with this plugin i'm working on, you'll be able to create materials based on tiled bitmaps that dont have the problem of ugly repetition.
the plugin lets you add variation to various parameters.
a little example shows what it can do:
Full Version: Plugin: BitMapPlus
Hash, Inc. Forums > Technical Direction and Development (Learning Animation:Master) > A:M Rendering, Compositing and Special Effects > Materials Laboratory
zpider,
looks like a very useful plugin....I mean another very useful plugin.......looking forward to more info as it becomes available.
Mike C
looks like a very useful plugin....I mean another very useful plugin.......looking forward to more info as it becomes available.
Mike C
as you can see in the above example, the plugin supports alpha channels, that means you could use it to lay irregular cracks over any other a:m material, etc. but the main use i have for it, is to create believable floor tiling like in the following example:
This was a feature request for AM I supported...
I hope this will be available for Mac at some point down the road.
Vernon "!" Zehr
I hope this will be available for Mac at some point down the road.
Vernon "!" Zehr
And a choir of Angels sang.. Hallelujia Hallelujia..
Thanks Marcel.!!!!!!!!!
What do you do.. sit around reading my mind?
Nice to have you back in production ;-)
C
Thanks Marcel.!!!!!!!!!
What do you do.. sit around reading my mind?
Nice to have you back in production ;-)
C
well yeah .. reading minds was long a hobby of mine ..
anyways, here is the plugin.
most of it is self explanatory, but some heads-ups:
-> setting the "visible" property to -30% will let the tiles occupy the inverse pattern of a 30% setting (with same seed and locality setting of course).
this is useful for making one half of the tiles one texture, the other half another (50% and -50%)
-> currently only planar projection is supported. i think i'll switch to some kind of cubic projection eventually though
this version is obsolete, please download the new version on page 7 of this thread!
anyways, here is the plugin.
most of it is self explanatory, but some heads-ups:
-> setting the "visible" property to -30% will let the tiles occupy the inverse pattern of a 30% setting (with same seed and locality setting of course).
this is useful for making one half of the tiles one texture, the other half another (50% and -50%)
-> currently only planar projection is supported. i think i'll switch to some kind of cubic projection eventually though
this version is obsolete, please download the new version on page 7 of this thread!
Thanks Marcel,
Amazing as ever!
It may seem obvious but if not... place this plugin in your textures folder.
Example:
C:\Program Files\Hash Inc\v11.1\Textures\
Thanks again Marcel!
Amazing as ever!
It may seem obvious but if not... place this plugin in your textures folder.
Example:
C:\Program Files\Hash Inc\v11.1\Textures\
Thanks again Marcel!
Great idea!
How will this work with seemless textures? Does it very the parameters by block or smooth areas?
How will this work with seemless textures? Does it very the parameters by block or smooth areas?
Best material plugin, ever. 
Thanks Marcel. You da man!
Yet another useful plugin.
I love the idea of cubic projection in AM. it's such an easy way to apply image textures to an object without stretching..
One quick question/suggestion/feature request
could you select the image from an image sequence to provide even greater variation.
Yet another useful plugin.
I love the idea of cubic projection in AM. it's such an easy way to apply image textures to an object without stretching..
One quick question/suggestion/feature request
could you select the image from an image sequence to provide even greater variation.
And if you have the proper bitmap, you can place it on a box, animate the Random Seed value over time, and presto!--My 60s computer light panel I asked for in the "Sci-Fi Gizmos" thread!
Marcel, you're a genius! THANK YOU.
Marcel, you're a genius! THANK YOU.
the first test using cubic projection is looking good!
| QUOTE (JohnArtbox @ Mar 11 2005, 02:06 PM) |
| One quick question/suggestion/feature request could you select the image from an image sequence to provide even greater variation. |
i'm not sure .. in the 10.5 sdk the function to read from a bitmap looked like this:
| CODE |
| HClip::BOOL ReadBitmap (float x, float y, ColorVector *diffuse, float *opacity, float pixelwidth, Time time, const Vector2 &repeat, BOOL isseamless) |
the 11.5 sdk (the one i'm currently working with) has this function
| CODE |
| BOOL ReadBitmap( float x, float y, ColorVector *diffuse, float *opacity, float pixelwidth); |
so no time access anymore .. possibly somewhere else ..
maybe someone from hash can clarify this?
Just as I suspected......smile......another great work....and its still progressing....
Marcel, thank you for ALL your great contributions to AM....the free ones and the purchaseable ones..they are all so useful...
Mike C
Marcel, thank you for ALL your great contributions to AM....the free ones and the purchaseable ones..they are all so useful...
Mike C
i've added a "Line Shift" option to the plugin that helps producing hardwood floor (sorry, no v-patterns ..)
time for you people to show some use of it!
here is the latest version:
this version is obsolete, please download the new version on page 7 of this thread!
here is the latest version:
this version is obsolete, please download the new version on page 7 of this thread!
grandiose, wonderful, spectacular
A latinoamérica greeting
A latinoamérica greeting
Hey Marcel,
I was looking at you web pages and I was wondering how you created the cloth material for your lioness picture?
I was looking at you web pages and I was wondering how you created the cloth material for your lioness picture?
| QUOTE (ChrisThom @ Mar 12 2005, 12:26 PM) |
| I was looking at you web pages and I was wondering how you created the cloth material for your lioness picture? |
i hand modeled the cloth model and just put a mat with transparency and ambiance on it. the glow was done as post effect (bleed or so)
thats as far as i recall .. FFP is some time ago now
A quick test of the gizmo panel...all I have to do is figure out which parameter does what, and it'll be just what I was looking for.
sweeeeeeetttttt!!!!!
C
C
hehe! neat!
why doesnt someone make a radiosity room with a hardwood floor?
all waiting for mine?
mine has delay tho .. i cant get the room bright enough ..
feel free to ask any questions about parameters!
why doesnt someone make a radiosity room with a hardwood floor?
all waiting for mine?
mine has delay tho .. i cant get the room bright enough ..
feel free to ask any questions about parameters!
i've improved the cubic mapping on the new version and replaced the "scale variation" parameter by two parameters "scale minimum" and a "scale maximum".
this allows finer control of the scaling plus you'll be able to avoid clipping or gapping.
this allows finer control of the scaling plus you'll be able to avoid clipping or gapping.
Wow, super,
please, can you send us the improved material and a prj. file? i will implement it into the zenroom, after i checked the normals.
Greetings
Frank
please, can you send us the improved material and a prj. file? i will implement it into the zenroom, after i checked the normals.
Greetings
Frank
here is the bitmap i've used for this texture.
hey frank, looking forward to that!
here is the project.
here is the project.
Excellent flooring! I'll have to investigate this plugin thoroughly. The project above doesn't work for me....it asks for test-bitmapplus.tga and stonetiles.jpg. Thanks again.
You know, this is so amazingly useful it really should be included in v12...
Just a thought,
Sev
Just a thought,
Sev
| QUOTE (KenH @ Mar 14 2005, 04:45 AM) |
| The project above doesn't work for me....it asks for test-bitmapplus.tga and stonetiles.jpg. |
oops .. seems i forgot to delete the test images ..
here is a fixed project file (you'll need the Alnus.jpg i've posted above)
here is the new version supporting the new cubic mapping and the "min scale" and "max scale" properties.
have fun!
this version is obsolete, please download the new version on page 7 of this thread!
have fun!
this version is obsolete, please download the new version on page 7 of this thread!
| QUOTE (Sevenar @ Mar 14 2005, 05:24 AM) |
| You know, this is so amazingly useful it really should be included in v12... |
well, no problem with that from my side.
before that i'd like to read some beta test reports of the plugin posted here and possibly some feature requests.
when i think the plugin is mature enough, i'll send the code over to steve, so hash can port it for the mac.
Aha..it works now. (For others: You may need to direct AM to the right texture folder in your options) OK, I'm abit slow here but what are we looking at in this project? Is the material image automatically aligning itself to "face in the patch normal direction"?
| QUOTE (ZPiDER @ Mar 14 2005, 06:12 AM) |
| when i think the plugin is mature enough, i'll send the code over to steve, so hash can port it for the mac. |
I planned to say something very mushy and smoochy...
...but since I am a 40 yr old single man living alone... I have enough troubles getting dates with the ladies.. I will just say..
Thank you sir. I am appreciative in a manly, brotherly kind of way of the fine products you create for the AM community.
Vernon "XOXOXOXO" Zehr
Hi ZPiDER,
thanks for the .prj file. I put the material to the floor, but it look not quite right, please see the picture. Have i missed someting?
Greetings
Frank
thanks for the .prj file. I put the material to the floor, but it look not quite right, please see the picture. Have i missed someting?
Greetings
Frank
| QUOTE (KenH @ Mar 14 2005, 06:18 AM) |
| Is the material image automatically aligning itself to "face in the patch normal direction"? |
yes. basically you just slap the material on your stuff and it will determine the correct mapping.
that is within certain limits of course. you'll get the best results with objects that have big surfaces parallel to either the xy, xz or yz plane.
cubic mapping saves lots of time and produces great results on the right models.
use the material on a sphere and you'll see how it actually works:
when (abs(normal.z) > abs(normal.x)) AND (abs(normal.z) > abs(normal.y)) it sees, the surface is roughly parallel to the xy-plane and the plugin wil map accordingly (the other planes work analoguous).
I'm not sure if this is a bug:
When I adjust the visibility it doesn't graduate but goes from totally invisible (0%-50%) to totally visible (50%-100%).
I had to use a darker image to see it.
Also, I'm not sure if the flipping options work. Testing more.
When I adjust the visibility it doesn't graduate but goes from totally invisible (0%-50%) to totally visible (50%-100%).
I had to use a darker image to see it.
Also, I'm not sure if the flipping options work. Testing more.
| QUOTE (frankH @ Mar 14 2005, 06:24 AM) |
| I put the material to the floor, but it look not quite right, please see the picture. Have i missed someting? |
hmm .. thats rather strange, i've downloaded your project and run a test and got this image.
(for the test i have turned radiosity off and moved the lights)
what a:m version are you running?
| QUOTE (KenH @ Mar 14 2005, 06:32 AM) |
| I'm not sure if this is a bug: When I adjust the visibility it doesn't graduate but goes from totally invisible (0%-50%) to totally visible (50%-100%). |
no its not a bug.
visibility is typically referring to a boolean property and thats also how its working in BitMapPlus: a visibility of 66% means there is a 66% chance that a tile is visible.
you'd like a "Transparency Variation" property?
BitMapPlus is rendering everything OVER the materials stacked above it. that means you can for example lay cracks over a finished stone material.
Hi Marcel,
i use V11.0 (v12 still change the color). There´s still something else funny. At first i had this strange behavior in the modelling windows. After reading your mail about the XY or XZ coordinates i noticed that my ground was more or less sqaure, so i scaled it. After that the material shown up 100% correct in the modelling windows, but strange in the chor. A different between your Pic and my picture is, that i put the material to the stairs to.
Greeting Frank
i use V11.0 (v12 still change the color). There´s still something else funny. At first i had this strange behavior in the modelling windows. After reading your mail about the XY or XZ coordinates i noticed that my ground was more or less sqaure, so i scaled it. After that the material shown up 100% correct in the modelling windows, but strange in the chor. A different between your Pic and my picture is, that i put the material to the stairs to.
Greeting Frank
Houston, we are Go for Gizmos! (set this one to loop for best playback)
| QUOTE (ZPiDER @ Mar 14 2005, 03:40 PM) |
| you'd like a "Transparency Variation" property? |
Yes, that's what I thought visibility meant. Consider that a feature request.
I could see that being useful in some situations.Also, what about having a random seed influence the transparency? So, the same image would have different levels of transparency. Um, I can't think of a use for it just now.
it _might_ have to do something with the scaling you did, but not that i could explain it .. i'm on 11.1(cd) and never had this weird distortion .. the fact that you also put it on the stairs shouldnt make any difference either .. could you send me your current project by mail? thanks!
| QUOTE (Sevenar @ Mar 14 2005, 03:59 PM) |
| Houston, we are Go for Gizmos! (set this one to loop for best playback) |
Nice!! Could you explain how you did that?
Also, would it be possible to make a green gizmo appear? Would that need another image? Or just use the "green variation" option?
Hi marcel,
i just downloaded the newest version of your .atx and now everything just fine. The meditation room is rendering and your material look wonderful. Thanks a lot
Greetings
Frank
i just downloaded the newest version of your .atx and now everything just fine. The meditation room is rendering and your material look wonderful. Thanks a lot
Greetings
Frank
| QUOTE (KenH @ Mar 14 2005, 07:03 AM) | ||
Nice!! Could you explain how you did that? Also, would it be possible to make a green gizmo appear? Would that need another image? Or just use the "green variation" option? |
you could use a yellow image for one "light" and then set green variation = 100% and red variation to 100%.
you'll end up with lights in various shades fron red to green.
throw in a visibility of 50%
then animate the random seed property and voila, you'll get a blinking and color changing lights panel
Ken: Yeah, this one was easy! Take a button image, like the one included here, and make a new BitMapPlus material. Change Size to X=10, Y=5, Change Visible to 35% (more if you want more lights on your panel) and set all the Variations to zero.
Apply it to a face of your model, bring it into the Choreography. At frame 0, set a keyframe and set Random Seed to, say, 1. At frame 25, set another keyframe, and set Random Seed to a higher number. I used 5.
That's it! Render and enjoy.
As far as altering the colors, I'll give it a try!
Apply it to a face of your model, bring it into the Choreography. At frame 0, set a keyframe and set Random Seed to, say, 1. At frame 25, set another keyframe, and set Random Seed to a higher number. I used 5.
That's it! Render and enjoy.
As far as altering the colors, I'll give it a try!
Okay, for some reason, the simple block model I used has a slight reddish cast to it when it's supposed to have a surface diffuse color of pure black. This probably has a blatantly obvious explanation...that I don't know of. 
could you please post with a different codec? i cant view your latest gizmo example .. darn quicktime just tries to install some "internet extras" over and over ..
marcel: Yes, I'm rendering a new one now and I'll save it out with a different codec.
The answer to different color gizmos if you only want red or green (nothing in-between) is simply to create two materials, one with red buttons, one with green, use different Random Seeds and Visibility percentages, and make sure the one you want to have precedence is applied on top of the other.
The answer to different color gizmos if you only want red or green (nothing in-between) is simply to create two materials, one with red buttons, one with green, use different Random Seeds and Visibility percentages, and make sure the one you want to have precedence is applied on top of the other.
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