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Images, Textures & rendering


Kaare Baekgaard

Question

Importing images into a vectorworks document is time consuming. Creating new textures is also time consuming. In fact the majority of time spent on a project goes into creating & mapping textures. This is time lost from creative tasks. I would like to see the following improvements in the next version of the program:

I would like to be able to drag & drop image files into vectorworks.

Then I would like to be able to ctr-click any image, and transform it into a texture, automatically using its present size as the default size of that texture.

I use a lot of transparency in my texture. They are almost allways created as mask transparencies reusing "this textures colour", and with white as the transparent colour. It takes a lot of clicks, however, to get to this result. So I would like to be able to have this option as a default "package" in the pull down menu. (or the ability to create such a "package".

I often have over 50 textures in a single document. So I would like to be able to place them in folders - similar to the symbol folders.

I would like to be able to organise symbols & textures into folders by drag-and-drop.

I would like to be able to separate the texture mapping palette from the object info palette.

And finally: I would like to be able to include animations into a rendering batch. As it is, I have to make them one at the time.

Thanks for listening, and thank You for a program, that has become a true benefit to my professional life.

Regards

Kaare Baekgaard

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Well today's a quiet day, so here are two more hot wish list items for renderworks:

1: The ability to disable one or several objects ability to cast shadows. This would be great for rendering interiors - by disabling the walls and ceiling from casting shadows I can use 1-3 sunlights to create all the shadow effect I need - and do it fast.

2: The ability to apply a texture called "Alpha". Any object with this texture will create transparent areas in the rendering - or a separate alpha channel in the resulting image file.

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quote:

Originally posted by Kaare Baekgaard:

2: The ability to apply a texture called "Alpha". Any object with this texture will create transparent areas in the rendering - or a separate alpha channel in the resulting image file.

In VW 9 and 10 you can do this, its called mask transparency and its under the transparency shader in the texture dialogue box.

Good Luck

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Again, if I understand you correctly you should look into the Mask Transparency option under the transparency shader in the Material Creation dialogue. What you can do (in VW 10) is select a color in your image based textures, and assign that color to be transparent.

It also exists in VW 9, but in a more primitive form.

Good Luck.

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Thank You Mike.

The difference is subtle but important:

With mask transparencies, I get a transparent area in any object using that texture. Behind the objects that are asigned these transparent textures, I see whatever objects and surfaces, that shows through the transparency.

With "alpha-texture" I open the resulting file in Photoshop - and any area designated the "alpha texture" show up blank - with holes knocked through the entire image file. All I see in those areas are the background checkers, that indicates a transparent area in Photoshop. U see?

Unless I have misunderstood some part of the program very fundamentally, the kind of transparency, You are describing is the first.

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