The 3D Wave Effect can be applied to a Text Object to produce waving banners. The 3D Wave Effect can move letters and shapes up and down or side-to-side, rotating and scaling them as required to give the impression of 3D undulations. The colour and alpha of each letter or shape can be varied as a function of wave height. The wave can be clamped to edges of the stage for special effects such as flag waving. Cyclic image warping can be achieved by breaking an image into pieces and passing a 3D wave through the resulting shape.
The 3D Wave setting tab of the 'Effect Settings' dialog box is represented below. It can be displayed by double-clicking the 3D Wave Effect in the Timeline, or right-clicking the 3D Wave Effect and choosing 'Properties' from the context Menu.
mixed/Y
If these options are turned on, then the effect is applied to the horizontal/vertical value of each component.
Z
If this option is turned on, then the effect is applied to the Z value of each component, which is the wave height or distance out from screen. Ensure that "Use projective projection" is selected in the Camera settings for best effect when using Z values.
Color
If this option is turned on, then the Color of each component is modified according to wave height. Different colors can be specified at the peaks, zero crossings and troughs of waves as follows:
| · | -ve extreme color,
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| · | Base value color (optional), and
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| · | +ve extreme color.
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Alpha
If this option is turned on, then the Alpha value of each component is modified according to wave height. Different Alpha values can be specified at the peaks, zero crossings and troughs of waves as follows:
| · | -ve extreme Alpha,
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| · | Base value Alpha (optional),
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| · | +ve extreme Alpha.
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Amplitude
Specifies the size of the wave in each dimension as a percentage of the object's overall size.
Freq (Horz)
The number of cycles to be applied based on each component's horizontal position.
Freq (Vert)
The number of cycles to be applied based on each component's vertical position.
Freq (Time)
The number of cycles to be applied over the duration of the animation. This must be a whole number if a cyclic animation in which all components return to their starting position is required.
Freq (Radius)
The number of cycles radiating outwards from the object's midpoint. Use this value to create waves that spread out in concentric rings like ripples in water.
Notes on Frequency
The behaviour of the 3D wave is defined by a combination of all four frequency values, however the overall frequency can be adjusted conveniently using the master frequency value Freq (Time).
Freq (Horz) and Freq (Vert) values can be combined for interesting effects. Adjusting values in opposed pairs (Horz Y with Vert X) creates regular sway, in coincident pairs (Horz X with Vert Y) creates pulses aligned to the axes, and in mixed combinations creates billowing undulations.
The direction of wave travel can be reversed by using negative frequencies. Setting the
Time frequency to 0 results in a stationary wave. This is useful for effects such as
fixing blended colours in place across the components of an object.
Phase
Phase offset that defines the starting point of the wave in degrees. The wave height can be set to start anywhere between -1 and +1 using the appropriate phase offset.
Fix
Constraint that dampens the wave as it approaches edges of the stage. Check the left, top, right and/or bottom boxes to specify which edges to dampen. This setting is useful for creating waving flags or undulations within the centre of an object that do not disturb its edges.
Mirror vert/horz
If these items are checked then the wave is reflected vertically and/or horizontally about the object's midpoint. Use this option to create waves that bulge outwards to the left and right, or up and down.
Delay in/Decay out
If these items are checked then the wave height is dampened to zero at the start/end of the animation. The delay/decay takes effect once the specified percentage of duration is reached.
Delay in and Decay out should be used sparingly. Due to the nature of the transformations being applied to components, the transitions between cycles may appear slightly discontinuous if excessive delay and decay is used.
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