- Improved Video Card Compatibility for both Mac and Windows.

- Updated file icons.

- New feature allows you to link and unlink 3D Text. By keeping your text linked, this keeps the text easy for editing. Unlink the text to tweak each letter individually.

- The program now saves the last Camera used so the interface will open with the previously used camera.

- The ProAnimator Standalone now saves the Maximize setting for the inner interface window (Windows Only).

- The Render Test button now works for all Cameras instead of just the Main Camera.

- Fixes an issue where After Effects may run out of memory and crash during rendering.

- Fixes an issue where editing the text from a version 4 project may cause the text to shift in position.

- Fixes an issue where Reflectivity Maps created from version 4 may appear differently than in version 5.

- Fixes an issue where black pixels may appear and flicker during a render when using Fresnel materials.

- Fixes an issue where you have to re-link the Text Substitution file after re-opening the project file.

- Fix for a crash that may occur if you are working in a separate program such as Illustrator or Photoshop, and using the Save command.

Visit our download page to get the version 5.0.8 update.

- Fixes an issue related to multi-threaded rendering. This fix may prevent an issue where the program crashes during the render.

- Fixes an issue where if you duplicate or copy and paste 3D Text, the text may shift in position after editing the text.

- Fixes an issue where using a Matte Material with the setting “Composite on Original” does not show the correct layer.

- Fixes an issue where you have to disable the User Account Controls (UAC) in order to enter the authorization code. In some cases, users using Windows 7 had to re-enter the authorization after every re-boot.

- Fixes an issue with editing text from older projects.

- Fixes an issue where you cannot cancel or hide while rendering in ProAnimator as a Standalone.

Visit our download page to get the version 5.0.6 update.

In ProAnimator version 5.0.6 we’ve also added the ability to organize Object and Camera Animation presets into categories.

This means, instead of one long list of choices, animation presets can now be organized by placing them into folders on your hard drive. Each folder becomes a submenu in the Object Animations and Camera Animations menus of the ProAnimator software.

The 5.0.6 version of ProAnimator comes with a new set of animation presets. If you are installing ProAnimator for the first time you’ll get the new presets automatically, but if you have ever run a version of ProAnimator prior to 5.0.6 you will need to reset the animation presets, otherwise you won’t get the new animations.

To Reset The Animation Presets

First install the new software. Then run the software and go into the ProAnimator > Preferences window. At the bottom of this window there will be a group of checkboxes called: “Restore Files to Factory Settings.” Uncheck all the checkboxes except for “Animation presets”. Then click the “Restore” button and close the Preferences window. Now the new Object and Camera animation presets will appear.

How To Prevent Some Presets From Being Deleted

If you have created your own personal Object or Camera animation presets and want to keep them, you must move them out of the presets folder before using the Restore function. After using the Restore function, move your own presets back into the folders they came from.

—- For the ProAnimator standalone:

Object Animations are kept in the: “Users > YourUserName > Documents (My Documents) > Zaxwerks > ProAnimator 5 > Animator Presets > Object Animations” folder.

Camera Animations are kept in the: “Users > YourUserName > Documents (My Documents) > Zaxwerks > ProAnimator 5 > Animator Presets > Camera Animations” folder.

—- For the ProAnimator AE plug-in:

Object Animations are kept in the: “Users > YourUserName > Documents (My Documents) > Zaxwerks > ProAnimator AE 5 > Animator Presets > Object Animations” folder.

Camera Animations are kept in the: “Users > YourUserName > Documents (My Documents) > Zaxwerks > ProAnimator AE 5 > Animator Presets > Camera Animations” folder.

It’s time to get very happy.

Zaxwerks is proud to announce that both ProAnimator and 3D Invigorator v5, for After Effects CS5, have just been released. If you are a Mac user this is news to write home about! If you are a Windows user the software has been updated and a new 5.0.5 version is ready to go.

New features and fixes include:

- Enhanced 3D Text engine. This fixes any issues with incompatible fonts.

- Improved multi-threaded rendering engine.

- Compatibility opening up older projects.

- Fixes issues with importing 3D Models.

- Fixes an issue with typing values into fields (Windows Only)

- Fixed an issue with editing text from older projects.

To find out more about ProAnimator and 3D Invigorator Version 5, please check the links below:

ProAnimator Blog Post:
http://zaxwerks.com/blog/2011/02/23/proanimator-5-available/

ProAnimator Product Page:
http://zaxwerks.com/proanimator/index.shtml

3D Invigorator Blog Post:
http://zaxwerks.com/blog/2010/12/03/3d-invigorator-version-5-0-available/

3D Invigorator Product Page:
http://zaxwerks.com/invigorator_pro/index.shtml

Zaxwerks is proud to announce that 3D Invigorator version 5 for After Effects has just been released!

This is a MAJOR release. 3D Invigorator has been completely reinvented. You can now do things in After Effects that were never possible before. We have added hundreds of new features designed to make your work faster, easier and more productive; to save you time and help you make more money.

Highlights include:

Integrated Drawing Window

All 3D objects have to be modeled. 3D modeling is traditionally very difficult but Zaxwerks has made this easy as pie. As you draw, the 3D model is created for you, on the fly. Right before your eyes. As you edit the 2D paths the 3D objects are re-built in real time. Need to add holes? No problem. If you draw one path inside of another path the program knows what to do. Hate Bezier curves? Again no problem. Our exclusive Auto-Curve tool figures out the curves for you.

Watch the movie to find out more.

Live Text Editing

Most of your text and logo animations begin life as fonts. But what if you have to make changes to the shapes of the letters? Ordinarily this means converting the text to outlines, which prevents you from going back and making changes to the fonts. A perplexing quandary.

So we solved that puzzle by giving you the best of both worlds. In Invigorator 5 you can edit the Bezier curves of text characters without having to convert them to paths. This allows you to make texty-type changes (switch justification, change margins, etc) and any edits you’ve made to the curves will be preserved.

Watch the movie to find out more.

Warping

Flat text and logos have their place, but nothing makes a client’s logo pop off the screen quite like bending it. 3D Invigorator PRO 5 can now do exactly that. Warping has been built directly into the After Effects time line so you can bend, twist, fold, bulge, taper, wave and ripple your 3D objects as you work on the rest of your comp.

Watch the movie to find out more.

Workflow-Based Interface

A program with lots of features usually pays the price of complexity. Complicated programs take a long time to learn and most features are hidden under layers of user interface, so Zaxwerks has gone out of its way to bring the features to the user. A simple set of workspace buttons presents the tools and controls you need, when you need them. Panels can be arranged to fit your personal monitor size and your working style. Additionally, hundreds of enhanced Tool Tips explain what every button and control does and how to use it, saving you valuable time and making you an expert, tip by tip.

Materials & Mapping

What good is a really cool model if it isn’t covered with a really cool texture? 3D Invigorator v5 has added a powerful texture creation system which has over 30 different procedural noises and the best gradient designer on the market to let you create surface treatments so luscious they’ll make your mouth water.

Of course if you don’t want or need all this power you can leave it hidden and never have to get your fingers dirty. The power is always a click away but Zaxwerks doesn’t force you to deal with it if you don’t want to. Remember, good workflow reduces the complexity.

Text Substitution

So you have 100 graphics to do and you’re on a budget? Time to let 3D Invigorator PRO help you out. Version 5 adds Text Substitution an amazing new feature where you can set up an animation once, then by linking the animation to a spreadsheet of data, get it to render all the variations automatically. No more hand-editing every graphic. Just a way to become extraordinarily productive overnight.

Designed For You

3D Invigorator v5 has so many new features we don’t have space to talk about them all. Lathe modeling; 16/32 bit rendering; Animatable Pivot Points, User-Drawn Bevels and support for Open Type fonts are just a few of the huge set of new features. But at the heart of it all is a workflow design that is like no other. 

This program was designed by designers. Folks who want to get the job done as quickly and professionally as possible, and want tools that can help them advance to the next levels of their craft. This program is a masterpiece of workflow. It works quickly, efficiently, with a low learning curve and an amazing ability to let you re-use previous work and to respond to client changes without losing precious time.

Take a look. Download the demo. Start getting Invigorated today.

3D Invigorator is compatible with After Effects:
Windows CS3, CS4, & CS5
Macintosh CS3 & CS4*

* Mac CS5 Version Coming Soon

Here’s an image from the new 3D Invigorator PRO/ProAnimator 5 interface showing some of the new material controls. If you’re not a 3D person this image can look overwhelming but usually everything isn’t open all at the same time. Once you get used to it you can open up the panels like you see in this image which lets you see lots of information very quickly. The panel configuration is saveable as workspaces so you can size them to your own monitor and recall them from the buttons across the bottom of the window.

Here are a few highlights:

- Unlimited stackable shaders for each texture channel.
- Blend modes for shader compositing.
- Alpha channels for each shader.
- A bin for storing material swatches.
- Live interactive mapping controls.
- Interactive splitting of objects into mapping regions.
- A very advanced gradient creator.
- 30 procedural noises for adding streaks, bumps, dots, squiggles and many other effects.
- Tool tips explaining what each control does.

Here’s a demonstration of some of the new drawing features of 3D Invigorator 5 and ProAnimator 5.

- Bezier drawing tools

- Instant 3D object creation as you draw

- Instant holes

- Realtime interactive editing

There are two kinds of virtual set work. One is where the set and camera are connected through motion control and requires all kinds of expensive equipment. The other is where you shoot the talent green screen with a locked down camera. Then you put the talent into a 3D set using compositing tricks. This second method can be done on a shoe string budget and looks every bit as good as the expensive method. Knowing this technique might be the key to your next job.

This is a three part tutorial lasting 50 minutes. Joe covers the steps to creating a beautiful virtual set, lighting it, inserting the green screen talent and doing the final camera moves. Consider this an Intermediate tutorial because Joe assumes you already know how to open the plug-in and make a Photoshop file.

Topics discussed:

• Creating, positioning and mapping the floor.

• Using 3D Primitives to create columns.

• Importing simple Illustrator files to make furniture.

• Duplicating and rearranging objects.

• Creatively using bevels to make set decorations.

• Setting up lights, light trusses and flares.

• Adding the talent and camera motion.

Download the Illustrator file for the Glass Block Wall: blocks4.ai

Click on the links below to watch all three parts of the video tutorial.

Creating a Virtual Set Part 1 (16 min)

Creating a Virtual Set Part 2 (21 min)

Creating a Virtual Set Part 3 (13 min)

Having trouble turning your Illustrator logos into 3D models? Watch this comprehensive tutorial and learn how to turn your vector logos into professional, billable 3D works of art.

Topics discussed:

• Determining which Illustrator vector paths you need to keep in order to create a well made 3D object.

• Organizing paths into layers, and how to move vector paths between layers.

• Why you would leave some paths grouped and some paths ungrouped.

• Cleaning up Clipping Masks, and cropping the shapes correctly with the Pathfinder tools.

• Saving the Illustrator file and importing it into ProAnimator.

• Creating and assigning Materials, and applying multiple materials to a single object in ProAnimator.

Click on the image above, or the link below to watch the video tutorial.

Click to watch the Illustrator Tutorial

On June 2010, Cagan Yuksel was honored with two Silver and two Bronze Telly Awards. The Telly awards honor the very best in television, film and web creativity. There are more than 13,000 submissions each year with a Silver award being the highest honor. Cagan won Silver for Art Direction, in his work for comedian Russell Brand and for the New York Turkish Film Festival.

The Bronzes were for use of Graphics and Visual Effects. Cagan happily related to us that major elements in his work were the 3D graphics created with his Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator Pro.

Click to watch Cagan Yuksel’s award winning animations.

Steve Holmes is the creative director of the award-winning Energi Design. Originally founded in London, the company now resides in San Francisco. Steve’s work is highly regarded in the design industry both in Europe and the US. Energi Design’s clients include Virgin Atlantic, Nike, Adobe, Apple, Cadbury’s, Artbeats and Sotheby’s Real Estate among others.

Back in 2000 Steve had the chance to meet Zax at the National Association of Broadcasters conference. “I had been using Zaxwerks for several years by then so it was fun to meet the man behind the software.”

“Zaxwerks products give us perfect results, while not having to leave AE or learn a serious 3D program. We own Modo and Cinema 4D but never use them for motion graphics. 3D Invigorator has helped us achieve visual effects and motion work in After Effects, which would have been impossible due to the limitations of After Effects itself. The 3D Invigorator being tied into the AE camera is one of the best things in the world!”

Just last year Steve took on a new challenge, an HD challenge. “We jumped at the chance to do an HD commercial,” says Homes. “The client, USA Cycling, was in need of 3D animation for their end title. Both speed and quality were of the utmost importance. The logo includes a flag which we needed to animate in a realistic fashion. There’s also a 3D build-on of their wheel logo.”

USA Cycling has a program which places elite cyclists in Europe to develop them for a career in professional cycling. The organization also funds amateur racing in the US. “The commercials were a call for donations and support to the organization,” said Holmes. “Cycling is not government-funded like it is in many European countries where it’s the national sport. I’m from Europe and can appreciate this wonderful thing!”

The commercials were aired daily on Versus HD during the live broadcast of the Tour de France.

Steve has become a huge fan of some of the features in Zaxwerks Products.

“The beveling on the 3D Invigorator, as well as the reflection mapping for the metallic effects, those features alone are worth every penny! In terms of speed the construction and animation of the 3D elements is straight forward, and the live previews of the flag animation within the software helped tremendously. 3D Flag was incredibly handy.”

Holmes sums up his experiences this way. “The products just work. They are fast, fluid, and easy to use and not cluttered or complicated like other programs. The fact they slot right into our After Effects workflow is a huge deciding factor. We get complicated projects completed on time, on budget, and to the highest HD quality. What more of an effect could we wish for? We rely on Zaxwerks!”

To see more of Steve’s work go to www.clickenergi.com