Any aspiring 3D artist knows that the texture applied to an object is often the deciding factor between a stunning 3D scene and a mediocre one. For those using Ray Dream Studio 5.0 to create their 3D masterpieces, there is an array of shading tools available to create dazzling effects.The Color Channel applies the visual clues to your 3D object that will catch your viewer's eye and draw them into the scene. The obvious choice -- but not the only choice -- to fill this channel is color. With a little imagination you can take the Color Channel a long way.
Including a Texture Map in the Color Channel is one way to introduce stunning realism to your scene. Use a scanned image of wood, rusty metal, animal skin, or just about anything else from nature. Scan the image at the highest resolution your scanner allows. You can always adjust the resolution to suit your scene in your favorite photo imaging program. Ray Dream Studio allows you to tile the image across the surface of the object you're shading. Experimentation and test renders are the key here.
The Ray Dream Shader Editor. Click for a larger version.
Click for a larger version.A powerful shader operator is the Mix Operator. With the Mix Operator, you add two elements to the Color Channel and then mix them using a Function. Ray Dream Studio provides you with Natural Functions and Pattern Functions. If you have the Four Elements Extension, the functions included here can create some interesting effects.
The Natural Functions are: Wood, Marble, Spots, and Cellular. The first two functions will create realistic wood or marble shaders.
The Spots Function will introduce spots to your shader. Ray Dream Studio 5 allows you to specify the size of the spots and blending. There is also a shuffle feature which will randomly generate spots.
The Cellular Function is new to Ray Dream Studio 5. It allows you to apply an organic texture to your 3D model. This is useful, but not limited to plants, animals, and alien models.
The Pattern Functions are: Checkers, Wires, Formula, Gradient, and for those of you in a Sixties mood, Psychedelic.
For added realism, use the Bump Channel. The Bump Channel will add surface relief to your model. The Spots Function can be applied to the Bump Channel to create a stucco-like effect to a flat wall. The Cellular Function can be used in the Bump Channel to add goose bumps or a fleshy texture to an organic model. I've also used the Cellular Function to create a reasonable facsimile of parchment. The Pattern Functions can be applied with good affect in the Bump Channel.
The Wires Function can be used to create planks in a wood shader. Copying a Texture Map from the Color Channel into the Bump Channel creates nooks and crannies that follow the color contours of your model. Ray Dream Studio converts a color Texture Map into grayscale when applied to the Bump Channel. You could also create a custom grayscale texture map in your favorite photo-paint editing program. The Bump Channel converts grayscale information into height data, black being the lowest, white being the highest. A custom texture map of different sized rectangles, colored in various scales of gray, makes convincing surface relief for a space ship. Again experimentation is the key.
The spheres below were all shaded using the Mix Function and applying color to each sub-shader with different Functions used to mix the two colors. For surface relief, the Color Channel contents were copied into the Bump Channel.
Adding information to the Transparency Channel makes it possible to create items that would otherwise be very difficult to model. The sphere below had a grayscale texture map of alternating white and black stripes applied to it. Black is interpreted as transparent by this channel. Interesting effects can also be achieved by copying a texture map from the Color Channel to the Transparency Channel.
And then there are still the Highlight, Shininess, Reflection, Refraction, and Glow Channels to consider. With the exception of the Glow Channel, the logical Function to include in any of these channels would be a Value. Adding Color information, or a Texture Map to the Glow Channel will make your 3D Model appear to glow in the dark.
As you can see, the combinations for creating a Custom Shader are almost infinite. Imagination and experimentation are the keys here. Happy Rendering.
Doug Sahlin is a writer, freelance graphic illustrator, and digital artist living in Lakeland, Fla. You can E-Mail Doug at das001@earthlink.net or visit his Web site, Doug's Digital Domain at home.earthlink.net/~das001/.
