Easiest 3d metal/chrome for any shapes/letters (Easy)

[SteveBreezeR]

@ASH I Followed the TuT ,tO THE Exact Step and see everyone else has no prob! i opened PDN ,Drew a Round Rectangle with the primary color set to grey then it says to add new layer and do drop shadow ,but im not getting any shadow ? what am i doing wrong is the image or object have to b Drawn on a transparent Backround? i dunno ,Please Help sorry if i sound dumb Ash but i want to learn this :shock:

[Ash]

1st Add the new layer then draw your object.

Then Run Drop shadow.

[Dark Thoughts]

Hey Ash, thanks for the easy Tut! I created a 3d oval and it worked great. I played around with the conditional H&S settings but I couldn't figure out how to change the "reflections" to anything other than vertical or horizontal. Is there a way to set the angle of the H&S or rotate it once it is in place without affecting the surrounding objects? Also, is there a way to do a colored chrome using the method you have listed? Thanks!

Edit: Just thought of another question. If I'm doing a cone shape, is there an easy way to make the reflections narrow as they approach the point? Do I need to download 3d objects for that? I tried to follow the link you had listed with the eyeball tutorial, but the page wouldn't load.

[Ash]

Hey Ash, thanks for the easy Tut! I created a 3d oval and it worked great. I played around with the conditional H&S settings but I couldn't figure out how to change the "reflections" to anything other than vertical or horizontal. Is there a way to set the angle of the H&S or rotate it once it is in place without affecting the surrounding objects? Also, is there a way to do a colored chrome using the method you have listed? Thanks!

Edit: Just thought of another question. If I'm doing a cone shape, is there an easy way to make the reflections narrow as they approach the point? Do I need to download 3d objects for that? I tried to follow the link you had listed with the eyeball tutorial, but the page wouldn't load.

1. Yes, you can rotate the object using then use the conditional H&S and you can adjust the chrome to any angle.

2. After you finish the tut, then use color filter to add color to get your "color chrome"

3. You will need to make a cylinder shape then use Oct/Quad Reshape/matt plugin.

4. Check shape3d thread, There is a working link.

Good luck.

[Dark Thoughts]

1. Yes, you can rotate the object using then use the conditional H&S and you can adjust the chrome to any angle.

2. After you finish the tut, then use color filter to add color to get your "color chrome"

3. You will need to make a cylinder shape then use Oct/Quad Reshape/matt plugin.

4. Check shape3d thread, There is a working link.

1. I was already familiar with the move tool, but I only know how to move the entire object with it. Likewise, if I use the "rotate" option, it rotates the entire object. If I were to create a chrome cylinder, how do I rotate the chrome pattern inside of it without rotating the cylinder itself? Is it possible? Am I missing something incredibly obvious?

2. Thanks! Works great!

3. Thanks again! Works great!

4. I went back to the thread and found it working. I've downloaded the Shape 3d plugin and found it works incredibly well and is very easy to use.

[Ash]

1. Yes, you can rotate the object using then use the conditional H&S and you can adjust the chrome to any angle.

2. After you finish the tut, then use color filter to add color to get your "color chrome"

3. You will need to make a cylinder shape then use Oct/Quad Reshape/matt plugin.

4. Check shape3d thread, There is a working link.

1. I was already familiar with the move tool, but I only know how to move the entire object with it. Likewise, if I use the "rotate" option, it rotates the entire object. If I were to create a chrome cylinder, how do I rotate the chrome pattern inside of it without rotating the cylinder itself? Is it possible? Am I missing something incredibly obvious?

2. Thanks! Works great!

3. Thanks again! Works great!

4. I went back to the thread and found it working. I've downloaded the Shape 3d plugin and found it works incredibly well and is very easy to use.

1. You will have to move the whole object, unless you dup the layer and use drop shadow on the bottom layer, so the "cap" of the cylinder is on the top layer, and the "side" is on the bottom layer. (hmm...or use the right mouse button to rotate)

2,3,4. You're welcome

[Dark Thoughts]

There might be an easier way, but I've discovered that I can draw a square, make it chrome, use the right mouse button to rotate it and then put another shape inside of it before trimming to fit. Its a lot of little steps but it works well enough to suit my current needs.

[soul41]

.......

[007 Nab]

Nice-I like the mouth and nose especially. What kind of distort did you use to uhh - distort them - like that?

[Boude]

Thanks Ash, for another great tut.

As you would have probably noticed by now I have commented on most of your tuts, this is because you said your tuts are underapreciated and because I haven't replied to any of your tuts so far I just wanted to say thanks a couple of times.

[jnallee]

Nice tut Ash, thanks! Can't wait to try it only when I click on the link to the "Drop Shadow" plugin I get a 404 error. I have searched high and low on the forums and cannot find it anywhere!?!??! Anyone know if there is a current link to it anywhere?

Thanks,

N

[Sarkut]

It's part of KrisVDM's plugin pack.

Scroll down the pinned items until you see Drop Shadow.

http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/forum/7-plugins-publishing-only/

Edited August 21, 2010 by Sarkut

[Ego Eram Reputo]

Links updated.

Note that Conditional Hue & Saturation is now included in Evan Olds' plugin pack Evan's Effects

[Lance McKnight]

It's a shame this tutorial couldn't be updated to use the trail plug-in. It's faster to use than Drop Shadow and still keeps the edge AA'd.

[Manc]

I like it,something new to mess about with.Cheers

[zovs66]

The original tutorial is like 15 years old and Drop Shadow does not look or function like the first post. Has this tutorial been updated? Is there something that uses the new Paint.net 5.0 features?

[Pixey]

1 hour ago, zovs66 said:

Drop Shadow does not look or function like the first post.

 

Yes, I notice that the edges are more 'rounded' in version 5.0. 

 

For now, I suggest you use the Rectangle Select tool to cut off the edges:

 

[zovs66]

1 hour ago, Pixey said:

 

Yes, I notice that the edges are more 'rounded' in version 5.0. 

 

For now, I suggest you use the Rectangle Select tool to cut off the edges:

 

 

Wow that looks amazing!

I am a newbie and did not get that far!

[MJW]

Now that the  Drop Shadow plugin works differently, I think it would be best the follow @Lance McKnight's advice to use Trail instead.

 

Something like:

• Create the original shape as red
• Duplicate the layer
• Change the top layer to Black and White.
• Run Trail on the lower layer, with the angle set to straight down (270°).  You'll probably want to uncheck Fade Out.
• Apply the Conditional Hue & Saturation color tricks to the lower layer.
• Adjust the Brightness/Contrast of the top layer.
• Merge the layers.

 

Though it sounds a bit complicated, I think in practice it may actually be simpler than the original method.

 

EDIT: Thanks to @TrevorOutlaw for reminding me about Trail's Fade Out option, which should be unchecked to produce the original result. Also, from what I can see, if the original object has a smooth (non-jaggy) profile, and the edge produced by Trail will likewise be smooth; at least if the High Quality option is checked.

 

EDIT 2: For a smoother, feathered bottom edge, first run Trail with Fade Out unchecked, then run it again with Fade Out checked, and the Distance set to around 2 or 3.

 

[TrevorOutlaw]

2 hours ago, MJW said:

Now that the  Drop Shadow plugin works differently, I think it would be best the follow @Lance McKnight's advice to use Trail instead.

 

Something like:

• Create the original shape as red
• Duplicate the layer
• Change the top layer to Black and White.
• Run Trail on the lower layer, with the angle set to straight down (270°).
• Apply the Conditional Hue & Saturation color tricks to the lower layer.
• Adjust the Brightness/Contrast of the top layer.
• Merge the layers.

 

Though it sounds a bit complicated, I think in practice it may actually be simpler than the original method.

 

 

Just did it this way and confirms using Trail works better (can untick the Fade Out or leave it ticked for different effect). Only issue I saw was that the edges would be jagged, and using @BoltBait feather plug-in works. I haven't tried using @dpy AA Assistant plug-in yet. Better to run feather before merging the layers, though.

Edited January 18, 2023 by TrevorOutlaw