Hi! I recently bought a pair of red blue anaglyph glasses and have been enjoying watching some 3D images and movies online. Is there a way I could render my models as anaglyph images using ZBrush? I need to make two renders of the model offset a little to mimic how the eyes see. Would really like some tips on how i can do this in ZBrush. Anyone ever tried this?
I remember someone experimenting with this on ZBC years ago. It is so long ago, though, that I don’t think the threads even exist anymore and even if they did the features used would be so far out of date that the info wouldn’t help you.
You’re going to have to break new ground to explore this, but we’d sure love to see what you come up with.
Not sure if these will help, but its a starting point I guess.
http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?t=74707&page=4&highlight=Anaglyph
http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?t=30867&highlight=Anaglyph
http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?t=30245&highlight=Anaglyph
http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?t=30079&highlight=Anaglyph
A simple anaglyph is easy enough to do. You can use the Tool>Deformation>Offset slider to change the view of your model slightly (though save a back up so you don’t have to restore the original position).
Export a render for the left and right eye and then open both in Photoshop:
- For the ‘left eye’ view, go to the Channels tab and select the Red channel. Ctrl+A to select all and Ctrl+C to copy.
- For the ‘right eye’ view, select the Red channel in Channels tab then paste Ctrl+V.
That’s it.
[attach=221113]ZBrush-anaglyph.jpg[/attach]
Attachments
thanks to all for replying. @marcus, i tried what you suggested. I set up a quick scene and saved it is a project to store the positions of the models. Then I experimented by offsetting all the characters along x, by 5, 3 and 2.( these values of course would differ for each scene ). 3 gave me better results. Here is the result of the quick test.
[
]
I made a few observations. the demo soldier in the middle pops out the least. the dog stands out the most in the foreground, and the smaller arch recedes the most in the background. Viewing distance makes a difference too. if you push your chair back the 3d effect becomes stronger. Don’t know why that happens. Strangely if i flip the glasses ( blue in front of left eye ) the 3d effect gets greatly enhanced ( try it ). The dog really pops out. So far i think the offset distance makes the most difference. I still have to see what more can be done with the channels.
Steps:
BPR render of scene 1 saved as a project.
open project and BPR render scene 2 with objects offset by 3 along x.
in Photoshop open scene 1 and 2.
Ctrl+A scene 1 ( you can activate just the red channel )
activate only the red channel in Scene 2
Ctrl+ v scene 1 into the channel
activate all channels in scene 2 ( the offset red channel will become evident )
wear your glasses and see the effect.
some tips here: http://www.modernmicroscopy.com/main.asp?article=62&page=2
Reversal
okay this time around i copied the red channel from scene 2 ( all objects offset along x by 3 ) and pasted it into the red channel of scene 1. the results are much better.
[
]
My glasses are the other way around - red for the right eye and blue for the left - so you probably need to do it the other way anyway!
@marcus, i guess it makes no difference which eye has red or blue in front of it. I thought maybe there was a reason why the right eye had blue and the left red. There is of course no such thing.
perhaps how you blend the channels will determine how your particular glasses ( red left or red right )will create the 3d effect.
[
]
in this image the red channel came from the second image where the model was offset to the right . with my glasses the 3d effect in this image is only visible with red left and blue right. I noticed, and this obviously is the way it works, that the blue filter cuts out the red part of the image and the red cuts out the blue, thereby allowing you to integrate two images into one, each viewable by one eye only. when i reversed the process, that is, copied the red channel into the offset second image, flipping the glasses ( red right, blue left ) created a 3d effect too although it wasn’t as good as the other way round for me
note: The red channel can be nudged after pasting it into the red channel slot of the other image ( select the red channel> ctrl + A > move ) .Even a close overlap creates the 3d effect ( in my earlier renders the red channel shift is clearly evident ) in this image the channels almost overlap each other.
How you render is also important. if you turn your model a bit by rotating the view ( and not the model ) to see the three fourth view, offsetting the model along x ( deformation ) for the second render will make the model smaller or larger as the model might move away or towards you at an angle. For my image i simply panned the view a bit then aligned the copied red channel with the first render. Hope this makes sense.
oh and viewing distance affects how the 3d effect looks.
That’s great! There’s a surprising degree of 3D to it if you move side to side while viewing.
You’re right, there’s no reason for the red being for the left eye except that the image must be created for particular glasses. Red for left and blue for right appears to be the standard arrangement.