| Whether your website is selling ceramic pigs or | | | | reality image come in to play because using one |
| crystal chandeliers, one of the things you are | | | | of these solves the problem not only of time, but |
| almost certain to wish you could do is to display | | | | also expense, whilst still managing to break |
| your items on your website in the same way you | | | | through the two dimensional barrier and engage |
| would in a shop. In other words, allow the | | | | your visitors' interest, and also their trust. So how |
| potential customer to either walk around the item, | | | | do these Flash images work? |
| or pick it up to have a look at it. Neither of these | | | | At the simplest level, you simply place your |
| things are possible on a web page, unless of | | | | object on a pedestal or disk, and take a |
| course you're one of the people who have | | | | photograph of it. It's best to have your camera |
| discovered the ease and benefits of using a Flash | | | | on a tripod or fixed in place, and leave the |
| virtual reality image. | | | | camera still. Take a picture with the object facing |
| Whatever it is that you are selling, there is always | | | | you, then rotate the pedestal a bit, and take |
| going to be a barrier between you and your | | | | another picture. Keep doing this until the item is |
| customers when it comes to a website. That | | | | back facing you. You can achieve this in as few |
| barrier is the two dimensional nature of the | | | | as 8 photos, although using more increases the |
| screen that is used to display your goods, and | | | | eventual quality. A dozen is good, more than |
| although one day technology may overcome this | | | | twenty provides the best quality. |
| problem, for now we have to either accept the | | | | The next step is to upload these pictures into a |
| barrier as it is, and know that some customers | | | | folder, and tell your Flash virtual reality image file |
| will be put off by it, or do something clever to | | | | where the pictures are. That's it your job is done. |
| overcome the problem. | | | | The whole process takes only a few minutes, and |
| One of the methods used by many web | | | | anyone can do it with no need for special skills or |
| designers has been to create virtual reality images | | | | training. What the Flash image file does is to stitch |
| of the products on display. These basically means | | | | the images together into a sequence, almost like |
| that either they, or more likely a professional | | | | an animation sequence of slides that, if flicked |
| graphics artist, has spent quite some time | | | | through rapidly, would give the impression of the |
| recreating the look of a product in three | | | | object rotating. This is what you can do to start |
| dimensions. Whilst this does manage to create an | | | | with. The Flash file can display the first photo to |
| image of the object on the screen which a | | | | the customer, but then by cycling through the |
| customer can drag, rotate, zoom and look at | | | | photos fairly rapidly in succession, it creates a |
| from any angle, there are some problems with | | | | smooth animation that shows the customer the |
| doing this. | | | | item from every angle. |
| The first problem with a virtual reality | | | | But the really clever part is that this is fully |
| representation of an object is, of course, that it | | | | interactive. This means that by dragging the |
| isn't the actual object, and in most cases the | | | | mouse left and right, the customer can pause, |
| customer will know this. No matter how clever | | | | fast forward or rewind this sequence so that it |
| and careful the graphics designers are, in most | | | | gives the very real impression that they are |
| cases it is possible to tell the difference between | | | | grabbing, holding and rotating the item themselves |
| a 3D drawing of a product and a photograph of it. | | | | a virtually real product. |
| The second problem most people face is the time | | | | Immediately you have broken through the two |
| and the expense. Creating a virtual reality image | | | | dimensional barrier, and by not using a drawing of |
| of an object takes a huge amount of time, and | | | | the item, but showing the actual product itself, |
| graphics artists charge a fortune. If the product is | | | | you have ensured that your customer is given a |
| fairly simple, like a box or even a mobile phone, | | | | greater reason to trust you as a seller. Because |
| it's not too bad, but what about that ceramic pig, | | | | the only thing you have to do in future, to display |
| or a full blown Louis XIV chandelier? Not only that, | | | | any other item this way is simply to copy and |
| but quite possibly you may have stock which | | | | paste your Flash virtual reality image and then tell |
| changes regularly, and it's simply not possible to sit | | | | it where the pictures are for that particular |
| around and wait for several days or even weeks | | | | object, you can very quickly and easily build up a |
| for a 3D image to be created. | | | | huge catalogue of interactive virtual |
| That is where the advantages of a Flash virtual | | | | representations of your products. |