Tracing With Lightwave

[Oopz]

:confused:
hello everyone!!i am new to these forum and heared it helps a lot.My problem is i have used lightwave before but i still lack some of the basics because at first i thought it was too complicated.i have now developed interest in the software.I want to trace 2D sketches with lightwave and then move them,sort of a flat animation i am not even sure if it works but saw someone doing something like that.

Anyone pleeaaaase help me out!!!
thanx a million

[digimassa]

:cool:
tracing means AFAIK to convert a pixel-graphics into a vector-graphics, eg MacromediaFlash does it well.

To bring images into use in LW you can apply an image as an image map on a surface, or you can take your image as an background template and use some tools to create splines, ore you even can use your image as a projector.

LW alltogether is 3D, 2D is much easier done in a 2D tool.
So maybe its helpfull if you explain what you want to do,

[dwburman]

I think what you are trying to do is put a 2D drawing into LW so you can animate the 2D art, right?

You can project an image onto a simple plane or rectangle. You will need to make a mask or matte for the image if you want only the image to be visible. Lets say you have a drawing of a character. Make a box with no depth in modeler and give it a surface name. Be sure the polygon is facing the proper direction or simply turn on "double sided" in the surface panel.

Open the surface panel and click on the "T" next to the color channel. You want to use an "image map" and you want to use a "frontal projection map" Select the picture of the character and change the scale and position settings.

If you rendered it now you'd see your drawing on rectangle. If you don't want to see the rectangle the drawing is on you'll have to make an alpha matte (What you want to be solid is white and what you want to be invisible is black... or maybe the other way around... I don't remember.) This alpha matte should be the same shape and size of the drawing and will basically look like a sillouette. Now copy the image map from the color channel and paste it into the transparency channel. Now change out the drawing for the alpha image you made. If you render it and there is a hole where the drawing should be simply check the "invert layer" box in the transparency channel. What you should be seeing when you render is the drawing of your character and you should not be seeing the box it is sitting on.

If you want to animate your character you will want to draw out each limb or moving part separately. Take each drawing and (using the surfacing techniques I talked about here) map them onto their own rectangles. Each limb has to be in a separate layer. You will want to move the pivot point of each layer to its proper place (the shoulder, the elbow, etc) and parent the layers in a logical fashion. The hand is parented to the lower arm (so that the lower arm is the parent of the hand). The lower arm is parented to the upper arm and the upper arm is parented to the body. You may want to adjust the layers so that they aren't all in the same dimension.

I don't know if I was clear. I'm pretty tired right now. Hopefully I at least gave you some idea of what to look for in your search for help :)

[prospector]

you could also use your drawing as a background image. Save all the work of making a plane to put pic on:)

If you want to actualy animate something in 2D, then LW will do fine, (once it is set up to do so).

You could use your drawings in Modeler and make some fklat planes (say an arm, then a leg) and save them out and animate the parts in layout.

[Oopz]

hei guys, i have tried what u suggested and its amazing......its coming out very well,i am even proud of myself.

Thanx a lot!!!

[czesiu]

Hi e-body,

I have been looking for Trace kind of tool.
I mean tool that would make it possible to import 2D sketch,
for example scanned logo, into LW and then using Trace tool it would create automaticaly the polys that I could Extrude into 3D.

I remember that kind of tool from Aladdin4D. I have been looking for it in LW but I do not know if it calls the same - Trace Tool.

Please let me know someone if there is such tool i LW or I have to make it the hard way manualy.

Cheers
czesiu :confused: