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Logo Animation 101
Everywhere you turn, corporate logos
seem inescapable. Whether in the movies, surfing the
web, on TV, or even playing video games, animated logos
are becoming a growing part of our cultural landscape.
Every single logo that whooshes, whizzes or flashes
before your eyes netted some respectable cash for an
artist. You already have the video gear, and you should
consider capitalizing on this growing opportunity.
This tutorial will provide the tips and techniques
needed to create and animate a corporate logo. So get
ready to start making some extra cash!
Part 1: Constructing
the Logo
The initial part of this
tutorial will focus on LightWave® Modeler. There
are countless ways to create a 3D logo, so let's
examine a few of them. The first way is a very
common situation. Almost all logo's are originally
created in a Vector program like Adobe Illustrator,
Macromedia Freehand (My Favorite), etc.. Although
LightWave® cannot directly use these files, with
the assistance of a great plug in called EPSF
Loader we take can take our 2D-vector logo and
introduce it to the 3D world of LightWave®. Let's
take a look at the steps to do this shall we.
>>Creating a
3D Logo from a 2D vector file
Step 1: Load LightWave® Modeler
and set up your workspace the way you like it. I
prefer the Default setup.
Step 2: To import
the vector file bring up the EPSF Loader under File/Import in
Modeler.
Note
Some users you may have to reload the plug-in by going
to the Modeler button and selecting Plug- ins.
Then select add plug-ins option and go to the
LightWave®/plug-ins/model folder. Once there
select the EPSF file and hit open.
This brings up the EPSF
Loader window:
Curve Division Level determines
how many vertices are applied to the curve of the
geometry. For this example we will use the default
setting "Standard".
Convert to allows
you to choose between the type of geometry that you
would like to convert the Vector art to.
We will use the Default
setting "Closed Polygons & PolyLines".
EPSF File requestor.
This is where you select the file to import. For
this example we will use a familiar logo.
When Auto Axis Drill is
selected, LightWave® will automatically perform
an operation to remove the holes in the geometry.
An example of this would be the holes in the letter "B" or "O".
For this example we will want this selected.
Auto Centering does
just that. It automatically centers the object. We
will leave this selected.
The Scale setting
allows you to scale your object before it is created.
We will use the Default setting "0.01".
With the settings from
above, the EPSF Loader window looks like this:
Step 3: Click OK.
Note
By selecting the Auto Axis Drill, the "N" mark
and the holes in the two "e" shapes are automatically
cut out.
Step 4: Now that
we have the Logo in LightWave®, we can make it
3D. Select the Extrude Tool, "Multiply/Extend
: Extrude".
Step 5: With the Extrude tool
selected Left Click and drag the cursor up
in the Top view port.
Use the blue "T" handle
to adjust the depth of the extrusion.
Step 6: Press the "Enter" Key
to apply the changes.
And that about does it.
When a Vector file is available, creating 3D logos
can be a breeze. But wait, there's more! Let's continue
with a few other ways to create logo's in LightWave®.
Click
Here to Continue>>
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