125. Apply 3D Effects
117 About Manipulating Objects 124 Add 3D Text 126 Insert a Graphic Image into a Drawing As you learned in 124 Add 3D Text , Draw can actually convert a two-dimensional, flat object to a three-dimensional object. In addition, Draw provides special tools for drawing simple 3D objects (such as a cube) on its 3D Objects toolbar. (See 112 Place Shapes on the Drawing Area .) After you create a 3D object, you can control many of the resulting 3D attributes, such as surface texture, lighting, and shading.
1. | Choose 3D Effects After drawing a 3D object (with the 3D Objects toolbar) or converting a 2D shape to 3D (as described in 124 Add 3D Text ), right-click the 3D object and choose 3D Effects from the context menu. The 3D Effects dialog box appears. |
2. | Adjust Geometry Click the Geometry button at the top of the 3D Effects dialog box if needed, to display the Geometry settings. Here you can adjust the amount of roundness in the Rounded edges of your object, and the ratio of the front face of the object to its back face (the Scaled depth ). The Rotation angle applies only to a 3D rotation object and controls whether the profile is rotated a complete 360 degrees to create the object. You can adjust the amount of extrusion by changing the Depth . [View full size image] Created with the Modify, Convert, To 3D Rotation Object command, this type of object starts as a profile which is then rotated 360 degrees through its y-axis (a pole running up and down through its center).116 Fill an Object and 122 Insert Gallery Objects .You can display the bitmap texture in black and white or color by clicking the appropriate Type button. You probably won't want to choose the Mode button, Only Texture, which displays only the texture across the surface of the object, without the shading that makes an object appear 3-dimensional. Instead, leave Mode set to Texture and Shading .You can control how the bitmap is rendered over the surface of the object horizontally (Projection X) and vertically (Projection Y ) by choosing between Object-specific, Parallel, or Circular. |
6. | Adjust Material Click the Material button at the top of the 3D Effects dialog box to display the Material settings. You can adjust these settings whether or not you've filled your 3D object with a bitmap.Here you can apply one of several common textures (such as wood) or design your own texture by selecting the color of the object, the color of the lighting, the color of the reflection (the hot spot), and its intensity.After you've chosen and applied the settings from each page as desired, click the X to close the 3D Effects dialog box. |