[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi Worldtraveler666,

You can put parts of your object into two sets and animate them independently of eachother. Invigorator does not have a parenting or linking option. You can sometimes get around this by choosing to animate the camera, rather than animating multiple sets which you want to appear to be linked together.

Does this help?

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi nelsonmay10,

Assuming you’re using Invigorator, it’s often easier to rotate the set containing the objects than it would be to try to rotate the camera around the object.

Does this help?

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Adding to what Matt said,

This uncompressed format also includes the alpha channel information which will allow you to cleanly composite the animation with the rest of your elements.

The reason we recommend Animation/Millions+ is that doing so does not introduce compression artifacts that will happen with certain other codecs. If you’re doing something for the web or for a low-data rate application, you’ll want to save the compression step until last.

Recompressing something that was compressed once or more than once makes the artifacts worse.

Does this help?

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi matjusm,

Be sure you’re in object mode (click the cube just below the scene window), as opposed to the light icon or the camera icon. Now look at the object pop-up menu. Import 3D objects is one of your options there.

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi Suzzie,

With all due respect, I want to respond to the “you guys at Zax don’t get it.”

My first response is that the people who answer questions in this forum do get it. Most of us are users just like you. We’re here as unpaid volunteers. We’re here because we really like Zaxwerks software and we like to see people create great work with it. We’re here answering questions and looking at files because we like to help people learn. Sometimes examining files is the fastest way to help someone. We build tutorials and trainning based on what people ask about and may develop something along the lines of your suggestion.

I can also tell you that Zax and the people in his company get it too. You have no idea how much time and energy they invest in crafting a postive, intuitive user experience. This kind of effort shows up in a streamlined user interface and in software documentation that’s easy to read and understand.

Having said all of that, I understand your frustration with learning Adobe Illustrator. I’m in the same boat when it comes to Lightwave. It’s a very powerful tool, but it sits on a shelf because I haven’t felt the urgent need to invest the time and energy required to really learn it. I imagine it’ll stay that way until I either get lots of free time (right) or take on a project that demands that I learn it. I’m not upset at the people who make Lightwave – all kinds of instructional materials are out there. I realize I’m the one deciding what I learn and when I learn it.

I can’t predict when a tutorial that matches your needs will arrive here in the forum. I can pledge that we’ll be here to help you get through your projects, one step at a time.

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi Rhonda,

In this case, knowledge is power and the more you know about Illustrator, the more power you’ll harness with ProAnimator or Invigorator.

The fact is, you’ll be in great shape if all you learn is how to create your own paths using the pen tool, how to edit control points and how to use the pathfinder tools. You’ll also find benefit in understanding compound paths and how to convert a stroked outline into a filled object using the path>outline stroke command and in understanding layers.

You can find tons of tutorials on Illustrator basics on the net… if you have a specific how-to question, we’ll be happy to help here.

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi Chris,

I tend to pre-render the render time -intensive elements from Invigorator or ProAnimator. Doing so allows me to experiment more on the other effects that take less time.

jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi Jose,

It’s certainly possible to render ProAnimator movies in high-def.

Does your projector output 720p or 1080p or 1080i formats? Knowing that – as well as your playback device and medium will give you the answers you need.

Without knowing that, my assumpion is you’ll want ot render your movies at 720p, which requires 1280×720 pixel resolution, non-interlaced.

1920×1080 is another common format which results in much larger files, but it may be overkill depending on your output device. 1080p or 1080i are both doable, assuming you have a playback device.

For more on HD formats, follow the link below:

https://www.adobe.com/designcenter/productionstudio/articles/prs1ip_hdprimer/prs1ip_hdprimer.pdf

Hope this helps.

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi Tyler,

Two things:

1. Invest in Adobe Illustrator and learn how it works. This is critical to getting the most out of Invigorator or ProANimator.

2. Try the Invigorator and ProAnimator demos. ProAnimator works with or without After Effects. Go to zaxwerks.com to get them.

If you do those two things and have a basic understanding of After Effects, it’s enough to get you started. I would work through the AE tutorials on this site that interest you… they’re free and they’re fun. I find it a lot easier to learn software when I’m working on a project that means something to me.

Hope this helps.

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Doug,

Illustrator – or any app that can create vector artwork in the Illustrator format – are your best options. You can export paths as Illustrator outlines from Photoshop, but this is a limited solution.

I would recommend investing in Illustrator.

By the way, Invigorator and ProAnimator are perfect choices for broadcast logo animations.

Jon