Section 125. Apply 3D Effects


125. Apply 3D Effects

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

117 About Manipulating Objects

124 Add 3D Text


SEE ALSO

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 .

125. Apply 3D Effects


The Horizontal and Vertical Segment amounts apply to rounded shapes; by increasing these values, you can make a rounded shape more smooth. The higher these values, however, the longer your shape will take to draw. The Normals affect how your object's surface is rendered when lit and when a texture is applied. These settings are best left at Object Specific , which selects the best formula for each object. With Flat, you can let each of the vertical and horizontal segments become more apparent, or smooth them with Spherical . You can invert the Normals , which makes an object appear as if lit from within. You can choose Double-Sided Illumination, which simulates both interior and exterior lighting. You can also create Double-Sided , or open ended, 3D objects, like an open ended box.

On each page of this dialog box, after setting the effects you want, click the Checkmark button to apply them to the selected 3D object.

KEY TERM

3D rotation object 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).

NOTE

Understanding all the mathematics that produce appropriate 3D effects is fairly advanced. This task just skims the surface of the 3D effects you can apply. Fortunately, you can always try one of the options, adjust the 3D effect, and then select the Undo command to back up and try something else.

3.
Adjust Shading

Click the Shading button at the top of the 3D Effects dialog box to display the Shading settings. Here you can adjust the amount of shadow and the shading type (the Shading Mode ). The Shading Mode is best left to Gouraud , unless you want quicker rendering (and less smoothness), in which case you might try Flat. Phong produces medium-rough shadows.

By clicking the Shadow button, you can add a shadow to your 3D object. The Surface angle lets you adjust the length of the shadow by adjusting the angle of the surface on which the 3D object appears to sit.

By adjusting the Camera's Distance and Focal length , you can change the perspective. The distance directly affects the object's apparent size (further away, an object appears smaller), while the focal length affects its apparent depth (shorter focal lengths provide greater depths).

4.
Adjust Illumination

Click the Illumination button at the top of the 3D Effects dialog box to display the Illumination settings. Here you can set up to eight different light sources, specifying the position of the light and its color. Click the first lit lightbulb button to select the settings for that light source. You can select the color of the light and that of the ambient light, as well as the source's position (by dragging the glowing star on the illustration in the lower-right corner). Double-click an inactive lightbulb button to activate it, and then adjust its settings.

5.
Adjust Texture

Click the Texture button at the top of the 3D Effects dialog box to display the Texture settings. This page applies only to 3D objects filled with a bitmap, as explained in 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.



OpenOffice.org 2, Firefox, and Thunderbird for Windows All in One
Sams Teach Yourself OpenOffice.org 2, Firefox and Thunderbird for Windows All in One
ISBN: 0672328089
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 232
Authors: Greg Perry

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