Label in a ring - Polyloop

GKDantas · 24th June 2007, 02:56

Hi people I am working in a tutorial that I want to post in Daz, so here it is. But I need that someone help me with the english... I dont speak english and it need to be corrected:

http://www.euqfiz.com.br/imagens/carrara/label/

Thankz for the help and hope it can help people to get the most of the surface room. Thankz goes to Ringo for help me in this task too.

Magian · 12th September 2007, 06:44

Your tutorial is fantastic! Thanks to you I now understand UV Mapping in Carrara whereas I was previously only able to do it with Ultimate Unwrap 3D. It is great to be able to work with the UVs and export them all from within Carrara. I really appreciate it.

However, I must admit that I am confused by the final part of the tutorial after the Multi Channel Mixer is added to the Top Shader.

It seems to me that you are stating that:

Source 1 = Text surface

Source 2 = Background surface

Blender = The 2D image

I don't understand what you are saying to do after that. You say to drag a new shader to source 1, but which shader? After that I am supposed to drag the Ring shader to source 2, correct?

This is really killing me. If I can get this transparency to work correctly I will be incredibly happy.

By the way, I am using Carrara 6 Pro.

Thanks,
Darren

Ok, I must have been very tired previously because you explained it very well (or I am just really that dumb but I didn't want to admit it). I understand it completely now; unfortunately, it is still not working. I suspect that there is something wrong with the file that I am exporting from Photoshop. It show up perfectly when I use an image with no transparency but if I use a transparent background, Save for Web from Photoshop and using a .png file, I cannot get it to work within Carrara.

Magian · 13th September 2007, 06:20

Ok, I am still having some trouble with this. The exported .png from Photoshop does not seem to be the problem.

I am quite certain that I understand the tutorial perfectly and I have summarized it and included some points regarding Photoshop. Here is the summary:

UV Mapping
Define shading domains

In the Properties panel inside the Model room click the UV Map tab

Click UV Editor

Under the Edit tab choose the appropriate shading domain

Under the Projection tab select Planar from the drop-down list box

Select No Split

Choose each axis and click Apply to determine the most appropriate axis

Use the Move, Scale, and Rotate buttons to tweak the UVs as needed

Under the Display tab select the Export button

In Photoshop create the text/graphic on a transparent background

Export to Web from Photoshop and save as a .png

In Carrara, select the shading domain

In the applied shader, click the drop-down list box of the topmost shader and select Complex Shaders > Multi Channel Mixer; This should create three surfaces:
Source 1 = The text/graphic surface

Source 2 = The background surface

Blender = Where the text/graphic is defined

For the Blender surface, select Texture Map from the drop-down list box

Choose the desired shaders for Source 1 and Source 2

Now, the above list adheres closely to the tutorial aside from the Photoshop list items. Unfortunately, this does not quite work for me. For one thing, when I do it Source 1 and Source 2 are reversed. I don't if this really makes any difference or not. If they are like the layers within 2D apps such as Photoshop then it might. I tried to exchange the places of the two sources but was unable to do so.

Also, in the tutorial it states to ensure that Color and Alpha is bulleted in the Texture Map options. This does not work for me. Instead, I have to select Alpha Only and then it works... to some extent.

This leads me to my final problem: dark areas on the ring in the final render. I am thinking that this is a product of the shader I am using coupled with the lights I have in the scene. I notice that the original author also has similar shadows on his ring. Still, I don't like this and I want to make sure that this is not a problem.

The first several times I rendered none of the text was shown on the ring. I thought I was still making a mistake in what I was doing in the shader tree. Finally, I moved the lights in the scene a bit and then placed the ring flat on the ground. This helped to an extent, but the unwanted dark areas are still there. Please see the screenshot in the following link to see what I am referring to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10263769@N02/1369596160/

As you can see the light is shining straight down onto the ring. I am at a loss and I am tired of messing with it for now. Any help would be appreciated.

bwtr · 13th September 2007, 06:54

http://www.markbremmer.com/pages/das/das2.html

This movie may help towards a rewrite of the tute?

Also, this subject is covered in 3dXtract tutes of June and July 2004

Magian · 13th September 2007, 15:34

I had seen Mark's tutorial before, but I was not aware of the tutorial in 3DExtract. I appreciate it.

However, that is not what I am trying to do. It could be considered a workaround I suppose, but I prefer to do the texturing precisely within Photoshop.

I think what I have got is working as far as the texture and transparency is concerned. The shadows on the ring are a problem of the Gold shader in Carrara 6 Pro, or there is a lighting problem (not likely I don't believe). I will tweak the shader later and see if I can alleviate some or all of the problem.

Before I begin I will confirm the shader/lighting problem by copying the ring, creating only one shading domain for the entire ring, drop the Gold shader on it and position it so that it mimics the ring I have been working with. I believe it will have the same problem.

rickei · 13th September 2007, 17:57

I haven't been through this tut, so i can not comment on the steps. if I have time I'll look over it.but I would think source 1 and 2 are simply shading domains.(these are not like layers...the order does not matter)
the dark areas are probably because the gold is reflecting the black background.
in the assembly room put either a HDRI or an image in the "background" this will give it something to reflect.

Magian · 13th September 2007, 20:56

Very much appreciated. I will try it some time tonight when I get a chance.

Magian · 13th September 2007, 23:49

You were right, that was the problem. Very much appreciated. There was a single file that I found buried within the Carrara Studio install that I used as a background. The background itself looked like garbage, but the ring along with a couple of other elements in the scene turned out quite well.

Now off to study the backgrounds and HDRI...

Yes, yes, I know:

24th June 2007, 02:56	#1 (permalink)
GKDantas Cube Join Date: May 2006 Location: Brazil Posts: 69	Label in a ring Hi people I am working in a tutorial that I want to post in Daz, so here it is. But I need that someone help me with the english... I dont speak english and it need to be corrected: http://www.euqfiz.com.br/imagens/carrara/label/ Thankz for the help and hope it can help people to get the most of the surface room. Thankz goes to Ringo for help me in this task too. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Carrara rules!! Last edited by Thomas; 2nd September 2007 at 09:42.

12th September 2007, 06:44	#2 (permalink)
Magian Vertex Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Beckley, WV Posts: 25	Your tutorial is fantastic! Thanks to you I now understand UV Mapping in Carrara whereas I was previously only able to do it with Ultimate Unwrap 3D. It is great to be able to work with the UVs and export them all from within Carrara. I really appreciate it. However, I must admit that I am confused by the final part of the tutorial after the Multi Channel Mixer is added to the Top Shader. It seems to me that you are stating that: Source 1 = Text surface Source 2 = Background surface Blender = The 2D image I don't understand what you are saying to do after that. You say to drag a new shader to source 1, but which shader? After that I am supposed to drag the Ring shader to source 2, correct? This is really killing me. If I can get this transparency to work correctly I will be incredibly happy. By the way, I am using Carrara 6 Pro. Thanks, Darren Ok, I must have been very tired previously because you explained it very well (or I am just really that dumb but I didn't want to admit it). I understand it completely now; unfortunately, it is still not working. I suspect that there is something wrong with the file that I am exporting from Photoshop. It show up perfectly when I use an image with no transparency but if I use a transparent background, Save for Web from Photoshop and using a .png file, I cannot get it to work within Carrara. __________________ NOTICE This is a test, this is only a test. Had this been an actual post it would have been filled with insightful and/or analytical information. I now return you to your regularly scheduled Polyloop community discussion. Last edited by Magian; 13th September 2007 at 03:44.

13th September 2007, 06:20	#3 (permalink)
Magian Vertex Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Beckley, WV Posts: 25	Ok, I am still having some trouble with this. The exported .png from Photoshop does not seem to be the problem. I am quite certain that I understand the tutorial perfectly and I have summarized it and included some points regarding Photoshop. Here is the summary: UV Mapping Define shading domains In the Properties panel inside the Model room click the UV Map tab Click UV Editor Under the Edit tab choose the appropriate shading domain Under the Projection tab select Planar from the drop-down list box Select No Split Choose each axis and click Apply to determine the most appropriate axis Use the Move, Scale, and Rotate buttons to tweak the UVs as needed Under the Display tab select the Export button In Photoshop create the text/graphic on a transparent background Export to Web from Photoshop and save as a .png In Carrara, select the shading domain In the applied shader, click the drop-down list box of the topmost shader and select Complex Shaders > Multi Channel Mixer; This should create three surfaces: Source 1 = The text/graphic surface Source 2 = The background surface Blender = Where the text/graphic is defined For the Blender surface, select Texture Map from the drop-down list box Choose the desired shaders for Source 1 and Source 2 Now, the above list adheres closely to the tutorial aside from the Photoshop list items. Unfortunately, this does not quite work for me. For one thing, when I do it Source 1 and Source 2 are reversed. I don't if this really makes any difference or not. If they are like the layers within 2D apps such as Photoshop then it might. I tried to exchange the places of the two sources but was unable to do so. Also, in the tutorial it states to ensure that Color and Alpha is bulleted in the Texture Map options. This does not work for me. Instead, I have to select Alpha Only and then it works... to some extent. This leads me to my final problem: dark areas on the ring in the final render. I am thinking that this is a product of the shader I am using coupled with the lights I have in the scene. I notice that the original author also has similar shadows on his ring. Still, I don't like this and I want to make sure that this is not a problem. The first several times I rendered none of the text was shown on the ring. I thought I was still making a mistake in what I was doing in the shader tree. Finally, I moved the lights in the scene a bit and then placed the ring flat on the ground. This helped to an extent, but the unwanted dark areas are still there. Please see the screenshot in the following link to see what I am referring to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10263769@N02/1369596160/ As you can see the light is shining straight down onto the ring. I am at a loss and I am tired of messing with it for now. Any help would be appreciated. __________________ NOTICE This is a test, this is only a test. Had this been an actual post it would have been filled with insightful and/or analytical information. I now return you to your regularly scheduled Polyloop community discussion.

13th September 2007, 15:34	#5 (permalink)
Magian Vertex Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Beckley, WV Posts: 25	I had seen Mark's tutorial before, but I was not aware of the tutorial in 3DExtract. I appreciate it. However, that is not what I am trying to do. It could be considered a workaround I suppose, but I prefer to do the texturing precisely within Photoshop. I think what I have got is working as far as the texture and transparency is concerned. The shadows on the ring are a problem of the Gold shader in Carrara 6 Pro, or there is a lighting problem (not likely I don't believe). I will tweak the shader later and see if I can alleviate some or all of the problem. Before I begin I will confirm the shader/lighting problem by copying the ring, creating only one shading domain for the entire ring, drop the Gold shader on it and position it so that it mimics the ring I have been working with. I believe it will have the same problem. __________________ NOTICE This is a test, this is only a test. Had this been an actual post it would have been filled with insightful and/or analytical information. I now return you to your regularly scheduled Polyloop community discussion.

13th September 2007, 20:56	#7 (permalink)
Magian Vertex Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Beckley, WV Posts: 25	Very much appreciated. I will try it some time tonight when I get a chance. __________________ NOTICE This is a test, this is only a test. Had this been an actual post it would have been filled with insightful and/or analytical information. I now return you to your regularly scheduled Polyloop community discussion.

13th September 2007, 06:54	#4 (permalink)
bwtr Brian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: South Australia Posts: 2,096	http://www.markbremmer.com/pages/das/das2.html This movie may help towards a rewrite of the tute? Also, this subject is covered in 3dXtract tutes of June and July 2004

13th September 2007, 17:57	#6 (permalink)
rickei Respect the Dawg! Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: USA - Conway, South Carolina Posts: 791	I haven't been through this tut, so i can not comment on the steps. if I have time I'll look over it.but I would think source 1 and 2 are simply shading domains.(these are not like layers...the order does not matter) the dark areas are probably because the gold is reflecting the black background. in the assembly room put either a HDRI or an image in the "background" this will give it something to reflect.

13th September 2007, 23:49	#8 (permalink)
Magian Vertex Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Beckley, WV Posts: 25	You were right, that was the problem. Very much appreciated. There was a single file that I found buried within the Carrara Studio install that I used as a background. The background itself looked like garbage, but the ring along with a couple of other elements in the scene turned out quite well. Now off to study the backgrounds and HDRI... Yes, yes, I know: __________________ NOTICE This is a test, this is only a test. Had this been an actual post it would have been filled with insightful and/or analytical information. I now return you to your regularly scheduled Polyloop community discussion.

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