[Edward Wu]

Hi Frank,

The rendering issue that you are seeing usually comes from using ProAnimator version 4.3.2. If you are using version 4.3.2, please download the latest version from our download page listed below:

https://zaxwerks.com/cgi-bin/download.cgi

If you are already using version 4.3.2, then you are likely running into a QuickTime Player issue. To fix this, we will need to turn the QuickTime Player so that it is running in Safe Mode. For instructions on how to do this, please visit our Help Center link below:

https://zaxwerks.com/helpcenter/?page_id=40

As for your Object Styles and Materials not showing up, you will need to reset your swatches. To reset your swatches, follow the steps below:

On the Mac go to the Root Hard Drive / Users / yourUserName / Documents / Zaxwerks folder and delete the ProAnimator folder. The next time you run ProAnimator the master files will be re-copied into your user folder.

On the PC go to the C:Documents & Settings > yourUserName > My Documents > Zaxwerks folder and delete the ProAnimator folder. The next time you run ProAnimator the master files will be re-copied into your user folder.

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Dan,

If you are using the 3D Invigorator camera, here are some steps that you can work with to get the draw distance to be 30,000 units instead of 10,000 units.

Go into the 3D Invigorator Setup window (by clicking the little red ball) and save your scene. To save your scene, use the “Cmd + s (Mac) / Ctrl + s (Win)” command, and name the scene. If the scene doesn’t save with an extension, then add “.zxp” to the end of the project file.

Next, open the saved scene with a text editor tool. In the text editor, use the find tool, and search for “clip”. You should be able to find the following information below:
_____________________________

begin CameraX

name “dflt_cam”

…………. (I omitted the other data in here)

clip 0.100000 10000.000000 <--- change this value to 30000 _____________________________ After you make the change to the "clip" value, save the .zxp project file again, and go back into After Effects project. Go into the 3D Invigorator setup window and use the "Cmd + o (Mac) / Ctrl + o (Win)" command to open the scene. Select the Zaxwerks project you saved and open up the scene. After opening the scene, press OK to go into the After Effects Interface, and you should be able to adjust the Camera Distance value to 30000 before the Invigorator objects are clipped. You may need to use the "Update Camera" button to have this updated. I know this solution seems rather complicated, but it does override the max render distance. Best, Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi,

If the object and material swatches did not load up with 3D Invigorator Pro, reset the swatches and you should be able to see the swatches. To reset the object and material swatches, follow the instructions below:

If you are on a Mac: Find the “User > Documents > Zaxwerks” and delete the “3D Invigorator PRO” folder.

If you are on a Windows machine: Go to “My Documents > Zaxwerks” and delete the “3D Invigorator PRO” folder.

After you have deleted the 3D Invigorator PRO folder, launch After Effects. setup and launch Invigorator Pro, and you should be able to see your object and material swatches.

Best.
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Brian,

Thanks for sharing your solution. Good to hear that it’s working out for you now.

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Brian,

I would try downloading and installing the latest version of 3D Invigorator Pro (version 4.5.1) if you haven’t done so already. If you have, try re-installing the plug-in again, and applying Invigorator Pro to a Color Solid, and see if you are still having issues.

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Deepak,

Save your Maya Object as a “.obj” format. Then, in 3D Invigorator, go to the Object menu, and select the “Import 3D Model” option. You will then be able to import your “.obj” models.

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Fred,

To load a scene into After Effects, first set up your composition, and create a new Solid. Apply ProAnimator to the Solid, and select the option to “Create a New Scene”. Then, enter the ProAnimator interface by clicking the “Click to Edit ProAnimator” button. Once you are inside the ProAnimator interface, go to the top File menu, and select “Open Scene”. Select the scene you saved from the standalone project, and once you click the OK button, the scene will load into your After Effects timeline.

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Joe,

You can apply Shatter or other AE Effects to your Zaxwerks Primitive (or other objects as well). When using Shatter make sure to change the view from Wireframe to Rendered, and you should be able to see the effect. The sample picture is a primitive with the Shatter effect. You can take a look at the picture to see where to change the “View” setting to “Rendered”.

Best,
Ed

[Edward Wu]

Hi Fred,

If you like working in the standalone, you can set up all your scenes in the standalone, and then save the scenes. Then, instead of rendering the scenes out inside of the standalone, set up ProAnimator as a plug-in within After Effects and then load up the scenes. They will still play out the same in your timeline, and you will only need to wait for the rendering once instead of rendering out individual movies and then once more for the final movie.

In addition, once you have ProAnimator applied to the Solid, you can just adjust the length of the Solid to control how long you want the objects to stay there.

Hope this helps.

Best,
Edward

[Edward Wu]

Hi Cody,

Reverse the process you have right now, and that will probably help you out. If you have the matte material applied on the front of the object, it will mask out the video at the beginning of your animation. Then, move the object away, and it will “uncover” the video.

Best,
Edward