[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi guys,

Actually, Serge did make a pumpkin. Search the forum archive for a link to that discussion. As John D pointed out, Invigorator’s modeling tools aren’t the best choice, if you’re going after something more realistic. Cinema is a great tool for organic modeling.

If you do make an Invig pumpkin you like, getting the light “inside” would require splitting the foreground external surface from the internal surface on the back of the pumpkin, and putting a light effect between the two layers. In other words, it can be done, but there are limitations depending on what you’re trying to accomplish.

Jon O.

[Jon Okerstrom]

Sure thing.

Look at the doc in Illustrator. Be sure you’ve created a compound path in the zero by selecting the inner and outer path and choosing compound path>make.

As for the number one, it sounds like you have an open path for some reason. Select the number 1 object and use the pathfinder tool to unite or close the open path.

Let us know if that helps.

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi Alan,

I haven’t asked this for a while, but I’m curious about how the AE plug-in version is coming… and when we might see it?

Thanks.

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi Kim,

Serge will probably jump in here (especially if I’m wrong 😉

Here’w what I know;

The product should work fine for you. It includes some great looking zxo file format models which can be used in Invigorator, ProAnimator inside of AE, or ProAnimator standalone. It also includes InvigoratorAE and ProAnimatorAE project files.

Generally speaking using ProAnimator inside of After Effects will open up some texturing and compositing options not available when you use ProAnimator as a stand-alone app. But, if you don’t have After Effects, you can still do a ton of work with ProAnimator and with Invigomany.

Check out the information in the Invigomany On Sale post at the top of the page for more info and a link to Serge’s web site.

Hope this helps.

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Okay. This helps a lot.

The problem is that your ring is made of only a single edge. It doesn’t have separate inner and outer faces so whatever you map to the outer face of that ring will also be seen on the inside face.

Fix it by building the rings a different way. Try this: In Illustrator draw a circle. Apply a stroke but no fill. Think of the stroke as the thickness of the ring, between the inner and outer faces. Now select the circle and do path>outline. You should now have a filled compound path that looks like a 0.

Import this object into ProAnimator. Orient the object as you want it to be, under the scoreboard. Now, adjust the depth slider to change the height of the ring to what you want. Now uncheck use same material for hole edges. This will allow you to place your map to the outside of the ring, and apply something else to the inside of the ring.

Does this help?

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi Scott,

I would contact Zaxwerks support directly. Be sure to know which version of Invigorator you’re using. (If’ it’s not the current version – try updating.) Also be sure your video drivers are current.

When you do figure out what’s causing the issue, please post the answer. You may help another user.

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Feel free to send me the project file and I’ll take a look.

jokerstrom1 (at) mac.com

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi Joel,

A few pointers – save your file as Illustrator format, not eps. Do not include non-vector information like gradients shadows and glows in the Illustrator file. Convert any text to outlines.

ProAnimator will work best if your Illustrator doc includes filled solid shapes. Organizationally, putting the elements on named layers and using the import by layers command will speed things up and give you more flexibility.

Does this help?

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi real,

In the material set-up area, uncheck the “use same material for hole edges. This will allow you to map different things to the inside and the outside surface of your object.

Does this help?

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

HI kopernikuz,

ProAnimator (and Invigorator for that matter) deal only with the vector information and solid color information in Illustrator files. They don’t rasterize gradients or transparencies you may have built in Illustrator. That’s why your gradient doesn’t appear in PA.

To get around that, you can use Illustrator to create the basic shapes for ProAnimator, and as a separate step, to create the gradients that appear on the object. Then create a tga file containing a bit-mapped version of the gradient and apply it to the surface of the 3D object in ProAnimator.

Does this help?

Jon