IRender nXt Bump Maps
IRender nXt has several options for Bump Maps .
Contents |
Auto Bump Map
The Auto Bump Map option on the
Material Wizard
creates a bump map (automatically) from the SketchUp image on a material.
(This will be replaced with a slider bar - for bump intensity - later. But we wanted to get something implemented now and add the slider bar later.)
Here is an
Auto Bump
example of a wall with SketchUp's stone material, and two spot light shining on the the material:
(Bump maps have their best effect when there is lighting at an angle to the material, because the bump map 3D effect is more pronounced when there is light shining on the material.)
Caveat
Note. This concept - using an image to create a bump map of itself is not really correct. It make the dark parts of the image seem depressed and the light parts raised up. However, many people and many rendering systems use it because it create a 3D effect for some materials.
Here is a better example, using a depth oriented bump map, rather than just an image to create the bump effect.
Note: It does not look like a photo of stone, because the light and dark areas represent depth and not illumination.
It produces a very realistic stone effect. Notice the subtle difference in shading between the front and the top.
(Based on the angle of the light.)
The IRender nXt Material editor can create Bump Maps with underlying textures (beside the bump map) and other special features.
Bump map editor
There are two ways to do bump maps.
- You can use the original texture as a bump map or
- You can provide a separate image to use a bump map.
With IRender nXt, you can use the nXt material editor to create your own materials, with many additional material features, including bump mapping.
After creating an nXt material, the user can automatically create a material for SketchUp which appears similar, (but of course with no bump mapping or reflective properties). This SketchUp material will automatically render using the nXt material with IRender.
