my fonts are not easy to read

my fonts are not easy to read

I am new to 3D rendering and am trying to use Cheetah3D to make some 3 dimensional graphs. I love it so far. My only problem is that the fonts I use to label the axes are not very legible. I've extruded the splines, covered front and back, and applied a colored texture to them. Some text -- see the text closest to the viewer in the attachment -- seems to have the outlines only colored.

I would be very grateful for any assistance!

Render1.jpg
 
They don't seem to have a front or back. Maybe it's also better to extrude them a little less, this will also improve readability.
Your graphs a nice alternative way to use Cheetah!! I like it!

Regards,

Peter
 
Peter is right. The text on the ground does not a have a face. I also think about a third or forth of the the extrusion will make the copy more legible. Also turn up the antialiasing to help the copy and the grid lines on your chart.

I like the three-dimensional graph. If you're into the design and dissemination of information then you should look up some of Edward Tuft's books. Pretty cool work. Something I would never think about.
 
Thanks!

Dear Peter and Jake,

Thanks a ton for the tips! I did click fronts and backs for the extruded text on the ground. I was able to get the fronts and backs to cover by changing the text rotation axes a bit and text orientation. I think I just lack an understanding of how that works, and so I'm fumbling through with trial and error.

And the anti-aliasing tip was right on target. Tweaking these settings yielded a VERY professional looking render!

thanks again!

-- archon
 
Thanks for the Tufte site. I got the book today, and it's fascinating. I love the Napoleon's March graphic from the book and from the site as well.

One more question re: Cheetah3D. Is there any way to get the 3D vector data into a program like Illustrator? Ideally, I'd like the render function to output 2-dimensional vectors to Illustrator so that I could manipulate them for publishing on paper. I realize that this isn't how render works, but thought that you guys might know of some pathway.

Alternatively, what are the best render settings to output to black and white laser printer?

thanks!
 
Hi,
you can use the "Illustrator CS Import.js" script which is under "Tools->Run script->Illustrator CS Import.js". It should read in .ai files generated by Illustrator CS.
But be carefull with the winding rule of the imported paths. It's possible that you have to change the winding rule of some paths with the "Reverse Sequence" Tool.

Now to the original problem. Can you recreate the bug where the 3D text didn't had a cover. If yes could you mail me a small example scene. That would help me a lot to figure out the bug.

Many thanks in advance,
Martin
 
Hi arfung,
the problem of the uncoverd text is solve in Cheetah3D 2.3.

Check out the beta of Cheetah3D 2.3 in the corresponding thread.

By,
Martin
 
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