Cineversity

Hi Dr. Sassi, please see attached file. I have my texture offset-V moving downward, and I was hoping to have my MG Shader effector move with it, coordinated, moving together. I don’t know if this is even possible, I thought that Xpresso would be better than keyframing each element-can you please tell me what I am doing wrong?, thank you
PS-BTW, I am trying to show an electrical charge moving downstream

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/31514862/Xpresso-MG.c4d
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Hi Craig,

I’m not certain if you have read my last reply to this problem in your previous post/thread: The Frontal Projection is only interested in the picture frame and its space. It has no connection at all to the scene in 3D.
http://www.cineversity.com/forums/viewthread/1614/#5893

So any connection that you might get with a set up will be gone for good if you move a) the object, or b) the camera and of course c) both. So, as I do not see a Camera with a Protection Tag, I presume that it might move at one point, accidental or purposely.

Tile, is on, perhaps on purpose. But to connect the MoGraph set up with a tile, and in frontal projection seams more “trial and error” work than it supports your scene. There must be something simpler, more effective—I will look into that, but it needs some time.

In the previous post I gave you am example with the Texture space defined with a spline and the projection position of the Texture Tag moved. THIS is exactly what you need here, you could simply attache the Shader Effector to these coordinates. This is the answer to your question.

The first idea to keep going with you Frontal projection, is to stay in Front view as well. This means to take all elements of you model and place it under a null, to orientate it. Then calibrate the space to your final render resolution and combine all of that in XPresso. As an result, each change in render resolution will force you to recalibrate the scene; Or increase the set up in XPresso to take care of that…
I would go as far as to use the typical After Effects idea (as it comes from 2D, and set the left upper corner as zero for X and Y. As you set the texture space to Frontal, the Z space doesn’t really exist for this of course. Sounds a lot of work, just to keep the Frontal projection. For me the Frontal projection has that 2D feeling, it doesn’t “translate” the shape of the Neuron. So, please tell me what makes this so useful to you, that a huge set would be the consequence to adapt the rest of the scene.

My question, as I have explored in the last hour this scenario (above), this is not really working and feels like “avoiding” the real problem. In the previous thread you get a clean and stable solution, and the values for the texture space might be easily adapted to the Effector falloff. Let me know what I miss on my end here.

All the best

P.S.: I know you like to use the front-projection. As suggested earlier, here an alternative with the Effector Falloff added, just one more wire in the XPresso. Done.

Just have a look at the file, then tell me what is missing for your target.

https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/fM-0uBvf74PPPAgYE48Y1imLyjVVm0ltDIrXTNJPZ70

Enjoy your weekend.

Hi Craig,

I have found a stable (so far my tests) solutions to work with Frontal Projections, with the before mentioned limitations (no object no camera move)

To get the Texture and the Shader Effector Falloff (or any other object) I have attached two solution.

The first one is the more tricky one (as mentioned in my first reply). It needs some adjustment. But: it works with the Offset values. To move things around, use the red Null object. The X and Y is in sync with the Effector position (X, Y)

As the Offset is limited to X and Y directions, I searched for something more advanced, and created a kind of OFFSET version. As before, I placed a camera way into the back, which comes close to an orthogonal camera (e.g., front), which means that a camera projection is then kind of a Frontal Projection. The blue Null object allows now for offsetting the texture and (!) for a rotation of the texture, but in sync with the Falloff of the Effector.

My best wishes.

Craig, after I got these (post #3) ideas out of my head, I played with other things, to get something perhaps more in tune to your idea—Frontal Projection.

Well, I finally found something closer to your set up, and more in logic with your set up. (I prefer after all the version with the “blue Null”, however…)

The simple idea is, to drive the Shader Effector with the texture that you have already. Yes, that would not really work, it needs to be larger: so a copy of your material with an increased “gradient”. Bang-done.
The only thing missing is now the Offset U and V transfer to the new material. Done in few clicks—see image with the XPresso—simple isn’t it?

You might adjust everything of course, but now the lights are following your texture.

Have a great weekend