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vertically centered text justification - path deform

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Message 1 of 24
thaner9
1478 Views, 23 Replies

vertically centered text justification - path deform

I'm trying to model 3D text to a curve and I've accomplished it with the PATH DEFORM modifier, but it aligns the bottom of the text to the curve and this results in the top of the text being wider than the bottom. Is there a way to set the constraint/justification of the text to be in the center so that the letters aren't distorted?

 

I've attached an image to help describe what I'm talking about.Distorted 3D Text.jpg

23 REPLIES 23
Message 2 of 24
BenBisares
in reply to: thaner9

Proably the easiest way is to select the Path Deform Gizmo (in the Modifier Panel, click on the [+] next to PathDeform) and move the Gizmo so that the path aligns with the middle of the text.

 

That does mean that you'll most likely have to reposition the path but it shouldn't be a problem based on the image you posted.

 

Tell me if that works.



Ben Bisares
Message 3 of 24
thaner9
in reply to: BenBisares

Hi Ben,

 

Thank you for your response. Perhaps I just don't know enough about Max to figure this out, but I can't seem to find the '+' sign next to the Path Deform modifier as you suggested. Here's another screenshot to show where I'm at. I have the text object selected for this. I tried moving the path itself, but it didn't adjust the "distortion" of the text.

 

Autodesk_text2.jpg

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Message 4 of 24
Steve_Curley
in reply to: thaner9

That's because you used the WSM version (World Space Modifier) when you needed the ordinary Object Space one (a lot further down the list of Modifiers).


Max 2016 (SP1/EXT1)
Win7Pro x64 (SP1). i5-3570K @ 4.4GHz, 8Gb Ram, DX11.
nVidia GTX760 (2GB) (Driver 430.86).

Message 5 of 24
thaner9
in reply to: Steve_Curley

Well now it's obvious I'm way over my level of 3DS Max understanging 😞 I played around with the little understanding I have and I think I need to research some more. I made my ellipse an editable spline and erased the bottom half based on how I model in other software. Maybe that was a mistake, but whatever it is, I'm not making progress. The text isn't that bad distorted, but just wondered if I could get it to be "perfect".

 

Autodesk_text3.jpg

Message 6 of 24
thaner9
in reply to: thaner9

Cutting the ellipse in half was not a good idea I think. I've now got things back to what they're supposed to look like, but still not sure how to move the ellipse to the center of the text to prevent the deformation.

Autodesk_text4.jpg

Message 7 of 24
BenBisares
in reply to: thaner9

I'm pretty sure I can answer this one but just to make sure that there isn't something that I'm overlooking, can you post an archive (Application menu > Save As > Archive) of your scene so that I can test things out myself?

 



Ben Bisares
Message 8 of 24
thaner9
in reply to: BenBisares

Hi Ben,

 

Thanks for taking a look at this. I'm really new to 3DS Max so there could be a few things done incorrectly, but my biggest concern is how the text is distorted.

 

Thank you again

Message 9 of 24
BenBisares
in reply to: thaner9

Thanks for sending the file. So after playing around a bit with it I think the best course of action is to center the pivot point of the text and redo the path deform. There are other ways to fix this but since the path deform is based on the pivot point it makes more sense to fix to root of the problem. Perform the following:

 

  • Select your text
  • Delete the Path Deform
  • Go to the Hierarchy panel (Beside the Modify panel)
  • Click on the "Affect Pivot Only" button
  • Click on the "Center to Object" button
  • Click on the "Affect Pibot Only" button again to exit

 

You will have to scale up the elipse a little since the text will end up closer to the center due to the pivot point change. Reapply the Path Deform and you'll see what I mean.

 

Tell me if that works for you.

 

 



Ben Bisares
Message 10 of 24
thaner9
in reply to: BenBisares

Hi Ben,

 

Thanks for the instruction. I'm pretty sure I was able to follow it, but as you can see, it still seems to be deforming the text from the center of the ellipse more so than just rotating the individual letters along the arc. (Most visible in the letter U and the letter M). It's not the end of the world if it can't be done, but am down for trying whatever. I went back to the WSM version of the pathdeform because it worked better for keeping the text within the rings. I did try it with both though and the text was distorted both times.

 

 

Autodesk_text5.jpg

Message 11 of 24
thaner9
in reply to: thaner9

I have a workaround, but it utilizes additional software. If I create the text in Illustrator it looks proportional and not distorted. I can then export as a DWG. I then can import to 3DS Max and clone the linework and add an extrude modifier. This gives me the results I'm looking for. I'm still interested in being able to do it within 3DS Max though.

Message 12 of 24
PROH
in reply to: thaner9

Hi. Max don't see this as separate letters/objects, but as a mesh that should be bended along a path. That's why it gets distorted. I think the only way to do what you want, is to make each letter as one object, and then place them along the spline. You could eventually use the distorted letters as helpers when placing the non-distorted letters.

Hope it helps
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
3dsMax 4.2 to 2018
AutoCAD 2000 to 2018
Infrastructure Design Suite Premium 2012 to 2018

Message 13 of 24
BenBisares
in reply to: thaner9


thaner9 wrote:

I have a workaround, but it utilizes additional software. If I create the text in Illustrator it looks proportional and not distorted. I can then export as a DWG. I then can import to 3DS Max and clone the linework and add an extrude modifier. This gives me the results I'm looking for. I'm still interested in being able to do it within 3DS Max though.


 

Ok I understand what you want exactly. Like what PROH said you can't use the Path Deform then since it will treat the words as a whole rather than individual letters unlike what Illustrator does. I think your workaround is the best option in this case.



Ben Bisares
Message 14 of 24
Steve_Curley
in reply to: BenBisares

You can do it in Max by creating the text (including Extrude), add an Edit Poly and Detach each letter (Element). Apply a Path Constraint to each letter and move it into position using the % Along Path spinner (turn on Follow as well). The final result may or may not be better than what you have (noting that I didn't spend too much time positioning them). You can see just how much the Path Deform deforms the object, in this case your text, compared to the unmodified (Gold colored) letters.

 

LettersOnPath.png


Max 2016 (SP1/EXT1)
Win7Pro x64 (SP1). i5-3570K @ 4.4GHz, 8Gb Ram, DX11.
nVidia GTX760 (2GB) (Driver 430.86).

Message 15 of 24
thaner9
in reply to: Steve_Curley

Thanks Steve! I think you're on to EXACTLY what I want to be able to do. The problem with my workaround is that exporting from Illustrator to DWG loses "font crispness". At this scale it probably doesn't matter, but I'd like to not only clean up the final product, but clean up the file size and effort in making it.

 

Problem is, I'm completely lost on what you told me to do. Max just isn't in my quiver yet... I understood adding an Edit Poly modifier, but then I couldn't figure out the rest. I also don't know the order of things. I can google and probably figure out, but if you felt inclined to dumb it down a bit, that'd be great.

Message 16 of 24
thaner9
in reply to: thaner9

Ok, I watched a couple YouTube videos and I get most of what I need to do, but I have one question: Should I be creating each letter individually? When I follow what it is I think you're suggesting, it moves the whole TEMEKU OPEN "phrase" to the path. I can see how this would work if I did each individual letter, but not sure that's what I'm suppose to do. I also sense I need to apply Ben's advice first and change the "pivot point" (right?) to each letter so it's in the center of the letter, not the bottom edge...

Message 17 of 24
BenBisares
in reply to: thaner9


thaner9 wrote:

 Should I be creating each letter individually?


There are a couple of ways to do it but yes, in the end each letter must be a separate object. The easiest way would be to just use the Text tool to create one letter at a time.

 


thaner9 wrote:

I also sense I need to apply Ben's advice first and change the "pivot point" (right?) to each letter so it's in the center of the letter, not the bottom edge...


Yes, you'll still need to do that.

 

Remember that you must use a "Path Constraint" (Animation > Constraints > Path Constraint) and not the "Path Deform" in the Modify panel. If you use the Path Deform you'll just run into the same problem you had in the first.

 

Also I'll probably just render everything I said above moot by saying this but you can just import the .AI from Illustrator. You need to do the following though:

 

  • "Create Outlines" on all text
  • Save as Illustrator 8

Now just import the .AI into Max

 

 



Ben Bisares
Message 18 of 24
Steve_Curley
in reply to: thaner9

Because the text already exists in the scene, I took a copy of it rather than creating each letter individually - both ways will work.
For the "separating" of the letters I simply selected Element sub-objects, clicked on a letter, clicked Detach on the Edit Geometry rollout - the default is to detach the selected polys to a new object, and yes you would need to centre the Pivot Point as Ben explained.
One final little point - for something like this where the letters don't really need to be absolutely smooth (you're not likely to get close enough to see any slight imperfections) I would turn on Adaptive on the Interpolation rollout rather than setting it to 48 which is very high and creates way more polys (when extruded) than are necessary.


Max 2016 (SP1/EXT1)
Win7Pro x64 (SP1). i5-3570K @ 4.4GHz, 8Gb Ram, DX11.
nVidia GTX760 (2GB) (Driver 430.86).

Message 19 of 24
thaner9
in reply to: Steve_Curley

Thank you Ben and Steve,

 

I'm heading out of town so I won't be able to work on this until next week, but I'd like to give all of these options a try and will. I'll respond next week with how things turn out. Thank you, thank you, thank you though for all this advice.

Message 20 of 24
thaner9
in reply to: thaner9

Hi Ben/Steve,

 

Here's the final, printed model, followed by a rendering of what it was supposed to look like. Definitely need to inquire with a professional 3D printing company to find out how to get more detail to show up. Thank you so much for all the help. Hopefully I can keep learning in my spare time!

 

Printed Trophy.JPG

 

TO9 Render.jpg

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