Distorting art that has a clipping path

Started by CMYKFrustrated, September 19, 2012, 12:31:00 PM

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born2print

"Light your Bic, he's gettin' burned again."
Thought so, glad to have you CMYKFrustrated. You seem much more friendly than that PMSfrustrated member that was hangin' round.
How will I laugh tomorrow...
when I can't even smile today?

CMYKFrustrated

Quote from: born2print on September 20, 2012, 11:30:58 AM"Light your Bic, he's gettin' burned again."
Thought so, glad to have you CMYKFrustrated. You seem much more friendly than that PMSfrustrated member that was hangin' round.
LMAO!!! Maybe that wasn't the acronym for Pantone Matching System!!!!

t-pat

Our designer uses a plugin for Illy called Strata 3D
vdp donkey
gmc inspire • sarcasm while you wait

CMYKFrustrated

Quote from: t-pat on September 20, 2012, 12:02:41 PMOur designer uses a plugin for Illy called Strata 3D
I'll check into that! Thank you!

Grimace

Quote from: CMYKFrustrated on September 20, 2012, 11:17:52 AMEnvelope distort (as far as I know, or have found, but correct me if I'm wrong) will still take the entire drawing into the calculation, including what is hidden by the clipping path.

If Illustrator can do this for the "Align" feature, I'm just surprised that it can't do this for the "warp" or "arc" or "envelope" feature.

Anyone out there do work that is required to be distorted to fit an actual object? If so, what do you use to get a high quality, editable file with an ability to precisely shape it to fit?

Try using the Mesh option. It allows you to grab points and move them as needed. Also check the Envelope Options and check the clipping mask option.
This may be too cumbersome for what you need, but I believe the mesh option eliminates the funky warp effects you describe.

gnubler

Quote from: DigitalCrapShoveler on September 19, 2012, 03:05:42 PMI'm a Prepress pig. :laugh:

Prepress pig! Prepress pig!

How bout you just drop them pants, boy.
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Quote from: pspdfppdfx on December 06, 2012, 05:03:51 PM
So,  :drunk3: i send the job to the rip with live transparecy (v 1.7 or whatever) and it craps out with a memory error.

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DigitalCrapShoveler

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CMYKFrustrated

Quote from: Grimace on September 20, 2012, 04:07:03 PM
Quote from: CMYKFrustrated on September 20, 2012, 11:17:52 AMEnvelope distort (as far as I know, or have found, but correct me if I'm wrong) will still take the entire drawing into the calculation, including what is hidden by the clipping path.

If Illustrator can do this for the "Align" feature, I'm just surprised that it can't do this for the "warp" or "arc" or "envelope" feature.

Anyone out there do work that is required to be distorted to fit an actual object? If so, what do you use to get a high quality, editable file with an ability to precisely shape it to fit?

Try using the Mesh option. It allows you to grab points and move them as needed. Also check the Envelope Options and check the clipping mask option.
This may be too cumbersome for what you need, but I believe the mesh option eliminates the funky warp effects you describe.
I'm playing with this now, Illustrator CS6. I'm using the clipping mask option with the envelope warp, but it seems to position the warp box to the entire art instead of just the clipping mask.

I've also watched the Lynda.com tutorial on the Illustrator CS6 2D perspective drawing...and or...mapping static artwork to the perspective grid.

I need Illustrator to either align the envelope mesh tool with the clipping path.....or...allow the 2D perspective too to curve it's lines.

Any ideas? Am I doing something wrong?

CMYKFrustrated

Quote from: t-pat on September 20, 2012, 12:02:41 PMOur designer uses a plugin for Illy called Strata 3D
Quote from: CMYKFrustrated on September 20, 2012, 12:08:03 PM
Quote from: t-pat on September 20, 2012, 12:02:41 PMOur designer uses a plugin for Illy called Strata 3D
I'll check into that! Thank you!
From what I can tell from the short tutorials on the Strata 3D website....(and I may be missing something)....it's taking the art that's positioned on a folding/diecut templet and aligning it so that it would match along the folds. Nice....but I'm not seeing a warp aspect to being able to curve art to a rounded shape that doesn't fold.

andyfest

We used to do some work for a "Cup-a-Soup"-type product a few years ago. I remember using Illy CS2 in conjunction with a warp effect. I'll have to hop in the way-back machine and see if I can find an example in the archives. If I do find one I'll let you know and you can have a file to play with, pull apart, and perhaps see what makes it tick. They were supplied to us, so we really didn't have anything to do with putting them together or applying the warp effect. It'll have to wait 'til Monday tho' as I'm outta here for the weekend.  :drunk3: :drunk3: :drunk3:
Retired - CS6 on my 2012 gen MacBook Pro

born2print

How will I laugh tomorrow...
when I can't even smile today?

CMYKFrustrated

Thanks Andyfest.

The check box under envelope options for clipping mask is in a box designated as "rasters". The example I'm working with now for simplicity sake is all vector. But when it's a photo hanging out, it's a pain having to take that photo and attempt to crop it back to the bleed to minimize the distort of the warp.

I'm realizing that "envelope" will always (it seems) make the envelope to the size of the entire art, not just the clipping path, which is what I need it to do.

On to seeing if I can curve the lines in the 2D perspective grid.

t-pat

Quote from: CMYKFrustrated on September 21, 2012, 11:08:12 AM
Quote from: t-pat on September 20, 2012, 12:02:41 PMOur designer uses a plugin for Illy called Strata 3D
Quote from: CMYKFrustrated on September 20, 2012, 12:08:03 PM
Quote from: t-pat on September 20, 2012, 12:02:41 PMOur designer uses a plugin for Illy called Strata 3D
I'll check into that! Thank you!
From what I can tell from the short tutorials on the Strata 3D website....(and I may be missing something)....it's taking the art that's positioned on a folding/diecut templet and aligning it so that it would match along the folds. Nice....but I'm not seeing a warp aspect to being able to curve art to a rounded shape that doesn't fold.

I saw him doing something where he would put an actual product sample, in this case a spray can, on a turntable, photograph it 360 degrees in several shots, and merge 2 d illy art onto a wireframe the software would generate from the camera shots, yielding a complete 3d model of the product. He was grafting a label onto the can for modeling. He also did a blister pack for the can the same way. Maybe it's not what you need though, sorry!
vdp donkey
gmc inspire • sarcasm while you wait

CMYKFrustrated

Quote from: t-pat on September 21, 2012, 12:13:43 PM
Quote from: CMYKFrustrated on September 21, 2012, 11:08:12 AM
Quote from: t-pat on September 20, 2012, 12:02:41 PMOur designer uses a plugin for Illy called Strata 3D
Quote from: CMYKFrustrated on September 20, 2012, 12:08:03 PM
Quote from: t-pat on September 20, 2012, 12:02:41 PMOur designer uses a plugin for Illy called Strata 3D
I'll check into that! Thank you!
From what I can tell from the short tutorials on the Strata 3D website....(and I may be missing something)....it's taking the art that's positioned on a folding/diecut templet and aligning it so that it would match along the folds. Nice....but I'm not seeing a warp aspect to being able to curve art to a rounded shape that doesn't fold.

I saw him doing something where he would put an actual product sample, in this case a spray can, on a turntable, photograph it 360 degrees in several shots, and merge 2 d illy art onto a wireframe the software would generate from the camera shots, yielding a complete 3d model of the product. He was grafting a label onto the can for modeling. He also did a blister pack for the can the same way. Maybe it's not what you need though, sorry!
That DOES sound like a great way to make a 3-D mock up, but you're right, I'm kinda looking for a way to preserve the integrity of the original file in it's vector/raster form and just arc/warp/curve it.

I've found from my experiments today that if I use the envelope mesh, keep the mesh simple, edit the contents to pull the shape I'm aiming for out of the mesh envelope, I can (painstakingly) select the individual points of the mesh and move their handles and position to sorta do what I'm attempting. It's certainly nothing I'd rely on in a real world situation and it takes an ability to understand bezier curves.

There has to be a more elegant solution to this. A way to say "Select all the mesh points inside this object and shape them TO this object"..and let the rest of the stuff outside just follow along in a decent curve.