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Image Prop best practices


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We have been experimenting with image props in preparation to create a new library of regional plant materials to be shown in elevation and perspective.

Are there any recommendations or best practices for:

  • Image Size (width & height)
  • Resolution/DPI
  • Color Mode/Depth
  • File Format

Are there any pros & cons to be aware of for various setting?

 

I would like to nail down all these settings before turning my staff loose on what will be a fairly large task.  Our intent is to use these images for the construction of image props, display in the plant database in a custom report (to show a larger image and less data), and as Photoshop entourage.

 

Thanks for any help,

Jeff

 

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I go with 'actual' size. So a 15' tree would be a 15' tall image in Photoshop. I then based my DPI on my output. I prefer to use PSD files with an Alpha channel to make the image prop, I think that gives me better control over the masking than I can get in VWX. So, If I'm rendering to a tabloid size sheet,  and printing with an inkjet printer, I try to keep my image props at 1-2Mb. Sometimes that means 5DPI, sometimes 25, etc. 32 bit RGB color.

 

If you sometimes or often print for large format presentations, that would be another factor. In that case, I might consider two sets of props.

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  • 2 years later...

So 2 years have past since I set out to find the best way to create image props with Alpha Channels.  The question was never properly answered by by tech support when I had a Service Select membership.  Seems that there are some magic settings needed to get VWX to behave when exporting to other software formats, notably C4D.  Read my story of woe below.  Hopefully a solution manifests itself soon.  None of my imageprops will export correctly, VWX is altering the Alpha Channel on export!   100s of manhours wasted potentially 😞

 

 

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 years later...
  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
3 hours ago, jeff prince said:

5 years, no answer....

 

This was Vectorworks to C4D to Twinmotion.  I believe this problem is specific to how C4D can understand separate mask images in a texture but Twinmotion cannot.  Instead you should use the Datasmith Direct Link tool to export directly to Twinmotion.  Your original problems pre-date that tool which is the preferred way to get models into Twinmotion, now.  Hope this helps!

 

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1 hour ago, Dave Donley said:

 

This was Vectorworks to C4D to Twinmotion.  I believe this problem is specific to how C4D can understand separate mask images in a texture but Twinmotion cannot.  Instead you should use the Datasmith Direct Link tool to export directly to Twinmotion.  Your original problems pre-date that tool which is the preferred way to get models into Twinmotion, now.  Hope this helps!

 

 

@Dave Donley Thanks, this is a separate issue....

I was referring to my first post and the subject matter of this thread.  

 

Quote

 

Are there any recommendations or best practices for:

Image Size (width & height)

Resolution/DPI

Color Mode/Depth

File Format

Are there any pros & cons to be aware of for various setting?

 

 

Many moons ago, Juan referred a tech support person to me and they promised to provide this information but it never came.

Each time I see my signature or pay for the SS renewal, I am reminded of these past experiences and their unresolved status.

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
On 4/9/2018 at 10:51 AM, jeff prince said:

We have been experimenting with image props in preparation to create a new library of regional plant materials to be shown in elevation and perspective.

Are there any recommendations or best practices for:

  • Image Size (width & height)
  • Resolution/DPI
  • Color Mode/Depth
  • File Format

Are there any pros & cons to be aware of for various setting?

 

I would like to nail down all these settings before turning my staff loose on what will be a fairly large task.  Our intent is to use these images for the construction of image props, display in the plant database in a custom report (to show a larger image and less data), and as Photoshop entourage.

 

Thanks for any help,

Jeff

 

 

For image props.  Know that everything has tradeoffs.  If I recommend a resolution to you and you walk close to the plant in your workflow you may say it is too low.  If I recommend a higher setting the tradeoff is in file size, and if you are talking about hundreds or thousands of plants in a content library that could become a significant factor.  Here is wHat I say to what you asked:

 

Image size: Looks good enough for the views you expect to use the image props for.  If this is going to be shown as a foreground plant you may need a couple or a few thousand pixels wide.  If it will only be used for a treeline far away then less.  Something like 4k might be reasonable.

 

Resolution: Does not matter, only number of pixels matters for image props.  If you need 1200 DPI plans or renderings showing these objects then aim higher for number of pixels, but know that it will cost in file size and memory when rendering.

 

Color: 32 bits of color.  Windows support 24-bit color images but if you want to standardize just use 32.  Unless you know the source images use color palettes; if they do then JPEG 8-bit will be imported with the palettes.  8-bit images are pretty old and probably won't look that great compared to 24 or 32.

 

File format: I like PNG because it looks good and unlike JPEG it is lossless.  When you import the PNG or JPEG we keep the original compressed data around on disk so you are not going to get a bloat to raw pixels.

 

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