[Zax Dow]

HI Ray,

Absolute Color will indeed render the image as the same brightness as the original. If you look at the image an an AE source window and look at the final rendering in the comp window the two will be identical. Here are some possible things that may change this basic color brightness:

– The layer the Invigorator is on has been made partially transparent
– The object has been made partially transparent
– The layer you are using for the texture map has been altered from the original color.
– The material you are using for the video map hasn’t really been set to absolute color. To check what has actually been applied to an object, first select just the one object, then click the Show Palette checkbox to see the materials applied to the object, then double click the material in the palette to load it into the material editor, then check the material editor to see that Absolute Color has been applied.

Hope this helps,
Zax

[Zax Dow]

Good idea, Jon.

We’ll do a slew of tests and get back to you on that.

-Zax

[Zax Dow]

Good idea, Jon.

We’ll do a slew of tests and get back to you on that.

-Zax

[Zax Dow]

ProAnimator will let you use video for any of the texture maps. Color, bump, transparency, etc.

It even has controls to set the start time for the video to play back. This enables you to put video onto an object’s face and have it hold the first frame for, say, 2.5 seconds until that object is visible onscreen.

Morphing (blending) from one material to another can be done with creative use of texture maps. For instance changing an object from red to blue would have to be done with a movie of red turning to blue, used as a color map. Another way that would work would be to duplicate an object once it was animated so you had two identical objects moving identically. Then you’d make one object red and the other object blue and use a Visibility Action to fade between the two.

Best,
Zax

[Zax Dow]

HI Dan,

First, try the new version of Invigorator just posted. 4.0.9 has several enhancements under the hood and you may find that it works.

There is also an option in the User Prefs that will keep high rez maps in memory, rather than dumping the memory between frames. This will speed things up a lot, when large maps is involved.

If it doesn’t work let us know. This may just be a product of throwing too much data at your video card. You may need to do a dissolve between a medium rez spherical map and a close up map of your target country put onto a flat plane that is sitting in register with the country on the sphere. As you zoom in the sphere fades out releaving the high rez map.

Best,
Zax

[Zax Dow]

If I understand you correctly this is because of a problem that the ProAnimator has with undocked windows in AE 7.

To fix it you need to dock all of your windows back together, then the ProAnimator should work fine.

We realize that some times you don’t want to work with all windows docked and we are working to find a resolution. Until then you can save your undocked and docked workspaces as presets and then switch back and forth between them when you need to open the ProAnimator’s Interface.

Best,
Zax

[Zax Dow]

Sorry, not yet.

-Zax

[Zax Dow]

Check to see if you have left the AE layer on Best Quality. Draft quality works in near real time. Best quality is for final rendering only.
Usually the reason things get slow is that you turn on Best quality for the Solid the Invigorator is applied to, to check the look of the scene, and then forget to turn it back to Draft. Use Draft for setting up the motion and positions of the objects and for setting keyframes. Once you are ready to make the final movie set that layer to Best quality or use the control in the Render Queue to set all layers to Best quality.

Best,
Zax

[Zax Dow]

Hey Tim!

Congratulations. Ron’s a lucky guy!

Best,
Zax

[Zax Dow]

You know how difficult it is to make a perfect map for a baseball, football or soccer ball, right? The map pinches and squeezes and if you’re lucky you can make something usable but it takes you a day or so to do it. Well Serge has nailed it for you with the InvigoMany product. Every model is made for high-rez applications and the included AE projects enable you to fine tune every element of each map for totally customizable work.

Need to put your company logo on the side of a golf ball? Just open the golf ball project and add your logo to the texture map. Need a football that’s painted with your country’s flag? No problem, overlay the flag onto the texture and you’re ready to go.

What you do with these objects is up to you. Since they’re 3D they’ll animate like any other 3D object. Use them in close-ups or animate them in backgrounds. With this set of projects and texture maps it’s like having an unlimited supply of stock sports footage that’s completely customizable.

If you do anything having to do with sports graphics get this set immediately. I highly recommend it.

Zax Dow
President
Zaxwerks Inc.