Dave Donley

Hello propstuff: You shouldn't have to copy the layers manually to convert to VW 11, my theory is that this file has these formats from the VW 10.0.0 texture library. It should be enough to resave them with 10.5. If you get another file like this let me know and I'll try to diagnose what exactly is going on. HTH,

Hello again propstuff: Is the file that you are working in a fresh 11 file or was it brought into VW 11 from 10.5?

Hello propstuff: This is an old problem that was introduced with 10.0.0. The fix is to open your texture library files in 10.5, make some small change (like draw rectangle and delete it) and re-save them (with 10.5). The 10.0.0 files were incorrect and re-saving the texture library files with the newer version fixes the problem with the record formats. I would recommend re-saving these files with 10.5, then opening and saving them for use in 11. HTH, [ 08-24-2004, 11:48 AM: Message edited by: Dave Donley ]

Hello Macabuser: If you are wanting to texture a polygonal object like an extruded rectangle that isn't made of NURBS surfaces, just use the Model->Convert To 3D Polygons command for this.

Hello propstuff: These are just handles so you have something to click on to adjust the spread and beam angles. It is a known bug that they move toward the center, and this will be fixed with an upcoming release. HTH,

Hello RickBern: The Wrapped Leather Bump shader do square tiles, if you set the Irregularity to 0. (Maybe also the set the Curve Detail to 0, I can't remember offhand).

Hello SacSurfin': Use the Constant Reflectivity shader to make the light geometry look like it is bright. You can also set it to not cast shadows so that you can put the actual light object inside. [ 08-21-2004, 01:36 PM: Message edited by: Dave Donley ]

Hello squirrelboy71: Try the Translucent Reflectivity shader. This one will light up from backlighting. If you need the texture to project the image you can try the Image Transparency shader.

Hello again Ziska: OK, I think I finally know what is going wrong here. It looks like the mask is created OK now. The reason why the letters disappear when you switch the color shader to Object Attribute has to do with the way the texturing uses the aspect ratio of the color shader. When the texture has a color shader that uses the same image as the mask everything lines up since they both have the same aspect ratio. When the Color shader is changed to Object Attribute, the mask is stretched to an aspect ratio of 1, since the color image isn't there anymore (the color shader determines the overall aspect ratio for the texture). Since the mask image's aspect ratio isn't 1 the letters get stretched vertically. That is one problem. The other is that the origin of the default mapping is aligned with the lower-left corner of the mask image. Your mask image has a band of whitespace in the lower half with the letters starting in the upper left corner so the letters aren't showing on the extrude with the default mapping. To get a mask with letters that show up and are proportioned correctly the mask image should be created square with the lettering aligned to the lower left corner. If you import this kind of image you shouldn't have to fiddle with the default mapping at all if the extruded rectangle has the lettering's aspect ratio. You should also be able to keep it using Perimeter mapping. The extrude should use a rectangle with same aspect ratio as the lettering, so that the lettering just fits in the rectangle. The texture size field should be set to equal the width of the extruded rectangle. If all these things are set this way you shouldn't have to modify the default mapping. If you are using 11.0.1 the Attribute Mapping tool can help to adjust the offset and scale of the textures, but it doesn't work with Perimeter mapping, only Plane, Cylindrical, and Spherical mapping. I had to re-attach a color shader to the texture so that I could see the object to change it to Plane mapping and then use the Set By Face tool (on the far right) and clicked on the extrude's top face to put the mapping on the top. Then I could go out to the document window and use the Attribute Mapping tool on the extrude to adjust the offset and scale. HTH,

Hello Ziska: Can you send me the file? Does the black and white mask shown in the transparent color mask dialog look correct? I.e. the background is black?

Here is another site that has some nice images: http://www.mayang.com/textures/

Hello snowman: Try using the Grid Transparency shader. It will make square screen-like holes. Use either of the Metal Reflectivity shaders for the metallic look. If you want the holes to appear more round than square, applying a Dimple Bump shader can make the holes appear more circular even though they are still squares. Make sure that the Grid shader dimensions for width/height and grid size add up to 1 so that the dimples line up with the grid holes. It would also be possible to create a bitmap with white for the metal and a black circle for the hole and use that as an Image Bump, but using the built-in shaders may be faster/easier.

This site has some nice images that are quite suitable for texturing, including skies: http://perso.club-internet.fr/lemog/lemog_textures/bois_placages.htm#

Hello Kaare: Thanks for the info, we will make a note of this wish. The Set By Face Tool (the last tool button) may help put the space in a usable orientation as well.

The image prop is texture-mapped geometry. If you choose Crossed Planes the geometry is a group of two 3D polygons. Otherwise it is a 3D polygon. The image prop automates the work you would have to do to get the geometry to match the image's aspect ratio. If it is a plugin it can auto-rotate. If you want to map to a curved surface, create a texture that has a non-repeating image color shader, apply it to the surface, then use the Attribute Mapping tool to place it where you want. The texture should be given a realistic size for a poster, like a couple of feet wide.

Hello Kaare: I'm sorry to hear that. What orientation are you trying to get on your object? The same tools are available in the Edit Mapping dialog as they were in VW 10, the offset and rotate tools work the same way if you hold down the control/command key. The Object Info palette widgets and the Attribute Mapping tool are only modifying the 2D Modifiers, as shown in the Edit Mapping dialog. If you want to change the 3D placement or orientation of the texture space you have to use the Edit Mapping dialog's tools.

There is no need to use trial and error to scale the texture, if you already know what size you want it to be. The Size field in the Edit Texture dialog is the width of one repetition of the image shader, so you can put 36" in the Size field if you want the texture to be 36" wide. Alternatively, if you know a particular part of the image is a specific size, click the Set By Image button next to the Size field. In the dialog that follows, the line segment you see can be set to a particular length, so if you know a part of the image is supposed to be 8" tall, move the start and end points of the line segment to match and type 8" for the length. The Size field in the Edit Texture dialog will then be calculated from that. The Scale field for mapping is only really necessary if you don't have a specific size in mind and/or want to set the texture size by "feel". Or if a particular object needs to have its own distinct size relative to other objects that use the same texture you can override the texture size for that one object. p.s. This is different for image fills (Kristen's suggestion), which is the way to do it if you only need 2D. [ 07-13-2004, 01:20 PM: Message edited by: Dave Donley ]

Hello Ziska: Model->Create Image Prop. Uncheck Create Plugin, Crossed Planes, and Auto Rotate to Viewer. This will create a texture mapped 3D polygon that you can place wherever you want. You can use this for pictures, signs, rugs, etc. If it is created as a plugin you are limited to rotating around the z-axis because it is a plugin.

Hello Tasfire: What mentalist said. Also, if you can send me a file with this skylight setup in it I can try out some things. I was doing renderings of my shed that I want to change into a greenhouse and a Translucent Plastic with Plain Transparency worked pretty good for a white diffuse skylight (it looked stark white from the inside). I stopped short of putting point lights under it but that is the way to simulate an area light like this.

Hello Kevin: The Skydome lights symbol is just a hemisphere of directional lights contained in a symbol. You insert it into the drawing like any other symbol. You can adjust the brightness of it with the Object Info palette's brightness multiplier slider. I think the one on VectorDepot is a bit bright. The lights are intended to provide the light you would get in the real world from the sky, which is lighting things from a hemisphere overhead. Overhangs, nooks, etc. will not "see" as much of this light and so you get nice darkening of those areas, increasing the feeling of depth. Areas in shadow (not lit by the sun) or areas in partial shadow from the sun are most improved. You should try rendering your model both with mapped shadows and with ray-traced shadows to see which is faster for your model. I have seen both types be faster with different models. Note that this is not appropriate for interiors, only for external views of buildings, or other external views of "objects". Also, the resolution is too low for shadows of trees and things close to the building - if you get a lot of banding try using mapped shadows instead of raytraced. Good luck!

Hello RGyori: Were you using a saved view? If so, perhaps the classes are turned off in the saved view.

Hello LarryAZ: The three transom-like windows in the one wall are defined strangely. From the front view they look like nested rectangles that are offset vertically. The inner rectangle is below the outer trim for the window, so that the glass of the window would be below the trim. There is a bug where Artistic RW will crash in siturations like this one. The only cases I know of are with plugin windows that are defined strangely like this one. I tried converting this plugin window to 3D polygons and rendering, but ArtRW reported an out of memory error and didn't render anything (it didn't really run out of memory). I could track it down to the particular polygon, but since this plugin appears to have strange dimensions, it may be easier to fix it by correcting the plugin window parameters. If the values you have for these are what you want, please let me know and we'll see if it is a plugin bug. Thanks for the info,

Hello SacSurfin': Are the images used for textures and backgrounds very big, pixel width and height-wise?

Hello: Are there any plug-in windows and/or doors in the walls? What happens if you convert the walls with these into NURBS?

Hello smoothbase: There is a limit of 4000 wide x 32 bits color for imported images. p.s. Cool login name.