How do I put special effects on an image or video?

[david_k_jordan]

I am really quite a novice when using COOL 3D Production Studio, but I was hoping to get some help when it came to putting special effects, like lightning or fire on an existing image or video clip...please help me...and remember, I am new to this, so please go slowly.

Thank you,

Dave Jordan

[Ron P.]

In the User's Guide/Manual starting on page# 82 it explains Global Effects, and how to create and apply them.

The Manual should be located in C:\Program Files\Ulead Systems\Ulead COOL 3D Production Studio folder.

[david_k_jordan]

Thank you for your response...I guess what confuses me is that it speaks of adding global effects in the manual...here is the quote...

"Global Effects
This category of effects can enhance the quality of your text or graphic object. A wide variety of
options let you give your 3D objects an eerie aura, set them on fire, or cast a shadow, among
others. These effects are different from Object Effects in that when you apply any one of them
to your project, it is applied to all of the objects in it."

But the user guide clearly calls this "Global Effects", when I can only drag Particle Effects to the picture. And since the Particle Effects only has 4 choices (Fire, Bubbles, Smoke & Snow), there is no choice for lightning. So, the manual says I can drag the "Global Effects" to the image and change properties, but mt Cool 3D PS does not allow this...what am I missing?

[Ron P.]

You add the Global Effects, through the Attributes Panel. With your object selected in the Object Manager, click on the + icon in the upper left corner, just to the left of the drop-down menu.

At the bottom of the fly-out menu, you should see the following Global Effects: Fire, Natural Paint, Glow, Shadow, Lightning and Motion Blur.

What I've found that in order to use say lightning and fire, you need to use the above method to add them, then customize them in the Attribute panel. For instances if you add the Lightning effect, then add the fire, it will add the fire to the lightning bolts. So in the example below I added the Fire effect to the text object first, set the animation for the fire, adjusting the attributes for keyframes in the attributes panel. Then using the Attributes Panel, added the Lightning, and animated it. Finally animated the text object to rotate (y_axis) 360 deg.

[david_k_jordan]

Yes, you are correct...but your background is an inserted item from Cool 3D PS...I am talking about taking a digital picture of someone, then adding effects...like lightning from their hands, for example. I seem to only able to do this using particle effects. If I do as you suggest, and bring a digital picture of myself, and try to select the "+" button, I cannot due to the fact that it is not enabled for me to push...however, if I insert a sphere from the "Insert geometric object" on the left toolbar, the "+" button now enables and allows me to choose the lightning effect. So it appears that only inserted items from Cool 3D can have global effects...and inserted images and videos can use particle effects...am I wrong on this? Sorry to keep beating a dead horse.

[Ron P.]

Ok I got what you're talking about now..

In order to do that, you will need some sort of object to apply it to. You can try to convert your photo to vector object, then you could apply the effects.

1. Open the Path Editor, located just below the T Text tool.

2. At the very bottom on the left side are 3 icons with arrows. The very bottom one is the one you need to use. The image must be either a jpg or bmp.

3. Clicking on the Convert to Vector icon will open a browser window for you to locate the image to convert. Once located double-clicking on the image or selecting and clicking Open will bring it into the Vector conversion.

4. You will now see 2 panes, the one on the right should have red outlines, this is the program tracing it. What you need to do is adjust the Jump Points, Tolerance, and Threshold, so it just outlines the part of the image you want to convert. This can be a little tricky, but is can be done with a little practice.

5. Next you can clean up the object, in the Path Editor, using the Pick tool to select unwanted parts and delete them, and the Node tool to delete or adjust nodes around the object.

Once your happy with it, then click ok, and you will have 3D object on your stage.

Now before doing anything else, go to the Attributes Panel, and select Texture, Use Image. Bring in the very same image that was used to create the object, as the texture. You will want to select under the Texture section the Use Texture Only icon, 3rd from the right. Then in the Wrap section select both icons (Fit Height and Fit Width to bounding).

You may still need to adjust the size and position of the texture in the Mapping Section.

Once you're all done with that, you can now add your lightning bolts..

Quick Example:

[david_k_jordan]

Thank you...I can see this is going to take a LONG time to be proficient...but hey, I guess practice makes perfect.