SheilaG Posted May 28, 2011 Report Posted May 28, 2011 Hi Everyone,These 3D animations are becoming compulsive! This sequence is called Showtime! using photographs taken at events in Liverpool. I made it just so that I could use as many cube and pyramid animations as I could get into the time! Quite manic!No narrative but against a very catchy background music track by Kevin MacLeod.File size 30.84MBRun time 5 minutes exactlyAspect ratio 16:10Download SHOWTIME! Quote
Paulcl Posted May 28, 2011 Report Posted May 28, 2011 Hi SheilaI have just completed my first cube to what I thought quite a reasonable attempt and was feeling chuffed. Now having seen the wonderful AV that you have produced depression has set in. On the bright side I can now waste many an hour trying to learn how to create some magic. Just like you have done. Where do I go to learn more. Help.RegardsPaul Claridge Quote
colin hill Posted May 29, 2011 Report Posted May 29, 2011 Sheila,That was very good and just proves the power of PTE and what can be achieved with it.Keep up the good work.Colin Quote
SheilaG Posted May 29, 2011 Author Report Posted May 29, 2011 Hi, Thanks for the kind words. Just when I thought I could walk away from the computer I saw Dave's challenge in another thread (the Great Pyramid Challenge) and had to try it!I'm really struggling! My basic maths was up to creating the isosceles triangles for the sides, with base angles of (530) on a base line of 800 pix. I did that in Photoshop. I could construct the pyramid in PtoE to turn in all directions but what I'm finding difficult (impossible!) is working out how to 'nest' the frames for faces and base in order to put the rotating point. for all directions, in the virtual centre of the pyramid. I've just realised, this might not even be the right way of approaching it!I can see how I'm going to be spending the rest of the day!!Sheila G Quote
Jean-Cyprien Posted May 29, 2011 Report Posted May 29, 2011 Hi Sheila,A lot of good ideas ! Congratulation.It's not too difficult to put the rotating point in the (virtual ?) centre of the pyramid. Could you give us more explanation of what you want to do, as you say "this might not even be the right way of approaching it " And also of what you mean by "the rotating point. for all directions"Jean-Cyprien Quote
Paulcl Posted May 29, 2011 Report Posted May 29, 2011 Having just completed my first cube I would now like to be able to open it up leaving the base and the back in place with the title of the AV showing on the back wall. How do I do this.RegardsPaul Claridge Quote
SheilaG Posted May 29, 2011 Author Report Posted May 29, 2011 Hi Paul,I'm still on the steep learning curve myself and making plenty of mistakes as I go along! I got a lot of help, on this forum, when I first started the animations a few weeks ago. I've found that once I'd got a 'feel' for what could be done, and the importance of frames, 'parent', and 'child' in the objects box, then just playing around with the controls gave me a better understanding of how to make the effects. I'm still working on 'trial and a lot of error' !!This works for me ......... someone else could very well have an easier, less involved way!Depending on how you have 'framed' your sides, may affect how you proceed.Opening the cube will depend on where your rotation point, for the sides, is placed. If you want to open the sides as if on a hinge, then the rotation point needs to be in the centre of that side-edge. If you just want to make them drift away, the rotation point is immaterial.To make them travel away, create a keyframe point for each side, in turn. and move the side to its new position at that keyframe point, twisting, zooming or turning as you wish. You can do it quickly or slowly by positioning your keyframe accordingly.If you want the sides to open as a hinge then again, selecting each side in turn, create a new keyframe point and rotate the side on either X or Y axis (whichever is appropriate) until it's in the position you want. Remember ...... if you want to hold your animation in place for a few seconds, before the sides move away, then you must place a duplicate key frame, of the first one, on the timeline at the point where you want the animation to start.For you title to appear you will need to bear in mind the importance of 'stacking' your objects (the ones on top are like layers in Photoshop - they come to the front) so you might need to play around with some transparency. Alternatively, you could introduce the title into a second, duplicate slide showing the last view of your 'exploded box. The transition would be seamless.Hope this helps a little.Regards,Sheila G Quote
SheilaG Posted May 29, 2011 Author Report Posted May 29, 2011 Hi Jean - Cyprien,Thanks for posting.Re the pyramid challenge ........ I've posted on that thread and, if you have a look on there, you'll see just where I'm struggling!! My very basic knowledge of maths isn't helping! The fact that I'm not too sure of the technical terms isn't a big help, either! Dave tells me that I made one fundamental error which has sent me back to the drawing board to start from scratch!Regards,Sheila G Quote
Paulcl Posted May 30, 2011 Report Posted May 30, 2011 Many thanks for the info Sheila. I am still trying to get my head around Parent and Child frames. Is a parent frame the same as a controller frame.RegardsPaul Quote
SheilaG Posted May 30, 2011 Author Report Posted May 30, 2011 Hi Paul,As I understand it ......... There can be one master control frame for each group of child frames and child objects. Keyframe animations for this master frame apply to everything contained within the group.A frame (which for these purposes has its opacity at zero) will always have one or more 'child' frames or objects under its control. Each of these can have their individual keyframe animations which take place within the animation of the 'master frame'.Each of those 'children' can have 'children' of their own.A 'parent' can also be an object (eg. image file) and any child 'objects' will also be governed by the parent keyframes. Clear as mud? Sorry!!I tried to run before I could walk and got carried away with these 3D animations before I even really knew how to use keyframes! It made life a bit difficult and, if you're in a similar position, I'd say familiarise yourself with simpler animations first. If, like me, you jump in at the deep end, at least you'll have the keyframes sussed when you surface again!Good luck!Sheila G Quote
Dusty Posted June 9, 2011 Report Posted June 9, 2011 That was amazing! Looks complicated to put together, but so fun to watch Quote
davegee Posted June 9, 2011 Report Posted June 9, 2011 Sheila,The link in the Pyramid Challenge thread gave the info for finding the "centre" of a Pyramid.A quarter way up from Base to Apex.Thats where knowing the Trig was important.Hence the other link.In my challenge the precise angle was reverse engineered so that the sides of the triangle came out as near to a whole number as possible. By rounding up you introduced a one pixel error - not a lot but enough to be noticeable. The other problem is doing precise triangles in Photoshop - I found the PEN tool to be very precise.DG Quote
SheilaG Posted June 10, 2011 Author Report Posted June 10, 2011 Hi Dave,My real mistake with the Pyramid Challenge that you set was that I assumed (very wrongly !!) that it was for fun and not deadly serious! (My mistake, I admit !) I like a creative challenge but not when the enjoyment is overtaken by having to deal with fractions of pixels and angles with a decimal point value of 4 figures. That's when I go back to playing with the pictures at my own level!Re the Pen tool ............. it's not my favourite tool in Photoshop but you're right in saying that the results achieved with it can be more precise. Thanks for trying to help me (and I did look very carefully at the projects, for which both you and Peter posted links on the other thread, and was impressed by the accuracy) but this kind of perfection is a bit too much for me! Thanks again,Sheila G Quote
davegee Posted June 10, 2011 Report Posted June 10, 2011 It was for fun!The fun (for me) is in getting things precise [begin Whinge] There's nothing worse (for me) than a demo of something which is pushed into the public domain in a hurry (just to be first) containing errors or images which are the wrong resolution and zoomed beyond their capabilities or contain compression artifacts etc etc. [End Whinge]Not you, Sheila!I have seen it here once or twice.BTW There is no such thing as a "fraction of a Pixel" but there is, in geometry, a "fraction of a degree".Keeping saying "I CAN do it!"Best wishes,DGP.S. While I'm whinging, could I put in a request for a SPEELING CHEQUOR? Quote
Lin Evans Posted June 10, 2011 Report Posted June 10, 2011 Hi Dave,Actually, there is - sort of......http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subpixel_renderingBest regards,LinsinpBTW There is no such thing as a "fraction of a Pixel" but there is, in geometry, a "fraction of a degree".snipsnip Quote
davegee Posted June 10, 2011 Report Posted June 10, 2011 Come on Lin!!You know that's NOT what I was talking about?Try creating a PTE show which is 1920.5 x 1080.5 Pixels?DGYou might have been kidding but there are people out there who will believe you Quote
Lin Evans Posted June 10, 2011 Report Posted June 10, 2011 The fun (for me) is in getting things precise It was too good an opportunity to miss "shades of Xaver?"Best regards,LinCome on Lin!!You know that's NOT what I was talking about?Try creating a PTE show which is 1920.5 x 1080.5 Pixels?DGYou might have been kidding but there are people out there who will believe you Quote
Paulcl Posted June 12, 2011 Report Posted June 12, 2011 SheilaHere is the link to my first cube. http://www.mediafire.com/?oi818odzfnapimrI have been trying to get the sides , top and front to to open out as if unfolding a box at the end of the animation without any success. I am sure that firstly i am not getting the time frames right and secondly I can not get the frame to hinge from the bottom.Any help much appreciated.RegardsPaul Quote
davegee Posted June 12, 2011 Report Posted June 12, 2011 Does this Template help?Transfer to your HD and Extract.Open PTE Project in V7 Beta 10 (or later).DGRose Cross.zip Quote
Paulcl Posted June 12, 2011 Report Posted June 12, 2011 Thanks for that info. I am using PTE 6.5 does that mean I need to upgrade.RegardsPaul Quote
davegee Posted June 12, 2011 Report Posted June 12, 2011 No,You can install V7 Beta 10 alongside V6.5. (It is an UPDATE and not an upgrade).At the end of the installation Untick the top two options with regard to file association to keep them seperate and avoid opening projects in the wrong version.To open a project in V7 you would then open PTE (V7) and choose OPEN from the file menu - if you double click on a PTE file in EXPLORER it will still open in V6.5. An existing project opened in V7 and SAVED will not then re-open in V6.5.However, V7 Beta 10 is stable and can be used with confidence.DG Quote
SheilaG Posted June 13, 2011 Author Report Posted June 13, 2011 Hi Paul,I see Dave has posted a project to help you ........... and this may be just how you want the box to open. However, if you want to have the sides of the cube open out around the base, and the top as a hinged lid, you can do it a little differently. I've included a link to a zipped project that will open in PtoE 6.5, after you extract it. If you look at the construction in O&A you'll be able to see that the centre of rotation for each face is in the middle of the edge touching the base, and the top is along the back edge. I've also included the keyframes necessary for each face to open partially. If you play with the angles you'll see how you can change them.You'll notice that the second slide starts with the cube in the identical postion that it was in at the end of the first slide. You will, however see that now, 'show back' has been checked for the faces mentioned above. This cube will not now rotate as before ........... the backs of the faces would be seen as it turns.It is possible to get round this but becomes a bit involved and difficult to describe!One thing you neeed to take into account is that as soon as you start opening the box you are going to need to see the 'back' of each face. This means that you need to consider the order in the objects box. (those at the top will cover those below) You'll find that although I can 'show the back' of the side, back and top faces, I can't 'show the back' of the bottom, as well, as it is near the top of the stack. Experiment with the settings and you'll see what happens.Hope this helps,SheilaLater .............. Just realised I didn't answer your question properly! You can move the rotation point of a face by changing the 'centre' settings and compensating, for the position change of the face, in the pan settings. Look at the settings for the faces and you'll see what I mean.Link to Project HERE Quote
Paulcl Posted June 13, 2011 Report Posted June 13, 2011 DohhhYou make a second slideI have been trying to do it with one slide and timeline transitions.RegardsMr Thicky Quote
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