Adobe After Effects CS3 - Manual (Page 177)

AFTER EFFECTS CS3
User Guide
172
Note: After Effects 7.0 and earlier included a Standard 3D rendering plug-in; this plug-in is not included with After
Effects CS3. In After Effects 6.0 and later, the default plug-in for rendering 3D layers has been the Advanced 3D
rendering plug-in. When you open a project that was created with the Standard 3D rendering plug-in, the project is
converted to use the Advanced 3D rendering plug-in. As third-party plug-ins become available, you can choose them
from the Advanced section of the Composition Settings dialog box.
Paul Tuersley provides a pair of scripts for converting a composition based on a layered Photoshop file into a set of
3D layers,
www.adobe.com/go/learn_ae_paulphotoshop3dlayers .
You can download an example project from the AE Enhancers forum that shows how to arrange several 3D layers in
the shape of a sphere, control the layers with a null layer, and light them:
www.adobe.com/go/learn_ae_oscarussphere3d .
Several plug-ins add the ability to manipulate, warp, and extrude 3D shapes in After Effects. Rich Young of AE Portal
provides information about Zaxwerks 3D Warps and Zaxwerks Invigorator PRO, two such products:
www.adobe.com/go/learn_ae_richzaxwerks3d .
See also
“Work with per-character 3D text properties” on page 293
“3D files from other applications” on page 77
“Shortcuts for 3D layers” on page 649
“Cameras, lights, and points of interest” on page 176
“Layer 3D attributes and methods” on page 572
Convert 3D layers
When you convert a layer to 3D, a depth (z) value is added to its Position, Anchor Point, and Scale properties, and
the layer gains Orientation, Y Rotation, X Rotation, and Material Options properties. The single Rotation property
is renamed Z Rotation.
When you convert a 3D layer back to 2D, the Y Rotation, X Rotation, Orientation, and Material Options properties
are removed, including all values, keyframes, and expressions. (These values cannot be restored by converting the
layer back to a 3D layer.) The Anchor Point, Position, and Scale properties remain, along with their keyframes and
expressions, but their z values are hidden and ignored.
See also
“Work with per-character 3D text properties” on page 293
“Layer switches and columns in the Timeline panel” on page 147
“Shortcuts for 3D layers” on page 649
Convert a layer to a 3D layer
❖ Select the layer’s 3D Layer switch in the Timeline panel, or select the layer and choose Layer > 3D Layer.
Convert a text layer to a 3D layer with per-character 3D properties enabled
❖ Choose Animation > Animate Text > Enable Per-Character 3D, or choose Enable Per-Character 3D from the
layer’s Animate menu in the Timeline panel.