Importing 3D Solid Models into AE 6.5 Pro??

[mackdadd]

No, as far as I know, AE cannot import 3D models. It can composite in 3D space, but to get an idea of what that entails, google Andrew Kramer and check out a couple of his 3D AE tutorials. It's more about the position of 2D planes in 3D space, and being able to make use of 3D lights and cameras and zdepth and things like that.

This is also a good example of AE 3D compositing. ILM using it on Van Helsing.
http://www.vfxhq.com/overflow/vanhelsinginterview.mov

[Mylenium]

1st time poster here. Got a quick question for you guys.... Using the import option to bring in a 3D file, it seems to not be working with the current filestypes I have access to. I've tried converting files any which way I can to get them to import into AE 6.5 Pro, but it seems unsuccessful.

My question now is this: I know that AE has 3D capabilites within the program, equipped with a Z-axis control point when enabled, but can it even handle a fully 3D solid or mesh model? I am working with a friend who is good at AE but we want to step into the 3D realm in his video compositing, and I'm beginning to think that Cinema4D is the only route to travel for this project.

Or, maybe does the new version of AE Pro have more variety in 3D files it can import? Either way It seems his company will have to fork out the cash for a new program. Thought I would ask some pro's before I give him a heads up. Thanks in advance for all who reply. ;-)

Neither compositing program on this planet will import 3D data in the way you possibly expect, least of all AE. What is understood as 3D in Nuke, Fusion or flame*/inferno* certainly won't cater for your (or your friend's) needs, either. It usually means import of polygonal meshes with as few polygons as possible, no deformation, limited texturing and only basic rendering by means of a scanline renderer. So for what it's worth, you are looking in the completely wrong direction.

As for C4D - don't expect miracles there, either. You have to understand that there's a fundamental difference between CAD and 3D animation. 3d programs don't operate with solids, support fo n-th degree curves and faces is limited (most only support 1st degree linear/Hermite and 3rd degree/ B-Spline/ Bèzier) and you will have to learn how to prepare your CAD data for them to avoid slow scene handling and excessive render times among other things.

Mylenium

[StykFacE]

Neither compositing program on this planet will import 3D data in the way you possibly expect, least of all AE. What is understood as 3D in Nuke, Fusion or flame*/inferno* certainly won't cater for your (or your friend's) needs, either. It usually means import of polygonal meshes with as few polygons as possible, no deformation, limited texturing and only basic rendering by means of a scanline renderer. So for what it's worth, you are looking in the completely wrong direction.

As for C4D - don't expect miracles there, either. You have to understand that there's a fundamental difference between CAD and 3D animation. 3d programs don't operate with solids, support fo n-th degree curves and faces is limited (most only support 1st degree linear/Hermite and 3rd degree/ B-Spline/ Bèzier) and you will have to learn how to prepare your CAD data for them to avoid slow scene handling and excessive render times among other things.

Mylenium

Thanks for the good advice. It's extremely easy to prepare 3D Solid Model's in the programs I work with, but I use Rhino3D for my meshwork, and I'm good at MAX with NURBS Modeling, but I currently do not have a copy to work on anymore since my last job. But as far as animation I'm no good at, however I'm very familiar with paths and timelines and 3D Space in AE Pro. So I just assumed if I could simply import a 3D object (solid or mesh) into one of the programs, then I could easily go from there, instead of doing animation in a 3D modeling program, export the video with a matte, then import it into AE for final compositing. This was the original way I was going to go about this, looks like we'll have to stick with it.... haha.

Mackdadd, your advice will not go without recognition, thanks a lot for the tips as well.

:)

[FortUno]

You can import basic 3d models into ProAnimator or 3D invigorator. That's the closest thing to bringing in 3d into AE as I've found. You can move around in 3D and those plugins will update the view of the model accordingly, but it can be slow.

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