Basic,basic question....

[newnewbie]

Just downloaded Swift3D and wondering what in the world is all of this???

I see balls and square and donuts, but I'm just not sure where to start.

This is what I want to do... I've got a stickman gif file. I want to turn him into 3D and make him fly around and flip a little. Do I need another program to make him 3D and them import him into Swift3D, or can the program do it?

Does anybody have any suggestions on a basic tutorial?

Thx!

[cubedflash]

Welcome newnewbie,

The best way to quickly become a Swift 3D expert is to read the manual, tutorials and posts on this board. Here is a link to the manual and several tutorials:

http://www.erain.com/default.asp?section=learn


Answers to your questions:
You can't bring the stickman gif file into Swift 3D. Swift 3D is a pure vector program. You can trace your Stickman in AI and import your work as a AI or EPS file into Swift 3D. You can also create the stickman in Swift 3D's extrusion editor and manipulate in the scene editor. There was a stickman post about two weeks ago in this forum. Rush and many other explaned how to do some very cool things with Stickmen. Best of luck. Make sure to share your stickman work with us when completed.

-CubedFlash

Team Erain

[newnewbie]

Thanks for the info! I will definitely look at those tutorials.

I also have an EPS version of my logo. I created it in Photoshop, I can use import that, right? I'm not quite sure what you are talking about when you say "you can trace your Stickman"...

[RUSHVision]

newnewbie ~

"Tracing" is the process of converting a raster-based image such as the ones created by Photoshop into a vector-based image such as those created by vector drawing programs like Flash, Freehand, CorelDRAW or Illustrator. You can import a raster-based file like a .GIF, .JPG or .BMP into Flash and then go to the Modify menu and choose "Trace Bitmap". Play around with the settings until you get something you like. In general, the smaller the numbers, the more detail you will get, but it will also take a lot longer to trace and the result will likely be much larger in file size than the original image.

This technique usually doesn't produce the greatest results, though. If you are just using a logo, I have found the easiest way is to just trace (this refers to the normal definition of tracing) over the imported logo in Flash and then export a pure vector .EPS of your logo from Flash once everything is just filled shapes...no lines. I will then temporarily delete any extra layers before exporting to .EPS. When I am done, I just hit Ctrl+Z to get my layers back, save it as a vector version of the logo and go to Swift3D. A stickman could be drawn either in Flash and exported as an .EPS or in Swift3D's Extrustion Editor.

Import the .EPS and likely the first thing you will want to do is Ungroup them under the Arrange menu. I will then often Combine them under the same menu and this allows you to change the sizing and bevel properties of all the shapes as one. You can break them apart later if you want to change individual elements.

[newnewbie]

Hey Rush!
Thanks for the help! I imported my gif into flash and did a trace bitmap and exported out to and eps.

I opened Swift3D and did Arrange/Break Apart. Now I'm looking at a big retangular metalic blob. I don't see my logo, although my logo is rectangular...

Is it supposed to do this??

Thx!

[newnewbie]

Duh... I'm thinking it's rectangular, because when I imported the image into flash, I used the rectangle tool to select it, then I exported it out to an eps file.

Is that why?

[RUSHVision]

If you are using V2, then it will respect the colors in the imported file, but in V1 everything came in with a default grey color. Either way, all your objects will not only be grouped when they are imported, but they will also all be the same depth. If you have a logo shape and a solid background, these will all appear to be one shape. Either ungroup them or hold down the Control key while selecting the largest or outermost shape. Then go to the Sizing page on the Properties Toolbar in the upper left corner and reduce the depth so that your other shapes will be visible. It will also be helpful to change the color of this shape to get some contrast.

It also might be helpful to select just the filled logo shapes from your traced .GIF image and paste them into a new file before exporting to .EPS.

[NitroCharged]

Yes, always DELETE the background area around the image when 'trace bitmapping' in flash before exporting as an .eps file. Otherwise you get a big flat blank looking rectangle when you import the file into swift.

[newnewbie]

Gosh, that sounds so easy... Now I can't figure out how to delete the white background that my logo is on... Can you do that?

[newnewbie]

I am using V1. That's a good reason to upgrade to V2 though... I tried this... I went into Photoshop, opened my gif and used the magic wand to select my logo. It is a light blue color... (#33ccff)

Anyway, opened up Flash and pasted my logo right in. Now I'm ready to do the Trace Bitmap, and its grayed out. The only way I can do a trace bitmap is to get the rectangular select tool, then the Trace Bitmap is available...

Any suggestions?

Thanks for your help!

[NitroCharged]

Open flash.
Import image.
Select the image on stage by clicking it once.
Select from menu bar > Modify > Tracebitmap
Deselect the trace by clicking on the work area outside, or away from the image.
Click on the background area of the image ( it greys up and the logo in the centre is still visible)
Hit delete.
Export as .eps file.

[newnewbie]

Coool! I got it!! I just imported it in, and it is grey and looks a bit rough, but is the right shape! Now I can start my tutorial.

Thanks for your help!

[NitroCharged]

Good to hear!
To color it, just search through the colors in the bottom left of screen and left click and hold down mouse on the color you like and drag it over onto your logo section and let the mouse go.
New color applied!