تويت
MATRIX SENCE part 2
1. Use 3 samples of the texture created in Photoshop based on GODspeed's tutorial, but note some minor adjustments, because what we need is an Opacity map not a diffuse one.
Adjustments: -- instead of green we have white;
--we have to create the "shooting star" effect of the screen, to do that, use the Burn tool (Highlights 40-50%) to fade in some portions of the type; for a more accurate effect use Burn (Midtones 40-50%) and Burn (Shadows 20-30%) over the areas affected by Burn Highlights.
The 3 images that we are going to use as textures have to have different type size as shown. The layout of the letters is random.
2. Now out of Photoshop and into MAX;
Create an object, it doesn't matter what (I used planes because of the low polygon count);
Rendering -- Material Editor select a new slot and create a Composite Material (as showed above);
Mat 1 - I used a Standard Material with 100% additive blending ;
Mat 2 – I used a Standard Material 80% additive blending;
Mat 3 – I used Standard Material 70% additive blending;
3. As a Base Material use a Standard Base Material with the settings showed below; The same settings for Specular Highlights are used for materials matrix A, matrix B and matrix C.
4.adv matrix -- matrix A and lets adjust the settings: Note that Self Illumination color is Green (141,249,141) and that as an Opacity map we have matrix test2 texture created previously in Photoshop; I've added some tiling and some V offset and of course a U rotation angle
5. back to adv matrix; go to adv matrix--matrix B and adjust the settings as done with matrix A; as an Opacity map use matrix test3 (use the images as a guide); notice there are some differences and that's because we don't want the materials to be alike, we want the material to cover the object as best as possible, and not to leave gaps when tiling (that's why I used different V offset, tiling and U angle rotation)
6. After creating this cool material let's return to the viewport and see how it looks on our object. What you'll get is almost nothing in the viewport because we used a Composite material. To see how the material really looks, do a quick render - or use Active Shade Viewport to get a preview in your viewport. Now it's a prefect time to observe any imperfections or gaps in the texture. To eliminate them go to Material Editor--adv matrix, and adjust the tiling value; the V offset or the U rotation angle.
7. We have the object and the material, so let's go and animate; First you have to understand what exactly you are going to do. You will be creating a scrolling effect on the object by scrolling the texture. The scrolling effect, so that it will look more realistic, will be designed separately for the three materials of the adv matrix material (the Base material is not going to be animated because we want the black background to stay put). Open Track View - Curve editor and find the adv matrix material (see Image). Now go to:
adv matrix -- Material 1: matrix A--Maps--Opacity: matrix test 2-- Coordinates -- V Offset: There you'll insert two keys one at the beginning of your animation and one at the end;
7. About the keys, I must admit that positioning them and the tangents type is everything for the animation. So a little bit of theory: (You can skip this part and use the values I used, but if you want to modify the timing it's best if you read this) The movement of the screen is a constant, that put into Physics means - that the graphic of the speed is a straight line and not a curve. Knowing this, and knowing that we have only two keys and their tangents, means that we have to adjust the tangents in such a way to obtain the line.(Check the value for the first key and the graphic below.) Notice the tangents type set to Custom for a better control.
The speed of the flow will remain constant as long as your graphic is a straight line, but the value of the speed (how fast the texture flows) depends on the number of frames your animation has. If you increase the number of frames then you also have to increase the value of the speed (so that you'll get the same effect, otherwise the result will be disappointing);
Ex: a 200 frame animation at 30fps corresponds to -1 value; a 300 frame animation at 30fps corresponds to -1.5;
Generalization: to obtain the same effect at any number of frames (with the same 30fps frame rate) use the formula:
x / y = 1/200
where x - the value (unknown) and y - the desired number of frames;
Note: If after trying out this tutorial you feel that the texture is flowing too fast try using your own values, I just made an approximation after watching the movie so the values I used are not that relevant. (If you obtain better ones let me know);
8. What you see above are the 3 graphics, of the 3 materials animated (matrix A, matrix B, and matrix C) Notice that the values are different for each key though the effect is the same. The reason for this is that I wanted the speed to remain constant and to keep the variation and to break the obvious symmetries due to tiling. Here are the actual values I used:
matrix A: 0 and -1; matrix B: 0.5 and -0.5; matrix C: 0.3 and -0.7;
See anything particular about those values ( you guessed well more theory...) But I'm going to be concise because I know you hate reading all the whys behind a tutorial (that's why tutorials exist so that you don't bother and focus on how it’s done); The secret is that the lines must be parallel in order to keep the speed constant.
9. Finally, rendering your animation; First you should know some things I noticed:
It takes some time to get it rendered ( approx 30 min at 200 f, 30fps on a P4 1.5GHz, 788MB RAM) so try and keep the scene as clean as possible with only the necessary polygons.
If you encounter problems with the flow of the texture you should check the keys if they are set properly. ( The first time I rendered it worked fine the first 50 frames or so then the texture got like stuck and then the speed increased. I found out it was the setting of the keys)
Use negative values for the keys instead of positive ones, otherwise the texture will flow from bottom to the top.
Don't forget about the tangents (In and Out)
Depending on the compression you use and on the antialiasing your image could get blurry.
Keep those in mind and have fun;
Thanks to GODspeed for his tutorial and I hope you like what your image has served for. See what other people do with it!
Here's a pic I rendered for you how the corridor looks with the texture on, too bad you can see the actual movie ( my creation not the Reloaded). Any problem you encounter don't hesitate to Instant message me, though my answers might not make it in time ( I don't have the possibility to access the Net everyday).
