Bryce Deep Texture tutorial

This tutorial starts with 14 categories of textures, starting from plain,noiseless procedural textures,
ending with complex three component and four texture surfaces.
If you do not wish to read the whole of this section, you may go to the categories section.
I have divided the areas up in what to me is a logical sequence and grouping of the textures.

Category 1 - Basic


This series of textures is mainly concerned with the various optical and surface properties of the texture rendering. I consider it very important to have an understanding of this area before proceding to the Deep Texture Controls. In this section I attempt to show by example, the effect of transparency on the Value, or Alpha map, whether it be global transparency or local. It essential to understand what the Value component does, with regard to the surface texture controls in the Materials Composer A cursory glance of the ambient and surface colour is also given in this series.

Category 2 - Value and Bump


In this series, the Bump Mapping or Normale (as it is called in Bryce) is examined. Effects are illustrated in which Value is combined with Normale with various surface attributes of transparency and reflectivity. To implement Value and Normale, simple sine and square noise is introduced, as these parameters are needed to show these effects.

Category 3 - Mapping


This area concentrates on the surface mapping. For this I have used a simple sine two component texture at contrasting angles, which demonstrate these parameters clearly.

Category 4 - Effects


A small series of effects which provide interesting variations of the object's surface. Fuzziness being one of the main effects, allowing the object to appear to have a fuzzy halo.

Category 5 - Colourmapping


This feature allows the colours of the texture to be varied in a number of ways. Namely in the way that the colours are banded. Colours in turn, as will be seen in other examples, will be influenced in turn by various filtering techniques. Basically, the colour map will determine where and how colours will be mapped in turn.

Every component has a maximum of three colours. These colours are chosen from a colour palette, using the "eyedropper" tool, or alternatively, slider bars from which colours can be numberically altered, either using RGB (additive) or CMY (subtractive) values. More about the colours interact with each other will be discussed in the other sections.

Category 6 - 1D texture


The One Dimensional Texture (see deep texture explorer) group explores the effect of noises on the surface in one dimension. Note that the noise appears only one one plane or direction on the surface, this could be compared to directional grain. It has a similarity to the layers in a cake or in "liquorice allsort" sweet. Each example is set show the effects of different types of noise accessible in the deep texture area. In this case, the noise is vertical only in the "xy" plane, its default, x = 0, y = 0. Certain noises have been left out in this series as the full effect cannot be discerned in one dimension ie. "Triangular" noise. In all dimensional noise categories I have shown simple direction only, to make things clearer, notwithstanding, it is possible to rotate the noise to reorient it with regard to the surface. Some very interesting effects can be achieved by doing this.

In the 1D textures, the way that colours and values with each other can be seen. The colour/value is determined by the noise chosen. Later it will be seen how the filters can alter the relationship between the colours.

Category 7 - 2D texture


The Two Dimensional Texture group explores the effect of noises on the surface in two dimensions, x and y. Perhaps this noise is more akin to the famous "Blackpool Rock" candy in which the texture penetrates the surface in another dimension, so that the word or pattern appears as layers or stripes if the surface is cut through in the opposing plane to the surface pattern. Note that I have left out 3D textures as they are similar in effect to 2d, but with one more dimension, z, so the noise will penetrate in 3D from all directions.

Category 8 - Octaves


As its name implies from its musical origin, raising the settings up an octave has the effect of doubling the frequency, therefore making the texture much larger and more detailed. Because of this effect, higher overall texture frequency had to be used in order to see the detail more clearly. Octave settings are usually used in conjunction with Phase Modulation in which other frequencies can be either added or subtracted from the octaves, as the varying frequencies intersect. This is demonstrated in the next section.

 

Category 9 - Modes


In these cases, one simple sine texture has been used at a one octave setting. The Mode settings have been applied in order, allowing the effects to be clearly seen. If one can imagine two wave forms at different frequencies combined, it has the effect of a moire pattern. Using mode in its various forms either cuts out or adds the overlaps together. This treatment is very similar to the additive and subtractive filters used in Photoshop.

Category 10 - Phase


Phase is an application of a phase noise, which has a dialogue box exactly the same as that in the original noise box. What Phase actually does, is use a noise to displace the noise in the texture noise area. It could be compared to throwing a stone into rippling water, the effect of throwing the stone into the water, would cause disturbances in the actual pattern. In the Phase attributes dialogue, the amount or amplitude is able to be varied. The higher the amplitude, the more disturbed or displaced the original noise will be. With the analogy of the stone (Phase) disturbing the ripples (Texture Noise) in the water, the amplitude would represent whether the stone was a tiny pebble (small disturbances) or a large rock (more displaced and distorted ripples.)

By now it will have most surely become apparent how infinitely complex this deep texture area is, with controls which can vary the texture by not only using noise - 1D, 2D, 3D with rotation and at varying frequencies, but also noise types, influencing it with Octaves and Modes, and finally, disturbing it with Phase noise applied at varying amplitudes, the noise in Phase being as varied as the Texture noise! The only limit on to applying these effects is the amount of time the user is prepared to allow for the render!

Category 11 - Filter


The application of filter changes relationship within the colours or values selected in the 3 colour selected for the texture. Every component has a palette from which 3 separate colours can be chosen. These colours can either be mixed using RGB video additive, or CMY subtractive for those more used to print based colour mixing. (See also Colour Map).

The way in which these colours are represented can be varied using the filters. The filter waves can be envisaged as representing as 3 levels of colour. Therefore, if the filter waveform is inverted, the 3 colours will be inverted also. If the filter is sine, the waveform being smooth, there will be a smooth transitions from colour to colour. It is possible to change the amplitude and wavelength by either keying in numbers, or dragging on the waveform.

Filters affect the value in the same way as the colours, the value being a tonal representation of the value. Certain filters will posterise and clip the values and colours, making a more contrasty appearance. The Altitude, Orientation and Slope filters will cause certain colours to appear in parts of the object only.

Filters are most importantly used in bump mapping, as can be seen in the series of swatches in this category, which deals with the value, or bump attribute of the texture. Bump mapping can also be applied along with colour, but is easy to see with a simple diffuse colour in these samples. Many of these filters are analagous to the filters in Photoshop, such as the Quantize filter being equivalent to the "Posterize" filter, which causes flattening of colours, with no gradation between each colour.

Category 12 - Two Component Textures


A texture can be made up of up to 3 components. Each component can be set up individually for noise, colour, value, normale, phase filter etc. as demonstrated previously. These textures may be combined by using compositing filters, similar to those in Photoshop, KPT and Painter ie. Additive, Multiply, Procedural, etc.All the compositing methods are shown in the examples.

The composites peculiar to Bryce are those which involve a three dimensional surface, such as Blend Orientation, Blend Slope, and Blend Altitude. In the examples shown, are two simple components, the textures being at right angles to each other so the difference can clearly be seen. The second component has a different colour swatch from that of the first, so that the component combinations can clearly be seen.

Finally, there are a some examples of value and normale for output only shown in the second component, and the resulting effect.

Category 13 - Three Component Textures


This series displays three component textures. In the examples shown, the first component compositing mode is not changed, so as to make clear the effect of the third component being added. It is to be remembered that any cobination of compositing modes can be invoked, adding a third, powerful dimension to the designing of surface textures in the deep texture editor.

Category 14 - Combining Textures


Finally, here is an example showing the combination of four separate textures, three of which are procedural and therefore, use the controls in the Deep Texture Editor. The final texture is a "Pict" file, which consists of imported pict containing an "Alpha" or masking channel. Each separate texture is described in detail.

It is possible to create optical effects which act on each texture separately.