Creating a Model

It is very easy to create a model in Cover Professional. You just need to select an object from the Select Object list on the left, specify side images and set up a necessary angle. In this section we will consider this process in detail.

If Cover Professional is not open, start it by selecting the corresponding shortcut in the Start menu. You will see the main window of the program as shown below. If the program is open, select New from the File menu to create a new project.



The project settings are located on the left side of the window. All settings are separated by tabs. On the right side is the preview window, which shows how the model will look on the final image. You can zoom in or zoom out the view of the object and free rotate the view by dragging it with the mouse.

From the Object tab, select the Vista Box from the Select Object list. Make sure the Add CD check box is checked and CD is located to the front right of the object. You can experiment by choosing other CD positions from the drop-down list.

Switch to the Textures and Colors tab. Assign the image for the front side of the object. To do this, click the button to the right of the corresponding field (shown below).



This opens the Image Editor dialog. Click the Open button, navigate to the Samples\Textures folder which is located in the Cover Professional directory, and select the file Cover Professional - Front, Back.png.



Click OK to accept the image you have selected and exit the Image Editor dialog box.

Similarly, assign images for the remaining sides of the object. Load them from the following files:

Object side File
Front Cover Professional - Front, Back.png
Left Cover Professional - Left, Right.png
Top Cover Professional - Top, Bottom.png
Right Cover Professional - Left, Right.png
Back Cover Professional - Front, Back.png
Bottom Cover Professional - Top, Bottom.png

Tip. You can drag image files from the Windows Explorer and drop them into the Image Editor window, as well as directly into the fields, corresponding to object sides.

We will use a white background for the scene. Select the Color radio button in the Background group — the scene background will be changed from transparent to white. (You can select any background color you want by clicking the color selection box to the right of the Color radio button.)

Switch to the Position tab. It contains settings that define the position of the camera, the scale of the scene, the incline of the object, as well as the width, height and depth of the object. Experiment with these settings to see how they effect the image.

Tip. You can zoom in or zoom out the view of the object and rotate around it in the preview pane using the mouse. Use the left or the middle mouse button to rotate around the object, and the right mouse button or wheel scrolling to zoom in or zoom out the view of the object.

For our scene, we’ll set the camera horizontal rotation angle to –25°, and the Zoom parameter to 85%. Leave the camera vertical rotation, back—front and left—right incline of the object equal to 0°, and the width, height and depth of the object equal to 100%.

On the Other tab set the intensity of light to 100%. On this tab, you can also adjust the shadow and reflection parameters. Move the sliders to the left or right to see how these parameters change the scene appearance. Set the shadow opacity to 40%, and intensity and opacity of the reflection to 15% and 50% respectively. The model is finished.



Save your project by clicking the Save button on the toolbar, or by selecting Save from the File menu. Now you can return to the created model at any time.

See also:
Rendering