How to Take a 2D Vector Image with your P4 and Make it a Sweet 3D printed Logo!

[Jussaguy]

I also work with vector files everyday a boy you make it sound complicated, granted you are correct but please less waffle and self gratification would be nice, no one likes a clever clogs my gran used to say

What are you on about? Firstly this is a lot more than "working with vectors" and people than don't know what they are need to understand. I am tired and this is long winded and I said a disclaimer at the beginning if you don't want to read it, don't. In the 3D printing thread, we were talking about making 3D models, now that you see that this thread is not about "working with vectors", maybe you should retract. I don't work with vectors except in this situation only as I am a not a graphic designer, I am a VFX artist and supervisor. I hate vector images and Illistrator and if I had to work with vectors daily I would kill myself.

I swear I have never seen a place like this. I spent the whole friggen night and even pissed off my wife putting this together for people that might want to know it and I'm getting sick and tired of people around here thinking I'm trying to get attention or show off. I am interested in two things here, phantoms and 3D printing and am trying to barter the services I can offer for the ones I can't. I don't give a flying you know what what anyone here thinks about me. What self gratification existed here? In fact I beat myself up for most of this thread and was completely self deprecating.

My grandma used to say hang with the clever clogs and stay away from the morons.

 

[Jussaguy]

I could have whittled this out of a billet of 316 stainless steel with a blunt pen knife in the time it took to read this- thank you for posting though. Very informative.

Thank you. I can take the truth if it's peppered with at least a little gratitude. And I don't need the gratitude but if it's going to accompany a criticism that I admitted in the OP (back edited) I appreciate the thank you. I had no intention of spending this much time on this and by the time I was done I was blankly staring at my screen wanting to fall over.

 

[brinks]

You can also just drop the whole logo grouped null folder in the extrude nurbs and check the Hierarchical check box instead of copy and pasting the extrude nurbs multiple times. Just separate out what you want to have as different textures and animations into different groups. If you are doing it the correct way, you will do all that prep work in Illustrator before bringing it into C4D. I'm sure this thread was helpful for those looking to learn.

 

[Jussaguy]

You can also just drop the whole logo grouped null folder in the extrude nurbs and check the Hierarchical check box instead of copy and pasting the extrude nurbs multiple times. Just separate out what you want to have as different textures and animations into different groups. If you are doing it the correct way, you will do all that prep work in Illustrator before bringing it into C4D. I'm sure this thread was helpful for those looking to learn.

Indeed on the grouping and hiarchy button. Believe me, when I was working for HOPSports I had to turn out these by the dozens and when I learned about the hierarchy button, I was quite pleased but I didn't want to introduce that before explaining how each path is extruded by an extrude nurb so I made the choice to show it this way strictly as a teaching tactic. I should have mentioned that you can do it that way too though. It's also not always the best method because you lose control of each individual path that way. Usually that doesn't matter, but sometimes you want extrude control of every path which you lose when grouping the extrude.

As for doing the prep work in AI, what do you mean? I showed doing the prep work in Ai? What part do you mean?

The less time I spend in AI, the better as far as I'm concerned and since there were no overlapping paths in this logo, what other prep work would be necessary other than exporting the paths?

 

[brinks]

Indeed on the grouping and hiarchy button. Believe me, when I was working for HOPSports I had to turn out these by the dozens and when I learned about the hierarchy button, I was quite pleased but I didn't want to introduce that before explaining how each path is extruded by an extrude nurb so I made the choice to show it this way strictly as a teaching tactic. I should have mentioned that you can do it that way too though. It's also not always the best method because you lose control of each individual path that way. Usually that doesn't matter, but sometimes you want extrude control of every path which you lose when grouping the extrude.

As for doing the prep work in AI, what do you mean? I showed doing the prep work in Ai? What part do you mean?

The less time I spend in AI, the better as far as I'm concerned and since there were no overlapping paths in this logo, what other prep work would be necessary other than exporting the paths?

I usually separate the individual paths that I want to animate or texture on their own into individual layers inside of AI that way they come into C4D in different groups instead of just one. I also just go through and make sure all the paths are closed, merge any masks and delete any extra paths that I don't need inside of C4D. The logo you used seemed it didn't need that but most logos you get from clients usually require quite a bit of work as designers usually don't make logos that are ready to go into AE or C4D. Again nice work on the tutorial.

 

[Jussaguy]

I usually separate the individual paths that I want to animate or texture on their own into individual layers inside of AI that way they come into C4D in different groups instead of just one. I also just go through and make sure all the paths are closed, merge any masks and delete any extra paths that I don't need inside of C4D. The logo you used seemed it didn't need that but most logos you get from clients usually require quite a bit of work as designers usually don't make logos that are ready to go into AE or C4D. Again nice work on the tutorial.

Thanks!

Yeah, certainly you usually have to do some more prep work in AI when the paths aren't as simple as this and sometimes there are paths that aren't needed for 3D purposes but again, was pure luck that the DJI logo wasn't needing any of that. You would be surprised how many don't overlap.

When they do, I literally just yank them aside and export.

I do all the grouping work in C4D simply because I am much more comfortable in the 3D software than AI is the reason. I have never been comfortable in AI. I am not a graphic designer, I'm a vfx guy and animator so I'll just lasso the paths that I want to group in a logo and put them in a null and they are grouped pretty easily.

Both workflows are equally good I would think, matter of preference and I just am not comfortable in AI when I spend half my life in 3DS and C4D.

Thanks for the input!!!

 

[Patrick]

thanks for the in-depth, detailed description, this kind of sharing by the members is what makes this forum great

 

[Jussaguy]

thanks for the in-depth, detailed description, this kind of sharing by the members is what makes this forum great

Thanks man!

 

[Patrick]

no no thank you!

 

[Patrick]

i have to be honest, even with the conflicting personalities, i don't get all the animosity no need to make this place an angry hornets nest. cheers!

 

[Jussaguy]

You can also just drop the whole logo grouped null folder in the extrude nurbs and check the Hierarchical check box instead of copy and pasting the extrude nurbs multiple times. Just separate out what you want to have as different textures and animations into different groups. If you are doing it the correct way, you will do all that prep work in Illustrator before bringing it into C4D. I'm sure this thread was helpful for those looking to learn.

What brings is talking about with th Hiarcherical Check mark is you can, if you want, group the burns into one thread with a single extrude nurb dropped on the group. It won't work until you check the button (Hiarcherical) though.

The only reason you wouldn't want to do that is if you want to maintain individual control (even of the extrusion) as now when you choose the nurb to for example change the depth of the extrusion, you can only do it to all, rather than individually.

Usually it's fine to group certain, parts.

Maybe later, I'll grab an NFL logo to show you what I mean as its got more nooks and crannies.

This logo everything cloud have been under one grouping (want to separate ones with different textures too).

But let's say it's the NFL logo.

The background "badge" should be one letter, anything that will be extruded out longer should be one group, the stars should all be one group.

Basically one group for anything that will be on the same plane and same texture.

I will show you with a different logo later. I will keep it to just all pictures thought this time.

 

[Jussaguy]

i have to be honest, even with the conflicting personalities, i don't get all the animosity no need to make this place an angry hornets nest. cheers!

Here here!

 

[Nurseo]

Thank you very much for the time and effort. Good instruction. One question. I am about to buy a 3D printer. I was thinking of buying the Lulzbot Taz 5. Do you have any other suggestions?

 

[BobUnplugged]

I find it easiest to just go to Photoshop and then go to 3D > New Extrusion from Selected Layer.

 

[Elysion]

Thank you for this very informative thread Jussaguy, people nowadays simply don't appreciate what others are going through to explain something which normally would cost them money - and now you are here typing all night and don't expect anything in return.

There is a saying many might know:
Give a man a fish and he will live one day, teach him how to fish and he will survive by his own.

Thank you again for your time, this is valuable information and I appreciate it.