[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi IU Video,

Are you doing this during a pose or a transition? Is the rotation the problem or is it the way the texture map looks applied to the sphere?

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

When I use the standalone ProAnimator and the render frame>save picture, I get pict, targa and jpg as my options (I’m on a Mac). Open any of those in Photoshop and look at the channels created. All three types give me alpha channels…. try that and see which of the formats available to you does the same. (I’m on a Mac – I suspect you’re on a PC)

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Agreed, Serge.

If it were me, I would very slightly and softly darken the edges of each side to give the impression of very slightly rounded corners. No box has perfectly sharp edges. A little imperfection adds to the realism, just as the right texture map would.

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi jjbutts,

You have no idea how right your last sentence is. In fact, Invigorator is a separate 3D universe from the 3D space created by After Effects. The software is designed so it looks like elements share the same space and most of the time, it works really well. When it doesn’t, as in this case, there are options of course.

If you really need interactivity, it’s best to choose one 3D universe or another. In this case, here’s what I would do.

Create one plane in Invigorator for each of those cut-outs. Make sure each plane is in the same aspect ratio (height and width) as the associated cutout. Now you’ll need to create a material which includes the cutout image in the normal image channel and an alpha map for the transparency channel. Apply that material to the face of the plane and you’re good to go… total interactivity with the rest of the items in the Zaxwerks universe.

Does this help?

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi CUT,

You can, but you may not be doing it correctly. Try this:

Apply the ProAnimator effect to a comp-sized solid.Choose Create a new scene. Click on the ProAnimator logo in the effects control panel. Now, with the ProAnimator interface open do File>Open scene.

That should do it. If not, let us know.

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi globalsocialite,

That’s one way to do it, but there is an even better way. Rather than saving the still image as a jpg right away, save it as a photoshop file or some other format that includes the alpha channel. It will make your later work in Photoshop cleaner.

Also, don’t be afraid to do higher resolution stills. Check out the resolution presets. Choose film or cineon or do something custom. All of these can give you amazing stills at the resolution you’ll want for high-end print work.

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi Reins,

I had to look… your project is coming along nicely.

You’re right about the lights being distracting. You might be able to lessen the problem by using ambient or less directional parallel lights.

As an alternative, why not rotate the lights around a common center at the same rate as you rotate the package? That way they would essentially track the rotation of the package.

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Tom,

Invig and ProAnimator would easily be able to create a profile silhouette, but neither can create the kind of organic shapes required to model someone’s head and shoulders. You’ll need a different kind of app — and lots of modeling time — for that.

Think Maya, Lightwave, Cinema, etc.

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Keith,

I’m on a Mac, so I can’t test the key combination that does this on a pc. As an alternative, you can replicate a pose by option clicking a selected pose and dragging it away from the original. Let it go in the middle of a transition and you’ve accomplished the same thing.

Does this help?

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi guys,

A couple of thoughts on this – first, people in other forums report issues with Photoshop’s 3D import function. I read one post indicating graphics card choice can have an impact on this but it’s not confirmed.

The other thought – Invigorator and ProAnimator use a unique method of applying multiple textures on a single object. (Splitting bevel and sides with the materials editor.) These materials or textures will not be exported with your .obj object. Instead, you’ll get the object in its default color.

Do a simple test. Export your elements from ProAnimator, then import them into an empty scene. If that works (and it should) the problem is likely Photoshop 3.

Does this help?

Jon