IMAGINE A PROFESSIONAL 3D ANIMATION RENDERING SYSTEM FOR THE AMIGA TUTORIAL MANUAL BY RICK RODRIGUEZ PRESENTED BY BEERMACHT THANX FOR TYPING MONEYPENNY Table Of Contents: Introduction 1 The Basics 1 Why Can't I Just Draw My Object? 2 The Coordinate System 3 Building Blicks 4 The Modelling Process 4 Lights,Camera,Action 5 Getting Around Imagine 7 Quad or Full Screen Views 7 Coordinates 7 Screen Resolution 8 Grid Controls 8 Screen Display 9 Perspective 9 Interactive Editing 10 Alternate Modes and Pick Methods 10 Keyboard Equivalents 12 Quick Start 13 Warranty Information 13 Back-Ups 13 Hard Drive Installation 14 Starting the Program 14 Your First Project 15 Detail Editor 27 Creating a Tutorials Project 27 Tutorial 1-The Letter A 28 Tutorial 2-Auto-Facing with Slice 33 Tutorial 3-Creating a Smooth Curve 36 Tutorial 4-Creating a Terrain 38 Tutorial 5-Creating a Flag 40 Tutorial 6-Spin vs.Sweep 41 Tutorial 7-Hide Points 43 Tutorial 8-Conform to Cylinder 45 Tutorial 9-Conform to Sphere 46 Tutorial10-Attributes 47 Tutorial11-Brush Wrapping 49 Tutorial12-Texture Mapping 53 Forms Editor 55 Cycle Editor 59 Tutorial 1-The Walk Cycle 60 Tutorial 2-Other Cycle Options 67 Stage Editor 69 Tutorial 1-Path Creation&Editing 69 Tutorial 2-Assigning a Cycle Object to a Path 70 Tutorial 3-Zooms,Hinges & Lighting Effects 73 1 INTRODUCTION: ------------ Attempting the creation of a manual like the one you hold in your hands is something of juggling act.On the one hand,it is our earnest desire to cover every minute aspect of this software thoroughly so that there can be no mistake as to its operation.On the other hand,we know that we frankly haven't the time to do this.And ,to be honest,we know we haven't even begun to test the limits of every feature in here. Although we at Impulse have been trying to beat this software to death for the past year,we know that the moment you get it in your hands,you'll be attempting and accomplishing things we never imagined. What you hold in your hands is a vain attempt to briefly illustrate the potential offered to you by this software.Truly amazing things are possible,but we have chosen to create more mundane exercises in the interest of time and the hopes that you will supply all the imagination. Like any fine tool,you'll get greater utility from this software if you are willing to invest the time to study it and experiment with it.A lot of the drudgery of the previous programs has been eliminated from this software,but creating artificial realitites takes more than just Imagine; it takes plain hard work and perseverance. Have Fun! THE BASICS Navigating around our 3D universe is no big deal to most of us.Moving about and interacting with other objects is a basic skill that humans master very early in their lives.Unfortunately,translating this instinctive knowledge to a flat,two-dimensional plane like a computers screen is not quite as easy.Each object in this artificial 3D space must be mathematically defined -1- and then positioned.Even the simplest scene might involve thousands of calculations.Fortunately,Imagine and the Amiga take care of most of the math.As a user,you simply have to understand some of the ground rules. If you have worked with other 3D programs on the Amiga or other platforms,you may wish to skip ahead to next section.For those of you not accustomed to thinking in terms of xyz coordinates,what follows is a brief introduction into the often confusing realm of three dimensional modeling and animation. WHY CAN T I JUST DRAW MY OBJECT? Why not,indeed.Since its inception,the Amiga community has benefited from the availability of some of the microcomputer worlds finest paint and animation products.Virtually anyone with a modicum of artistic talent can create digital art with the Amiga and a paint program.Many artists who successfully master the techniques of two dimensional computer art logically want to explore the possibilities of translating their work into third dimension. But few traditional artists are prepared for the steep learning curve demanded by this new medium.And to make matters worse,no Amiga 3D program has given the artist the responsiveness or immediate feedback enjoyed in a paint program.Creating a three dimensional object is not as intuitiv as dragging a cursor around the screen.Assigning a color is not as simple as using the Fill tool.Therefore,with powerful animation features becoming standard in a paint programs,why bother with 3D at all? Used properly,so-called 2-1/2D animations can convey a convincong illusion of a third dimension;however,if one wishes to look at an entirely different view of an object,the artist will most likely have to redraw it.Animation -2- programs like DPaint III manipulate pixels of color with no understanding of what the pixels themselves represent.Expanding an object soon enlarges its pixels to the point where the object is unrecognizable,while rotating a bitmap image can distort it beyond repair. In a three dimensional program,each object is defined by precise points which may be moved,rotated or scaled without affecting the integrity of the object itself.Therefore,although 3D object creation may be a tedious task,once an object has been defined,it may be reused in countless animations and viewed from any necessary angle without any further work on the part of the artist. Mastering three dimensional art provides exeptional benefits for both the traditional artist,as well as the less artistically inclined.Exploring the application of collor,texture and lighting,stunning vistas are possible even for those without basic drawing abilities. THE COORDINATE SYSTEM Imagines canvas is defined in three dimensions.As represented in the front view,they are: x(left to right),z(up and down) and y(in and out).Each location within this world has a discrete "address",represented by a three numbers.Each number equates to a position on one the the three axes. The precise cewnter of the Imagine world is 0,0,0.There is no limit to the extents of any axis,either positive or negative. To elaborate,presume we are looking at the front view.A value of -100 on x would indicate that a point is 100 units to the left of center.A z value of -100 would place a point 100 units below center.Presuming that the plane of our computer screen represents 0 on Y,a-100 value on that axis would place the point 100 in front of center.A positive 100 on Y would mean that the point is located 100 units inside the screen. -3- Because a simple two dimensional plane is inadequate for representing those points which would be swirling around in front of and behind your head,Imagine presents the user with three orthogonal views.The front view represents the x,z scene we just described.The right view presents the y,z perspective.In this view,points on the y axis travel left to right.The top view represents the x,y perspective.In the top view,y values are indicated up and down. To place a point accurately in 3D space,it must be postioned by referring at least two of the ortogonal projections.Positiong points only in the front view will not guarantee that the points are placed properly along the y axis.Merely relying on the right view may mean that points you intended to place at the center of your object end up on either side of it. BUILDING BLOCKS There are several basic elements which are common to every 3D object in Imagine.These are the: Axis,which represents an objects center of rotation(every object you create from scratch in Imagine must begin with an axis!); Point,a distinct location in space,defined by units on the x,y and z axes; Edge,a straight line segment connecting two points ;and Face,a triangular area defined by any three points and two edges. No matter how complex your three dimensional object is,it begins with these simple building blocks. THE MODELING PROCESS Every object or project may be somewhat different but there is a general -4- standard flow for the modeling process which should remain consistent throughout most of your work. Presuming that you are building a simple object from scratch,you will most likely commence your work in the Detail editor.In this module ,you will add an axis to the work surface.You will then add points and add edges (or add linbes,which accomplishes the two functions at one time) into the basic shape of your object.Next,you will add faces to one of the two shapes.If you care to,you can give your object deoth by molding it.When you've extruded or spun the object to your satisfaction,you will define its attributes and save the object to disk. That's it! In order to create more complicated objects,you can combine primitives like spheres,cubes or cylinders or more organic shapes created with Imagine's Forms editor.And Imagine is the first Amiga program to offer boolean operations,which allow you to drill holes into objects and select just the pieces you wish to keep or throw away. In future chapters,you'll learn the specifics of each editing module and its functions,but they all require a fundamental understanding of the 3D coordinate system and the basic building blocks that make up the 3D objects. LIGHTS,CAMERA,ACTION Once an object has been modeled,it must be rendered.Rendering takes into account all of the objects surface attributes as well as the scenes global settings,lighting and camera placement. Only when all of these variables have been defined can Imagine create a finished image. Imagine begins with the fastest,most sophisticatedrendering engine available on the Amiga,offering four kinds -5- of brush wrapping,algorithmic texture mapping and a host of other features. Putting these beautifully rendered scenes into motion is a snap with Imagine's Stage Editor,which combines interactive controls with the precision of a graphic script editor. -6- GETTING AROUND IMAGINE A great deal of time and thought went into creating a consistent presentation for each of Imagines editing modules.The same commands and keyboard equivalents control display parameters in every editor for maximum ease of use. QUAD OR FULL SCREEN VIEWS Imagine is the first Amiga 3D program to introduce the Quad View,which gives you the traditional front,right and top orthogonal projections along with a continually changing wireframe perspective. From Quad view,full screen views are only a mouse click away at any time.To see a full screen display,simply click the left mouse button in the rectangular label to the immediate left of the view you wish to enlarge.While in the full screen view, a similiar click on the label will return you to the Quad view.Or ,you may click on any of the views listed on the right side of the screen to jump to those views. COORDINATES As you jump from view to view ,you may need to know exactly where your -7- cursor is at any point.Imagine offers a dynamic coordinate display in the title bar which can turned on and off as you desire.To toggle this display,select Coordinates from the Display Menu.Each views respective depth coordinate is inactive in that particular view.For example,only the x and z coordinates are active in the front view.To manipulate points at a specific depth,use the Hide Points command in the Detail Editor. SCREEN RESOLUTION Imagines default screen display is a highresolution,interlace(640x400). This mode offers the greatest detail for editing objects.The default colors for Imagine have been selected because they tend to minimize annoying interlace flicker.Those users who don t have Flicker Fixers or 3000 series Amigas may wish to select a non-interlace screen. From Display menu,Interlace toggles between 400- and 200-line resolutions. Your settings will be saved for the next time you load this project.If you wish to make non-interlace the setting to which Imagine defaults,see chapter on editing your configuration file. GRID CONTROLS The grid in the orthogonal views may be toggled on and off or set to your precise specifications. The deafult size for the grid is 20 units.to change this value,select Grid Size from the Display menu.Enter the new value and click on OK. The grid will resize itself in all views. Selecting Grid On/Off from the the Display menu toggles the grid on and off. Imagine offers a helpful "snap to grid" feature in the Detail and Forms modules.Selected points will jump to the nearest grid intersections when Snap to Grid is selected from the Functions menu.Any points entered will automatically snap to grid if the Lock item is selected as the Pick Method from the Mode menu. -8- SCREEN DISPLAY Imagines orthogonal views have up to 16 levels of magnification and allow the user to jump to a specific magnification level at any time. Selecting the Zoom In or Zoom Out commands from the Display menu will double or halve the current zoom setting.Selecting Set Zoom from the Display menu will allow you to enter a custom zoom value. Occasionally,the Amiga s screen refresh will be interrupted by a complex task,particularlywhen cutting and pasting objects onto the editor.Selecting Redraw from the Display menu will restore all the views of your project. PERSPECTIVE The perspective view in Imagine adds a new level of functionality to the software,allowing the user to instantly see the effects of change to objects. The default format for the Perspective window is Wireframe.Imagine introduces a second wireframe mode offering hidden line removal called Solid. You may toggle between the two settings in the Display menu.Solid takes slightly longer to redraw than Wireframe,so you may wish to edit primarily in Wireframe and go to Solid only when you wish to analyze your perspective view.The perspective refresh is independent of your editing functions.You do not have to wait for the perspective to redraw before performing another function. The third perspective mode is Shaded,which provides a full screen,16-level gray,flat shaded view.This mode gives a coarse representation of your -9- object s final appearance. To enter this mode,select Shaded from the View menu and click once on the Perspective label to the immediate left of the Perspective view. INTERACTIVE EDITING The Detail and Stage Editors feature interactive editing commands that make object modeling and animation highly intuitive. Objects can be moved,rotated and scaled instantly with one keystroke and the move of a mouse. With your object selected,typing m,r,or s,turns it into a boundingbox. Holding down the left button and dragging the mouse moves,rotates or sclaes the objects,respectively. Movements can be limited to one or two axes by typing x,y or z to turn the desired axis channels off. If you wish to affect your object along only one axis,you may turn only that one channel on directly by typing Shift-X,Y or Z. To affect only an object s axis,select the object and type Shift-M,R,or S. The default condition for all transformations is World,which assumes that any movement,rotation or scaling occurs along the world s fixed axis.However,it is sometimes desirable to transform an object along its Local axis,the alignment of which varies depending upon any prior transformations it may have undergone.To toggle betwween world and local channels,type w and l,respectively. ALTERNATE MODES PICK METHODS Imagines offers various modes where only groups ,objects,points,edges or faces can be added or selected and three different ways to pick them. The default mode is Pick Groups.A group is comprised of various individual object which have been combined.Each -10- individual object in the group retains its axis of rotation and all attribute information.Groups retain hierarchical information based on the order in which they were grouped.The first object selected when the group was created is the group s parent.Purple lines join the parent object s axis with the other axes in the group.In group mode,selecting a child of the group will have no effect. In Pick Objects mode,individual members of a group can be picked and edited. With an object picked,Pick Faces permits editing of that object s individual faces.This is useful because Imagine permits individual pbjects faces to have their own surface color attributes. Pick Points allows selection of any or all of the many points which make up an object. The default pick method is Click,which simplky allows you to click directly onto the group ,object or point which you wish to pick.The color of picked objects or groups is red or pink.Picked points turn yellow.All color schemes may be changed by editing the Imagine.config file supplied with this software.See the section on the configuration file for more details. Imagine also offers a Drag Box for picking various objects or points.Hold down the Shift key,and drag out a box surroundung the axes or points you wish to select.The selected points will turn yellow,and the title bar will read Multi along with the number of points currently picked. Lasso offers yet another way to pick ,ultiple points,but,unlike the drag box,the points need not be contiguous.Hold down down the shift key and outline the points or axes you wish to select. To interactively manipulate the points selected by the pick methods:continue to hold the shift key;move the cursor to another position in one of the windows and depress and hold the left mousebutton.A yellow point will appear in the view.Release the shift key and the selected points will be attached to your cursor.Release the mouse button after you have made the desired move. -11- KEYBOARD EQUIVALENTS Virtually every command in Imagine has been give a keyboard equivalent.Pressing the Right Amiga key and the appropriate letter will result in the same effect as pulling down a menu and selecting a command. This offers a major time savings which will more than compensate for the time you invest to learn these keyboard commands.Each keyboard shortcut is listed alongside its menu equivalent.All keyboard commands are summarized elsewhere in this manual. -12- QUICK START: ----------- We assume most of you have ripped open the package,thrown this manual aside and plopped in your disks.Therefore,some of the material in this section may be unnecessary.However,for those of you with enough self control to peruse this manual first,this chapter is intended to give you a quick trip through Imagine's features.Within a reasonably short time,you'll have an interesting animation playing on your computer screens,while those impatient ones who acted too quickly will still mucking about with menus and requesters. WARRANTY INFORMATION Before doing anything else,please take the time to fill out and return the warranty card enclosed in your package.This warranty card will make you eligible to receive Impulse's software updates and information on new product releases.Impulse is dedicated to providing its customers with the best software and hardware products on the planet,but no company can service customers it can't reach. BACK-UPS Before using Imagine,make sure to make a back-up copy and put away your original disk in a safe place. You will notice that Imagine is not copy-protected in any way.You are free to make as many copies as you need for archival purposes.Impulse could have opted to use disk or manual protection schemes,but it hopes that common sense will keep you from spreading this product to your friends.Many man-years have gone toward the develop- -13- ment of Imagine and Impulse hopes that you understand the cost involved.Impulse has attempted to price this product fairly so that it is within the reach of any computer user. Refer to your Amiga manual for information on duplicating a disk. HARD DRIVE INSTALLATION Duplicate your Empty icon.Drag the copy onto the hard disk partition where you wish to install Imagine.Rename the "Copy of Empty" drawer "Imagine" or some other appropriate name. Insert your backup disk in a drive,double click on the disk icon to open the disk window. Drag the Imagine program icon (or ImagineFP for users with 68020 or above processors) from the disk window to the Imagine drawer on your hard drive. Open a Shell or Cli and type: "Copy Imagine:Imagine.Config to DH#:Imagine." Replace the # with the appropriate partition number.This will copy Imagine's configuration file to your hard disk. Imagine also includes two sub-directories named "Textures" and "FX".If you wish to locate these on your hard disk,type. "Copy Imagine:Textures/#? DH#:Imagine/Textures." Replace the word Textures with FX to copy the FX sub-directory. STARTING THE PROGRAM From the workbench,open your disk or hard disk directory icon and double click on the Imagine icon.A3000,2500 or other accelerated machine users should click on the ImagineFP icon. From the CLI or Shell,type "Stack 10000."Change directory to your Imagine disk or hard drive directory and type "Run Imagine." -14- In low memory situations,you may wish to omit the Run command. YOUR FIRST PROJECT If you haven't already done so,start Imagine now.After a moment,you will be greeted by the Imagine logo.This is Imagine's title screen,the launching pad for all of your projects. Pull down the Project menu and select New. A requester will appear.Selecting Disks will list all drives mounted on your system. Click on the floppy or hard drive partition you wish to use for this exercise.If you have more than 3 megs of RAM,you may wish to utilize the RAM disk for this project.If you are using floppy disks,be sure to have a frsh,initialized disk ready for the tutorials in this manual. Type in the name of your new project.Name this project "FirstProject". After a moment,you will be greeted by the RenderingScreen. Imagine has just created a directory and one subdirectory for your project. If you named the project "FirstProject",your disk will now contain a FirstProject.imp directory with Objects as asubdirectory.The imp. directory also contains a file named "Staging" which is periodically updated throughout your work.Imagine allows you to create multiple versions of your -15- projects in varying resolutions and formats.These versions are called Sub-Projects.At the top of the Rendering Screen you may define,open,delete or modify a sub-project.Select New. A requester will appear.Enter "FirstSub" as the filename and click on OK. This action creates a sub-directory within the FirstProject.imp directory called FirstSub.pix. All subsequent image and animation files created within this sub-project are stored in this directory. The program now displays the Rendering Sub-project Parameters requester, which allows you to set the current rendering method,picture and pixel sizes,file paths,file formats and viewing modes.We will accept all the defaults.Select OK. You are now back at the Rendering Screen.Pull down the Editor menu and select Forms. After a moment,you will be looking at the Form Editor's Quad view.This is the default view for each editor in Imagine.Simply click on the labels marked Top,Front,Side and Perspective to work on a full screen view.Clicking on the current view's name will return you to the Quad view. -16- The Forms Editor is used to create shapes which would be difficult to create in any other modeling program. We are going to create a simple animation of a red sphere metamorphosing into a blue cube.Forms can be used to create far more complex shapes than these,but you'll have plenty of time to experiment later. Go to the Object menu and select New. In the Forms requester,enter 12 for the number of the points and 8 for number of slices.Select OK. A rough approximation of a sphere will be visible in all four views. Go to the Display menu and select Solid.The perspective view will redraw and hidden lines will be removed from the wireframe. REturn to the Display menu and select Shaded.Move to the Perspective view and click once on the rectangular label on its left.The Quad view will be replaced by a 16-color high resolution screen.Your sphere will now be represented as asolid,flat shaded model.Return to the Quad view by clicking once on the Perspective label at the left side of the -17- screen. To morph during an animation,we needed two versions of the object.From the Object menu,select Save.Save your object as "Form.1".Imagine will allow you to save your objects anywhere,but we stringly recommended that you designate the Objects sub-directory of the FirstProject.imp directory as your destination path. Now we need to convert this form into a cube.Go to the Display menu and select Grid Size. Enetr 100 in the Grid Size requester.The grid will redraw to the larger size. Go to the Select menu and highlight Lock.this makes all edited points snap to the grid's intersections. Go to the Symmetry menu and select 90 Degrees. The default method of point selection is Click mode,which only requires a click of the left mouse button to pick a point.Go to the Select menu and choose Drag Box.Now,in order to select a point,you must hold down the left mouse button and drag a rectangular around the point(s) you wish to select. Go to the Front view.Hold down the shift key and drag a box around the two points in the lower right corner of the sphere.The points will turn red along with their counterparts in the Right view. Still holding the shift key,move the cursor to the grid intersection to the right and click once.Release the shift key and the points will jump to the grid intersections.Continue to do this to all the corners of the form until both the -18- front and right views depict a square with six points.You'll notice that the Perspective view depicts a cylinder,which is the shape definded by these forms. Go to the Symmetry menu and select Off. Now go to the Select menu and highlight Lasso.This pick method expects you to draw a freehand lasso around the point(s) you wish to select. Go to the Top view,hold down the shift key,and draw a lasso sourrounding the four points in the top and lower right corner of the form which do not currently intersect with the grid.The points will turn red. While still holding the shift key,move the cursor to -19- the top right grid intersection.Click once and release the shift key.All the points will sanp and the right side of the form will become a straight line.Repeat the same steps for the left side. Your cube is now done .Select Save from the Object menu and name this object "Form.2". Go to the project menu and select Detail Editor. This action loads the Detail Editor,the portion of the program in which you will spend most of your time when modeling objects.Many of this module's commands will be familiar to users of Turbo Silver.However,a great deal of effort has gone into streamlining the interface and making it highly interactive. Go to the Object manu and select Load. Load Form.1. Pick your sphere by clicking once on its axis,located in the exact center of the object. Now go to the Object menu and select Attributes. The attributes requester will appear.Click on the Color switch.The Red,Green and Blue labels will become inghosted.Set the Red value to 190 by typing in the number -20- or using the slider bar.Set the Green and Blue values to 0. Next ,select the Specular switch,set the sliders to 190,190 and 190. Select the Dithering,Hardness and Shininess switches and enter 255 for each. Click on Phong to smooth the sphere. Select OK to exut the atrributes requester. Select Save from the Object menu.Saving the object as "Form.1" will overwrite the previous file. Go back to the Object menu and load Form.2. A yellow cube will overlap the blue sphere.In Imagine's color coding scheme,blue or pink designates that an object is picked,yellow designates that an object is selected and ready to be picked. Go to the Pick/Select menu and highlight Pick Select.This will turn Form.2 pink (picked) and Form.1 white (unselected). Select Attributes from the Object menu. In the attributes requester,click on Load.This presents a file requester. Select Form.1 .This loads all the attributes you se- -21- lected for Form.1 into Form.2 . Select Color and change the values to 0 for Red and 190 for Blue. Click on the Phong switch to make the object faceted.Click on OK to exit the attributes requester. Save your cube as Form.2 .Now we're ready to animate! From the Project menu,select Stage Editor. A requester will appear asking you whether you are sure you wish to quit the Deatil Editor.Click Yes. The Stage Editor is one of the most powerful animation tools ever attempted on the Amiga.This is the area of Imagine where you set your camera angles and lights and place all your objects in motion. Select Load from the Object manu and load Form.1 . Go to the Display menu and select Camera View.The perspective will redraw and you are now seeing the pshere from the camer's point of view.It is obviously too close. Go to the Display menu and select Zoom Out.This widens the view in the orthogonal windows without affecting the camera perspective. The circle with the line protruding os the camera.In the top view,clickonce on the camera to pick it.It will turn blue. Type m for move.The camera will now turn yellow.This signifies that the object may be transformed interactively. -22- Use the cursor down arrow to shift the top view forward. Nowhold down the left mousebutton and drag the camera further away from the sphere.Press the spacebar to accept your modification.The camera's view of the sphere will be smaller,but the sphere will no longer be centered correctly.Type r and x,for rotate on x axis. Now fo to the Right view and tilt the camera slightly so that it has a better orientation.Press the spacebar to see the result of your action.This method of pointing the camera os ok for wide views of many objects,where slight inaccuracy in centering may not be apparent,but for a single object,this is quite tedious.It is macuh easier to track the camera to the target object so that the program will take care of centering automatically. Go to the Object menu and select Action.This presents the Action Script, which represents the heart of Imagine's animation system. Click once on Delete.The highlighted button will turn red.Place your cursor at the intersection of Frame 1 and the Camera's Align var.Frame 1 and the word Align will turn red.Click once and the blue align bar will vanish. Select Add and return to the same position.Click once.The title bar will read:"Starting frame is 1.Choose ending frame." Click again in the same position.A new align bar is placed on the script and a Specify requester appears.Select Track to Object.The Track to Object info requester appears.Enter Form.1 as the object name and -23- click on OK. Select Done.the Stage Editor will reappera and the sphere will be perfectly centered in the Perspective view.Select Action from the Object menu.Now we need to declare the number of frames in our animation. Change the number in Highest Frame # to 30.Thirty frames will now be enetered into the frame counter. Select Add and move the cursor to the intersection of Frame 2 and the Actor line next to Form.1 .Click once .This is the starting frame for the new actor. Go to Frame 30 on the same line.This its ending frame.A file requester will appear.Load Form.2 . the Object File info requester now appears.Enter 28 in the Transition Frame count.This means that the program will calculate 28 intermediate frames between the beginning and the ending forms.Select OK.Select Done. At the Stage Editor,select Make from the Animate menu. The Start,End,Step requester allows you to set the starting and ending frames and the number of frames to step.Accept the defaukt by pressing Return. Your aniamtion preview will begin calculating in the perspective view. Select Cancel if you wish to quit the preview calculation. -24- When the generating is complete ,go to the Animte menu and select Play Loop.Your wireframe will play back at approximately 30 frames per second. Use the slider to adjust playback.When you're done viewing your preview ,select Quit.Now we must set lights for our aniamtion.Select Action from the Object menu.At the Action SCript,select Add and go to the Frame 1,(new) Actor intersection.Click once on 1 and 30.The Specify Type requester appears.Select Light Source.Select Ok in Light Source info to accept the defaults.A light source now exists in the 30 frames. Select Info. Click once in the light's Posn.bar. In the the Position Info requester,type -1000 and 1000 for Y and Z respectively.Select OK. Select Done. At the Stage Editor,pull down the Project menu and select Save Changes. After disk activity has ended,select Project Editor.This return you to the Rendering Screen.To speed up our rendering,let's modify the default parameters we selected for our Sub-project. Select Modify.Enter 96 in both the Width and Height entries.Select OK. Click on Range.Press Return to accept the Start,End and Step values. Select Make .A requester will ask if you want Imagine to delete the individual images when it is completed.Select Yes.The program will now begin to generate an animation.The title bar at the top of the screen will display the -25- progress of each frame. When the animation is complete,select Load.When the animation is loaded into memory,select Play Loop.Your animation will play back smoothly.Adjust playback speed with any of the function keys.To exit your animation,press Escape.To close this project without quitting the program,select Close from the Project menu. You've just seen a glimpse of the incredible power within Imagine.We recommend you spend as much time as necessary with each module rather than attempting to understand everything at once.The Reference Manual provides succinct definitions of each menu and requester,so you should spend some time reading it thouroughly. -26- DETAIL EDITOR: ------------- Those of you familiar with Turbo Silver will feel right at home with Imagine's Detail Editor.This module contains many of the same commands and keyboard equivalents of Turbo's object editor.However,many new,powerful features have been added and many commands have been streamlined to greatly improve Imagine's functionality. Imagine offers a vast array of tools with which to build objects of every kind.But building an object is a complex process with many steps often involving various of these tools.Rather than provide a dry definition of each menu item,this chapter will present many tutorials which utilize most of the features in the detail editor.Where necessary,more information will be provided about the theory behind the various tools.Refer to the reference section for succinct definitions of each command. CREATING A TUTORIALS PROJECT As this manual progresses,objects created in this section will be used again in subsequent tutorials.Therefore,it is a good idea to either format a fresh disk to store the tutorials and objects or create a drawer on your hard drive for easy access.If you haven't already done so,start Imagine.At the project editor screen,select New from the Project menu.Click on Disks in the file requester.A listing of all the drives and devices mounted on your system will appear.Use the drag bar to the right of the requester to reveal other devices.Select the destination for your tutorial files.This name will appear alongside Drawer.Enter "Tutorials" as the filename.Click on OK.This -27- action has just created a Tutorials.imp directory on your destination disk.Assuming you assigned Df1: as your drawer,your title bar now reads DF1:Tutorials.Pull down the Editor menu and select Detail Editor. TUTORIAL ONE-THE LETTER A What better place to get started than the beginning of the alphabet? This tutorial will describe how to build and extrude an object from scratch and will use Imagine's add lines,add faces,lock (snap to grid),grid resizing and drag points functions. Note that the title bar reads: "Detail Editor:Pick Groups." This is the default setting for all the editors.As you select different settings from the modes menu,the title bar will change to indicate your current status. From the Functions menu ,highlight Add with the left mouse button.A sub-menu will appear just below and to the right.Highlight Axis and release the button.An axis will be placed on your worksurface.Click on the Front label in the lower left corner of the screen.Your quad view will now be replaced by a full screen front view. Your axis is currently yellow,which means it is selected and ready to be picked.You may only manipulate an object when it is picked! Click once on the center of the axis and it will turn pink.This is Imagine's method of color coding.White objects are unselected.Yellow objects are selected. Pink or blue objects are picked and ready to be edited .An alternate method of picking your axis is to go to the Pick/Select menu,and highlight Pick Select.From the Mode menu ,highlight Pick Method and se- -28- Lect Lock from its sub-menu.This now snaps all points entered to the grid intersections.Go to Mode menu and select Add Lines.This command allows you to place on the worksurface and automatically attaches edges betweeen points.Now create the outline for the letter A using nine points.When completed,your outline should look like this: This is a decent first attempt,but the bottom of the A isn't lined up properly due to the current grid size.Go to the Display menu and select Grid Size.Enter 10 and hit return.The grid is now halved. Go to the Mode menu and select Drag Points.Click on and drag the offending points to the adjacent grid intersections so that they line up properly with the diagonal formed by the inner portion of the A's base. Return to Add Lines mode and place a triangle in the center of the outline. This will be the hole created by the crossbar.If you'd like,you can halve the grid size again so that you can align the triangle to the same diagonal.When all is said and done,your A should now look like the one to the right(sorry).Select Save from the Object menu.Save your outline as "Aout.obj". The next step in building an object is to add triangular faces so that Imagine's -29- renderer will know which outline defines a surface and which outline defines a hole. Make sure your objects is still picked and select Add Faces from the Mode menu. Now carefully click on two points at the top of the outline and the point which defines the top of the triangular hole.Two edges will be drawn which extend from the top of the letter to the top of the hole. Continue to triangulate the surface of the A until it is completely filled.Make sure not to place a face on the hole in the center of the A. When completed,your A will look something like the one to the left.If your triangles are orientated differently,this shouldn't be a problem.Imagine's renderer handles acute triangles easily;however,it is worth nothing that the greater the number of regular triangular faces you add,the better the result in your finished image. To make certain that you haven't missed a face on the A's surface,select Pick Face from the Mode menu. Hold down the right Amiga key and type N.This will select the first face you created on the A's outline.Continue typing Rt. Amiga-N and cycle through every face on the object.You can cycle backwards by typing Rt. Amiga-B.If you have created an unwanted face (covering the hole,for example),select the face and then choose Pick Select from the Pick/Select menu.With the face picked,select Delete drom the Functions menu. Return to Add Face and complete any faces which were missing from your object.Return to Pick group mode.Once your object is complete ,click once on the front -30- label to return to the Quad view.Your A is now a solid object visible in the Perspective window.Of course,by looking at the top or right views,you see it's a sad excuse for a three-dimensional object.We mow want to make your A outline a solid shape with depth along the Y axis. From the Object menu,select Load.Load the Aout.obj you created previously. The outline and the filled objects overlap one another.From the Pick/Select menu ,select Pick Select.The outline is now picked. Pull down the Object menu and select Mold.The Mold Requester will appear. Click on Extrude.The Extrude Requester appears.Imagine permits the user to extrude objects to a specific length along the Y axis or along a user-defined 3D path.Our A will employ the default To Length extrusion. The default Length for extrusions is 100.Type 50 and hit return.The extrude tool offers sophisticated effects like rotating the outline as it extrudes, as well as scaling or translating it during the course of the extrusion. To take advantage of these effects,it is a good idea to have more than three sections or slices in the extrude.For our purposes,however,the default of one section is all we need. Select Perform.The outline is now extruded and the filled object serves as the A's front face.Now we need to duplicate the front face and attach it to the A's back. From the Pick/Select menu,choose Next.The filled face will be selected. From the Object menu,select Copy.Now Paste from the Object menu.A yellow (selected) duplicate will appear on the screen. From the Pick/Select menu,choose Pick Select.With the duplicate face picked,got to the Object menu and select Transformations.We want to move the second -31- face 100 units in Y. Select Translate in the Transformations requester.Enter 100 in the Y entry. Exit the Transformations requester by selecting Perform.Look to the right view and you will see that the axis of this second face is located at the back of the A. Now got to the Pick/Select menu and choose All.The extruded outline and the two faces will be selected. Select join from the Functions menu.This combines the three objects into one.Our letter is finished.To get a better look at it,go to the Perspective view and drag the lower slider slightly to the right.This rotates the point of view on the vertical axis. The default for the perspective window is wireframe.To utilize hidden line removal,go to the Display menu and select Solid.To see an even better reprsentation of your object,select Shaded from Display menu and click once on the Perspective label.A full screen,flat-shaded view will be displayed. To rotate your viewpoint along the horizontal axis,drag the vertical slider -32- up and down. Return to the Quad view. Select Save from the Object menu.A file requester will appear.Select Tutorials.imp/Objects as your destination drawer.Name this object A_1.obj.Save your object.At this point,you may wish to build other letters of the alphabet or some other similiar shapes which can be extruded. TUTORIAL 2 -AUTOFACING WITH SLICE Creating faces manually os ok for simple objects like our letter A,but it can become quite cumbersome for large.complex shapes.Imagine is the first Amiga program ever to offer Boolean operations,which allow objects to cut holes in one another. An added benifit of having the boolean Slice command is that automatically adding faces to objects is now possible. Load the Aout.obj you created in the previous tutorial.Go to the Functions manu ,highlight Add and select Primitive from its sub-menu.This calls up the Primitive Type requester.Select Plane.This presents the Plane Parameters requester.Click on Ok to accept the defaults.What we will now do is create a "cookie cutter" out of the A outline which will punch a hole out of the plane. -33- In order to do this,we must first extrude the outline.The slice command does not work with two flat objects! Select the A outline.Go to the Mold requester and select Extrude.Change the default length of the extrude to 10.Exit the Extrude requester.Select the Plane.Type m for Move.A bounding box will appear in place of the plane.Using the mouse,position the planeso that it is precisly in the middle of the extruded A outline.Type sto scle the plane so that it is larger than the A outline.Press the spacebar to accept the changes to the plane.With the plane selected,hold down the shift key to enter Multi mode. Select the A outline.From the Object mneu,select Slice.After a moment,a cancel requester is visible,the computer is calculating the boolean operation.You may get a requester which reads:"Error:an edge is too close to an edge,or too near to a face."This means that Imagine is unable to -34- determine where a new edge should be created.You can generally correct this condition by selecting the plane and moving it in the appropriate direction to avoid any edges or points overlapping.When the operation is complete,your two objects will be replaced by a group consisting of the many components created by the slice command.In group Mode,select All from the Pick/Select menu. Select UnGroup from the Object menu.Now you may select the individual components which you wish to keep or discard. Cyclethrough the objects by typing Right-Amiga N until you find the filled A object.From the Pick/Select menu,select Unpick Select.Now all the objects except the filled face object are picked. From the Functions menu,select Delete.All the picked objects will be deleted.Click on the filled object to pick it.Select Transformations from the Objects menu. -35- Click on Position and enter 0 in the x,y and z entries.Exit the Transformations requester by selecting Perform.Load the Aout.obj again.If the two objects don't overlap precisly in all three views,select the outline,and position it at 0,0,0 using the Transformations requester. Once the outline and the filled face overlap precisly,select All from the Pick/Select menu and Join from the Functions menu. This method of facing is probably too cumbersome for a simple shape like our,but if you have a very complex outline with hundreds of points, autofacing with the slice command can be a life saver. TUTORIAL 3 -CREATING A SMOOTH CURVE Up to now,making rounded edges or gradual slopes has been next to impossible.Combining Drag Points and Magnetism makes it a snap.Make sure that your grid size is set to 20.Add an axis.Select the axis and enter Add Lines mode.Enter Lock mode.Magnify the front view. -36- Enetr a straight line made up of 20 evenly spaced points.De-select Lock mode.With the line object selected,enter Drag Points mode.Go to the Modes menu,highlight Magnetism sub-menu amd select Setup.In the Magnetism Parameters requester,enter 400 for the radius of influence.Set the Percent at Radius to 0.Select Bell for Magnetism Type.Click on use to return to the detail editor.Now click on the center-most point in your line and drag the mouse.The line will turn yellow and follow the cursor,creating a smooth bell-shaped curve.When you are satisfied with the shape of your line,release the mouse button.Continue to pick and drag additional points until your curve looks like the one below.Return to object mode and save this objects as -37- "Curve.obj." TUTORIAL 4 -CREATING A TERRAIN Clear the editor screen with the Delete command.Add a Plane primitive.Pick the plane and rotate it on its x axis so that it lays flat.Enter Drag Points,Magnetism mode.Select Magnetism,Setup and enter these parameters: radius of influence=40 ,percent at radius=0.Select cone magnetic type and random radius.From the top view,hold down the shift key and select a point located near the center of the plane. Still holding the shift key,move the cursor to the right view,above the plane.Hold down the left mouse button and release the shift key.A set of points will spring toward your mouse button.Release the mouse button when you have -38- created a nice peak.Continue to select and drag points to create a rough landscape.If you wish ,change your magnetic setup to create a greater variety of peaks and valleys.Save the plane as"Landscape.obj". -39- TUTORIAL 5 -CREATING A FLAG Load the object you created in the previous tutorial named Curve.obj. Copy this object.Paste the copy onto the editor.Go to Transformations.Select translate and enter 200 for the Y axis.This command will move the copy 200 units in the positive Y direction.Select Perform.At the editor screen,pick both objects.From the Object menu,select Skin.In a moment,the two lines are joined to create an object resembling a waving flag. -40- Save this object as "Flag.obj". TUTORIAL 6 - SPIN VS. SWEEP Imagine offers two methods of creating symetrical objects which appear to be lathed about a vertical axis.The Spin and Sweep functions are very similiar,but their difference must be understood in order to achiever the desired result. Add an axis.Pick the axis and enter Add Lines mode.Set Grid Size to 10. Enter Lock mode.In the front or right views,carefully draw out the shape of half a wine glass.Create a set of points ten units to the right so that our glass will have an inner surface.Return to object mode Turn Lock off. -41- With the object picked,select Mold.Select Sweep.In the Sweep Data requester,select Perform to accept the defaults values.Your wine glass is complete.Save this object as glass.obj.Clear the worksurface with the Delete command.The next object we will attempt to create is a pawn.Add an axis.Pick the axis and enter Add Lines mode.In the front or right views,carefully draw out the shape to the left.Make sure that the top and bottom points are aligned with the Z axis.You may need to toggle Lock on and off to align the points for the base of the pawn.Return to object mode.With the object picked,select Mold.In the Mold requester,click once on Spin.Click Perform to accept the Spin Data defaults.Your pawn is complete.Save this object as Pawn.obj. -42- TUTORIAL 7 -HIDE POINTS Up to now,we've limited our point editing to the simplest of outlines.But often necessary to edit points or faces on objects with hundreds of points. Imagine makes this difficult task muach easier with the Hide Points command.Load the Pawn.obj you created in the previous tutrial.You'll notice that near the bottom of the object there is a flat projection.We want to change this feature to amke our pawn look a little different.Had we caught this earlier,we could have altered the pawn's outline prior to spinning.Now it's too late and we don't have time to rebuild it.What can we do? If you look up at the top view,it is virtually impossible to define which points make up this section of the pawn.Enter Drag Points mode.Now select Hide Points.In this mode,you will be able to drag a box around the points you wish to hide from view.In front view,drag a box around the points at the top of the pawn.After a -43- moment,the points you have selected vanish and you are returned to Drag Points mode.If you look in the top view,you still can't clearly define the points which make up the area you wish to alter.Select Hide Points once again and draw a box around the base of the pawn.You are returned to Drag Points mode and the only points left visible on the screen are the two concentric circles which make up the area we wish to edit.Enter Pick Points mode.Make sure you are in the Click pick mode.Go to the top view and,holding down the shift key,multiple select the points which make up the inner circle.Still holding down the shift key,move to the right view.Place your cursor slightly above the line defining the circles.Click and hold the left mouse button,then release the shift key.The points of the inner ring will jump up to your cursor.Move the mouse until the points are aligned as illustrated and release the mouse button.Enter Object mode and the pawn will redraw itself with the changes you created.Save this object as "Pawn2.obj". -44- TUTORIAL 8 -CONFORM TO CYLINDER In this tutorial we will use Conform to Cylinder to create a ring from a flat plane.Add a primitive plane.Set the plane's Width to 200 and its Hight to 50.Create 20 horizontal sections and 2 vertical sections.Select Ok to create your plane.Pick the plane.Select mold.Select Conform to cylinder. Enter 50 for cylinder radius and 200 for object width.Select Perform to accept your entries.Our plane is now a perfect band. -45- TUTORIAL 9 -CONFORM TO SPHERE The Conform to sphere cammnad attempts to do the impossible.Try for a moment to consider the problem of gift-wrapping a basketball.Three quarters of the gift look great ,but there's that messy area where the paper bunches up and you habe to cover up with a ribbon or something.Chances are you won't have a ribbon to cover up that problem when using Imagine.Conforming any object to sphere is possible ,but when attempting this with something which has sharp corners,expect to experiment to achieve acceptable results. This tutorial demonstrates the adequate settings for a head-on view of the conformed object with the minimum amount of distortion to that object.If you need to close the sphere,see Reference Manual for alternative settings. You may also consider creating a second object for the rear hemisphere and then group or join the two together.Add a primitive plane.Set the horizontal and vertical divisions to 20.Select Ok to exit the plane parameters requester.Pick the plane.Select Mold.Click on Conform to sphere. Set the sphere radius to 50 and the object radius to 50.Select Perform to accept your entries. -46- TUTORIAL 10 -ATTRIBUTES Up to now,we've created a multitude of objects,but have dealt strictly with the objects geometries.The properties which govern any object's appearance are known as material attributes.Generally,these attributes determine how light which falls upon an object's surface is reflected,transmitted or absorbed. An object's color defines what light is reflected or absorbed at its surface.For example, a bright blue object absorbs all but blue light. Frequencies of light which are not absorbed are reflected.When that light reaches the eye ,the mind perceives a specific color. Light that is not absorbed may be reflected as specualr or diffuse.Specular reflection occurs on the surface of very smooth and shiny objects.On materials like plastic,reflective light bounces off the surface with virtually no change to the light's color.On the other materials,the reflected light interacts with the property and takes on some of the object's surface color. A diffuse or soft object spreads light out evenly along its surface.This results in a matte or dull appearance.Hard objects do not spread light out as much and therefore tend to have small,very bright highlights. The atrributes requester places all of the pertinent object surface information at your fingertips.Simply select the appropriate switch for color,reflection,filter or specular and enter a value from zero to 255 for red,green and blue.Dithering,hardness,roughness and shininess are entered with the Value slider. Eacvh face in an object may have different color,reflect or filter value.Objects may not be both smooth(phong) and faceted.Specular value,dithering,hardness,roughness and shininess may not be set for individual faces. In this exercise we'll quickly mak a striped ball. -47- Add a primitive sphere.Accept the defaults for Sphere Parameters by clicking OK.Pick the sphere.Select Attributes from the Object menu.Enter 190,190,0 for red,green and blue color values.Set specualr to 190,190, 190. Set dithering,hardness and shininess to 255.Select phong.Exit the attributes requester by selecting OK.Enter Pick Faces mode.Select Drag Box for Pick method.Holding down the shift key to enter multiple select mode,draw a box about the two middle sections of the sphere. While stil in Pick Faces mode,select Attributes. Select color and enter 190,190,190.Select OK.Return to Object mode.If you wish to add more stripes,repeat the above steps for additional sections of the sphere.Save your sphere as Ball.obj. To verify that your ball is striped,you may wish to -48- render this object now. TUTORIAL 11 -BRUSH WRAPPING Located within the Attributes requester are four brush switches which allow you assign IFF picture of any resolution to objects.These brushes can replace the surface color of your object,indicate elevations on the object's surface,or define specific areas of transparency or reflectance. In this tutorial,we will show how to wrap an IFF brush as a color map onto an object we created previously.You will need to provide the Iff picture of your choice.Load the object you created earlier called "Flag.obj". Pick the object.The first thing we have to do is reorient this object so that it isn't lying flat.Type r,X for rotate on the x axis.The object will be replaced by a bounding box.In the right view,hold down the left mouse button and rotate the object until it is standing upright.When you are satisfied with your transformation,press the spacebar to accept the change. Your rotation of the object has caused its axis to become reoriented.It is always a good idea to keep your axes in the same alignment as the global axis. Type R,X,w to rotate the axis so that Z is vertical and Y is horizontal. Press the spacebar to accept your changes.If you have trouble aligning the axis precisly,select Transformations.Select Alignment and set all the values to 0.Select Transform Axis Only and exit the requester.With the object and its axis now aligned properly,the next step is to move its axis so that it is centered properly -49- within the object. (Note:this step isn't necessary for the proper mapping of a brush,but it is generally easier to control placement of an object when its axis of rotation is located at its center.) Type M for move axis.Using all three views,drag the axis so that it is centered on the flag.Press the spacebar to accept your changes.Select Attributes from teh object menu.In attributes requester,click on the Brush switch.A file requester will appear asking you to define the disk path and name of the IFF file you wish to apply to this object.Enter an appropriate name.At the brush requester,select Edit Axes.The now familiar bounding box appears,but this time it is located within your onject.This bounding box represents the IFF brush you designated. First type m and drag the axis so that it is in the lower left corner of the flag.If we were to leave the axis in this orientation,our IFF map would appear as a postage stamp on this corner of the object. Scale the brush to a more acceptable size by typing s and dragging the bounding box in any view until it extends slightly beyond the limits of the object. The flag is not the same size on all axes.You will selectively have to turn axes on and off to adjust the z and y sizes of the brush in order to properly match our object.Make sure that in the right view,the brush's z axis comes into contact with the flag's left most edge. When you are satisfied that the bounding box approximates our illustration above ,press the spacebar to accept your settings. The brush requester lists the types of brushes available to you ,as well as the method for wrapping.The defaults of color map and flat x and z are acceptable.Select OK. At the attributes requester,select OK to return to the editor screen.Save your object as "Flag2.obj". Let's quickly render this object to see how we did on our wrap.From the Project menu.select Stage Editor.At the Stage Editor,Load Flag2.obj. From the Display menu,select Camera View.The -51- flag is too large in the screen.Zoom out the orthogonal views. In top view.pick the camera and type m.Drag the camera back as far as you can without shifting the view.Accept the change by pressing the spacebar. Enter the Action script.Select Add and move the cursor to the section labeled "(new)".Place tthe cursor at the intersection of frame 1 and Actor.Click twice with the left mouse button.Select Light Source as the object type.Select Ok to accept the defaults.Select Info.Move the cursor to Lightsource.1's Posn. bar.Click once with the left mouse button.Enter -1000 for Y and 500 for z in the position info requester.Select Ok to exit.Select Done.If you are satisfied with your camera view of the flag,Save Changes. Exit the Stage Editor by selecting Project Editor.At the project editor,we need to define a new sub-project.Select New.Enter an appropriate disk path and anme in the file requester.At the modify sub-project parameters requester,select OK to accept the defaults.Move to the Stills section of the project editor,select Frame 1 and click on Generate.A countdown at the top of the screen will inform you of the progress of your rendering. When the rendering is completed,select Show to display your picture.T oreturn to the project editor,select Cancel from the pull down menu. -52- TUTORIAL 12 -TEXTURE MAPPING Texture mapping in Imagine is very similiar functionally to brush wrapping. The primary difference is that textures are algorithms which modify your object's surface.Rather than supply an IFF picture,you enter the necessary size and color information to determine the appearance of the texture. Each object may have up to four textures applied at any time.In this tutorial,we'll map a plane with the Linear texture. Add a primitive plane at the default size.Pick the plane.Select Attributes. In the attributes requester ,set the plane's color to 190 on red,and 0 on blue and green.Set dithering to 255.Select Texture 1.A file requester will apear.Enter the destination path as the Textures directory supplied with your Imagine program disk.Load the Linear texture. The textures requester contains all the entries relevant to this texture's definition.For Transition on Z,enter 100.This means that the color change will take the entire height of our 100 unit plane.For color,enter 190 on blue.Select Edit Axes. -53- The texture is represented as a bounding box .Type m and position its axis at the lower left corner of the plane.Type s and scale the axis to cover the entire plane.Press the spacebar to accept your changes. Select OK to return to the attributes requester.Select OK to return to the editor screen.Save this object as "Linear.obj". When you render the plane,it will have asmooth color transition from red to blue. -54- FORMS EDITOR: ------------ One of the limitations of the object creation methods described to this point is that complex,organic shapes are very difficult to achieve.Points ,edges and triangular faces are fine when it comes to defining a shape that you intend to extrude or revolve about an axis.But how do you create the unique curved surfaces that define a human being or an asteroid? To date,the answer for mosthas been: don't even try.Ambitious 3D artists achieved limited success by combining various primitives to simulate these organic shapes,but this method takes a great deal of time and often resulkts in many unnecessary points and faces. The Forms Editor is Imagine's answer to this problem.This unique module allows the user to design new primitives based on contour modeling which then serve as idela organic building blocks. Not every application will require the Forms Editor,but this module wil enable you to quickly and easily define shapes that closely resemble the real world along with figures that defy description. You've already had a taste of how the Forms Editor works in the Quick Start tutorial,but that form was rather mundane.This brief tutorial creates an object that is out of this world. If you haven't already done so,select Forms Editor from the Project menu to enter the Forms module.Pull down New from the Object menu.Select OK to accept the defaults for the form.Go to the Symmetry menu and select 90 Degrees.From the Select menu,choose Lasso.In this mode,you can select multiple points by drawing a freehand lasso around them. You may wish to enlarge the front view for greater accurancy. -55- Hold down the shift key to enter multiple mode and draw a lasso in the top left quadrant of the front view,beginning with the point second from the top.Enclose every second point until you reach the point in the precise middle of the form.Bring the lasso back up to create a closed loop.Still holding the shift key,move the cursor up and to the left of the selected points.Click and hold the left mouse button anbd release the shift key.The selected points will spring toward the cursor.Release the mouse button when you have an approximation of the view illustrated.Return to the Quad view.Our form is looking pretty strange,but we're not done yet.In the right view,select ev- -56- ery other point in the lower left quadrant.Move the selected points inward as illustrated-Go the top view and select every other point in the form.Move the selected points as illustrated.Now look at your form.We don't know what it is,either,but we hope this gives yoiu a sense of how simple it is to cretae anything you can imagine with the Forms Editor. -57- this page intentionally left blank -58- CYCLE EDITOR: ------------ The single most difficult type of animation on the Amiga or any Computer is also the one most would-be animators wish to achive--character animation.Because of the global nature of animation controls in most 3D programs,the process of creating a simple walk is slow and arduous. In real filmmaking,a director may carefully work with an actor on his blocking (his critical positioning in a scene so that actions are visible to the camera),but the director would seldom,if ever,have to teach an actor how to walk.The film director can usually concentrate on other actors,art direction and camera and light placement and rest assured that the actor will remember how to take a step. Essentially,this is the situation the Cycle editor is intented to emulate. Once you have created basic cycles of running,walking,sitting or jumping,you can "teach" these to other actors and concentrate on the larger picture when actually creating an animation in the Stage Editor. It's important to note that cycles aren't limited to character animation,either.The Cycle Editor can be equally useful in creating a flying logo.But where this Imagine module really shines is in the effortless creation of heirarchical animation. To illustrate the concept of hierarchies in animation,consider the series of steps required to accomplish a simple task such as reaching out and picking up a pencil.The motion might begin with a swing at the shoulder which would cause the entire arm to rotate.Then,the forearm would bend outward at the elbow.The wrist might turn and the hand open.The fingers would reach outward and then grasp the pencil.The entire motion might work backwards to get the arm back at its starting position. This motion would be a nightmare if the animator had to move each body part individually.This is why the -59- concept of the hierarchy is critical. If our arm were defined in a proper hierarchy,the shoulder would be the parent object.It child would be the upper arm.The upper arm's child would be the forearm.The hand would be the forearm's child.Each finger would consist of at least two children.The knickles would all be siblings sharing the hand as parent. When the shoulder moves in any way,every other object in the arm moves with it.Because it is the lowest member of the hierarchy,a finger might move entirely independently of any other objects in the arm,while moving the hand affects its five children,the fingers. Only hierarchical control makes complex motion possible.But to date,defining a hierarchy was nearly as difficult as animating by hand.The Cycle Editor creates hierarchies interactively,making this as simple as connecting dots in a child's coloring book. By thinking of your object in terms of a skeleton made up of individual segments (bones or body parts),you can quickly map out that object's hierarchy of movement. TUTORIAL 1 -WALK CYCLE This tutorial utilizes every function in the Cycle Editor.Once you have completed this exercise,you should be (a held)able to perform every step in creating cycles of your own.If you have not already done so,begin the program now. Cycle objects are really groups of objects joined in an interactively created hierarchy.Before we can create a cycle object,we must have created the objects which will be grouped together.Each object in the hierarchy may be different,but for simplicity,our cycle object will be composed entirely out of one simple tube primitive. Enter the Detail Editor. -60- From the Functions menu,select Add Primitive.When the Primitives Types window appears,click once on Tube.The Tube Parameters requester appears.Set the Radius to 25 the height to 200.Click on Ok. Pick your tube and save it as "Segment.obj".Go to the Project menu and select Cycle Editor.The axis centered in all three orthogonal views is the cycle object's axis of rotation.The status line in the title bar will provide several important pieces of information: the current cell number,the cell's status and the current editing mode.If the cell number is followed by asterisk,that cell has been designated as a key cell.By default,the first and last cells of any cycle are key cells. When you first enter the Cycle Editor,your edit mode is Add.This mode used when defining the individual segments which make up a cycle object. Move the cursor over to the axis in Front view.With the left mouse button,click and drag downward from -61- the axis.A yellow four-sided polygon will stretch as the cursor moves further from the axis.This polygon represents a segment of the cycle object.Release the mouse button.The segment will turn white. Notice that at the bottom of the segment is a point.Click on this point abd drag a new segment out to the right.Release the mouse button. The segment you have just defined is a child of the first segment.If you wish to,you may add a child to the second segment by clicking on its control point.Segments can be attched in any orientation,but they must always spring from either the axis of roation or a previously created segment. Go to the Object Menu and select New.This action clears out the views and allows you to create a new cycle object. In the Front view,add segments in the configuration shown at right. To position your segments properly,you may wish to go to a full screen -62- front view,but make sure to return to the Quad view when you are done. Go to the Mode menu and select Assign.Your status line will change to indicate the new mode you've entered. Now move your cursor to the control point of any segment and click once with the left mouse button. A file requester will appear.Select "Segment.obj",the tube you created in the Detail Editor.After a moment,look at the Perspective view.A tube will now be visible in the area defined by the segment you selected.Continue to Assign the same object to each segment in the hierarchy.Your finished object should look like this(sorry). -63- Now we're ready for some action! The Cycle Editor is a key frame animator,which means that it expects you to enter the extremes or kex frames of a motion and the program fills in the blanks or "inbetweens". These are the key frame positions which define a basic walk cycle. In order to position our cycle object in each of these positions,you must use the Move,Pivot and Twist modes.Go to the Modes menu and select Pivot.Note that in the Right view,our cycle is only a line.Manipulating any of the segments takes a bit of trial and error.It is a good idea to click on the segment you wish to manipulate in the front or top view and move it slightly.This should make its control point visible and accessible to you in the right view. The three keyframes positions depicted above represent frames 0,5 and 9 of a walk cycle.Manipulate the segments in your object to match those of the first key position. (Note: All objects in Imagine follow paths along their Y axes.As you design your hierarchy in the front view,remember that you are actually looking at the figure's back.Therfore,for -64- your figure to travel "forward",your cycle must be drawn left to right and bottom to top in the right and top views,respectively.Also,try to keep the stride to a maximum of 40 units for this exercise.We will be placing this cycle object on a path in the Stage Editor and you must know how far the object can travel in a given number of frames for the motion to appear realistic.) When you are happy with the position of your object.select Goto from the Cell menu.Enter 9 in the cell number requester.Your status line now reads cell 9.Adjust your object so that it matches the third keyframe position. After you are satisfied with the positing of your objects,Goto frame 5. Pose your object in the second key position above.Because we had previously created only the first and last cells in our cycle,keyframes were automatically designated.Frame 5 is not automatically recognized as a keyframe position unless you designated it as such.Select Make Key from the Cell menu.Now select Last to jump to frame 9. Select First to jump to frame 0. -65- To view a preview of your cycle,select Make from the Animate menu. A cancel requester willappear amd the cycle will begin to generate in the perspective window. When the rendering is complete ,view the animation by selecting Play Loop from the Animate menu.Control the speed of playback with the animation requester.Stop the playback by selecting Quit.To view a full screen preview,select Play Big from the Aniamte menu and then Play Loop.To adjust playback speed while viewing a big animation,drag down the animation window to reveal the cycle editor and animation requester. What we have defined up to now is only half of a walk cycle.The next two key positions (frames 13 and 17) use the opposite leg and arm positions to complete the walk.When you are satisfied with your walk cycle,SAve this object as "Walker.obj". -66- TUTORIAL 2-OTHER CYCLE OPTIONS The Cycle Editor is ideally suited for making complex character animations,but virtually any kind of object motion can be defined.For simplicity's sake this tutorial will employ primitive spheres,but the objects could just as easily be letters in a logo.Select New to Clear the cycle editor.Enter Add mode.In the front view,draw out segments in the configuration depicted at right(sorry).Enter Assign mode.Assign the object you created earlier named Ball.obj to the three upright segments.The two horizontal segments serve as spacers.In the perspective view,you'll see that the three spheres are too close to one another.Select Move. -67- Stretch both spacer segments until the perspective view shows the spheres spaced properly. Play with different configurations of your cycle object and create various key frames.You'll see that the cycle editor opens up a whole new way to look at animation. -68- STAGE EDITOR: ------------ If you've already completed the quick start and brush wrapping tutorials,you have some understanding of how the Stage Editor functions. But there are many features to this module which may not be apparent at first.This chapter will attempt to cover some of the outstanding new features offered to the user. TUTORIAL 1-PATH CREATION & EDITING Oneof the easiest and most powerful tools in Imagine is the Stage Editor's path creation.Paths of any complexity can be created in a few simple steps. If you haven't already done so,enter the Stage Editor. From the Object menu ,select Add Open Path.A file requester appears.Enter an appropriate disk path and name this path "OpenPath".After a moment,the path appears on the editor as astraight line with an axis.Pick the path. Pull down the Mode menu and select Edit Path.Edit Path mode activates the Path menu and allows you to interactively manipulate the points in the path as you would any other object.The path is redrawn in white and each end is an axis.The axes represent control points for transformations.In the top view,click on the top point.Type m and move the control point over to the right. -69- The entire path will redraw itself into a smooth curve.Press the spacebar to accept cour change.Click on the bottom point in the top view.Go to the path menu and select Split Segment.A new control point is added at the exact center of the path.Pick this point and go to the front or right views.Type M and drag the path upwards on the z axis. Type r for rotate and rotate the control point along the y axis.An object aligned to this path would automatically turn in the direction indicated by the axis.Pick the middle control point and select Delete Point from the Path menu.The path will be recalculated between the two remaining points. Return to Pick Groups mode.You will be asked if you wish to save the path.Enter No.Delete the path. TUTORIAL 2-ASSIGNING A CYCLE OBJECT TO A PATH Add an OpenPath.Select an appropriate disk path and name the file "Path.obj".The default size for a path is 100 units.You'll recall that our Walker.obj took two steps for a total of 80 units.We need to scale the path so that it is easily divisible by 80.Pick the path.Enter Edit Path mode.In the top view,pick the top point and select Transformations.Select Position and enter 80 for Y.Select Perform.Pick the next point and select Transformations again. -70- Select Position and enter -80 fir Y.Exit by selecting Perform.Your path is now 160 units long,so the cycle object will be able to traverse the distance in two cycles of 17 frames apiece.Enter Pick Groups mode.Re-save the path as "Path.obj".Load the cycle object we created earlier as "Walker.obj".Pull down the Object menu and select Action to enter the Action Script.Set the Highest frame number to 34.Select Info.Click on the Walker.obj's Actor bar.In the object file info requester,enter 34 as the end frame and 2 for the number of cycles to perform.The actor bar now extends for 34 frames.Select Delete.Click on the Walker.obj's Posn and Align bars.Select Add.Go to the intersection of Walker.obj's Frame 1 and Posn.Click once.Move right to Frame 34 on the same line and click again. Select Follow Path in the Specify Type requester.Enter Path as the path name in the Follow Path Info requester.Exit by selecting OK.Go to the intersection of Walker.obj's Frame 1 and Align.Click once.Move right to Frame 34 on the same line and click again.Select Align to Path in the Specify Type requester.Selct Keep Y horizontal in ALign to Path info requester.Select Ok to exit.Select Info.Move to the Path's area and its actor line.Click once.Enter 34 as the End Frame.Select OK to exit.Select Delete and move to the Camera's align bar. -71- Click once.Select Add.Insert a new align bar for the camera in frames 1-34. Select Track to Object in the Specify Type requester.Enter Path as the Track to Object Object Name.Select Done.If you don't have a clear view of your action in the perspective viewmfirst make sure that Camera View is selected in the Display menu.Next move to the top view,Zoom Out and reposition the camera so that it can view the entire path. Select Goto and press Return for the camera view to recalculate.Select Make from the Aniamte menu.Accept the defaults for range and step.After the preview is done generating,select Play Loop. If you wish to render you animation,select Save Changes from the Project menu and then exit the Stage Editor. -72- TUTORIAL 3-ZOOMS,HINGES AND LIGHTING EFFECTS Among the amazing features of the Stage Editor is the ability to change focal length of your camera during a shot.As any experienced filmaker or videographer knows,yooms can be quite useful and give a very different sensation than trucking in and out. Hinge objects serves as anchors to other objects and modify their trajectories.For example,if an object sits at -100 on y and is hinged to an object at 0,it will travel in a parabolic arc is asked to move forward to +100 umits on y.This feature is terrific for tracking camera shots and moving lights. Imagine now features three varieties of lights and these may be morphed,tracked and hinged just like any other object.This makes possible dramatice lighting effects that greatly enhance the "production" value of your animation. The last tutorial in this manual is rather complex because it features all three of these effects.In addition,we threw in the Walker.obj and path.obj for good measure. To recreate the animation,simply enter the Action script editor and duplicate the illustrated script.(sorry) -73- The following are the entries for each bar in the action script. Camera Posn Frame 1:0,-750,200;Frame 2-34:750,-750,200 Align Frame 1-34:Track to Object "Plane" Size Frame 1:4,32,32;Frame 2-34:16,32,32 Hinge Frame1-34:"Walker.obj" Globals Actor Frame 1-34:Ambient,100,100,100; Horizon,50,0,50; +Zenith,125,0,0;-Zenith,0,0,125; Sky Blending 255. Plane Actor Frame 1-34 Posn Frame 1-34:0,0,0 Size Frame 1-34:206.5976,132.2225,206.5976 Walker Actor Frame 1-34:No. of Cycles,2 Posn Frame 1-34:Folow Path "Path" Align Frame 1-34:Align to path,Keep Y horizontal Size Frame 1-34:8,8,8 Path Actor Frame 1-34 Posn Frame 1-34:0,0,0 Align Frame 1-34:42.6,0,0 Light Actor Frame 1-34:Cyclindrical,Cast Shadows Posn Frame 1:0,-750,200;Frame 2-34:750,-750,200 Align Frame 1-34:Track to Object "Walker.obj" Size Frame 1-34:75,32,32 Hinge Frame 1-34:Walker.obj -74- When you're done entering these values,you'll have a 34-frame animation of our walker climbing our rough-hewn terrain,tracked by search light as the camera zooms back and flies around the precipice. To render the animation,Save Changes and exite to Project editor.We strongly advise you to produce some small test frames before committing to generating the entire anim.Feel free to experiment with our settings and throw in more objects,lights and frames. This is where we get off.Hope you enjoy the rest of the ride! -75-