import image into lightwave

[buss7]

as new as a newbie can get to lightwave. i have lightwave 9.3 and am curious if i can import an image of a logo and then extrude it to give it a little 3d depth then export it to after effects to do my video project. can this be done and is there a simple way that a guy like me can do it. the logo is currently in photoshop so i have lots of options to save it however lightwave likes it. thanks for the help in advance.

[pdp editor]

you can import it as a background image then use it to create geometry that can be extruded; but you cant use the image itself

[CC Rider]

Boy wouldn't that be cool!
Unfortunately there isn't a direct "import from image" type of path you can use. In that respect, 2d and 3d are just different animals...But you do have a couple of routes you can take.


1- you can import an image and use it as a background. This way you can essentially trace the image as you build it in modeler.

2- Another route to try is to export the image as EPS. If the image is constructed using paths (not likely in photoshop but still a possibility) you can export the image as EPS then import into LW. You'll still need to do work in modeler to refine it but this would at least give you a head start.

I recommend reading up and get your hands on every tutorial you can find.
Most tutorials you will find involve setting up a backdrop to use as a reference so that shouldn't be hard to find.
Check out the plethora of tutorials on this site. they'll give you a great start!
http://www.newtek.com/lightwave/training.php

Some of the "gurus" here may have better advice so stay tuned...

Good luck and welcome!
:D

[CC Rider]

You could also map the image itself to the geometry you build.
Depending on the complexity of the logo this make go a long way towards getting where you need to be.
With an image map and a bump map you could be in business.

Without seeing your logo can't say for sure, but learn about these basics to get started

[SplineGod]

There aer apps that will autotrace a bitmap image and convert it to a vector format. Those ca be imported into LW and used to create 3d geometry.

[CC Rider]

Illustrator being one of those apps...you can import the image, activate autotrace and export the resulting paths as a EPS to import into LW.

[jaxtone]

My suggestion when modeling this logo in 3D from scratch is to install the type font the logo is made of in the font directory on your machine.

If the logo isn´t designed based on an existing font the alternative is to find one or more fonts that closely looks as your desired font.

Sometimes you find that many artistically designed fonts have an existing sibling among fonts that already excist. And sometimes you can pick parts of these and then twist and tweak a little bit to get what you want.

But to be honest, when you´ve been playing around a bit in Lightwave it´s a piece of cake to create ´em from scratch as well with the tools that comes with Lightwave.

Good luck, and keep on asking if you don´t get any further... there are sooooooo many 3D-logo experts on this forum! :D :thumbsup:

as new as a newbie can get to lightwave. i have lightwave 9.3 and am curious if i can import an image of a logo and then extrude it to give it a little 3d depth then export it to after effects to do my video project. can this be done and is there a simple way that a guy like me can do it. the logo is currently in photoshop so i have lots of options to save it however lightwave likes it. thanks for the help in advance.

[3DGFXStudios]

you can also not use lightwave and do it al in AE. You can do 3D effects with text in AE .... a lot easier

[CC Rider]

you can also not use lightwave and do it al in AE. You can do 3D effects with text in AE .... a lot easier

That's a good idea too...if you have AE that is.
If you do, check out www.videocopilot.net (http://www.videocopilot.net)for a lot of amazing tutorials...

they are free and may be some of the best tutorials out there!

[safetyman]

One thing to note when exporting your vector logo from Illustrator: Make sure you export it as version 8 (or earlier) or it won't work. Illustrator made a change to it's file format after version 8 that makes it incompatible with Lightwave's importer. If you don't have Illustrator, or are having problems autotracing, I can take a look at it for you and get you an EPS file that will import into LW.

[CC Rider]

True...
You'll want to export to "Illustrator Legacy EPS"

[lwaddict]

Wow, so many answers huh? LOL.

First, as a newbie, you need to go through the entire manual.

And since they left it out here...
you can, in fact, just take the image and displace a flat plane to sort of "pull" the geometry from it for yet another effect altogether.

Hang in there,
and welcome to Lightwave and it's community!

LWAddict