I SWEAR I read a thread somewhere about a program that allowed you to turn fonts into 3-d objects. Am I insane? If I am, is there anyone who could point me to some 3d letters and such? Thank you in advance!

-Sarah

Any modelling program will do that. 

 Yeah, I am sure, but I don't have one and wouldn't know what to do with one if I did LOL.

-Sarah

This may be what you are thinking of -

http://market.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/index.php?ViewProduct=66569

 Yes! Thank you so much!

Hmm. That's a neat marketing idea. Create a program that does just one of the millions of things that modeling freeware is capable of, then sell it.

 Well, I have opened modelling programs before, thrown up, and then closed them. I don't really want to learn how to model, so yes, easy ways to do things are appreciated by those of us who don't/can't/want to model anything :-)

-Sarah

http://www.armanisoft.ch/webdesign/elefont/Elefont.html

check out elefont. files will import to Poser.

 Yes, check out elfont, I have used it for years and it is perfect.  Use to be free.  Sharen

you dont need to model a letter in a 3d software. you have a option to writte a word and then turn it in 3d.

Wings 3D is a free modeler and has the ability to create dimensional letters from the existing fonts on your system. I have not used that feature often and you may have to judge if the quality is sufficient for your needs.

Chrisf

yup- elefont :)

Quote -  Well, I have opened modelling programs before, thrown up, and then closed them.

lol, now that makes for an awesome quote!

I had a similar reaction the first time or two I looked at Blender, but slowly I am managing to keep things down. :-)

If you still need 3d letters pm me and I'll see what I can come up with.

been playing with elefont last night and it is very easy to use. I also recommend getting a 3d conversion program like 3dwin to convert to obj.

Quote - http://www.armanisoft.ch/webdesign/elefont/Elefont.html

check out elefont. files will import to Poser.

I just got around to downloading this and trying it out.  I'm impressed!  

Cool, wish I had known about Elefont earlier... I bought Font to Mesh Convertr last year (tho I'm positive I didn't pay anywhere close to 19.95 for it).

Hello,
Carrara also can do that. It does come close to the 19.95 $ or less price point if you get the DAZ book which includes C6 Pro.

Best regards,
    Michael
 

Attached Link: Tink's Cafe - 3D text extrusion done in Elefont

I love ***Elefont***!  It creates a mesh in *.dxf* format.  Poser often chokes on that, so if you have a modeler, convert it to an *.obj* before importing to Poser.  Also, you'll sometimes get these "icicles" protruding from the mesh, as seen in the screenshot of the Elefont UI.  A modeler can nudge such outlying vertices back into position. Elefont gives options for chamfering the edges;  a nice touch. This gallery image linked above shows an Elefont extrusion, using Windows' included *Harlow* font, and setting Elefont to produce rounded edges.

Attached Link: Open House at the Elvish Cottage

Drifting off topic, but you should also get the free ***Ivy Generator*** by Thomas Luft;  it is both useful and fun to use - you watch the ivy "grow'!  The link above goes to my gallery;  there are some images there which use the ivy, re-textured as raspberry vines and holly.

Ivy Generator:  http://graphics.uni-konstanz.de/~luft/ivy_generator/

Belatedly, I looked up Font to Mesh Express Converter.  It exports to .obj which is the easiest format for Poser to swallow.  Does anyone know if it offers options for chamfering the edges?

Quote - I love Elefont!  It creates a mesh in .dxf format.  Poser often chokes on that, so if you have a modeler, convert it to an .obj before importing to Poser.  Also, you'll sometimes get these "icicles" protruding from the mesh, as seen in the screenshot of the Elefont UI.  A modeler can nudge such outlying vertices back into position.
Elefont gives options for chamfering the edges;  a nice touch.
This gallery image linked above shows an Elefont extrusion, using Windows' included Harlow font, and setting Elefont to produce rounded edges.

Ok, when I did this, I didn't get nice rounded edges. Plus I had a few pokey things (icicles?) protruding from the top of the numbers.

How do you get the font to be smooth edged ?

Some fonts are prone to causing "pokey things" than others.

Using the rounded corners chamfer option is the most likely to cause pokey things.

If you have a modeler, open the .dxf model, select the outlier edge/vertex and slide it back to where it should be.

If you don't have a modeler, you could try a different chamfer style (45 degree, e.g.) or a different font.

If you have your heart set on a particular font with the rounded corners and can't fix it, let me know the font you want and the text (numbers, in your case?) you want, and I'll see if I can make it presentable.

If I understand the question correctly (how do you get a smooth edge), you bevel/chamfer the edges.  Press the B ball-shaped button and it will pop up a list of edge chamfering options.**

T**  opens your computer's list of fonts.

Q  (horizontal slider) controls the mesh resolution, i.e., low-poly to high polygon count.

E  (hor. slider) controls extrusion depth.

e  toggles to open/close a strip window which displays the text which you've entered, in the selected font.  I didn't have it open when I took the screenshot above.

B  opens a menu list of edge bevel (chamfer) options.

S  (hor. slider) scales the edge bevel.

F  opens the file save prompt box.

H  is for help, but if you mouse over a button to highlight it, you'll get it's name;  then press F1 to get a brief description of the button's function.