Amiga Collections: TSWF/TSWF - Turbo Silver Work & Fun n°20 (1993-01)(Worst Art Club)[WB].zip/TSWF - Turbo Silver Work & Fun nø20 (1993-01)(Worst Art Club)[WB].adf/FAQ.iml

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To: [e-mail]
Subject: FAQ (Yes! for real!) 1-20-1993



+======================================================================+
|                         Imagine Mailing List                         |
|                      FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS                      |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                     Compiled By Michael B. Comet                     |
+======================================================================+

    This is the Frequently Asked Questions posting for the Imagine
Mailing list.  This posting is sent every so often to answer general
questions that users of the 3D rendering software, Imagine by Impulse
Inc. may have.  It is aimed toward all users, especially newcomers to
the program.

    If you find any errors or have answers to other frequently asked
questions that you would like to have included in this posting, please
send e-mail to: [e-mail] (Michael B. Comet)  with a subject of
"Re: IML-FAQ".  Thank you.

    - Mike C.

========================================================================

Last Update   : January 20, 1993 Wednesday
Issue Number  : 1
What's New    : Everything!  It's issue 1 you know  :)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONTENTS:
=========

     1] References and Help Books for Imagine
     2] How do I reach Impulse?
     3] What is the Imagine Mailing List and how to get it?
     4] Why do objects render fine in Scanline, but disappear in Trace?
     5] List of common Index of Refractions
     6] How do I brushmap a ground plane?
     7] How do I make glass?
     8] The Slice command doesn't work or gives me errors.
     9] What the heck is BTW, IMO and other weird abbreviations...
    10] How do I use the Grow Effect?
    11] How do I use the Tumble Effect?
    12] Even though I move an Object/Camera/Light to a new
        POSITION/ALIGNMENT/SIZE in the STAGE editor, Imagine seems to
        'forget' what I did!
    13] When I move a Tracked Camera in the STAGE editor, it doesn't
        realign and draw the Perspective view correctly!
    14] I have a problem with Filtered objects and the Global Backdrop!

    CLOSING] Closing statements and Disclaimer

========================================================================

1] References and Help Books for Imagine

    "Imagine 2.0 User Manual", Impulse Inc, 1992.
           (Yes....read the manual!)

    "The Imagine Companion", David Duberman, Motion Blur Publishing,
         1991

    "Understanding Imagine 2.0", Steven Worley, Apex Software
         Publishing, 1992.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

2] How do I reach Impulse?

    Impulse Inc.
    8416 Xerxes ave. North
    Brooklyn Park, Minnesota 55444
    USA

    [phone]
    [phone]
    FAX: [phone]

------------------------------------------------------------------------

3] What is the Imagine Mailing List and how to get it

    (From the Imagine Mailing List Sysop, Dave Wickard)

    The Imagine Mailing List is a wide variety of Amiga computer
artists sharing friendship and knowledge. The main thrust of the List is
the Imagine renderer. Subjects discussed though have varied widely.
There are discussions of Imagine and it's competitors, Imagine wish
lists for future versions, 3D rendering principles in general, single
frame recording techniques and many more.

    With first day users thru battled scarred veterans  :-)  there is
someone at your level of knowledge on the List. We are always glad to
see questions from every level of user. So often a simple and seemingly
embarrassingly easy question will lead to an interesting comment on a
related topic.

    New products, both hardware AND software, are discussed as to their
relationship with Imagine and Amiga 3D rendering.

    Names of Amiga luminaries dot the list, and often join in to lend
their insights without the usual "noise" of a USENET newsgroup.

    There are over 300 individual sites receiving the Imagine Mailing
List, and they include many networks, BBS systems, user groups, and
individual computer artists from literally around the globe.  We share
one thing.  Interest in each other's work with Imagine.

    YOU can get the Imagine Mailing List. All you need is access to
Internet mail. Simply mail to the following address:

         [e-mail]

and in your subject line, enter the word "subscribe".

    If you are reading this from a Commercial System, ask the
Amiga Coordinator to set up an Imagine Mailing List area that
everyone can read.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

4] Why do objects render fine in Scanline, but disappear in Trace?

    There are 2 possible causes for this.
         1) You are running out of RAM
         2) You objects are outside of the World Boundary

    To check #1 (for the Amiga), pull down The Project editor after you
start a render during the initialization phase.  Click once on the
Workbench backdrop and you should see how much RAM you have on the top
of the screen.  As Imagine starts to render, this will decrease.  If it
becomes close to 0, chances are, that's your problem.  To solve that,
buy more RAM.

    The other possibility is that the objects are outside of the world
boundary.  The world boundary is basically a box in which your objects
are placed.  When you enter the STAGE editor, you are placing objects in
this "virtual box" whose center is 0,0,0.

    When you Trace, Imagine clips ALL objects that fall outside of the
box.  The size of the world boundary is set in the ACTION editor.  In
this editor, there should be an item named GLOBALS.  Whatever numbers
are set in the SIZE timeline becomes the size of the box so that it lies
from +/- Value for X,Y and Z.  The default is no information present,
which Imagine assumes is +/- 1024 units for all 3 coordinates.

    Thus to fix this problem you can:
         1) Scale your entire scene to fit inside the +/- 1024 size
            boundary
         2) Add a size line and set the X,Y,Z to the values you need
            (This can be found by using "coordinates" in the STAGE
            editor and moving the cursor around to find the values)
         3) Add a size line and set the X,Y,Z sizes to 0,0,0.  This will
           force Imagine to calculate the world size for ALL frames
            based on where objects are for the FIRST frame.  This is
            important since if your objects move farther out during
            subsequent frames, you will have to set the size manually
            (see 2 above) since it will now be outside the computed
            boundary, and thus clipped.

    Note: The world boundary has no effect in Scanline rendering.
    Note: Setting the World Size to 0,0,0 regardless of problems will
          usually DECREASE Trace times!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

5] List of common Index of Refractions

         (All items except Vacuum are in alphabetical order)
         (STP = Standard Temperature and Pressure)

         MATERIAL                      Index
         -------------------------------------
         Vacuum ...................... 1.00000 (exactly)

         Air (STP).................... 1.00029
         Acetone ..................... 1.36
         Alcohol ..................... 1.329
         Amorphous Selenium .......... 2.92
         Calspar1 .................... 1.66
         Calspar2 .................... 1.486
         Carbon Disulfide ............ 1.63
         Chromium Oxide .............. 2.705
         Copper Oxide ................ 2.705
         Crown Glass ................. 1.52
         Crystal ..................... 2.00
         Diamond ..................... 2.417
         Emerald ..................... 1.57
         Ethyl Alcohol ............... 1.36
         Flourite .................... 1.434
         Fused Quartz ................ 1.46
         Heaviest Flint Glass ........ 1.89
         Heavy Flint Glass ........... 1.65
         Glass ....................... 1.5
         Ice ......................... 1.309
         Iodine Crystal .............. 3.34
         Lapis Lazuli ................ 1.61
         Light Flint Glass ........... 1.575
         Liquid Carbon Dioxide ....... 1.20
         Polystyrene ................. 1.55
         Quartz 1 .................... 1.644
         Quartz 2 .................... 1.553
         Ruby ........................ 1.77
         Sapphire .................... 1.77
         Sodium Chloride (Salt) 1 .... 1.544
         Sodium Chloride (Salt) 2 .... 1.644
         Sugar Solution (30%) ........ 1.38
         Sugar Solution (80%) ........ 1.49
         Topaz ....................... 1.61
         Water (20 C) ................ 1.333
         Zinc Crown Glass ............ 1.517

------------------------------------------------------------------------

6] How do I brushmap a ground plane?

    The problem with brushmapping a ground plane is that the ground
itself is off 90 degrees in relation to its' axis for proper brush
placement.  (Add a primitive plane, a ground and compare them).  The
following will properly set a ground wrap:

         1) Add a ground object, select it, go into attributes, select a
           brush to use.
         2) You will now be in a requestor for the type of brushmap and
            placement etc...
         3) Select TRANSFORM AXIS
         4) Click on ALIGNMENT and set X = -90.  Leave Y and Z at 0
         5) Click on SIZE and leave X = +640.  Set Y = +2,  Z = +400
         6) Click on POSITION and Leave X = -320, Y = -200. Set Z = +1
         7) Click on PERFORM.
         8) If you want the brushmap to repeat forever click REPEAT.
         9) Click OKAY.

    Your brushmap will now be placed correctly.  You can of course
resize it on the X/Z axis if you wish for scaling purposes.

    Basically step 4 re-rotated the brush axis properly and 5 and 6
fixed the size and position which Imagine screws up since it think's
it's brushmapping on the other axis.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

7] How do I make glass?

    You can use the following Attribute setting for a default glass:

                   RED  GREEN  BLUE   VALUE
    COLOR          0    0      0      *
    REFLECT        0    0      0      *
    FILTER         255  255    255    *
    SPECULAR       255  255    255    *
    DITHERING      *    *      *      255
    HARDNESS       *    *      *      255
    ROUGHNESS      *    *      *      0
    SHININESS      *    *      *      0     (Very important see below!)

    PHONG = ON
    INDEX = 1.50
    FOG LENGTH = 0.00

    This should give you glass.

    One thing many people get confused by is:

         1) Shininess must be set to ZERO.  If you set this to anything
            but 0, the FILTER setting will not work.  This is just the
            way Imagine works since FILTER usage assumes shininess
            automatically.
         2) No background.  To get glass, you need surroundings.  If you
           render a glass cup on a pure black screen, you'll probably
            just see the highlights.  Adding global backdrop colors for
            Scanline and Ray Trace will give your object something to
            refract.
         3) Ray Trace.  To get refraction of surrounding objects
            exactly, you need to Trace, though scanline WILL approximate
           refractivity.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

8] The Slice command doesn't work or gives me errors.

    Do to the complexity of doing a 3D slice, sometimes Imagine gives
errors, or actually crashes during this operation.

    Things to do if plan on using this are:

         1) Save _ALL_ currently loaded object BEFORE trying to slice.
         2) If you get an error, move one of the objects slightly and
            try again.  Moving one of them may yield a working slice.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

9] What the heck is BTW, IMO and other weird abbreviations...

    BTW is an abbreviation for "By The Way".
    IMO is an abbreviation for "In My Opinion"
    IMHO is an abbreviation for "In My Humble Opinion"
    IML is an abbreviation for "Imagine Mailing List"
    :) is a sideways smiley face
    :( is a sideways frowny face
    :| etc.....

------------------------------------------------------------------------

10] How do I use the Grow Effect?

    To use the grow effect, create an object in the DETAIL editor that
you wish to have 'extrude' over time.  Create a spline path as normal in
the detail editor.  This will be the path the object extrudes along
during the animation.

    GROUP (not join) the object with the PATH AS THE PARENT.  If you do
not make the path the parent, it will not work.  To do this, select the
path, then hold shift and select the object, then select group.  Save
your GROUP for loading in the animation.

    Finally, add the effect in the ACTION editor for the grouped object.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

11] How do I use the Tumble Effect?

    The tumble effect is used to tumble 1 or more objects during an
animation.  To tumble an object, create your object or objects in the
DETAIL editor.  Still in the detail editor add an axis.

    Group (not join) the AXIS to all the objects you want to tumble with
the AXIS AS THE PARENT.  Then load the GROUP into the STAGE/ACTION
editor and add the effect as normal.

    NOTE: The reason for the null object (axis) as parent is that
Imagine does not TUMBLE the PARENT, just the children.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

12] Even though I move an Object/Camera/Light to a new
    POSITION/ALIGNMENT/SIZE in the STAGE editor, Imagine seems to
   'forget' what I did!

    All objects must have timelines broken wherever there is a change in
position, alignment or size.  If you do not set this up, Imagine will
forget the changes no matter what.

    Rather than going back and forth to the ACTION editor and adding
timelines, you can have Imagine automatically create the timelines
properly so everything tween like normal.  There are the "Position Bar",
"Alignment Bar" and "Size Bar" commands under the OBJECT menu in the
STAGE editor.

    So, if you have just gone to a frame and are making a new POSITION,
ALIGNMENT or SIZE for an object (or camera or light) to tween to, press
RIGHT AMIGA and 7/8/9 respectively.  Or use the respective bar commands
from the OBJECT menu.  This will extend or put a 'split' in the timeline
for you (you can check this in the ACTION editor).  Also, don't forget
to "Save Changes"if you want to keep the motion!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

13] When I move a tracked Camera in the STAGE editor, it doesn't realign
   and draw the Perspective view correctly!

    If you have Imagine 2.0 or higher, press RIGHT AMIGA and the K key
together, or select "Camera (Re)track" from the OBJECT menu.  This will
make the camera repoint to the track from the new position and will
redraw the perspective view.

    If you have an older version of Imagine (or if you just want to) you
can press RIGHT AMIGA and the C key or select "Goto" from the FRAME
menu.  Go to the current frame you are already on which will cause
imagine to redraw everything.


------------------------------------------------------------------------

14] I have a problem with Filtered objects and the Global Backdrop!

    For some reason, clear or glass like objects will not be clear when
used with a backdrop.  To get around this render with "genlock sky" and
then use an image processing program to composite the rendered image
onto the background pic for each frame.

========================================================================

CLOSING:
========

    Hopefully this document is useful to people out there.  Once again,
if there is anything you want added/changed/deleted, please e-mail as
listed at the top of the document.

    What follows is a small disclaimer so no one gets sued for
information that is accidentally incorrect or misleading.  (If you find
a mistake...please send e-mail so it can be fixed!).

    Disclaimer:   There is no guarantee regarding any information
                  presented in this document.  The information may not
                  be correct, useful or helpful.  The reader accepts ALL
                 responsibility for actions pertaining to reading this
                  document, regardless of consequence.

========================================================================
END OF IML-FAQ


--
+======================================================================+
|  Michael B. Comet - Computer Programmer / Graphics Artist  - CWRU    |
|  [e-mail]  - "IF THEN THEN THEN = ELSE ELSE ELSE = THEN"      |
+======================================================================+