CompuServe Messages

Try this, darin, if you have a program like Freehand or CorelDraw. I'll use CorelDraw for the example, since that is what I am most familair with. 1) Create a proportionally scaled down version of your image with 3DS (for example divide your horizontal and vertical rez by 8 and keep the aspect ratio the same.) 2) Import this image into CorelDraw and create circles and arrows as needed. 3) Delete the scaled down image object from CorelDraw, but first create a _black_ bounding box the same size as the scaled image for a background. 4) Export this image to a TGA or whatever. Upon exporting make sure you export the created objects only (as opposed to the whole page). Also export to the same rez as your original big image. 5) Use 3DS Video Post with two entries. The first is your image, the second is the new annotation bitmap you just created in CorelDraw. Click the Alpha for the bitmap and use Queue RGB and Key color (selecting black for the key color). 6) Render to the finished image. The biggest trick is making sure the exported image from CorelDraw matches the rez of the original image, and that it only includes the region bounded by the background box. In CorelDraw, this is done be choosing Edit/Select All before exporting, and then checking the "Selected Objects Only" checkbox. Wow, words just don't cut it for communicating a graphical concept!! Oh, well. It's one idea for you, anyway. There are many variations on using scaled-down images as proxys until the final composite. Hope it works for you. — James — Choreo Motion —