Can You 3D Emboss with 9.0? 1

[hohriver]

I can't seem to determine how to throw a simple 3D Emboss effect onto a pie chart using Illustrator 9.0. It must
be possible, right? I mean there's capacity for all kinds of absurd effects under Distort & Transform ('Punk & Bloat'....now there's one you might use everyday, huh? ), but what happened to simple Emboss?
Do I really have to leap into Photoshop just in order to emboss an object, shape, or path?

EARTH to ADOBE: Please stop fixing things that are not broken. Resist the temptation.

Anyone? Emboss in Illustrator 9.0? Yes or no?

 

[GeorgeMack]

The Illustrator program now handles 2 different kinds of elements, Vector (classic Illustrator outlines with fills) and Bitmap (like Photoshop).

The Emboss filter applies to bitmapped images only (it came from Photoshop) so if you need to use it, you need to rasterize your objects (possibly adding a background field of white?) before using that or other Photoshop filters.

If you want to keep a vector object, then you may have to acquire some Illustrator-based 3D filters, such as the KPT Vector Pro series, which can generate the extra paths to simulate the extrusions. Or you might find an action which will build a series of paths for you.

 

[hohriver]

Thanks for the tip.
Unfortunately, it confirms what I suspected: short of the KPT filter route, Illustrator cannot "do" this standard process with a vector image.
Funny thing....I can't tell yet if it's user error or the software....Illustrator 9 is pretty new to me....but selecting 'Rasterize' doesn't seem to change anything....and it doesn't undim and make available those other 'effects' under the drop down menu? It just doesn't seem to be transforming the 'path' (vector) to the rasterized bitmap. Am I missing something here? Should it be obvious?

You know, I create online learning manuals and tutorials for a living....albeit it the software I focus on is very proprietary stuff related to the investment management trade....but nonetheless, I've come to the conclusion that when SIMPLE answers to obvious questions are not included, there's a problem with the HELP file/manuals as a whole. This is why, I believe, there are SO many third-party 'how to' and "Using such and such" books available: no one seems to be able to write a simple, comprehensive manual which covers all the basics. Why is that? I often find that the 'answers' to some routine or process I'm trying to perform are bodda bodda bing: six steps. But nowhere in the tutorials or guides are these six steps laid out. This is a shortcoming which leads many new users straight to frustration.
Then, on the flip side of this coin, "they" spend pages and pages detailing some ridiculous procedure that you may never implement in a lifetime of use with the software.
Oh, well......whaddya gonna do? Good thing we all tend to be autodidacts here!
Thanks, again....

 

[GeorgeMack]

The problem is that as programs increase in power, the range of things that people look to do with them also increases, making a complete set of answers impossible.

There is a prolific market in "Graphic cookbooks" -- but each of the recipes needs a bit of ... tuning before it applies fully to a specific case.

Once you get the mastery of underlying tools, that tuning becomes easier, but for many looking for an immediate need, the curve is still pretty steep.

In the case of rasterize, I find I still have to check that the specific object is selected for rasterization. (And emboss filter works best on a background of mid-gray, which has to be included in your object.) Once you have it embossed, you need to soften the edges with a blur, then crop it back to the shape you started with. set overlay mode to Overlay (with layer on top of your original object). that should get you started.

 

[GeorgeMack]

You can also roll your own emboss by hand:
1) inset the path of a duplicate of your shape (paths>offset (corners round, distance -0p10))
2) delete any extra paths, even up numbers of points in each
3) set inner path to a lighter color than outer, no stroke on either path
4) select all points on each path, blend using the blend tool
Result: a soft-edged shape. (Hint -- tune this procedure and save as an action, or write an AppleScript for even more flexibility) You can then define a highlight shape (even lighter) and blend into that.

The colors you choose for the highlight and shadow ranges will help imply relative shininess of the surface; for very glossy effects, you will also have to keep your highlight and shadow areas narrow, which may mean extra shapes to blend into (make an inset duplicate, then blend further into that).

Note that adjusting number of points and clicking on corresponding points is very important to avoid lumps in your blending. ;}