Simplest way to create 3D text?

[terrypin]

What is the simplest (and hopefully most intuitive) way to achieve this sort of text with PSP 8 please?



The one tutorial I found was for PSP 6 and I failed to reproduce it.

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[Cassel]

You can duplicate your original layer and move it one pixel left and one pixel down, and repeat the process 10, 20 times. This will give something similar to that.

[terrypin]

Thanks, but (assuming I could work out how to do that quickly), wouldn't the 'interiors' then be the same colour as the main face, and so nothing like that effect?

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[Kathy_9]

Terry,

I don't have PSP 8 but was able to get something similar, but not the same, with PSPx7 using Effects -> 3D Effects - Inner Bevel.

The word Block was done with Xara. Both are pictured below.

Unless you have your heart set on creating this yourself, why not look for a 3D font that appeals to you.

Hope this helps and maybe someone else has a better idea.

[terrypin]

Hi Kathy,

That Xara example is excellent, thanks, exactly the effect I want! I do have Xara, as an integrated part of my video editor (Magix Movie Edit Pro) but I'm not yet adept in using it. Could you please tell me the trickier settings you used, such as Lights and Extrusion? I can then play until I get it right. Or upload an exported X3D file if your version has that facility?

I hadn't thought of trying a normal font, but have just gone through my large set (mostly never used) and couldn't find one that got close. Here are a few I did find:

Apart from getting the 'style' I want, the major snag with this approach is that only a single colour is possible (and white). I guess you could then use the Replace Colour tool to change white to whatever, but that's another stage of complexity.

I'm a big fan of PSP's bevel feature, but haven't yet got the clean block effect we're discussing.

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[Cassel]

If you want the easy and fast way, there is also a script i made that you can find here (but it is not free):
http://creationcassel.com/store/index.p ... cts_id=223


It works on any text, any font or any shape too.

[Kathy_9]

Hi Kathy,

Could you please tell me the trickier settings you used, such as Lights and Extrusion? I can then play until I get it right. Or upload an exported X3D file if your version has that facility?

Terry, East Grinstead, UK

I don't show X3D as a file type and I tried to upload an .XAR file but the forum doesn't recognize/allow that particular type. So, here's a screen shot of the settings instead.

Click for larger view.

By the way, I'm not adept with Xara yet either. The real expert on this forum is Joelle.

[terrypin]

Thanks Kathy, I'll try that in the morning.

Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[terrypin]

Hi Kathy,

Pleased to report that after your lead I was able to make several images in my embedded version of Xara that closely matched my original aim.

Here's an example:


When I save a file it's given the extension .X3D. I'm guessing that if you changed that to whatever extension your program uses for File Save As, there's a good chance it will open in your Xara. If you want to try it, here's a test file:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4019461/Block02.X3D

Thanks again for that inspiration, which has also prompted me to learn a bit more about Xara!

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[Kathy_9]

Glad you are able to get what you want. I tried to open your file but all I got was html code; no image. But that's okay.

[mwenz]

Xara 3D is a different application than Xara Designer Pro (XDP) or Xara Photo Graphic Designer (XP&GD). Neither XDP nor XP&GD can open Xara 3D files.

But for either file type to be shared on non-Xara specific forums (like Talkgraphics), ZIP the files and upload the ZIP. This computer doesn't have Xara 3D installed on it, so I couldn't open the file using XDP. But it did download correctly. Xara 3D files are simply XML files, a special type of text file and is akin to HTML files.

Mike

[Kathy_9]

Thanks for explaining Mike.