Using clipmaps with Materials
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I'm currently modeling a building that uses perforated mesh screens to act as sunshades and am having difficulty using clipmaps to create a material that mimics perforated metal.
I've searched through all the user forums and cannot find any tutorials and/or information that clearly explain the use of clipmaps with materials in Sketchup Pro 6.0 for Mac OS X.
I've tried creating inverse images of perf screens in photoshop and then naming the file xxx_clipmap.jpg, I've tried using PNG files for clipmaps, I've tried modifying existing materials in the fencing materials, and nothing seems to work...Needless to say, It's getting somewhat frustrating!
Any help with this issue would be tremendously appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
Alex Ray
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Alex
The xxx_clipmap.jpg only pertains to Podium renderings and not standard SU output.
If indeed you are intending it to be rendered with Podium, I have a Clipmap tutorial in the Tips and tricks section of the forum.
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Instead of clipmaps (that can only be used in rendering softwares), use png files with alpha (transparency) channel. It's not a big deal if you have already masked your image (at least I guess - for the clipmap). SU can interpret transparent png files. Actually, if you eventually want to render your model (with Podium for instance), you can re-use the masked file for creating a clipmap from it.
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SU has no problem handling png files with transparency (no background) or transparent tiff files (with alpha channel. Either will do for a mesh screen; all you need to do is import them. I'd then set the transparency to 69% so you lose the solid shadow.
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Thanks for that, I'm using a PNG with transparency any it's working like a charm!
Many thanks!
Alex
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Thanks for mentioning this, this will be a nice addition when adding stainglass accents to my windows in models.
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