symbol mapping to 3d shape error

[James_Hand@adobeforums.com]

when i revolve a shape in Illustrator CS, and at the same time try and map a symbol to a part of it i get an error.

"The operation cannot complete because of an unknown error. [CANT]

Whats going on here? can this be fixed?

[James_Talmage@adobeforums.com]

It's working here, James. Guess you'll have to be more specific about the shapes and symbol involved.

JET

[James_Hand@adobeforums.com]

got it working...but i find the in-built 3d features (revolve and mapping) is very primitive...ive seen better work done with dimensions. or maybe im just not going deep enough into the features?

[James_E._Talmage@adobeforums.com]

The 3D Effect is limited, and you can easily overtax it. (For example, I often encounter missing surface paths when experimenting with it for frame-by-frame SWFs.)

I give Adobe fits over many basic drawing things I think can and should be fixed. But 3D Effect is one feature set I tend to "cut some slack."

Adobe could have played it "safe" and just provided another "me,too" cheezy "extrude" tool like those now ubiquitous in other drawing programs. Instead, they leveraged some of the value they have in DImensions, rather than just letting it wither on the vine as an underselling standalone app. Then, they went to the (no doubt considerable) trouble to add new value by making it a live effect--which lets me create blends between individual 3D objects, and do other things not normally expected from simple "hero text" extrude tools.

So as a built-in, it easily blows the doors off other attempts in 2D drawing programs. (Compare it to the Extrude tool in FHMX, which was developed about the same time.)

I'm sure the designers must have expended considerable anguish over "opening the 3D floodgates" knowing users would push it beyond its practical scope (and no, I'm not saying you're necessarily doing that). But I'm really glad they went ahead and took the risk of building something more capable than they could have got by with. They included surface mapping, a reasonable accomodation for spot color work, and suport for parallel perspective.

It's yet to be seen if it will stay where it is, or if they'll find ways to bring in more of DImnensions' full capability. I particularly want to be able to intersect two or three objects in the same coordinate system, although I have no illusions about ever using it as a full-blown 3D modeler. Regardless, I think it's a wonderfully fresh & innovative feature, and I get both real practical use and alot of fun experimentation out of it.

Keep messing with it. YOu really can get some stunning results. For an example of mapping a raster image, somewhere in the archives of the Mac AI forum is a thread in which Gary Newman mapped a raster image of a planet onto a sphere. (I did a quick search, but didn't find it). Maybe someone can point you to that as at least a point of encouragement.

JET

[J.R. Bishop]

I have no experience with 3D rendering apps, and I am aware that Illustrator CS is definitely not a rendering app as of yet (give 'em 5 years), however I did notice something today when I was experiementing with the Extrude & mapping bits. I wanted to create a basic cube and was attempting to place images of some medium/complex work on those sides. Apparently if the artwork or group of artwork is too complex and you try to map it, the program doesn't even give a fight - it just crashes. There was text in the symbol I was mapping, so maybe that could be an issue. Makes me wonder how the guy in the Total Training preview got his Adobe Illustrator CS box cover to map so well without problems.

Or does my computer just suck?

ah well,
J.R.

[James_Talmage@adobeforums.com]

"I wanted to create a basic cube and was attempting to place images of some medium/complex work on those sides."

Of course it depends upon what individual users mean by words such as "complex." When it comes to this kind of feature, it's just hard to compare notes without seeing the specifics involved.

I just did a quick test:

Drew a square. White fill. No stroke.

Extruded it.

Mapped a different Symbol from the defaults in the RGB Template (fire, bumblebee, etc.) onto each of the six surfaces. Turned on Scale to fit, Shade Artwork, Hide Geometry.

Flipped, rotated, the thing with the Preview checkbox on to look at all sides.

Redid the whole thing, but this time using 300ppi rasterizations of each of the Symbols.

All worked fine. I suspect, though, that often when you see what seems to be really elaborate vector artwork mapped to a surface, the user may have rasterized it before mapping it.

Again, I know you can overtax the thing. Usually for me that just means missing shapes and such. It rarely just downright crashes me. But then, I try not to get carried away with it.

JET