v18 Snapshot Feature

[Rodney]

For those of you with some experience with this feature perhaps you can elaborate on the snapshot feature a little more so I can better incorporate it into my workflow.

First, let me say that I am fascinated by how this snapshot feature can do more than a standard Print Screen of the current screen. I do wonder however if I am missing something so let me postulate the following and see if it matches with what you know:

 

- Snapping a Shot will grab a wireframe or shaded wireframe image of the current window (what you get will depend on what View settings currently being used (Wireframe/Shaded Wireframe)

- Control Snapping a Shot will pull up the dialogue to allow higher image resolution and specify location for the file to be saved.

- If we want an actual shaded view then we should use the keyboard Print Screen or Alt Print Screen function (This seems to work at odds with the first so I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong on my end)

- The snapshot feature saves a snapshot with Alpha Channel intact. (Now that is very impressive and I need to leverage that soon!)

 

 

I guess what throws me off a little is that I'm not getting snap shot images that match what I'm seeing in my working window.

What I seem to be missing is how to get a shaded snapshot without wireframe.

 

What say you all?

 

 

 

Edit: Hmmm, I changed models and now am getting a shaded view.

More experimentation...

[Rodney]

Okay... immediately after posting I've been discovering things anew.

 

The snapshot appears to follow the settings in the Tools/Options Panel rather than the real time/right clicking Render selected (shortcut key) view.

The settings maintained in Tools/Options, such as turning off Grid and selecting the view on the Modeling or Action tab, are what drives the results of the snapshot tool.

 

[Rodney]

But... this isn't to say that the Snapshot Tool is controlled only by the settings in Tools/Options.

Adjusting the view via A:M's interface also drives changes to the Snapshot tool.

For instance, toggling through Muscle Mode and Skeletal Mode produces predictable results.

 

Todo: Go back and test the disconnect I saw in the earlier attempt to snap shots of the shaded view.

 

 

[Rodney]

Discovering more...

 

I'm finding I need to deliberately click in the window prior to taking a snapshot or else I will (more often than not) get a snapshot of the previous settings.

 

In other news: I love that the snapshot captures the guidelines too. Tres... cool!

 

[Rodney]

...and with v18 Snapshot we've gained a nice new layout and analytic tool.

[robcat2075]

I believe there's supposed to be some way to make the snapshot be automatically applied back onto the mesh that you snapped. This would eliminate having to manually reposition and apply a wireframe that you will be taking to a paint program for further dev.

 

Have you gotten that to work?

[Fuchur]

I believe there's supposed to be some way to make the snapshot be automatically applied back onto the mesh that you snapped. This would eliminate having to manually reposition and apply a wireframe that you will be taking to a paint program for further dev.

 

Have you gotten that to work?

 

That is quite easy...

1.) Go to a modelling-window.

2.) Create a sphere (or whatever you want).

3.) Right-Click in the modelling-window and click on "Apply Snapshot".

4.) You will be asked where to save it and what size it should be.

5.) Hit "Ok".

 

The taken snapshot will be applied as a decal and you can change the saved image like you wish in a 2d paint software.

The difference to taking a simple print screen / screenshot is, that the resolution of the snapshot can be higher (as high as your graphic card can go).

 

This resulted from a step when using the UV-editor in A:M where, after you created a UV layout you would take a screenshot and use that in your paint software.

The problem with that is, that you can only get the size of the screen in pixels and since it is often limited by menus and stuff like that, this should give you a better (and easier) way to get this going.

 

See you

*Fuchur*

[Rodney]

Thanks Gerald, you've provided an excellent addition to this exploration of the snapshot tool... and outlined it clearly and concisely too!

Folks may use this more than they do the standard method of applying a decal.

 

 

I find that having a setting of 1.0 creates a perfectly aligned decal (of the same/screen view).

 

Here's a shot of what it looks like in the Right Click menu:

[Rodney]

Then going in and painting on that decal/snapshot takes it to the next stage:

 

(Example here is with only the front snapshot applied)

[Rodney]

And here is a shot from inside the Decal Editor/Viewer.

 

Note that the grid lines (or rather the spaces within the grids) are saved by the snapshot tool as part of the alpha channel transparency and it probably would have been wise for me to flatten the image before painting.

Another alternative would be to turn off the gridlines within A:M.

[Rodney]

More messing...

[Rodney]

More random texturing, lighting and rendering...

[Fuchur]

And here is a shot from inside the Decal Editor/Viewer.

 

Note that the grid lines (or rather the spaces within the grids) are saved by the snapshot tool as part of the alpha channel transparency and it probably would have been wise for me to flatten the image before painting.

Another alternative would be to turn off the gridlines within A:M.

 

I think this is very handy if you use it with a layer-based paintsoftware, since you can easily see at which part of the model you are painting. In general I would suggest to use a wireframe-mode and after that do a shaded one if you want to.

Like that you can easily see in the paintsoftware (using multiply or some other layer-method in Photoshop) how the image will look like later on while the wireframe image / layer can be put above the color-layers to help you painting.

 

See you

*Fuchur*

 

PS: Looks fun what you are doing there Well done.

[Rodney]

I think this is very handy if you use it with a layer-based paintsoftware

 

I heartily agree.

One thing we can also do is use A:M's own ability to layer in imagery (multiple decals stamps, layered patch images, etc.).

The last rendering really only consisted of three 'layers' (a color, a displacement and an ambiance image).

And while I did use another program to put them together they could almost as easily have been created in A:M.

Layering is really the key to any detailed rendering whether that layering be surface, lighting or other contributing influence.

 

Awhile back I developed a methodology for drawing and painting over models in A:M while still using another program (any program really) but it's something of a hack.

Now that A:M has these new tools (providing a round trip from capturing an image of a model to pasting it back onto the model again) I may have to dust that off and see if there is still anything worth pursuing.

[Fuchur]

Had a little fun with it .

And it shows the possibilities of the new OpenGL3-driver in combination with the higher subdivision levels... to get those high resolutions in realtimeviews you need to deactive the "Limit realtime subdivisions" on the Globaltab of the Options.

 

See you

*Fuchur*

[Rodney]

This isn't really snapshot related but I figured I would use the imagery created with it to make a banner.

My all-A:M pipeline for the Special Projects area is almost complete.

 

[robcat2075]

If "Apply Snapshot" is only available in the model Window then you can't use it in a pose where you've flattened a mesh, right?

 

It doesn't seem to be an option there.

[Rodney]

If "Apply Snapshot" is only available in the model Window then you can't use it in a pose where you've flattened a mesh, right?

 

It doesn't seem to be an option there.

 

I had some success with this but it wasn't a straightforward approach.

In the end I decided to forego the Flatten/Pose method and either:

 

1. Simply Snapshot and reapply it in the Modeling window allowing for any difference in the application of the SnapShot onto the unflattened model.

 

2. Flatten the model in the Z axis of the Model itself and then expand it back after applying the snapshot.

Note: Scaling to 1 on the Z axis works well but returning the model to its original scale isn't as simple as typing 100% back into the z scale. Also, I believe this scaling has to happen in a New Group as it might not work in the model itself.

 

I'll have to refresh my memory here but to answer your question... no, the Apply Snapshot option does not appear in the Right Click menu in the Pose window to allow us to reapply the Snapshot.

[NancyGormezano]

If "Apply Snapshot" is only available in the model Window then you can't use it in a pose where you've flattened a mesh, right?

 

It doesn't seem to be an option there.

 

what I would do

 

1) in an action window (model/groups are already flattened by whatever means), click on snapshot button.

2) Import image (SnapShot_XXXXX.tga from wherever it was just saved (in win7: my documents/Animation Master/snapshot/?, don't know how to change location)

2) while still in action window, right click on the Objects/Model in PWS, choose NEW/decal/snapshot_XXXXX

3) Double click in pws/object/model/decal container to apply the decal and get a stamp on the model, (or right click in action window while snapshot image is still superimposed on model, and choose "apply")

Edited April 30, 2014 by NancyGormezano

[Fuchur]

If "Apply Snapshot" is only available in the model Window then you can't use it in a pose where you've flattened a mesh, right?

 

It doesn't seem to be an option there.

 

what I would do

 

1) in an action window (model/groups are already flattened by whatever means), click on snapshot button.

2) Import image (SnapShot_XXXXX.tga from wherever it was just saved (in win7: my documents/Animation Master/snapshot/?, don't know how to change location)

2) while still in action window, right click on the Objects/Model in PWS, choose NEW/decal/snapshot_XXXXX

3) (Still in action) window double click to apply the decal and get a stamp on the model, (or right click in action window while snapshot image is still superimposed on model, and choose "apply")

 

I am not sure why, but you can change the path where the stamp is saved at "Tools > Options > Backup".

 

See you

*Fuchur*

[robcat2075]

Manually applying the capture like old times is what I did but I think I'll suggest that "Apply Snapshot" should be available in Poses too, since we typically apply decals there.

 

It should be easy to make that path remember itself instead of always reverting back to the default path, right. I think I'll make a feature request of that too.

[Mechadelphia]

If "Apply Snapshot" is only available in the model Window then you can't use it in a pose where you've flattened a mesh, right?

 

It doesn't seem to be an option there.

 

In v18, you can now take a snapshot from the UV editor. You can also choose the resolution of the snapshot by control-clicking the snapshot button.

 

If it is not a control-click it some other modified key stroke. I have used this feature and it saves a lot of time compared to the old way.

[NancyGormezano]

Manually applying the capture like old times is what I did but I think I'll suggest that "Apply Snapshot" should be available in Poses too, since we typically apply decals there.

 

It should be easy to make that path remember itself instead of always reverting back to the default path, right. I think I'll make a feature request of that too.

 

Yes - would like the option to take snapshot & apply at same time (maybe with shift+ snapshot?).

 

AND perhaps it might be better to also allow "NEW/ANY decal" or "Apply ANY decal" in action window as well - rather than have to click on PWS/objects/model (confusing to most people I would guess?).

 

I am not sure why, but you can change the path where the stamp is saved at "Tools > Options > Backup"

 

Ah yes- Thanks Gerald!

[robcat2075]

Snapping in the UV editor presumes you've already applied a decal, right? I want to make the snap the decal.

 

however, I've gotten away from using the actual UV editor because some things like hooks don't behave well in it. You can end up with gaps or overlaps in your decal that you can't easily fix.

 

Flattening and pre-arranging in a pose seems to be safer.

[Mechadelphia]

Snapping in the UV editor presumes you've already applied a decal, right? I want to make the snap the decal.

 

however, I've gotten away from using the actual UV editor because some things like hooks don't behave well in it. You can end up with gaps or overlaps in your decal that you can't easily fix.

 

Flattening and pre-arranging in a pose seems to be safer.

 

Yes, but you can create a snapshot of the Stamp(s) within the Decal without having to edit it. So you can do what you like in the Pose as far as arranging, apply a decal, then take a snapshot of the stamp you just made at whichever resolution without the need to edit the actual stamp (since you already layed it out the way that you wanted in the pose).

[robcat2075]

I guess i still don't see what i use a Snap from the UV window for if i already have a capture made from the pose window applied back in the pose window.

[NancyGormezano]

I guess i still don't see what i use a Snap from the UV window for if i already have a capture made from the pose window applied back in the pose window.

 

What I frequently, occasionally (depends) do is modify the stamps in the UV editor even after making it from pose flattening. I might have multiple stamps mapped to same image - So I would rearrange where the different parts are in the UV editor. Then use UVsnap as template in photoshop.

[Simon Edmondson]

Pardon me, I'm very late to all this but, could someone point me to a start for the process as it may well be appropriate for what I'm working on at the moment.

Also, is there an outline descriptiom of the UV editor and how to use it anywhere ?

Thanks

simon

[Mechadelphia]

Pardon me, I'm very late to all this but, could someone point me to a start for the process as it may well be appropriate for what I'm working on at the moment.

Also, is there an outline descriptiom of the UV editor and how to use it anywhere ?

Thanks

simon

 

 

You can start at Will Sutton's site.

 

That should get you pretty far.

[Simon Edmondson]

Pardon me, I'm very late to all this but, could someone point me to a start for the process as it may well be appropriate for what I'm working on at the moment.

Also, is there an outline descriptiom of the UV editor and how to use it anywhere ?

Thanks

simon

 

 

You can start at Will Sutton's site.

 

That should get you pretty far.

 

 

Mack

Thank you very much. Heading over there now.

regards

simon