Can you make a 3d rotating logo with illustrator to put on a website?

Question

Hello! I need to make a rotating 3d logo for a website. Sort of like flash without flash. I tried gif builder but it didn't offer a rototing image. The logo is prettty much 3d already just need someway of getting it to rotate on a webpage. Any suggestions greatly appreciated!!!

Answer 1

As has already been mentioned, making the ubiquitous spinning extruded logo is considerably less tedious in other (and much cheaper) programs, like Xara 3D or Xara Designer. The lighting & shading is also better, because its output is raster.
But let's face it; spinning icons stopped being exciting about 15 years ago. It's about as stimulating these days as a slide transition in Powerpoint. There is no "wow" factor anymore. So one has to ask, what is worth the bother of doing it in Illustrator?
Three things:
First, if scaleability on the web page is required, the output frames need to be vector. (But don't go crazy with it. Instant-gratification features that try to do the illustrator's work for him [like 3D Effect] usually generate absurdly complicated constructs with far too many objects for practical vector animation.)
Second, practically speaking, Illustrator's value in this regard is limited to what must be frame-by-frame animations. For example, this simple animation is vector, and it's arguably more intersting than yet another logo spinning on its axis. But it's inadvisable for this animation to be built as frame-by-frame. There's nothing about it that requires frame-by-frame. It's just two vector paths that change over time in scale and rotation. Rotation and scale be scripted in Flash. The result is smoother and more supple animation, more efficient file size, and the real power of Flash, which is interactvity.
Example
Third, if you're going to justify the tedium of Illustrator, look for things that actually require Illustrator. For example, there's certainly nothing special about Blends. But one of the most important differentiating aspects of Blends in AI is that you can blend between live effects (and not just 3D Effect). The next example below exploits the peculiar nature of a Warp Effect's remaining oriented to the page as the object to which it is applied rotates. The example will be rasterized upon output, but the live vector Envelope and its blending expedites its creation. (The animation is on page 11 of the PDF. Allow the yellow alert to enable embedded media. Click in the middle of the page to start the SWF) :
Example.
Another Example.
Jay,
I don't know which of the above-described steps you are having trouble with. If it's the concept of using top-level Layers and removing the unwanted extra at the end of the loop, see this example:
Example
PDF
JET