Free Transform of Rectangular Objects

[JudyKay]

How can I create an effect so that a vertical zoom of a "flat" object seems 3D as it appears to rise from horizontal to vertical?

I imagine a free transform where the top of a rectangle is narrower than the bottom to create perspective. The transformation would have to be able to zoom as well. I don't think such a free transform is yet possible, but is there an another way?

Seems like this had been discussed before, but I haven't found a solution.

jk

[Lin Evans]

Hi Judy,

I'm afraid there is no way at the present time to do this within PTE. Though it's possible to distort the Z axis for some purposes such as creating the appearance of horizontal rotation of an object, it's not possible to do a uniform geometric distortion of the type you want however it may be possible to "simulate" this depending on the details of the desired effect. For example, it's possible to use a partially transparent mask to alter a shape but this depends on the background, foreground and specifics of the desired animation.

Perhaps the easiest approach would be to do the transform in Photoshop then deal with the change in perspective in PTE. Perhaps if you could show the specifics of what you are attempting I could make a suggestion about how to proceed.

Here is a tiny zipped file with two executables. One shows a possible way of doing this and the other shows the completed effect. The first "perspective.exe" shows the effect. The second "explanaton.exe" shows how is was done. This may or may not be amenable to what your want to do.

http://www.lin-evans.net/p2e/explanation.zip

Best regards,

Lin

[wideangle]

I had been pondering on a similar idea, and had posted the following several days ago:

"In the light of Lin Evan's new tutorials on rotation etc, which I must say are excellent,I just wonder if this is a good time to mention this.

Imagine a table in front of you with a small photo lying on it. Is there a way of rotating the photo along its front edge so that it stands up, then letting it zoom towards you to fill more of the screen?

I recollect in a thread somewhere that Lin talked about rotation in X, Y and Z directions, but maybe I've got that wrong.

I've also just noticed a superb template available on theDom's website called 3DPhotopile which kind of produces a similar effect but on a much grander scale, and is rather more involved than what I am looking for.

Just a little challenge for someone at a loose end!!"

Since there were no responses, I assumed it was not possible, or at least not without some difficulty.

Now that I've looked at TheDom's Photopile example again, I realise that the perspective is not the same!

[JudyKay]

Thank you Lin. I understand your "Examples." That solves my problem for some situations. Thanks!

In other cases, I think rotating on the z axis--like The Dom's "Photo Pile" will work acceptably for now. In his Envelope demo, he uses a shadow effect which further contributes to the illusion of 3D distortion/perspective.

I had thought he was using some kind of free transform, but after using my space bar to stop and go, realized it is simply rotation and shadow that cause the illusion. I can do that!

Thanks

jk

[Lin Evans]

Hi Judy,

Yes, that was a very quick and dirty example and as you can see would only work in certain cases where the background can mask the rectangles. I actually used a similar arrangement long ago when I did the first "book" page turn examples when we were first learning how it might be accomplished. Of course it's possible to use a white background with white rectangles or any solid color as long as the rectangles are the same color as the background but it does limit the application to amenable type animations.

Dominic has created some really super nice animations and is a master with shadows which, as you observe, can be very useful in creating an illusion so his approach can be very useful. Perhaps in a future version of PTE it will be possible to directly manipulate the Z axis and do some of the really neat 3D animations possible with 3D animation software, but after all PTE really is a slideshow software first with some pretty sophisticated features already which are not found in ordinary presentation slideshow software.

Best regards,

Lin