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Version 3.9.

Defining Materials and Textures


A Comprehensive User’s Guide
Defining Material and Textures: A Comprehensive User’s Guide was written by
Edna Kruger; updated by Maggie Kathwaroon; and edited by Edna Kruger and
John Woolfrey. Layout by Luc Langevin.
© 1996–2000 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved.
SOFTIMAGE and Avid are registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. or
its subsidiaries or divisions. mental ray and mental images are registered
trademarks of mental images GmbH & Co. KG in the U.S.A. and/or other
countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their
respective owners.
This document is protected under copyright law. The contents of this document
may not be copied or duplicated in any form, in whole or in part, without the
express written permission of Avid Technology, Inc. This document is supplied
as a guide for the SOFTIMAGE|3D product. Reasonable care has been taken in
preparing the information it contains. However, this document may contain
omissions, technical inaccuracies, or typographical errors. Avid Technology,
Inc. does not accept responsibility of any kind for customers’ losses due to the
use of this document. Product specifications are subject to change without
notice.
Printed in Canada.
1100
Table of Contents

Contents
C H A P T E R O N E
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
What’s a Surface? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

C H A P T E R T W O
Light. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Creating a Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Editing Lights Interactively with LightMaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Creating Lighting Effects with FxDirector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Including or Excluding Objects from a Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Creating Shadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Using Light Shaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Creating Caustic and Global Illumination Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

C H A P T E R T H R E E
Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Defining a Material. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Defining Colours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Reflectivity, Transparency, and Refraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Previewing a Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Creating Static Blur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Creating a Hierarchy for Material Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Copying Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Sharing Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Assigning Materials to Polygons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Animating Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Using Material Shaders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

C H A P T E R F O U R
2D Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Picture and 2D Texture Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

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Table of Contents

Reordering Multiple 2D Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101


Choosing a Mapping Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102
Blending Textures with the Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
Displaying Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109
Scaling, Rotating, and Translating Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
Realigning a Texture on Multiple Polygons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114
Creating Mapping Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Creating a Reflection Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
Creating Texture and Light Maps with RenderMap (mental ray).125
Refining the Texture’s Resolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130
Copying Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131
Setting the Current Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134
Applying Textures to Polygons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135
Using 2D Texture Shaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141
Projecting Textures from the Camera’s Perspective . . . . . . . . . .143
ToonAssistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147
Animating 2D Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152
Generating Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155

C H A P T E R F I V E
Painting and Editing 2D Textures and Vertex Colours . . .
159
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161
Editing UV Textures on Polygons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
Working with Vertex Colours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177

C H A P T E R S I X
3D Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189
Creating 3D Textures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191
Editing the Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196
Blending the Texture with the Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200
Transforming the Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202
Copying 3D Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203
Associating and Disassociating Textures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204
Assigning Textures to Polygons Locally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205
Using 3D Texture Shaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .206

4 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Table of Contents

C H A P T E R S E V E N
Atmosphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Creating Depth-fading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Controlling the Global Ambience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Creating Fog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Creating 3D Smoke with the FxDirector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

C H A P T E R E I G H T
Creating and Reducing Colour Palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Creating a Palette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Colour Reduction Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Generating a Colour-reduced Image. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 5


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6 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


C H A P T E R O N E

Introduction

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 7


Introduction

8 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Introduction

Introduction
An important part of the process of creating a 3D image in
SOFTIMAGE|3D is the lighting of the scene, the material definition of
the object’s surface, and any textures that are added to complete the
definition. These are the tools designed to accomplish all these tasks:

Light
A basic element you will work with is light. Lights affect the way all
objects’ surfaces appear in the scene. You can dramatically change the
nature and mood of your scene by changing light types, as well as
their parameters.
For more information on light, see Light on page 13.

Materials
Material definition is achieved by applying material properties to the
object’s surface. These are properties such as colour, the shading
modes, reflectivity, transparency, and refraction.
For more information on material, see Material on page 59.

2D and 3D Textures
In addition to material, you can also add texture to an object to
enhance its appearance. If you add a new texture without selecting a
material, SOFTIMAGE|3D automatically assigns a default material.
Applying textures to your objects can give them an increased sense of
realism. Textures can be used to create an endless variety of colour
patterns, surface roughness, transparency, and reflectivity.
The 3D textures are solid procedural textures can be used to create an
infinite variety of effects starting with three basic pattern types:
wood, marble, or clouds.
2D textures are created using source picture files, which you can then
manipulate. There are a number of mapping effects available with 2D
textures to give you a great amount of flexibility.
For more information on 3D textures, see 3D Textures on page 187;
for information on 2D textures, see 2D Textures on page 93.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 9


Introduction

Atmosphere
You can add atmospheric effects such as fog, illumination, and
depth-fading to your scene. These effects work in conjunction with
the currently selected lights that are in the scene.
For more information on atmosphere, see Atmosphere on page 209.

Colour Reduction
For various reasons, including output to a lower-resolution platform,
you can create a reduced palette that is representative of the colours
present in the image.
For more information on reducing colours, see Creating and
Reducing Colour Palettes on page 223.

10 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


What’s a Surface?

What’s a Surface?
An object is defined by points in space that are connected together to
create a surface of polygons or patches. This is the surface that
receives all material and texture attributes. For the purpose of
rendering, SOFTIMAGE|3D divides a surface into triangles, which is
a process known as tessellation.
Each triangle is a planar surface with its front face oriented in one
direction. The orientation of this surface is shown by a vector
(direction line) called a normal, located on the points (vertices) of each
triangle. Since a polygon has only one side visible to the camera, the
normal always needs to be oriented in the direction of the camera to
make that surface visible (you can, however, make all surfaces visible to
the camera – see the Render menu command for more information).
When the surface has been defined using a combination of lights,
materials, and textures, the rendering process calculates all these
attributes to create a final image. SOFTIMAGE|3D calculates the
relation between the orientation of normals and the light source to
determine the surface attributes of each triangle.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 11


Introduction

12 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


C H A P T E R T W O

Light

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 13


Light

14 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Introduction

Introduction
A basic element you will work with is light. Lights affect the way all
objects’ surfaces appear in the scene. You can dramatically change the
nature and mood of your scene by changing light types, as well as
their parameters.
You should always define material and texture attributes after defining
your light sources since parameters associated with light (such as
falloff, colour, and shadow) affect the surface attributes of the object.

Types of Light
There are four kinds of light sources you will use in your scenes. If
you render an object without defining a light source, the software
automatically creates a light. The default light is a white point light
positioned at 100, 100, 100, and does not cast shadows.
The types of light sources include an infinite light, a point light, a
spotlight, and the sun.
• Infinite lighting sets a light source that is infinitely far from objects
in the scene. There is no position associated with the light, only a
direction. Since the light is infinitely far away, all objects are lit at
the same angle.
• Point lighting sets an omnidirectional light. Light rays travel in all
directions from the position of the light. This type of light is similar
to a light bulb where there are light rays emanating in all directions
from a single position. Depending on the position of objects in
relation to the light, the light hits them at different angles.

Infinite light Point light Spot light


All light travels in Light radiates outward from Light radiates outward from
same direction. source in all directions. source along a conic path.

• Spot lighting sets a unidirectional light. This is useful for lighting a


specific object or area. Light rays travel in a cone from the position
of the light toward the light interest. The light interest is like a

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 15


Light

camera’s interest: the spot light always points in its direction. This is
useful for animating an object with a spot light following it: just
constrain the spot’s interest to that object and the spot light follows.
• Sun lighting is an infinite light whose direction vector is derived
from a physical simulation based on the latitude and longitude of
the scene location and the specified time, date, month, and year.
All of these lights and their parameters can be animated. For more
information on light parameters, see the Light > Define command
on page 1060 in the Reference Guide.

What Can You Do with Lights?


You can use as many lights in a scene as you wish, but each light you
add slows down the rendering slightly. As mentioned before, all light
parameters can be animated. You can, for example, change a light’s
colour over time, or its intensity. You can animate hiding and
displaying a light to create a “lights on/lights off” effect. If you’re
using mental ray, you can use area lights to create soft shadows in
your scene.
Note: This feature requires the mental ray renderer, which is not a
Note
part of the SOFTIMAGE|3D GT package, but may be
purchased separately.
You can also change the cone and spread angle of a spot light over
time to light a “theatre” production or Broadway show!

Animate the cone angle of a spotlight from 15 degrees to 30 to 45.

16 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Introduction

Helpful Tools
There are two viewing modes that can assist you while defining
lights: the Shade view mode in most windows, and the Light mode in
the Schematic window.

Using the Shade View Mode


A tool that is useful during the process of colouring objects and
positioning lights is the Shade view mode in the title bar of most
windows (see Shade View Mode on page 56 in the Reference Guide).
This provides you with a quickly shaded view using a hardware-
rendering that allows you to view an approximation of the objects’
final appearance. Depending on the hardware your machine is
running, it may be a software emulation of true hardware
acceleration. However, the Shade view does not distinguish between
point or spot lights. Also, some specific material attributes such as
transparency, reflectivity, shadows, and refraction can only be viewed
using the Preview menu command or in the final rendered picture.

Using the Schematic Light Mode


The Light mode in the Schematic window displays the lights and
their links such as constraints, path animation, and selective lights.
Links are labelled with the relation name. You can use this view on its
own or cumulatively with other Schematic view modes (such as
Model or Matter) to see lights on their own, or to see the
relationships between lights and other elements in your scene.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 17


Light

Creating a Light
The process of creating a default light is very simple: choose Light >
Define, click Ok, and accept the default parameters.
To create a more specific light, choose the Light > Define command
to define all settings for your new light.
The following example shows how to put a light in a scene.
1. Create or select any scene that has no light defined.
2. Choose the Light > Define command.
3. The Create Light dialog box is displayed.
4. Choose a light type: Point, Spot, Infinite, or Sun and click Ok.
5. Move the light around to see how it illuminates the objects in the
scene. If you chose a Point or Spot light type, position it
according to the objects in your scene. Move the Spot light’s
interest around and watch the spot light follow it.
6. To get an approximate indication of the spot light’s angle, choose
Show > Cone.
7. If you want to go back and edit the light’s parameters, select the
light and choose Light > Edit. The same dialog box is displayed as
when you created the light and you can set all parameters, except
the light’s type (Spot, Point, etc.).
Tip:
Tip Light > Define always creates a new light, but Light > Edit
lets you edit an existing light.

Changing the Light’s Colour


Changing a light’s colour uses the same principles and basic tools as
changing the colour of an object’s material.
1. Select the light whose colour you want to edit.
2. Choose Light > Edit.
3. In the dialog box that appears, drag the slider for each colour
component (range is from 0 to 1) or type the value in the text
boxes beside the sliders.
4. By default the colour model is RGB, but you can click the RGB
button to change between RGB, HSL, and HSV colour models.

18 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Creating a Light

You can also click the Palette button to create, save, or use your own
defined colours. See Selecting Palette Entries on page 228 for more
information on using the palette.
5. Click Ok to save the parameters.
In HLS, the hue refers to the colours red, green, and blue; the
lightness is the amount of white mixed in a colour, such as the
difference between a pure red and pink. The saturation is the
intensity or purity of the colour such as the difference between a pure
red and a dusty rose.
In HSV the colour model defines the hue and saturation, like the HLS
model. Value is almost identical to lightness, as in HLS, however, a
Value of 1 represents a pure colour, while for Lightness it is white.

Changing the Light’s Intensity


You can change the light’s intensity over distance by setting the light’s
start and end falloff. This is usually done in relation to an object. The
Start and End Falloff parameters are available only for Point and
Spot light types.
Start Falloff specifies the point at which the light intensity starts to
decrease in all directions. End Falloff specifies the point at which the
light intensity has dimmed completely. The distance for the Falloff
parameters are measured in SOFTIMAGE units.

0 0 0

12

Falloff
Start and End Falloff values are shown. (Used a point light, umbra = 0; top of
staircase is 5 units from the light, bottom is 12 units).

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 19


Light

To set the falloff values, follow these steps:


1. Choose Light > Define and create a Point or Spot type light.
Click Ok to close the dialog box.
2. Figure out the distance over which you want the light to dim in
SOFTIMAGE units. You can do this by counting the units
between the light and the object if the light is at a direct angle to
an object, such as directly above, below, beside, etc.
If the light is at an angle to the object, follow these steps to use the
Info > Distance command, which calculates the distance between
the light and an object’s centre (see page 1013 in the Reference
Guide for more information).
3. Choose the Info > Distance command. Middle-click near the
light and then your object. To use the object’s centre as a
reference point, press the Shift key and then pick the object.
4. The points are highlighted and a yellow line is drawn between the
light and the object’s centre. The distance (in SOFTIMAGE
units) between the two is displayed in the status line at the
bottom of the display. Take note of this number.
5. Select the light again and choose Light > Edit.
6. Using the distance values you figured out, set the Start Falloff
and End Falloff values. For example, set Start Falloff to 0 and
End Falloff to 120.
7. Click Ok to accept the values.
Tip:
Tip A light’s falloff parameters are often defined in conjunction
with depth-fading or atmosphere, such as in a smoky bar
room or heavy fog. See Atmosphere on page 209 for more
information on these features.

Creating Diffuse Lights


You can activate or deactivate the specular highlight of a light. Since
diffuse lighting does not contribute to any specular highlights in the
scene, you can easily edit a light’s highlight without having to edit
individual parameters.
Note:
Note This option works only with the mental ray renderer.

20 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Creating a Light

To deactivate the specular contribution of a light:


1. Select a light.
2. Choose the Light > Edit command to open the Light dialog box.
3. Select the Diffuse option. This creates diffuse-only lighting for
that light.
4. Click Ok to exit the dialog box.

Changing the Light’s Area of Influence


You can change a spot light’s area of influence by setting parameters
for the cone and spread angles. The Cone angle sets the angle in
degrees the cone for the Spot type of light. The Spread angle sets the
angle in degrees the decreasing light around the spot light cone.

Cone
Spread

Follow these steps to adjust the cone and spread angle of a spot light:
1. Choose the Light > Define command and choose a Spot light type.
2. Change the values for the Cone angle. Use 10 for this example,
but play around with them
3. Change the Spread angle to 30 for this example, but vary its value
to see how it behaves in relation to the Cone Angle.
4. Click Ok to accept the values and exit the Create Light dialog
box.
5. Make sure that the camera is placed above the light in the
Perspective window.
6. Choose Preview > All to see the cone and spread angles of the
spot light.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 21


Light

Editing Lights Interactively with


LightMaster
The LightMaster command allows you to edit multiple lights and
view the results interactively. It is a useful alternative to using the
existing Light > Edit command, which allows you to edit only one
light at a time and does not interactively show you the results.
LightMaster is accessible from the Light menu in all modules except
Tools. The dialog box lists all the lights in the scene from which you
can select one or more and edit their colour (all light types), falloff
values (only point and spot lights), and cone and spread angle values
(only spot lights). You can also edit the position of the light and the
position of the interest (for spot lights only). The results are shown
interactively in all window views in Wireframe and Shade view modes.
To help you accurately assess the results of editing the lights, the
LightMaster plug-in allows you to set the camera position and
interest to that of the selected light. In the Perspective view, you can
then see the scene from the point of view of the selected light.

Editing Point and Spot Lights


Using the Light Master plug-in, you can edit the following
parameters of point and spot lights:
• The Start Falloff and End Falloff (apply to point and spot lights).
• The Cone Angle and Spread Angle (apply only to spot lights).
Tip:
Tip Before opening the Light Master, select the Show Icons
option in the Shade View Setup dialog box, and then choose
the Show > Cones and Show > Cones (Unselected) menu
commands to see the effects of your changes on Spot light
cones interactively both in Wireframe view mode and in the
enhanced Shade view mode (that is, with mixed shade and
wireframe elements).
You can view the scene from either the standard camera point of view
or from the light’s point of view. For example, this allows you to
adjust the cone from the light’s perspective to be sure that it properly
illuminates certain objects in the scene.

22 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Editing Lights Interactively with LightMaster

1. Choose the Light > LightMaster menu command. The Light


Master dialog box is displayed.

2. Click on a light in the list box to select it. To select more than
one, press Shift while clicking.
- The Lights Selected text box displays the number of lights
currently selected.
- If the selected light is a point or a spot, its Start and End Falloff
values are displayed for the corresponding options.
- If the selected light is a spot, its Cone and Spread Angle values are
also displayed for the appropriate options.
- If more than one light is selected, the values displayed are those of
the last light selected. If both point and spot lights are selected,
the values displayed are those of the last spot light selected.
In the Wireframe view mode, the cone(s) of the selected and
unselected spot lights are displayed, if you had chosen the Show >
Cones and Show > Cones (Unselected) menu commands.
3. To hide or display selected lights, click Toggle Visibility.
4. To view the scene from the light’s perspective, click Light Point
of View.
- If the selected light is not a spot, the camera is simply
repositioned to the light position.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 23


Light

- If a spot light is selected, the camera interest is moved to be the


same as the selected light interest. In the Perspective view, the
cone and spread angle are displayed; the camera focus includes
both the cone and spread angles. The illustration below shows the
Light Point of View setting, as seen in the enhanced Shade view
mode described in the tip on page 22.

- If you select another light in the list, click Camera Point of View
again to update the camera view.
- To reset the camera to its last position, click Camera Point of View.
5. As you edit the values for each option, the values for all selected
spot and/or point lights are updated and the results displayed in
the window views.
Note: Verify your selection before editing because all selected
Note
lights are updated to the values you set.

If you selected a sun or infinite light and try to edit the point and
spot options, a message is displayed warning you that at least one
spot or point light must be selected.

24 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Editing Lights Interactively with LightMaster

6. If you modify the Start Falloff and End Falloff values, the cones
of the selected lights are interactively updated in any window in
the Wireframe view mode.

- If you modify the Cone Angle and Spread Angle values for a
selected spot light, the circles representing these are updated in the
Perspective window view to show the effect of your modifications.
- If you are in Camera Point of View mode, the camera focus is
updated to include the cone angle plus the spread angle. As you
edit these values, the camera zooms in or out as required.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 25


Light

Note: The visibility of the cone and spread angle circles depends
Note on the End Falloff value: if the falloff ends before the object,
the circles are totally visible; if it ends behind a shaded
object, all or part of the circles are obscured by the object.

Editing a Light’s Colour


Using the Light Master plug-in, you can also edit the colour of
selected lights of any type: sun, infinite, point, and spot.
1. Choose the Light > LightMaster command. The Light Master
dialog box is displayed.
2. Click on a light in the list box to select it. To select more than
one, press the Shift key while clicking.
The Lights Selected text box displays the number of currently
selected lights.
If more than one light is selected, the colour in the Colour box and
its slider values are those of the selected light that appears at the top
of the list, whatever type of light it is.
3. Change the colour of your selection(s) using the sliders, or click
the Palette button to select a new colour.
4. Click Ok to apply your changes or Cancel to exit the dialog box
without applying the changes.

26 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Editing Lights Interactively with LightMaster

Previewing the Light Effect


You can preview what the light looks like when it is rendered by
clicking the Preview button.
The Preview button uses the SOFTIMAGE renderer by default. To
change it to the mental ray renderer, edit the parameters in the
Render Setup dialog box by choosing the Render menu command in
the Matter module.

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Light

Creating Lighting Effects with FxDirector


You can use the FxDirector command (Light > FxDirector in all
modules) to easily create a variety of special lighting effects, such as
lens flares, volumetric lighting, star filters, and slide projectors.
Note: This command works only with the mental ray renderer. It
Note
ignores all the other renderer types when rendering or
previewing.
The shader database Shader_Lib must be in the list of
SOFTIMAGE|3D databases loaded and must be called
Shader_Lib. This is performed automatically when
SOFTIMAGE|3D is installed with default settings.

Types of Effects
There are a number of effects from which you can select in the Effects
area of the FxDirector dialog box. Selecting an effect switches the
Property tab to show only the options available for that effect.
All types of effects work for both point and spot lights. You can scale
the resulting effect icons, but it does not affect the effects themselves.
• Volume is a volumetric lighting effect. The light illuminates the
surrounding atmosphere. This effect is visible in reflections and
through transparent objects.
Note: These effects are created using a volume shader attached to
Note
the scene atmosphere. The volume effects also take the
current depth fading options (Atmosphere > Depth Fading
in the Matter module). See page 32 for more details about
using Depth Fading with FxDirector.
- Shards simulates shards of light in the atmosphere (like light
filtering through treetops).
• Flare simulates a lens flare that occurs when a light source is visible
from the lens.
• Glow simulates an atmospheric glow around the light. This effect is
much faster than the Volume effect on point lights, but is not
reflected or refracted.
• Star simulates a star filter on the lens.
• Projector simulates a transparency in front of the light. The picture
that is used for the transparency may be an animated sequence (the

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Creating Lighting Effects with FxDirector

current frame is used for the picture file frame number). The
Projector effect also changes the colour of the illuminated
atmosphere if the Volume effect is selected.

Using the FxDirector


Here are some ways to use the FxDirector command.

Halo Light
1. Choose Get > Primitive > Cube (scale it a bit).
2. Create a raytraced point light and place it in the lower-left corner.
3. Choose the Light > FxDirector command. The FxDirector dialog
box appears.

4. Select the Volume option in the Effects area.


5. Click the Render button in the Preview area to preview the light
as a visible halo (in the mental ray preview window).

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 29


Light

6. Render using the mental ray renderer.

Sun Flare
To create this effect, apply the following parameters to a point light:

Shards of Light through a Window

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Creating Lighting Effects with FxDirector

Previewing the Effect


The Preview area of the FxDirector dialog box offers three preset
preview quality settings: Quick & Dirty, Standard, and Render
Settings. Clicking on the Render button previews the effect.
• Quick & Dirty is an undersampled (less than one ray traced per
pixel) preview. This is a fast, low image quality preview.
• Standard uses the default rendering options in the Preview Setup
dialog box.
• Render Settings uses the rendering options (antialiasing,
acceleration algorithm, etc.) set up in the Render Setup dialog box
(choose the Render menu command in the Matter module),
especially options obtained by clicking the Options button.

Freezing the Effects


You can create shaders (camera, material, output) for all the active
effects in the dialog box. After you freeze FxDirector effects by
clicking the Freeze All button in the FxDirector dialog box, you can
delete the command icon. Do not delete the command icon if you
have any animated effects because animation created with
FxDirector will be lost.

Keyframing the Effect


The Keyframe area of the FxDirector dialog box allows you to
animate various options of the effects. For example, you can keyframe
the Focus Pull (in the Lens Parameters) to animate the flares.
Click the Key button to keyframe all parameters at that frame. Use
the forward (>>) and backward (<<) buttons to move between
keyframes, and click the Del button to delete a keyframe.
Global parameters may not be animated. The function curves of the
animated parameters can be accessed by choosing the FcrvSelect >
Custom command in the Motion module.

Editing Lights
The Edit Light button in the FxDirector opens the Edit Light dialog
box for the current light so that you can edit its properties.

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Light

Saving and Loading Presets


The Load and Save buttons in the FxDirector dialog box open a
browser in which you can enter the path and the file name to save
and load files containing FxDirector setups. These are only necessary
if you want to create a preset of all the effects in the FxDirector dialog
box. This option is useful for easy storage of parameters when fine-
tuning an effect within the FxDirector dialog box.

Using FxDirector with Atmosphere Depth Fading


You can use FxDirector effects and the Atmosphere > Depth Fading
command at the same time. Since the Volume effects in FxDirector
take specified depth fading settings into account during rendering,
you can get cones of light that fade to the depth fading colour with
distance. Raytraced shadows must be active to get shadows of the
illuminated volume (unless the Force Volumic Shadows option for
the Volume Properties in the FxDirector dialog box is selected).
Note: FxDirector calculates depth fading differently than the
Note
standard SOFTIMAGE|3D depth fading and mental ray, but
the visual differences are slight.
Depth fading is not directly accessible through the FxDirector dialog
box. You must choose the Atmosphere > Depth Fading command in
the Matter module and then select the Depth Fading option in the
Depth Fading Setup dialog box.

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Including or Excluding Objects from a Light

Including or Excluding Objects from a


Light
You can have some objects affected by, or excluded from, a particular
light source in your scene. This can be useful if you’re using a
number of lights in a scene, but want to reduce the rendering time
(the more lights there are in scene, the longer it takes to render).
Only the objects that are affected by the light source are rendered
with its effect.
1. Choose Light > Define and select the Selective Light option to
define the light as selective. You can then choose whether the
light affects an object or not by selecting either Include or
Exclude.
- If you select Include, only objects associated with the light are
illuminated.
- If you select Exclude, objects associated with the light are the only
objects in the scene that are not illuminated.
2. Click Ok to exit the dialog box.
3. Select the object (or objects) in the scene that you want to include
with or exclude from the light.
4. Choose Light > Associate and pick the light that you set as
Selective.
Tip:
Tip In the Schematic window, choose the Light mode to see the
inclusions or exclusions for the light.

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Light

Creating Shadows
If you want your scene to have a more realistic look, you can create
shadows that appear to be cast by the objects in your scene. Shadows
serve two purposes: they create more realism in your scene, and they
create a sense of depth.
To create a shadow, you need a main light source, an object (or
objects) in the light’s path, and an object or surface onto which a
shadow is cast.
Shadows are affected by several attributes in a scene. Its colour and
values are affected by the light’s umbra value, the material’s ambiance
and colour, the texture’s binding factor with the material, and the
global ambiance setting. For example, if any of these values are set to
0,0,0, the object’s shadow is completely black.
There are several ways to create shadows:
• Create a depth map.
• Create raytraced shadows.
• Create soft shadows.
• Use area lights to create soft shadows.
• Create shadows from objects that are not visible.

Creating a Depth Map


This section describes how to create depth maps (shadow maps)
using the Softimage renderer. For information on creating shadow
maps using mental ray rendering software, see Creating mental ray
Shadow Maps on page 99 of the Rendering user’s guide.
A depth map uses a modified z-buffer algorithm to create shadows
more quickly than with raytracing, but not as precisely. This
algorithm calculates colour and depth (z) information for each pixel
based on its surface and distance from the camera.
Before rendering starts, a depth map is generated for the light. This
map contains information about the scene from the perspective of
the light origin; this information describes the distance from the light
to objects in the scene and the colour of the shadow on that object.
During the rendering process, the map is used to determine if an
object is in a shadow.

34 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Creating Shadows

1. Choose Light > Define.


2. Select a Spot type of light.
3. Select the Depth Map option.
4. You can then set the Map Resolution factor, which determines
the resolution of the shadow map computed.
5. Click Ok to accept the values.

Creating Raytraced Shadows


Raytracing involves calculating light rays that are reflected, refracted,
and obstructed onto surfaces. Although it gives very realistic results,
it can be a time-consuming process.
With raytraced shadows, you can also set the umbra intensity to
apply a transparency factor on the umbra (main) area of the shadow.
This defines how the shadow blends with the material’s colour on
which it is cast, which makes for a more realistic looking shadow.
1. Choose Light > Define.
2. Select any type of light.
3. Select the Raytraced option.
4. Select Umbra Intensity to apply a transparency factor on the
umbra shadow area’s range (0 = black shadow, 1 = no shadow).

Creating Soft Shadows


You can create softer shadows if you choose a spot light and set the
Soft parameters. You can also use mental ray area lights to create a
soft shadow (see Creating Soft Shadows with Area Lights on page 36).
Note: This feature requires the mental ray renderer, which is not a
Note
part of the SOFTIMAGE|3D GT package. It may be
purchased separately.
Using the Soft parameters, you can make soft shadows by creating a
penumbra area. The penumbra part of a shadow is considered the
“secondary” shadow that is cast when only part of the light is blocked
by the object. You can then set the shadow’s Penumbra Factor, Umbra
Intensity, Map Resolution, Filter Size, and Filter Step factors.
1. Choose Light > Define.
2. Select a Spot type of light.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 35


Light

3. Select the Soft option.


4. Select Umbra Intensity to apply a transparency factor on the
umbra shadow area’s range (0 = black shadow, 1 = no shadow).
The umbra shadow area is considered the “main” shadow that an
object casts when it blocks the light source completely.
5. If you choose Penumbra Factor, it creates a “fringe” area of
shadow at the edge of the umbra shadow area. You can change
the transparency of this area by changing the factor from 0
(black) to 1 (no shadow).
6. Set the Map Resolution factor, which determines the resolution
of the shadow map computed.
7. Specify the Filter Size, which is the size in pixels of a box filter
used to soften the penumbra shadow edges.
8. Specify the Filter Step, which is the pixel offset used to apply the
filter at a specific number of pixels from the previous application.
9. Click Ok to accept the settings and create the shadow.

Creating Soft Shadows with Area Lights


This section describes how to create softer shadow effects with
mental ray rendering software. You can also create faster blurry
shadows using depth maps (shadow maps). For information on
creating shadow maps using mental ray rendering software, see
Creating mental ray Shadow Maps on page 99 of the Rendering user’s
guide.
Area lights are used only with the mental ray renderer (see Rendering
with mental ray Software on page 65 of the Rendering user’s guide).
As well, only the Point or Spot light types can be used with area
lights.

36 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Creating Shadows

Area lights bring more realistic effects to light sources by modelling


them as pieces of geometry, which allows soft shadows to be created.

Normal point source light has Area light creates blurred


sharp shadow edges. shadows.

You can choose from three shapes of geometry areas (rectangle,


sphere, and disk) to create around the light source that influences the
resulting form of the shadows. The shadow’s relative softness (the
relation between the shadow’s umbra and penumbra areas) is also
affected by the shape and size of the geometry area.
To determine the amount of illumination on an object, the area light
is sampled many times. Each sample is distributed over the area light
geometry. Using this method, any number of samples may be
blocked, resulting in a smooth “falloff” from the umbra to penumbra
part of the shadow. The shape and size of the geometry affects the
percentage of samples that hit the light from any point in the scene.
Note: You cannot have the geometry area defined anywhere except
Note
centered around the spot light because the translation of the
light is applied equally to the geometry area.
After the area light’s parameters have been defined, you can scale or
rotate the geometry area icon:
• To scale, use the Scale menu cells as you would with any object.
• To rotate, select the geometry area icon by middle-clicking it. The
geometry area icon turns red indicating that you can apply a
rotation to it using the Rotation menu cells as usual. If the
Relative Orientation option is not selected, the rotation is
performed relative to the global coordinate system; if this option is
selected, rotation is relative to the spotlight’s local coordinates. The
z-axis of the local coordinates is defined by the spotlight’s position
and its interest’s position.
Note
Note: The effect of rotation has no effect on a Sphere geometry

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 37


Light

area type.

Example 1: Soft Shadows with mental ray


The following example illustrates how to create soft shadows with
area lights.
1. Choose Get > Primitive > Cube. Duplicate the cube twice and
scale each one so that there are three cubes with different heights.
2. Choose Light > Define, select the Point type light, and click Ok.
This gives some ambient light to the scene.
3. Define another light, but make this one a Spot light, and select
the Area Light option.
4. Select Raytraced as the shadow type, and then set a low Umbra
Intensity value of 0.1. This creates a very dark shadow.
5. Set the Area Sampling to 3 for both u (longitude) and v (latitude).
Area sampling controls the number of times the light is sampled
to determine the illumination for a point in the scene.
6. Click Ok to accept these settings.
7. Move the spot light’s interest to the location of the cubes, but try
to have an oblique angle to exemplify the effect of the soft edges.
8. Orient the point light off to the left, opposite the spot light to give
some ambient light to the rest of the scene.
The area light sources create separate sampling values, so the
sampling level of the whole scene doesn’t need to be as high for high-
quality renders.
Render this scene using the mental ray renderer.

Example 2: Soft Shadows with mental ray


In this example, you will learn how to use aspects of mental ray to
create the effect of soft edge shadows. Area light sources are the key in
this lesson because they let you create more realistic light effects by
modelling light sources as pieces of geometry (a rectangle, sphere, or
disk) as opposed to single point light sources. The sampling method
used by area light sources results in a smooth disintegration of the
shadow. You will also use several of the antialiasing filtering methods
which determine how sampling is performed.

38 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Creating Shadows

Create some primitive objects to set up the scene


• Choose Get > Primitive > Grid.
• Choose Get > Primitive > Cube and place it on the grid. Create two
other cubes by choosing Duplicate > Immediate. Scale and position
the cubes so they appear similar to the ones shown in Fig. 1 on the left.
Add a point and spot light to the scene
• Choose Light > Define. Make it a regular point light and accept all
other the defaults (no shadows).
• Choose Light > Define again, but make this one a spot light. Select
the Area Light option, Raytraced as the Shadows Type, and then set
a low Umbra Intensity value such as 0.1.
Note: The Umbra Intensity value applies a transparency factor on
Note
the “main” shadow that is cast by the object. A value of 1
would create no shadow because the Transparency factor
would be at 100%. A value of 0, on the other hand, would
create a completely black shadow. In this example, use a
value of 0.1 to create a dark shadow.
• For the first few tests, you can leave the Area Sampling at the
default of 3. If you’re feeling a bit impatient, drop that down to 1 or
2 and/or decrease the preview size.
• Move the spot interest to the location shown in Fig. 2, but try to
have an oblique angle to exemplify the effect of the soft edges.
• Orient the regular point light off to the left – opposite the spot light
to give some ambient light to the rest of the scene.
Area light sources use separate sampling values, so the sampling level
of the whole scene doesn’t need to be as high for high-quality
renders. The example image only has a Max filter of 2, but has 6 for
the light.
Tip:
Tip Try rendering the same scene with the various filter effects
(box/triangle/Gaussian) which are available in the mental
ray Antialiasing dialog box and compare the results.
A low filter light sampling value might be desirable even for
final rendering, which creates an interesting stippled look.
Render the scene with mental ray, then with the
SOFTIMAGE renderer and compare the results for fun!

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 39


Light

Creating Shadow Objects


Besides creating shadows from an object, you can also create shadows
without an object being there! There are two ways to do this:
• Set a shadow as an object’s material attribute.
• Set an object to cast only a shadow with the mental ray renderer.
To create the shadow as the object’s material attribute:
1. Select the object you want to be only a shadow.
2. Choose the Material menu command in the Matter module.
3. Select Shadow as the Shading Model type.
4. Click Ok to save.
To create a shadow object using mental ray:
1. Select the object you want to be only a shadow (this has to be a
3D object).
2. Choose Info > Selection. In the dialog box that is displayed, click
the Render Setup button.
3. In the mental ray Render Setup dialog box that is displayed,
deselect the Primary and Secondary options for the Object
Visibility, and select only Shadow.
4. Click Ok in the Render Setup dialog box, then in the Info
Selection dialog box.
5. Choose Preview > Setup and select mental ray as the preview
renderer. Then choose Preview > All to see the whole scene.
Render the final scene with the mental ray renderer.

40 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Using Light Shaders

Using Light Shaders


If you want to add certain effects to an object, you can apply light
shaders. Light shaders are special effects you can add to your light’s
definition during the rendering process using the mental ray
renderer. For example, the Slider shader lets you simulate light
coming in through a window. Shaders are flexible and you can create
and manipulate them to meet your specific needs.
Note: This feature requires the mental ray renderer, which is not a
Note
part of the SOFTIMAGE|3D GT package, but may be
purchased separately.
The options in the mental ray area of the Create Light dialog box let
you define light shaders for one or more selected objects used when
rendering with mental ray.
1. Select mental ray as the preview renderer when you choose the
Preview > Setup command.
2. Choose Light > Define. The Create Light dialog box appears.
3. Select Shader to open the browser in which you can select the
light shader. The browser open to the current light shader
chapter.
4. Select the shader from the database and then click Load. This
shader name appears in the text box below the Shader option.
5. Preview the effects by clicking the Preview button in the Create
Light dialog box.
6. If you want to edit the shader’s parameters, click the Edit button
in the mental ray area, which displays the dialog box containing
the shader’s parameters.
Render the final scene with the mental ray renderer.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 41


Light

Creating Caustic and Global Illumination


Effects
mental ray 2.1 lets you create global illumination and caustic effects.
These effects simulate what happens to light in the real world.

Normal raytraced image Global Illumination only Caustics only


(direct lighting) (no direct lighting) (no direct lighting)

These images show the different


lighting techniques in their purest
form. Above, you see a normal
raytraced image. To the right are
examples of each of the effects before
raytraced lights are added.
When you add global illumination or
caustics to your scene, the raytraced
light blends with these effects to
create photorealistic images.
Global illumination and caustics Global illumination and caustics
(no direct lighting) (using an area light and no direct
lighting)

What’s Global Illumination?


If you have some experience in rendering photorealistic images, you
know that 3D lights do not behave as they would in the real world.
For example, exterior scenes require multiple lights to simulate the
sun’s ambient lighting. In real life, light bounces off object surfaces,
and these objects become light emitters for surrounding objects. This
is global illumination—objects emitting light. Global illumination is
sometimes referred to as radiosity.

42 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Creating Caustic and Global Illumination Effects

Global illumination is the effect


that indirect lighting has on a
scene. For example, imagine a
darkroom where a ray of light
emanates across the space from a
little hole in the wall to the
opposite wall. If the wall that
receives the light is yellow, the
room will be lit by a pale yellow
light fading exponentially from
where the light rays hit.

Global illumination is the effect of light reflecting off diffuse surfaces.


The indirect light from these lit surfaces blends with the direct
lighting in the rest of scene, creating a more accurate representation
of light and colour in the real world. In the past, simulating this type
of lighting required setting up secondary fill lights to mimic the
impact of indirect lighting.
Global-illumination effects are very subtle, but they’re very visible in
extreme circumstances: If red cardboard is placed close to a white
wall, you’ll be able to see the red colour bleeding on the wall. On the
other hand, your yellow watch doesn’t influence the office ceiling
colour! Then again, in 3D everything is possible.

What Are Caustics?


Caustics occur when light hits or travels through an object’s specular
reflection or refraction and finally hits a diffuse surface. The typical
caustic effect is the wine glass light by candlelight—a caustic light
always seems to dance in the middle of the semi-transparent shadow
of the glass and wine. Other examples are the sparkling light that
appears at the bottom of a swimming pool and the specular
reflections from a rotating disco ball.

Getting Started
The tutorial Getting Started with Photon Director included in the
Online Library shows you how to apply and control caustic and global
illumination effects. Once you’ve loaded the CD, choose the Tutorial
from the Web link, and then choose Lighting > Getting Started with
Photon Director.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 43


Light

How Global Illumination


and Caustics Are Calculated
Global-illumination and caustic effects are calculated from the point
of view of the lights in the scene. mental ray throws light energy
(photons) into the scene, much like raytracing throws rays into the
scene. Photons follow a path that is controlled by the light’s direction
and spread parameters. Using the Photon Director, you control how
many photons are used to create the effect in the scene.

How Photons Travel in a Scene


If a photon hits an object that transmits the effect, photon
information is stored and the photon continues to trace indirect-
lighting information. Objects that transmit photons are either
diffuse (that is, not black), have a high specularity, are transparent,
refract light, or any logical combination of these. A photon stops
bouncing (is absorbed) when it hits an object that neither receives
nor transmits the effect. Using the Photon Director, you can control
which objects receive or transmit the effects. You can also control the
number of bounces that a photon makes.
This information is stored in a Photon Map, which is a three-
dimensional representation of where in the scene photons are stored.
You can save Photon Maps so that, once you’re happy with the way
your scene looks, you can avoid having to recalculate it every time
you render a scene.

What Photons Do
The more photons you throw into a scene, the more refined the effect
will be. Unlike most other SOFTIMAGE|3D settings, where ranges
often go from 0 to 1, when working with photons you’ll be specifying
high numbers: 1000, 10,000, 100,000, 500,000 or more. This seems to
befit the sci-fi nature of photons! However, the more photons there
are in the scene, the longer it takes to render.

What Photon Energy Does


To do all this bouncing around, photons need energy. You need to
specify a numerical strength for them so that they can both bounce
from object to object and have an effect on distant objects. Photons
leave energy behind every time they “stick” to a surface.

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Creating Caustic and Global Illumination Effects

Energy controls the brightness of the effect. Each photon uses an


equal amount of the energy specified. For example, 1000 photons
will use 1/1000th of the photon energy. Generally, the more distant
objects are from the light source, the more energy each photon
needs. Again, you’ll be working with large numbers: 100, 1000,
10,000, 100,000, 1,000,000 and more. Energy values don’t affect
rendering time.

Changes to Rendering
When rendering a scene with these effects active, mental ray goes
through two processes. First it calculates the Photon Map, then
normal rendering takes over to calculate regular direct illumination.

Before You Begin


When you use the Photon Director, you specify which objects in the
scene transmit and/or receive photons. In a very simple setup, you
need a light, an object that transmits the effect (the source of the
indirect lighting), and a receiver of the effect (the object that will
display the effect).
This section describes the things you need to consider before
activating these effects in your scene.

Analyzing Your Scene


To achieve good results with the Photon Director, you need to know
what and how much of the effect is needed. Look carefully at your
scene and rendered images, then ask yourself where in the scene
global-illumination or caustic effects are needed.
Start by rendering the scene using normal lighting. This helps to
clearly identify the areas where the effects will need to be amplified
or added.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 45


Light

The image below shows a rendered image that combines direct and
indirect illumination.

The image below shows the same scene rendered without any
photon-director setting (direct illumination only).

Look at the difference between the two pictures.

46 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Creating Caustic and Global Illumination Effects

The first noticeable effect is the caustic light on the floor near the fish
bowl (A) produced by the variations in intensity of the photons fired
through the glass/water refraction (B). Also noticeable is the
reflections of the glass. Global Illumination is a more subtle effect
(C), as it is caused by the illumination emanating from the chair (D),
which is red in the rendered image.

Identifying the objects that are required to create the effect is


essential. In this scene, for example, including objects such as the
doors and fence in the effects would not add much, and it would
increase rendering time. Don’t simply make all objects transmitters
and receivers of the effect.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 47


Light

Setting Up Lights for Global Illumination


and Caustic Effects
• Turn ambience settings off (choose Atmosphere > Ambience in the
Matter module and make the ambience black—0,0,0). Global
illumination and caustics replace the need for ambience settings in
the scene. Moreover, ambience settings may conflict with global
illumination and caustic effects.
• Lights that are the source of global illumination and caustics do not
use the light’s colour in the effect.
- The light’s colour is only used for direct illumination. For testing
purposes or for creating separate passes for later compositing,
you may find it helpful to initially set the light’s colour to black so
that you only see the caustic or global illumination effect. Making
the light black renders only the indirect illumination of the scene.
Any colour intensity added to the lights adds direct illumination.
Playing with the light’s colour will help you balance direct and
indirect lighting.
- The brightness of the effect is not controlled by the light’s colour:
this is controlled by the photon energy (see page 44 for a general
discussion of photon energy).
• While you can continue to use selective lights in the scene, global
illumination and caustics ignore these settings. The Photon
Director does, however, let you specify which objects are going to
be influenced by these effects.
• You can use point, spot, and area lights to create the effects you want.
Keep in mind, however, that point lights will cast photons in all
directions, whereas photons from a spot light will be limited to the
spot light’s cone. With spot lights, you’ll need fewer photons to create
the effect, and rendering will be quicker. Also, if a light is far from its
“target,” more photon energy is required to create the effect.

Setting Up Objects for GI and Caustic Effects


• Assign materials to the objects that will be receiving caustic or
global-illumination effects. Otherwise, mental ray uses the default
grey render settings.
• For global-illumination effects, use Lambert, Phong, or Blinn
materials. You cannot use Constant.

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Creating Caustic and Global Illumination Effects

• For caustic effects, use only Phong or Blinn materials, as the caustic
effect is driven by the object’s specularity.
• Objects that cast global illumination or create caustics cannot be
black (in other words, the object’s diffuse colour cannot be RGB
0,0,0). Purely black objects will absorb photons, so you won’t create
an effect.
• Some materials seem more difficult to balance in a final global-
illumination rendering. An object’s ability to transmit light is
related to its diffuse value. Objects with the usual material/diffuse
values rendered with global illumination may look more saturated
when hit by direct light (particularly point lights). Lowering the
diffuse intensity will greatly help manage the colour saturation
balance between direct and indirect illumination. Use the
Luminance of the HLS colour slider in the Material dialog box to
change the intensity value quickly.
• Caustics are actually the reflection of an object’s specularity. You
should adjust the object’s specularity, not its reflectivity, to control
the appearance of caustics.
• Caustics are also influenced by the caustic-casting object
refractivity. No refraction (a setting of 1.0) produces caustics that
are very subtle. Settings higher than 1 create a “focusing” effect
(mental images recommends settings of 1.33 or 1.50 for this).
Settings lower than 1 greatly diffuse the effect.
• The object that receives the caustic effect cannot be black, for the
same reasons described above.

Optimizing Your Workspace


You should turn anti-aliasing off and decrease the preview resolution
size. This will speed up preview time as you tweak the various
settings for these effects.
Note that the number of photons cast into the scene will increase
preview and rendering time.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 49


Light

Using the Photon Director


1. Choose Light > Photon Director.

2. Select Objects from the list at the top of the dialog box. A list of
the objects in the scene appears.
3. Select an object in the list. If your objects are in a hierarchy, you
can navigate through the hierarchy using the arrow buttons on
the left side of the dialog box. The up arrow goes directly to the
root of the hierarchy, and the left and right buttons move up and
down the hierarchy. You can propagate values from parents to
children, which is described below.
4. Click the Add Props button.
5. Select whether the object receives global illumination or caustics,
transmits, or both. Don’t make all objects receivers and
transmitters—you’ll needlessly increase rendering time. See
Analyzing Your Scene on page 45 for more information.

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Creating Caustic and Global Illumination Effects

6. Repeat these steps for the other objects in the scene you want to
be affected by these effects.

Tip There are two things you can do to speed up assigning these
properties. You can propagate the properties from parent to
children (this is described in the next step). You can also
create groups of models (and lights) to which you apply
global property settings—see page 57 for more information
about creating and using groups.
7. If the model is part of a hierarchy, the values you set for an object can
be copied to the object’s children by clicking the Propagate button.
8. Select Lights from the list at the top of the dialog.

9. Select whether the light emits global illumination or caustics, or both.


10. Set the Photons and Energy.
Photons: mental images recommends photon values between
10,000 (the default) and 1,000,000. Lower values, in the case of

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Light

global illumination, will cause “‘fuzzy’ puddles of light”—this


means there are too few photons hitting the surfaces in the
scenes. In the case of caustic effects, the caustic will look blurry or
indistinct. Note that the more photons you throw into the scene,
the longer it takes to render.
You can use the Accuracy setting to improve the quality of the
effect (see page 55). You can also use the Photon Depth setting to
specify the number of times the photons should bounce off
surfaces (see page 54).
Energy: There aren’t any hard and fast rules for the amount of
energy to specify. For testing purposes, however, start with the
default Energy RGB and Multiplier settings. You can preview the
effect using the Preview button (see page 53).
Note that the Energy RGB settings do not affect the colour of
light; rather, they represent the intensity of the effect. RGB values
close to black give less intense effects while, RGB values close to
white give more intense effects. Combined with the Multiplier
parameter, you can control the overall brightnes of the effect.
If you don’t see any effect initially, you need to increase the
amount of energy. First, decrease the number of photons to
something like 1000. A low number of photons will cause
artifacts, but you will be able to see the light energy needed much
faster. Then set high Energy RGB values to start with. Finally,
start pumping up the Multiplier value. You may have to specify
millions in the Multiplier field to see the effect. (Energy levels
don’t affect rendering speed.) Later on, increase the number of
photons for a sharper result.

Tip At a certain point, you’ll just be just tweaking photon and


energy settings for the lights in your scene. There are queries
in the Spreadsheet that expose the light photon and energy
settings. These queries help you avoid opening and closing
the Photon Director to make incremental adjustments. See
page 57 for more information.
11. You can use the Exponent parameter to control how energy is
stored in the photon.
The default of 2 mimics what actually happens to light as it
travels from source to target. Objects closer to the light source
have more illumination; objects that are further away have less. If
you set this parameter to 0, it’s like giving the photon a vitamin

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Creating Caustic and Global Illumination Effects

pill—the photon will have the same power on all objects in the
scene, illuminating them equally regardless of where they are in
the scene. Needless to say, this will produce very saturated
lighting. The closer this parameter is set to 0, the more energy a
photon retains as it travels and bounces through your scene.
mental images recommends that you use values less than 1
carefully.
12. Click the Render Settings button, and check the Caustics and
Global Illumination boxes. These boxes let you see the effect
when you preview and render the effect.

Previewing the Effect


You can preview the scene two ways: Using the Photon Director's
Preview button, or by choosing the Preview command from the
Matter module.
The Photon Director’s Preview button performs the same preview as
the command in the Matter module. If you select the Preview
Settings menu, you can preview just caustics, just global
illumination, or both effects together. These previews do not take
direct illumination into consideration, so you're just seeing where
the indirect lighting is falling—light colour and ambience is set to
black. These previews will help you quickly determine where the
effect appears in the scene and how refined it is.
Since there’s no direct illumination in these previews, the scene will
appear dark. You will, however, be able to see where global
illumination is generating colour bleeding and where caustics are
generating spots of light.

Saving Your Work in the Photon Map


Once you’ve found the settings that produce the effect you want, you
may want to uncheck the Rebuild Photon Map option in the General
Rendering Settings dialog box (to access this dialog box, click the
Render Settings button in the Photon Director). Use this option in
conjunction with a named Photon Map, which lets you save the
Photon Map to a specific file.

What Is a Photon Map?


The Photon Map is essentially a table that stores the positions of the
photons in the scenes along with their RGB energy levels for each of
the thousands of photons. When mental ray wants to determine how

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Light

the photon map affects a given point in space, the raytracer consults
the Photon Map to determine which photons are nearby (within a
given radius—see page 55) and determines, based on energy level of
every photon within the radius, the photon contribution to the total
lighting in the scene. Only one map is created regardless of the
number of lights.

When Should You Rebuild the Photon Map?


Check the Rebuild Photon Map box if you’ve made changes to the
effect’s settings. Once you finish tuning the settings, uncheck it.
Unchecking it ensures that when you preview or render the scene,
mental ray doesn’t recalculate the Photon Map, which will definitely
save you time! You’ll want to rebuild the Photon Map every time you
adjust something in the scene or when you change settings in the
Photon Director.

More Photon Director Settings


There are a number of settings in the Photon Director General
Settings dialog box that can help you improve the quality of the
effect. To access this dialog box, click the Render Settings button in
the Photon Director dialog box.

Quality Parameters

Controlling How Often Photons Bounce


The Photon Depth parameters specify how many times a photon will
bounce off surfaces. The default is 2 for both reflective and refractive
bounces. The Sum parameter limits the total number of bounces. If
you keep the default of 2, if a photon reflects off a diffuse wall (first
bounce) and then a floor (second bounce), the photon will be
absorbed, even if its next bounce was to be through a refractive
surface (like a glass).
If you study the scene, you can trace the photon bounces. For
example, if a spot light illuminates a glass fish bowl, the photon will
hit the bowl (1), go through the bowl (2), go through the water (3),
out the other side (4) and hit the floor (5).

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Creating Caustic and Global Illumination Effects

Changing the Number of Sampled Photons


The Global Illumination and Caustic Accuracy settings help you get
a very refined look to your scene.
Caustic Accuracy is essentially like a sampling parameter. It controls
how many photons mental ray considers during rendering.
Accuracy is looking for a specific number of photons stored in a
given area. Starting from a point on a surface, accuracy looks at the
surrounding area (controlled by the Radius parameter) and
accumulates the number of photons specified in the Accuracy
parameter. For a sharp and precise result you need a high-accuracy
and a low-radius value. If the radius is too big it washes out the
surface by including a too large sampling value—there’s too much
surface to evaluate at a given point. If the radius is too small, it takes
longer to render. Beware: If you specify more photons in the
Accuracy setting than are stored in the Photon Map, mental ray will
search forever.
The default accuracy is 100, and a default radius is calculated by
mental ray. The default radius is calculated based on the volume/size
of the bounding box of the scene. You can get this value by turning
on mental ray verbose mode before rendering the scene and use it as
a starting point when trying to optimize your scene.
Generally, if caustics look spotty, increase the accuracy parameter.
The default is 100 photons. Note that higher numbers (200) will
refine the effect, but they may also blur it. For some effects, like the
highly focused light you see in the classic gold-ring example, turning
down this parameter (as low as 10) makes the effect look very sharp;
however, you may lose some refinement on the surface receiving the
effect. Low settings may also help you create the large spots of light
that you see at the bottom of a pool; but again, this setting may cause
the other caustics in the scene to look too big and bright.

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Light

You can also apply a filter with a step value to control the sharpness
of the caustic. According to mental images, if you change the default
Filter type (Box) to Cone and set the Constant value to 1.1, caustic
effects may look sharper but noisier. The larger the Constant value,
the blurrier the caustic effect will be.
You can also set Accuracy and an accuracy Radius for global
illumination. These parameters behave the same way as the caustic
Accuracy parameters. If global illumination effects look grainy,
increase the accuracy parameter. The default is 200. Note that higher
numbers (2000) will make the effect smoother but will increase
rendering time as well.

An Alternative Way to Generate Global Illumination


Final Gathering is another way mental ray can calculate global
illumination. It calculates both direct and indirect lighting, using
rays cast from the object’s pixels rather than from the light. This
method is particularly appropriate for scenes in which the light
source is far from its targets. Think of a marble in the middle of a
football field—you would need so many photons to get noiseless
results that it may be impossible.
Please note that while Final Gathering may give more pleasing results
under certain circumstances, it is also very, very, very slow.
With Final Gathering you specify a Minimum and Maximum
Radius. The radii identify the hemisphere above the pixels that are
sampled for both direct and indirect illumination. The Photon Map
contributes to the information Final Gathering “gathers” about the
indirect illumination.
An Accuracy parameter specifies how many rays should be fired from
each pixel to calculate the indirect illumination. The default is 1000.
Increasing this number makes the indirect illumination less noisy but
also increases rendering time.
With Final Gathering on, you should need fewer photons in the
scene.

Turning Caustics and Global Illumination Off


Once you’ve tweaked all your settings, you may want to turn off these
effects for previewing and test rendering. To do so, open the Photon
Director (Light > Photon Director), select the lights that cast the
effects, and uncheck the Caustics and Global Illumination options.

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Creating Caustic and Global Illumination Effects

Creating Groups
In large scenes, you’ll find it more convenient to create settings for
groups of objects rather than setting them for each object. For
example, you may want to set up a group for lights causing caustic
effects, another for all the caustic transmitters, and so on.

Tip If your models are in a hierarchy, you can also propagate the
values you set from parents to their children—see page 50.
1. Switch to either the Model or Light view and then click the New
Group button.
2. Type a name for the group and click OK.
3. Select the object you want to put in a group and click the Add to
Group button.
4. Select the group from the list and click OK.
5. If you need to assign different settings to an object in a group,
select it and then click the Remove From Group button.

Making Quick and Global Changes


in the Spreadsheet
There are new queries in the Spreadsheet to help you make quick and
global changes to global illumination and caustic settings:
• Light Photon Settings: Lets you change the settings assigned to
lights that have been identified as sources for global illumination
and caustic effects.
• Photon Rendering Settings: Gives you access to all the settings in
the General Settings dialog box.
• Receivers_Transmitters: Lets you change settings assigned to the
models that are designated as receivers/transmitters of global
illumination and caustic effects.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 57


Light

58 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


C H A P T E R T H R E E

Material

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 59


Material

60 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Introduction

Introduction
Material definition in SOFTIMAGE|3D is achieved by applying material
properties to the object’s surface. Material properties include such things
as colour, the shading model, transparency, reflectivity, refraction, and
shaders. All these attributes are discussed in this chapter.
Lighting plays a key role in material definition because the
interaction between material properties and the light source creates
the visual characteristics of the object. Create your light sources
before the material for the best results.
After you apply a material, you can then apply 2D texture maps
and/or 3D solid procedural textures to create patterns of colour,
surface roughness, reflectivity, transparency, and other effects.

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Material

Helpful Tools
There are two viewing modes that can assist you while defining
materials: the Shade view mode in most windows, and the Matter
mode in the Schematic window.

Using the Shade View Mode


The Shade view mode is a useful tool in the process of creating
material. It is found in the title bar of most windows (see Shade View
Mode on page 56 in the Reference Guide).
Shade view mode provides you with a quickly shaded view using a
hardware-rendering that allows you to view an approximation of the
objects’ final appearance. Depending on the hardware your machine
is running, it may be a software emulation of true hardware
acceleration. However, the Shade view does not distinguish between
point or spot lights. Also, some specific material attributes such as
transparency, reflectivity, shadows, and refraction can only be viewed
using the Preview menu command or in the final rendered picture.

Using the Matter Mode


The Matter Mode in the Schematic window displays links to material
and texture files (shown as parallelograms leaning right). You can
associate material and texture elements to objects in the Schematic
window by using the Mat_Oper and Txt_Oper menu commands.
You can use this view on its own or cumulatively with other
Schematic view modes (such as Model or Light) to see materials on
their own, or to see the relationships between them and other
elements in your scene. For more information, see Manipulation
Modes on page 32 in the Reference Guide.

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Defining a Material

Defining a Material
All material attributes can be defined in the Material Editor dialog
box that is displayed when you choose the Material menu command
in the Matter module.
Colour and shading models can be defined for a material. Reflectivity
can be incorporated in an object’s material definition, as well as
transparency, which permits the transmission of light rays through
material. When transparency is incorporated in an object’s material
definition, you can also define the refractive index. Refraction is the
bending of light rays as they pass from one medium to another, such
as from air through glass or water.
Static blur can be used to make a spherical object appear fuzzy, out of
focus or glowing. You can also apply different shaders to be used with
the mental ray renderer for special effects that are calculated during
the rendering process.
Note: Some features in this chapter require the mental ray
Note
renderer, which is not a part of the SOFTIMAGE|3D GT
package, but may be purchased separately.
After you apply a material, you can then apply 2D texture maps
and/or 3D solid procedural textures to create patterns of colour,
surface roughness, reflectivity, transparency, and other effects. The
material attributes you select here have an influence on how these
textures appear, especially if you choose to blend the texture with the
material. For more information on 3D textures, see 3D Textures on
page 187; for information on 2D textures, see 2D Textures on page 93.
To define an object’s material in SOFTIMAGE|3D, follow these
basic steps:
1. Select an object.
2. Choose the Material menu command in the Matter module.

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Material

The Material Editor is displayed.

3. Select the Shading Model. Several kinds of shading models can be


used by the software to calculate the shading. Each shading model
processes the relation of normals to the light source to create a
particular shading effect.
4. Select colour values for the Ambient, Diffuse, and Specular areas
of illumination on the object surface. Depending on the shading
model used, different areas of illumination are visible on an
object’s surface.
5. You can assign other values such as specular decay, reflectivity,
transparency, refraction, static blur, or apply a shader for use with
the mental ray renderer.
6. Click Ok to accept the settings.

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Defining a Material

Creating a Glass Effect


The following example illustrates the use of the material parameters
for creating the effect of glass.
1. Select an object in a scene, then choose the Material menu
command in the Matter module to display the Material Editor
dialog box.
2. Select the Phong shading model and set colour (RGB) values each
to 0 (black) for the ambient and diffuse areas of illumination.
3. To create a small sharp highlight, set the Specular Decay to 300.
4. Set the Reflectivity to 0.99, its Transparency to 0.9, and Refractive
Index to 1.3.
5. Increase the Specular values to 1000-1000-1000 to compensate for
the material’s reflectivity and transparency.
6. Click Ok to accept the settings and exit the dialog box.
7. Choose the Preview > Setup command and set the Raytracing
depth to 4 to allow for enough rays to be bounced off the objects
to calculate the transparency, reflectivity, and refraction.
8. Choose Preview > Selection to view the results.

Selecting a Material
To select a material from the database, follow this procedure:
1. Select an object.
2. Choose the Material menu command.
3. In the Material Editor dialog box, click Select beside the Material
text box.
4. Use the browser that is displayed to go into the directory in which
SI_Materials is located. Double-click SI_Materials to bring up the
various choices available within the SOFTIMAGE materials library.
5. Double-click the METALS chapter, for example. A list is displayed
consisting of several different types of metal. Click Options and
select Use Icons. This displays a sample image of each metal type
making it easier for you to pick the one that you want.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 65


Material

6. Click copper01.1-0, for example, to select it, then click Load. The
specific colours and parameters of the copper metal are loaded
into the Material Editor.
7. Click Preview to view the results, then click Ok to assign the
material to your object.

Choosing the Shading Model


Several kinds of mathematical shading models can be used by
SOFTIMAGE|3D to calculate the shading. The shading models are
available as options in the Material Editor dialog box. Each shading
model processes the relation of normals to the light source to create a
particular shading effect.

Blinn Phong Lambert Constant Shadow object

Constant
The Constant shading model ignores the orientation of surface
normals and instead considers them to be pointing directly toward
an infinite light source. All the object’s surface triangles are
considered to have the same orientation and be the same distance
from the light.
The result when using the Constant shading model is an object
whose surface appears to have no shading at all, like a paper cut-out.
This can be useful when you want to add static blur to an object so
that there is no specular or ambient light. It also provides good
support for textures because there are no attributes to interfere with
the texture’s definitions.

Lambert
The Lambert shading model deals with the intensity of reflected
light. It interpolates between normals of adjacent surface triangles so
that the shading changes progressively, creating a matte surface with
no specular highlights. The diffuse and ambient illumination areas
are used to define the surface.

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Defining a Material

The result is a smoothly shaded object. The object’s surface appears


as a dull matte with diffuse and ambient illumination, like an egg or a
ping pong ball. Reflectivity, transparency, refraction, and texture can
be applied to an object shaded with Lambert

Phong
The Phong shading model is the default shading model used by
SOFTIMAGE|3D. This model uses ambient, diffuse, and specular
areas of illumination.
The Phong shading model reads the surface normals’ orientation and
interpolates between them to create an appearance of smooth shading.
It also processes the relation between normals, the light, and the
camera’s point of view to create a specular highlight. The result is a
smoothly shaded object with diffuse and ambient areas of illumination
on its surface, and a specular highlight so that the object appears shiny
like a billiard ball. Reflectivity, transparency, refraction, and texture can
be applied to an object shaded with Phong.

Blinn
The Blinn shading model uses four areas of illumination: diffuse,
specular, refractive index, and eccentricity This shading model
produces results that are virtually identical to the Phong shading
model except that the shape of the specular highlight reflects the
actual lighting more accurately when there is a high angle of
incidence between the camera and the light, which is useful for rough
or sharp edges. The specular highlight also appears brighter.
Reflectivity, transparency, refraction, and texture can be applied to
an object shaded with Blinn.

Shadow Object
The Shadow Object shading model is used exclusively with lights for
casting shadows. The object itself is not visible when rendered, only
its shadow appears. Other material and textural definition effects
such as transparency, colour mapping, and transparency mapping
can be used in conjunction with Shadow Object shading to cast
complex patterns of light and shadow in the scene (the object is not
visible to the camera). For more information on how to create a
shadow object, see Creating Shadow Objects on page 40.

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Material

Areas of Illumination
Depending on the shading model you select, different areas of
illumination are visible on an object’s surface. The areas of
illumination are ambient, diffuse, and specular.

Specular

Diffuse

Ambient

The diffuse area is considered the “main” area affected by the light,
the ambient area is the area in shadow, and the specular area is the
highlight created when light hits the object’s surface.
• A Constant-shaded surface has only a diffuse area of illumination.
• A Lambert-shaded surface has areas of diffuse and ambient
illumination.
• A Phong or Blinn-shaded surface has areas of diffuse, ambient, and
specular illumination. The size of the highlight (specular area) can
be varied using the Specular Decay option in the Material Editor
dialog box.
Tip:
Tip The colour and brightness of the scene’s ambient light can
be changed using the Atmosphere > Ambience command.

68 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Defining Colours

Defining Colours
When you define the colour of an object’s material, you should
define the colours and textures for your objects under the default
white light since coloured light sources affect their appearance. Then
colour your light source to achieve the final look of the scene.
The additive colour system is used to define colours for object
materials (or lights); this is the system used by the renderer to calculate
colours. You can toggle between three different colour representation
models: RGB (red, green, and blue – the default), HLS (hue, lightness,
and saturation), and HSV (hue, saturation, and value).
The RGB colour model defines colour as light, rather than as
pigment. The primary hues from which all colours are derived are
red, green, and blue. These three hues mixed together at their highest
values (1) make white, while absence of all hues (0) is black. When
you create a colour, you must define the values of each red, green,
and blue component to get exactly the desired hue. Numerical values
for RGB range from 0 to 1 with a value of 1 being full saturation.
In HLS, the hue refers to the colours red, green, and blue; the
lightness is the amount of white mixed in a colour, such as the
difference between a pure red and pink. The saturation is the
intensity or purity of the colour such as the difference between a pure
red and a dusty rose.
In HSV the colour model defines the hue and saturation, like the
HLS model. Value is almost identical to lightness, as in HLS,
however, a Value of 1 represents a pure colour, while for Lightness it
is white. In both systems, 0 is black.

Using the Colour Mixing Triangle


To change the colours of an object’s material:
1. Select an object.
2. Choose the Material menu command.
3. Select the Diffuse box in the colour mixing triangle. The diffuse
area is usually the main area affected by light.
4. Select either the RGB, HLS, or HSV colour models. This is RGB
by default to simply change the hues.

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Material

5. Drag the colour sliders to see how the colour changes in the
triangle. You can also see the effects on the sphere in the display box
to have an idea of what it will look like on a 3D object in your scene.
You can also type in numeric values from 0 to 1 in the text boxes
of the sliders or use the arrow buttons beside the text boxes.
Tip:
Tip You can take a colour from one area of illumination in the
Colour mixing triangle and copy it to another. Select the area
to which you want to copy the colour, then middle or right-
click the box associated with the colour you want to copy.
You can also change the Ambient and Specular colours the same way
as for the Diffuse, but they have a different effect on your object, as
you can see on the sphere in the display box.

Using the Palette


If you prefer to mix colours using the palette, click the Palette button
in the Material Editor dialog box to display the Palette dialog box.

The colour mixing box is used to mix colours or modify their


intensity. By default, the colour mixing box mixes black and white.
You can change its colours by selecting a colour from the palette or by
defining a colour using the colour sliders, then clicking on one of the
arrows below the colour mixing box with the middle mouse button.
The colour sliders provide a fast and accurate way of entering
numerical values for colour components in the colour mixing
triangle. They allow you to define the colour values, normally

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Defining Colours

ranging from 0 to 1 for the selected area of illumination (specular,


ambient, and diffuse).
You can choose from two palette types: Colour Spread or Colour
Wheel (the default as shown). The Colour Spread displays a palette
of 300 basic colours; the Colour Wheel displays a circular palette of
interpolated colour components with an associated slider to control
tonal brightness.
You can also create your own palettes using colours selected from the
colour wheel, colour spread, or the colour sliders. These colours can
then be saved as a palette file and retrieved later.
The following example shows how to change colours in the Palette
dialog box:
1. Select an object.
2. Choose the Material menu command.
3. Click the Palette button and use one of these methods to change
the colour in the Palette dialog box:
- Click inside the Colour Wheel and drag the mouse around. The
colour sliders and the sample colour change as you move the
mouse through the Colour Wheel. Once you have selected an
appropriate colour, release the mouse button and click Ok.
- Select Colour Spread instead of the Colour Wheel. Choose the
colour you want by clicking on the appropriate square in the
palette. Notice that the colour sliders and the sample colour
change as you move the mouse around in the Colour Spread area.
Once you have selected an appropriate colour, click Ok.
- Apply a colour interactively by moving the sliders back and forth
or by entering values between 0 and 255 directly into the RGBA
text boxes.
4. The chosen colour appears in the Display Box area. Click Preview
to view the results. Click Ok to apply the colour to your object.
Note: Colours are applied in the same manner for any area of
Note
illumination, as well as for any of the three colour models.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 71


Material

Reflectivity, Transparency, and Refraction


Reflectivity can be incorporated in an object’s material definition, as
well as transparency, which permits the transmission of light rays
through material. When transparency is incorporated in an object’s
material definition, you can also define the refractive index.
Refraction is the bending of light rays as they pass from one medium
to another, such as from air through glass or water.

Reflectivity
You can define an object’s material to be reflective using the
Reflectivity slider in the Material Editor dialog box. To render a
reflective object, SOFTIMAGE|3D uses raytracing, which traces the
paths of light rays as they bounce from one surface to another. For
more information on raytracing, see Raytracing on page 46 of the
Rendering User’s Guide.
You can define an object’s reflectivity Reflectivity values range from 0
to 1: a value of 1 represents complete reflectivity, giving the object a
completely mirrored surface.

No reflectivity in dome’s material. Reflectivity (30%)

The visibility of the other material parameters, such as those related


to diffuse, ambient, and specular areas of illumination, decrease as
the reflectivity value increases. You can compensate for this by
drastically raising their values; for example, a specular highlight that
was 1 on a non-reflective object could be reset to 1000. If an object’s
material is fully reflective, its other material attributes are not visible
at all, so reflectivity should always be set to a value less than 1.
For information on creating a reflection map for your reflective
object, see Creating a Reflection Map on page 122.

72 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Reflectivity, Transparency, and Refraction

Transparency
Transparency can be incorporated in an object’s material definition.
This permits the transmission of light rays through material. When
an object material is partially transparent, part of its colour is derived
from the material, and part is derived from the background.
You can define an object’s transparency using the Transparency
slider in the Material Editor dialog box. Transparency values range
from 0 to 1, with a value of 1 making the object completely
transparent so that you do not see it at all. For a transparent material
such as glass, a value of 0.9 is more convincing.
Note: As with reflectivity, transparency affects the visibility of an
Note
object’s other material attributes. You can compensate for
this by increasing their values, such as resetting a specular
highlight that was around 1 on an opaque object up to 10.

Transparency (70%) Transparency with refraction (0.88)

Refraction
When transparency is incorporated in an object’s material definition,
you can also define the refraction value. Refraction is the bending of
light rays as they pass from one medium to another, such as from air
through glass or water.
You can set the refraction using the Refractive Index slider in the
Material Editor dialog box. The default value is 1, which represents
the density of air. This value allows light rays to pass straight through
a transparent material without deviation or distortion. If you
increase this value above 1, distortion results: the higher the index
value, the more distortion. If you decrease the index below the
default value of 1, an inverse wide-angle effect results.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 73


Material

Note: When you use refraction, you may need to increase the
Note Raytracing depth in the Render Setup dialog box (refer to
the Render menu command); however, the use of refraction
and increased raytracing depth may increase rendering time.

Example
In the following example, you will create a scene with three spheres,
each sphere using one of the previously-mentioned properties.
1. Select an object.
2. Choose Polygon> Automatic Colourize to give the object a
checkered pattern. This object helps demonstrate the properties
that you will be setting.
3. Choose Get > Primitive > Sphere and create a sphere with a
radius of 2.
4. Choose Duplicate > Immediate and create three identical spheres.
Each sphere will represent a different property. The first sphere will
be reflective, the second sphere transparent, and the third sphere
refractive.
5. Select the first sphere and choose the Material menu command.
6. Select the Phong shading model.
7. Set the Reflectivity slider to 0.50 with a slight Specular Delay of
20.00. Click Ok to apply these settings.
8. Select the second sphere and choose Material again.
9. Select a glass material from the database browser.
10.Set the Transparency to 0.9 and Specular Decay to 300. Click Ok
to apply these settings.
11.Select the third sphere and choose Material again.
12.Select a glass material from the database browser.
13.Set the Specular Decay to 145, Transparency to 0.50, and the
Refractive Index to 1.9. Click Ok to apply these settings.
14.Choose Preview > All to see each of these different properties for
each of the spheres.

74 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Previewing a Material

Previewing a Material
When previewing a material, the default renderer is set to the
SOFTIMAGE renderer, however, if you want to preview material,
volume, or shadow shaders with the mental ray renderer, you must
change the Preview Renderer to be mental ray.
Note: The mental ray renderer is not a part of the standard
Note
SOFTIMAGE|3D GT package, but may be purchased
separately.
Materials and textures can be previewed using the hardware renderer
as is used in the Shade view mode. If you are planning to output your
scene as geometry textures for rendering on another platform, such
as a Games console, the Shade view is quite accurate. However,
previewing with the SOFTIMAGE or mental ray renderer produces a
more accurate result for a final scene that will be rendered with either
of these renderers.
You can perform a preview from within the Material Editor dialog
box. This lets you try out different material attributes, see them
immediately, then edit them, and continue in this manner.
Follow these steps to set up for using the previewer in this manner:
1. Choose Preview > Setup. Select SOFTIMAGE|3D or mental ray as
the Preview Renderer depending on which renderer you want to
use for your final render. Click Exit.
2. Select an object.
3. Choose the Material menu command. The Material Editor dialog
box is displayed.
4. Set the material parameters as you like.
5. Click the Preview button in the Material dialog box.
6. Middle-click to close the preview window.
Continue editing the parameters and previewing within this dialog box.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 75


Material

Creating Static Blur


Static blur can be used to make a spherical object appear fuzzy, out of
focus, or glowing. Static blur is based on the angle between the view
vector (line of sight) and the surface normal, so the effect depends on
the camera view.
Static blur is particularly well-suited for spherical objects or objects
with relatively continuous surface normals (such as a cylinder
extruded on a curve). If static blur is to be used on an object with
non-continuous surface normals, such as a cube, you should use
bevelling to reduce the discontinuity of the surface normals.

Sphere with Constant shading. Static blur applied.

There are two parameters associated with static blur: Blur Width and
Blur Decay. Blur decay controls the rate at which an object becomes
transparent. As the decay value increases, the object becomes
transparent from its centre more quickly. Blur decay causes the
object to become smaller as the decay is increased. To offset this
effect, you can increase the blur width, which enlarges the object.
Static blur is used to create such things as fog around on object, or
glowing halo-type effects. Motion blur, on the other hand, is used on
moving objects to create the illusion of speed. For information on
using motion blur, see Blurring a Moving Object on page 52 of the
Rendering User’s Guide.

76 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Creating Static Blur

Creating a Neon Light


The following example illustrates how to create a neon light tube
using Static Blur.
1. Choose Get > Primitive sphere as a B-spline and a radius of 1.
2. Scale it so that it is the shape of a tube.
3. Choose the Material menu command.
4. Select Constant as the Shading Model and change the Diffuse
colour to neon green (R=0, G=1, B=0).
5. Select the Static Blur option. Change the Width value to 0.3 and
the Decay value to 5. Click Ok to accept these settings.
6. Click Duplicate > Immediate to duplicate the sphere.
7. Choose Material again and select the Static Blur option and the
Width to 1 and Decay to 3.
8. Click the Preview button in the Material Editor to preview the scene.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 77


Material

Creating a Hierarchy for Material


Definition
Materials can be used successfully in a hierarchy to save the number
of materials used in a scene. However, there are certain factors that
need to be considered when applying a material to a hierarchy.
For example, if you have an object such as a table, you may want all
the pieces to be the same colour. If you only colour the parent, the
material definition is transmitted to its children. In other words,
objects without materials assigned inherit the materials (or textures)
from their parents when in a hierarchy.
However, if you want one colour for the top and another colour for
the legs, a better strategy would be to use nulls. A null is a “dummy
object” that is typically used as a parent of a hierarchy or as a
constraint (see Null Objects on page 459 in the Modelling User’s Guide
for a description of null objects.) A null is displayed as three
intersecting lines.
Note: This example assumes that the objects are not in a hierarchy
Note
to begin with. If you are starting with objects already in a
hierarchy, use the Cut command to dismantle the hierarchy.
This example makes use of null objects as the parent of the hierarchy.
1. Create table objects: a table top, four legs, and four feet (pods) for
the table legs.
2. With no objects selected, choose the Parent menu command.
3. Pick a child.
If no object is selected when you choose the Parent menu command,
then when you pick a child, a null parent is automatically created and
linked to it. This null is displayed in the global centre (the origin).
4. Pick all the objects you want to have the same colour (the legs) as
children of the null.
Once you have completed the hierarchy, you should see the base and
legs highlighted, as well as a highlighted null at the centre of the world.
5. Right-click to end the parenting mode.

78 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Creating a Hierarchy for Material Definition

Tip: You may find it convenient to place elements of hierarchies


Tip
in a useful configuration in the Schematic window. Note
that you can place an object anywhere in the Schematic
window without it affecting its position in the scene as
shown in the other windows.
Repeat the parenting operation for the top of the table:
1. Deselect all objects.
2. Choose the Parent menu command and pick the table top as
the child.
3. Right-click to end the parenting mode.
Optionally, position the null/table hierarchy beside the null/legs hierarchy
in the Schematic window so that it resembles the graphic below.

You have created two branches (with two null parents), but they are
not linked. You need to create another null which will be the parent
of the two other branches.
1. Deselect all objects.
2. Choose Parent again and pick the two nulls as children.
As before, a new null is automatically created as the parent.
3. Optionally, move the new null above the others in the middle of
the table.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 79


Material

This hierarchy offers many advantages over the previous, simpler


hierarchy. The inclusion of nulls helps you visualize the hierarchy as a
tree and two branches beneath. This greatly simplifies the process of
defining material (imagine modelling and colouring a house where
many pieces are made of many different materials such as glass,
wood, metal, brick, etc.).
In the example, you can define material for the entire table by
selecting the parent. A different material can then be applied to the
legs because they are a different branch than the table top. Because
the parent null of all the branches is placed in the middle of the table,
it is very easy to manipulate.

80 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Copying Materials

Copying Materials
You can copy the material definition from a specified object or
polygon to another object or polygon.
The Mat_Oper > Copy Mat command lets you apply the same
material to more than one object. This is advantageous if you want to
select a particular material, modify some of its attributes, then copy
it to more than one object. It saves you from having to select the
material and set its parameters for each object you want to apply the
material to.
Tip:
Tip When you duplicate an object that has a material applied, its
material is also duplicated.
1. Select the destination object or polygon (using the Polygon menu
commands) for the material.
2. Choose the Mat_Oper > Copy Mat command in the Matter module.
3. Pick the source object (or polygon material selection) from which
the material is to be copied.
Both objects (or polygon groups) flash to confirm that the material
was copied.
Note: If you want to copy a specific local material from a polygon
Note
mesh object, first make sure that it is the current material.
You can do this by choosing the Polygon > Next, Previous,
or Current commands in the Matter module.
For more information on polygons, see Polygon (Matter Module) on
page 1293 of the Reference Guide.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 81


Material

Sharing Materials
The Mat_Oper > Optimize All command optimizes the use of saved
materials in a scene by merging those that are identical and sharing
them between the models. This allows you to dispose of duplicate
materials and save disk space.
The Mat_Oper > Optimize Selected command optimizes the use of
selected saved materials in a scene by merging those that are similar
and sharing them between the models.
Operations must be performed using the Schematic window in the
Matter mode.
1. Open a Schematic window and select its Matter mode.
2. Select the materials to be merged. Materials are represented as
blue parallelograms in the Schematic window.
3. Choose the Mat_Oper > Optimize Selected or All command.
The number of materials merged is displayed in the status bar.

Associating and Disassociating Materials


The Mat_Oper > Associate/Disassociate commands allow you to
either associate a material to, or disassociate a material from the
selected object. You can associate a material to, or share a material
with, more than one object. Sharing materials is especially useful
because it allows you to quickly and easily edit a material that is used
throughout your scene. You can also disassociate a material if you
want to use a different one.
1. Open a Schematic window view in the Matter mode.
2. Select an object. For a local material, select one or more polygons
on a polygon mesh object.
3. Choose the Mat_Oper > Associate/Disassociate command.
4. Pick the material you want to associate or disassociate.
The material is linked to, or unlinked from the selected object.

Example
If you have several objects, such as a basket of tennis balls, and you
want them all to be the same, there is a quick way to do this:
1. Choose or create an object (such as a tennis ball).

82 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Sharing Materials

2. Choose Duplicate > Immediate and create several more of the


same object.
3. Create a different material for each object using the Material
menu command.
4. Open a Schematic window and select its Matter mode so you can
see the materials assigned to the objects.
To make the materials on the objects the same, first disassociate the
material from the object.
5. Choose Mat_Oper > Disassociate and select the material in the
Schematic window that you want to disassociate. That material
becomes disassociated from the object.
6. To assign the desired material to that object, choose Mat_Oper >
Associate and select the object to which you want to associate it.
You can do this to all of the objects until you only have one material
left and it is assigned to all of the objects. You can also assign textures
in the same way.
Note: You can also assign the same material or texture to multiple
Note
objects by making a null the parent to all the objects (the
children). All the children take on the same characteristics
(material and texture) as the parent. However, it is
important to remember that the children don’t already have
a material or texture already assigned to them.

Setting the Current Material


Besides associating or disassociating a material, you can also set the
current material for a polygon mesh object.
1. Open a Schematic window in the Matter mode.
2. Select a polygon mesh object.
3. Choose the Mat_Oper > Set Current command.
4. Pick a material.
The selected material becomes the current material. The current
material link is highlighted in red for the currently selected object.
Other material links are yellow.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 83


Material

Assigning Materials to Polygons


You can assign material to an entire object (globally), and you can also
assign material locally to its individual surface polygons or groups of
surface polygons. Since materials can be applied in both ways, each
object has a global and local (where applicable) material list.
All materials (the global material applied to the entire object as well
as each local material) have their own 2D and 3D texture lists. Global
materials are applied directly to the object, whereas local materials
are applied as children on an object. However, global textures still
require a material to be defined because they inherit the material’s
properties.

Polygon mesh object with Model with selected Result of darker material
global material. polygons. applied to selected
polygons.

Assigning a Local Material to Polygons


You can assign a material to the selected object using the Material
menu command. Then choose one of the following options
depending on what you want to do.
1. Select one or more polygons using one of the following
commands in the Matter module:
- Polygon > Select by Tag Vertex, Select by Rectangle, or Select by
Raycasting.
The selected polygons are highlighted in pink.
Tip:
Tip You can avoid tagging points surrounding the polygon by
choosing either the Select by Raycasting command or the t
supra key and then performing a rectangular selection on
the desired polygon.
2. Choose the Polygon > Assign New Material command in the
Matter module.
The Material Editor dialog box is displayed.
3. Set the parameters for the new material as desired.

84 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Assigning Materials to Polygons

You can create any pattern you want by repeating the procedure for each
new material desired and assigning it to any polygon on the object.

Editing a Material Assigned to Polygons


To edit materials assigned to polygons, follow these steps:
1. Choose the Polygon > Current Material, Polygon > Previous
Material, or Polygon > Next Material command to select the
material you want to edit.
The material name is displayed in the status line and the polygons
associated with the material are highlighted in pink.
2. Choose the Polygon > Assign New Material command.
3. The Material Editor dialog box is displayed. Set the parameters for
the new material as desired.
Note: This can also be done in the Schematic window. For more
Note
information, see the Mat_Oper > Set Current command on
page 1114 of the Reference Guide.

Modifying Polygon Groupings


You can modify the grouping of polygons on a polygon mesh object
for different effects with materials.
1. Choose the Polygon > Unselect All command to clear the object.
2. Select the material you want to assign using the Polygon >
Current/Previous/Next Material commands.
3. Select one or more polygons using one of the following
commands in the Matter module:
- Polygon > Select by Tag Vertex, Select by Rectangle, or Select by
Raycasting.
The selected polygons are highlighted in pink.
4. Choose the Polygon > Assign Current Material command to
change their material.
If a local material is deleted from the polygons, the material reverts to
the global material assigned to the object.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 85


Material

Animating Materials
You can animate all material attributes in SOFTIMAGE|3D.
Animating parameters for material is actually very simple. It uses the
technique of keyframe animation and the subsequent editing of
function curves (see Function Curves on page 22 and Editing an
Animation on page 41 of the Animating User’s Guide).
The following demonstrates a simple procedure for material animation.
1. Select an object, then move to a frame of the sequence using the
time line pointer.
2. Choose the Material command to open the Material Editor dialog
box, and set the material parameters as desired.
3. Click the Key button at the bottom of the dialog box.
SOFTIMAGE|3D automatically generates function curves for all of
the material parameters defined.
4. Keeping the dialog box open, move to the next desired keyframe
using the time line pointer and click Key again.
You can repeat this for as many keyframes as desired. You do not
have to enter them in any specific order. If you move between two
keyframes, you will notice that parameter values are interpolated
between the keys.
If you want to modify the material animation, you can select the
FcrvSelect > Material command in the Motion module to display
specific material parameter function curves in the Fcurve window for
the current material on the currently selected node and then use the
FcrvEdit menu commands to edit them. Depending on the
parameter selected, there will be one, two, or three function curves.
When there are three curves, such as for RGB, they are coded red,
green, and blue for easy manipulation.

Tutorial: Defining a Material Animation by Keyframes


Create a jewel-like object
• Choose Get > Primitive > Dodecahedron (use the default settings).
• Go to the Matter module by clicking on the word Matter in the title
bar or by pressing the F4 Supra key.
• Choose the Material menu command to display the Material Editor.

86 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Animating Materials

• Change the colour of the material by clicking the Palette button in


the bottom left of the Material Editor. Select a colour in the palette
and click Ok to confirm your choice.
• Set the Transparency value to approximately 0.5 and the Refractive
Index to approximately 1.4.
• Click the Preview button to render the effect of the material on the
model. Middle-click in the Preview window to close it and then
click Ok to close the Material Editor.
Create some atmosphere by adding a light
• Add a light to the scene by choosing Light > Define and accept the
default values. Position the light above and in front of the
dodecahedron (translate it). To see the result of your modifications,
choose Preview > All. To exit Preview mode, middle-click.
Animate the jewel
• Go to the Motion module by pressing the F2 Supra key.
• Make sure the time line is at frame 1 and that the dodecahedron is
selected. Choose SaveKey > Object > Rotation > All to create the
first keyframe.
• Go to frame 100 by dragging the time line pointer.
• Press the Supra key c to activate rotation. Rotate the cube several
times around any axis or combination of axes.
• Set another keyframe at frame 100 by choosing SaveKey with the
middle mouse button.
Tip:
Tip The middle mouse button always repeats the previous menu
command chosen.
• Preview your animation by clicking the forward play arrow in the
playback box at the right end of the time line.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 87


Material

Using Material Shaders


A shader lets you create special effects during the rendering process
when using the mental ray renderer. The main reason for using
shaders is the complete flexibility and openness available to you to
create and manipulate shaders to meet your specific needs.
Note: The mental ray renderer is not a part of the standard
Note
SOFTIMAGE|3D GT package, but may be purchased
separately.
If you are rendering with mental ray, you can select one of the mental
ray shader types available in the Material Editor dialog box: Volume,
Material, or Shadow.
A Material shader can be selected to access surface shaders, which are
used to define the effect of light and colour on an object’s surface.
A Volume shader is used to modify rays as they pass through an
object. They allow you to easily simulate effects such as clouds,
smoke, and fire. You can also create areas of transparency in a solid
object where a texture, such as holes in cheese, is visible throughout
the whole object rather than just on the object’s surface.
A Shadow shader lets you define the way in which an object’s shadow
is cast, such as its opacity and colour. The shader determines how the
light coming from a light source is altered when it hits an object. This
gives you the choice to create any type of shadow you want for an
object, such as a transparent red object casting an opaque green
patterned shadow.
The following example illustrates how to use Material shader called Glass.
1. Select an object and choose the Material menu command.
2. In the Material Editor dialog box, activate the Material Shader
option. The browser opens to the current Material Shader database.
Use the browser to locate the Glass shader and then click Load.
This shader allows you to control the opacity of the highlighted
(specular) area as well as the directional opacity which modulates the
glass’s opacity as the angle of view is changed
3. Click in the Material Shader text box and then select Edit.
4. In the Glass simulation shader dialog box that appears, change the
Directional Opacity factor to 0.5 and the Specular opacity factor
to 0.7.

88 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Using Material Shaders

5. Save the Glass shader’s parameters by clicking Save.


6. In the Save Material Shaders dialog box, make sure you are in the
correct database and then name your shader appropriately. Click
Save and then click Ok to exit the Glass simulation shader dialog box.
Tip:
Tip Each of the Shader dialog boxes has an Info, Help, or About
button which gives a brief description of the various
parameters as well as the shader’s overall effect on the object.
7. Even though you have applied a shader to the glass, you still need
to define its overall physical properties. To do so, click Select next
to the Material text box. Use the browser to go to the
/SI_Materials_lib/GLASS directory. Select one of the glass
materials such as glass2_1.0 and click Load.
Tip:
Tip To view a sample of each of the materials or shaders, click
Options in the Load dialog box and activate the Use icons
option.
8. Click the Preview button in the Material Editor dialog box to view
the results.
Note: Make sure that your preview is set to mental ray, otherwise
Note
you won’t be able to see the effects of the shader. To change
the Preview setup, choose Preview > Setup, activate mental
ray as the Preview Renderer, and click Exit.

Translucent Shader
The Translucent mental ray shader allows you to create translucent
effects. Using this shader, you can backlight objects and create diffuse
lighting effects to create things such as frosted glass and rice-paper
screens.
This shader illuminates pixels that are not visible to camera (a light
usually illuminates triangles that are facing the camera). You can
apply the shader to opaque or semi-transparent models (which you
set in the Material editor). You can also map translucency using the
Transparency mapping option in the 2D Texture File dialog box.

Using the Translucent Shader


If you try the examples in the next section, you see that the shader
works well without changing any material or shader parameters. You
can, however, control the amount of translucency and activate
transparency mapping settings for use with this shader. For more

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 89


Material

information about transparency mapping in general, see


Transparency Mapping on page 73 of the Defining Materials and
Textures User’s Guide.
To use the Translucent shader:
1. Create a light and place it behind or within the object—the
Translucent shader’s effect is only visible when a material is lit
from behind.
2. Make sure that preview renderer is set to mental ray (Preview >
Setup).
3. Select the object on which you want to apply the shader and
choose the Material menu command in the Matter module.
4. Select the Material Shader option. Using the browser that appears,
select the Translucent shader in the Shader_lib\Matter directory.

5. In the shader’s dialog box, set the parameters you want:


• Translucency: Use values greater than 1 to emphasize the
translucent effect and to simulate self-illuminating materials.
• Mappable (From Transparency): Uses the transparency of a
material to affect the Translucency parameter in this dialog box.
This option allows you to map the Translucent shader’s effect using
the Transparency mapping option in the 2D Texture File dialog
box.

90 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Using Material Shaders

• Defeat Transparency: You may want to map translucency while still


keeping the material opaque. This option disables the material’s
transparency while allowing the Translucent shader to be mapped
using the transparency of a material.
6. Click the Preview (Light in Sphere) button to preview the effect
(mental ray needs to be set as the renderer in Preview > Setup).
7. You can animate the effect by changing the shader’s parameters
and entering a keyframe number in the Keyframe text box.
- Click Ins to insert the keyframe.
- Use the arrow keys (<< and >>) to go to keyframes.
- Move to a keyframe and click Del to delete a keyframe.
8. Click the Save button to save the parameters you have set in this
dialog box. Click OK to apply the shader.

Try It Yourself
In this example, you’ll compare lights behind two grids: one grid uses
the shader, the other doesn’t.
1. Create a grid.
2. Duplicate the grid and move it beside the first grid.
3. Create a point light and put it directly under the first grid.
4. Duplicate the light and put it directly under the second grid.
5. Make sure that the preview renderer is set to mental ray
(Preview > Setup).
6. Select the first grid and choose the Material command.
7. Select the Material Shader option. Using the browser that appears,
select the Translucent shader in the Shader_lib\Matter directory.
8. Preview the effect using Preview > All.

Making Objects Appear Behind the Grid


Using the same scene, you’ll project the shadow of a simple object
through the grid.
1. Place a small cube between the light and the grid with the shader.
2. Edit the light and select the Raytraced Shadows option in the Edit
Light dialog box. Set the Umbra Intensity level to 0.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 91


Material

3. Make the grid’s material slightly transparent (about 0.25).


4. Preview your changes. You can see the cube through the grid and
maintain the grid’s opaque quality.
5. Move the lights further away from the grids and preview
the changes.
6. Change the material’s Transparency setting again and preview
the changes using Preview > All.

Making an Object Glow from Within


Using a different scene, you’ll create a glow effect (such as from
within a lamp shade).
1. Create a cube and apply a nice colour to it.
2. Apply the shader to the cube.
3. Create a point light and put it in the centre of the cube to create
the glow.
4. Preview the effect using Preview > All.

Tips for Using the Translucent Shader


You can simulate many translucent materials, like paper or thin
plastic, without making a material transparent. In these cases, if you
want mapping, select Mappable (From Transparency) and Defeat
Transparency in the Translucent shader’s dialog box, and then use
the Transparency mapping option in the 2D Texture File dialog box.

92 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


C H A P T E R F O U R

2D Textures

SOFTIMAGE 3D Defining Materials and Textures 93


2D Textures

94 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE 3D


Introduction

Introduction
After you add material to an object, you can also add texture to
enhance its appearance. Applying textures to your objects can give
them an increased sense of realism. 2D textures can be used to create
an endless variety of colour patterns, surface roughness,
transparency, and reflectivity. Textures can also be used in
combination with shadow-casting lights to create complex patterns
of coloured light and shadow on other objects in a scene. All texture
parameters can be animated.
Textures can be applied to the object’s global material, which is the
material that covers the entire surface, or it can be applied to a local
material (or groups of polygons). Remember that an object’s
material attributes, such as its shading model, colour, reflectivity, and
transparency may affect the way your textures appear on the object’s
surface. It’s a good idea to select your basic material parameters first,
then create your 2D textures, all in relation to your lighting.
A 2D texture is similar to a piece of wrapping paper (a picture) being
wrapped around an object. To use a 2D texture, you start with a
picture (.pic) file. These can be picture files from SOFTIMAGE 3D,
imported scanned photos, or imported picture files.
You can then use the picture to create a 2D texture, such as by adding
transparency or bump mapping. This lets you use the same picture file
with different 2D texture files that have different parameter settings.
Two tools which will help you work with 2D textures are:
• The TXT (texture) manipulation mode, which lets you control the
2D texture support. For more information, see Manipulation Modes
on page 32 in the Reference Guide.
• The Matter mode in the Schematic window, which lets you view
relationships between objects, textures, and materials. For more
information, see Mode on page 25 in the Reference Guide.

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2D Textures

Picture and 2D Texture Files


To use a 2D texture, you bring in a picture (.pic) file. These can be
rendered picture files from SOFTIMAGE 3D, imported scanned
photos, or imported product files. A picture file is any file that
contains data that describes all the pixels in an image, RGB, or RGBA
data. It is a file that has a .pic extension that is generated by
SOFTIMAGE or a converter.
You can then use the picture to create a 2D texture, such as by adding
transparency or bump mapping.
You can even use the same picture file with different 2D texture files
that have different parameter settings. This is because a picture file is
simply an image with no parameter information: the 2D texture file
contains all this information. Then whenever you load a 2D texture
file, its associated picture file is also loaded.

Loading Picture Files


Picture files are a special case in SOFTIMAGE 3D since they can be
stored in a database other than the database where your scene is located.
When 2D texture files are read from a scene, SOFTIMAGE 3D checks
for the necessary picture files in the following places in this order:
• The explicit path stored in the texture file.
• The PICTURES chapter of the database where the scene is currently
read from. The PICTURES chapter of any database lists all pictures
used for 2D textures.
• The PICTURES chapter of all system databases.
• The explicit path from the scene elements.
The following example illustrates how to load a picture file:
1. Select an object.
2. Choose Texture > 2D Global (or Local) in the Matter module.
Note: Objects require a material definition before you can add a
Note
2D texture. If the object has no material assigned to it,
SOFTIMAGE 3D gives it a default material setting when you
choose this command.
3. In the 2D Texture File dialog box that is displayed, click the

96 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE 3D


Picture and 2D Texture Files

Select button beside the Picture Filename text box.

4. Use the browser that is displayed to go to the directory in which


the SI_Materials is located. Double-click SI_Materials and
double-click Pictures to bring up the various categories of
picture files available with SOFTIMAGE 3D.
5. As an example, double-click SURFACES. A list is displayed
consisting of several different types of surfaces. Click the Options
button, select Use Icons, and click Ok to display a sample image
of each surface.
6. Select one of the surfaces icons by clicking on it and then click
Load. A sample of the picture file you selected appears in the
Display Box in the 2D Texture File dialog box.
7. Change the mapping method of the picture file, if you like. For
example, if your object is spherical, click the current option in the
Mapping Method menu and select Spherical Coordinates.

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2D Textures

8. Click Preview to view the results. Then click Ok to assign the 2D


Texture to your object.

Saving a 2D Texture File


You can save the current parameter settings as a 2D texture file so
that you can create your own library of 2D textures with the
specifications that you have given them. You can access this library of
texture files at any time to be used with any picture file. To save a 2D
Texture file, follow these steps:
1. Select an object.
2. Choose Texture > 2D Global (or Local) in the Matter module.
Note: Objects require a material definition before you can add a
Note
2D texture. If the object has no material assigned to it,
SOFTIMAGE 3D gives it a default material setting when you
choose this command.
3. In the 2D Texture File dialog box, load a picture file as described
in the previous section.
4. Change the values of the parameters in the dialog box, such as the
Transparency slider.
5. Type a name for this texture in the 2D Texture text box and
click Save.
6. The Save Texture2D dialog box is displayed, opening to the
current 2D Texture chapter. The name that you have given the
texture appears in the name text box. Make sure that it is being
saved in the correct 2D Texture chapter and click Save.
You have now created a 2D texture file that you can store in your
library for future use.

Selecting a 2D Texture File


After you have saved a 2D texture file, you can load it. When you load
this file, its accompanying picture file is also loaded.
To load a 2D texture:
1. Select an object.
2. Choose Texture > 2D (Global or Local) in the Matter module.
The 2D Texture File dialog box is displayed.
3. Click the Select button beside the 2D Texture file text box to

98 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE 3D


Picture and 2D Texture Files

open the database browser.

You can browse through a library of source 2D texture files, either


inside or outside the database.
4. To see the icons for each file, click the Options button, select Use
Icons, and click Ok to display a sample image of each texture.
5. Double-click the icon for the texture you want to load. The
browser closes and the texture is displayed with its file name listed
in the 2D Texture text box, and the associated picture file is also
loaded.
You can edit the parameters and save it 2D texture with a new name
in the 2D Texture text box.
Note: You cannot load a 2D texture file if its associated picture file
Note
has been removed.

Previewing a Texture
To preview a texture from within the 2D Texture File dialog box, click
the Preview button in this dialog box. This is a handy way to change
parameters and view them immediately without having to exit the
2D Texture File dialog box.
The preview from within this dialog box is affected by the renderer
you have selected in the Preview Setup dialog box. To check or
change the renderer, choose Preview > Setup. Select mental ray or
SOFTIMAGE as the Preview Renderer and click Exit. The renderer
type is especially important if you want to view the results of using
2D texture shaders with the mental ray renderer.
Note: The mental ray renderer is not a part of the standard
Note
SOFTIMAGE|3D GT package, but may be purchased
separately.
Textures can also be previewed using the hardware renderer used in
the Shade view, which gives you a quick approximation of materials

SOFTIMAGE 3D Defining Materials and Textures 99


2D Textures

and textures used (if selected in the Shade view Setup dialog box). If
you are planning to output your scene as geometry textures for
rendering on another platform, such as a Games console, the Shade
view may be the most accurate.

Viewing Texture Information


You can view information about 2D textures in a scene by choosing
the Info > Textures command. This lets you see which texture is
mapped to which object. If you want, you can also edit the texture
using this command.
1. Select an object with a texture applied.
2. Choose the Info > Textures command. The Scene Information -
Textures dialog box is displayed.
3. If you want to edit the texture, select the name of the object you
want to edit, then click Edit. The 2D Texture File dialog box is
displayed.
4. You can then edit the texture parameters as desired and click Ok.
5. When you exit the 2D Texture dialog box, the Scene Information
– Textures dialog box reappears. Click Ok to exit it as well.

Deleting a 2D Texture File


Deleting a texture file resets all parameters to their default settings,
removes the picture files from the display box in the 2D Texture Files
dialog box (but does not delete the picture file), and the texture map
from the object.
To delete a texture file:
1. Select an object.
2. Choose Texture > 2D (Global or Local) in the Matter module.
The 2D Texture File dialog box is displayed.
3. Click Select beside the 2D Texture text box to open the browser.
4. Navigate to the appropriate 2D Texture chapter and select the file
that you want to delete. The name should be displayed in the 2D
Texture text box. Click Load.
5. In the 2D Texture File dialog box, click the Delete button. The
texture is deleted.

100 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE 3D


Reordering Multiple 2D Textures

Reordering Multiple 2D Textures


The Txt Oper > 2D TextureReorder command lets you change the
order of 2D global and local textures.

Your textures appear


here.

Use these buttons to move


the selected texture up or
down the list.

Using 2D Texture Reorder


1. To change the order of global textures, select the object. To
change the order of local textures, select the material.
2. Choose Txt Oper > 2DTextureReorder from the Matter module.
3. Select the texture you want to move and use the buttons at the
bottom of the dialog box to position them.

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2D Textures

Choosing a Mapping Method


2D textures are applied to the object’s material surface by a process
known as mapping. When a 2D texture is mapped onto an object,
SOFTIMAGE 3D calculates a correspondence between pixels in the
texture and points on the object’s surface. This process can be
accomplished by projecting the texture map onto the object’s xy, xz,
or yz axes, or by mapping cylindrically, spherically, or in uv to create
different effects.
To apply a mapping method:
1. Select an object.
2. Choose Texture > 2D (Global or Local) in the Matter module.
The 2D Texture File dialog box is displayed.
3. Load a picture file, and a 2D texture file if you like.
4. Click on the current option in the Mapping Method menu. Select
the appropriate method as described in this section.

XY, XZ, and YZ Mapping


For xy, xz, and yz mapping, imagine an image being projected onto a
cube. If the picture file is mapped onto xy coordinates, its pixels are
projected accurately onto the xy surface plane of the object and are
distorted across the other two planes.

z x
Above: Cube (left) with xyz orientation and picture file (right).
Below (left to right): Resulting projection with XY, XZ and YZ mapping methods.

y y

x z x z

102 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE 3D


Choosing a Mapping Method

Using the TXT manipulation mode, you can transform the


projection of the texture map on the object.

Cylindrical and Spherical Mapping


If the picture file is mapped cylindrically, it is projected as if it is a
cylinder wrapped around the cube.

x
Picture file used

Polygon mesh cylinder with XY projection map


(left) and Cylindrical map (right). Picture file was
tiled by setting the number of repeats.

When mapped spherically, the picture file surrounds the object and
covers the entire surface with some distortion.

Picture file
z x used

Polygon mesh sphere with XZ projection map


(left) and Spherical map (right). Texture was
blended at 50% to show shading of object.

SOFTIMAGE 3D Defining Materials and Textures 103


2D Textures

UV Mapping
UV mapping is the most versatile mapping method, and can be used
on patch or NURBS surface objects (for polygon mesh objects, see
UV Mapping for Polygons on page 104). It behaves like a rubber skin
stretched over the object surface. The points of the object correspond
exactly to a particular coordinate point on the object. This lets you
map a texture accurately to the object’s geometry. Even when you
deform an object, its texture follows the object’s geometry.

Picture file used

z x

Object with XZ map (left) and uv map (right). Pattern


follows the contours of the object with uv map.

UV Mapping for Polygons


To use uv mapping on a polygon mesh object, you must use a slightly
different method, but the result is the same. To convert the texture
projection method to UV (and generate the UV texture information
for polygons referring to the material on which the texture is
applied), select the object and choose the Txt_Oper > Info UV
Coord. (2D Global or Local) command in the Matter module.
The vertex of each polygon corresponds exactly to a particular
coordinate within or outside the texture map (for example, the UV
coordinates do not need to be within (0.0, 0.1, they can be outside
these values). This lets you deform an object and still have the texture
follow the object’s geometry. Fore more information on this
command, see page 1617 in the Reference Guide.

104 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE 3D


Choosing a Mapping Method

Converting to UV Mapping
To convert to UV mapping:
1. Select the object and apply a 2D texture.
2. Choose the Txt_Oper > Info UV Coord command in the Matter
module. Click Ok in the dialog box.
- If the texture scaling (in U) is 1.0, the texture is converted directly
to a wrapped UV map.
- If the texture scaling (in U) is less than 1.0, then a dialog box
appears stating that the texture projection is scaled and asks you
whether or not you want to preserve the gap.
3. Select Yes to save the image containing the projection gap
information. This opens a browser in which you specify the path
to save the file.
Select No to convert the texture without saving any information.
In either case, the resulting UV texture is not wrapped.
Note: You can also convert textures to UV mapping from the Paint
Note
dialog box in the Matter module by using the Convert to UV
button (see Bottle Tutorial on page 172).

Commands for Texture Mapping


The Deformation > Unwrap command in the Model module allows
you to distort a model as a guide for cylindrical or spherical
projection texture mapping. Unwrap distorts the selected model into
a rectangular region in the xy plane. This image can then be used as a
guide for distorting a texture map. Features of the texture may be
accurately aligned with features of the model. A typical use of
Unwrap is as a guide for distorting a scanned image of a head to
match features on a model of the head when textured.
For more information, see this effect’s description in the Reference
Guide. Also, see the Modelling User’s Guide for information on
deforming an object’s shape.

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2D Textures

Blending Textures with the Material


The Overall Blending and Blending options in the 2D Texture File
dialog box let you control how the picture file and the current
material on the object’s areas of illumination are blended together.
The Blending menu lets you choose exactly what values you want
blended with the material. After you select an option from this
menu, you can set the Overall Blending, or choose to blend on a
certain illumination area of the material’s definition (ambient,
diffuse, or specular areas).
This menu bar displays the current selected blending type. Click on
the current type to display a menu listing the available options.

You can view the results of each option by selecting the On Material
view mode.
• Without Mask uniformly blends the picture file with the object’s
current material. The ratio of picture to material visibility is
controlled using the Overall Blending slider.
• Alpha Channel Mask uses the alpha channel (transparency) of the
picture file as a blending factor. The picture file is blended with the
object’s current material according to the different alpha channel
values of the picture pixels. Where the alpha channel value is high
(white), the colour of the picture file is visible; where the alpha
channel value is low (black), the object’s current material is visible.
Note: A scanned picture imported into the SOFTIMAGE 3D file
Note
format may not have an alpha channel, but can be added by
using the alpha standalone program. Refer to the
Standalones HTML file on the On-line Documentation CD.

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Blending Textures with the Material

• RGB Intensity Mask uses the RGB colour intensity of the picture
file as a blending factor. The picture file is blended with the object’s
current material according to the different RGB intensity values of
the picture pixels. Where the RGB intensity is high (white), the
colour of the picture file is visible; on low intensity pixels (black),
the object’s current material is visible.

Blending with Areas on the Material


Using the Overall Blending slider, you can control the amount of
overall blending between the picture file and the object’s current
material. Values range from 0 to 1; if the value is set to 0, only the
material is visible; if the value is set to 1, only the picture file is visible.
You can also control the blending with certain areas of the material’s
definition:
• If you choose the Ambient slider, you can control the intensity of
the picture file on the object’s ambient area of illumination. Values
range from above 0 to 1. If the value is set to 0, the picture file is
replaced by the object’s material (global or current local).
• If you choose the Diffuse slider, you can control the intensity of the
picture file on the object’s diffuse area of illumination. Values range
from above 0 to 1. If the value is set to 0, the picture file is replaced
by the object’s material (global or current local).
• If you choose the Specular slider, you can control the intensity of
the picture file on the object’s specular area of illumination. Values
range from above 0 to 1; the value may be set higher to compensate
for reflectivity or transparency. If the value is set at 0, the picture file
is replaced by the object’s material (global or current local).

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2D Textures

Blending Material with 2D Textures


Here’s a basic example of steps to follow for blending a 2D texture
with the material.
1. Create or select any object. In this example, it will be a cylinder.
2. Choose the Material menu command and change the Diffuse
colours of the material to a bright orange, for example. Click Ok
to accept these values.
3. Choose Texture > 2D (Global or Local) in the Matter module.
The 2D Texture File dialog box is displayed.
4. Load a 2D texture file, preferably something with lots of black
and white areas so that the blending is obvious.
5. Click on the current option in the Mapping Method menu and
select the Cylindrical method.
6. Select RGB Mask as the Blending method to use the RGB values
of the picture file.
7. Select the Diffuse blending slider to blend the texture with the
material’s diffuse area of illumination (the orange area). Change
the value to 0.5 for a proper blend between the two.
8. Preview your image by clicking the Preview button in the 2D
Texture File dialog box and notice how the dark and light areas of
the 2D texture are blended with the orange material.

108 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE 3D


Displaying Textures

Displaying Textures
To view the actual texture on a selected object or on all objects in the
Shade view in any window, select the SETUP option in a window
title bar with the Shade view mode selected. In the dialog box that is
displayed, select the Enable Hardware Texture option. To see
repeated (tiled) textures, select the Texture Repeat - Grid option.
The Txt_Edit commands in Matter module let you see how the
texture is displayed on an object. To use any of these commands, you
must first have the TXT (texture) manipulation mode selected.
• The Txt_Edit > 2D Global command displays a graphic
representation of a globally applied 2D texture.
• The Txt_Edit > 2D Local command displays a graphic
representation of the current locally applied 2D texture. Choose the
Polygon > Preview/Next Material command to move among lists
of materials applied at the polygon level.
• The Txt_Edit > Previous command displays the 2D texture file
applied to the object’s surface before the current one, and the
Txt_Edit > Next command displays the 2D texture file applied after
the current one. If more than one 2D texture is applied to the object
or the selected polygon area, you can use the Txt_Edit > Previous
or Txt_Edit > Next commands to display them. The file name of
the texture is displayed in the status line at the bottom of the screen.
If you lose track of which texture is currently being displayed,
choose the Texture > 2D Global/Local command to open the
dialog box for the current texture.
• The Txt_Edit > Align Txt command allows you to realign 2D
texture to one or more selected polygons of the object to which the
texture is applied.

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2D Textures

Viewing the 2D Texture Support and Projection


To see the texture’s support or projection, you can choose certain
Txt_Edit commands in the Matter module. With them, you can
select a 2D texture that is assigned to an object and display a graphic
representation (in coloured outline) of its support or projection on
the object’s surface. To use any of these commands, you must first
have the TXT (texture) manipulation mode selected.
You can then modify the position and size of the support or projection
on the object interactively using the ScaleXYZ, TransXYZ, and
RotXYZ menu commands (see Scaling, Rotating, and Translating
Textures on page 111). These transformations can be animated.
The Txt_Edit > Support command in the Matter module displays
the texture support as blue outline around the object, which
represents the surface parametrization system used. If xy, xz, or yz
mapping is used, it is displayed as a box; if cylindrical mapping is
used, it is displayed as a cylinder; and if spherical mapping is used, it
is displayed as a sphere.
You can perform transformations on 2D texture supports which alter
the way a texture’s image is projected onto an object. The texture is
constrained to the support, so when the support is rotated and
scaled, the texture is also affected. For example, if the texture support
is scaled up, the texture image is also enlarged.
The texture’s centre of projection (calculated according to the centre
of the texture support) is automatically displayed and can be
translated anywhere within the texture support, allowing you to
further distort the texture’s image on the object.
Note: UV, raytraced, and non-raytraced reflection mapping has
Note
no support.

The Txt_Edit > Projection command displays a graphic


representation in red outline of how the texture is projected, allowing
you to visualize where the texture falls on the object.

110 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE 3D


Scaling, Rotating, and Translating Textures

Scaling, Rotating, and Translating Textures


Picture files, or texture maps, applied to the material surface of an
object can be scaled, rotated, or translated to modify their
appearance. By default, the map fills the entire surface plane defined
by the selected axis coordinates. All transformations are in relation to
the mapping method you chose: XY, YZ, XZ, cylindrical, etc.

Using the Transformation Menu Commands


In TXT (texture) manipulation mode, you can use the mouse to
interactively scale, rotate, or translate the map along the appropriate
axis using the Scale, Rotate, and Translate menu commands as you
would with any object. These transformations can be animated. You
can also align 2D textures to one or more selected polygons of the
object to which the texture is applied.
The following illustrates how to use the transformation menu commands:
1. Select an object that has 2D texture applied to its surface.
2. Select the TXT (Texture) manipulation mode.
3. If you are working on global 2D textures, choose the Txt_Edit >
2D Global command to display the texture if it isn’t already visible.
If you are working on local 2D textures, use the Polygon >
Previous Material or the Next Material menu commands to
select the local material that is the base for the texture you need,
then choose the Txt_Edit > 2D Local command.
4. Use the Translate, Rotate, or Scale menu commands to move,
rotate, and resize the texture on the object. All transformations
are done in relation to the texture’s centre of projection.

Using the Scale and Offset Options


You can also scale and offset (translate) a texture from within the 2D
texture dialog box. The Scale and Offset option text boxes reflect any
changes you may have made in the Scale or Translate menu commands.
Unlike scaling or translating with Scale or Translate menu
commands, the Scale and Offset options scale and offset using the
upper-left corner of the picture file as a reference point instead of the
texture’s “centre.” The Scale and Offset options may be useful when
using the Repeat option to tile a texture. For example, say you repeat
the texture to be tiles 12 times, but you want to increase that number.

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2D Textures

Using Scale and Offset, you can quickly adjust the size and placement
of the tiled texture map from within the 2D Texture File dialog box.
The following example illustrates how to apply a texture on an object
and then scale the texture so that it looks like a label on a soup can:
1. Choose Get > Primitive > Cylinder to create a soup can. Scale it
so that it is approximately 1.8 on all axes.
2. Choose the 2D > Texture (Global or Local) command. Click the
Select button beside Picture Filename and select any picture file.
3. Select Cylindrical as the Mapping Method.
4. Set the Scale to 0.5 and 0.5 in u and v. The Scale option allows you to
reduce the texture so that it covers only a portion of the object’s
surface, or enlarge it so that only a portion of the texture map is visible.
5. Set the Offset to 0.75 and 0.25 in u and v. The Offset option
allows you to position a texture map on the surface plane.
6. Click Preview to see the cylinder with the texture applied to look
like a label.

Transforming a Texture Support


The texture support lets you control the way the texture is projected
on the model. For example, if you choose a spherical object and a
spherical mapping type, the texture support wraps around the sphere
and defines a spherical shape from which the texture is projected.
1. Select an object that has 2D texture applied to it.
2. Select the TXT (Texture) manipulation mode.
3. Choose the Txt_Edit > Support command to display the blue
outline of the texture support and its centre of projection.
4. Use the Scale XYZ or Rot XYZ menu commands to resize or
rotate the support. Use the Trans XYZ menu command to move
the centre of projection.
If you have the Shade view in a window set up to preview the textures
(choose SETUP in the window’s title bar and select the Enable
Hardware Texture option), you see the results immediately. You can
also view the results by choosing the Preview > Selection command.

112 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE 3D


Scaling, Rotating, and Translating Textures

Tiling a Texture
The Repeats option in the 2D Texture File dialog box allows you to
repeat a picture file to create a wallpaper-like pattern. When a picture
file is repeated, its edges should be absolutely symmetrical or else you
will see seams. A solution to this is to carefully retouch its edges
selecting the Paint button in the 2D Texture File dialog box (see
Painting on the Image on page 164).
For example, select a picture file and select a Tiling pattern. Set the
Repeats value to 3 in both u and v and click Preview to see what it
looks like with the texture repeated three times.
To view the actual texture on a selected object or on all objects in the
Shade view in any window, select the SETUP option in a window
title bar with the Shade view mode selected. In the dialog box that is
displayed, select the Enable Hardware Texture option. To see
repeated (tiled) textures, select the Texture Repeat - Grid option.

Copying UV Textures
When the UV Editing option is selected, you can share UV texture
information by copying the UV texture coordinates from one
polygon to another.
The Copy UV option is available only when one polygon is selected
as editable.
1. Select one active UV outline in the 3D Projection view.
2. Click Copy UV.
3. Click on any other polygon to copy UV texture coordinates.
4. Repeat step 3 as many times as desired.
5. Right- click to exit the “copy” mode.

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2D Textures

Realigning a Texture on Multiple Polygons


After performing various mapping operations, you may want to
realign a texture to multiple polygons.
You can also realign textures using uv mapping techniques. For more
information, see Bottle Tutorial on page 172.
1. Select one or more polygons using one of the following
commands in the Matter module: Polygon > Select by Tag
Vertex, Select by Rectangle, or Select by Raycasting.
The selected polygons are highlighted in pink.
Tip:
Tip You can avoid tagging points surrounding the polygon by
choosing either the Select by Raycasting command or the t
supra key and then performing a rectangular selection on
the desired polygon.
2. Select the TXT (texture) manipulation mode.
3. Choose the Txt_Edit command and activate either the 2D Local or
2D Global, and the Support or Projection commands, as desired.
4. Choose the Txt_Edit > Align Txt command.
The texture is repositioned so that it is aligned with the selected
polygon or polygons.

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Creating Mapping Effects

Creating Mapping Effects


A wide variety of complex textural effects can be created in
SOFTIMAGE 3D by using picture files to map surface roughness
(bump mapping), reflectivity, and transparency. When using mental
ray you can also use displacement mapping.
Note: The mental ray renderer is not a part of the standard
Note
SOFTIMAGE|3D GT package, but may be purchased separately.
The alpha channel and RGB intensity values of the picture file’s pixels
can also be used as a mask or effect to further control the various
texture mapping effects. One picture can be used to create several
texture maps at the same time, and different picture files used for
different textures can be applied to the same object’s material both
globally and locally.
All mapping effects depend on the mapping method of projection
that you choose – XY, YZ, XZ, cylindrical, etc. For more information,
see Choosing a Mapping Method on page 102.

Using the Alpha Channel and RGB Values


In the Map Component menu in the 2D Texture File dialog box, you
can choose either the Alpha Channel or the RGB Intensity values of a
picture file as a map component.

These two options affect the mapping effect you choose: colours,
bump mapping (roughness), displacement mapping, reflectivity
mapping, and transparency mapping.
The Alpha Channel uses the alpha channel of the picture file to
create transparency, reflectivity, or roughness effects on the object.
The different alpha channel values of the picture pixels are used to
define the various effects.
The RGB Intensity uses the RGB colour intensity of the picture file
to create transparency, reflectivity, and roughness effects. The
different RGB intensity values of the picture pixels are used to define
the various effects. This is the default setting.

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2D Textures

This is a basic procedure to follow for using the mapping effects:


1. Select an object and choose the Texture > 2D (Global or Local)
command.
2. Select the Mapping Method menu to choose a projection type
(XY, YZ, XZ, cylindrical, etc.)
3. Click Preview to see that the mapping method is correct.
4. Select the Map Component to be either RGB Intensity (default)
or the Alpha Channel for the mapping effect.
5. If you’re using Transparency or Reflectivity, leave the Overall
Blending at 1.0 for the full effect of the texture. If you’re using
Roughness (bump mapping) or Displacement Mapping, turn
the Overall Blending down to 0 or 0.1 to see more of the
“bumpy” effect in relation to the material.
6. Select the mapping effect: Transparency, Reflectivity, Roughness
(bump mapping), or Displacement mapping.
7. Preview the effect with the Preview button.
Tip:
Tip If you’re using Displacement mapping, make sure to choose
mental ray as the preview renderer in the Preview > Setup
dialog box.
8. Adjust the slider values for the appropriate mapping effect.

Transparency Mapping
A texture map can be used to define areas of transparency on your
object. SOFTIMAGE 3D uses the alpha channel or RGB intensity of the
picture file pixels and applied a factor to map a pattern of varying
degrees of transparency on the object’s material. The factor is
determined by the value set with the Transparency slider. For example,
a transparency value of 1 in combination with pure white picture file
pixels would create an actual hole in the object’s material. Selecting the
Black/White option above the Transparency slider causes each
completely black and white pixel in an object to become transparent.
Transparency mapping can be used to create many kinds of effects,
such as the translucent pattern on a Chinese teapot, holes in an
ornate Christmas tree ball, or coloured patterns of a cast shadow
(when combined with shadow-casting light). The overall
transparency of the map can also be blended with the object’s
material by using the associated blending sliders.

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The transparency assigned to the material itself does not affect the
texture map’s transparency factor.

Transparency
Dome with texture of happy faces, no transparency (above left).
Texture transparency set to 100% (above right).

Reflectivity
With texture reflectivity, white areas of texture become transparent (below left).
Negative reflection value: black areas become reflective (below right).

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Example
The following example shows the results from using an alpha
channel with transparency mapping.
1. Create or select a cylinder.
2. Choose the Material menu command and apply a bright colour,
such as red, so that the mapping effects are obvious.
3. Choose the Texture > 2D (Global or Local) command and apply
a texture to the cylinder (try and find one that has lot of black
and white areas).
4. Make sure that Material On is selected so you can see what is
happening. Set the Transparency slider to -1 so the black
disappears.
5. Click the Paint button and choose Alpha only in the Paint dialog
box that appears.
6. Using the Pen, write your name on the texture. Click Accept to
save the picture and to return to the 2D Texture dialog box.
7. Select Alpha Channel as the Map Component.
You can see your name appear on the texture in the Display Box.

Reflectivity Mapping
Reflectivity mapping can be used to create varying patterns of
reflectivity on an object. When reflectivity is applied as a texture
map, SOFTIMAGE 3D reads the alpha channel or RBG intensity of
the picture file pixels and applies a reflectivity factor which is
determined by the value set with the Reflectivity slider in the 2D
Texture dialog box. For example, a reflectivity value of 1 applied in
combination with pure white picture file pixels creates a mirror on
the corresponding area of the object’s material. Overall reflectivity
can also be blended with the object’s material by using the associated
blending sliders.
The reflectivity assigned to the material itself does not affect the
texture map’s reflectivity factor.

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Creating Mapping Effects

Bump Mapping
You can simulate complex rough surfaces using bump mapping, or
surface normal perturbation, to create the appearance of surface
roughness on your object. Use the alpha channel or RGB intensity of
the picture file’s pixels to “perturb” the object’s surface normals to
simulate a relief pattern.
The apparent height or depth of the relief can be controlled using the
Roughness slider in the 2D Texture dialog box; the values range from
20 to -20. Since bump mapping does not use the RGB colour of the
picture file to calculate roughness, values set for blending purposes
do not affect the appearance of roughness. However, a picture file
can be used to map both colour and roughness in the same texture
file setup.

Roughness (SOFTIMAGE renderer) Negative value Blending


Texture roughness causes white areas of Black areas of Combine the picture
picture to have appearance of being picture appear file with the surface
raised. Dome with texture (left). raised when Roughness by
Roughness set to 8 (right). Blending was Roughness set to adjusting the
set to zero to show the effects of surface a negative value. blending factor (0.4
roughness only. shown).

Note: Since bump mapping uses the picture file’s alpha channel or
Note
RGB intensity, the relief effect may be easier to predict if the
picture is black and white (grey scale).
For good results within bump mapping, start with a low Overall
Blending value, such as 0 or 0.1 and gradually increase it to see the
effect of blending the texture with the material.

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Displacement Mapping
Displacement mapping is available only with the mental ray
renderer. Unlike regular bump mapping which only creates the
illusion of depth, displacement mapping actually moves the object’s
vertices so that during the rendering, the object’s geometry is altered
to create a bumpy surface. Since displacement mapping only alters
the object’s geometry in the renderer and not the actual object in the
scene, you can create highly complex object’s without having to
actually model them.

Displacement mapping
(mental ray renderer)
Displacement mapping affects the geometry
of the object during the rendering process.
Objects edges are visibly raised, and the
texture casts shadows.

To activate displacement mapping, select the Displacement (mr)


option above the Roughness slider. Then use the Roughness slider to
set the values for it.

Example
The following example illustrates how to create displacement
mapping using a NURBS or Patch grid.
1. Choose Get ¹ Primitive ¹ Grid and use the default values.
2. Choose the Material menu cell and select the Lambert shading
model.
3. Select Preview ¹ Setup and choose mental ray as the preview
renderer.
4. Choose Texture ¹ 2D Global.
5. Assign a global 2D texture to your grid by clicking Select beside
the Picture Filename text box. In the browser, go to the
/SI_Materials/PICTURES/BUMPS chapter and select the bump1
file. Click Load.
6. Select UV coordinates as the Mapping Method.
7. Select Alpha Channel Mask from the Blending menu.
8. Use 0 for both the Ambient and Diffuse blending values so that

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Creating Mapping Effects

only the alpha information is taken from the current map.


9. Set the Roughness slider value to 1 and select the Displacement
(mr) option above it.
10. Change the Repeats values to 5 by 5 to increase the map
repetitions.
11. Click the Preview button to preview your image.
Increase the Roughness value to be between 5 or 10 and watch what
happens!

Custom Effects for Displacement (Bump) Mapping


The Deformation > BumpMap command in the Model module
allows you to deform the surface of a model according to a picture
file. The BumpMap effect works on the same principle as
displacement mapping in SOFTIMAGE 3D except that the points of
an object are actually offset according to the intensity of the image
channels. You have independent control over each of the red, green,
blue, and alpha channels. Filtering parameters ensure that the result
does not show aliasing artifacts.
For more information on using this effect, see its command
description in the Reference Guide.

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2D Textures

Creating a Reflection Map


Reflection mapping can be used to simulate an image reflected on the
object’s material, but without using raytracing. It can also be used to
add an extra reflection to an object’s reflective, raytraced surface.
When used without raytracing, only the reflection map appears on
the object’s surface; when used after raytracing, the map is combined
with raytraced reflections.
When a picture file is used as a reflection map, it is given a spherical
parametrization as if it was a patterned sphere that surrounds the
object and reflects off the object’s surface. Unlike other kinds of
maps, a reflection map is not linked to the object and remains
stationary when the object rotates, unless its degree of rotation is
animated. The Reflection Map Intensity slider in the 2D Texture File
dialog box allows you to control the intensity of the map.

Note: The object’s material must already be reflective before the


Note
reflection map is applied. The material’s reflectivity factor
also influences the visibility of the texture map of the object.
Objects that are both reflective (have a Reflective value of more than 0
in the Material Editor dialog box) and have an image assigned as a
Reflection Map (in the 2D Texture dialog box) use reflection mapping.

Using Raytraced or Non-raytraced Reflection Maps


In the Mapping Method menu, you can select either a raytraced
reflection map or a non-raytraced reflection map.
The Raytraced Reflection Map displays the reflection map and the
raytraced reflection of surrounding objects on a reflective object. The
reflection map is mapped spherically onto the object.

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Creating a Reflection Map

When you use this option, the texture map can be used, but the
raytraced reflection rays take precedence. This means that if a
reflection ray hits another object in the scene, that ray is used to
compute the reflection component for the original object
intersection point. However, if the computed reflection ray doesn’t
hit an object in the scene, the reflection map is used. So, if there is a
reflection from an object(s) in the scene, use it; otherwise, use the
reflection map to get a reflection.
The Non-Raytraced Reflection Map option lets you see the reflection
map on the reflective object, but does not use the raytracing process.
It is an efficient way to simulate reflective objects: since the
raytracing is disabled, surrounding objects are not reflected.
The reflection map for non-retraced reflection maps is actually a
“fake”: there is no reflection ray or object intersection, but instead a
faked environment that tricks the renderer into believing that the
secondary ray hit something in the scene. This leads to a rapid and
easy simulation of reflection.
The following example illustrates how to put a non-raytraced
reflection map on an object. In this instance, the object has already
been created and exists in the Viewpoint directory found in the
Databases folder of CD #2. You will find this image and put the
reflection map on the object.
1. Choose Get > Element.
2. Go into the Viewpoint directory.
3. Choose the porsche82. image as the model.
4. Go into the Material dialog box and apply a chrome material to
the object.
5. Set the Spectral Decay and Reflectivity to 100%.
6. Choose the Texture > 2D Global command and select the Non-
raytraced reflection map from the Mapping Method menu.
7. Click the Preview button to preview the scene.

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2D Textures

Creating a Reflection Map Using mental ray


Here is another way of creating a reflection map generated from a
model which acts as an environment for other scene models. The
environment model which generates the reflection map is hidden
once rendered with the mental ray renderer. The following steps
show how to create this effect:
1. Create a simple scene by choosing Get > Primitive > Sphere and
loading another model, preferably something with a reasonable
amount of surface area.
2. Scale the sphere to about twice the size of your model. The
sphere, acting as an environment, should encompass the other
model.
3. Select the large sphere and choose Effect > Inverse in the Model
module. This inverts the sphere’s normals so that they should be
pointing inward. You want the normals to point inward because
your model is inside the sphere and will reflect its surface.
4. Assign a material to the model and increase the material’s
Reflective value to 0.7.
5. Assign a material and a 2D texture to the sphere (choose Texture
> 2D Global and assign a picture).
6. Select the sphere and choose Info > Selection.
7. Click the Render Setup button to access the mental ray Render
Setup dialog box. From the Object Visibility options, deselect the
Primary rays and Shadows options so that only the sphere’s
Secondary rays option is selected.
This means that only the reflection and refraction values are looked
at during the rendering process of the scene. The rendered pictures
will not show the sphere’s geometry nor its shadows.
8. Include at least one light source in your scene and make it
Raytraced.
You can now render the scene using mental ray (see Rendering with
mental ray Software on page 65 in the Rendering User’s Guide).
Note: The mental ray renderer is not a part of the standard
Note
SOFTIMAGE|3D GT package, but may be purchased
separately.

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Creating Texture and Light Maps with RenderMap (mental ray)

Creating Texture and Light Maps with


RenderMap (mental ray)
The RenderMap command allows you to render a texture map,
depending on its projection method and various rendering options.
The rendering process is not dependent on the current position of
the camera and is evaluated along the geometry surface of the object
itself. You can also use this plug-in on deformed geometry.
You can use the RenderMap plug-in to do the following types of effects:
• Project spot lights onto a texture.
• Create a texture map using shadows that are cast onto a surface.
• Create a texture that contains the blending of two textures.
• Create a 2D texture map from a 3D procedural texture.
• Use the texture map as a grid lens to create a sprite for games or
generate a less-complex version of a 3D background.
• Use the texture map like a mirror in the centre of a sphere. The grid is
highly reflective and “catches” the texture of the inside of the sphere.
• Create or modify a texture map using a material shader.
Note: This command uses the mental ray renderer. The mental ray
Note
renderer is not a part of the standard SOFTIMAGE|3D
package, but may be purchased separately.

How Does It Work?


RenderMap uses the mental ray renderer to perform rendering
effects directly on textures. It works by positioning a “virtual
camera” for every pixel of the target texture map (texel) and
computing the raytraced values for that texel.
RenderMap can render the information on a blank texture map (the
receiving map) you have placed in the scene, generate a separate
illumination map, or replace or modify an existing texture image.
The resolution of the resulting texture map is determined by the
resolution of the receiving texture map. A texture map with a low
resolution will remain low resolution after RenderMap has been
used. RenderMap can only be applied to local textures.

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2D Textures

RenderMap Effect Tutorials


You can find two tutorials on the RenderMap effect on the Online
Library CD: double-click the me_first file and choose Tutorials from
the Web > Textures.

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Creating Texture and Light Maps with RenderMap (mental ray)

Using RenderMap
Note: This effect works with 2D local textures applied to polygon
Note
mesh, patch, and NURBS models.

1. In the Schematic view, select the Matter mode.


2. Choose the Txt_Oper > RenderMap command in the Matter module.
3. In the Schematic view, pick the texture to which the RenderMap
properties will be applied. Once you select the texture element,
the RenderMap dialog box appears.

4. Set the parameters.

Parameters
Rendering Options
• Shadow activates shadow computation. If deselected, no shadow
computation occurs, even if some lights are retracing shadows and some
models in the scene have their Shadow option active in the Render Setup
dialog box (accessed by choosing the Info > Selection command).
• Verbose prints status messages on the status message line and into the
status message file about mental ray scene translation and rendering.

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2D Textures

• Illumination Blending replaces each texture pixel by a blending of


its original colour and the accumulated scene illumination affecting
the surface region occupied by the pixel.
• Illumination Only replaces each texture pixel by the accumulated
scene illumination affecting the surface region occupied by the pixel.
• Ray Tracing replaces each texture pixel by the accumulated colour
obtained by shooting rays (ray tracing) onto the surface region
occupied by the pixel.
• Use Material activates or deactivates the material parameters of the
object. You can specify whether the texture, reflectivity, specularity,
or transparency is used for the rendering. When this option is not
selected, the material transparency value is temporarily set to 1; the
material does not contribute in the rendering process.
The following sub-options are also available:
- Use Texture: deactivate this if you don’t want the texture to be
considered at render time. This is useful if you want to use the
texture and its surface mapping as a “deformable camera lens”
and only use it as a guide to render the scene from a surface point
of view.
- Reflectivity: deactivate this if you don’t want material reflectivity
to be taken into account (this is achieved by temporarily setting
the material Reflectivity to 0).
- Transparency: deactivate this if you don’t want material trans-
parency to be taken into account while rendering (this is achieved
by temporarily setting the material Transparency to 0).
- Specularity: deactivate this if you don’t want specular highlights
to be generated while rendering (this is achieved by temporarily
overriding the material shading model to Lambert when it is set
to Phong or Blinn).

Texture Options
• Replace Texture saves the resulting image on disk under the name
specified in the Output Picture Name text box. The new image
replaces the current picture that is being used by the texture, and
the material shading model is set to Constant to eliminate any light
contribution to the rendered texture map. If this option is not
selected, it does not modify the original texture map.

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Creating Texture and Light Maps with RenderMap (mental ray)

• Antialiasing allows you to control the final colour to be assigned to


texture pixels that are partially used by the geometry. The
accumulated colour is weighted by the percentage of the pixels used
by the geometry. Otherwise, it is used as if the pixels are always fully
used by the geometry.

Scene Model Visibility


The scene model visibility parameters determine if scene objects are
visible when rendering occurs.
• Force Visible activates the secondary ray rendering for all the
objects in the scene, regardless of their status in the Render Setup
dialog box (accessed from Info > Selection).
• Force Hidden deactivates the secondary ray rendering for all the
objects in the scene, regardless of their status in the Render Setup
dialog box.
• Use Object Settings uses the render setting that you have specified
in the Render Setup dialog box.
Note: In all three cases, the object that is associated to the texture you
Note
picked in the Schematic view is always set to be visible to the
renderer. These options control the other objects in the scene.

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2D Textures

Refining the Texture’s Resolution


If the camera is close to an object with a texture map, you may be able
to see the picture file pixels when the object is rendered. You can avoid
this by using a picture file with higher resolution (a higher number of
scan lines or rows of pixels) or by activating the Pixel Interpolation
option in the 2D Texture File dialog box. This option blurs the pixel
edges so that the low resolution of the texture is less apparent.

No pixel interpolation With pixel interpolation

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Copying Textures

Copying Textures
The Txt_Oper > Copy All and Copy Selection commands in the
Matter module allow you to copy all or selected the textures from a
specified object or polygon to another object or polygon.
These commands allow you to copy the same texture to more than
one object without having to reset the parameters. This is
advantageous if you want to select a particular texture and modify
some of its attributes, then copy it to more than one object. It saves
you from having to select the texture and set the parameters each
time you want to apply it to another object. For example, if you have
four objects and only one of the object’s has a texture applied to it, if
you want the same texture applied to all of the other objects, you can
use the Txt_Oper > Copy All option.
Tip:
Tip When you duplicate an object, its texture is copied with it.

For more information on applying textures to polygons, see Applying


Textures to Polygons on page 135.
1. Select the destination object or objects (Multi menu command)
or polygon (using the Polygon menu command) for the texture.
2. Choose the Txt_Oper > Copy All or Copy Selection command in
the Matter module.
3. Select the source object (or polygon) from which the textures are
to be copied. Both the destination and source objects (or
polygons) flash to confirm the operation.
The 2D Texture File dialog box for each texture is displayed
sequentially. If you want to copy the texture, click Ok. If you do not
want to copy that texture, click Exit.
Note: You can edit the parameters in the dialog box before clicking Ok.
Note

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Custom Effects for Copying Textures


The Effect > Puzzle command in the Model module allows you to
apply the same 2D texture (global or local) to several objects with
different and coherent cropping and translation values. For example,
if you wanted to model a puzzle, you would need to apply a single
picture in different ways to each piece of the puzzle.
The Puzzle effect allows you to avoid manually cropping and scaling
several textures of the same picture to create a puzzle model, for
example. The texture applied to the resulting object is divided and
cropped according to the ratio between the surface of the bounding
box of each child and the bounding box for the whole hierarchy. You
can also create effects, for example, where thousands of people in a
stadium each move a piece of paper to create a big logo.
1. Create a hierarchy of models. For best results, the model should
be a polygon mesh.
2. Apply a material and a global or local texture to the parent model.
3. Choose the Effect > Puzzle command. The Puzzle dialog box is
displayed:
4. Select the kind of texture you applied to the parent object (Global
or Local).
5. Select which texture planar projection method you used to apply
the texture (XZ, XY, or YX).
6. Click Ok.
7. Pick the model.
Use the Schematic window to easily pick the parent model.
A new hierarchy of models is created with the textures applied
according to the parameters set.
Note: The Puzzle effect only works with the textures applied to the
Note
parent model. Any local textures or materials applied to the
children are not reproduced during the effect.

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Copying Textures

Puzzle Game Tutorial


1. Load the Puzzle-PuzzleGame scene from the SI_EFFECTS
database. The scene contains a simple puzzle model with a global
texture of a painting applied to the root null object in the xy
plane. All children of the null parent inherit the texture
parameters.
2. Choose the Effect ¹ Puzzle command in the Model module.
3. Select the Global texture option, and select XY as the projection
plane.
4. Click Ok.
5. Pick the PuzzlePieces model using the Schematic window.
A new PuzzlePieces model is created with the texture of the painting
automatically and correctly applied on each piece.
6. Choose the Preview ¹ Selection command in the Matter module
to verify the result.

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Setting the Current Texture


The Txt_Oper > Set Current 2D command allows you to select the
current 2D local or global texture for a polygon mesh object from the
Schematic window.
For more information about working in the Schematic window, see
Schematic Window on page 87 of the Reference Guide.
1. Open a Schematic window and select the Matter mode.
2. Select an object or local material in this window.
3. Choose the Txt_Oper > Set Current 2D command.
4. Pick a global or local texture or supporting material.
The selected texture becomes the current texture for the object or
local material.

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Applying Textures to Polygons

Applying Textures to Polygons


You can assign textures to an entire object (globally). On a polygon
mesh object, you can also assign textures locally to groups of surface
polygons or globally to all the polygons. Since textures can be applied
in both ways, each object has a global and local (where applicable)
material “list”, each of which can have its own texture list.
All materials (the global material applied to the entire object as well
as each local material) have their own 2D and 3D texture lists. Local
textures are only applied to local materials, whereas global textures
are blended with local textures. If there is a blend factor of 1 for the
global texture, you won’t be able to see the local texture at all.
However, if the blend factor is less than 1, you can see a blend of
global and local textures.
By selecting Polygon > GC_AutoProject, you can automatically
assign a texture to the selected polygons. This works the same as
adding a texture to a selection of polygons by choosing the Txt Oper
> UV Coordinate (2D Global or Local) command, and accepting the
default texture coordinates. This command lets you quickly add local
textures to a group of selected polygons.

Automatically Applying Local Textures


The Polygon > GC_AutoProject command automatically creates a
local texture on selected polygons. The texture is projected onto the
selected polygons and automatically scaled to fit them.
Unlike the Polygon > Automatic Texture command, you do not need
to apply a material to the object first; GC_AutoProject will do this for
you. Also, you can apply the local textures to three-sided polygons—
you are no longer restricted to adjacent quad polygons.

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2D Textures

Browse to the database


where the texture is
stored and select the
texture.

Optionally, set the


rotation of the texture
and convert it to UV for
easy manipulation.

Using GC_AutoProject
1. Select the polygons to which you want to apply the texture.
2. Choose Polygon > GC_AutoProject from the Matter module.
3. Browse to the texture image you want.
4. When the GC_AutoProject dialog reappears, you’ll notice that all the
textures in the database appear. The texture you selected is highlighted.
5. Click the Apply button.
6. You can adjust the rotation of the texture on the polygons by
changing the Roll Angle.
7. You can optionally convert the projected texture to UV. Check
the Convert to UV box.
8. Click Ok.

Applying Textures to Polygons


The Txt Oper > Info UV Coord. (2D Global or Local) command in
the Matter module lets you apply a global (or local) 2D texture map’s
coordinates to a polygon mesh object’s polygon vertices, which
define its geometry. Once you apply these coordinates, you can also
edit their values.
By storing texture coordinates to the polygon mesh object’s vertices, a
texture map is essentially “tacked” to the object’s geometry. This means

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Applying Textures to Polygons

that when you deform an object, the texture map follows its appropriate
vertex. For example, if you place a 2D texture map as a label on a jar,
map the texture’s coordinates to the jar’s vertices, and deform the jar’s
geometry by twisting it, the label moves with this deformation.
Only one set of uv texture coordinates can be stored for each vertex
used by each polygon. This means that the geometry only
“remembers” the coordinates of a single texture map. If there are
multiple “blended” uv-mapped textures on a material, the polygons
refers to the same areas of those textures.
For automatically applying texture map coordinates to a polygon
mesh object, see how to use the Polygon > Automatic Texture
command as described on page 135.
1. Select a polygon mesh object and assign a material (Material)
and a 2D global texture to it (Texture ➔ 2D Global).
2. In the 2D Texture dialog box, select one of these Mapping
Methods: XY, XZ, YZ, cylindrical, or spherical.
3. Click Ok to exit the 2D Texture dialog box.
4. Choose the Txt Oper ➔ Info UV Coord. (2D Global) command
to store the texture coordinates with the object’s vertices. You can
also use this command to manually edit the actual texture
coordinate value for the polygon mesh object’s vertices.
Note: Only polygons using the texture are affected by the
Note
operation (for example, uv-mapped polygons using
different textures keep their coordinates).
The UV Texture Coordinates dialog box appears.
If there are selected polygons on the currently selected polygon mesh
object, only the texture coordinates for those polygons are displayed
in this box.
5. To accept the default settings for the texture coordinates, click
Ok.
If you want to edit the texture coordinate’s values, follow these steps:
6. Select the Browse order: it is Polygon by default, meaning that all
the texture coordinates used by the polygon are adjacent in the
scroll box. If you select the Vertex browsing order, all the texture
coordinates at that point appear in the scroll box, one for each
polygon that shares the vertex.

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With either browsing order, the scroll box displays the identifying
number of each vertex and the polygon to which it belongs.
7. Select a vertex in the scroll box for editing. In all SOFTIMAGE
3D windows, the selected vertex is highlighted in green, and the
polygon to which the vertex is associated is highlighted in pink.
8. The current values of the texture coordinate for the selected vertex are
displayed in the U and V text boxes. Enter a value in the text boxes.
9. Apply the changes to the vertex using the Modify or Modify vrtx
buttons.
10. The Cancel button undoes modifications while keeping the
dialog box open, even after selecting one of the Modify buttons.
Click Ok to accept all settings and exit the dialog box when
you’re done.

Custom Effects for Applying Textures to Polygons


The Effect > CubicMap command in the Model module allows you
to apply 2D planar textures on an existing polygon mesh to a new
polygon mesh using cubic projection. It checks each polygon and,
based on the polygon normals, applies up to a maximum of six local
materials and textures.
The CubicMap effect is typically used to automatically apply 2D
textures locally to a polygon mesh, such as applying the texture of a
brick on the four walls of a model of a room. CubicMap keeps the
original material and texture information and creates up to six local
materials and local textures, one for each possible projection plane.
1. Select an polygon mesh object. The CubicMap effect only works
with polygon mesh objects.
2. Apply up to six global or local 2D textures to the model.
The order in which you apply the textures is important.
3. Choose the Effect > CubicMap command.
The CubicMap dialog box is displayed:
4. Select the type of textures applied to the object (Local or Global).
5. Select the type of texture mapping (planar projection) you want
to use. By default, all six options are activated.
6. If you applied fewer than six textures, specify if you want to

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Applying Textures to Polygons

repeat the last texture used for the remaining planes, or if you
want to cycle between the ones applied.
7. Click Ok.
8. Pick the polygon mesh object to which you want to apply the textures.
A new model is created with the new textures applied.

House Tutorial
1. Load the CubicMap-House scene from the SI_EFFECTS
database.
This scene contains a simple house model with one global texture of
a brick already applied on the xy plane, repeated, and with a 0.7
blending factor.
2. Choose the Effect ¹ CubicMap command in the Model module.
Keep the default settings in the dialog box and click Ok.
3. Pick the hierarchy (HouseWalls and Roof).
4. With the new house selected, choose the Preview ¹ Selection
command in the Matter module to check the scene. Notice that
the texture is not correctly applied on the side of the model.
Middle-click to exit the window.
5. Go back to the Model module and choose the Effect ¹
CubicMap command again.
6. Set the Source Texture Type as Global and click Ok.
7. Pick the HouseWalls model using the Schematic window.
A new HouseWalls model is created with the texture of the brick
automatically and correctly applied on each of the six projection
planes.
In the Schematic window, you can see that six local materials and
textures are applied to the HouseWalls model.
8. Choose the Preview ¹ Selection command in the Matter
module to check the resulting object.

Applying Textures Keeping the Aspect Ratio


The Effect > Label command in the Model module allows you to
apply 2D textures mapped on an existing polygon mesh or patch
model to a new polygon mesh object while maintaining the aspect

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2D Textures

ratio. It is typically used when you want to preserve the original


aspect ratio of the texture picture when applied on a model (for
example labels on bottles, logos, etc.).
1. Select a polygon mesh or patch object with a 2D texture applied.
2. Choose the Effect > Label command in the Model module.
The Label dialog box is displayed.
3. Select the type of 2D texture to be used (Global or Local).
4. Select the type of Projection mapping method you used to apply
the texture to the original model (XYZ or UV).
Note: UV mapping works only for patch objects.
Note

5. Click Ok.
6. Pick the model to which you want to apply the texture.
A new model is created with the texture applied according to the
parameter settings.
You can translate and scale the texture while maintaining the aspect
ratio (with Uniform Scaling activated).

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Using 2D Texture Shaders

Using 2D Texture Shaders


A shader lets you create special effects during the rendering process
when using the mental ray renderer. The main reason for using
shaders is the complete flexibility and openness available to you to
create and manipulate shaders to meet your specific needs.
Note: The mental ray renderer is not a part of the standard
Note
SOFTIMAGE|3D GT package, but may be purchased
separately.
If you are rendering with mental ray, you can select a 2D texture
shader in the 2D Texture File dialog box. SOFTIMAGE 3D default
2D texture shaders compute a texture surface (the texture vertices)
and interpolate the vertices during rendering.
The options in the mental ray area of the dialog box let you define 2D
texture shaders for one or more selected objects. When you select the
Shader option, the browser is displayed in which you can choose and
activate a texture shader.
For more information on using shaders, see Using Shaders on page 79
in the Rendering User’s Guide.
The following example illustrates how to select a 2D texture shader
called fabric:
1. Select an object.
2. Choose the Material menu command to apply a basic material to
the object. In the Material Editor dialog box, select Lambert as
the Shading Model. Click Ok to accept these parameters.
3. Choose Info > Selection and change the Step value to 10 in both
the U and V directions. This increases the object’s resolution
which results in a more precise displacement map.
4. Select Preview > Setup and choose mental ray as the preview
renderer.
5. Choose Texture > 2D Global. In the 2D Texture File dialog box,
click the Select button beside the Picture Filename text box.
6. Use the browser to go to the /SI_Materials_lib/PICTURES/
TILINGS directory. Select a low-resolution image such as
tile_blue and click Load.
Note
Note: To apply a 2D texture shader, you must first apply an texture

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2D Textures

to your object. Any image will do, so choose a low resolution


image.
7. Select the Shader option in the mental ray area of the dialog box.
Use the browser to go to the Shader_Lib directory. Select Fabric
and then click Load.
8. Click Edit to modify the Fabric shader parameters.
9. In the Preview area of the dialog box that appears, select Refresh.
This gives you visual feedback of the shader in the form of a
Custom Shaderball Preview. By selecting the Auto option, the
Shaderball automatically updates itself after each revision.
Tip:
Tip See Custom Shader Ball on page 208 for information on the
shader ball preview.
In the OZ-Fabric dialog box, change the RGBA values for both the
Horizontal and Vertical Thread. Create the colours of your choice.
The OZ-Fabric shader is made up of Horizontal and Vertical pieces
of fabric woven together. The colour of the thread blends into the
GAP colour (the space between the woven pieces of thread) to create
the impression of roundness.
10. Change the Width Variation value to 0.4. This adds a certain
amount of randomness to the width of the pieces of thread
making the fabric more uneven and natural looking.
11. Change the H and V Amplitude values to 0.02. This creates a
more realistic woven effect by making the thread a little bit wavy.
12. Change the Texture Range to 30 in the U direction.
Tip:
Tip Click About to get more information on the various
parameters.
13. Click Ok to accept all other default parameters.
14. Click the Preview button in the 2D Texture File dialog box to
view the results.

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Projecting Textures from the Camera’s Perspective

Projecting Textures from the Camera’s


Perspective
The Texture Projection mental ray shader allows you to project a still
frame from the camera’s perspective. What’s unique about this
shader is that it projects the texture from the camera’s position: it
does not use the object’s coordinates.
Note: The mental ray renderer is not a part of the standard
Note
SOFTIMAGE|3D GT package, but may be purchased
separately.
Here are some examples of how you can use the Texture Projection
shader:
• Quickly provide a rich environment for a computer-generated
character. Instead of using standard texture mapping methods to
cover each model in a scene with multiple textures, you just create
one texture with exactly the required detail and apply it to the
models. The models don’t have to be very detailed. The surfaces
visible from the camera are texture-mapped, all with the same
texture, all in one shot.
• Fix a distorted texture. Imagine you have a picture of a floor taken
from an angle rather than one taken from directly above. To use the
angled picture to texture a floor, you would have to create an
undistorted texture using a paint program. This usually gives poor
results with lots of artifacts in the texture.
With the Texture Projection shader, all you have to do is map the
texture to the object with the same view angle with which you took
the picture using the camera perspective.
The Texture Projection shader copies the camera’s current position,
interest, field of view, aspect ratio, and roll into the shader
parameters. Because the shader stores the camera’s original position,
you can move the camera anywhere, but keep the texture in place.
The shader can import camera animation for position, interest, field
of view, and roll. You can also render the texture on faces that would
normally be facing away from the camera position (select Backfacing
as described on page 145).
This shader is very useful for situations when there is no (or very
limited) camera movement. Of course, surfaces not visible from the
camera when this shader is used are not properly mapped.

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2D Textures

What You Should Know about the Texture Projection


Shader
• The Texture Projection shader ignores the Cropping, Tiling, Scale,
Offset, Repeats, and Mapping Method parameters in the 2D
Texture File dialog box. This is because the coverage of the texture is
calculated from the camera information stored in the shader
parameters, not the 2D texture.
• The Texture Projection shader adds a global 2D texture each time
you use it. It creates materials on the selected objects if necessary
(SOFTIMAGE 3D requires a material before it can apply a 2D
texture). It does not, however, overwrite an existing texture.

Using the Texture Projection Shader


To use the Texture Projection shader:
1. Select the objects on which you want to project the picture.
2. Move the camera to the point where the picture was taken.
Tip:
Tip When shooting the original images, be sure to record the
positions from which the images were taken because this
will speed up the matching process.
3. Choose the Camera > Texture_Projection command in the
Matter module.

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Projecting Textures from the Camera’s Perspective

4. In the Texture Projection dialog box, specify the picture file (.pic)
to be used by the Texture Projection shader in the Picture
Filename text box. You can click the Picture Filename button and
browse for the picture file you want.
5. Set the shader options to get the effect you want:
• Backfacing renders the texture on faces that would normally be
facing away from the camera position.
• Import Camera Animation copies the current camera’s position,
interest, field of view, and roll function curves into the Texture
Projection shader.
• The parameters in the Blending and Overall Blending groups
control how the texture blends with the object’s illumination and
material. These parameters are identical to the options in the 2D
Texture File dialog box: see Blending and Overall Blending on page
1408 in the SOFTIMAGE 3D Reference Guide for more information
about these options.

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Editing the Texture Projection Shader


If you need to change the shader parameters, you must access them
from the 2D Texture File dialog box, as you would for any 2D texture
shader. From there, you can access the mental ray shader as well as
the picture file being used.

Try It Yourself
To quickly try this shader, follow these steps.
1. Create a patch B-spline sphere.
2. Choose the Camera > Settings command and set the camera
position to 0, 0, 10. The sphere almost fills the Perspective view.
3. Choose the Camera > Texture_Projection command in the
Matter module.
4. In the Texture Projection dialog box, click the Picture Filename
button and find the SI_Material texture FUNNIES/approved.pic.
5. Make sure mental ray is the default previewer (Preview > Setup).
6. Choose Preview > All. Notice that the picture file almost fills the
Perspective view.
7. Change the camera’s position and observe what happens to the
texture. The texture keeps its relative position on the sphere,
based on the camera’s position.

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ToonAssistant

ToonAssistant
The ToonAssistant command lets you easily create a variety of special
effects that simulate cel animation, such as inking and painting.
Note: This command works only with the mental ray renderer.
Note
ToonAssistant ignores all the other renderer types when
rendering or previewing.
Defining the cel animation “look” generalizes a multitude of distinct
visual styles, resulting from differing drawing and ink-and-paint
techniques, varying materials, etc.; however, at its most basic, this
“look” contains the following signature characteristics:
• Outlining: when done with traditional methods, results from
beginning the cel with a line drawing (the ink of “ink-and-paint”)
that is filled in with solid colours.
• Solid colour contour shading: when done with traditional methods,
results from painting cels with various solid colours (the paint of
“ink-and-paint”).
To produce images containing these characteristics, computer-
assisted animation techniques such as digital ink-and-paint and
automated in-betweening (which require traditional animation
skills) have been avoided in favour of an approach that allows you to
use your own unique tools and skills to create the cel animated look.
In this way, you can rely on familiar 3D modelling and articulation
techniques to create and animate your characters.
Note: The mental ray renderer is not a part of the standard
Note
SOFTIMAGE|3D GT package, but may be purchased separately.

Learning More about the Toon Shaders


The Toon Shader Primer answers some basic questions about these
unique shaders and provides lots of examples of scenes rendered with
the Toon shaders.
You can find this primer on CD #3 Online Library: double-click the
me_first.htm file and choose Tutorials from the menu at the top of
the main page.
The following are the basic steps for using the ToonAssistant controls:
1. Select the object to which you want to apply the inking and
painting effects.

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2. Choose the Mat Oper > ToonAssistant command in the Matter


module. This opens the ToonAssistant dialog box.

3. Change the values of the ink, background, and colour (see the
next section for more information). You can preview the effects
by clicking Render. This opens the mental ray preview window.

For details about all the ToonAssistant Parameters, see page 1123
of the Reference Guide.
4. When you are satisfied with the effects, you can save it as a preset
(click the Save button) or keyframe the values (click the Key button).
5. Click OK to close the dialog box and return to your scene.
Click the Help button to display the function of a parameter in the
status bar.

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ToonAssistant

Types of ToonAssistant Effects


In the ToonAssistant dialog box, you can select the Ink, Paint, or
Background options in Effects group box. Selecting an effect opens
the property page in which you can set the parameters for that effect.
You can also use the drop-down menu at the top of the dialog box to
switch from one effect to another and to access the property pages
for Ink Variation and Ink Colour.

Toon tiger with Ink Colour parameters displayed.

Here are some examples of the settings and results when using a
ToonAssistant effect:
• Ink simulates inking of cels by drawing lines at surface contours
and around the silhouette of objects.

Toon face with Ink parameters.

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2D Textures

• Paint simulates painting cels with solid colour inks. To use this
option, you must first apply a SOFTIMAGE 3D material to any
surface to be painted. Materials that already have material shaders
applied are not altered by ToonAssistant.

Toon elephant with Paint parameters displayed

The solid colours produced by the Paint effect correspond


(roughly) to the standard Phong material Specular, Diffuse, and
Ambient parameters. A coloured highlight is “painted” using the
Specular colour setup in the Material Editor dialog box. The colour
of a highlight is also influenced by the colour of the light that
produces the highlight. For example, a flickering red light produces
a flickering reddish highlight.
• Background alpha-composites the rendered frame over either a
colour or a picture. The picture may be a sequence, in which case
the current frame number is used as the frame number for the
background picture’s frame number.

Freezing All Effects


You can create shaders (camera, material, output) for all the active
effects in the dialog box. After you freeze ToonAssistant effects by
clicking the Freeze All button in the ToonAssistant dialog box, you
can delete the command icon. Do not delete the command icon if
you have any animated effects because animation created with
ToonAssistant will be lost.

Keyframing the Effects


The Keyframe area of the ToonAssistant dialog box allows you to
animate the various options of the effects. Click the Key button to
keyframe all parameters at that frame. Use the forward (>>) and
backward (<<) buttons to move between keyframes, and click the
Del button to delete a keyframe.

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ToonAssistant

Loading and Saving ToonAssistant Presets


The Load and Save buttons in the ToonAssistant dialog box open a
browser in which you can enter the path and the file name to save
and load files containing ToonAssistant files. These are only
necessary if you want to create a preset of all the parameters currently
selected in the ToonAssistant dialog box. This option is useful for
easy storage of parameters when fine-tuning an effect within the
ToonAssistant dialog box.

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2D Textures

Animating 2D Textures
You can animate 2D textures by creating a series of picture files and
applying them to the object sequentially. There are two ways to perform
sequential animation of 2D textures: either using the Sequence option
or the Script option in the 2D Texture File dialog box.

Sequences
This option uses a sequence of previously rendered picture files as
the texture map. SOFTIMAGE 3D synchronizes the picture file frame
numbers with the corresponding texture numbers (such as a
sequence mapped onto a TV screen to simulate an actual program).
Another example is to create a shadow for smoke or a flickering
candle, or a group of moving clouds. For sequence animation, the
picture files must have the same name and frame number
corresponding to each frame of the sequence. You specify the frame
number in the Frame text box.
For example, you could use an animated sequence of a bouncing ball.
The sequence will have one name, and each frame will be numbered
sequentially.
1. Activate the Sequence option in the 2D Texture File dialog box
and enter the name of the picture sequence in the 2D Texture text
box.
Note: The texture file name you enter in the 2D Texture text box
Note
should not contain the frame number extension or the .pic
extension.
2. Map the picture sequence onto the object (scaling and
positioning the map to fit).
The frame numbers of the bouncing ball picture are synchronized
with the frame numbers of the scene to create an animated image on
the object.
A sequence of image files can be cropped in much the same manner
as a single image, but there is one important distinction: after you
manipulate the cropping rectangle that appears around the picture
file, you must click Next, Previous, Paint, or Ok to accept the
cropping values for the entire sequence. If you do not click one of
these buttons, the cropping values will apply only to the first frame of
the sequence.

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Animating 2D Textures

Once you have accepted these new cropped values, they become the
default for any new texture you apply to your object.

Script Files
For the second method of animating a 2D texture, you create a script
file which contains a list of pictures. When the object is rendered, the
first picture on the list is mapped onto the object at frame 1, the next
picture on the list at frame 2, and so on.
Uses a list of picture files for the substitution process. The picture file
is an accessible text file created by the text editor that contains picture
file names. Each picture file name must be entered on a separate line.
You can use non-sequential files for this script, such as myfile.2,
myfile.4, myfile.8, myfile.6, etc. The script executes the picture files
in the order that they are listed in this file. The file names list all the
paths that you must go through to reach the file.
When you select the Script option, enter the script file name in the
Picture filename text box. If you use another path for the script file,
you must enter the full path name in this text box. As the sequence is
rendered, SOFTIMAGE 3D loads the picture file name on the line
corresponding to the current rendering frame. The main advantage
of using Script is that it gives you control over each individual frame
so that cycling, reversing, looping, and other effects are possible.
The example of a TV screen can be animated with Script using a
cycle of TV snow intercut with other images, giving the impression of
erratic transmission, or create a music video with different images
being flashed on the screen every second or two.
There are some important points to remember when using script files:
• You should specify the explicit path name (starting with the root
directory) pointing to the pictures.
• Make sure that name of the script file is simple: no spaces, periods,
special characters, etc. that may not let the operating system read
the file.
• If the picture is part of a sequence, the number extension must be
included. The SHOW NUMBERS option of the jot or vi text editor
is recommended to show you the correspondence of frames to the
picture it is mapping. When you are calling the script, make sure
that you are in script mode.
• It is important that the frame number (under script) is at 1, or at a

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2D Textures

frame that you have a picture.

Example
Here’s an example for creating a script for IRIX systems:
1. Open a text editor. Remember to keep the name simple.
2. For the script file itself, include the absolute path to the picture file
on each line, starting at the root level. The “show numbers” option
of the jot or vi text editor is recommended to show you the
correspondence of frames to the picture it is mapping. For
example:
- (on line 1) /usr/people/user/RENDER/RENDER_PICTURES/
test.1
- (on line 2) /usr/people/user/test/RENDER_PICTURES/
test.2
- (on line 3) /usr/people/user/PICTURES/final.5
- (on line 4) /usr/tmp/picture.4
- (on line 5) /usr/people/user/RENDER/RENDER_PICTURES/
test.1

3. Choose Texture > 2D Global or Local.


4. Select the Script option and type in the name of the script with its
path in the Picture Filename text box.
5. Once you have typed in the name of the script, the picture for that
frame is displayed in the preview window. Make sure the frame
number specified in the dialog box is within the range of the script.
Note: If for any reason, SOFTIMAGE 3D cannot load an image, a
Note
“?” (default icon) is substituted.

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Generating Textures

Generating Textures
The CameraUVProjection command automatically creates multiple
textures from a single image for a segmented NURBS model. You can
also use it to create seamless animated textures for scenes that
combine live-action and CG animation.

How It Works
The CameraUVProjection command projects an image from the
camera’s position to automatically create multiple UV-mapped
textures for the NURBS surfaces. Once the effect is complete, each
NURBS surface is automatically assigned its own texture. If you
project a sequence of images onto an animated model, the effect
creates animated 2D textures.
The 2D textures are stored in the PICTURES chapter of your default
database. The textures are stored as: elementname_vx.yyy.pic, where x
represents the version number of the texture and yyy represents the
frame the texture belongs to. You can reset the version number to 1 by
selecting Overwrite existing images, which is described on page 157.
The command automatically assigns a material to each of the
surfaces if you haven’t already defined one. The settings for the
material is Constant, with Diffuse settings of 1,1,1.

CameraUVProjection vs. Texture Projection: What’s the


Difference?
The Camera > Texture Projection command simply projects an image
from the camera’s perspective. It doesn’t create or “glue” the texture to
the object the way the CameraUVProjection command does.
The Texture Projection command is useful for quickly texturing
low-resolution objects in scenes where there is little or no camera
movement. CameraUVProjection, on the other hand, initially
textures the object from the camera angle, but once the command is
complete you are free to animate the camera and deform the object
any way you wish.

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2D Textures

Before You Use This Command


Aligning the Texture in the Rotoscopy View
To use this command effectively, you must align the model to the
image or sequence in the Rotoscopy view. Loading the image in the
Rotoscopy view will change the camera’s picture format and will
therefore influence the aspect ratio. You can see the result when you
choose Camera > Picture Format.
This “reformatting” allows you to visually control what parts of the
source image are mapped onto the surfaces and ensures that the
mapping is accurate. For example, for an image the size of 640 x 486,
the picture format will be automatically set to the same size, which in
turn equals an aspect ratio of 640/486 = 1.32.
Note that this does not affect the final size of the texture(s), which
will vary in size depending on the size of the object.

A Word about Animated Objects


If you are creating animated textures for a CG character in a live-
action scene, the character should be conservatively animated. For
example, if a model is moving moderately through space with little
deformation of the NURBS surfaces, the animated textures will be
created properly. Obvious deformations, like lip-syncing, however,
should be done after the animated 2D textures are created.

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Generating Textures

Generating Textures Using CameraUVProjection


6. Select the NURBS surface objects to which you want to assign textures.
7. Choose the Txt Oper > CameraUVProjection command from
the Matter module.

8. Enter the name of the image or sequence file in the Picture


Filename text box. It should be the same image or sequence
currently loaded in the Rotoscopy view.
9. If you are creating animated textures from a sequence, select the
Sequence option. Enter the start and end frames of the
animation. You can also enter the frame Step.
10. You can also define the Sync frame, which determines which .pic
file in the sequence the command begins with to create the
texture. For example, if you want the command to begin with the
fifth .pic file (image5.pic), you would enter 5 in this field.
11. Leave the Automatically assign textures option selected;
otherwise, the texture(s) is (are) created in the PICTURES
chapter. However, you’ll have to assign the texture(s) manually
from the 2D Texture File dialog box.

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2D Textures

12. You can change the Texture Size. The default value is 1.5, and it
is the factor by which the resulting texture is multiplied. For
example, imagine that the size of the projected image is 500 x 150
and the size of the object upon which you’re projecting the image
is 100 x 100. The resulting texture will be 1.5 x 100 in both x and
y, or 150 x 150.
The multiplication factor helps you avoid pixelation, which can
occur if you render the scene with the camera closer to the object
than when the texture was first created. If you notice pixelation
on the texture, increase the Texture Size.
13. If you have already used this command, you can overwrite the
existing textures in the PICTURES chapter by selecting
Overwrite existing images.
When the command is complete, you can display the resulting
textures in the 2D Texture File dialog box and modify them using the
Paint command.

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C H A P T E R F I V E

Painting and Editing 2D Textures and


Vertex Colours

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Introduction

Introduction
The Paint tool, available from the Matter module, allows you to edit
a texture in various ways (such as “painting”) and modify UV texture
coordinates.

The Paint feature can also be accessed by clicking the Paint button in
the 2D Texture File dialog box.
For more information on the Paint dialog box parameters, see Paint
on page 1160 of the Reference Guide.

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List of Supra Keys in the Paint Tool


2D Clip View Supra Keys

Supra key Mouse button Does this


+

m Left Lets you drag a UV handle on a


texture clip to change the UV
mapping.

t Left Tags UV handle.

Middle Untags UV handle.

x Left and drag Scales the UV handles in U


(horizontal displacement) and V
(vertical displacement).

Middle Scales the transformation centre.

Right Resets the scaled centre.

c Left and drag Rotates the tagged UV handles


around the UV transformation centre.
Move the mouse to the right, the
tagged UV handles rotate
counterclockwise around the UV
transformation centre. Move the
mouse to the left and they rotate
clockwise.

Middle and drag Rotates the transformation centre.

Right and drag Resets the rotated centre.

v Left and drag Translates the tagged UV handles.

Middle and drag Translates the transformation centre.

Right Resets the translated centre.

z Left Pans the texture clip.

Middle Zooms in toward the centre of the


texture clip.

Right Zooms out.

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Introduction

3D Projection View Supra Keys

Supra key Mouse button Does this


+

t Left Selects a vertex.

Middle Deselects a vertex.

t+Shift Middle Selects all vertices.

g Left Selects polygons by raycasting.

Middle Deselects polygons by raycasting.

Right Toggles selection/deselection by


raycasting.

h Left Highlights polygons by raycasting.

Middle Unhighlights polygons by raycasting.

Right Toggles highlighting/unhighlighting by


raycasting.

s Left Selects all polygons mapped to the


texture

Middle Highlights all the polygons mapped to


the texture.

Note that you can orbit, zoom, and pan objects in this view using the
same Supra keys you use in the Perspective window.

Selecting a Clip
When you select the Clip Db button, the 2D Clip view displays a
scroll box representing the database of clips associated with the
selected model, as well as user-defined clips. In the Paint dialog box,
a clip is a texture file.
Each clip in the list is represented by:
• An icon, which is a snapshot of the actual picture.
• Information such as name, type (Local vs. Global), the width and
height in pixels, and whether it is in RGBA or Colour Index mode.
If you are displaying a clip, it is the current selection in the list. If you
wish to select and edit another clip:

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• Double-click on its associated icon


or
• Click on the icon and click the Clip Db button again.
Either action displays the selection in the 2D Clip view, ready for editing.

Editing the Clip


The following summarizes the overall process you might use to edit
your clip using some of the Paint tools.
When you open the Paint dialog box, the 2D Clip view displays the
current texture. If you’re not sure what the current texture is, check
in the Schematic window (Matter mode); the current texture has a
red link.
After you have selected a clip, you can now edit it by:
• Using the Paint Tools buttons such as Pen, Blur, Smear and so on.
The brush size and colour can be controlled.
• Manipulating the current palette (either the default palette or the
user-defined palette), cutting and pasting entries within the same
palette or different palettes.
• Editing the clip as an RGB image and as a colour-indexed image.
• Using the clipboard functions to cut, paste, and combine different
clips in the database.
• Applying special effects, using the Painterly Effects by selecting the
Paint FX button in the Effects menu.
• Rotating the clip either clockwise or counter-clockwise, flipping,
or tiling.
• Modify its UV texture coordinates. For more information, see
Bottle Tutorial on page 172.

Painting on the Image


1. Starting with a model which has a texture applied, choose the
Paint menu command.
2. The selected texture is displayed in the 2D Clip view area, located
in the upper-left of the Paint dialog box. The model is displayed
in the 3D view, on the right side of the dialog box.
3. By default, the initial editing mode is RGBA, and the palette is the

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Introduction

default palette of 256 colours.


4. To paint on the texture, choose a colour in the palette and one of the
Tools, such as Pen, Blur, Smear and so on. The brush size and colour
can also be controlled by changing the values in their text boxes.
5. Start moving the cursor around in the 2D Clip view to see the
effects of the colour, tool, and brush size you chose.
Note: If at any time you want to undo a change, click the Undo
Note
button. If you decide that you do want that particular
change after all, click the Redo button.
Any of the Tools can have their transparency controlled by RGBA
mode by changing the alpha value in the palette for the current colour.
Tip:
Tip If you select the 3D Paint > Texture option, you can choose
a paint tool then paint the texture directly on the object in
the 3D View. The Paint Tools that are supported in the 3D
View are Pen, Spray, Luma, Smear, and Blur.

Using Foreground and Background Colours


The foreground or background colours of the palette can be used for
all drawing or painting tasks on the clip.

Selecting a New Foreground Colour


To select a new foreground colour, click in the palette. The colour
you selected now has a red and green outline, indicating it is the
current foreground colour.
To modify the foreground colour, you can use several methods:
• Adjust the colour sliders. A button located to the left of the sliders
toggles between the RGB, HLS, and HSV colour models.
• Click anywhere in the Colour Wheel/Spread.
• Use the Colour Mixer.

Selecting a New Background Colour


When you Cut a portion of the clip, it is replaced by the background
colour. In the colour palette, it has a black and green outline.
The background colour can also be used for several of the painting
operations, if you perform them using the middle mouse button
instead of the usual left mouse button.

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To select a new background colour, middle-click on a colour in the


palette. The selected colour now has a black and green outline,
indicating it is the background colour.
You can modify the background colour, the same way you do for the
foreground colour. This is also a Paint feature, not a Palette feature.
Note: To update or select the background colour, remember to use
Note
the middle mouse button when picking a colour in the clip.

Cutting and Pasting a Clip


You can cut, copy and paste an entire texture or a selected area of a
clip, using the Cut, Copy, and Paste buttons in the Clipboard menu.
1. To select an area to cut or copy, use the Show Crop editing tool.
2. Then use any mouse button to select an area in the clip. If
nothing is selected in the clip, the cut/copy operations operate on
the entire image.
3. Once you have made your selection, choose Cut or Copy from
the Clipboard menu.
Note: Cut removes the contents of the selection and replaces it
Note
with the background colour.

The selection is now displayed in the clipboard. The Select button is


still selected.
4. Now paste the clip where you want. When you paste, the result of
the paste is shown as long as you keep the mouse button
depressed and until you release it.
5. To paste the clipboard contents within the selected area, choose
Paste. You can now place the clipboard contents anywhere
within the selected area.
6. To paste the clipboard contents anywhere in the image, choose
Select again. This deactivates the selection in the clip. The Select
button remains selected (for example, the current clip editing
tool is still Select).
Choose Paste, then paste with the mouse buttons as follows:
• Left mouse button pastes the contents of the clipboard using the
Alpha contained in the clip to blend with the actual image so that

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Introduction

the image is visible through the clip once the clip is pasted on top of
the actual image (over).
• Middle mouse button pastes without considering Alpha.
• Right mouse button pastes the contents of the clipboard using
Alpha contained in the image to blend with the clip, so that the clip
is visible through the image (under).
You can also paste your selection in a different image:
1. Copy or Cut an area in the 2D Clip view as described previously.
2. Choose Clip Db to change to the database list of textures.
3. Select another clip from the list and click again on Clip Db to
return to 2D Clip view.
4. In the new clip, paste the clipboard contents into a selected area
or anywhere in the image.
You can access Select and Colour Picking commands using these
Supra keys:

Supra key Does this

Space bar - left mouse button Picks foreground colour in 2D and 3D


views.

Space bar - middle mouse Picks background colour in 2D and 3D


button views.

Space bar - right mouse button Draws a rectangular selection in 2D


view.

Creating a New Clip


In the Paint dialog box, you can also:
• Load a picture from disk, using the Load button.
• Create a new clip from the current one by selecting the Make Clip
option in the Clipboard menu.
• To create a new image, click the New Clip option. This new image
in the 2D View becomes the current image.
• To resize your image, select Effects > Resize Clip. The Resize Clip
dialog box appears in which you can specify the new dimensions of
the image and whether or not to use bilinear interpolation. Bilinear

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interpolation is a technique that allows image resizing with fewer


aliasing artefacts.
Note: When resizing images, bilinear interpolation gives better
Note
results, but it can modify the colour content of the image. If
you don’t want to modify the colours, don’t use bilinear
interpolation.

Creating a Colour-indexed Clip


At any point, you can generate a colour-indexed version of the clip
and edit it. A colour-indexed clip has a certain number of colours
available because all pixels reference a reduced palette.
You can change the editing mode from RGBA to Colour Index using
the menu below the 2D Clip view.
Be aware that this action generates a colour-indexed version of your
clip based on the current palette. If the colours in this palette are not
based on the actual colours of the image (for example, if it is simply
the default palette) then the colour-indexed version may be
degraded.
To generate a new palette based on the colours in the image, select
the Generate option from the Pal. Oper. menu before changing to
Colour Index mode. This action opens a dialogue box in which you
specify palette generation parameters and allows you to maintain the
closest colour conversion. For example, the default number of
colours is 256, but you can change this to 60 if you want only 60
colours in the palette. Once the number of colours is entered, a new
palette is created. It appears in the colour palette area. For more
information about generating palettes, see Creating and Reducing
Colour Palettes on page 223.
Note: If entries are currently selected in the palette, you can’t
Note
change the number of colours to be generated. The number
that is displayed is the number of non-locked entries in the
selection.
Once the new image-based palette is generated, you can change to
Colour Index mode.
When in Colour Index mode, you can modify a colour in the palette
and change the colour of all referenced pixels in the image; for
example, by changing the colour of palette entry #6, all pixels in the
image which reference entry #6 also change.

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Introduction

Most editing tools are also available in Colour Index mode, so you
can still “paint” on the image just as in RGB mode.
At any point, you can return to RGB editing mode.
Note: Be aware that if you return to RGB mode in this way, some
Note
of the colour updates you made in the colour-indexed mode
will be lost and the RGB version may look different.
To convert the Colour Indexed version of the image back to
RGB, select the CI ¹ RGB option from the Effects menu
before switching back to the RGB (true colour) version. In
this case, the resulting RGB version will be identical to the
last colour-indexed one.

Cropping a Texture
The Show Crop option in Paint dialog box lets you define the
portion of the painted picture file to be used as the texture map. This
is the offset and scaling of the object’s UV coordinates.
When you select the Show Crop option (or press the Supra key c), a
red crop box is displayed. You can then crop the picture by moving
the box’s sides or corners. You can also position the crop box
anywhere on the picture by dragging its cross-hair cursor. As you
modify the size and position of the crop box, the UV coordinates
automatically adjust to match the location and dimensions of the
newly cropped area.
Note: You cannot use another Paint tool while the Crop option is
Note
selected.

Blending Control
You can blend the colours that you are painting on an object with its
texture. The Blend slider, located beneath the RGBA sliders, allows
you to change the blending factor to values from 0 to 255. A value of
0 means that the colour is transparent on top of the texture (as

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Painting and Editing 2D Textures and Vertex Colours

shown on the left in the illustration) and 255 represents an opaque


colour (as shown on the right).

Painting Light and Dark


The Luma option allows you to add brightness or darkness
(luminance) to a texture. This is useful for adding a lighting effect or
shadows to your scene.
If you select the Luma option and then left-click, you can add a light
effect when you paint on your texture. If you press Shift-left mouse
button, you can add constant brightness to your texture.
If you select Luma and then paint on your texture using the middle
mouse button, you can add darkness or shadows to your scene. If you
press Shift-middle mouse button, you can add constant darkness.
You can also use the Alpha slider to control the intensity of the
brightness and darkness that you add to your texture.

Using Painterly Effects


In addition to drawing on your clip, you can apply other special
effects, known as Painterly Effects.
Select the PaintFX option in the Effects menu to access the Painterly
Effects dialog box. Forty-two Painterly Effects are available, such as
emboss, grain, or glow effect.
You can experiment freely, previewing the results of effects on
different areas of the image, adjusting the parameters to increase/
decrease the overall changes to the surface.
Once satisfied, you can apply the changes to the clip and return to
the Paint dialog box to continue editing.
The location of the Painterly Effects plug-ins is indicated by the
environment variable SI_PAINTERLY_FX. If this variable is
undefined, the Paint FX button is dimmed.

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For an example of using Painterly Effects, follow these steps:


1. Select an object.
2. Choose Texture > 2D Global or Local and select a texture for
your sphere (try to get one with several colours).
3. Click on the Paint button. The clip of your image appears in the
2D Clip view.
4. Select the Paint FX option in the Effects menu. The Painterly
Effects dialog box appears.

5. The clip appears in the Image area. There is a small box in the
middle of your clip, and you can move this box around to choose
any area of your clip. This area of your image appears in the
Selected Area: Before box. It updates as you move the box.
6. Click on the Effects menu and select Volume 3 (there is a choice
of three volumes of effects).
7. Select the Stained Glass painterly effect, for example, and click
the Preview button. Set your parameters. The image appears with
the Stained Glass painterly effect applied to it in the Selected Area
- After Effect box.
If you like the effect, click the Apply button to apply it to your clip.

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Click Exit to return to the Paint dialog box.

Generating a Colour-indexed Clip


For information about generating colour-indexed clips, and colour
reduction in general, see Creating and Reducing Colour Palettes on
page 223.

Bottle Tutorial
1. Load the Label-Bottle scene from the SI_EFECTS database.
The scene contains a bottle model with a global texture of a logo
applied to it in the xy plane using alpha as a mask.
2. Choose the Preview ¹ Selection command in the Matter
module to check the scene. You can see that the texture is
deformed by the projection.
3. Return to the Model module and choose the Effect ¹ Label
command.
4. Set the Texture 2D to Global and the Projection as XYZ.
5. Click Ok.
6. Pick the bottle model in the Schematic window.
A new bottle model is created with the logo texture automatically
and correctly scaled.
7. Select the Texture manipulation mode (TXT) in the lower-right
corner of the display.
8. Choose a Scale menu cell and select the UNI transformation
mode above the manipulation modes.
9. Scale the texture, then translate it to position it correctly on the
bottle.
10. Choose the Preview ¹ Selection command in the Matter
module to check the result.

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Editing UV Textures on Polygons

Editing UV Textures on Polygons


You can edit the UV texture mapping on a polygon mesh object by
choosing the Paint menu command, or by clicking the Paint button
in the 2D Texture File dialog box.
You can also adjust the position of a texture without converting to UV,
although you won’t have as much flexibility. For more information, see
Realigning a Texture on Multiple Polygons on page 114.
In the Paint dialog box, selecting Convert To UV changes the texture
projection method to UV and generates UV texture coordinates for
polygons using the current texture. For information on converting to
UV, see page 172.
By storing texture coordinates with the polygon mesh object’s
vertices, a texture map is essentially “tacked” to the object’s
geometry. This means that when you deform an object, the texture
map will follow its appropriate vertex.
1. Select the Show UV option.
2. Click the Interactive 3D option.
3. Select polygons and polynodes in 3D Projection view on the right
side of the dialog box and display their mapping outlines. Use the
mouse buttons as follows:
4. To edit the UV texture coordinates, go to the 2D clip view, press
m, click on the UV handle you want to move and drag it around
as required. You can also use the keys described on .page 162.
Note: If multiple outline handles are overlapped in the 2D Clip
Note
view, pressing m moves all of them at the same time. If you
don’t want all of them to be modified simultaneously,
modify the polygon selection from editable to non-editable
for those polygons that you don’t want to modify.
For information about other UV texture manipulation tools, see
page 1160 of the Reference Guide.

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Example: UV Editing
The following example shows how to select polygons and do UV editing.
1. Apply a 2D local texture to a polygon object. There is a metallic
rivet texture applied to the object in the illustration below.

2. Open the Paint dialog box. To edit any UV coordinate, convert the
texture projection method to UV mapping with Convert TO UV.
3. Select the Show UV option to make selected polygons visible.
4. Select a polygon (A in the diagram) with the Supra key g. The
polygon is highlighted and its coordinates are shown on the
texture in the 2D view (B).

B
A

5. Edit the UV coordinates by tagging points with Supra key t and


editing them with the usual SRT (scale, rotate, translate) Supra
keys: v for translating the points, c for rotating the points, and x
for scaling them. Use the middle mouse button in SRT mode to

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Editing UV Textures on Polygons

modify the centre axis. In this example, the UV coordinates were


modified to get the results in C and D.

6. Copy the new coordinates for the destination polygons that you
want to contain the UV colours. To do this, make sure that the
polygon you want to copy from is selected, then select the
Polygon > UV option, and click Copy.

7. Select the polygon on which you want to paste the new


coordinates with Supra key g. Then click Paste. You can also click
Rotate or Flip to make a specific selection fit better on its new
polygon.

In the example below, the results of pasting to all other polygons


look like this:

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Painting and Editing 2D Textures and Vertex Colours

Displaying UV Lines on a Texture File


1. Select a textured polygon object and choose the Paint command
in the Matter module.
2. If the object doesn’t use UV coordinates, click Convert to UV.
3. Select some polygons in the 3D view (press G and click).
4. Select Show UV to see the polygons on the texture file.
5. From the Effects menu, choose Stamp UVs.
You can now save the picture. Make sure you use a different file name
so that you don’t overwrite the current picture.

Numerical UV Editing
Using either the Add or Set button in the UV Editing area, you can
numerically edit the UV position of currently tagged polynodes (UV
handles) on an object that has a UV mapped texture.
• Set allows you to move the UV coordinates to the location that you
have specified.
• Add allows you to displace the UV coordinates by the amount that
you have specified.

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Working with Vertex Colours

Working with Vertex Colours


Vertex colours are RGBA values stored in the vertices of a polygon
mesh object. They are actually a Constant material that can have a
different colour at every polynode of every vertex of the polygons to
which the material is applied.
Each vertex of a polygon has a polynode (think of it as a “subvertex”)
that contains the UV coordinates and vertex colours. The polynode
allows UV and colour discontinuities at the vertex level.
This is very useful for games development because it lets you
efficiently colour models. For example, vertex colours can be used to
modulate the colour or brightness of a polygon, allowing a single
small tiled texture to be used and repeated, with the vertex colours
providing the variation.
The advantage of vertex colours is that it gives you these lighting
effects at a reasonable cost in terms of performance and memory.
Vertex colours create the appearance of having light and colour
information, so you can actually get rid of the lights in your scene.
Since you can get rid of the lights in your scene, this saves on
rendering time. This feature is especially useful for games developers
who require fast render and display times.
Obviously, the quality of the results you can obtain using vertex
colours is dependent on the density of vertices in a polygon mesh.
You may need to take some care to keep polygon mesh resolution as
low as possible while also ensuring that there are vertices in the right
places for the vertex colours to be useful.

Using Vertex Colours


There are four ways in which vertex colours are implemented in
SOFTIMAGE|3D. You can:
• Display vertex colours using the Vertex Colours option in the
Material editor (see Displaying Vertex Colours on page 179).
• Paint vertex colour information directly on an object’s geometry
using the 3D Paint > Vertex option in the Paint dialog box or the
Mat Oper > SetVertexColour in the Matter module. See Painting
Vertex Colours on page 180 for more information on the first
command and see Automatically Applying Vertex Colours on page
183 on the second.

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• Generate vertex colour values using the Vertex Colours option and
the RenderVertexColours command (these work in conjunction
with each other). The RenderVertexColours command generates
the colour values that are stored in the vertices. Vertex Colours
interpolates the colours stored at each vertex after you have applied
a material to this polygon. See Automatically Generating Vertex
Colours on page 184 for more information.
Note: Flock animation supports both UV coordinates and vertex
Note
colours.

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Working with Vertex Colours

Displaying Vertex Colours


Only polygon mesh objects support vertex colours. A polygon has
one polynode (a “subvertex”) for each vertex. Every polynode in a
polygon mesh object contains the UV texture coordinates, a normal,
and an RGBA colour. When you create a polygon mesh object in
SOFTIMAGE|3D, default colour values are stored in the geometry
(R, G, and B = 0.7), which are the same as the default material’s
Diffuse colour values. Vertex colour shaded materials are propagated
in the same way as all other materials.
To specify that you want a polygon displayed using its vertex colours,
choose the Material menu command to open the Material dialog
box. Then assign a material with the new Vertex Colours Shading
Model option selected. The colour controls and the shading ball are
ghosted in the Material dialog box when Vertex Colours is selected.
The colours stored in the polynodes are then visible when you view
the object in the Shade view mode. The values stored in the
polynodes are also visible when rendering with either the
SOFTIMAGE|3D or mental ray renderers.
Note: You can also set the Vertex Colour material shading model
Note
in the Spreadsheet window.

Note: The mental ray renderer is not a part of the standard


Note
SOFTIMAGE|3D GT package, but may be purchased
separately.

Non-polygonal Objects
Although non-polygonal objects do not support vertex colours, they
can use materials that use the Vertex Colour shading model. In this
case, the tessellation process (responsible for creating the geometry
used to display in the Shade view and for rendering) automatically
assigns default colour values (R, G, and B = 0.7) to each vertex of
each surface triangle, which creates a grey material.
If you assign a vertex colour shaded material on a NURBS surface, a
patch, a face, or a Meta-clay element, you will see a constant grey
shading in the Shade view mode.

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If you convert a non-polygonal object to a polygon mesh object


(choose the Effect > Convert command in the Model module), the
polygons containing these default grey values can then be edited in
the Paint dialog box or automatically modified using the Render
Vertex Colours plug-in (see page 184).
When you edit or apply modelling effects to the object’s geometry, all
the modelling effects that supported the UV texture coordinates now
also support vertex colours.

Painting Vertex Colours


If you select the 3D Paint > Vertex option, you can paint colours on
the polynodes (see below for definition of polynode). This option is
used with the Bleeding options. The supported Paint tools are Pen,
Spray, and Luma.
Note: A polynode exists for each vertex of a polygon (think of it as
Note
a “subvertex”). It contains the UV coordinates and vertex
colours. Since there is a polynode for each polygon
connected to a vertex, it allows UV and colour
discontinuities at the vertex level.

Vertex Bleeding Option


The Vertex option in the Bleeding group box allows you to affect the
polynodes of a polygon, or the adjacent polygons. You can also use
the Bleeding > Polygon option to affect an entire polygon instead of
just the tagged polynodes of a vertex.
• Polygon fills all vertices of painted polygons.

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Working with Vertex Colours

• Vertex fills all vertices of neighbouring polygons.

None Selected Only Polygon

Only Vertex Polygon and Vertex

Editing Multiple Polynodes


If you want to change the vertex colour of multiple polynodes on
your object at the same time, select the 3D Paint > Preview option in
the Paint dialog box.
When in Preview mode, the paint tool temporarily applies the
current foreground colour that you selected in the colour palette to
the selected polynodes. If the Preview option is not selected, the
original vertex colours are displayed.
To apply the foreground colour, click 3D Paint > Set. This
permanently pastes the colours on the polynodes. If you select
Preview again before clicking Set, the vertex colours are not changed
to the foreground colour.
Note: You cannot raycast polynodes when Preview is selected: select
Note
the polynodes before selecting Preview. To see how to select
the polynodes, see Painting Vertex Colours on page 180.

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To select a new colour and apply it to your polygon, follow these steps:
1. Select the 3D Paint > Vertex option.
2. Select the polynodes (press t-left mouse button) that you want to
edit. The 3D Paint > Preview option becomes available when at
least one of the polynodes is selected.
3. Select a foreground colour from the colour palette and select 3D
Paint > Preview. The 3D Paint > Set button becomes available.
This colour is now temporarily applied to the tagged polynodes.
4. Click 3D Paint > Set to apply the foreground colour permanently
to the tagged polynodes.
Note: While in Preview mode, you can use the colour palette and
Note
colour sliders to change the vertex colours, and you can also
see the interactive update in the 3D View.

Working with the Alpha Component of Vertex


Colours
You can paint the alpha component of vertex colours on a polygon
mesh object. This allows you to create effects such as a flame, or just
simply define transparent areas on parts of a polygon mesh object by
providing control over texture blending during rendering.
The SOFTIMAGE renderer and the mental ray renderer supports
alpha vertex colours. The material transparency controls are dimmed
(unavailable) in the Material Editor when the material uses the vertex
colour shading mode.
Note: The mental ray renderer is not a part of the standard
Note
SOFTIMAGE|3D GT package, but may be purchased
separately.
In the Paint dialog box, select the Alpha option in the 3D Paint box.
This allows you to control the transparency of your objects, and
allows you to view the alpha component in the Paint dialog box. For

182 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Working with Vertex Colours

example, in the illustration below, a flame has been created by


painting the alpha colour.

For example, if you want to change the transparency of all polygons


in an object, you can do the following:
1. Select the object that you want to change.
2. Choose the Paint command in the Matter module. This opens
the Paint dialog box.
3. Set the 3D Paint mode to Vertex Colour and click Alpha.
4. Tag all the polynodes (press Shift-t and click the nodes in the
3D view).
5. Click Preview to view the alpha component of your object.
6. Click the Set button to change the alpha value of your object to 255.

Automatically Applying Vertex Colours


The Mat Oper > SetVertexColour command lets you quickly apply
vertex colours to an object or tagged vertices.

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Painting and Editing 2D Textures and Vertex Colours

Using SetVertexColour
1. Select the object you want to apply vertex colours to. Tag some
vertices if you only want to apply vertex colours to a portion of
the object.
2. Choose Mat Oper > SetVertexColour from the Matter module.
3. Choose the colour and alpha value you want.
4. Click Ok.
5.

Automatically Generating Vertex Colours


The RenderVertexColours command allows you to generate vertex
colours for one or more polygon mesh objects in a single hierarchy. It
takes into consideration the objects’ material attributes, polygon
selection attributes, normal values, lights, and mental ray shaders in
the scene. It then computes the light influence by using a mental ray
camera lens shader.
Note: The mental ray renderer is not a part of the standard
Note
SOFTIMAGE|3D GT package, but may be purchased
separately.

This command works only on polygon mesh objects.

184 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Working with Vertex Colours

To access the command, choose Mat_Oper > RenderVertexColours


in the Matter module.

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Painting and Editing 2D Textures and Vertex Colours

186 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


C H A P T E R S I X

3D Textures

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 187


3D Textures

188 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Introduction

Introduction
In addition to material, you can also add texture to an object to
enhance its appearance. Applying 3D textures to your objects can
give them an increased sense of realism. Textures can be used to
create an endless variety of colour patterns, surface roughness,
transparency and reflectivity. Texture can also be used in
combination with shadow-casting lights to create complex patterns
of coloured light and shadow on other objects in a scene.
3D textures are called “3D” because they are calculated as procedural
volumetric textures, but only the intersection with the object’s
surface is rendered. To imagine 3D textures, pretend that the object
that is carved from a block of marble or wood, or cloud mass. Marble
creates a pattern of superimposed layers, wood creates a pattern of
concentric cylinders, and cloud creates a pattern of cloud or sponge-
like effects.
The procedural nature of 3D textures allows them to be animated
through a surface, resulting in a wide variety of animated textural
effects, such as fire, water, etc.

y y

z x z

3D texture (wood) Compare with 2D texture


Procedural texture creates patterns Cross-sectional pattern (right) causes
which can vary along 3 dimensions. streaks when projected onto xy face of cube.

Other 3D textures
Marble and cloud (below left and right) are
two other procedural algorithms.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 189


3D Textures

Textures can be applied to the object’s global material, which is the


material that covers the entire surface, or it can be applied to a local
surface polygon’s material (or groups of polygons).
All of 3D texture parameters can be defined in the 3D Solid Texture
dialog box which is open when you choose the Texture > 3D Global/
Local command in the Matter module.
A tool which can help you use 3D textures is the Matter mode in the
Schematic window. This lets you view relationships between objects,
textures, and materials. For more information, see Mode on page 25
in the Reference Guide.

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Creating 3D Textures

Creating 3D Textures
The 3D solid procedural textures can be used to create an infinite
variety of patterned effects. Based on three basic pattern categories
(marble, wood, and cloud), the procedural patterns can be perturbed
and deformed in a variety of ways. Using the procedural parameters
in the 3D Solid Texture dialog box, you can modify the spacing and
angle of pattern elements, increase their level of detail, or compress
and stretch them. You can also set reflectivity, transparency, and
roughness effects.
The following example illustrates how to create a 3D texture.
1. Select an object to receive the 3D texture.
2. Choose the Texture > 3D Global or Local command in the
Matter module. The 3D Solid Texture dialog box is displayed.

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3D Textures

Note: Objects require a material definition before you can add a


Note 3D texture. If the object has no material assigned to it,
SOFTIMAGE|3D gives it the default material setting when
you choose this command.
3. Click the Select button to open the database browser so that you
can browse through a library of source 3D texture files, either
inside or outside the database.
4. To load a texture file in the 3D Solid Texture dialog box, double-
click its file name: the browser closes and the picture is displayed
with its file name listed in the 3D Texture text box. You can
change the name of the file in this text box if you like, such as for
making edits to the parameters and saving it with a new name.
5. Set all parameters as you need them.
As a quick introduction to the parameter settings, try the following
simplified steps:
6. Select a Texture Type: Marble, Wood, or Cloud.
7. Experiment with the colour of the texture with the colour sliders
for the Colour Map. Try changing the blending factors in the
Colour Map by dragging the arrows back and forth.
8. Experiment with the Spacing, Angle, Strength, Iteration, and
Power of the surface pattern by using the appropriate sliders.
9. Change the Scaling, Translation, or Rotation of the pattern using
the appropriate sliders.
10. Preview the results in a test window by clicking the Preview
button.
11. Click Ok to accept the parameter settings.

Saving a Texture File


In the 3D Solid Texture dialog box, you can save the current
parameter settings as a 3D texture file (.t3d) so that you can create
your own library of 3D textures.
To save a 3D texture file, follow these steps:
1. Select an object.
2. Choose Texture > 3D (Global or Local) and open the 3D Solid
Texture dialog box.

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Creating 3D Textures

3. Set the parameters as required.


4. Type a new name for this texture in the 3D Texture text box.

5. Click on Save.
6. The Save Texture3D dialog box appears. The name that you have
given the texture appears in the name area. Click on Save.
You have now created a texture file that you can store in your library
for future use.
Tip:
Tip To modify an existing 3D texture, you can also open a
Schematic window, select the Matter mode, then select the
texture symbol to display the 3D Solid Texture dialog box.

Selecting 3D Textures
After you have saved a 3D texture file, you can load it again to be
used, or change the parameters and save it under a new name.
To load a 3D texture:
1. Select an object.
1. Choose Texture > 3D (Global or Local) in the Matter module.
The 3D Solid Texture dialog box is displayed.
2. Click Select to open the database browser. It opens to the current
TEXTURES 3D chapter so that you can browse through a library
of source 3D texture files, either inside or outside the database.
3. To see the file icons for each file, click the Options button and
select the Show Icons option. This lets you easily see what the
texture is without having to load it first.
4. To load a texture file in the 3D Texture File dialog box, double-
click its file name: the browser closes and the picture is displayed
with its file name listed in the 3D Texture text box. You can
change the name of the file in this text box if you like, such as for
making edits to the parameters and saving it with a new name.

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3D Textures

Previewing a Texture
To preview a texture from within the 3D Solid Texture dialog box,
click the Preview button in this dialog box. This is a handy way to
change parameters and view them immediately without having to
exit the dialog box.
The preview from within this dialog box is affected by the renderer
you have selected in the Preview Setup dialog box. To check or
change the renderer, choose Preview > Setup. Select mental ray or
SOFTIMAGE as the Preview Renderer and click Exit. Choose mental
ray to view the results of using 3D texture shaders.
Note: The mental ray renderer is not a part of the standard
Note
SOFTIMAGE|3D GT package, but may be purchased
separately.
Textures can also be previewed using the hardware renderer used in
the Shade view, which gives you a quick approximation of materials
and textures used (if selected in the Shade view Setup dialog box). If
you are planning to output your scene as geometry textures for
rendering on another platform, such as a Games console, the Shade
view may be the most accurate.

Viewing Texture Information


You can view information about 3D textures in a scene by choosing
the Info > Textures command. This lets you see which texture is
mapped to which object. If you want, you can also edit the texture
using this command.
1. Select an object with a texture applied.
2. Choose the Info > Textures command. The Scene Information -
Textures dialog box is displayed.
3. If you want to edit the texture, select the name of the object you
want to edit, then click Edit. The 3D Solid Texture dialog box is
displayed.
4. You can then edit the texture parameters as desired and click Ok.
5. When you exit the 3D Solid Texture dialog box, the Scene Information
- Textures dialog box reappears. Click Ok to exit it as well.

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Creating 3D Textures

Deleting a 3D Texture File


Deleting a 3D texture file resets all parameters in the 3D Solid
Texture dialog box to their default settings and the texture is removed
from the object.
To delete a texture file:
1. Select an object.
2. Choose Texture > 3D (Global or Local) in the Matter module.
The 3D Solid Texture dialog box is displayed.
3. Click Select beside the 3D Texture text box to open the browser.
4. Navigate to the appropriate 3D Texture chapter and select the file
that you want to delete. The name should be displayed in the 3D
Texture text box. Click Load.
5. In the 3D Solid Texture dialog box, click the Delete button. The
texture is deleted.

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3D Textures

Editing the Texture

Choosing a Pattern Type


The three basic patterns define the basic nature of the 3D texture you
can create. There are three types of 3D solid procedural textures:
marble, wood, and cloud.
• The Marble 3D texture defines a pattern of superimposed layers of
colours.
• The Wood 3D texture defines concentric cylinders of colours.
• The Cloud 3D texture type defines a more “organic” pattern that
can be visualized as a sponge.
After you have defined your basic pattern, you can change the colour
mapping. You can also edit the texture by selecting the following
parameters: Spacing, Angle, Strength, Iteration, and Power.

Defining the Colour


The RGB button located above the colour sliders toggles between
RGB, HLS, and HSV colour models.
The five colours in the Colour Map are defined by clicking on
corresponding squares and changing colour values using the colour
sliders (colours can also be defined with the Palette button).

The texture colour map is created from the five colours you define
for each of the associated squares, and an interpolation (blending)
factor that mixes each of the colours with its neighbour. The
interpolation can be controlled by moving the black factor arrows:
the closer two colours get to each other, the more abrupt the
transition between them.

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Editing the Texture

Note: The Colour Map works in the same manner for both Cloud
Note and Wood texture types.

Using the Colour Sliders


The RGB button located above the colour sliders toggles between
RGB, HLS, and HSV colour models.

Drag the colour sliders to see how the colour changes in the colour
boxes. You can also see the effects on the sphere in the display box to
have an idea of what it will look like on a 3D object in your scene.
You can also type in numeric values from 0 to 1 in the text boxes of
the sliders or use the arrow buttons beside the text boxes.

Alpha Values
The transparency value of the alpha channel associated with each of
the five basic colors in the Colour Map can be defined with the Alpha
slider. The interpolation between levels of transparency can be seen
in the black bar at the top of the Colour Map.

Using the Palette


Clicking the Palette button above the sliders displays the Palette
dialog box for selecting and mixing colours.
In the Palette dialog box you have the options to choose one of the
following to modify your colours: the Colour Wheel, the Colour
Spread, or the Colour Sliders. You also apply a colour interactively by
moving the RGBA sliders back and forth or by entering colour values
between 0 and 255 directly into the RGBA text boxes.
The Incoming Colour option is available in only the Material and 3D
Texture dialog boxes. Incoming Colour allows you to transfer an
incoming colour to foreground and background entries.

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3D Textures

Select a colour in the 3D Solid Texture dialog box, then click Palette.
The edited colour appears in the Incoming Colour box. You can now
add this colour to the palette. The Set Foreground and Set
Background buttons allow you to transfer the edited colour to the
foreground or background entry.

Editing the Pattern


There are a number of parameters that let you define the appearance
of the 3D texture type you selected (wood, marble, or cloud).
• Spacing controls the distance between layers (in Marble) and
cylinders (in Wood). It is not used with the Cloud type. Values
range from 0 to 10.
• Angle blends the pattern at one end so layers (in Marble) and
cylinders (in Wood) are not parallel. It is not used with the Cloud
type. Values range from 0 to 45.
• Strength deforms the basic pattern by blending, stretching, and
squeezing it in all directions. Values range from 0 to 20. It is not
used with the Cloud type.
• Iteration controls the amount of pattern detail. The greater the value,
the more detailed the pattern (and the longer it takes to render).
Values range from 1 to 8. It is not used with the Wood type.
• Power is used only when the Iteration number is fairly high. It
deforms the basic pattern in a way similar to Strength, but is
applied on a larger scale. Values normally range from -2 to 20.
Tip:
Tip Patterns created using the parameters described above can
be further altered by setting values for the Scaling, Rotation,
and Translation parameters (see page 202).

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Editing the Texture

Example of Editing the Texture


The basic patterns created by the marble, wood, and cloud types can
be manipulated using sliders that control the following parameters.
The following example, describes various ways to change the colours
and parameters of a 3D texture:
1. Select an object.
2. Choose the Texture > 3D Global command. In the 3D Solid
Texture (global) dialog box is displayed.
Note: Objects require a material definition before you can add a
Note
3D texture. If the object has no material assigned to it,
SOFTIMAGE|3D gives it a default material setting when you
choose this command.
3. Select Marble as the Texture Type.
4. Change the colours in the texture Colour Map by selecting one of
its squares and then doing any one of the following:
- Click in the RGBA sliders and drag the pointers back and forth to
manipulate the colours.
- Input exact colour values between 0 and 1 directly into the RGBA
text boxes.
- Click the Palette button and modify your colours using the
Colour Wheel, the Colour Spread, or the Colour Sliders in the
Palette dialog box.
5. Select each of the associated Colour Map squares in turn and
manipulate their colours. You will notice on the sphere in the
display box that each associated square represents a different area
within the texture.
6. Change the Spacing to 5 and the Angle to 40.
7. Click Preview to view the results.
8. Click Ok to assign the 3D texture to your object.

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3D Textures

Blending the Texture with the Material


The Overall Blending and Blending options in the 3D Solid Texture
dialog box let you control how the 3D texture and the current
material on the object’s areas of illumination are blended together.
Results are displayed in the display box when the Sphere view is selected.
The Blending options let you choose exactly what values you want
blended with the material. After you select an option, you can set the
Overall Blending, or choose to blend on a certain illumination area
of the material’s definition (ambient, diffuse, or specular areas).
• Without Mask uniformly blends the texture with the object’s
current material. The ratio of texture to material visibility is
controlled using the Overall Blending slider.
• Alpha Channel Mask uses the alpha channel (transparency) of the
colour map as a blending factor. The texture is blended with the
object’s current material according to the different alpha channel
values of the colour map. Where the alpha channel value is high
(white), the colour of the texture is visible; where the alpha channel
value is low (black), the object’s current material is visible.
• RGB Intensity Mask uses the RGB colour intensity of the colour
map as a blending factor. The texture is blended with the object’s
current material according to the different RGB intensity values of
the colour map. Where the RGB intensity is high (white), the colour
of the texture is visible; on low intensity pixels (black), the object’s
current material is visible.

200 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Blending the Texture with the Material

Blending with Areas on the Material


Using the Overall Blending slider, you can control the amount of
overall blending between the texture and the object’s current
material. Values range from 0 to 1; if the value is set to 0, only the
material is visible; if the value is set to 1, only the texture is visible.
You can also control the blending with certain areas of the material’s
definition:
• If you choose the Ambient slider, you can control the intensity of
the texture on the object’s ambient area of illumination. Values
range from above 0 to 1. If the value is set to 0, the texture is
replaced by the object’s material (global or current local).
• If you choose the Diffuse slider, you can control the intensity of the
texture on the object’s diffuse area of illumination. Values range
from above 0 to 1. If the value is set to 0, the texture is replaced by
the object’s material (global or current local).
• If you choose the Specular slider, you can control the intensity of
the texture on the object’s specular area of illumination. Values
range from above 0 to 1; the value may be set higher to compensate
for reflectivity or transparency. If the value is set at 0, the texture is
replaced by the object’s material (global or current local).

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3D Textures

Transforming the Texture


You can scale, rotate, or translate a 3D texture on an object to create
the effect that you want. Use these three parameters in the 3D Solid
Texture dialog box to transform the texture. You can see the results in
the display box.
Scaling controls the size of the 3D texture in proportion to the size of
the selected object. Values range from negative infinity to positive
infinity in X, Y, and Z.
Rotation controls the orientation of the 3D texture in relation to the
selected object. Values range from 0 to 360 in X, Y, and Z.
Translation controls the location of the 3D texture in relation to the
selected object. Values range from negative infinity to positive
infinity in X, Y, and Z.

202 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Copying 3D Textures

Copying 3D Textures
The Txt_Oper > Copy All and Copy Selection commands in the
Matter module allow you to copy all or selected the textures from a
specified object or polygon to another object or polygon.
These commands allow you to copy the same texture to more than
one object without having to reset the parameters. This is
advantageous if you want to select a particular texture and modify
some of its attributes, then copy it to more than one object. It saves
you from having to select the texture and set the parameters each
time you want to apply it to another object. For example, if you have
four objects and only one of the object’s has a texture applied to it, if
you want the same texture applied to all of the other objects, you can
use the Txt_Oper > Copy All option.
Tip:
Tip When you duplicate an object, its texture is copied with it.

For more information on applying textures to polygons, see


Assigning Textures to Polygons Locally on page 205.
1. Select the destination object or objects (Multi menu command)
or polygon (using the Polygon menu commands) for the texture.
2. Choose the Txt_Oper > Copy All or Copy Selection command in
the Matter module.
3. Select the source object (or polygon) from which the textures are
to be copied. Both the destination and source objects (or
polygons) flash to confirm the operation.
The 3D Solid Texture dialog box for each texture is displayed
sequentially. If you want to copy the texture, click Ok. If you do not
want to copy that texture, click Exit.
Note: You can edit the parameters in the dialog box before clicking
Note
Ok.

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3D Textures

Associating and Disassociating Textures


The Txt_Oper > Associate 3D/Disassociate 3D commands in the
Matter module allow you to either associate a texture to or disassociate
a texture from the selected object using the Schematic window.
You can associate a 3D texture to more than one object. Sharing
materials is especially useful because it allows you to quickly and
easily edit a material that is used throughout your scene. When you
associate a texture to an object, it becomes the current one.
For more information about working in the Schematic window, see
Schematic Window on page 87 in the Reference Guide.
1. Open a Schematic window and select its Matter mode.
2. Select an object or local material.
3. Choose the Txt_Oper > Associate 3D or Disassociate 3D command.
4. Pick the 3D texture you want to associate or disassociate.
The texture is linked to or unlinked from the selected object or local
material.

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Assigning Textures to Polygons Locally

Assigning Textures to Polygons Locally


You can assign textures to an entire object (globally). On a polygon
mesh object, you can also assign textures locally to groups of surface
polygons or globally to all the polygons of the polygon mesh. Since
textures can be applied in both ways, each object has a global and
local (where applicable) material “list”, each of which can have its
own texture list.
All materials (the global material applied to the entire object as well
as each local material) have their own 2D and 3D texture lists. Local
textures are only applied to local materials, whereas global textures
are blended with local textures. If there is a blend factor of 1 for the
global texture, you won’t be able to see the local texture at all.
However, if the blend factor is less than 1, you can see a blend of
global and local textures.
Global and local textures can be viewed and easily manipulated in
the Schematic window when the Matter mode is active. For more
information on the Schematic window, see Schematic Window
page 87 of the Reference Interface.
For more information on applying textures, see Applying Textures to
Polygons on page 135.

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3D Textures

Using 3D Texture Shaders


A shader lets you create special effects during the rendering process
when using the mental ray renderer. The main reason for using
shaders is the complete flexibility and openness available to you to
create and manipulate shaders to meet your specific needs.
Note: The mental ray renderer is not a part of the standard
Note
SOFTIMAGE|3D GT package, but may be purchased
separately.
If you are rendering with mental ray, you can select a 3D texture
shader using the options in the mental ray area of the 3D Solid
Texture dialog box. When you select the Shader option, the browser
is displayed in which you can choose and activate a texture shader for
one or more selected objects.
For more information on using shaders, see Using Shaders on page 79
in the Rendering User’s Guide.
The following example illustrates how to select a 3D Texture Shader:
1. Select an object.
2. Choose Preview > Setup and choose mental ray renderer as the
previewing type.
3. Choose the Texture > 3D Global or Local command. The 3D
Solid Texture dialog box is displayed.
4. Click the Select button beside the 3D Texture text box.
5. Use the browser to go to the 3D Texture Shader library and select
either brick or noises. Click Load and the shader is applied to the
object.
Note: If you need to search for a shader, double click the .. (two dots)
Note
at the top of the browser and select the appropriate chapter.

6. To edit the shader’s parameters, click Edit, which displays the


dialog box containing the shader’s parameters.
7. Click the Preview button to see effect of shader.

Example
The following example incorporates a 3D texture shader onto your
object by applying a wood shader. The wood shader is very similar to

206 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Using 3D Texture Shaders

the Wood texture type, but the wood shader contains more
parameters which can be manipulated for greater flexibility. The
following example shows you how to create a plank of wood.
1. Choose Get > Primitive > Cube. Change the length to 4 and click
Ok.
2. Scale the object to these values: x = 0.45, y = 0.14, and z = 2.75.
3. Choose the Material menu command and apply a basic colour to
your object.
4. Select Blinn as the Shading Model and click Ok.
5. Choose Preview > Setup and choose mental ray renderer as the
previewing type.
6. Choose Texture > 3D Global.
7. Select the Shader option in the mental ray area of the 3D Solid
Texture (global) dialog box. User the browser to go to the
/Shader_Lib/Matter directory. Select 3D_Wood and then click
Load.
8. Click the Edit button to open the OZ-Wood dialog box.
9. Select the Auto option in the Preview area and click Refresh to
open the Shaderball Preview.
10. Reduce the Grain Bias value to 0.2 and increase the grain size.
Select both the Wobbly Structure and Turbulence options.
Manipulate the other variables until you achieve the desired
results. Check the results of your modifications in the Shader Ball
Preview.
Tip:
Tip Click the About button to get more information on the
various parameters of the shader.
11. When you are satisfied with the results, click Save. In the Save
Texture 3D_Shaders dialog box, name your shader and click
Save.
12. Click Ok to exit the OZ_Wood dialog box.
13. Increase the Specular value to 1.0 so that the texture is visible in
the specular area of illumination. This gives the plank a more
realistic wood-like appearance.
14. Click the Preview button in the 3D Solid Texture dialog box to
view the wood shader applied to your plank.

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3D Textures

15. Click Ok to accept the parameters of the 3D texture and exit the
dialog box.
Note: If the properties of the wood shader are not proportional to
Note
the size of the plank of wood; manipulate the overall Scaling
values in the 3D Texture dialog box on all three axes. Try
starting with a value of about 2.0

Custom Shader Ball


The Custom Shader Ball allows mental ray previewing of the edited
material/texture and associated shader.
Note: The mental ray renderer is not a part of the standard
Note
SOFTIMAGE|3D GT package, but may be purchased
separately.
To access the Custom Shader Ball, select a shader and click Edit in the
mental ray area. The Custom Shader Ball is accessible from a Shader
dialog box that contains a Preview button.
Click Preview and a small dialog box with the Custom Shader Ball
appears with the texture or material shader that you have chosen. To
enable automatic previews while modifying shader parameters, click
Auto.
To remove the Custom Shader Ball, click Ok.

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C H A P T E R S E V E N

Atmosphere

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 209


Atmosphere

210 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Introduction

Introduction
The Atmosphere menu commands in the Matter module let you add
atmospheric effects such as fog, illumination, and depth-fading to
your scene.
Depth Fading allows you to realistically simulate depth-fading by
creating a fog-like effect over the entire image.
You can also define atmospheric (volume) shaders when rendering
with mental ray. Volume shaders using the Depth Fading command
are the same as volume shaders you can access from the Material
menu command, except that these shaders are associated with the
space between all objects in the scene.
Note: The mental ray renderer is not a part of the standard
Note
SOFTIMAGE|3D GT package, but may be purchased
separately.
Ambience controls the ambient illumination of all objects in a scene.
Similar to depth fading, Layer Fog allows you to apply a fog effect to
any model containing visible triangles without affecting the
background of a scene.
For more information on the Atmosphere commands, see the
Atmosphere commands starting on page 143 of the Reference Guide.

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Atmosphere

Creating Depth-fading
The Atmosphere > Depth-Fading command allows you to
realistically simulate depth-fading by creating a fog-like effect over
the entire image. Depth-fading can also be animated.
Depth-fading is like a hollow sphere of fog centered around the
camera. The distances measured are in units from the camera.
The Start Distance is the distance that defines the inner-most part of
the hollow sphere where there is no fog. If the distance to an object is
less than the Start Distance, then there is no fog between the camera
and the object (the object is inside the hollow of the sphere).
The End Distance is the distance from the camera where opacity
stops accumulating. Beyond the stop distance from the camera, the
fog doesn’t get any thicker.
Between the start and end distances of the fog, opacity is added
linearly with distance. There is less fog closer to the start and more
toward the end.
For example, let’s say that the start distance is 50 units, the end
distance is 100 units, and the maximum opacity of the fog is 100%.
There are three objects in the scene: the first object is 25 units, the
second is 75 units, and the third is 106 units from the camera.
Using these conditions, the amount of fog is as follows:
• First object – distance to object is less than the start distance and
there is no fog.
• Second object –
- k = distance into the fog (position of start distance) 75 - 50 = 25
(fog bounds)
- m = end distance (75) - start distance (25) = 50.
- linear interpolation k/m = 25/50 = 0.5
This means that the object is 50% of the distance between the start
and the end distance. Therefore, the opacity of the fog for the second
object is 50% of the maximum.
• Third object – the distance to the object is greater than the end
distance and there is 100% fog.

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Creating Depth-fading

Example
The following example illustrates how to create depth-fading effects:
1. Show the camera in one of the parallel projection windows
(Camera > Show Camera).
2. Choose the Info > Distance command to get the distance between
the camera and the object or point at which you want fading to
end.
3. Middle-click near the camera and then your object. To use the
object’s centre as a reference point, press the Shift key and then
pick the object.
4. The points are highlighted and a yellow line is drawn between the
camera and the object’s centre. The distance (in SOFTIMAGE
units) between the two is displayed in the status line at the
bottom of the display. Take note of this number.
See page 1013 in the Reference Guide for more information on
using this command.
5. Choose the Atmosphere > Depth-Fading command. The Depth-
fading Setup dialog box is displayed.
6. Select the Depth fading option to activate depth-fading.
7. Enter the Starting and Ending Distances from the values you
figured out with the Info > Distance command.
8. Set the Transparency and factors for the fog. This controls the
maximum transparency of the fog beyond the ending distance.
The value ranges from 0 (opaque) to 1 (transparent).
9. Define the colour of the fog using the colour sliders or the
colour Palette.
10. If you want to use a volume shader with the mental ray renderer,
select the Shader option in the mental ray area to choose a shader
from the database (see Volume Shaders on page 215).
11. To animate the values, click Key to set the parameters for a
specific keyframe, move the time line pointer to another frame,
change the parameters and click Key again. Continue this process
to create as many keyframes as you like.
12. Click Ok to confirm the settings and exit the dialog box.

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Atmosphere

Creating Murky Waters


The following example creates the effect of murky waters. When
creating this effect, you first have to determine the appropriate
distance for the fading effect.
1. Create a scene that has a floor (such as a sea bottom and an object
such as a fish, starfish, or deep-sea squid).
2. Choose Camera > Show Camera to display the camera.
3. Choose Info > Distance and middle-click in the Top window,
near the camera and then your object. The status line displays the
distance between the two points. You should obtain a distance of
approximately 50 units.
You want the depth-fading effect to start between the camera and
the object, and to end between the object and the far edge of the
bottom of the screen.
4. Choose Atmosphere > Depth-Fading in the Matter module to open
the Depth-fading dialog box. Activate the Depth fading option.
5. Set the Starting Distance and the Ending Distance using the
values that you figured out with the Info > Distance command.
6. Change the RGB colour values to 0, 0.5, 0.4, and click Ok to
confirm your settings.
7. Choose Preview > All to see the depth fading effect (middle-click
to exit the Preview window).
To enhance the underwater effect, choose Atmosphere > Ambience
and set the ambient light to a dark blue colour.

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Creating Depth-fading

Volume Shaders
A shader lets you create special effects during the rendering process
when using the mental ray renderer. The main reason for using
shaders is the complete flexibility and openness available to you to
create and manipulate shaders to meet your specific needs.
Note: The mental ray renderer is not a part of the standard
Note
SOFTIMAGE|3D GT package, but may be purchased
separately.
If you are rendering with mental ray, you can select a volume shader
using the options in the mental ray area of the Depth-fading dialog
box. When you select the Shader option, the browser is displayed in
which you can choose and activate a texture shader for one or more
selected objects.
Atmosphere (volume) shaders are used to modify rays as they pass
through an object. Volume shaders allow you to easily simulate
effects such as cloud, smoke, and fire. The volume shaders you access
from the Depth-fading dialog box are the same as volume shaders
you can access from the Material menu command, except that the
depth-fading volume shaders are associated with the space between
all objects in the scene.
The following example illustrates how to apply the volume shader:
1. Choose Get > Primitive > Cube and accept the default settings.
Get another cube by choosing Duplicate > Immediate.
2. With the second cube selected, translate it in the Top window by
0.5 units in positive x and 0.5 units in negative z. Then in the
Front window, translate the same cube by 0.5 units in positive y.
3. Add a light to your scene by choosing Light > Define. Select Spot
as the Light Type. Click Ok to exit the Create Light dialog box.
4. Choose Show > Cone to make the cone of light visible.
5. Translate the spot light and its interest so that the cone falls
directly across the object. Edit the cone angle if necessary by
choosing Light > Edit.
6. Select the cube and choose the Material menu command. In the
Material Editor dialog box, change the Transparency value to 1.0
to make the cube totally transparent.
7. Choose Atmosphere > Depth Fading.

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Atmosphere

8. In the mental ray area of the dialog box, select the Shader option.
In the browser, go to the Shader_Lib directory, select the
March_Fractal shader, and click Load.
9. Click in the Shader text box and click Edit.
10. In the March_Fractal Shader dialog box, select the Shaderball
option.
11. In the Scattering area, click the Select button beside the Lights
text box. Select the spot light and click Ok.
12. Change the colour of the Ambience and Absorption to light grey.
13. Select the Volumic Density option and enter a density value of
0.1.
14. Click the Select button next to the Transformation Model text
box. Select the object you named “fogArea” and click Ok.
15. Select the Proximity option and change the Fractal size to 2.0.
16. Click Ok to exit the dialog box.
17. Click Ok to accept the depth-fading parameters.
18. Choose Preview > Setup and choose mental ray renderer as the
previewing type.
19. Choose Preview > All to view the final result.

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Controlling the Global Ambience

Controlling the Global Ambience


Ambience simulates a certain amount of light not coming from any
specific source. For example, if you are creating lighting in a room
using a regular light source, you can’t reproduce realistic, natural
looking lights, such as light bouncing off tables, walls, etc. in the
room. Ambience helps you to recreate that realistic looking light.
The Atmosphere > Ambience command lets you define global
ambience for the objects in your scene. The ambient area of
illumination on an object’s material definition allows you to define
colour values on the area that is shaded with ambient light, an
indirect overall illumination. You can only set colours using this
command when the material’s definition is using the Lambert, Blinn,
or Phong shading model, as defined in the Material Editor dialog box
(choose the Material menu command).
Depending on the shading model used, different areas of
illumination are visible on an object’s surface. A Lambert-shaded
surface has areas of ambient illumination, simulating an effect of
overall “ambient” lighting most evident where direct light does not
reach the object surface. A Phong or Blinn-shaded surface had
ambient areas of illumination which simulate the effect of light rays
bouncing from the object surface directly into the eye of the observer
or camera, thus creating a specular highlight.
Even if the same tonal value is set for ambient and diffuse areas of
illumination, the object still appears shaded with a darker ambient
light. This is because when SOFTIMAGE|3D applies an ambience to
all objects in a scene, a default shifts the ambience to a slightly lower
value than that set in the dialog box.
The Atmosphere > Ambience command controls the ambient
illumination for all objects in a scene, working in conjunction with
the objects’ ambient areas of illumination, as just described.
To use the command:
1. Choose the Atmosphere > Ambience command in the Matter
module. The Global Ambience dialog box is displayed.
2. Define the ambient colour using the Colour sliders or the Palette.
3. Click Ok to confirm the setting or Cancel to exit.

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Atmosphere

Creating Fog
The Atmosphere > Layer Fog command allows you to apply a fog
effect to all models containing visible triangles. Layer fog is very
similar to the depth-fading effect, except that you can also set base
and thickness values for the fog.
The layer fog is constrained between the top and bottom distances,
which are values in the y-axis. Below the bottom and above the top,
there is no fog. If a ray passes through the fog, it is interpolated
linearly, as in depth-fading.
The fog effect is “distance-attenuated” so that objects near the
starting distance are less affected by the layer fog effect than objects
that are farther away. The fog’s attenuation changes according to its
height, and all parameters can be animated.
The base of the fog sets the starting distance, in grid units, from the
xz plane. For example, setting the base to 0 activates the effect
directly on the xz plane. Setting the base at -2 activates the layer fog
at two units below the xz plane.
In conjunction with the base, the thickness sets the distance from the
base setting in the y-plane. Thickness is also measured in grid units.
For example, setting the thickness at 6 deactivates the layer fog at six
units from the specified Base setting.
The layer fog effect is also attenuated according to its height,
appearing the most dense at the midway point between the base and
thickness settings, and gradually weakening toward its edges.
Here are the basic steps to follow for creating a layer fog effect:
1. Show the camera in one of the parallel projection windows
(Camera > Show Camera).
2. Choose the Info > Distance command to get the distance
between the camera and the object or point at which you want
fog to end.
3. Middle-click near the camera and then your object. To use the
object’s centre as a reference point, press the Shift key and then
pick the object.

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Creating Fog

4. The points are highlighted and a yellow line is drawn between the
camera and the object’s centre. The distance (in SOFTIMAGE
units) between the two is displayed in the status line at the
bottom of the display. Take note of this number.
See page 1013 in the Reference Guide for more information on
using this command.
5. Choose the Atmosphere > Layer Fog command. The Layer Fog
dialog box is displayed.
6. Click the Layer Fog option to activate it.
7. Enter the Starting and Ending distance settings in the
appropriate text boxes using the values that you figured out with
the Info > Distance command.
8. Enter the Base setting and then the Thickness setting in relation
to the base.
9. Enter the Density setting for the fog with values ranging from 0
(transparent) to 1 (opaque).
10. Define the fog’s colour using the colour sliders or the Palette (for
more information on either of these.
11. To animate the values, click Key to set the fog for a specific
keyframe, move the time line pointer to another frame, change
the fog parameters and click Key again. Continue this process to
create as many keyframes as you like. For more information on
keyframing, see the Animating User’s Guide.
12. Click Ok to confirm the settings and exit the dialog box.

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Atmosphere

Creating 3D Smoke with the FxDirector


You can render 3D volumes using the FxDirector. 3D volumic effects
fill a light’s volume with fractal “smoke.” The 3D smoke effect is of
high quality, and you can actually move the camera and other objects
through it.
The 3D smoke effect uses a technique called raymarching.
Raymarching determines the look of the smoke by “marching,” or
stepping, along each ray cast during a render. As it marches along the
ray, it captures information about the density of the smoke, which is
defined by the light’s volume, and returns the information to the
mental ray renderer.
Note: The mental ray renderer is not a part of the standard
Note
SOFTIMAGE|3D GT package, but may be purchased
separately.
For more information about the FxDirector, see Creating Lighting
Effects with FxDirector on page 28.

Activating 3D Smoke
1. Make sure that the preview renderer is set to mental ray (Preview
> Setup).
2. Choose the Light > FxDirector command.
3. In the FxDirector dialog box, choose Volume Smoke (Global)
from the top menu.
4. Select Ray Marching (3D Smoke).

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Creating 3D Smoke with the FxDirector

5. Preview or render the effect using mental ray to see the effect.

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Atmosphere

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C H A P T E R E I G H T

Creating and Reducing Colour Palettes

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Creating and Reducing Colour Palettes

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Introduction

Introduction
You can create a new colour palette that is representative of the
colours present in a scene. You can then generate a colour-indexed
image that approximates the original image through the use of the
colours contained in this colour palette.
This feature is particularly useful is you want to convert true colour
images in a format (colour-index) that is supported on a personal
computer or games console.
To reduce the palette, choose the C_Reduction menu command in
the Tools module. In the dialog box that appears, you can load an
image and from it, create:
• A corresponding colour palette from the image.
• A colour-indexed image or sequence which best approximates the
original, but uses fewer colours from a colour palette.
Alternately, instead of creating a new colour palette, you can load an
image, then load an existing palette, and use it to generate a colour-
reduced image.
By editing the palette, you can alter the colours of the generated
image. Change some of the generation parameters and repeat the
process, generating new palettes and versions of the colour-reduced
image until you are satisfied with the results.
You also can apply colour reduction to a sequence of images and to
all textures applied to models in a database. You can save palettes for
reuse, as well as saving the colour-reduced images in various formats.
When generating a colour-indexed image, the system considers how
many pixels in the original image use each RGB colour. When the
number is relatively low, such a colour is grouped with others with
similarly limited use. This allows these colours to be combined to
make a a single colour index in the generated palette, according to
the generation method specified in the dialog box.
If no entries are selected in the palette, all the entries are replaced
(unless they are locked). Otherwise, the palette generation is done for
the selected entries only.
For more information on the parameters in the dialog box for colour
reduction, see C_Reduction on page 280 in the Reference Guide.

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Creating and Reducing Colour Palettes

Creating a Palette
In the Paint or Palette dialog boxes, you can create and modify
palettes. This can be useful for creating specific palettes to be applied
consistently to a group of materials or textures.
The Paint dialog box can be accessed by choosing the Paint menu
command or clicking the Paint button in the 2D Texture File dialog box.
The Palette dialog box is accessed by clicking the Palette button in any of
these dialog boxes: the Material, 3D Solid Texture, or the Depth Fading
dialog boxes. The Palette dialog box, as shown below, has the same
parameters as are available in the Palette area in the Paint dialog box.
For more information on the Paint and Palette dialog box
parameters, see Paint on page 1160 of the Reference Guide.

The options located in the Pal. Oper. menu in the Paint dialog box
allow you to create and edit a palette, as well as apply the current
palette to the source image with or without dithering. By selecting
the Generate option, you can generate a new palette based on the
number of colours that best represent your image.
The following demonstrates some of the colour palette features:
1. Select the Generate button in the Pal. Oper. menu. This action opens
a dialog box in which you can specify palette generation parameters.
2. Indicate that you want 32 entries in the new palette. Once you click
OK, the new palette is created with the number of entries
indicated.

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Creating a Palette

3. Select Colour Index in the menu under the 2D Clip view window
(on the left side of the dialog box) to go into Colour Index mode.
4. Select the second row of the palette by pressing the Shift key.
Then click on Edit > Copy.
5. Deselect the entries that are currently selected by pressing the
Shift key and the right mouse button. Click on Edit > Paste
Before. There are now 48 entries in the palette. (All the entries in
the first row are not indexed– see the Nb of Pixels when selecting
these entries).
6. Select Pal. Oper > Optimize. The Optimize feature acts as internal
management. It ensures that there is only one entry for each colour
in the image. If there are several entries in the palette that are
identical, by selecting Optimize, all the pixels that are using this
colour now refer to the first entry of this redundant colour. This
means that all the entries in the second row are now indexed.
7. Click the Pal Oper > Cleanup button. The Cleanup button
removes all entries not being referenced by the image (the third
row of entries).
8. You now have a new palette that is representative of the entries in
your image and have cleaned up the palette to save space.
Note: The Optimize and Cleanup features also work on sets of
Note
selected entries.

Interaction with Editing Modes


In all editing modes, the colours of the current palette are available
for painting and editing the image. However, the following
differences apply:
• In the three RGB modes (RGB Only, Alpha Only, and RGBA), the
palette is simply a set of colours available for painting on the image.
By editing the palette entries, you do not change the pixels of the
image, you only change the colours available to paint on the image
(this is known as “true colour” mode).
• In the two Colour Index modes (dithered and undithered), every
pixel in the image references an entry in the palette. In this case,
when you edit the colour of a palette entry, you change the colour
of referenced pixels in the image.

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Creating and Reducing Colour Palettes

Selecting Palette Entries


You can enter Select mode by pressing the Shift key and clicking the
mouse. If you left-click in the palette and drag the cursor, it clears any
entries that are currently selected and begins a new entry selection.
By dragging the cursor in the palette, all entries to be selected have a black
outline surrounding them. When you release the left mouse button, the
outlined entries are selected and have a green and white outline.
While you are in Select mode, you can also drag the cursor above or
below the palette entries to scroll up or down the palette directly
without releasing the mouse button.
If you use the middle mouse button, the current selection is kept and
a new range of entries is either added to or removed from the current
selection. This new range is added to the current selection if the first
entry you clicked was unselected. The new range is removed from the
current selection if the first entry was selected.
If you right-click in the palette, all selected palette entries are deselected.
Release the Shift key to exit the Select mode.

Modifying the Palette


There are many ways you can modify the palette:
• Add and delete entries.
• Cut, copy, and paste entries in the same clip or different ones
• Swap entries.
• Invert the order of entries or sort entries.
• Establish a gradation between palette entries.
• Pick colours from the clip in order to select or update the
corresponding entries in the palette.
• Lock entries.
• Load and save user-defined palettes

Adding and Deleting Entries


If you click below the last palette entry, a new line of black entries is
added to the palette. These palette entries can then be filled by
selecting a colour from the Colour Wheel or Colour Spread and then
clicking in the appropriate entry.

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Creating a Palette

To delete one or multiple entries, select the entry or entries that you
want to cut and select Cut from the Edit menu.

Creating a Gradation
You can do a gradation on the palette by following these steps:
1. Make a selection in the palette by holding down the Shift key and
selecting with the left mouse button.
Note: If no selection is made, the entire palette is considered to be
Note
selected, so the whole palette changes.

2. Click the Grad button.


3. You are prompted to choose the first colour where the gradation
will start. You do this by left-clicking the appropriate palette entry.
4. You are then prompted to choose the last colour where the
gradation will end. You do this by right-clicking the appropriate
palette entry.
5. Click the Grad button again and the gradation is performed on
the palette.
Note: You can exit Grad mode by clicking the Esc key.
Note

Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Palette Entries


In the Edit menu you can cut, copy, and paste one or more palette
entries from one palette to another. The Edit operations affect only
entries that are selected.
You can edit the palette by following these steps:
1. Select an entry or entries in the palette with the Shift key and
using the left mouse button.
2. Select Copy or Cut from the Edit menu.
3. If you select Cut, the selected entries are cut from the palette.
To see how many entries have been cut from the palette, the box next
to Buffer indicates how many colours were cut.
4. If you want to copy the entry, click the Copy button after you
make a selection in the palette.

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Creating and Reducing Colour Palettes

5. Your selections are cut or copied to the palette clipboard and can
now be pasted in the same palette or a different palette.
6. Select either the Paste Before and Paste After options, as
described below, to paste the palette entry or entries where you
want them.
When pasting clipboard contents, the following rules apply:

Paste Before
• If you choose Paste Before and no entry is selected, it inserts the
entries of the copy buffer before the foreground entry, moving all
the other entries forward.
• If you have made a selection, it replaces the entries of the selection
with the entries in the copy buffer until the end of the selection of
the copy buffer is encountered.

Paste After
• If no entry is selected, it inserts the entries of the copy buffer after
the foreground entry, moving all the other entries forward.
• If you have made a selection, it replaces the entries of the selection
with the entries in the copy buffer until the end of the selection of
the copy buffer is encountered.
Note: Palette clipboard operations can be applied between
Note
different textures in the clip database. For example, you can
copy entries from the current texture, go into the clip
database, select another texture, and paste the entries in the
new texture palette.

Swapping Palette Groups


The Swap button lets you switch two selected groups in the palette.
1. Select the palette source entries.
2. Click Swap (selection colour changes from green to purple).
3. Select destination entries (displayed in green) by holding the Shift key.
4. Click Swap again to apply.
If both selections have the same number of entries, all selections are
swapped; otherwise, the number of items in the smallest selection set
will be swapped.

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Creating a Palette

You can exit Swap mode by pressing the Esc key.

Locking a Palette Entry


Locking a palette is useful if you want to protect it from being changed
when doing a gradation, invert, palette generation, sort, swap, cut/
paste, optimize, or cleanup some of the entries in the palette.
1. Select an entry in the palette.
2. Click on the Lock button (or use the l key to enter Lock mode).
These entries will have a diagonal line through them to indicate
that they are locked.
3. To unlock entries that are locked, select the locked entries and
click on the Lock button again.

Saving and Loading a Palette


1. To save a palette, click the SaveP button.
2. The browser appears opened to the current PALETTES chapter.
3. Specify a name for the palette and click Save.
4. To load a palette into the Paint or Palette dialog box, click the
LoadP button and select the palette you want from the
appropriate PALETTES chapter.

Loading an Existing Palette


If you wish to load an existing colour palette rather than generate one
from scratch, click on the LoadP button. A file browser allow you to
load a palette (.PAL) file or extract a palette file associated with an
image; for example, select a Digitizer (.DGT) file and load the palette
associated with it.

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Creating and Reducing Colour Palettes

Editing
When you modify individual palette entries, the only pixels in the
colour-indexed image which change colour are those which reference
these modified entries. For example, if 1500 pixels reference a palette
entry which was green and you change it to red, these 1500 pixels are
now red. The result may be quite different if you apply the modified
palette – see Regenerating the Image below.

Regenerating the Image


If you modify the palette and then select Apply, the colour-indexed
image is completely regenerated. In this case, the system makes the
best approximation of the original image based on the current
palette as a whole. The number of pixels referring to a palette entry
may change each time an Apply is performed, especially if some
colours change in the palette. Using the green-to-red example, there
may now be 6500 pixels which now reference that same red entry.
Note: If the palette entries are selected, by clicking Apply you can
Note
generate an image that approximates the original image by
using only the selected palette entries. If no entries are
selected, the whole palette is used.

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Colour Reduction Methods

Colour Reduction Methods


SOFTIMAGE|3D includes two colour reduction techniques. The first is
a neural network technique and the second is a cluster-based technique.

Neural Network Method


The neural network method randomly studies an image’s pixels and
builds a palette based on what it “learns” about the colours in the
pixels. The Quality slider controls the percentage of the image the
method studies. At its highest setting, the neural network method
studies all the pixels in an image. At lower settings, it studies a
randomly chosen subset of the pixels.
The Neural Network technique produces the best results and is the
default colour reduction method.

Cluster-based Method
The cluster-based methods build an RGB cube of colour based on the
colours in the image. They subdivide the cube into increasingly
smaller ones until there are as many cubes as necessary to create the
number of colours specified for the new palette.
From the final RGB cubes:
• The Variance-based method cuts across all the RGB cubes’ axes (at
a position where the variance among the colours in the axis is
minimal). This allows it to determine a colour palette based on a
better representation of the colours in the cubes.
• The Median-based method (the old method) cuts across a single
axis of the RGB cubes’ axes (along the median of the colour
population). It cuts across the axis that contains the most colours
and determines the new palette from there.

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Creating and Reducing Colour Palettes

Generating a Colour-reduced Image

Reducing a Single Image


It is possible to reduce a single image or a sequence of images. When
you reduce a single image, you load the image, and all the colours in
the image are represented in the colour palette. You reduce the
number of colours in the palette according to how large you want
your palette to be. When you reduce a sequence of images, you load
the number of images, indicate the start and end frames, and then
reduce your palette the same way as reducing a single image.
1. Select an object.
2. Choose the C_Reduction menu command in the Tools module.
3. Click Load in the Colour Reduction dialog box that appears.
4. When you click on this button, a file browser appears. Choose
the image file you wish to load.

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Generating a Colour-reduced Image

The image is displayed in the display area below the Load button.
Notice the number of colours at the top of the Original Picture Area.
This indicates the number of colours that exists in image.

5. Select the Generate option from in the Pal. Oper. menu. The
Palette Parameters dialog box appears in which you can enter the
number of colours and bits per colour channel, as well as the
method: neural network, median, average, and pixel average.
6. Click either the Apply Dithering or Apply Undithering button to
display the resulting colour-indexed image in the display area to
the right of the original image.
When you select either option, a browser is displayed in which you enter
the prefix for the resulting images, and select an output image type.
7. The corresponding colour palette is shown in the palette display.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 235


Creating and Reducing Colour Palettes

At this point, you can do any of the following:


• Edit the generated palette as described in Modifying the Palette on
page 228.
• View the results immediately by applying the modified palette to
the generated image.
• Change the colour generation parameters and repeat the generation
process.
• Save the generated colour palette with or without saving the
generated image (see Saving Your Work on page 239).
Experiment as much as you wish to get the look you want.

During the Reduction


• First, source files are checked for readability; if some are
unreadable, you are asked whether you wish to continue.
• During the reduction, a message box shows the amount of work
done. If output file names already exist, you may be asked whether
you wish to overwrite them.
• At any point, you can press Esc to stop the operation. Since the key
is only verified when going from one image to the next, you may
have to keep it pressed for a few seconds.
• If no errors occur during the operation, a message advises you only
of the number of messages reduced.
• If errors have occurred during the operation, a message box
displays the following information at the end of the operation:
- Number of images reduced
- Number to do
- Number skipped (unreadable)
- Number of errors

236 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Generating a Colour-reduced Image

Reducing a Sequence of Images


The reduction process for a sequence of images is basically the same
as for a single image, except that you need to specify the start and end
frames for the image sequence.
You can perform the second and third steps in either order:
1. Choose the C_Reduction menu command in the Tools module.
2. Click the Load button.
3. A file browser appears in which you can select one frame from
the sequence you wish to use. For example, if the sequence
includes robot.1.pic to robot.100.pic, you may load any
image between 1 and 100, such as robot40.pic.
4. Select the Sequence option.
5. Fill in the Start and End Frame values to correspond to the
complete or partial image sequence you want to reduce. For
example, you may wish to reduce frames 1 to 75.
6. Set the Step value to determine frames to be skipped. For example,
if you specify a value of 3, every third frame is used in the process.
Follow the rest of the steps as for the single image process.

Generating a Palette for a Sequence


With the C_Reduction command, you can generate a palette for a
sequence. Here’s how:
1. Choose the C_Reduction menu command in the Tools module.
2. In the Colour Reduction dialog box, select the Sequence option
to generate a palette for a sequence.
3. Select Generate from the pull-down menu and it generates the
best palette for the desired sequence.
4. Enter the start and end frame numbers in the Start and End text
boxes. For example, if you put 1 for Start and 10 for End, it
computes the best palette only for frames 1 through 10. This
replaces the current palette.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 237


Creating and Reducing Colour Palettes

Generating a New Palette from a Models’ Textures


(Database)
To create a palette based on textures applied to a model in a database:
1. Choose the C_Reduction menu command in the Tools module.
2. In the Colour Reduction dialog box, select Best as the Palette type.
Selecting Best ensures that you generate a new palette from all the
textures in the database. Compute is not available when creating
a new palette from multiple textures because it would generate
individual palettes for each texture file in the database.
3. Choose Generate from the Pal. Oper menu. A browser appears
and displays the models in your database. The names of the
textures applied to the models appear beside them.
4. Select as many model/texture combinations as you want (press
Shift and click the models or textures).
5. Click the Load button to open the Palette Parameters dialog box.
For more information about the options in this dialog box, see
Generate on page 287 of the Reference Guide.

Applying a Palette to Models’ Textures (Database)


In addition to being able to apply a new palette to images and
sequences, you can do the same with an entire database of images.
To apply a palette to a database of images:
1. In the Colour Reduction dialog box, choose Apply Dith. or
Apply Undith. from the Pal. Oper menu. A browser appears and
displays the models in your database. The names of the textures
appear beside them.
2. Select as many models as you want (press Shift and then click
the models).
3. Click the Load button to open the Output Reduced Images
dialog box.
4. Set the File Format for the new images and then choose to save
the images in the same database or in a new one.
All the images associated with the models you chose in the
database are analyzed and colour reduced.

238 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Generating a Colour-reduced Image

Saving Your Work


You can either save the colour-reduced image or save only the palette.
• To save the colour-reduced image under a file name, click the Save
located above the colour-indexed image and specify a name in the
browser that appears.
• To save only the palette, click the SaveP button located below the
colour-indexed image in the bottom right of the dialog box. The
usual file browser appears, allowing you to save a palette in both
PAL and DGT formats.

Resizing an Image
You can resize a single image. To do so, load the image in the Colour
Reduction dialog box and click the Resize button. In the Resize
Image dialog box, set the new size of the image (in pixels).
Bilinear interpolation is automatically selected, which creates new
pixels by weighting the colours in four adjacent pixels of the source
image. This smooths out the artifacts that are introduced by the
resizing process. Click the Save button above the Display Area to save
the resized image

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 239


Creating and Reducing Colour Palettes

240 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Index

Index rotating 111


saving 2D texture files 98
scaling 111
Numerics selecting 2D texture files 98
2D textures 95 setting current 134
alpha channel 115 shaders 141
alpha mask 106 support 110
animating 152 transforming 112
script files 153 tiling 113
sequence 152 transforming 111
assigning to polygons 135 translating 111
blending with material 106, 107 viewing information 100
copying 131 3D textures 189
UV textures on polygons 113 alpha mask 200
deforming a model for mapping 105 angle of pattern 198
deleting 2D texture files 100 assigning to polygons 205
displaying 109 associating 204
editing UV textures on polygons 173 blending with material 200, 201
files 98 cloud 196
loading picture files 96 colour 196
mapping copying 203
alpha channel 115 creating 191
bump 119 deleting files 195
displacement 120 disassociating 204
effects 115 editing 196
methods 102 iteration of pattern 198
reflectivity 118 marble 196
RGB intensity 115 palette 197
to polygon vertices 136 pattern effects 198
transparency 116 pattern type 196
offsetting 111 power of pattern 198
Painterly Effects 170 previewing 194
painting 161 RGB intensity mask 200
palette 226 rotating 202
picture files 96 saving files 192
pixel interpolation 130 scaling 202
previewing 99 selecting 193
projection 110 shaders 206
realigning on multiple polygons 114 spacing of pattern 198
reflection maps 122 strength of pattern 198
mental ray 124 transforming 202
non-raytraced 123 translation 202
raytraced 122 viewing information 194
RGB intensity mask 107 wood 196

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 241


Index

A C
Adding an alpha channel 106 Caustics 43
Alpha channel how calculated 44
adding 106 photons 44
mapping, 2D textures 115 Clips
mask 106, 200 colour-indexed 172
alpha standalone program 106 creating 167
Ambient illumination cutting and pasting 166
area 68 editing 164
blending with 2D textures 107 see also Painting
blending with 3D textures 201 selecting 163
global 217 Cloud 3D texture pattern 196
Angle on 3D texture 198 Colours
Animating 3D texture 196
2D textures 152, 153 colour-indexed clip 172
materials 86 HLS model 69
Area lights 36 HSV model 69
Assigning light 18
material 69
2D textures to polygons 135
painting 165
3D textures to polygons 205
palette 70
local material to polygons 84
reduced image 234
Associating
regenerating 232
3D textures 204
saving 239
materials 82
RGB model 69
Atmosphere
Cone angle 21
ambient illumination 217 Constant shading model 66
depth fading 212 Copying
fog 218 2D textures 131
volume shaders 215 Puzzle custom effect 132
B 3D textures 203
materials 81
Blending palette entries 229
alpha channel mask 106, 200 UV textures on polygons 113
material and 2D textures 106, 107 Creating
material and 3D textures 200, 201 3D textures 191
RGB intensity mask 107, 200 clips 167
Blinn shading model 67 fog 218
Blur, static 76 light 18
Bump mapping 119, 121 palettes 226
displacement 120 shadows 34
BumpMap custom effect 121 CubicMap custom effect 138

242 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Index

Custom effects E
applying 2D textures 139
Editing
assigning textures to polygons 138
bump mapping 121 3D texture 196
copying 2D textures 132 clips 164
deforming a model for mapping 105 palette modes 227
Custom shader ball 208 polygon material 85
Cutting UV textures on polygons 173
clips 166 Excluding objects from light 33
palette entries 229 F
Cylindrical mapping method 103
Falloff, light 19
D Files
Defining 2D texture 98
colours 69 deleting 100
material 61 3D texture 192
definition 42, 43 deleting 195
Deformation picture 96
bump mapping 121 script 153
displacement mapping 120 Fog 218
model for mapping 105 G
surface 120
Deleting GC_AutoProject command
2D texture files 100 using 136
3D texture files 195 Generating
Depth fading colour-indexed clip 172
simulating 212 colour-reduced images 234
volume shaders 215 Global ambience 217
Depth map 34 Global Illumination 42
Diffuse illumination Global illumination 44
area 68 photons 44
blending with 2D textures 107 Gradation in palette 229
blending with 3D textures 201 Grouping polygons 85
Disassociating
3D textures 204
H
materials 82 Hierarchies for material definition 78
Displaying HLS colour model 69
2D texture support and projection 110 how calculated 44
2D textures 109 HSV colour model 69
Distance
depth fading 212 I
fog effect 218 Illumination 68
light’s effect 19 ambient 217

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 243


Index

blending areas with 2D textures 107 Locking palette entries 231


blending areas with 3D textures 201
Image resolution 130 M
Including objects in light 33 Mapping
Infinite light 15 2D texture effects 115
Information 2D textures to polygon vertices 136
2D texture 100 alpha channel values 115
3D texture 194 bump 119, 121
Iteration on 3D texture 198 displacement 120
reflection 122
K mental ray 124
Keyframes non-raytraced 123
object animation 87 raytraced 122
reflectivity 118
L RGB intensity values 115
Label custom effect 139 transparency 116
Lambert shading model 66 Mapping methods
Layer fog 218 2D textures 102
Light 15 cylindrical 103
colour 18 planar 102
cone angle 21 spherical 103
creating 18 UV 104
defining 87 Marble 3D texture pattern 196
excluding objects 33 Masks
falloff 19 alpha channel 106, 200
including objects 33 RGB intensity 107, 200
infinite 15 Material 61
intensity 19 animating 86
mode in Schematic window 17 assigning to polygons 84
point 15 associating 82
shaders 41 blending with 2D textures 106, 107
shadow objects 40 blending with 3D textures 200, 201
shadows 34 colour palette 70
area lights 36 colours 69
depth map 34 copying 81
raytraced 35 defining 63
soft 35 disassociating 82
spot 15 editing polygon 85
spread angle 21 hierarchies 78
umbra intensity 39 illumination areas 68
Light mode, Schematic window 17 local 84
Loading palettes 231 optimizing 82
Local material to polygons 84 previewing 75

244 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Index

reflectivity 72 Painting
refraction 73 2D textures 161
selecting 65 colour indexed clips 172
setting 83 colours 165
shaders 88 creating a clip 167
shading models 66 cutting and pasting a clip 166
sharing 82 editing a clip 164
static blur 76 Painterly Effects 170
transparency 73 selecting a clip 163
Material Editor 63 Palette 70, 197
Matter mode, Schematic window 62 background colours 165
mental ray colour-indexed clip 172
area lights 38 copying entries 229
mental ray renderer creating 226
2D texture shaders 141 cutting entries 229
3D texture shaders 206 editing modes 227
area lights 36 foreground colours 165
custom shader ball 208 gradation 229
displacement mapping 120 loading 231
light shaders 41 locking entries 231
material shaders 88 pasting entries 229
saving 231, 239
reflection mapping 124
selecting entries 228
secondary rays 124
swapping groups 230
shadow objects 40
Pasting
volume shaders 215
clips 166
Modifying
palette entries 229
polygon groupings 85
Pattern, 3D texture 196
see also Editing or Changing
Penumbra area, shadows 36
N Phong shading model 67
Photon Director 45, 50
Non-raytraced reflection mapping 123 Photon Map 53
Normals 11 Photons 44
Picture files 96
O
loading 96
Objects script file 153
material definition 61 sequential animation 152
surfaces 11 Pixel interpolation 130
Offsetting 2D textures 111 Planes, mapping 102
Optimizing materials 82 Point light 15
Polygons
P assigning 2D textures 135
Painterly Effects 170 assigning 3D textures 205

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 245


Index

assigning local material 84 S


assigning material 84
Saving
copying UV textures 113
2D texture files 98
editing material 85
3D texture files 192
editing UV textures 173
colour-reduced image 239
modifying groups 85 palettes 231, 239
realigning 2D textures 114 Scaling
setting material 83 2D textures 111
uv texture mapping 136 3D textures 202
Power on 3D texture 198 Schematic window
Previewing Light mode 17
2D textures 99 Matter mode 62
3D textures 194 Script files 153
material 75 Selecting
shaders 208 2D texture files 98
Procedural textures, see 3D textures 3D texture files 193
Projection, 2D texture 110 clips 163
Puzzle custom effect 132 material 65
palette entries 228
R Sequential animation 152
Raytraced reflection mapping 122 Setting
Raytraced shadows 35 current 2D texture 134
Realigning 2D textures to multiple current material 83
polygons 114 SetVertexColours command
Reflection mapping 122 using 184
mental ray 124 Shade view mode 17, 62
setting up 109
non-raytraced 123
Shaders
raytraced 122
2D texture 141
Reflectivity 72
3D texture 206
mapping 118
custom shader ball 208
Refraction 73 light 41
Regenerating colour-reduced image 232 material 88
Repeating 2D texture pattern 113 volume 215
Resolution 130 Shading models 66
RGB Blinn 67
colour model 69 Constant 66
intensity values 107, 115, 200 Lambert 66
Rotating Phong 67
2D textures 111 shadow object 67
3D textures 202 Shadows
Roughness, see Bump mapping area lights 36

246 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D


Index

creating 34 U
depth map 34
Umbra intensity, shadows 36
object 40, 67
Unwrap custom effect 105
penumbra area 35
UV mapping method 104
raytraced 35 polygons 136
soft 35 UV textures
umbra intensity 35 on polygons 113, 173
Sharing materials 82
Simulation of depth fading 212 V
Spacing on 3D texture 198 Vertex Colours
Specular illumination automatically applying 183
area 68 Vertices, mapping 2D textures 136
blending with 2D textures 107 View modes, shade 17, 62
blending with 3D textures 201 Viewing
Spherical mapping method 103 2D texture information 100
Spot light 15 3D texture information 194
cone and spread angles 21 animation 87
Spread angle 21 Volume shaders 215
Static blur 76
W
Strength on 3D texture 198
Support, 2D texture 110 Wood 3D texture pattern 196
transforming 112 X
Surfaces
material 61 XY mapping method 102
XZ mapping method 102
normals 11
Swapping palette groups 230 Y
T YZ mapping method 102
Textures
2D, see 2D textures
3D, see 3D textures
Tiling 2D textures 113
Transforming
2D texture support 112
2D textures 111
3D textures 202
Translating
2D textures 111
3D textures 202
Transparency 73
mapping 116

SOFTIMAGE|3D Defining Materials and Textures 247


Index

248 Defining Materials and Textures SOFTIMAGE|3D

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