New Feature: GridImages wizard

[Fuchur]

Hi guys,

 

this will be another feature in A:M v18 (l). Hope you like it... it is a more specialized one but it is a nice little helper and may suit some of you well.

This feature is inspired by a friend of mine (thanks Ralf G.) who uses another software and asked for something like that in Animation:Master.

 

Hope you like it and find it useful too .

 

See you

*Fuchur*

grid_images.mp4

[yoda64]

Not in 18k , one version later first ....

[Rodney]

Not in 18k , one version later first ....

 

I was about to say.... aren't new features generally reserved for new versions?

 

Gerald,

Thanks again for the video.

A:M has some great image manipulating features already and I'm sure this will be a nice addition as well.

I have a back-burner project I've been wanting to do for years that a wizard like this might serve quite well.

 

Added: I already have a use for this so am looking forward to the next release.

[serg2]

It would be nice to have a checkbox for create layers.

And checkboxes for "animation" in both cases.

[Rodney]

It would be nice to have a checkbox for create layers.

 

I'm guessing that would be a whole new feature as Layers use patch images instead of decals.

Or... are you using the term layers in the sense of 'stacking'.

[serg2]

 

It would be nice to have a checkbox for create layers.

 

I'm guessing that would be a whole new feature as Layers use patch images instead of decals.

Or... are you using the term layers in the sense of 'stacking'.

 

I mean an additional opportunity to create multiple layers

[Fuchur]

you mean every image on one grid layered above eachother?

[Rodney]

you mean every image on one grid layered above eachother?

 

I will assume that's what Serg means until he clarifies. It's a rare bird who takes advantage of A:M's Layers.

I don't think a lot of users even know what a Layer (in A:M terms) means. At any rate I don't think Serg is referring to A:M's Layers.

Although its a toss up... perhaps he is.

 

Having the ability to stack/layer images above each other (ala patch images) would indeed be useful as that would allow us to immediate composite a series or sequence of images together. Currently that is a manual process adding images to images via decal or patch images. The downside of 'stacking' is that allowances have to be made for image formats that don't have an alpha channel. I suppose the user could be left to figure that out for themselves but folks tend to have a tough time grasping the concept of alpha channels.

 

I would probably refer to the stacking of images in one place over the top of each other as 'compositing' because that'd be what the final result would be; a composited image of all the stacked imagery. If using a camera the effect might be referred to a 'multiplane'.

[Fuchur]

Is there a reason why you could not use the z-axis-position / offset to get the layers with a orthographic camera using the wizard for instance 3 times?

 

See you
*Fuchur*

[Rodney]

Is there a reason why you could not use the z-axis-position / offset to get the layers with a orthographic camera using the wizard for instance 3 times?

 

I'll guess the primary reason is that the z-axis-position option isn't in the TextureGrid Wizard. We'll have to wait for the GridImages Wizard's release for that.

The TextureGrid WIzard only has X and Z offset (and lacks the option to automatically drop the Models into the Chor as well).

 

I should say though that stacking of images on patches is as simple as a Right Click followed by an Add Image.

The patch image approach is inferior to these new grid decals in several ways (no x-axis adjustment of the images and images set to cookie cut cut through all of the images on the stack. With this new Wizard we can go in and adjust the positioning of the images via the Decal Editor which is a very nice way to make modifications.

 

I'll also add that v18k's new ability to bake patch images (into decals) is yet another nice way to quickly combine imagery into a single decal (or layering of decals if you count the various other surface properties; transparency, specular, bump, etc.)

 

.