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.

Click to watch Joe Mason’s tutorial!

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:

Click to watch Part 1 of Rob Birnholz’s tutorial

Click to watch Part 2 of Rob Birnholz’s tutorial

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.

Click to watch the Working with Shadows Tutorial

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.

Click to watch John Dickinson’s Jumbotron Column Tutorial

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.

Advanced Control of Invigorator Pro: Part Two

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.

3D Flag & ProAnimator Tutorial Part 1

3D Flag & ProAnimator Tutorial Part 2

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.

Click to watch the Serge’s new video tutorial!

In the recording of Maltaannon’s live video broadcast, he discusses the topic of Zaxwerks Plug-ins versus 3D applications. If you are wondering about the advantages of why you would want to use Zaxwerks plug-ins in After Effects, take a look at the discussion.

Topics discussed:

• ProAnimator’s setup vs. using a 3D application.

• Creating an animated Layer Map.

• Importing 3D Objects into ProAnimator.

• Working with UV mapping.

• Using 3D Serpentine to create fast noodle effects.

• Working with custom cross section shapes as the serpentine body.

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

Click to watch the recording of Maltaannon’s Live video session

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

Join Eran Stern as he guides you through the 3D Serpentine controls, and how to create his cool Autumn 2009 Blockbuster Movies intro!

Learn the following:

• Path Creation – drawing one individual path, and having all the elements of 3D Serpentine tie to that path.

• Assigning multiple text elements to one instance of 3D Serpentine.

• Changing different head and body serpent colors.

• Creating the cascading animation for all the extruded text.

• Offset the circle design.

• Applying a reflection map to all the 3D Serpentine elements.

• Adding additional camera animations and particle effects.

Click on the image above, or the link below to check out the tutorial!

Eran Stern’s 3D Serpentine Tutorial