How to mask circular or cylindrical 3D text with geometry & material options?
carolgunn Aug 27, 2012 9:09 PMHello, guys, I am back to trying to rotate that text around that planet in After Effects CS6.
I am making one basic assumption — please correct me if I am wrong. (I'm sure you will !) I understand that I cannot have two 3D objects (or in this case, two 2D objects with 3d effects applied) in the same "scene" (as it is called in Photoshop.) In other words, I cannot have the planet and the orbiting text in the same layer, so that the planet naturally masks out the back side of the orbiting text. I am limited to having the planet on one layer and the text on another, correct?
OK, given that the above assumption is correct, I can see two ways to do this, but (so far as I can tell) each method seems to have its advantages and disadvantages:
1. I can apply the CC Cylinder effect to my text.
PROS:
- This effect has a very handy option to render the full cyclinder or just the outside or inside. I chose outside as I want the text to appear to rotate across the front of the planet.
- I can add a mask to hide some of the remaining visible text when needed.
- Some built-in lighting controls.
CON:
- No material options so I cannot add an environment layer to get those cool reflections that are really going to impress the client. (Yes, I am using the Ray-Traced 3D Renderer.)
2. I can apply the 3D Rotate Around Circle Animation Preset to my text.
- I have material and geometry options to make the cool reflections.
CON:
- No "Render Outside" option and I understand you cannot add a mask to a Ray-Traced Layer. (Correct?) I suppose I could render those 6 seconds to video and then mask that footage layer, but when the front text is right in front of the back text, it would be a really complex mask to have to make.
Here is what I am talking about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9FcD-bx-sg&feature=plcp
That boring flat white text that looks like it was cut out of paper is what I am trying to replace with something snazzier.
Any ideas, suggestions? Is there some other way to achieve this goal that i just don't know about yet?
I am using the latest version of After Effects CS6 on a 27" iMac, running OSX7.4.
--Carol
Carol Gunn
Gunn Graphics
Austin, TX 78741
512-385-8818
www.gunngraphics.biz
www.linkedin.com/in/carolgunn

