quick start tutorial - strata · command, and find the apple template. eps file. once you import...

Quick Start Tutorial: Build an Apple

Welcome to Design 3D CX 7. This is a quick tutorial to get you started.

In this tutorial you’ll learn how to import an Adobe Illustrator file, Lathe it into a 3D object, use a linked Adobe Photoshop file to create texture, and then render an image of the scene.

The files you need to complete this tutorial can be found by selecting Help menu > Tutorials in Design 3D CX. This opens a web page on Strata3DUniver-sity.com where you will find all of the Quick Start Tutorial Files.

Step 1: Create a New DocumentYou can create a new document by selecting New from the File menu, or you can click on the New Document icon on the Button Bar at the top of the inter-face, just below the Menus. The New Document button is the on the left end of the Button Bar. You can also select New Empty Project from the New Project dialog.

Step 2: Import the Illustrator File.First locate the file “Apple Template.eps.” The Apple tutorial resources can be downloaded from the Help menu > Tutorials page.

From the File menu, select the Import command, and find the Apple Template.eps file.

Once you import the Apple Template file you will see the two-dimensional object in Design 3D’s Modeling window.

Quick Start Tutorial

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Press Command (Mac) or Control (Win) plus the "=" key to center the object in the Modeling window view. This is the shortcut for Fit Views to All in the Windows menu.

Step 3: Lathe the TemplateNow you can turn the 2D Apple Template into a 3D object by turning it 360° with the Lathe Tool.

First, select the Lathe Tool from the Tool palette. The Lathe Tool is located in the 2D to 3D Tools pop-up menu.

Next, click on the red handle that appears on the left-hand side of the Apple Template. Clicking on this handle rotates the template exactly 360º around the opposite axis. You can also drag the handle to Lathe more or less than 360º.

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STRATA DESIGN 3D CXQuick Start

Click on this handlewith the Lathe Tool

to create a 3D apple

When you release the mouse button, the Lathe will be completed and you can see the results in the Modeling window. However, you can select the Lathe Tool again to adjust the axis location and direction, and the rotation. For more infor-mation see Chapter 5 - Working with Bézier Objects in the User Guide.

You may want to press Command/Ctrl - = (Fit Views to All) to center your newly created apple in the Modeling window view.

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Step 4: Link a Photoshop Layered File to a Texture.Now that you have a 3D apple, it’s time to create the surface coloring and other parameters that are known as “textures” in Design 3D. To create a texture you will be using the Resource palette. If it’s not already open, go to the Windows menu and select Show Resource Palette.

The Resource palette has tabs across the top that let you manage different types of resources. For right now we’ll be using only the Textures panel of the Resource palette. To create a new texture click on the New button on the upper left of the palette.

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When you click on the New button a blank Image Texture dialog appears. Im-age Textures wrap images around the surface of your 3D objects. These images can be used to determine the color of the surface, how reflective it is and even how bumpy the surface appears.

You can load individual images into each channel of the dialog, or you can load a single layered Photoshop file to fill in these channels automatically. The texture can be linked to the Photoshop file so that future changes made to the Photoshop file will be updated in your Design 3D model. For this tutorial we have provided you with a pre-made Photoshop file to fill in these channels.

For more information, see Chapter 8 - Texture Basics and Chapter 9 - Us-ing Image Textures in the User Guide.

To load and link the Photoshop file into the Image Texture click on the Link Layered Photoshop File button in the lower right of the dialog.

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Find the Photoshop file named “Green Apple.psd” and open it. The file can be found by selecting Help menu > Tutorials.

You will see some of the channels in the Image Texture dialog become filled with images. The top channel, titled Diffuse Color, supplies the color and pat-tern for the apple's texture. This channel determines the color of the light that reflects from diffuse light sources.

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You can use the Quick Settings section to control the Glossiness and Trans-parency, or you can use the more complex settings in the rest of the dialog. For more information about the Image Texture dialog and the various texture chan-nel settings, see Chapter 9 - Using Image Textures in the User Guide.

For this tutorial, we'll use the Quick Settings. Move the Gloss slider to the right until the percentage reads about 75%. Click on the Preview “camera button” to see what your texture looks like at this point.

Once you’re satisfied with your new texture, give it a name and click on the OK button. If the apple was selected when you created the texture, the texture will automatically be applied to the apple. You should be able to see the texture on the surface of the apple in the Modeling window.

If the apple wasn’t selected when you created the texture, select the texture and drag it from the Resource palette onto the apple object. The apple will high-

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light with a red box around it when the texture is on top. When you release the mouse button the texture will be applied.

Step 5: Change the Texture Mapping"Texture mapping" refers to the way an image texture is wrapped around the geometry of an object. Lathed objects default to cylindrical mapping, so you will want to change it another mapping type. For more information about tex-ture mapping styles see Chapter 8 - Texture Basics in the User Guide.

To change the texture's mapping style, you will be using the Object Proper-ties palette. If it is not already open, go to the Windows menu and select Show Object Properties Palette.

The Object Properties palette has three panels: Object, Transform and Texture & FX. Click on the Textures & FX panel.

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Now click on the icon at the left side of the palette to show the Texture Map-ping pop-up menu. From the menu, select UV as your new mapping style.

Step 6: Set Up the LightingNow that you’ve created the apple and applied the texture, it’s time to set up your lighting. There are many ways you can light your scene in Design 3D: Point Lights, Spotlights, Ambient light, Lightdomes, etc. For more information see Chapter 15 - Lighting.

For this tutorial we will only be using Directional Lights. Directional Lights are accessed and controlled through the Lights panel of the Environment palette. If the Environment palette isn’t already open use the Windows menu to open it. By default you already have one Directional Light in your scene.

The black disk on the top left of the palette contains your Directional Light Controller. By clicking on the smaller disk and line you can select the Direc-tional light in your scene.

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Once you have selected a Directional Light (there can be multiple Directional Lights in your scene - or none at all), you can use the controller to change the direction of the light, its intensity, or even the color of the light it casts. One ef-fective method to light a scene is to use multiple colored lights. Using different colors of light will change the appearance of the apple.

- Change the color of the Directional Light by clicking on it. Now click the Color button. In the color picker dialog that appears, select a warm color such as a pale orange, and click OK.

- Now add a second light source by clicking the New Directional Light button on the left side of the Lights panel. Notice that creating a new Directional Light automatically enables the Cast Shadows checkbox directly below the Direc-tional Light Controller. This checkbox determines whether or not a Directional Light casts any shadows.

Click on the new light to select it, and move it to an upper-right angle. While your new light is selected, select a cool color such as pale blue or blue-green.

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Step 7: Render the Image

Select the Rendering Tool from the bottom of the Tool palette and click in the Modeling window to create a picture of your apple.

The tool looks like a camera because that is exactly what it is used for - to “take a picture” of your 3D scene that you can save and print or view later.

There are many techniques you can use to generate the image of the apple. These techniques are referred to as rendering methods. Use the pop-up menu under the Rendering Tool to look at the available options.

If you have an image-editing program that can read Photoshop® layered files, select the Photoshop® preset technique at the bottom of the drop down menu, and choose one of the Layers settings . This rendering method produces a layered Photoshop file as the output.

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Click in the Modeling window again with Photoshop® Layers Better selected to render the apple a second time.

Step 8: Save the ImageOnce your rendering has finished, save the image to your hard drive using the Save As... option in the File menu. Choose a descriptive name and save the im-age in the default Photoshop “PSD” format.

Congratulations! You have a realistic rendering of a 3D apple made from some simple 2D elements. When you open the resulting image file in Photoshop you will see many pre-made layers that you can adjust and blend to get the perfect image.

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quick start tutorial - strata · command, and find the apple template. eps file. once you import...

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