Cineversity

I wanted to add a bump map to an object over an already existing texture.  It is supposed to represent a weld on a piece of metal.  I use a gradient in the Alpha Channel to smooth out the edges.  This works great until I turn on the MIX TEXTURES option on the Texture Tag.  Then the Alpha doesn’t work at all and I get a hard edge.

I tried using a Vertex Map in the Alpha channel as well but it still stopped working once I tried to MIX TEXTURES.

Has anyone else noticed this?  Does anyone have a workaround?

Is there a necessary limitation in the software or is this perhaps a bug?

Thanks

TAK

Hi TAK,

Please provide an example. Thanks. There are too many variables, e.g., projection etc.

All the best

Sassi

Perhaps you have a look into this file, this should work for your needs.

https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share?s=zfUDMWmcSW8sAX4v987JQc

Here is a file with the problem.  If you render with MIX TEXTURES you will see hard edges.  If you turn it off you see the gradient alpha.

Thanks

TAK

Thanks for the file, TAK.

Lots of stuff inside and some combinations I have never used, like Specular metal with over 900% and MIX with Specular plastic. Just to name something I just would not even think to set up in that way, so no experience with such. In combination with 300% Bump, not done in 18 years. So, there is only one way: Support. I don’t want to explore that even deeper, it feels like anything lower in value/parameters is not to your liking. Support.

What I would do is pretty simple, you did already the preparation for that. Thanks :o) Setting up the projection in the extra Bump material is the key here. I would just do what a welding would really look like, a change in surface. (After all, bump is just an fake, and doesn’t change the silhouette at all!)
So, I took your welding “texture” and placed the “Gradient” over it in an Layer channel. Can be done anywhere for the time being. So the outside of the texture is black.

Then I go into the Displacement channel, and use the “Projector” I open this material-channel in an extra editor and lock it. (right upper corner of the editor) I copy the channel that has the “Layer Shader” and go to the Projector in the open Editor. I paste it into the Texture, via fly out menu, the little triangle left sided from the Texture field. Then I select the Texture Tag from the “alfa based material (again Texture tag—not the Material Tag!), and go back to the Projector and click the button “Paste Tag”. The tile is off! The Displacement needs to be set to all the values as in the example, especially the intensity from center to just intensity.

You can see in the example scene that I have worked with one material only, which I would prefer, to keep it simple.

With the displacement now changing the geometry, the previous Alfa material can now Mix some color over this, just the Color channel, all black for no color.

All the best

Sassi

I’ve never been able to successfully use the Projector Shader although it seems to be very powerful.  In my trials I am able to use the Paste Tag function and the numbers and projection mapping pulldown changes but the image stays the same as the overall projection method.  It doesn’t seem to do what I need it to.

I am attaching a little test.  Sphere 1 has a Checkerboard Texture with a UVW and then a Decal with a Flat Map and some adjustments to size and tiling.

Sphere 2 has the Checkboard and I used the DECAL TAG in the bump shader.  And although the PROJECTOR SHADER says Flat Projection and the numbers match the original tag you can see that the DECAL in the bump is still being projected with the Main UV Map.

I tried this with Spherical Projection on the Checkerboards as well. Same issue.

Your test i was able to deconstruct and reconstruct it and it worked.  But when i start from scratch I have never gotten it to work.

TAK

Hi Tak,

I went back to very previous releases and the results looks different, but no flat either on a Sphere.

Please check this with the support, so it will be taken care of.

I’m not supposed to handle such things here.

Thanks for pointing it out.

All the best

Sassi