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View Full Version : lunatic lighting tips needed (Digits Interpolate Script Pic included)



juandel
08-15-01, 01:56 AM
http://www.cyber-webs.com/zbrush/earthmoonaw.jpg

i wanted to find out if i was able to use Digits superduper interpolation script contained here (http://www.cyber-webs.com/zbrush/ztools/widgets/Digit_Widget_Script.zip) for something "on purpose" this time and decided i’ll give an earth/moon/phases pic a try (i assume the distance-ratio to be mucho perverted and the pic to be everything but a realistic representation but for those who are interested in exploring the script but have not done so up-to-now i’ll give some settings below anyway).

:qu: as far as i get it, the moon’s "shape" as we see it from down here is determined by the partition that earth’s shadow is covering upon it’s surface. is there a way to simulate this in a setting like this one? which type of light (i had no luck with the sun and the radius for point or glow light was too short to reach the moon) would you use? hmm, as i think about it, i believe that it can’t be done within one pic as the main light has to be shifted, right? any hints would be highly appreciated!

so here is what i did using Digits interpolate script for doing an orbit like the one above:

:b4: i loaded the Digits Widgets Interpolates.txt script out of the Widgets folder.

:b4: on a layer of its own i "created" earth in a second :) by applying texture 24 to a sphere. by default it’s center is set at z-depth 0. while in transformation mode i hit the "use current" button in the © davey "nose pointer" section of the script’s commands in order to make the moon face the earth in the same way from all directions (as i think that is what it does in "reality", too). (PS: in other cases it might be appropriate to leave this step out and instead use the rotate-functions, that Digits implemented in his fantastico script... in order to do so you might want to set the objects at mark1 and mark2 and the attractor point(s) (see below) each with differing rotations and press the C-rotateit instead of the C-point button in the last step below)

:b4: i created a new layer and the moon by applying texture 28 to a smaller sphere which i drew beside the earth to have it’s center a z-depth 0, too. i hit "w" and dragged it to the left (only a small part of the gyro was still visible). i went to the "curve objects interpolates" section of the script’s commands and clicked the "3point" command, thus activating the load point_1 command, which i clicked, too. doing so, i saved the "attractor" for the curve i had in mind.

:b4: i dragged the moon back into view again and moved it in front by dragging the cursor downwards outside of the gyro several times. while doing so i kept an eye onto the z-settings in the transform-palettes info-panel and when i had reached -800 (for instance; as you probably know, negative values indicate, that pixols are getting in front) i hit "e" to be able to scale the moon. i enlarged it to what i thought to be double size (but as you can see i did not enlarge it sufficiently :(), hit "w", dragged it into the lower right corner and snapshot it. furthermore i hit the save-button in the "position marks" section of the script after making sure, that "selectMark1" was active. with this, i set the position from which the curve would start (Mark1).

:b4: i started dragging the cursor upwards out of the gyro until the z-depth in the info-panel read about 800 (positive to make the pixols sit "behind" the 0-level that earth was sitting on). i dragged the further away moon a bit upwards, hit "e" to be able to scale it and by dragging the cursor outside of the gyro i minimized the moon. i snapshot it and in the "position marks" section of the script hit the m+ button, so selectMark2 showed up... followed by a click on "save" to save the settings of the endpoint of the curve (Mark2).

:b3: end of setting the settings! :D

:b4: now for the fun: back into the "Curve Object Interpolates" section of the script’s commands: i activated C-moveit, C-sizeit, C-snapshot and C-point and hit "run interpolation"... ploinkploinkploink, here they come! if you are not satisfied with the number of moons (or whatever you are interpolating) make them disappear with command-z (after leaving transformation mode) and change the settings in the Ctime box. draw a new moon anywhere and try again by hitting "run interpolation". i think i did it at Ctime .18 but playing around with these settings is mucho fun so don’t miss it.

sorry for the long explanation, but i want to turn those on, who did not give the Digits Widgets a try! :D don’t be afraid: it’s not that complicated at all! i hope i did not make any mistakes, though!

juandel :D

upham
08-15-01, 05:03 AM
Let me give you the thumbs ups -> :tu:
No, have two more -> :tu: :tu:

Great effort Juandel! You've encouraged me to get into this!!
Upham :)

ps. Put this away for a rainy day -> :tu:

Digits
08-15-01, 05:50 AM
Wunderbar!

Danke Juandel for the super step through and image, totally cosmic!

You could use the Angle Widget as well to place the moon around the earth at different spots at the same distance, but since the Moon's orbit is slightly eliptical using the 3 point interpolation is more realistic.

Also you can let Digits Widgets Scale the size of the moon for you

Before you make your position markers

1. place the moon at 0 Zdepth and size it
2. Since you selected +-800 units of Z for your start and end, locate the "Zdepth Area Size" section of the script. Make the "MaxZdepth" about 1600 and press "RefObject". This sets the work area at +-1600 so that your moon at +800 will be 50% larger and at -800 it will be 50% smaller.
3. Make Position Marker 1 by placing the moon at -800 Z and the correct XY then press "SizeObject" This will correctly size the moon 50% smaller. Press the Position Marker "Save" to create Marker 1
4. Move the moon to +800 Z and XY and press "SizeObject" this will make the moon 50% larger than it was at 0 Z. Press the "M+" to increment the Position Marker to #2 and press "Save" to save it

I might mention that you can use the "ZdepthMult" to further control the Zdepth size. If you set it to 1.5 in the example above at +800 the moon would be 75% larger not 50%. You use this to control the magnitude of the depth curve to your liking.

Now you are ready to do the rest. As you mentioned you could use the "C-Rotateit" switch to interpolate the rotation from Marker 1 to Marker 2 but the "C-Pointit" function is mucho better for this.

Here is a zip with a good Earth and Moon map

Planetmaps (http://www.cyber-webs.com/zbrush/zmaterials/planetmaps.zip)

I also thought about the earth's shadow on the moon. Having all moons on one layer sure doesn't work very well as the moons are casting shadows on eachother. Each moon would have to be rendered and "Baked" on a different layer or the same layer after the bake. This would preclude the use of my script to do the work.

If someone was really good they could create a texture for the moon with the earth's shadow already on it. Depending where the sun is to be, the autopointing part of the script would simulate the phase of the moon as it was going around the earth

impending
08-15-01, 08:54 AM
Ha, "lunatic lighting tips" great title. You guys are doing some deep thinking. I've yet to play with scripts, guess I should try ;) & Digits you certainly are the king :tu: - I feel like the illiterate peasant :(

The only thing I can add here is the phases of the moon are not actually caused by the earth's shadow - that would be a lunar eclipse. When the moon is in the night sky the sun, moon and earth form a triangle. How much of the lit face of the moon we see is dependent upon the angle of the corner anchored by earth.

Don't know if this info makes a lick of difference in how you should proceed but I think it's a really cool idea for an image :cool: :cool:

jd

edit :b1: check out this site here (http://www.spaceday.com/en/mission/phaser/index.php)

Digits
08-15-01, 09:15 AM
Heheh,Thanks Impending, I was definitely in the Shadow people group! Thanks for setting this straight. It appears that Zbrush lighting is more accurate than I thought. Looking at Juandel's image now it looks correct.

Here is my try, I set the sun in the upper right corner, shadow intensity to 100 and length to 10. Try to cut down on the moon's shadows on eachother. I still prefer the darker shadows that Juandel was able to achieve.

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads0/user_image-997897757ibt.jpg

robotalk
08-15-01, 09:40 AM
What The ??????? I followed every complicated step and it didn't work --but now my PC is vacuuming the rug--and changing the light bulb in the fridge--thanks.. this ZBrush is amazing !!!

Digits
08-15-01, 10:54 AM
Wow, I wish I could get that kind of action out of my computer. How do you know that the Fridge light needs fixing? I thought that was one of the universal mysterious that drove Einstein to drinking and Freud to Crack Cocaine.

What part was not working for you? All or none? One thing, about 90% of my scripts require you to have the object that you are working with in an transform mode Move/Scale/Rotate with gyro visible to work. Also, most of the scripts have a Snapshot and a Moveit switch. If you forget to set those to on the thing either won't move, won't leave a copy on the canvas or both.

Thanks for giving it a whirl Robo!
Now if you can get the computer to fetch you a cold beer, I would be impressed