Xara 2D drawings to 3D modeling program

[Mike Bailey]

I use ZBrush, I don't know if Blender can do this. The steps I use are import the image into ZB, there are several ways to use these images. These 2 examples are made from a flat plane polymesh, I import the image as a texture map, then I use mask by intensity, a function that mask the mesh similar to the image. I can then turn off the texture map to view the mask. To modify the mesh I resized on the axis that faces the mask. The mask controls how much resizing will be done to the mesh along the axis selected. Black is totally protected, white is free to move unprotected, the various shades of gray are restricted from movement, lighter = less protection, Darker = more protection.

[theinonen]

I could find then the equivalent in Blender

Basically you are going to use the image to displace the mesh. If you google Blender and displacement mapping, it will get you started.



Realsoft 3D Displace tool using cropped image from the attached picture in previous page.

[Mike Bailey]

Another 2D to 3D work, this is a learning process for me. The pattern made in Xara was used in ZBrush to create the wire mesh geometry surrounding the torus.

[Psaumure]

Very interesting.

Paul

[Gare]

I admire the fact that you can grok zBrush, Mike. To me, it's logically opaque, the UI is from Mars but the product is World Class. I don't fancy myself a stupid guy, but zBrush is one program I can't slip into from the get-go and get results.

And I'd love to!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The bump map/displacement map thing is interesting and about half the textures I've created have been in Xara for the express purpose of operating a surface. Bump mapping was first worked out by Prof. James Blinn, of the University of Utah Mafia, that matriculated the likes of Adobe founder John Warnock, most of Lucas' ILM, and is responsible for the tea kettle as a near-universal icon in modeling programs today (the guys stayed up late and brewed tea).

Bump mapping is a computationally inexpensive way to fake protrusions and dents on a surface through the use of clever shading and highlights. Now that processors can handle the Real Deal, many modeling programs offer displacement mapping, which originally happened at preview and rendering time, and was a non-destructive command...the model was mapped with protrusions, but was not saved with actual protrusions. However, in 2015, I have at least two different modeling programs that actually create welts and nubs on a surface provided you've prepared a bump/displacement map that can drive the re-surfacing.

This plate here is the color map and displacement map for a sphere I'll show you below. Notice that the colors correspond exactly, pixel for pixel, to the tones in the displacement version.



Displacements (and bump maps, they're really the same map) are created usually on a brightness scale from 0 (black) to 255 (white; a grayscale image, IOW. The trick to simple but effective maps is to blur the daylights out of it when you're finished because the smoother the transition between tones, the more interesting the detail work on the surface will look when you displace it. I used to use Gaussian blur on a bitmap copy of my finished design, but got Religion about 8 years ago when I discovered ShaderMap Pro, a fairly budget-conscious utility that does a much more intelligent job of blurring a pixel pattern then the Bell-curve effect of Gaussian blurring. It's really quite remarkable how far off simple blurring is, and how much better a displaced surface looks after using this util, which will also write a Normal and a specular map for those whose modeler offers these channels.

Anyhow, after applying the displacement map to two spheres, I set up the left one to generate bumps, while the sphere on the right gets the displacement treatment:




The most salient point you can take away from a comparison is that bump mapping does absolutely nothing to change the silhouette of the shape; the sphere is clearly a 3D rendering of a 2D circle, there are no depth cues, the bump mapping effect immediately begins to fall apart in the viewer's eye the moment he sees the displacement sphere, as you'll see in the finished render here:




In a nutshell, if you want to draw a displacement map for a material in a modeling program, you can certainly do this in Xara. You just need to remember two things while you build:

1.) White corresponds to a surface pushed away from the original surface, while black pushes the corresponding surface area toward the center of the shape...a pit. Grey...128 on the brightness scale, keeps the surface at its original position.

2.) Blur the texture when you're done drawing it.

Oh, yeah, it's a good idea to make the texture a seamless one. We have plenty of tutorials and info on making seamless texture on tg and right here on the Xone. Now if tg had a better search engine, you'd have your work cut out for you!

Happy Mapping!

Gary

[csehz]

@Mike, @theinonen thanks for the advices, yes exactly it is the same logic in Blender and so the Displace modifier has to be applied for the Xara .jpg export as texture.



Gare just started to dream based on these examples and so the question is maybe too amateur one.. Would it be possible to create a depth image/map in Xara from a photo? Which would make the fronter parts towards white and the farer ones dark to black?

Because if yes, then a lot of interesting opportunities would be opened in 3D programs like at these Xara quickshapes

[Gare]

Would it be possible to create a depth image/map in Xara from a photo? Which would make the fronter parts towards white and the farer ones dark to black?

Because if yes, then a lot of interesting opportunities would be opened in 3D programs like at these Xara quickshapes

Not to sound like a jerk, but anything is possible in Xara, csehz. It depends on how patient you are and whether there's an easier tool with which you can arrive at your goal. Me, I would not choose to create a displacement map from a photo—I'd use a photo editor and Xara isn't quite up to the task because you'd need first of all, a real bitmap brush with falloff (feathering) and to the best of my knowledge, only bitmap programs offer bitmap brushes.

Here's a very old example of what John Knoll did with his second software program cybermesh. If you assume later you'll want to displace a cylinder, and make it a head, you'd paint something like this:



Then in a modeling program, you'd open something like this:


If it seems like a lot of sweat for very little payoff, you're right.

My Best,

Gary

[dutchim]

Maybe this might help?

NormalMap-Online

http://cpetry.github.io/NormalMap-Online/

There is another program that does a great job but can't remember what it's called right now.

[csehz]

If it seems like a lot of sweat for very little payoff, you're right.

Well yes maybe, inspite of that really cleverly thought.

The inspiring in the method is that applying so an image with black and white depths as displacement on a mesh, it modifies the mesh itself and so like that finally no need for manual modelling.

This try is just a Xara freehand hello yet (I know very freehand ) with applying contour on it, after its export the same logic applied as displacement

[Gare]

Maybe this might help?

NormalMap-Online

http://cpetry.github.io/NormalMap-Online/

There is another program that does a great job but can't remember what it's called right now.

Thanks for sharing! A wonderful, free online resource.

-g