Hi,
Firstly i want to thank you for this great plugin. It’s a real time saver and one of the best plugins for Illustrator I’ve seen. Right now I’m using a trial version, and I have one problem with 3D Extrusion.
What I’m trying to do is to is to extrude some signs ( or words/letters) to 3D. To do that, I’m using AxoTools Extrude options. My problem is extruding perspective. I would like to extrude to the bottom right direction, to get a view of the extruded bottom side of a sign. But all I get is the top left direction ie. I get an extruded top view of a sign. When I try to extrude bottom right ( using the bottom right arrow) I get an error message to enter a valid angle to extrude (I use a negative value for example -30 deg)
Do you have any idea how I can do that with AxoTools? Hope that the question was clear. Thank you in advance..
Left is what i need ( using AI blend tool ) Right is what i get using Axo Tools
I generated 3D effect with the Blend tool using more than 200 steps and it’s not an option regarding prepress so i need much simpler option like AxoTools.
AxoTools was not really meant to do drop-shadow type effects, but there may be a way for you to get the results you’re looking for. In the Projection panel’s drop-down menu, choose “Isometric below” from the presets. Now select your text, select the Extrude tool, and drag to the lower right. If you don’t see the Extrude tool, you may have to manually drag it out of the tool “drawer” to make it available.
The Extrude tool will probably feel more natural than the Extrude panel in this case because the arrows on the panel represent a typical top view, so it gets tricky translating that to the document’s bottom view.
For an effect that a drop-shadow filter can’t give you, try setting the projection to something like Turn 70 and Tilt 30, then press Alt/Option as you drag with the Extrude tool. This is a true axonometric projection. Use the dial controls next to the proxy cube preview to try different projection settings, then Undo and extrude again.
You may like the results you get by checking “Apply stroke widths to new art” in the Draw Settings panel, as well as choosing “Shaded object color” for the fill method.
Just for your information, I tried the method you described. It didn’t work quite as I was expecting but still, it ended up well. I just selected the original sign and brought it forward (on top and at the bottom of the newly created shadow), played with a gradient shadow and now it looks good enough for me.
Thanks for your help and for this plugin. It’s a great time saver for isometric projections from Illustrator. Designs are lightweight ( in comparison to a native 3D plugin), and most importantly editable both in color and gradient. If you are into the printing business it is simple to create one layered gradient which makes printing and prepress a breeze.
.
