Zaxwerks 3d Invigorator Pro v5 – REVIEW
Posted on January 18, 2011 in 3D Graphics | 1 Comment
Fans of the of the plugin Zaxwerks Invigorator Pro for After Effects have been waiting patiently for a 64bit compatible version of the plugin that will work with the latest iteration of After Effects: CS5. Roughly 8 months after Adobe CS5’s launch, Zaxwerks released 3D Invigorator Pro 5 and now motion graphics artists from around the world can finally our 3d freak on in AfterEffects. And the best part: they’ve made it a lot better.
For the uninitiated, Zaxwerks Invigorator Pro is a plugin that, once applied to a layer in After Effects, turns that layer into a window on a 3d scene complete with it’s own internal camera and lights (both of which can be switched to After Effects’ built in camera and lights). Invigorator’s core function is to create 3d visualizations of graphic elements and logos for slick and polished motion graphics. And did it ever! Zaxwerks ushered in an era of great looking 3d without having to leave the comfortable setting of AfterEffects.
Sample Logo animation experimenting with glass tube textures (background from Digital Juice background)
Drop in a Vectorized Logo and instant 3d object!
The new version Invigorator still allows you to create 3d objects from illustrator vector files or through a type-in text editor, as well as creating 3d primitives (spheres, planes, cubes, toruses, cylinder, cone, and pyramids). Although the interface features 6 new preset workspaces everything will be pretty familiar to the veteran user and new users shouldn’t have too much difficulty navigating around.
A new workspace: the family 4 pane view with my name in a blocky font.
But the biggest and most exciting addition to Zaxwerks Invigorator is the ability to draw curves directly inside the plugin. These curves can be used as the basis for 3d shape extrusions, lathes (which we’ll discuss later) and, most importantly, as edge shapes.
A custom drawn easel right inside Invigorator
The ability to design custom edges directly in Invigorator opens up a huge world of creative possibilities: from fine tuning basic bevels to creating fantastic and bizarre edges with floating tubes and complex curves.
In fact, it looks like Zaxwerk’s goal is to incorporate many of the tasks that you previously had to do in an outside program right inside the plug-in itself. A huge time saver and an integral part of making the micro-massaging of your 3d object that much more fun.
The Easel from above with a custom edge including a free floating gold tube (See below image for the sample edge used)
An early version of the edge demonstration from above (note: the geometry is different)
If all this seems overwhelming, fear not: Invigorator Pro ships with a huge assortment of pre-made materials (from pearls, golds, chromes, chocolates and even camouflage) and object styles (which are custom edges with matching materials) that will deliver great results right out of the box. And all pre-made materials and styles can be fully customizable so you’ll find yourself starting with a basic style you like and changing the materials and colors to get exactly what you want.
Zaxwerks Invigorator Pro also boasts a robust materials editor which includes controls to fine tune image maps for color, specular, bump, transparency and reflectivity. Still included are are number of shading options that include the perennial favorites like Cartoon and Wireframe and also something called Fresnel which gives an object a different color depending on it’s relation to the camera.
One color for faces that are seen straight on and another color for faces seen at an angle
Inside the material editor are new built-in gradient and noise generators that can add some randomness to your visual design. To set your materials, Invigorator comes with several mapping options including UV mapping for precise placement of your color maps.
When it comes to animation the latest version of Invigorator streamlines the process. Objects can be placed into one of eight sets which can be animated in terms of position, rotation and scale or parented to another 3d layer you create in After Effects. In previous versions, knowing which set an object belonged to was a bit of chore, but the addition of a visual set manager makes it extremely intuitive.
Once those objects are organized into groups, a new warp feature allows you to bend and twist those objects. Creating a wrap-around text, a pain staking chore in previous versions, is now a simple operation.
A Lawn Light? Lathed around a slightly mis-shapened circle (prior to my Lathe epiphany)
A new and fascinating addition is the Lathe tool which works much like it’s real world counterpart. Design a profile and the program sweeps it along a circular path. That’s great for creating vases and piano legs, but the options explode infinitely when you realize you don’t have to just sweep along a circular path!!
Stars, gears, polygons – the lathe path options are unlimited.
Trippy Organic Lathe object rendered as a wireframe.
Lights can be added either inside the plugin or by using After Effect’s 3d lights and telling the plug-in to “use comp lights”. The shadows created by the plug-in lights do leave a little to be desired when viewed up close.
As advanced as the new materials editor is, those looking for advanced shaders and raytracing capabilities will be disappointed. Real raytraced reflections and shadow maps do add a touch of realism but this feature may simply be too much to ask in a plug-in that is designed to help meet the tight broadcast deadlines.
Speed wise, with everything turned up to the highest quality, even my powerful desktop PC has trouble keeping up when editing a full 1920×1080 HD project. Fortunately there is a draft mode which disables the high quality texture rendering and allows the editor to quickly make minute changes. Another good time saver is to utilize the layer tracking feature (described earlier) which allows you to perfect your animation using flat 2d layers in After Effects 3d space as stand ins and then translate those animations to Zaxwerks 3d objects when your ready to finalize.
The Render Preview button is a nice way to see the high rez version of your work right in the plugin.
Zaxwerks Pro Invigorator has been a staple my After Effects plug-in folder for nearly a decade now. Though motion graphics styles have changed over time currently favoring more clean flat imagery, there will always be a need for a simple yet stunning 3d graphic work. Zaxwerks 3d Invigorator Pro brings that capability back to Adobe After Effects CS5 and adds a bundle of new functional features to help streamline the design process. If your work involves designing graphic elements with After Effects, Zaxwerks 3d Invigorator Pro is one of those plug-ins that’s simply a MUST-HAVE.
Zaxwerks 3d Invigorator Pro V5 website
price: $449 new
upgrade: from $199
All Prices at Publication
One Comment
Zaxwerks seems usefull software. Thanks for the review.