Ulead COOL 3D Bend Plug-in

Ulead COOL 3D provides a number of plug-in effects that you can apply to your title once you have them installed on your computer. In the full version of Ulead COOL 3D, you have the choice of installing any or all of the four plug-ins, including Board, Explosion, Twist, and Fire. Now Ulead has given you more options by adding two new plug-ins: Bend and Shadow.

This help file introduces you to the Bend plug-in and explains how you can customize the effect you apply to your title. To learn more about each property on the Attribute Toolbar as you work along, click the Help button ( [image] ) and click the item in question.

  Note:  If you have not installed all the plug-ins during installation but decide to do so at a later time, you may run Setup.exe again from the folder where you install Ulead COOL 3D and select the plug-in effect that you want.

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The Bend effect at a glance
Applying Bend effects to your title


Bend effect at a glance
The Bend effect at a glance

To activate the Bend plug-in, first select the Object Effects folder in the EasyPalette and select Bend. On the Attribute Toolbar, click the F/X button. The Attribute Toolbar then automatically changes, displaying the attributes for the Bend effect. The EasyPalette also displays all the preset thumbnails that you can readily apply to your title by simply dragging or double-clicking a selected thumbnail. (Alternatively, you may right-click and select Apply.)

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Click the attributes to learn more about each item.


Click to add the settings of the current Attribute Toolbar to the appropriate folder in the EasyPalette. Once in the EasyPalette, you can easily recall the settings and apply them to other titles.
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Working with the EasyPalette


Click to activate the plug-in effect. The Attribute Toolbar then displays all the attributes for that effect. Only then can you specify the attributes and customize the effect you want to apply to your title. Click again to turn the plug-in effect off.


Direction

Select which direction you want your title to curve. The choice you make determines which two axes Ulead COOL 3D is going to stretch and turn. Choices include:

X – Y  Stretches an object base on its X-axis and then arches it over to Y direction.

X – Z  Stretches an object base on its X-axis and then arches it over to Z direction.

Y – X  Stretches an object base on its Y-axis and then arches it over to X direction.

Y – Z  Stretches an object base on its Y-axis and then arches it over to Z direction.

Z – X  Stretches an object base on its Z-axis and then arches it over to X direction.

Z – Y  Stretches an object base on its Z-axis and then arches it over to Y direction.

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Applying Bend effects to your title


Type

Select the type of bending for your title. You have these choices:

Symmetric  Warps your object according to the specified Cutting Point, with both edges of the object bending in the same direction.

Asymmetric  Warps your object according to the specified Cutting Point, with both edges of the object bending in opposite directions.

Right  Warps only the right end of your object according to the specified Cutting Point.

Left  Warps only the left end of your object according to the specified Cutting Point.

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Applying Bend effects to your title


Level

Type in a number between 0 and 100 to adjust the transition level of the bending effect. The higher the number you specify, the larger the arch of the object becomes. A value of 0 does not apply any bending effect to your title while a value of 100 stretches the edges of your text and brings them together to form a circle.

Note: If you want to bend your text in the middle of an animation and not from the very beginning, maintain a level of 0 from the first key frame up to that where you want the explosion effect to start.
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Applying Bend effects to your title


Cutting Point

Specify the point that would determine the bending center of your object, splitting it into two parts. You can then bend either end or bend both ends either symmetrically or in opposite directions by selecting the desired direction.
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Applying Bend effects to your title


Shift Object Cneter

Specify the center of your animated object.  Leaving the box unchecked means that the bending action will happen around a central point based on the original position of the titile. Checking the box means that the title will be bend towards or away from a central point.  (This point is relative to the shape of the title during the bending motion.)

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Applying Bend effects to your title


The Attribute Toolbar

This Attribute Toolbar contains settings for changing the attributes of the applied plug-in effect. This allows you to explicitly define or fine tune settings for the various styles of that particular plug-in.


Applying Bend effects to your title

Applying Bend effects to your animation adds impact to your web site. You can customize the bend effect applied to your object or title such as twisting it in any direction and adjusting the bending point of that object.

To bend your title:

1.	Click Edit: Plug-ins or select Bend from the Object Effects folder in the EasyPalette.

2.	Click the F/X button on the Attribute Toolbar to activate the effect. Clicking it turns the plug-in effect on and off.

3.	Select the first key frame.

4.	Specify the attributes for that specific frame. Select a direction to determine which two axes of your object you want bent; select the bending type; type a value in the Level box to specify the extent of the bend effect; and specify a cutting point to determine how you want the bending to be split.

5.	Select the next key frame.

6.	Repeat step 4. The main concept is to specify the attributes not only for the first key frame but also for all the other key frames that you added to the sequence.

Note: If you want to bend your text in the middle of an animation and not from the very beginning, maintain a level of 0 from the first key frame up to the key frame where you want the bend effect to start.
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Using multiple key frame controls