Letters on Transparent Windows

[Pitcher]

I want to make transparent windows with sign letters across them. For example, there might be individual letters saying "Bill's Barbershop" that we could see from the outside or from the inside. I don't want a rectangular sign that I decal on the window. I want only the individual letters or perhaps a logo to show. Is there a way to do this in A:M? How?

[Fuchur]

using a transparency map as a decal is the way to do this.

 

see you

*fuchur*

[robcat2075]

John, what paint program do you have to create decals in?

[Pitcher]

I use The Print Shop 20, Photoshop Elements 5, or Microsoft Paint to create decals. I've used the invisible color in websites, but I didn't know if we could use that in A:M. I'm not sure what a "transparency map" is, but I'll try to look it up.

[robcat2075]

MS Paint doesn't support alpha channels, the others I don't know about.

 

To do it without alpha channels a transparency map can work:

 

-Make your "window", set a surface color for it that you want for your letters, then set its Transparency to 100%

 

-Make a decal like this with black background and white letters

 

 

 

Apply that to where you want your text to appear.

 

 

The white part of the decal will override the Transparency setting of the window and allow the surface color appear.

[Pitcher]

That looks very do-able! Thanks.

[robcat2075]

I forgot to mention that after you apply the decal, you need to set its Type in the PWS from "Color" to "Transparency"

 

 

The effect of a Transparency map will only be visible in Final renders, not shaded mode.

[Rodney]

You can also model the entire thing using the font wizard to create the lettering.

In that way you don't need to use an image.

 

See attached model for example:

Window Lettering.mdl

[Pitcher]

I went away for a while and came back to try out the suggestions. robcat, I tried what you suggested, and it worked great! The only change I needed to make was to wait until after I had applied the decal before adjusting the transparency of the window to 100%. Rodney, your suggestion looks very interesting also. At first, I did not know where to find the font wizard, but then I Googled the question and found that it was also asked by Simon Edmondson. robcat2075 gave the path there (i.e., in a model window, right click, then Plugins/Wizards/Font). I'm looking forward to trying this method also. I really like the effect you added to the font in your example. (I came back and tried the Font Wizard. It does look like it holds promise. I will have to work on the spacing between letters, but once I get that down, it seems like it will be a time saver.) Thanks, Everyone for the responses and great information!

 

I had one further idea. I need to add to the tag above. When I started this topic, I should have added a tag "Font Wizard." Now, I am not sure how to reopen the tags section and put additional tags. It might be a good practice to review tags at the end of a topic and add tags that the person who started the topic did not know about at the beginning or remove tags that really were unrelated. That way the research facility becomes more useful, and other people can more easily find information on topics that confuse them.

[robcat2075]

... I had one further idea. I need to add to the tag above. When I started this topic, I should have added a tag "Font Wizard." Now, I am not sure how to reopen the tags section and put additional tags.

 

I believe if you edit your first post and use the "Full Editor" you can add tags.

[Pitcher]

It looks like someone has thought of about everything. The tag editing is more for me to know about. Believe it or not, I think I'm getting better at this. Maybe someday I'll not need to ask so many questions.

[Rodney]

Maybe someday I'll not need to ask so many questions.

 

While we may be proud to see folks master all the ins, outs and technical arcana it's a sad day when folks stop asking questions.

Folks love answering questions (and exploring areas they haven't explored before) here in the A:M Forum.

 

So keep asking those questions!

[Pitcher]

Thanks, Rodney! The program, as good as it is (and that's very good!), is quite comprehensive and can be very difficult to learn. As you know, before I found the Forum, I spent a little more than two years trying to learn the program on my own with the help of a couple of books. It was extremely frustrating, and unfortunately, I wrote quite a few very ugly emails to the tech support staff as I tried to get help there. Now, when I recommend the program to others, I always emphasize the importance of going to the Forum where they can get help. Without the Forum, the fun in animation is much harder to find. (One of the reasons I try to give full expression to my happiness and gratitude for the help I get in the Forum is to makeup for being so horrible before. If you know the tech support people, tell them I apologize. I feel a little like Rosanne Rosannadanna when she repeatedly threw a fit and then said, "Never mind!")

[robcat2075]

There was a time when you could learn a 3D program by just reading the manual, but 3D was pretty basic back then.