Additional maps for Bryce object imports

Last updated: 08.05.2002

In addition to applying texture maps to imported models (such as Poser figures) in Bryce, you can also use 2D maps to drive other channels in a material. Using a 2D map in the bump channel, for example, allows you to add extra relief to your figure.

Unlike the texture map, which is colored, these maps are grayscale maps, having only black, white and shades of gray. Black generally represents the regions where the channel has least effect, so black in a bump map means low, and in a reflection map means non-reflective. White represents regions where the channel has the greatest effect; white on a bump map indicates regions that are raised well above the surface of the model, on a specularity map it represents wet or smooth shiny regions, and so on.

Some of the most used additional maps include.

Channel	Uses
Bump	Add extra relief to your figure. You might use noise to give fabric a 'rough' feel, or make a badge stand out, or make skintight clothing (applied to a nude model) stand out slightly from the skin.
Specularity	Human bodies don't reflect light uniformly. Skin or clothing don't tend to show specular highlights, but the eyes do (lips and nails are other candidates). If you make a map which is largely black, but with white patches for the eyes, lips and nails, it can be used to make these regions seem realistically 'wet'.
Reflection	Your model may have reflective regions (these are rare on humans, but might be relevant to other kinds of models.

To apply an additional map to an imported object, do the following.

1	Click on the object to select it, and then click the 'M' control that appears next to it to enter the Materials Lab (or click the 'cube with a chunk missing' control on the Edit palette)
2	In the Materials Editor, click in an unused component column, next to the channel that you're interested in (for example, if you wanted to add a bump map, and component B had not been used for anything, you'd click in the second column of the row marked 'Bump Height'). A new 'bead' will appear at the place where you clicked, and a new component editor will appear on the right-hand side of the lab window.
3	On the component editor, click the 'P' button to indicate that you want to use a picture.
4	Click the pink button at the top of the component editor to open the Picture Library.
5	In the Picture Library, click on one of the small thumbnails that hasn't been used yet. A dialog will appear, asking you to choose your map file.
6	2D components have two channels, a color channel and a mask. Your file will be loaded into the color channel. For most maps, however, you want it to be in the mask channel, so you will need to copy it from one channel to the other. Begin by clicking the Copy button under the lefthand preview image.
7	Next, click the Paste button under the middle preview image (the preview that shows the contents of the mask channel). You will be asked if you want to delete the existing contents of the channel. Answer yes.
8	Use either the black or white button above the lefthand preview image (which shows the contents of the color channel) to clear that channel and recover any memory it might be using. Again, you'll be asked to confirm the deletion.
9	Exit the Picture Library
10	In the Materials Lab, use the value slider (the control that looks like a horizontal glass rod) for the channel you're working on to vary the intensity of the effect. The more you pull the slider to the left, the greater the effect that your map will have.
11	Exit the Materials Lab, and render.