"Can you flip the car around
so I can see the other side?"

Recently, a client asked a designer this question, while reviewing a photo for their next print ad. When the designer explained that he couldn't flip the car in Photoshop, the client was very upset. "Why can’t you?!” the client exclaimed, “It's already in the computer! Just turn the car around so I can see the other side!" Unfortunately, this client was looking for more than Photoshop and similar programs have the capability to offer. The client was actually asking the designer to create his print ad in 3D illustration.

Unfortunately, this client was looking for more than Photoshop and similar programs have the capability to offer. The client was actually asking the designer to create his print ad as  a 3D illustration.

When is 3D a good fit for an illustrations?

An illustration should be created in 3D when a product has not been produced yet, and only CAD files or concept sketches exist. 3D illustration is also a great option when you know that your client is prone to changing their mind frequently. 3D also gives you enormous flexibility, including lighting, camera lenses, camera angles, and locations. Furthermore, you can change just about anything—from material and color to a complete modification of the product.

And what if you need to show a detailed exploded view of the client's product? You can rely on the client to give you renderings from their CAD package, that you will then re-draw in Illustrator. Or Fusion can take those CAD files and make them look like photo realistic copies of the actual parts. You can then do a "bullet-time" photo of all the parts floating in mid-air. Finally, you can take the file and turn it into an animation of the product flying apart, and then reassembling. The finished animation can be used on DVDs, websites – even television.

"Previs for Print"

Previsualization is a term common in major motion picture production today. Nearly all studio films go through “pre-vis” before any shooting begins. It saves money and time while enabling the director to flesh out his vision before one frame of film is ever shot.

Recently Fusion was contracted to do previsualization work for a major boat manufacturer’s print campaign. The agency was using a world renowned photographer to shoot the stills for this campaign, and the agency's creative director wanted to get as many shots and locations nailed down as possible. Fusion created 3D stand-in models from both CAD data and by hand. Using these 3D stand-in models, Fusion was able to give the agency many different angles of the products that were used to mock-up the entire print campaign. The agency's designers sat in the Fusion offices and positioned the stand-in models exactly where they wanted them. Dozens upon dozens of angles, lenses and shot ideas could be tried with ease. The final mock-up designs were then sent for client approval – all before 1 frame of digital film was shot.

So the next time you're preparing for a mediumto large-scale print campaign, consider using Fusion for previsualizing your work. You could save an enormous amount of time and money on your project.

"But we don't do 3D"

That's the one statement I've heard a few times this year that doesn't make sense to me. I think it stems from a misunderstanding of "3D". When you hear the term "3D" do you think of PIXAR, Shrek or Tron? Many people make the mistake of thinking that 3D is a style rather than thinking of 3D as a method used to accomplish an artistic task. 3D is similar in nature to photography, film production, sculpture, painting and other fine arts.

The difference is that 3D is infinitely more flexible. It can be used to create fantastic new worlds, replace entire backgrounds in a shot, or build spaceships and dinosaurs. 3D can also be used to create "flat" animations as well. When you watch a KFC commercial with graphics swirling around their products, that is an example of 3D. When you see what appears to be a "flat" graphical commercial on television such as the Volkswagen vehicle "idea" spots, you are looking at spots that were they are created in 3D to look flat and graphical, because 3D is simply more flexible.

3D is a tool, just like Photoshop. It is the Creative Director, Art Director and Designers behind the project who really determine what "3D" is. So the next time you’re involved in a creative meeting and start coming up with "impossible" ideas – think 3D. If you can imagine it, Fusion can produce it.

"Modeling?
You're not even good looking!"

When a 3D animator speaks about modeling, they're not talking about the catwalk. Modeling is the process of creating an object to be used in a 3D rendering. The easiest real-world counterpart would be the process of building a plastic model, like the kind you get from a hobby shop. Once we've modeled an object it can be used and re-used over and over again. It becomes a digital asset in the Fusion 3D model library.