The Piranesi Tutorials

Piranesi offers five tutorials, aimed at different levels of ability. If you are not familiar with Piranesi, you are recommended to start with Tutorial 1, and work through the tutorials in sequence. If you have some familiarity with Piranesi, you may wish to move directly to one of the more advanced tutorials that interests you.

•	Tutorial 1: Painting with Piranesi is an introduction to the basic techniques that you use when you paint with Piranesi (approximately 40 minutes)

•	Tutorial 2: 3D effects describes some three-dimensional effects, such as textures, and fog (15 minutes)

•	Tutorial 3: Photorealism introduces techniques you can use to make your scene look more realistic (15 minutes)

•	Tutorial 4: Beyond Photorealism describes some more advanced techniques you can use to create special effects, such as watercolour (20 minutes)

•	Tutorial 5: Halftoning and modelling with paint demonstrates some threshold textures, and how you 'model' with paint using the Construct render action (25 minutes)

To print a Tutorial, click the Help Topics button to display the Help Topics: Piranesi Tutorials window, and select the Contents tab if it is not already selected. Then click on the tutorial that you want to print, and click the Print... button. The standard Windows print windows are displayed for you to print the tutorial. For example, you may want to print a tutorial rather than run it online to speed up the performance of Piranesi, if you do not have a fast computer.

If you want more information about using the Piranesi windows and tools while you are completing the tutorials, or at any time when you are using Piranesi, you can refer to the online Help text.

Select Help Topics from the Piranesi Help menu to display the help system. The main Contents page of the Help system is displayed. For information about how to use the help system, double-click on Getting Started. A list of topic titles is displayed. Double-click on Using Piranesi help to display the help topic.

You can also display context-sensitive help on menu options, toolbars, and windows, by clicking

on the toolbar. The cursor becomes a question-mark symbol. Click on the item for which you want to display help.

The Piranesi User Guide also provides detailed information about how you use the features and tools offered by Piranesi.


 Tutorial 1: Painting with Piranesi

This tutorial covers:

•	opening a file

•	adding a style library

•	applying styles to the scene

•	painting with the brush applicator

•	using locks

•	restoring the original colour

•	using brushes

•	using the fill applicator

•	undoing edits

•	changing the amount of paint effect

•	using ink

•	changing the paint colour

•	saving a new style

•	file aliases

•	grain

•	partial styles


1.1: Opening a file

To use Piranesi, you will need to open an Extended Pixel (EPix) format file.

1	Click [image] on the toolbar, or press Ctrl + O, or click Open on the File menu.

If the toolbar is not displayed, you can display it by clicking Toolbar on the View menu.

2	In the Look In box, click the drive that contains the tutorial files.

For example, select the CD drive if you are running from CD, or your local hard disk drive if you have installed the tutorials locally.

3	In the box beneath Look In that lists folders and files, double-click the name of the folder that contains the file.

If you are running the tutorials from CD, the tutorial EPix files are in \Tutorial\EPix on the root of the CD. If you have installed the tutorials, by default the EPix files are in \Program

Files\Informatix\Piranesi\Tutorial\EPix.

4	Continue double-clicking subfolders until you open the subfolder that contains the file.

5	In the list of files, click cube.epx.

6	Click Open.

A greyscale picture of a cube is displayed:


1.2: Adding a style library

The easiest way to paint with Piranesi is to use existing styles that have been set up. Styles are stored in style libraries, and are divided into categories.

To add the tutorials style library in Piranesi:

1	Click [image] on the toolbar, or click Styles Window on the View menu.

The Style Browser is displayed.

2	Click [image] on the Style Browser toolbar, or press Ctrl + L with the Style Browser selected, or click Manage Libraries... on the Library menu of the Style Browser.

The Manage Libraries window is displayed.

3	Click Add...

The Add Library browser is displayed.

4	Browse to the Tutorial folder, select Tutorial.psf, and click Open.

If you are running the tutorials from your CD drive, the Tutorial folder is on the root of the CD. If you have installed them locally, by default it is in \Program Files\Informatix\Piranesi.

5	Click Close on the Manage Libraries window.

The left-hand pane now shows the library Tutorial Library, and lists a number of categories within that library. (If you cannot see the categories, double-click on Tutorial Library, or click the plus sign to the left of its name.)

6	In the left-hand pane of the Style Browser, click on Tutorial 1.

The styles that you will be using for the first tutorial are shown in the right-hand pane of the Style Browser.


1.3: Applying styles

Now that you have installed the style library, you can select a style and begin to paint the scene.

1	With the style category Tutorial 1 selected in the Style Browser:

•	click on the first style in the list, called Pink paint, and press Enter

•	or double-click on the style

•	or click on the style and right-click the mouse to display a popup menu, then select Apply from the menu

The style applies its settings to the Toolbox on the left-hand side of the Piranesi window:

2	Apply the effect to the scene:

•	click on the scene to create a brush-shaped blob

•	or press the mouse button and drag the brush over the scene
You can constrain the brush vertically or horizontally as you paint, by pressing Shift when you drag the mouse.

For example:


1.4: Styles and locks

When you paint a scene, often you will want to restrict the items you paint in some way. For example, you may want to apply a texture to all items that have been rendered in a particular material.

1	Double-click on style Material lock, in the Style Browser.

Notice that the settings on the Toolbox are the same as for the Pink paint style, except that the Material lock has been switched on:

2	Apply the new effect to the scene, as before.

Notice that when you drag the mouse, the paint is restricted to the material of the pixel you were pointing to at the start of the brush stroke. For example:

You can check out the material that you are pointing at by using the Info window. The Info window is displayed on the right-hand side of the Piranesi window by default.

If it is not shown, you can display the Info window by clicking [image] on the toolbar, or by clicking Info window on the View menu.

3	Now apply style Plane lock to the Toolbox, in the same way.

The Plane lock is switched on:

4	Apply the effect to the scene.

This time, the paint is restricted to the plane you first point to. For example:

You can also use the locks together, to restrict the paint to a particular plane and material. You will see an example of this in Tutorial 2.


1.5: Restoring the original colour

Sometimes you will want to restore a scene to its original colour. For example, you may want to do this when you are creating special effects, or if you have made a mistake.

1	Apply the style Restore brush to the Toolbox.

Notice that the Restore render action has been selected.

2	Paint over the scene in the usual way.

The pink paint that you had applied in the previous stages is removed, and the original colour is restored.


1.6: Changing the brush

So far, we have been using a circular brush to paint the scene. You can change the characteristics and shape of the brush. In this exercise, you will use the Circle and Rectangle brushes. You can also use a raster image to define a brush shape. We will use a raster brush in Tutorial 4.

1	Apply the Pink paint style that you first used to the Toolbox.

2	If the Settings window is not already displayed, click [image] on the toolbar.

You can also double-click on the brush applicator button on the Toolbox to display the Settings window.

3	Now apply the Large soft brush style.

Notice that the Size and Softness settings have changed to 100.

The size of the brush is measured in pixels. This refers to the EPix file pixels, not the display pixel resolution. Therefore, you might find that a particular brush appears bigger on the screen if the EPix file you are working on has fewer pixels. (You will see an example of this in Tutorial 2.)

4	Paint the scene with the new brush, and compare this with the Pink paint.

For example:

5	Experiment with the Circle brush settings.

Refer to the help text 'Circle brush settings' for details about the options, or see the Piranesi User Guide. See the introduction to these tutorials for more information about using Piranesi help.

Remember that you can use the Restore brush to restore the original.

6	Apply style Rectangle brush, and paint the scene.

For example:

Look at the Brush Settings window. The Type is Rectangle. This time, Spacing is switched on, and it is set to 100%, which means that the brush strokes are separated by the full width of the rectangle when you drag the mouse across the scene.

7	Click Details... on the Brush Settings window.

The Brush Details window is displayed.

The Aspect is set to 100%, which means that the height is 100% of the width. The Angle is set to 45 degrees, which rotates the rectangle from the horizontal.

Experiment with the Settings and Details of the Rectangle brush to see the effect they have. You can get further information about an option by using Piranesi's context-sensitive help. See the introduction to these tutorials for more information about using Piranesi help. Alternatively, refer to the Piranesi User Guide.

When you have finished, click Close on the Brush Details window.

8	Use the Restore brush to restore the scene to its original state.


1.7: Filling the scene with paint

Sometimes you will want to fill entire areas of the scene with paint, or even fill the entire scene.

1	Apply the Plane flood-fill style to the Toolbox.

The Fill applicator is selected, and so is the Plane lock.

2	Click on the cube.

The plane that you click on is filled with paint. For example:

3	Undo the edit you just did:

•	click [image] on the toolbar

•	or press Ctrl + Z

•	or click Undo on the Edit menu

You can undo edits at any time. This is useful, for example, if you want to try out a particular effect before you paint the scene in earnest, or if you have made a mistake. However, note that you can undo only one action. You start a new action each time you click on the scene, so it is important that you check that each action is correct before you proceed to the next one.

You can also redo an action that you have undone:

•	click [image] on the toolbar

•	or press Ctrl + R

•	or click Redo on the Edit menu


1.8: Varying the effect amount

So far, we have been applying solid paint to the scene. You can vary the amount of paint applied to the scene, by changing the Effect Amount.

1	Apply style Pink paint 50% to the Toolbox.

The Effect Amount slider at the bottom of the Toolbox is set to 50%:

2	Paint the scene.

Notice that the shading of the scene shows through the paint.

3	Undo your edit.

4	Adjust the Effect Amount slider, and paint the scene, to see how it changes the effect.

Remember to undo each edit. If you forget, you can use the Restore brush style to restore the original colour.

The Effect Amount slider controls how much of the total effect defined by the Toolbox settings is applied to the scene. For example, if you added a texture or grain to the paint, this would also become transparent as you reduced the effect amount.


1.9: Paint, ink, tint

So far, we have been using the Paint effect type. You can also use Ink or Tint.

1	Apply style Pink ink to the Toolbox.

The Effect drop-down list at the bottom of the Toolbox is changed to Ink:

2	Paint the scene.

Notice that the shading of the scene shows through the paint, even though the Effect Amount slider is set to 100%.

3	Experiment with applying overlapping brush strokes.

The colour builds up where the brush strokes overlap.

4	Adjust the Effect Amount slider, and paint the scene, to see how it changes the effect.

Remember to undo each edit. If you forget, you can use the Restore brush style to restore the original scene.

You can also use a Tint effect type. Refer to the online help text 'Selecting the effect type' for information about using Tint.


1.10: Changing the paint colour

Now we will change the colour of the pink ink.

1	Click the Colour preview box on the Toolbox.

The Colour window is displayed.

2	Select a colour.

You can select one of the basic colours by clicking on it.

To define your own colour, first click on an empty Custom colours box. Then move your cursor to the colour spectrum box, and drag the cross-hair cursor to the colour you want to use. The colour in the Colour box changes continuously to display the colour currently selected. You can change the luminosity pointer of a colour by dragging the luminosity pointer up and down. Click Add to Custom Colours to save the colour for future use.

To see overlapping ink to best effect, select a colour that has mixed Red, Green, and Blue values, such as the lilac (Red 128, Green 128, Blue 192).

3	Click OK.

The new colour is displayed on the Toolbox.

4	Paint the scene with your new colour.


1.11: Creating a new library

When you have changed an existing style (or created a new style from scratch) you can save the style to be used again in the future. You can either overwrite the existing style, or you can save it to a new name. In this tutorial, we will save the ink style with a new colour to a new name.

By default, the Tutorial library is locked, indicated by the padlock symbol [image] to the left of the library name. You cannot save new styles to a locked library, so we will create a new library in which to save the new style.

1	Press Ctrl + N in the Style Browser, or click New... in the Style Browser Libraries menu.

The New Library window is displayed. Notice that 'Files of type' is set to Piranesi Style Files (.psf).

2	Browse to the folder in which you want to create the new library.

3	Type a name for the library in the File name text box.

4	Click Open.

The new library is displayed in the left-hand pane of the Style Browser. Libraries are shown in alphabetical order.

A category called Default is automatically created in the new library.

There is no padlock symbol for the new library and category, because they are not locked.

5	To edit the properties of the new library, select it and click Properties... on the Libraries menu.

The Library Properties window is displayed.

The library's details are shown. Type a description for the library.

If you want other users to have access to a library, you click the Shared Library check box. Other users can then install your library into their browser. However, if you do this the library is locked to prevent it from being updated when another user is accessing it. Therefore, we will leave this box unchecked so that we can save the new style to the library.

6	Click OK.

Now we are going to change the name of the category to something more descriptive.

7	Click on the category Default.

8	Click Properties... on the Category menu, or right-click on the category and click Properties... on the popup menu.

The Style Category Properties window is displayed.

9	Type a new name, and a description for the category, and click OK.

The category's name is changed in the list.

10	With the new library or category selected, click Save Library Now on the Libraries menu.

The new library and category details are saved.


1.12: Saving a new style

When you are creating a new style, you set up the options on the Toolbox first, then you save those settings to a style name. We've already set up the Toolbox options for this style, so we can go ahead and save it.

1	Click on the new category that you created in 1.11: Creating a new library.

2	Click [image] on the main toolbar or the Style Browser toolbar, or press Ctrl + A in the Style Browser, or click Add Style in the Style Browser Style menu.

The Add Style window is displayed.

(If a style is selected in the Style Browser, the details of that style are shown.)

3	Type a new name for the style (up to 32 characters).

4	Type a description for the style.

The name and description are displayed in the title bar of the Style Browser when you select the style in the future.

Because you selected the new category before you displayed this window, the new library and category names are shown in the Library and Category text boxes. If they are not, select them from the drop-down menus.

5	Click OK.

The style is added. Styles are automatically sorted in ascending numerical order, then alphabetical order in the Style Browser.

6	Click Save Library Now on the Library menu in the Style Browser to save the style into the library.

The Piranesi User Guide provides full details of how you create and save new styles.


1.13: Raster file aliases

Some styles in Piranesi use raster images. For example, you could use a raster image of brickwork to create a texture. Piranesi then references the raster image file each time the style is used.

When you create a style, you can set up the style to use an alias to point to a particular folder in which the raster files reside. Aliases are useful because when you move the raster images, you have to define the new path only once, rather than for every style that uses a raster image. Refer to 'Aliases and Styles' in the help text, or the Piranesi User Guide, for more detailed information about aliases.

In this exercise, you will use a style that has been saved using an alias called your path, which points to a subfolder called resource. Because the alias your path has not been set up on your system, Piranesi prompts you to define it the first time it is used.

1	Apply style Weave grain (partial).

Piranesi displays the following prompt:

2	Click Yes to define the alias.

The Find window is displayed.

3	Use the browser to find the folder that contains the tutorial .tif files, select the file cloth1.tif, and click Open.

If you are running the tutorials from CD, the .tif files are in \Tutorial\resource on the root of the CD. If you have installed the tutorials, by default the .tif files are in \Program Files\Informatix\Piranesi\Tutorial\resource.

When you select the file, Piranesi displays the following prompt:

(Note that if the file is not in a subfolder called \resource, Piranesi will prompt you to define a new alias instead.)

4	Click Yes to define the alias.

The alias is defined, and the Toolbox is updated with the style.


1.14: Grain

In 1.13: Raster file aliases, we selected a style called Weave grain. In Piranesi, you add grain to the paint to create two-dimensional textured effects.

1	Apply the Pink ink style again to reset the Toolbox to pink ink.

2	Apply style Weave grain (partial) again.

Piranesi finds the raster image straightaway this time, because you have already redefined the alias in exercise 1.13.

The weave grain is shown in the Grain preview box on the Toolbox.

3	Paint the scene.

The grain produces a two-dimensional weave pattern, overlaid onto the pink coloured ink. Notice that the dark cross-hatch pattern of the grain is painted with the pink ink, and the white spaces between are transparent. For example:

4	Click on the Grain preview box to display the Grain Settings window.

This grain is a Raster grain. We will meet another type of grain in Tutorial 3.

5	Experiment with the Scale and Bias settings to see their effect.

The Grain preview box reflects your changes.

6	Click Details... to display the Grain Details window, or double-click the Grain preview box.

The File name shows the raster file that is being used for the grain. Notice that the alias <your path> that you redefined in exercise 1.13 is shown as part of the path to the raster file.

For details about an option, refer to Piranesi's context-sensitive help, or see the Piranesi User Guide.


1.15: Partial styles

Some styles do not update all of the settings on the Toolbox. These styles are called partial styles. You can use a series of partial styles to build up the required effect.

1	Apply style Weave grain (partial) if it is not already applied.

2	Change the colour of the paint, using the Colour preview box (see 1.10: Changing the paint colour).

3	Apply style Weave grain (partial) again.

The new colour remains as it is. Try changing some of the other toolbox settings, and selecting the style again. Unless you change the grain, your changes remain as they are.

4	To look at the style's properties, with Weave grain (partial) selected click [image] on the Style Browser toolbar, or click Properties... on the Style menu of the Style Browser.

Notice that only the Grain field check box is selected in the Fields list.

This means that when you apply the style to the Toolbox, only the grain tool is updated.

6	Click Cancel to remove the Style Properties window.


1.16: Saving and closing files

When you have finished working, you will want to save your work, and close the file. In this exercise, we will save the cube scene to a different name, and then close it.

1	Click Save As... on the File menu.

The Save As window is displayed.

2	Select the drive and folder into which you want to save the file.

3	Type a name for the new file.

If you don't type an extension, Piranesi automatically adds the extension .epx

4	Click Save.

The status bar at the bottom of the Piranesi window shows you the progress of the save. You can press Esc to cancel the save at any time.

5	Click Close on the File menu to close the file.


Tutorial 2: 3D effects

In this tutorial, you will paint a scene using textures, colours, and the fog render action. You'll then export the colour 'channel'.


2.1: Using coloured raster textures

There are a number of different types of texture that you can use with Piranesi. In this exercise, the texture is a coloured raster image.

1	Open the file blocks.epx.

2	In the Style Browser, select the category Tutorial2.

3	Apply the Stripey texture style to the Toolbox.

4	Paint the arch as shown below.

This style has the Plane and Material locks switched on, so only pixels that are in the same plane as the first pixel, and are rendered in the same material are painted. You will, therefore, have to use a number of separate brush strokes to paint the different planes of the arch.

The effect slider is set to 50%. This means that overlapping brush strokes will build up the colour (as we saw in 1.8: Varying the effect amount). If you don't want this effect, ensure that you paint each plane using only one brush stroke.

Notice that the Colour on the Toolbox is set to black, but the texture overrides this with its own colours because the Texture Amount slider is set to 100%.

Also the texture 'wraps around' the arch in three-dimensions, because it is a tangential texture. Generally, raster textures are aligned so that they point 'up' the plane.

5	Click on the Texture preview box, to display the Texture Settings window.

The Texture Settings window is displayed.

Look at the settings to familiarise yourself with them. Notice that the texture type is Raster.

6	Click the Details... button on the Texture Settings window, or double-click the Texture Preview box.

The Texture Details window is displayed. Click the Raster tab.

The File name shows the raster file that is being used for the texture. Notice that the alias <your path> that you redefined in 1.12: Raster file aliases is again used as part of the path to the raster file.

You could try changing some of the settings, such as the scale on the Settings window, and angle and mode on the Raster Details window, to see what effect they have.

You can get further information about an option by using Piranesi's context-sensitive help. See the introduction to these tutorials for more information about using Piranesi help.

Remember that you can undo your experimental edits using the Undo tool. If you have made a number of edits that you want to undo, use the Restore brush in the Tutorial1 category, and paint over the edits to restore the original. (You may notice that the brush size on the Restore brush appears smaller with this scene, than when you used it in exercise 1.4 of Tutorial 1. This is because the brush size is measured in EPix file pixels.)


2.2: Using alpha textures

In this exercise, the style uses an 'alpha texture'. With alpha textures, the alpha information defines the transparency of the texture: Piranesi paints solid paint in the black areas, and the white areas are transparent. If there are any grey areas in the image, these are painted proportional to how light or dark the grey is.

1	Apply the Dot alpha texture style to the Toolbox.

2	Double-click on the Texture preview box, to display the Texture Settings and Texture Details windows.

3	Click the Raster tab on the Details window.

The raster dots image is shown. Notice that the dots are black, on a white background.

4	Paint the top of the arch, and one of the cubes, as shown below.

The spots are painted in the blue colour selected on the Toolbox, rather than the black shown in the image. The white parts of the raster image are transparent.

You can check whether a raster image is an alpha texture by checking the Texture preview box; if there is alpha information, an alpha symbol is shown.

Refer to the online help text 'Brushes, textures, and grain: how they work' for more information about alpha textures.


2.3: Using fog

You can create effects that fade by using the Fog render action.

1	Apply the Blue fog style to the Toolbox.

The Fog render action is selected on the Toolbox, with a light blue colour.

2	Click the Fog tab on the Settings window.

The Fog Mode is set to depth, which means that you can fade the effect uniformly between two depths on the scene.

We want the effect to be full at the back of the scene, and to fade gradually to nothing towards the front of the scene.

3	Click Pick next to the Full text box, and click on the background.

The Full text box is updated with the point you selected.

4	Click Pick next to the None text box, and click in the middle of the base.

The None text box is updated with the point you selected.

Notice that the setting for Full is at a greater depth than None.

You can also select Full and None in one action:

•	click on a Pick button

•	press the mouse button over the first point (for example, if you clicked the Full Pick button this point identifies the depth at which the fog is thickest)

•	drag the mouse, and release at the second point (for example, if you clicked the Full Pick button this point identifies the depth at which there is no fog)

5	Use the brush to paint the fog over the top two thirds of the scene.

The thickness of the paint increases with the depth of the scene.

6	Now apply the style Fading stripes.

This is a much more complex style. It combines the Fog render action with the stripey coloured texture we saw earlier. It also has the plane and material locks switched on, and uses the Fill applicator instead of the brush.

Click anywhere on the base.

This time, the effect is strongest at the front of the scene. Take a look at the Settings window; the Full fog setting is at a lesser depth than the None setting.

The stripes run diagonally from right to left. This is because the plane is horizontal, so the texture cannot align 'up' the plane. Instead, it aligns horizontally, in a direction that depends on the model. You can change the angle of the stripes using the Angle setting on the Texture Details window.

7	Save the scene to a new name, but don't close it.


2.4: Exporting and importing colour images

When you have painted a scene, you can export the coloured part of the scene (the EPix file's RGB channel). For example, you may want to save a number of different 'versions' of paint for a particular scene, and saving only the RGB channel in a compressed format means smaller files; or you could import the RGB channel into a different application; or you may want to send the exported file to be made into slides professionally.

1	Click Export on the File menu.

The Save As window is displayed.

2	Select the folder into which you want to save the exported file.

3	Type a name for the exported file.

4	Select 24-bit bitmap file from the 'Save as type' drop-down menu.

You can also export to Targa and Tiff formats.

5	Click Save.

The RGB channel is exported.

6	Close the current EPix file.

7	Open the original EPix file blocks.epx.

This is the original greyscale scene. We'll now import the RGB channel we just exported, to see the effect.

8	Click Import on the File menu.

The Open window is displayed.

9	Select the bitmap file you just saved.

10	Click Open.

The scene is painted in the colours you saved.

11	Close the file.

Piranesi displays a prompt asking you whether you want to save the file. Click No. The file is closed without being saved.

You could also open the bitmap file in another application, such as a painting package, or a word processing package that allows you to import bitmaps.


The effect is the result of all options and settings you specify in the Toolbox. It includes applicator, colour, texture, action, grain, and how the paint will be blended into the image.


For ease of reading, in Piranesi the term painting is used to describe the action of applying the result of the Toolbox settings to the scene, although this may not be strictly accurate. For example, you can choose the Ink or Tint effect, instead of Paint.


In Piranesi, pixel refers to EPix file pixels, not the display pixel resolution.


 A style is a collection of settings that you specify in the Toolbox. A style does not always specify all of the Toolbox options. For example, it may define the colour and texture to be used, but not the applicator, locks, grain, and effect.


The toolbar contains buttons that give you quick access to menu commands and features. To see the name of a button, point to it with the mouse. To show or hide the toolbar, click Toolbar on the View menu.


The Toolbox provides the tools that you use to paint a scene. By default, it is displayed in the left-hand sidebar of the Piranesi window.


Tutorial 3: Photorealism

In this tutorial, you use Piranesi to paint a lobby scene to produce a photorealistic image.

You will explore the flood fill tool and textures in more detail. You'll also learn how to place cutouts (items of scenery).


3.1: Global and local flood fill

When you are using the Fill tool in conjunction with the locks, you can set different modes. In this exercise, we'll explore the different modes.

1	Open the file lobby.epx.

2	In the Style Browser, select the category Tutorial3.

3	Apply the Flooring style to the Toolbox.

4	Click in the middle of the floor.

Because the style has the Plane and Material locks switched on, only the floor is painted. But notice to the right of the desk - the floor has not been painted:

Double-click on the Fill tool to display the Fill Settings window.

The Fill mode is set to Local. This means that only pixels that are in the same contiguous area as the pixel you clicked on are painted.

5	Click [image] on the toolbar to undo the fill.

6	Change the Fill mode to Global.

7	Click in the middle of the floor again.

This time the entire floor is filled.


3.2: Raster textures and plane textures

In Tutorial 2, you used some raster textures. In this exercise, we'll use some more raster textures, and also a 'procedural' texture.

1	Apply the style Wooden table to the Toolbox.

2	Move the cursor to the scene, press-and-hold Ctrl + Spacebar (the cursor changes to a magnifying glass), and click on the desktop.

Piranesi zooms into the point at which you clicked. You can also zoom in by clicking the Zoom tool on the Toolbox, or by using the zoom commands on the View menu.

3	Paint the table.

Because Plane lock is switched on, you will have to use three separate paint actions.

This texture is a raster texture, similar to the textures you used before.

4	Press-and-hold Shift + Spacebar, and click on the scene to zoom back out.

5	Apply another raster texture style, Slate walls, to the Toolbox, and paint the walls to the left and back of the scene.

The curved wall on the left is rendered in a different material from the flat walls. Although the Fill mode is global, because Material lock is on you will have to paint the two different surfaces separately.

6	Now apply the style Leather texture, and paint the chairs to the left of the scene.

Notice that the alpha symbol is shown in the Texture preview box, so this is an alpha texture similar to the Dot alpha texture we met in Tutorial 2. However, the textures we have used until now have been raster textures, which use raster images to produce the texture effect. If you look in the Texture Settings window, the texture type for the leather style is Plane.

7	Click on the Details... button on the Texture Settings window to display the Texture Details window, and click on the Plane tab.

Plane textures are 'procedural' textures, which means that they are calculated from the parameters you set on the Texture Details window. The current result is shown in the picture on the right. Adjust some of the settings to see the effect they have. Note that Plane textures are three dimensional, and the picture shows a cross-section. This means that the texture you see when you apply the effect depends upon the plane of the surface.


3.3: Placing cutouts

You can place items of scenery, called 'cutouts', in the scene to create a more lively photorealistic effect.

1	Apply style People cutout 1 to the Toolbox.

The Montage applicator [image] is selected on the Toolbox.

2	Click the Details button on the Montage Settings window.

The Cutout Details window is displayed.

It shows a picture of the cutout you are going to place on the scene, an image of two men. Notice that the Mode is Frontal. This means that the cutout will be facing forwards when you place it in the scene.

The size of the cutout is 1.9 m. The size at which this is placed in the scene depends upon how the model units relate to real world units. You can change this by using the Geometry tab on the File Properties window. This lobby scene was modelled at a scale of 1 to 10 (model to real world), so the Geometry in Piranesi is set so that 1 model unit is 1/10th of a metre. The Piranesi libraries are set up so that cutouts and texture have 'real world' sizes, therefore it is sensible to set up the Geometry appropriately.

3	Close the Details window, and move your cursor over the scene.

A rectangular outline is shown to indicate the size of the cutout. As you move the cursor, Piranesi automatically changes the size of the cutout so that it is in perspective.

4	Click on the floor near the leather chairs.

The men are drawn on the scene.

5	Now select style People cutout 2.

This time, we'll place the cutout on the stairs behind the desk.

6	Look at the Details window for this cutout.

Notice that the Hook point, where the cross-hairs intersect on the picture, is at the woman's feet.

When you click on the scene to place a cutout, the Hook point is positioned at the point you click. But in this case, the step onto which we want to place the woman's feet is hidden by the desk.

7	Move the mouse cursor to the tread of the first step where it is visible, and press-and-hold the mouse button:

8	Drag the mouse so that the outline is behind the desk.

A line is drawn between the initial point and the cursor. Move the cursor so that the line is roughly parallel with the step, so that you place the woman at the appropriate depth.

9	Release the mouse button.

The cutout of the woman is pasted.

The woman's feet are placed on the plane of the step, and at the depth of the cursor when you released the mouse button. Piranesi automatically works out that the desk is in front of the cutout, and hides the woman's lower legs behind the desk.

You can also place cutouts so that they are cropped by the edge of the scene. For example, you could place the woman right at the front of the scene, such that her feet are not shown. To do this, you drag the cursor off the edge of the scene before you release the mouse button. As long as the cursor is still within the main Piranesi window, Piranesi calculates the perspective correctly.


3.4: Tangential cutouts

The cutouts you have used so far have been placed facing the front of the scene. You can also place cutouts so that they are tangential to a particular plane.

1	Apply style Sign cutout.

2	Click the Details button on the Montage Settings window.

The Cutout Details window is displayed. It shows a picture of the cutout you are going to place on the scene, an image of a company sign 'Piranesi & Sons'. Notice that the Mode is Tangent.

3	Close the Details window, and move your cursor over the scene.

A rectangular outline is shown to indicate the size of the cutout. As you move the cursor, Piranesi automatically changes the size of the cutout so that it is in perspective, as before. In addition, the orientation of the cutout is changed so that it matches the plane of the pixel under the cursor.

4	Click on the wall to the left of the stairs.

The sign is placed on the wall, with correct perspective and orientation.

You can also place tangential cutouts behind existing items in the scene (as in 3.3), and you can choose one plane for the orientation, and a different plane for the placement of the Hook point. Refer to the on-line Help text topic 'Using the Montage applicator', or refer to the Piranesi User Guide for more information.


3.5: Depth and material view

When you add a cutout to the scene, the definitions of the material and depth of the pixels that you replace are changed. Piranesi enables you to look at the different properties of the pixels, by selecting different views.

1	Click Restore Material on the View menu.

The material in which each pixel was rendered in the original EPix file is shown.

Piranesi stores this information, so that you can restore the material using the Restore render action.

To see which material a colour represents, click Materials Window on the View menu to display the Materials window.

2	Now click Material on the View menu, to see how the materials have changed.

Notice how the cutouts show up as different materials. You can also see how the depth has changed, by selecting the Restore Depth and Depth commands from the View menu. Similarly, you can look at the original colour by selecting Restore RGB. You usually use the RGB view when you are painting a scene.

3	Click RGB on the View menu to return to the RGB view.


3.6: Adding shadow effects

When you add cutouts to a scene, you will often want to add shadows to make the scene look more realistic.

1	Apply style Shadow effect brush.

2	Use the paint brush to add shadows to the scene around the objects.

For example, you could add shadows cast by the two men, the woman, and the leather chairs.


3.7: Adding highlights

You can use the fog render action to add lighting effects to your scene.

1	Apply the style Graduated highlight.

2	Use the brush to apply the fog to the desktop.

Notice that the fog has been set up so that it is thickest in the corner of the desk, and gradually fades.

3	Save the EPix file to a new name, to save your work.


Tutorial 4: Beyond Photorealism

In this tutorial, you will create a watercolour effect scene, using textures, edge rendering, raster brushes, the painter applicator, and grain. You will also learn about re-rendering the scene.


4.1: Adding textures

1	Open the file city.epx.

2	In the Style Browser, select the category Tutorial4.

3	Use styles 01 to 05 to paint the windows on the buildings, and style 06 to paint the roofs.

For example:

These are photographic raster textures. They are tangential, and so change their perspective and orientation appropriately.


4.2: Blending textures and colours

When you use a raster texture that has its own colour, you can also blend the raster colour with the paint colour. For example, you can blend white paint into a raster texture that has strong colour to 'knock it back'.

1	Apply style Sky fill to the Toolbox.

Notice that the Texture Amount slider is set to 30%. This means that only 30% of the raster file's colour will be painted, the remaining 70% will be the selected paint colour (white).

Take a look at the Texture Details window with the Raster tab selected, to see the raster picture that you will be using. Close the Texture Details window.

2	Click on the sky on the scene.

The colours of the painted sky are very much more subtle than those in the raster image. Use Undo, and experiment with different colour mixes to see the effect.

3	Apply style Fog, and click anywhere on the buildings.

This is a grey fog effect, used in this scene to emphasise distance by creating a summer haze. The material lock means that the fog is painted only on the buildings. Click on the Fog Settings window. The Fog Mode is Depth, which means that the thickness of the fog is dependent upon the depth of the pixel. In this style, the fog gets thicker as the depth increases.


4.3: Re-rendering a scene

As we saw in Tutorial 3, in addition to the colour, depth, and material of the current scene, Piranesi saves the colour, depth, and material of the original EPix file in the 'Restore channels'. Piranesi uses the colour, depth, and material information from the Restore channels when you use the Restore render action.

Sometimes you'll want to change what is stored in the Restore RGB, Depth, and Material channels, and therefore restored when you use the Restore render action.

1	Save the scene to a new name, such as citywork.epx.

2	Click Restore RGB on the View menu, to display the colours that were in the original EPix file.

The Restore colours are shown.

These are the colours that would be restored if you used the Restore render action.

3	Click RGB on the View menu to see the current colours.

4	Click Re-Render on the File menu, and click Yes to confirm on the prompt box.

5	Now click Restore RGB on the View menu again.

The colours in the Restore RGB channel are now the same as those in the current RGB channel. These are the colours that will be restored when you use the Restore brush.

Note that Re-Render also changes the Restore Depth and Restore Material.

6	Click RGB on the View menu to return to the normal view.

If you forget to return to the current RGB view, you won't be able to see any changes when you paint!


4.4: Using the Edge render action

You can use Piranesi to create an outline sketch of a scene. First you blank the scene, then you use the Edge render action to pick out the edges.

1	Apply style Clear to white, then click on the scene.

The entire scene is filled with white paint.

2	Apply style Edge brush.

3	Use the brush applicator to paint over the scene.

The edges of the scene are picked out as you paint over them.


4.5: Raster brushes and restoring colour

You can use raster images to create interesting brush shapes. In this tutorial, we'll use a raster brush to restore some of the original colour.

1	Apply style Rough colour restore.

Notice that the Colour Amount slider is set to 0%. The Colour Amount slider controls the balance between the Restore RGB colour, and the selected paint colour. If it is set to 0%, the brush paints the Restore colour without mixing in any of the paint colour.

2	Click Details... on the Brush Settings window to see a picture of the raster brush that you are going to use.

3	Paint the scene.

Plane lock is switched on, so you will have to use a number of separate brush strokes to paint the scene. The Effect Amount slider is set to 50% to create a soft effect. You can overlap brush strokes to build up colour, similar to watercolour paint.

For example:


4.6: Using the painter applicator

You use the painter applicator to splatter paint over the scene.

1	Apply style Large marks.

The painter applicator [image] is selected. Again, the Colour Amount slider is set to 0% to restore the colour. A grain effect has also been added, and the effect is now 100%.

2	Click the Details... button on the Painter Settings window.

The picture shows the shape of the brush that you are going to use.

3	Move your cursor over the scene, press-and-hold the mouse button, and drag the cursor over the scene.

Notice how brush strokes are scattered all around the cursor. You can change the spread of the scattered brush strokes on the Settings window. You can change the shape of the brush using the options on the Details window. Refer to the online help text for information about the options.

4	Now apply style Medium marks.

This is another painter style. Look at the Details window to see the brush shape.

5	Paint the scene with this brush.

This time, because Material lock is switched on, when you drag the cursor over the sky, the scattered brush strokes don't spill over onto the buildings, because they are rendered in a different material. To paint the buildings, you must start a new brush stroke. Similarly, the building paint doesn't overlap onto the sky.

6	Now use style Small marks to add fine detail.

This time, Plane lock is switched on, so that the edges of planes don't overlap, and you must start a new brush stroke for each plane.

You may also want to use the Edge brush again, to re-draw some of the edges to create the finished picture.


Tutorial 5: Halftoning and modelling with paint

In this Tutorial, you will use halftoning and threshold textures.

You will also 'model' with the paint, by using the Construct render action.


5.1: Halftoning techniques

You can use Piranesi textures to create halftoning effects.

1	Open the file blocks.epx.

2	In the Style Browser, select the category Tutorial4.

3	Apply the Clear to white style that you used in Tutorial 4, and fill the scene with white paint.

4	Select the category Tutorial5.

5	Apply style Hatching 45% to the Toolbox.

This is a three-dimensional Plane texture. Notice the alpha symbol in the Texture preview box, to indicate that this is an alpha texture.

6	Display the Texture Details window for the style, and select the Threshold tab.

Notice that the Threshold Enable box is checked. Until now, the styles have not used the Threshold. With thresholding, you specify areas of the scene over which solid paint will be applied, and areas of the scene over which no paint will be applied. The areas are defined using the lightness and darkness of the Restore RGB.

7	Click the Enable box to turn thresholding off.

The threshold details are greyed, and the picture on the Details window shows the cross-section of the Plane texture, without thresholding.

8	Click the Enable box again, to turn it back on.

The picture changes to indicate the thresholding.

9	Click Fill [image], turn the Material lock off [image], and click on the scene to fill it with the hatching style.

Notice that the areas of the scene that were white have no texture applied. Areas that were dark grey have solid paint applied. The amount of paint applied to pixels that are between the two depends upon the darkness of the Restore RGB.

10	Repeat steps 2 to 9 for the style Mezzotint.

This style is a 'noise' texture. Noise textures are similar to plane textures because they are 'procedural' (calculated from parameters that you set), and they are alpha textures. However, noise textures are two dimensional.

Notice that the Light threshold is set to 1.25. If the Light threshold is set to 1.0, pixels that are white in the Restore RGB have no paint applied, and anything darker is painted. If the threshold is set to greater than 1, white areas are painted, as in this example.

11	Blank the scene again, and paint the scene using style Dot screen.

This is a raster texture, with threshold applied. Because it is in Tangential mode, Plane lock is used so that you paint each plane separately, and the raster texture is applied tangentially to that plane.

You may want to change the applicator to Fill, to paint the larger surfaces quickly.

To paint the curved surfaces, switch off Plane lock [image], and use Material lock [image] instead.

For this style, the Dark threshold is set to a negative number. If the Dark threshold is set to 0.0, pixels that are black in the Restore RGB are painted in solid paint, and anything lighter has less paint applied. By setting the Dark threshold to less than 0.0, the black area of the original EPix file are painted with less-than-solid paint.

(Note that if you used Fill with no locks set, as we did for the two previous styles, the raster texture would be applied tangentially to the plane that you first clicked on. You may like to try this to see the effect.)

12	Blank the scene again, and use a combination of the three halftone styles you used above with the brush applicator and Material lock switched on to paint the scene.

For example:

13	Save the file to a new name.

14	Close the file.


5.2: Extending planes

You can extend existing planes using the Construct render action. In this exercise, we will extend the base to fill the bottom left-hand corner, and to form a straight line at the horizon.

1	Open the file blocks.epx again.

2	Apply style Extend plane to the Toolbox.

Look at the Construct Settings window.

The 'Replace farther pixels' mode is selected. This means that you will paint over pixels that are further away than the plane you are extending.

3	Move your cursor to the base near the bottom left-hand corner, and press-and-hold the mouse.

The pixel that you were pointing at when you pressed the mouse button defines the plane that you are going to extend.

4	Drag the mouse off the base, and paint over the background.

The plane is extended. Notice that if you drag the mouse over the blocks they are not painted, because they are in front of the base.

A dark line is visible where the old plane meets the new plane. This is a shadow that was on the original plane, and was therefore not replaced. To remove this, click the 'Include pixels in plane' check box on the Construct Settings window, and carefully extend the plane over the dark line. Note that if you paint over the shadows of the cubes or cylinder, these will also be replaced because they lie on the selected plane. Switch off 'Include pixels in plane'.

5	Now click towards the back of the base, and drag the mouse to paint the horizon.

Remember that you can paint a straight horizontal line by moving the cursor in a horizontal direction, then pressing Shift to constrain the cursor movement. You can then release Shift for freedom of movement.

If you extend the plane using more than one brush stroke, remember to click on the correct plane each time.

6	Compare the Restore Depth and Restore Material views with the current Depth and Material views.

Notice that the Construct render action changes the colour, depth, and material of the replaced pixels.


5.3: Demolishing foreground information

You can use the Construct render action to remove an item in the foreground, by extending the plane that is behind it.

1	Apply style Demolish foreground to the Toolbox.

Notice that the Mode on the Construct Settings window is set to 'Replace nearer pixels'. 'Include pixels in plane' is also selected.

2	Move the cursor to the base, press-and-hold the mouse, then drag the mouse cursor over the cylinder at the front of the scene.

The cylinder is removed from the scene.


5.4: Constructing railings

You can use the Construct tool in conjunction with textures to build new features. In this exercise, we will extend a plane to create railings.

1	Apply style Construct railings to the Toolbox.

2	Explore the Settings and Details windows for the style.

The style is an alpha raster texture, with the Construct render action selected.

3	Move the mouse cursor to the inside of the arch, at the foot, and press-and-hold the mouse button.

4	Drag the mouse, to paint the railings.

Notice how the railings are drawn in the plane that you first clicked on. Items in front of the railings obscure them, and the railings obscure items behind them.

Congratulations! You have now completed the Piranesi Tutorials.