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Controlling random movement
Posted: 11 September 2022 07:16 PM   [ Ignore ]  
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Hello
I have a simple setup : a grid of planes created with a cloner.  I am assigning a specific set of colors to the squares, and I’m using a random effector to make them disappear and re-appear, as if they were turning on or off.

The problem I’m getting is that the noise from the random effector seems to be creating a very distinct pattern that has little change.  In the file here below you can see that there is a cluster of squares that more or less always stays there.  I would like the randomisation to be more across the board, but in the same time I need to be able to control the speed as this will be projected on a big wall (so can’t make people sea sick).
What is a good way to gain more control over this?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ny5tceat3e5hqfv/Squares_CV.c4d?dl=0

Thank you!

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Posted: 11 September 2022 08:00 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 1 ]  
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Hi Alex,

Thanks for the file.

I like to use Particles as “fields” for this, while the Tracer is a helper to allow for more options.

The lifetime and speed of a particle will determine the outcome. The variance values in the Emitter will have an impact on the result as well.

If you place a Delay or Decay on top of the (Plain Effector> Fields:) Tracer, you might get more options.

Inside the Tracer> Object> Amount, you find another parameter to define the outcome.

Example:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/sy2q0iqyomji882/CV3_2023_drs_22_MGsp_01.c4d.zip?dl=0

Cheers

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Posted: 11 September 2022 08:12 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 2 ]  
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P.S.: a variation of the file above

https://www.dropbox.com/s/p4xtmk38ri0r60x/CV3_2023_drs_22_MGsp_02.c4d.zip?dl=0

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Dr. Sassi V. Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
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Posted: 11 September 2022 08:20 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 3 ]  
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Ha!  That’s great!  I was just about to ask you how to slow down the effect, as the Delay wasn’t doing what I hoped, but looks like Decay does a beautiful job!
Now I have to research these two fields as I never really used them.

Thanks so much!

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Posted: 11 September 2022 08:25 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 4 ]  
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You’re very welcome, Alex.

Besides that, Decay Field: If the Particles have a longer lifetime, they can produce a longer spline with the Tracer. That Spline is then used like a field. (From start/From End: Amount)

My best wishes for your project

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Posted: 12 September 2022 12:26 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 5 ]  
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Hello Sassi

Thanks again for this, it is a great setup, but I think I am stuck somewhere with it…The problem is that it feels too abrupt, and in an ideal world the squares would fade in/fade out rather than pop on/pop off.  I was hoping I could do this with a moving noise in a shader effector going to a transparency shader, but that is where I was also getting stuck.  Do you have any thoughts for a solution to make it more “smooth”?

Thank you!

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Posted: 12 September 2022 04:41 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 6 ]  
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Hi Alex,

Since we have only one color Channel from the Clones, this gets a bit more complicated. So I placed the Color of the Clones to channel red and the Alpha information on channel blue. The Tracer is crucial here, especially the distance (arriving/leaving -> fade in/out time)

The receiving color channels for the material need a filter to split them up.

Let me know if that comes closer.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/lq7ymgof32n2xzz/CV3_2023_drs_22_MGsp_03.c4d.zip?dl=0

Enjoy

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Posted: 12 September 2022 05:45 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 7 ]  
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Hello Sassi

Oh wow, separating the color channels is a really interesting approach, I had no idea you could do that!  Amazing.
One thing I’m struggling with though (and this goes back to my question in the other thread about gradients) is that a small group of colors is now very dominant, but if I change the color distribution in the Random field, I also affect the transparency.  Is there a way to gain more control over the colors too?  Or would it be two separate fields?

And one other question…Is the speed of the appearance tied to the tracer’s length as set in the “Amount” field of the tracer object?
Or in the tracer field amount?

This is a very new technique to me, and this amount field seems poorly documented, so thank you for your patience!

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Posted: 12 September 2022 07:12 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 8 ]  
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Thanks for the feedback, Alex.

Like in a Puzzle Matte In RS, I found that we can use Fields color “coded” and then split it up, which is easier in RS with nodes.

Think of each Tracer “spline” like a Falloff or field, which can have a diameter. Please have a look at the file.
As you can see, there is a difference in value from the spline to the outer limit of the falloff. I have used this to determine the Alpha value in the file Field> blue)

If in doubt or happy to explore, many things can be dragged into the Field List, even a vertex tag, or a Matrix object, Particles directly; the Tracer is here only to increase the duration.

Demo file/ Showcasing, the vertex tag needs to be active so that you can see the “fields”. Again this is not needed for the setup, only to make it visible.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/agvddqs2gymrit2/CV3_2023_drs_22_MGfi_01.c4d.zip?dl=0

This RGB split works “linear” and floats to go a little bit deeper. (8 and 16 bit/channel integer in sRGB/Rec 709 are kinds of low-level color spaces, and those have no pure RGB by definition [CIE 1931], so things might get mushy in integer sRGB/Rec 709 color spaces. I developed this channel idea, but based on the wide use of integer/sRGB/Rec 709, I don’t suggest that often. Yes, Adobe delivers the idea with 0-255 in RGB channels that this would be all there is to it. Longer story…

Cheers

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Dr. Sassi V. Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
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Posted: 12 September 2022 07:27 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 9 ]  
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Ah! I see. So the alpha is determined by the falloff of the spline, but what does the length determine in that case?  Is the amont of time it takes for the squares to go from opaque to transparent?
I guess the hard thing to visualize is that we are combining two axes (Y for length of tracer and X for width)?  I think I’m getting close to understanding!

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Posted: 12 September 2022 09:08 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 10 ]  
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Alex, Perhaps this little image helps.

On the left is a Field object (a capsule) and on the right is a Spline with a similar radius. Booth are influencing the Vertexmap.

So, when a particle moves in Y, it draws a y-directional spline with the Tracer. The duration of the influence on your object will be determined by the particle’s life and speed.
BUT: also how the Tracer is set up. In the file above, the spline is created from the end with a defined number of frames (Which can’t be longer than the particles life)

All the best

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Dr. Sassi V. Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
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Posted: 13 September 2022 05:04 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 11 ]  
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P.S.: Here is the Redshift 3D setup with the “triple channel clones”.

I have shared those ideas a while ago, but here I have integrated the color change, transparency change, and reflections change (not your request, but I had one channel left) for you – each with a Field object based on a single Plain Effector.

Of course, you can “pipe” these channels in anything that makes sense for your project. The Gradient (Ramp) is set to 1/3 for the full effect (pure empirical); you might adjust that to your liking if needed.

I hope the Fields as spheres allow for a more straightforward exploration. In combination with the Vertex option from above should give you an excellent kit to work on your project.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3481ndeb5q1pswr/CV3_2023_drs_22_MGrs_02.c4d.zip?dl=0

As mentioned, this works in Linear float only. Color spaces like sRGB/Rec 709 are too fuzzy, as they have no pure RGB primaries. ACES is the best way to do that.
As I have written it here for over a decade, I avoid integer sRGB/Rec 709 in my pipeline.

All the best

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Dr. Sassi V. Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
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