the X and Y values, as well as the object’s width and height. The coordinates are what the manual is referring to, so if you want to create an object at the (0,0) coordinate, then you will need to position it at the bottom left corner.

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Chris,

Here’s an example to follow:

1) Create a Color Solid in After Effects
2) Apply 3D Invigorator to the Color Solid
3) Create a 3D Primitive in 3D Invigorator, and select the “Use Comp Camera” option in the Effect Control panel
4) Import an image into After Effects
5) Drag the image onto the timeline, and convert it into a 3D Layer

Now, if you rotate the camera around, notice that the objects are not in the same 3D space. This is the issue that the Hot Tip is addressing. To have the primitive be in the same 3D space as the 3D layer, you will have to use the technique of applying a layer map onto a plane.

The picture below shows that the Sphere primitive and the 3D layer are not in the same 3D space. The sphere is always “in front” of the 3D Layer no matter what.

So, to make the 3D layer be in the same 3D space, we will have to bring the 3D layer “into” 3D Invigorator.

6) In the 3D Invigorator Effect Controls panel, assign the image layer as Layer Map 1
7) Go into the 3D Invigorator Setup window
8) Create another 3D primitive. You should now have 2 Sphere primitives. Take one Sphere, and in the Object tab, convert the Sphere into a Plane.
9) Go into the Materials tab, and assign the Layer Map 1 as a texture map for a new material
10) Apply the new material onto the Plane

The image below shows the pictures for assigning a Layer Map, and also what you should have after completing steps 6-10.

Now that you have the Sphere primitive and the Plane primitive together in 3D Invigorator, when you rotate the camera around, the objects will “interact” with one another and be in the same 3D space. The picture below shows what the Sphere and the Plane look like in the same 3D space. You can compare it with the first picture to see the difference in what they look like.

Hope this helps.

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Chris,

No, the manual is addressing the issue I was talking about in the earlier posts about objects interacting in the same 3D space. If objects are not created in the same 3D Invigorator scene, then they are not within the same 3D space. This means that the objects cannot interact with each other, meaning that the objects cannot intersect, go through one another, etc.

The hot tip is referring to times where you may want a After Effects 3D layer to interact with the objects you create in 3D Invigorator. If you want the After Effects 3D layer to go through the objects you create in 3D Invigorator for example, you will need to take the 3D Layer, and make it into a Layer Map. Then, inside of 3D Invigorator, create a 3D Primitive, and change the 3D Primitive into a “Plane” (flat surface). Adjust the size of the Plane so that the dimensions are exactly the same as the After Effects 3D Layer. Then, apply the layer map onto a material, and apply the material onto the Plane. Now your Plane will look exactly like the After Effects 3D layer. You can now have the Plane move through the other objects you create within 3D Invigorator.

Best,
Edward