Chicago Tribune | Programs put amateur designers in = new dimension

Have you ever wondered where they get = those twirling=20 logos that dance across the video screen touting everything = from=20 Eyewitness News to Alka-Seltzer?

Are you curious = about how=20 those ever more realistic computer games create entire = platoons of=20 fantastic characters garbed in bizarre gear and running, = jumping and=20 (of course) shooting their way across a surreal landscape = rendered=20 in impossibly brilliant colors?

Today I'd like to = introduce=20 you to the fast-evolving world of home-brewed 3-D computer=20 animations that are changing everything from the face of the = Web to=20 cartoon magazines.

I'll cover a pair of software = packages to=20 explain the landscape of amateur 3-D, and in doing so I'll = introduce=20 you to a burgeoning subculture of wannabe Web and video = artists, who=20 range from middle schoolers creating their own animated = Dungeons=20 & Dragons characters to retirees who dress up their Web = sites=20 with fancy animations that look like they were created by = George=20 Lucas or Steven Spielberg.

If you follow up by = downloading=20 the free-for-trial-use programs that the makers of this = software=20 offer, you will be delighted to see what any of us can do = with a=20 modicum of effort and a modern PC.

Let's start with a = Xara3D=20 6, $44.99 from Xara Group Ltd., for creating animated 3-D = titles,=20 logos and captions. They dress up Web sites, add pizazz to = home=20 movies or become customized, blow-your-socks-off screen = savers.=20 (Download trial copies at Xara.com).

Then I'll = describe what=20 is becoming a gold standard for hobbyists building 3-D=20 animations--iClone, $179.95 from RealIllusion Inc. Trial = copies can=20 be acquired at (http://www.reallusion.com/iclone/)

In = an=20 earlier column I reviewed Xara Xtreme, an inexpensive 2-D = graphics=20 creation program competing with the expensive Adobe = Illustrator. Now=20 let's look at Xtreme's stablemate, Xara3D 6. It offers a = simple=20 editing space to write out ordinary text and then render it = in=20 professional looking 3-D drawings as well as in a huge = number of=20 animated displays.

Using a system of just seven tool = icons=20 listed along the left side of the screen, one can type in = text and=20 use tools to give it a shadow, bevel the letters, extrude = the edges,=20 color the front and sides of the 3-D image and change the = way the=20 light falls on the letters.

An eighth icon imbues the = 3-D=20 text with animated motion, and the software offers an = impressive=20 collection of pre-done motion sequences or lets you develop = custom=20 movements to make words glow, twirl, spin and slide across = the=20 screen.

The logo can be saved either as a static = picture or=20 as an animation in the form of GIF moving images, AVI movies = or=20 Flash video formats widely used in Web = graphics.

You'll find=20 there is nothing simplistic about the amazing graphics that = this=20 simple Xara software delivers.

Things get more = complex, but=20 certainly within the grasp of most computer users, when = moving on to=20 stills and animations involving the human figure. With = iClone, it=20 happens elegantly and with a minimum of = confusion.

The=20 software works by offering a library of fairly complex stick = figures=20 and a collection of possible motions, possible costumes and = types of=20 faces. Or you can create your own using photographs of = actual people=20 for the heads.

The software works like a movie = editing=20 program offering a timeline display where one drags clips of = each=20 sequence and adds soundtracks and = transitions.

Separate=20 modules handle the timeline, motion crafting and character = creation.=20 Characters come out with the same kind of realism displayed = on=20 store-bought computer games and have been used in many = movies as=20 virtual extras as well as stars in their own=20 productions.

These creatures can be manipulated by = moving=20 heads, arms, hands, legs, etc. By putting a figure in one = position=20 and then moving it to a new one the software will create the = in-between frames needed to animate this movement. It's no = cakewalk=20 to make iClone do this but I found the learning curve = delightfully=20 short.

With the ability to top these characters with=20 customized heads and faces rendered from regular photos, = it's=20 possible to put your dear grandmother's head on an exotic = dancer's=20 body, among almost countless permutations. This is done = quickly with=20 the program importing a head shot and rendering it in 3-D. = The user=20 makes minor adjustments to get things like nose length and = ears=20 correct.

When completed these characters can be = turned into=20 JPEG or other format picture files and arranged in graphics = software=20 like Xara Xtreme to become comic book panels. You'll find = stunning=20 examples of this blossoming art form on the iClone Web=20 site.

Even if this stuff sounds too geeky for your = tastes,=20 you surely know a teen or preteen who will be delighted to = hear=20 about Xara3D 6 and iClone.

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Binary = beat=20 readers can participate in the column at = chicagotribune.com/askjim,=20 or e-mail jcoates1@aol.com. Snail-mail him in Room 400, 435 = N.=20 Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611.

Programs put amateur designers in new = dimension