{"id":1150,"date":"2016-03-23T16:41:04","date_gmt":"2016-03-23T21:41:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bobbyciraldo.com\/?page_id=1150"},"modified":"2018-05-01T23:52:47","modified_gmt":"2018-05-01T23:52:47","slug":"intro-to-3d","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ciraldo.stream\/uwm-vfx1\/topics\/intro-to-3d\/","title":{"rendered":"Intro to 3D in After Effects Lecture Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Intro to 3D<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Review of how 2D layers come together<\/strong><\/span>\n
      \n
    1. In the comp viewer,<\/strong> some layers appear in front<\/strong> while some appear behind<\/strong> other layers.<\/li>\n
    2. In the timeline,<\/strong> it’s almost as if we’re seeing the layers like a stack of sheets from the side, with an imaginary camera looking down from the top.<\/li>\n
    3. In the timeline,<\/strong>\u00a0we can drag and change a layer’s vertical ordering to move it “in front” or “behind” other layers<\/li>\n
    4. That’s how 2D layers<\/strong> behave at least, but 3D layers<\/strong> ignore layer order,<\/strong> and instead use their position in 3D space<\/strong> to determine whether one is in front or behind another.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
    5. Toggling a layer between 2D and 3D<\/strong><\/span>\n
        \n
      1. Important:<\/strong> Before getting started, make sure your comp<\/strong> is set to use the Classic 3D renderer.<\/strong>\u00a0Open comp’s settings, go to the 3D Renderer tab,<\/strong> and make sure it’s selected:\n
        \"\"
        Make sure Classic 3D<\/strong> is selected!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

        (This is the default, but it can get set to something more advanced and make your life mysteriously hard.)<\/li>\n

      2. Each layer has a 3D toggle<\/strong> switch. It looks like a little 3D cube.<\/strong> They look like this when enabled:\n

        \"screen-shot-2016-10-25-at-2-06-39-pm\"
        Layer A<\/strong> and Layer B<\/strong> are 3D layers, but\u00a0Layer C<\/strong> is a 2D layer<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n
      3. Comps can have a mixture of 2D and 3D layers, but novices should generally avoid mixing up 2D and 3D within the same comp,<\/strong> because the resulting behavior can be nonintuitive. (The exception to this rule<\/strong> is when using a 2D Solid layer for a 3D effect e.g., CC Particle World.<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
      4. New Stuff That 3D layers Can Do<\/strong><\/span>\n
          \n
        1. Red<\/strong><\/span>, green<\/strong><\/span>, and blue<\/strong><\/span> axis arrows<\/strong>\u00a0now appear on the layer at the anchor point and correspond to X,<\/span> Y,<\/span><\/strong> and a new “Z”<\/strong><\/span> direction, respectively:
          \n\"screen-shot-2016-10-25-at-2-29-41-pm\"<\/li>\n
        2. New Transform<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0properties, mostly related to adding the Z dimension\n
            \n
          1. Anchor Point<\/strong> and Position<\/strong> get new Z-stuff<\/li>\n
          2. Scale<\/strong> gets new Z-stuff<\/li>\n
          3. Rotation<\/strong> gets split into X-Rotation, Y-Rotation, <\/strong>and Z-Rotation.<\/strong>
            \nYou can think of these like axles<\/strong> that the 3D\u00a0layers rotate around.<\/li>\n
          4. An “Orientation”<\/strong> property is added, which is another set of values for adjusting the layer’s 3D rotation.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
          5. New Material Options<\/strong><\/span> property group\n
              \n
            1. Won’t do anything just yet. Mainly affects how the 3D virtual light ‘bounces’ off of or shines through these 3D layers<\/li>\n
            2. Also: whether or not the layer casts<\/strong> Shadows <\/strong>(defaults to No)<\/li>\n
            3. And: Whether or not the layer respects or ignores<\/strong> Lights <\/strong>(defaults to Yes)<\/li>\n
            4. And: How much the layer behaves like “stained glass” or gels (“Light Transmission,” <\/strong>defaults to zero.)<\/li>\n
            5. And: Rudimentary material surface properties like shininess<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
            6. X, Y, Z Axis Arrows<\/strong><\/span>\n
                \n
              1. Colored Red, Green, Blue<\/strong> respectively (just remember “x.y.z.,\u00a0R.G.B<\/em>.”<\/strong>)<\/li>\n
              2. Hover the mouse over the X, Y, or Z axis arrows until the cursor changes<\/strong>\u00a0into an arrow with an X, Y, or Z<\/li>\n
              3. With the Arrow Tool<\/strong><\/span> selected, the X, Y, Z axis arrows can be used to move the layer around<\/strong><\/li>\n
              4. With the Rotation Tool<\/strong><\/span> selected, the X, Y, Z axis arrows can be used like axle\u00a0rods to rotate the layer<\/strong><\/li>\n
              5. Make sure to hover the mouse cursor over the arrows properly before moving\/rotating<\/strong> (so that the cursor turns into an arrow with X, Y, or Z), or unexpected results can occur! (But just press undo<\/strong> if that happens.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
              6. User-created Cameras<\/strong><\/span>\n
                  \n
                1. Cameras are represented as Layers<\/strong> in the timeline panel. You create them as you would create any new layer:\n

                  \"\"
                  Creating a new camera layer<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n
                2. Once the Camera Settings<\/strong> window opens, there are two Types<\/strong> of camera to choose from:
                  \nOne-Node Camera<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0– camera behaves like it’s on a tripod.<\/strong>
                  \nTwo-Node Camera<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0– camera behaves like it’s on a selfie stick<\/strong> that’s attached to a “Point of Interest”<\/strong><\/li>\n
                3. Then you can choose from various Presets<\/strong> for the camera\u00a0Focal Length:<\/span><\/strong>\n
                    \n
                  1. 50mm<\/strong> is roughly what the human eye sees<\/li>\n
                  2. Less than that (e.g., 24mm) and it’s considered wide angle<\/strong><\/li>\n
                  3. Greater than 50mm\u00a0(e.g., 80mm) and it’s considered telephoto<\/strong><\/li>\n
                  4. The camera Focal Length<\/strong> can be adjusted (and animated) using the Zoom property<\/strong>\u00a0(accessed via the camera layer in the timeline)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                  5. Depth of Field<\/strong><\/span> toggle
                    \nWhen turned on, the camera will get a\u00a0Focus Distance\u00a0<\/strong>property. This is an imaginary plane<\/strong> which cuts thru 3D space. Items which are on this plane will be in focus; otherwise they will gradually become blurry the farther they are from the plane.<\/p>\n
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                    1. Focus Distance<\/strong> – usually adjusted later using the comp viewer to help<\/li>\n
                    2. Aperture, Blur Level, etc<\/strong> settings – control the effect of the depth of field<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                    3. Moving Cameras Around<\/strong><\/span>\n
                        \n
                      1. The Camera tools<\/strong>\u00a0in the toolbar are used to manipulate the position and rotation of the active camera.<\/strong> There are 4 sub-tools. You can press the C<\/strong> shortcut key repeatedly to cycle between them all:
                        \n\"\"<\/p>\n