Flash 3D By Hand Tracing

Hand tracing involves rendering a sequence of images and then tracing over them by hand.

Final output of this process looks like this:

Spinning A

Pros: Cons:
  • Very, very high-quality 3D.
  • Shaded
  • Usually very small filesize.
  • "Rendering" is quite good.
  • Detail control is good.
  • Effects such as highlights and shadows can be drawn in.
  • Frames must be drawn by hand.
  • Takes a lot of time.
  • Long sequences or complex objects are very hard to trace (and boring).

What you need:

  • Flash 3+
  • A 3D modeling/rendering tool. 3D Studio MAX, Ray Dream Studio, anything. I used TriSpectives Technical 2.0 for this example.

Step-By-Step:

  1. First, model your object in a 3D modeler.
  2. Animate your object.
  3. Export your animation as a series of high-resolution images that can be imported into Flash. The higher the resolution the better. This allows you to discern detail when you're zoomed in. I'd say render at no less than 800x600. When you render, try to render at the lowest rendering settings you can get away with. Simple shading, no raytracing. I like to turn shadows on because I trace them, too, but if you don't need it, don't render it.
  4. Import the first frame into Flash. If the files are numbered (they should be) then just let Flash import them all.
  5. Lock the layer the bitmaps are in, and create a new layer.
  6. Start tracing the outlines of your object. Use the straight line tool, then bend the lines with your mouse to fit the shape. This yields best results, both thimewise and filesize-wise.
  7. Once you have the outlines traced, use your paint bucket to fill matched gradients into the shapes. This is the tough part, and you'll need to define a lot of gradients. Use the eyedropper tool on the bitmap to get the right colors.
  8. If you want to add shadows, add another layer and use transparent gradients with fuzzed edges to trace the gradients. This is used in the Spinning A example.
  9. Once it's all done, delete the outlines. They take up filesize and are ugly.
  10. Delete the layer with the bitmaps and delete all the bitmaps from your library. You don't need them anymore!
  11. You're done. Go to sleep, you need it. Drink some coffee, take a walk. Then, once you're awake again, use your new animation in your movie!