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
Archive for the ‘Tutorials’ Category
3D Invigorator 5 Sneak Peek – Realtime Drawing Tools
Wednesday, November 17th, 2010Three New 3D Reflector Tutorials!
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
Creating real 3D reflections is one of the coolest things you can do in After Effects. But some people are confusing fake 2D reflection plug-ins with the real deal. To set things straight and to help you bump up your reflective coolness factor, we’ve created three new tutorials. The 3D Reflector QuickStart movie gives you the basics you need in 6 minutes. The Controls Walkthrough movie shows you more advanced topics including some great techniques for layering effects over the reflections. The High-Quality Reflections tutorial shows you how to get clear reflections in impossible situations.
Topics discussed:
- Making After Effects do something it was never meant to do.
- What can and can’t be reflected.
- How to reflect everything in your AE project with one plug-in.
- Why reflections sometimes stick to a surface.
- Getting faster workflow with the Reflector Updater script.
- Making reflections pop or subtle.
- Do Vampires exist?
- Applying effects to reflections for amazing new looks.
Click on the links below to watch the video tutorial.
Click to watch the 3D Reflector Quickstart tutorial!
How To Build A Poor-Man’s Virtual Set by Joe Mason
Friday, September 17th, 2010
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)
Video Tutorial: Prepping Illustrator Files for 3D
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010
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.
Creating Unique Structures with the 3D Invigorator
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
In this tutorial, Joe Mason shows you how to create the unique structural look you often see in high impact broadcast graphics. Joe shows you from start to finish just how easy it is to make everything look great. He works in 3D Invigorator but the techniques apply to ProAnimator too. You won’t believe how simple it is to make high quality production graphics.
Topics discussed:
• Illustrator shape setup
• Customizing depth, bevel and edge offset settings in 3D Invigorator.
• Creating materials with different wireframe and reflectivity maps.
• Setting up splits in the Edge Profile editor.
• Alternating materials for each profile split.
Click on the image above, or the link below to watch the video tutorial.
Workflow In Zaxwerks ProAnimator By Rob Birnholz
Thursday, May 13th, 2010
In this tutorial, Rob Birnholz shows you the entire workflow for ProAnimator! He starts from the Illustrator File, all the way through to the animation process. This comprehensive two-part tutorial provides all the details so you can comfortably set up a logo, apply all the materials, and add all the final touches of a professional looking logo.
Topics discussed:
Part 1:
• Illustrator logo setup.
• Customizing depth, bevel and edge offset settings in ProAnimator.
• Adding a sense of depth to the look of the skyline.
• Creating Splits in the Profile Editor and assigning different materials.
• Setting up lights and shadows.
• Applying a camera animation.
Part 2:
• Integrating the ProAnimator project into After Effects.
• Adding a background in After Effects.
• Setting up Layer Maps for Reflections and Bump surfaces.
• Using the Composition Camera and Lights.
• Applying other filters and effects for the finishing touches.
Click on the links below to watch the video tutorials:
Working with Shadows Tutorial
Friday, April 9th, 2010
In this tutorial, we’re going to go over all the details of working with shadows. If you ever wondered about how to get shadows to work with your 3D objects, what settings to use, or how to speed up your projects, you’ll want to watch this video tutorial and find out!
Topics discussed:
• Creating a floor to set up the shadows in 3D Serpentine, 3D Warps, and 3D Invigorator.
• Creating a Light, and positioning it correctly.
• Working with Light Intensity, Shadow Darkness, and Shadow Diffusion.
• Setting up the Shadow Quality and Shadow Catcher.
• Optimizing the setup in After Effects for faster previews.
• Setting up lights in 3D Invigorator and working with Shadow Catcher materials.
Click on the image above, or the link below to watch the video tutorial.
3D Warps Unwrapping a Baseball Tutorial
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
In this tutorial, we’re going in depth to create a baseball animation. One of the cool things you can do with 3D Warps is to create interesting reveals. So, we’ll go over how to create an animation where a baseball splits open to reveal a baseball player!
Topics discussed:
• Applying 3D Warps correctly.
• Mixing 3D Invigorator, 3D Warps, and After Effects 3D Layers together.
• Learn how to create an animation path with an After Effects 3D Layer, and use it as a tracker layer.
• Applying scaling and rotation for a nice ball animation.
• Casting shadows onto After Effects 3D Layers.
• Adding cool effects from Zaxwerks Easy Glow to enhance the looks.
Be sure to download 3D Layer Warps version 1.5.1 to have all the latest bug fixes!
http://www.zaxwerks.com/download/
Click on the image above, or the link below to watch the video tutorial.
3D Warps – Making a Jumbotron Column
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
In this tutorial, John Dickinson covers how to combine a lot of different effects together to create a captivating jumbotron! In this extensive tutorial, John covers many effects such as our very own Layer Warps, as well as Trapcode Shine and Magic Bullet Looks.
Topics discussed:
• Learn how to identify the field order of footage and interpret it collectly.
• Learn about using CC Ball Action, Glow, Levels and Curves.
• Turn the jumbotron into a 3D column mounted on grungy wire mesh using Zaxwerks 3D Layer Warps.
• Fine tune the look by adding animated arrows plus a touch of Trapcode Shine and Magic Bullet Looks.
Support Motionworks by purchasing the CS4 project file too!
Click on the image above, or the link below to watch the video tutorial.
Advanced Control of Invigorator Pro: Part Two
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
In this tutorial, Serge Hamad covers how to use the primitives from 3D Invigorator and the depth control to create an interesting city scape animation where the buildings expand. Serge goes over how pivot points are created, and how to precisely control your pivot points to work with your animation.
Topics discussed:
• Learn about the center of a set.
• Setting up multiple cubes and positioning them for the city scape.
• Setting up different buildings to different sets.
• Adjusting the depth scale, and keyframing them for the animation.
• Setting the depth, and repositioning the pivot points.
Click on the image above, or the link below to watch the video tutorial.
3D Flag and ProAnimator Tutorial
Monday, December 14th, 2009
In this tutorial, John Dickinson shows you how to create a great animation that integrates both 3D Flag, and ProAnimator. John goes over how 3D Flag can be used for more than just a flag. The plug-in works well for banners, or even an animated fabric background. The tutorial covers tips and techniques on project setups, and After Effects tips to create a good looking animation.
The tutorial is covered in two parts, so be sure to watch both tutorials!
Topics discussed:
• Setting up 3D Flag to create a banner.
• Pre-composing each part of the banner, and masking them to create 3 separate banners.
• Adjusting the pre-roll to create a realistic looking animation.
• Creating 3D Text with ProAnimator and setting up the lights and animation.
• Using Displacement Maps to create a moving shadow for the text.
Click on the image above, or the link below to watch the video tutorial.
Pivot Point Tutorial Part 1
Thursday, December 10th, 2009
In this tutorial, join Serge Hamad as he takes you alongside his pencil animation project. Learn how to adjust the pivot point correctly so that you can have your 3D Invigorator objects integrate the way you want with your After Effects objects. See how a good pivot point can allow your pencil to trace the path perfectly.
Topics discussed:
• Setting up the pencil animation.
• Importing the pencil into 3D Invigorator.
• Creating and setting up the null layer for the pencil to follow.
• Tips to set up a precise pivot point.
Click on the image above, or the link below to watch the video tutorial.
Digital Juice Fonts in ProAnimator
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
For those of you who has worked with Digital Juice Fonts, you may have wondered “These are great looking fonts, but is there a way to get them to work in ProAnimator?”
For the people not familiar with Digital Juice Fonts, DJ Fonts is a program packed with high resolution fonts that are customizable for your project needs. There are a wide variety of creative fonts that include metallic type, ribbon type, ornamental, all the way to watery and cookie fonts. There are a ton of fonts to play with, and now you’ll be able to integrate them all into ProAnimator!
Even if you do not own the Digital Juice Fonts, it’s highly recommended that you watch the trio of tutorial movies that we’ve released. There are so many tips into ProAnimator, and how to export files in Photoshop so you can open them in ProAnimator. You can’t afford to miss out.
With the techniques you’re going to learn, you’ll be able to take the DJ Fonts, and with a couple of steps, be able to bring them into the 3D world of ProAnimator.
Learn the following:
• Creating the text in DJ Fonts, and saving it as a Photoshop layer.
• Setting up the work path for ProAnimator in Photoshop.
• Creating texture maps.
• Loading the file in ProAnimator to extrude the text to 3D.
• Applying the texture maps to the 3D Text.
• Customize lighting, and creating shadows.
• Setting up and customizing the animation.
• Handling special cases in Digital Juice Fonts.
Click on the link below, or the image below to watch the video tutorial:
Digital Juice Fonts in ProAnimator Tutorials
ProAnimator Pivot Point Tutorial
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
Ever wondered what’s the best way to set up pivot-points in ProAnimator or 3D Invigorator? Serge Hamad’s new video tutorial will guide you through how to set up a precise point for all your animation needs.
Learn the following:
• Creating a sphere and placing it where the pivot-point should be.
• Moving the pivot-point object to the same track as the objects that need to be animated.
• Scaling the pivot-point object so that it forces ProAnimator to generate a new pivot-point.
• Grouping the objects together.
• Making the pivot-point object invisible.
• Animating your objects.
Click on the image above, or the link below to learn how to set up a precise pivot point!
Gangster ProAnimator Tutorial
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
Get ready for the gangster ProAnimator tutorial. John Dickinson takes you behind the scenes as he creates a look that is inspired by the Sopranos, from HBO. John takes you step by step as he creates all the little details that makes the scene look great.
Learn the following:
• Setting up the 3D Text in ProAnimator with the right bevel, depth, and position.
• Creating a floor surface for the text to cast shadows on.
• Setting up pre-compositions that can be used as textures on the text and the floor.
• Setting up camera and lighting controllers to easily set up a camera that interacts with the 3D text.
• Animate the lights to set up a dark mood, and cast long shadows.
• A great technique to use masks to create a great blood flow effect.
Click on the image above, or the link below to learn how to set up the gangster look!