Custom shape with custom texture from same source image

[Stevmic]

Good evening,

 

I'm hoping someone can help me with a bit of a step by step on how I might create custom shapes with a custom texture where the shape and texture are from the same source imaghe. There may be an existing guide somewhere but I simply don't know what to search for and it's not for a lack of trying.

 

I've not been using Vectorworks for long and am self taught so please be gentle.

 

I'd like to take an image similar to this and slice it up into flat panels as part of a set design. The idea would be to have the design printed and mounted directly to a freestanding substrate around 50mm thick.

 

Using an image prop doesn't work as I need the item to have thickness.

 

I can trace the shape I need and import the image as a texture but getting the two to marry up is borderline impossible and very time consuming to try.

 

Any help appreciated before I lose yet more time trying and getting nowhere.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Mike

[Jeff Prince]

Your post is lacking the image you mention.  If you post a diagram of what you want to make and the image you are wanting to use, one of us can help you out pretty easily.

[BartHays]

Yeah, an image would help but I think your intuition is correct. It's work. 

 

A) Make the wall

1. First, crop your image so that there is no extra border around the intended image area (this will help when placing the texture)
2. Next drag a copy into a VW drawing layer 
3. use the Modify>Scale> by Dims to make the width of the image the width of the eventual wall panel
4. Trace the image using the polyline tool
5. Extrude to 50mm ( if needed rotate the wall so that it is vertical)

B) Create the texture

1. Create a new RenderWorks texture
2. Set Color to be "Image"
3. Select the same image file, and OK
4. Add any other adjustments you want to the texture ( I usually set the reflection to plastic, change the color to 50% gray, and the brightness to 90)
5. Make sure the Image Size is set to your wall width

C) Map the texture to the wall

1. I usually add a flat black texture to the wall first,
2. Then drag the image wall texture to the front face of the wall ( holding CTRL for single face). Or, use the Texture tool with Apply to Face
3. Now because VW is frustrating, you will likely have to flip the texture along one or more axes:
   1. use the OIP>Rendering tab, in the list of applied textures for that object,
   2. pick the Image texture,
   3. pick the Flip Horizontally and/or Flip Vertically button

If everything goes well, the texture should fit the wall nicely, even if it has an organic shape, because the wall and the texture have the same "Width"

 

 

[Stevmic]

9 hours ago, Jeff Prince said:

Your post is lacking the image you mention.  If you post a diagram of what you want to make and the image you are wanting to use, one of us can help you out pretty easily.

Thank you. Clearly I'm showing how rusty I am on a forum and for some reason the link stripped out of the post 🤦🏻

 

 

[Stevmic]

4 hours ago, BartHays said:

Yeah, an image would help but I think your intuition is correct. It's work. 

 

A) Make the wall

1. First, crop your image so that there is no extra border around the intended image area (this will help when placing the texture)
2. Next drag a copy into a VW drawing layer 
3. use the Modify>Scale> by Dims to make the width of the image the width of the eventual wall panel
4. Trace the image using the polyline tool
5. Extrude to 50mm ( if needed rotate the wall so that it is vertical)

B) Create the texture

1. Create a new RenderWorks texture
2. Set Color to be "Image"
3. Select the same image file, and OK
4. Add any other adjustments you want to the texture ( I usually set the reflection to plastic, change the color to 50% gray, and the brightness to 90)
5. Make sure the Image Size is set to your wall width

C) Map the texture to the wall

1. I usually add a flat black texture to the wall first,
2. Then drag the image wall texture to the front face of the wall ( holding CTRL for single face). Or, use the Texture tool with Apply to Face
3. Now because VW is frustrating, you will likely have to flip the texture along one or more axes:
   1. use the OIP>Rendering tab, in the list of applied textures for that object,
   2. pick the Image texture,
   3. pick the Flip Horizontally and/or Flip Vertically button

If everything goes well, the texture should fit the wall nicely, even if it has an organic shape, because the wall and the texture have the same "Width"

 

 

 

Ahhh thank you so much! Not least for correctly interpreting my babble perfectly as this is exactly what I have been trying to do.

 

Good to know I was on the right track but I'm pretty sure I can now see where I've been going wrong. One of those frustratingly simple missed steps that's had me chasing my tail for hours.

 

I shall attack it again today and report back.

[Stevmic]

Thanks again for the assist and as promised here's the output.

 

Original source image chopped up into sections, individually traced extruded and texture mapped to give me different depths to play with.

 

 

 

 

 

A quick follow up question... Is there a reason I can't set the Bottom Z location numerically? I can only drag and drop which I can get to with patience but it would be quicker, easier and more accurate if I could just set the height.

Edited June 12 by Stevmic

[Tom W.]

7 minutes ago, Stevmic said:

A quick follow up question... Is there a reason I can't set the Bottom Z location numerically? I can only drag and drop which I can get to with patience but it would be quicker, easier and more accurate if I could just set the height.

 

If you make them into symbols you can then set the Z-height in the OIP. Plus give them a 2D Top/Plan representation which might be useful...?