GIG reference manual
TextureEditor
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The TextureEditor is a seperate tool that allows the user to create
textures in an advanced environment. These textures can be used in a
later stage in GIG by putting those textures to tags of the current
model or by saving them as attributes and retrieving them in a later
stage in GIG.
With the TextureEditor the GIG user can:
- manipulate textures and maps in a symbolic and visual manner
- interactively change parameters of textures and maps
- assign textures to solids or save them as attributes
For interaction purposes, there is a preview window which will give an idea of how the texture will appear on objects. One should realize that this preview is not raytracing and that the final result in a raytraced image might differ in several respects from the preview shown in the TextureEditor.
A texture consists of properties that determine an object's
appearance in a raytracing environment while interacting with lighting
and cameras. The symbolic appearance of a texture consists of a number
of parameters which can be given values. These values can be
numbers, colors or maps.
Outside of the TextureEditor, textures appear as attributes.
A map, besides being the value of a texture parameter, can also have
an independent existence in the TextureEditor. The action of using
such a map as value for a texture parameter is called `plugging'. A
map can be numerical, color-valued, or a bumpmap. Like a texture, a map
can have parameters, with the same possibilities. (A map parameter can
itself have a map as value)
Outside of the TextureEditor, maps are still maps. If you save a map
under a specific name, you can use that name outside of the TextureEditor.
For example, you can type `??' in the entry box of the
background render option, and choose it to create a background map.
For visualization purposes, rendering in a special file format is
needed. Several example files in this format are available. If there is
a special object for texture visualization, such a rendering can be created in the
render menu with
render texted.
Again, there is no direct connection between the object
that is used for visualization in this way, and the object to which a texture is
assigned. The user has the opportunity to use the same
object for both purposes.
The following should be kept in mind:
The lights in the
TextureEditor have no connection whatsoever with lighting in the rest
of GIG. By definition there are two virtual light sources. One
is at an infinite distance. Only the direction of entering light
can be influenced. The second light source is 100ambient, coming
from all directions. The total intensity and the mixing of these two
light sources can be controlled by the user.
Especially the way in which some bump maps are visualized can
differ from raytracing.
In the TextureEditor preview environment two maps are by default
available: a transparency map and a reflection map. They can be
replaced with user defined maps. Note that these maps are not by
default available in the GIG environment. The maps have the sole purpose
of showing the transparency and reflection of a texture in the
preview window.
Menu and Working Area
The screen area is divided into two parts: the
Menu Area at the bottom
of the screen, and the working area at the top. The working area is
divided into three vertical parts, one for the
Texture Preview window and its
display boxes, and two areas for editing the textures.
These areas can contain
Texture Frames and/or
Map Frames .
The areas may be shifted depending on the position of the
Texture Preview window.
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