Is this Impossible?

[MerryOtter]

Hi everyone,

Please have a look at:

http://www.merryotter.com/linked/tile/

(uses Director plugin)

You'll see a spinning red tile. On each face of the tile is "etched" a different glyph. They are actually grooves into the surface of the tile, not painted on to the surface.

I've been playing with the demo version of Xara3D to try to recreate this shape. If I can accomplish it, it would be terrific, because Xara3D can export an animated GIF, which is exactly what I need to do.

However, try as I might, I can't coax a way to have the two sides of the object have a different shape. As you can see, one side has a plus shape and the other has two curves.

Do any of you magicians have some ideas for me? It would seem my only option would be to have a perfectly flat tile with two different textures for the front and back.

[simsmj]

Hi, MerryOtter,
Hhmmm.. hard one that!

Not!

Two pages, Rotate animation, front side only ticked, and Xara3D will rotate the first page then change to the second page and rotate that. Each page can be totally different. In this case I used the same basic square twice, and knocked out two different smilies. The same square (intact) is nestled within both the smiley squares with a smaller extrusion to give better definition to the knockouts.

Mike

PS I had made the smilies as little icons for party invites for my son and daughter, who will be 21 in a couple of weeks. The invitations had Twinnie-One Today emblazoned across them.

[-=Drifter=-]

Mike, great info. Thanks.

Your daughter was 21?! I thought you yourself were around that age!!!

[MerryOtter]

Oh, VERY impressive. I'm just now trying to replicate this with my design. How is the small square inset inside the bigger one? And will I be able to apply a texture to it for the black/white parts?

[MerryOtter]

Ok, I figured out the bit about the inset square and I learned along the way that a graphic image can be the "text" as well. Now there's just one remaining hurdle to complete X3D nirvana...

In my first post I mistakenly assumed that I could apply a different texture to the front face and the back face.. but it seems I get to apply one texture to the face of the text, and one texture to the face of the board. If you notice, I need the colors to be different because the front is a cross and the back is a curve. What can I do about this?

[simsmj]

MerryOtter,
I'm afraid I don't use the boards or most other design options, but it looks like Xara3D regards the board selection as a global item, and can only apply one texture. I would have made the image differently.

Since you must already have the outer square shapes with the knockouts, I would change the design option to Text, and import one knockout-square, hit Return then import a blank whole square, hit Return, and import the second knockout-square, Return, and then import the blank whole square again. You should have four objects. Go to the text dialogue, and position the cursor between the 2nd and third square, and click on the Page-break diamond. Go back to the main screen, and reduce the line size to 0%, and all the objects will merge into each other.

This is what I did in the X3D file I posted. The red inset colour is the mostly hidden inner square, and there is one inside each smiley square, with a smaller extrusion. And because they are separate squares on separate pages, you can set the texture of each inner square separately. See the attached image. I just changed the colour of the inner squares rather than apply a texture, but you get the point.

Drifter, actually both my son and daughter will be 21 next Friday, as they are twins, but you are still correct, I am still 21, too. Or, at least, my wife says I am her third child! I like to claim I am just young at heart.

Mike

[MerryOtter]

Congratulations, you just sold a copy of Xara 3D

[dcahall]

OK, you guys, I have looked at these examples and do not understand how they were created. I did try but am obviously doing a lot wrong. I want to create a spinning object that has two different company logos. We have a partnership with another company and are doing some presentations where I want both logos to show up as the object (lets say a rectangle) with one logo (full color image) on one side and the other logo on the other side (again, full color).

I am still pretty new to all of this but love what I see others doing. I am obviously not the artist that you guys are but and do not spend as much time as many of you do. If there is an appropriate tutorial that I should watch to understand this, just point me there.

[dcahall]

MerryOtter,

Since you must already have the outer square shapes with the knockouts, I wGo back to the main screen, and reduce the line size to 0%, and all the objects will merge into each other.

The red inset colour is the mostly hidden inner square, and there is one inside each smiley square, with a smaller extrusion. And because they are separate squares on separate pages, you can set the texture of each inner square separately. See the attached image. I just changed the colour of the inner squares rather than apply a texture, but you get the point.


Mike

OK, how did you reduce the line size to 0%? When I try this it also reduces the size of the first square and punch out to 5% as well.

I also do not see how to change the color of the second page. What I keep winding up with is the solid square rotating or the top and bottom rotating. I am making a real mess of this and not getting any closer.

[salaam]

Hi dcahall,
Try Mike's mini tutorial at:

http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthre...jrr#post164666