[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi Richard and Matt..

Just curious… was it a rendering error, a model problem or something else… reversed normals?

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi Adam,

Depends on what kind of ornament you’re talking about, but for the one I’m thinking of, it’s no problem.

In its simplest form, you could use a sphere primative and a beveled cylinder for the top part. The hook and wire would be basic Illustrator shapes.

You could use a custom edge to make more elaborate ornaments.

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi junior,

You can make a 3D object in Invigorator out of any fillled solid shape from Illustrator. Illustrator’s own ability to make artwork appear to be 3D really won’t help you. (If you’ve been at this for a while, you can probably guess Illustrator’s “3D” ability comes from the old “Adobe Dimensions” application. Those files aren’t really 3D… the app uses perspective and gradients to make it appear like there’s depth and 3D space.

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Cool. Can’t wait.

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

For me, the larger question is when – or if – pillusion will be offered as a plug-in to After Effects. It would be a great compliment to Particular. They’re different enough that I’d like to have both in my toolbox.

It would be nice to see something from Wondertouch about the time Adobe releases the universal version of After Effects. A guy can wish, right?

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi Paul,

The trick is to break complex objects down to their simplest extruded shapes, then organize those shapes into layers in Illustrator. For example, a telephoto still camera lens could be made of a series of Illustrator cicles of varying sizes with varying bevels applied, and stacked one on top of the next.

Be sure to name the layers to keep things organized, once you import everything into Invigorator.

You probably won’t want to attempt modeling the body of a Ferrari… organic shapes like this are not Invigorator’s strong suit.

Good luck.

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Paul,

You can make almost anything with Invigorator and Illustrator. Simply break down the shape you’re trying to build into its most basic parts. I remember a guy who built a model of a very complex video camera doing this. I’ve made entire houses in the same way… just to see if it could be done.

One last thought… Invigorator can’t make boolean objects with Invigorator, but you can cut holes in objects using transparency maps.

Imagination is really the biggest limit for some people.

Hope this helps.

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi SRoughan,

It makes sense to use your first method rather than a layermap since the logo isn’t animated.

I would ask about the resoution of your tga file. There’s no point crunching a super-high resolution graphic unless you’re getting really, really close to your 3D object.

I would also ask whether you’re looking at your hockey puck in draft or ‘best” quality mode. You won’t see the logo on the puck in draft mode. You will see it in best mode (or using the “test” function.

As for the border, Invig stretches an image to fit the face of the object…. so, crop your tga file so the logo is not surrounded by an empty border.

Does this help?

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi Paul,

You’ll find some tutorials (including one I just wrote) in the tutorial section of the COW. If you have a specific topic you would like to explore, let us know. We can help here, or write more tutorials.

Jon

[Jon Okerstrom]

Hi junior,

The simplest advice: Use closed, filled shapes in Illustrator. Convert any text to outlines. Uncheck the “use compression” box when you save your Illustrator file.

Does this help?

Jon