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7 4 G R A P H I C S P R O A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M Kicker HEADLINE SUBHEAD 7 4 G R A P H I C S P R O A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M S I G N A G E & P R I N T I N G C O L U M N T I T L E | A U T H O R N A M E ROTATE, EXTRUDE, REVOLVE 3D EFFECTS WITH VECTOR SOFTWARE L et's chat about the dimensions of the universe. As humans we experience the world in four dimensions. A non-dimen- sional object is simply a point that can be somewhere in space. It has no form but has a location. If the object is one dimen- sional, it has length and appears as a line. A two-dimensional object has height and width and appears as a flat shape. A three-dimensional object appears as a solid object that can be rotated to observe all sides. (Fig. 1) e fourth dimension adds duration to the scene so that the object can be observed over time. Beyond the fourth dimension, reality warps into parallel universes. Some physicists claim that there are 11 dimensions. All very well and good! Eleven dimensions goes well beyond the parameters of this article where we will concern ourselves exclusively with three dimensions. As I'm sure you are aware, there are dedicated professional software programs that produce astoundingly realistic three- dimensional animation and special effects that we see in mov- ies. All these sophisticated technologies have evolved over time and have worked their way into the mainstream media. In this article however, I'd like to focus on 3 D features that are relatively simple to use and are available in software that you probably own. VECTOR BENDING 3 D modeling in vector-based software is relatively straight- forward. e features that apply to vector objects – rotations, extrusions, bevels, and revolutions – are available in Adobe Illustrator and CorelDR AW. While the techniques in these programs are slightly different, the outcomes are essentially identical. 7 4 G R A P H I C S P R O A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M S I G N A G E & P R I N T I N G T H E D I G I T A L E Y E | S T E P H E N R O M A N I E L L O Fig. 1: A 3D object appears as a solid object whose sides can be rotated and observed. (All images courtesy Stephen Romaniello) Fig. 2: The Rotate dialog box has controls that alter the angle of the X (horizontal), Y (vertical) and Z (frontal) axis.