3D object opacity?

[Bruce Kieffer]

I want a 3D object to be 25% opacity. Is this possible? I don't see a way to do it.

[bcd]

you need to apply a transparent texture

opacity refers to 2d only

[CipesDesign]

bcd is exactly right. Use a Glass or Plastic Texture... You can set the level of Transparency in the Edit Texture dialog...

[Bruce Kieffer]

I created a glass texture my maple color. It appears gray. See my screen shot. The top transparent rectangle is a 2D rectangle and the color I want. The lower rectangle is a 3D object with the texture applied and the same color, it looks grey.

[CipesDesign]

Hi Bruce, you're right, it does look gray in Open GL. I think this is (yet another) Open GL bug. But try rendering in FQRW's. It then shows the color as desired...

[Bruce Kieffer]

That was rendered in FQRW.

[CipesDesign]

Interesting. In my quick test I had gray in Open GL and this in FQRW:

[Bruce Kieffer]

Peter,

I think the grey I see (call it) is due to my color blindness. What ever color it is, I want it to look like the upper transparent rectangle in my screen shot, and the texture looks like the lower rectangle in that image. I think that is what happens when you apply a glass texture even with a color.

[Tamsin Slatter]

Try this: Make a new texture, that has the color set to Obj Attribute. Set Transparency to Plain - 50%. That will retain the original 2D color of the object but reduce it's opacity by 50%.

Glass has special properties for altering the transmission of light through the surface. Plain is probably going to be a better option for this.

Hope that helps.

[Bruce Kieffer]

Tamsin,

You are a genius! That does what I want. Thanks.

[Tamsin Slatter]

I'm glad I could help.

That's a really useful texture to keep in your kit-bag for all sorts of projects.

[Cristiano Alves]

Goodnight.

Excellent post, thank you @Tamsin Slatter

However, I had some difficulties applying the texture that "assumed" the colour of the object's attribute.
I had to select "Use Material" and my object now has a wooden material. After removing the material, my object had a colour similar to wood. And now when I changed the color to red, the object took on the color.

Did I do something wrong to make just this workaround work?

Then another question, applying this texture in the editing mode of a Hybrid Object, the color is perfect:

However, when I transferred it to my project the colour was no longer "red", what am I doing wrong?

 

 

 

Question 2:
Is it possible that these textures don't add up with each other when they are side by side?

Let me explain,
This "solid" is a representation of the safety area for some fixtures (SFX), I need this to understand the impact of these fixtures on the stage.
Hence I have made the solid transparent so that its limits can be perceived.

If these areas add up, it ends up being as dark/solid as if there were no transparency.

Is it possible to remove the transparency add-effect?

I accept suggestions if this is not the best way to do it

[zoomer]

9 hours ago, Cristiano Alves said:

Is it possible to remove the transparency add-effect?

 

I don't think so.

I think this is proper behavior of partly transparent objects occluding

each other. Usually that is the way you want to achieve to make

the geometry legible.

 

And I can't remember to ever have seen such transparency effect

you ask for, in any other CAD or 3D Software I used.

 

 

I think you want these Volumes inside/being part of your Fixtures Symbols.

Just like Plant Symbols can have such a safety area Volume for roots

area of trees. Or I have seen similar for some building parts.

So you do not really have access to the Volumes geometry.

 

But so far I have not seen that such safety area dummies do overlap.

In BIM these are used for collision detection. But if these overlap themselves

it would not help the collision detection calculation either.

 

The effect you want to achieve would mean or lead to combining these

overlapping safety area Volumes by a Solid Addition.

Which perfectly describe the whole tabu area ....

That would also solve the Transparency effect and collision detection

calculation or visual control legibility.

 

But of course, separating safety area Volumes from Fixture Symbols

would make future changes of Fixtures more tedious and probably

more error prone.

[Cristiano Alves]

9 hours ago, zoomer said:

The effect you want to achieve would mean or lead to combining these

overlapping safety area Volumes by a Solid Addition.

Which perfectly describe the whole tabu area ....

That would also solve the Transparency effect and collision detection

calculation or visual control legibility.

 

But of course, separating safety area Volumes from Fixture Symbols

would make future changes of Fixtures more tedious and probably

more error prone.

What you are suggesting is that you separate the solid from the "Safety Area Volume" and "the fixture", is that it?

And after I used something like "Solid Addition" I suppose it's a feature of VW, to join all "Safety Area Volumes"

You are 100% right when you say that the solid of the security area is inside the Fixture so that it is always incorporated in the right place when I add a new Fixture.

It would be nice to be able to use this "Solid Addiction" in this case.

I will wait for an answer from someone who has another idea, otherwise, I will have to analyze your suggestion.

PS: About "Solid Addiction" I don't know what is it, I will search for this right now.

[zoomer]

1 hour ago, Cristiano Alves said:

PS: About "Solid Addiction" I don't know what is it, I will search for this right now.

 

Sounds cool ....

 

I meant,

select 2 or more Solids : Menu > Model > Add Solids

(Boolean Operation)

 

 

1 hour ago, Cristiano Alves said:

What you are suggesting is that you separate the solid from the "Safety Area Volume" and "the fixture", is that it?

 

"If applicable" .... that would be the easiest solution.

I think keeping safety area volumes inside Fixture Symbols makes much sense.

But I currently have no idea of how to workaround your transparency problem.

Overall I think stacked transparency is the smaller problem .....

 

You can still examine the 3D model in shaded mode, look at it from all directions

and easily see where potential objects might enter/collide with the safety area

where they get partly occluded by the transparent Volume ....

You may see it even better when 3-5 transparency layers overlap ....

 

My only other ideas are,

maybe even make volumes fill solid if you don't like the transparency effects and

for temporary collision examination activate the safety area Classed or make them

invisible again for designing or other purposes.

Or control visibility by Data Visualization

 

[Tobias Kern]

Hi,

 

I often use a data visualization in combination with a record (only for transparency)

to put certain objects into a transparent state.

 

The "trick" is to use a transparent texture (like Tamsin explained) and use it in the Datavisualization.

The Datavisualization will overwrite the current texture of the object with a transparent texture.

 

You can think this further and make more textures with different transparency values

if you like finer differences.

 

Greetings and have a great Christmastime

Tobi

[Cristiano Alves]

1 hour ago, Tobias Kern said:

Hi,

 

I often use a data visualization in combination with a record (only for transparency)

to put certain objects into a transparent state.

 

The "trick" is to use a transparent texture (like Tamsin explained) and use it in the Datavisualization.

The Datavisualization will overwrite the current texture of the object with a transparent texture.

 

You can think this further and make more textures with different transparency values

if you like finer differences.

 

Greetings and have a great Christmastime

Tobi

Interesting 😃
How do you link a Solid inside of a Hybrid Symbol with another data visualization setting?
Because when I active my data visualization setting all model gets the same colour (and transparency of course)


This is what I have on my data visualization settings:

 

I really appreciate your help.

Edited December 12, 2023 by Cristiano Alves

[Tobias Kern]

Hi Cristiano,

 

hope I understand your question, do you mean

you try to achieve different transparencies of your

symbol instances?

 

If you attach the record to the Solids inside the Symbol,

all Solids of all the symbol instances will get the same

transparency.

 

If you attach the record to the Symbol you

can overwrite the individual records

of the Solids inside the Symbol, but if you have

different solids inside the symbol with different

transparencies, all solids get the same transparency.

 

Greetings

Tobi

[Tobias Kern]

Hi,

 

these are the settings I use.

 

 

[Tobias Kern]

… sorry for the screenshots of the German version.