[Stinkie7000]

1. How does one set up clip maps? The MXED part (using the wizard) seems straightforward enough, but I'm a little confused on how to take it from there.

2. I've been fiddling with the Studio quite alot lately. While I find it, err, clunky in some ways, I must admit it's rapidly growing on me. In fact, I like it. I think there's great potential there. Certainly for SU users, as it offers a way to bypass SU's much debated poly limit. Which is great.

Now for my question. As we all know, SU's uv-ing capabilities are fairly limited. So I was thinking about texturing, say, furniture models (Evermotion and Dosch - you know the stuff) in another app, and then importing them into the Studio. What app would be good for that? Is modo a viable option (I have a license, but I never use the app)?

[Tim Ellis]

1. Clip maps are more managable using them with a ghost layer, than in the transmittance slot (IMHO although it does depend on your required result.).
Add the clip map to the weight layer for your bsdf, with white showing where you want this bsdf layer to show and black for the transparent areas.
Then create another bsdf layer with the clip map inverted in the weight layer slot.
Change the transmittance RGB value to 255,255,255 and the ND to 1.00. The RGB and ND must be 255,255,255 & 1.00 respectively or the ghost layer won't work correctly.


2. Modo is great for UV mapping, it has a really good uv toolset.


I do 90% of my uv mapping in MXST. A combination of real scale cubic and 1x1x1 cubic mapping tends to be enough, with any specific mapping done in my 3d application.

Tim.

[Stinkie7000]

1. Clip maps are more managable using them with a ghost layer, than in the transmittance slot (IMHO although it does depend on your required result.).
Add the clip map to the weight layer for your bsdf, with white showing where you want this bsdf layer to show and black for the transparent areas.
Then create another bsdf layer with the clip map inverted in the weight layer slot.
Change the transmittance RGB value to 255,255,255 and the ND to 1.00. The RGB and ND must be 255,255,255 & 1.00 respectively or the ghost layer won't work correctly.

lol. Did I mention I'm quite the novice to Maxwell? I'll do some digging around the forum based on what you said. Might prove interesting!

Thanks for the info.

[Tim Ellis]

lol. Did I mention I'm quite the novice to Maxwell? I'll do some digging around the forum based on what you said. Might prove interesting!

Thanks for the info.

Sorry mate, this should help explain it better.



Clip map:-


Render:-


Tim.

[Stinkie7000]

Wow, this is quite something. Thanks!

I did, as I said, some digging, also over at the MXM Gallery (which I should've done before posting my question in the first place!). Found an interesting tut on grass clips. That one and your post will give me something to enjoy myself with over the weekend!

Thanks again.

[Richard]

1. How does one set up clip maps? The MXED part (using the wizard) seems straightforward enough, but I'm a little confused on how to take it from there.

2. I've been fiddling with the Studio quite alot lately. While I find it, err, clunky in some ways, I must admit it's rapidly growing on me. In fact, I like it. I think there's great potential there. Certainly for SU users, as it offers a way to bypass SU's much debated poly limit. Which is great.

Now for my question. As we all know, SU's uv-ing capabilities are fairly limited. So I was thinking about texturing, say, furniture models (Evermotion and Dosch - you know the stuff) in another app, and then importing them into the Studio. What app would be good for that? Is modo a viable option (I have a license, but I never use the app)?

You're on the button there mate! I really hope SU7 might have better mapping options and a better engine or opportunity to handle xrefs so higher polycounts can be handled. although I'm well conversant with Studio I find it a bit of a drag compiling scenes without the inference control that SU has, populating a scene by eye is really slow. And the little bugs that persist in studio like when moving multiple objects really pi...s me off!

I don't do any UV mapping in studio given the hassles I find with using MXS components only in studio. I prefer to model, texture and compile in SU and do multiple exports to studio for complex scenes.

In regards to clip mapping as opposed to tim's suggestion I normally just stick with the simple method of inserting a map into the transmittance slot and setting Nd to 1.

[Richard]

BTW although I've only played with it a bit Hexagon 2 is I believe a simple alternative for UV mapping and modelling. though if you have a license for Modo you already have all the tools and the ability to export in 3ds for intro into SU, one thing I wish is for studio to export 3ds or better SU to import OBJ files!!!!!

[Stinkie7000]

you already have all the tools and the ability to export in 3ds for intro into SU

I was thinking of going straight from modo to the Studio. Without going through SU, I mean, as I'm unsure how SU will handle textures mapped to complex curved objects.

I gotta learn how to uv in modo now. It just never stops.

[Richard]

you already have all the tools and the ability to export in 3ds for intro into SU

I was thinking of going straight from modo to the Studio. Without going through SU, I mean, as I'm unsure how SU will handle textures mapped to complex curved objects.

I gotta learn how to uv in modo now. It just never stops.

It does never stop, you're right there!!!!!!

Mate if you bring the model into SU in 3ds format the uv's will stick! Though you won't be able to edit the textured item without losing the correct mapping. the beauty as I said about compiling scenes in SU is the sticking abilities of the components to surfaces.

Again I so much hope google get on top of the mapping tools soon!

I would like to use a sky dome around my exterior scenes with a jpg linked to a mxi sky / background image as an alternative way of lighting a scene instead of using the Maxwell HDRI lighting system which I find it near to impossible to locate the maps correctly. Though to generate the correct mapping to a hemisphere i will need to adopt to another modeller to achieve this and then bring the mapped dome into SU. real pain!!!

[Stinkie7000]

Mate if you bring the model into SU in 3ds format the uv's will stick!

Great! Thanks for the info.

Again I so much hope google get on top of the mapping tools soon!

As do I and 99% of the SU community.

Though to generate the correct mapping to a hemisphere i will need to adopt to another modeller to achieve this and then bring the mapped dome into SU. real pain!!!

I feel your pain. As said, I now have to learn how to uv map in modo. Luckily, trusted ol' Bob DeWitt posted a nice tut on modonize.com. Maybe check it out?