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Internet Message Format | 1996-08-05 | 5.2 KB

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From: Mark Hampsey <[e-mail]>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.graphics
Subject: Re: Imagine 3.0:  Inept Beginner's cry for assistance
Date: 3 Mar 1996 22:41:24 GMT
Organization: Innate Images
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I have received lots and lots of really excellent advice about Imagine
3.0 from some very fine people.  The people on the Imagine mailing list
were *amazingly* helpful.

I am taking the liberty of posting a very detailed reply I got from
Roger Straub.  I hope he doesn't mind.  This will help any beginner get a
grasp on Imagine:

First, when Imagine loads, you are presented with the title picture. This
is actually part of the Project Editor, where final rendering of stills
and animations is conducted. Under the Project menu there is an item
called New; select it. This will create a brand new project for you. Pick
a filename. This name is actually a directory where Imagine stores all of
the stills you create, objects, configuration files, etc. Click on OK.

Now you have a screen full of buttons, all but 3 of which are ghosted.
Two of these are New and Open. These create subprojects, where you can
configure certain information about different parts of the same project.
I.e. you can have one project with two subprojects, so you can render the
same animation at two different resolutions. Click on New. This will
bring up another requester asking you for a filename, but the directory
is automagically in your project drawer. Just type in a name like "sub"
and press enter. I know all this seems unrelated to what you want to do,
but bear with me. =)

Now you get a window with a BUNCH of gadgets and boxes. This is where you
specify the parameters for your picture/animation. At the top is an area
labelled Rendering Method; this specifies what method to render your
animation/still with. Scanline is almost like trace, except you don't get
refraction, reflection, and shadows. Trace is the raytracing method, but
I'm sure I don't have to explain that to you. The rest are
self-explanatory. If you don't understand something, experiment
(Universal Imagine Axiom #1).

The next area is labelled Picture & Pixel Sizes. All you have to worry
about here is the Presets button; click on it. This will bring up a list
of different resolutions for pictures. Pick the size you want, but keep
in mind that a larger size will take longer to render. The only other
area you have to worry about right now is the one labelled File Format.
Just click on the format you want your still to be saved as.

When you're done, click on OK. Now a lot of the buttons will be
unghosted. We're not going to play with them just yet, however. Under the
Editor menu, select Stage Editor.

Stage is where it all happens. This is where, in conjunction with the
Action editor (ask me about that one later), you set up movements,
rotations, morphs, pans, trucks, and just about anything you can Imagine.
(Sorry, the obligatory program-name pun. =) Under the Object menu, select
Load. Pick the Imagine Cow object, and click on OK. The cow object will
show up in all the windows, just like in Detail. Under the Display menu,
select the item called Camera View, just under NewMode. This will change
the Perspective window so that it shows what the camera sees. This is the
view you will see when your final render is completed. Adjust the view
with the A, Z, and P buttons just like in Detail.

Now you need to add a lightsource. Go to Object > Add > Lightsource. A
window will come up with the lightsource options. For now, just click on
OK; you can experiment later. A little circle with a dot in the middle
will appear at the center of your scene. It's selected, so press F1 to
pick it. Move it to where you want it, and make sure that some light will
fall on the Cow(tm) so that the camera will see it.

Now you have set up your scene. Select Save Changes from the Project
menu, and then go back to the Project editor. Make sure your subproject
options are exactly as you want them. Then click on the number 1 in the
long box in the middle of the screen. You have just selected frame 1 of
your 1-frame animation. If you have a longer anim, more numbers will
appear. Then click on Generate. Click on Generate All - this is a rather
useless holdover from earlier versions of Imagine that displayed the
pictures in 16 colors, and had to create a palette for the picture.



Here is an abridged version by Marc Reinig for raytracing the cow which
will overcome some of the barriers a newbie with no manual will face:


1.  Go to the Project Editor and create a new project.
    Select the resolution, output format, etc.

2.  Go to the Stage Editor and load the COW object.
    Add a light and use the default settings.

3.  Do a quick render to make sure everything is OK.

4.  Now go to the Project Editor and select frame 1 and render.

5.  Return to the Stage Editor and and change the camera, lights,
objects, etc.


I hope someone finds this helpful
Mark