3d wireframe...

[dub713]

i posted this in the lounge since it was kind of off subject, but the response i got did no good...

i am looking for the easiest way, or the best app, to take just regular text, or 2d line art, and convert it into 3d wireframe. i mainly want some specific letters, in a few different fonts, to be see-through, 3d wireframe... knowwhatimean?? now, i am no 3d guy whatsoever, so please give it to me in laymans terms...


thanks,
dub

ps... i want to export these as static images as well, for use outside of flash...

[Azaraelle]

Hi, I havent got an answer to your question... but its one I've been meaning to ask for a while.
Thanks I will be hanging around for an answer too!

[hal9000]

do either of you guys have acces to a 3d package such as 3dsmax or truespace (v3 is availble from the truespace site for free i think)
If you just want static wire frame 3d in flash use one of those packages - select the text option and extrude it a bit.
View the wireframe model with out any background grids and stuff on when you get it into the position you want it.
and you may be able to export the model into an illustrator or freehand object.
if not do a screen grab of the image you want - then
import the .jpg or bmp into flash and trace the wire frame shape into a flash objet...
it might work.. ill give it a go and post back soon

hal9000

[OpieNC]

the easiest way to do it with just flash, is to put the font in a layer and then cut and paste to center it. move the font up 4 spaces and right 4 spaces(the numbers can be changed, but should be done with the keyboard arrows for accuracy). press paste again and move it down 4 spaces and left 4 spaces(once again, you can change the numbers). make the second bit of text you pasted a different color than the first and lock the layer. in a layer above it, use the line tool to trace the letter, shaping it with the arrow tool for curves. once you have once visible color done, copy the wireframe you created and paste it. the pasted wireframe should be lined up with the other bit of text not already outlined. from there, draw lines to connect corresponding corners and this will give you a great wireframe effect.

[hal9000]

yeah i suppose that would work... probably be a darn site smaller in file size as well

talking of which stuff that comes outa swift3d canbe quite big... and each frame is a set of grouped objects.. it it better and smaller if the are ungrouped and reedited before resaving... i havent tried it but i imagine it keeps all those vectors from the wireframe which are hidden even though you cant see them... i thought un groupin and then editing and regrouping might make em smaller

http://www.comdotnetdotorg.co.uk/h9k/

as an example to see what i mean...

[theMatrix]

That's a good observation, Hal (quite appropriate name for the year 2001). Often, you can reduce file size by ungrouping and breaking apart the frames. The vector renderers have to be a bit conservative in outlines and fills because of Flash bugs that cause dropped polys and/or lines. In some instances, you can apply 'optimize curves' on all or part of a frame. In other cases, you can hand-delete outlines that make little or no difference in the animation. This can often allow the flash geometry optimizer to do an even better job on export when crunching the file.

I suspect you might see much better outline optmization in Swift V2.0.

thanks.

[dub713]

hey thanks for the replies.

yeah, i've got plenty of 3d apps, although i never use them. i'll mess with 3dmax, if i'm stumped i'll grab truespace and see how it works. thanks for the help.

dub

[theMatrix]

TrueSpace is an excellent value for the dollar. Also in that category is Hash Animation Master - http://www.hash.com . Excellent 3D on a budget.

have fun!