The only documentation I can find searching the pdf manual of P5 says, "Clicking the Create Perspective UVs button maps texture coordinates for a group. An example of using this command might be to map an imported background image of a face to a Poser group corresponging to the figure's face. The faces texture coordinates would map to the image." A google search yeilds two results, neither of which explains anything. When you click on the button no dialogue box is launched and I haven't seen anything happen. I'd guess it would create a uv map of the selected group, but I can't figure out where. I use UVMapper Pro, but I've got a little time in the next few weeks and I'd kinda like to learn some of these oddball (to me, at least) Poser things. Thanks for any feedback.

Interesting! I never even noticed that before. Trying to do what the manual says: Brought in a background picture. Made a new group on the front face of a Ball. Assigned it a Material. Hit the "perspective UV" button while the new group was selected. (Left picture) Result is in the right picture: the group magically takes on the part of the picture that was behind it, with the texture spread out so that it looks right in its original position. When the ball is rotated or scaled, of course, the projection looks strange. Seems like this would be very useful for making world globes, but not so useful for faces and such......

Might also be good for lens or mirror effects?

"Brought in a background picture". Ah! Ok. Thanks. I was experimenting with everything but that :) Well, cool. I gonna play with it a bit anyway. Might have some use now and then. Thanks for figuring it out, Ockham.

...sheesh. My own quote of the manual says, "imported background image." They're never gonna let me off the short school bus at this rate ;)

Don't worry; the manual is designed to shorten our busses. I just happened to be having a long-bus day..... :)

Remember the movie where the stalker painted himself to blend in with the walls?

That's truly scary.

Oh. Gosh. It looks to me like you might be able to map someones face (in a crude fashion) on a figure with that if you could make em line up right, i.e. fiddling around with your paint app and maybe even morphing the mesh?. Gonna go fiddle around and see what happens. Thanks again, Ockham.

The key, I think, is to be sure your group has a Material of its own.

Ok. Thanks for the tip. I'm gonna experiment with a 'throw-away figure' in case it screws up the original uv mapping.

It absolutely changes the uv mapping.

veeery interesting!

I've used this feature a couple of times for compositing, mapping a photograph onto a backdrop or floor prop, so that the Poser figure can cast shadows onto the floor.

All news to me. Haven't played with this, or actually even paid any attention to it before. Q: Anything done here that is new or somehow different from that which can be done in UVMapper? Q: Where does it change the UV coordinates? Not in the original external obj file I presume, so I am guessing that the info would be retained only within the individual .cr2 or .pp2 itself? Anyone look yet? Having trouble getting my thoughts around the "Perspective" in the function's name. Is this to differentiate the mapping from the "isometric" mapping projections normally applied as in UV Mapper? -- Kinda along the lines of UVMapper's "spread facets at edges" function when applying spherical UV mapping? Q: Does the current camera view of the scene affect the new mapping?

Attached Link: http://www.newtek.com/products/lightwave/tutorials/rendering/camera_mapping/camera_mapping.html

Yes, the camera view of the scene affects the mapping. Imagine taking the background image and projecting it out from the camera onto the object being mapped, as if the camera were also a slide projector. As you can see in the examples here, if you then render without changing the camera or object positions, you get something that looks like the original background image, projected onto the objects in front of the camera.

It's "perspective" because it maps the perspective within a photo onto the UVS texture map of the object. At least, that's one way to think of it.

The link I attached is to a tutorial on using a similar feature in Lightwave (where it's called "Front Projection Mapping" or "Camera Mapping", which makes more sense). The mechanics will obviously differ, but the principles are the same.

This doesn't seam to work for me.
Am I missing something?

1 Import Background Image.. using a basic woodland scene.

2 Props-ball

3 Grouping tool, Select the half of the ball facing me and create group (trial)
4Assign material (test)

5 Hit Create Perspective UVs.

Then I exit grouper, hit render, and all I get is the ball of a random color given by the grouping tool.

Tried selecting all of the ball as well, still nothing.
Tried the same steps in Poser 5 (yech) same results, nothing is mapped onto the ball.

Message edited on: 12/11/2004 06:28

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Yeah, I noticed the same thing when I follow my own instructions. I can't figure out exactly how or why it worked the first time!!!!

..I can't get it to work either.

It's quite simple indeed: what you have done so far is assigning new UV-coordinates. What you have left to do is just assigning the background picture you've used as a material to your newly created group (in the material room in P5, for example). Voila! It works. Willy

Pardon me, I forgot a picture. I made all the steps ockham said (with a cylinder prop). Then I assigned the background image as a map in material room. At last I cleared out the background image. Willy

Message edited on: 12/11/2004 15:49

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Cool. That did it. Thanks, Willy. I can see where you could do some funky little effects in an animation with this. Fun stuff. Also, noticed that if you look at your object in "outline" view with the background up before you change the mapping you can see more easily what the changes will do.

That must be what I did the first time, without consciously noticing it!

Ockham, as far as I see it, your subconscious mind was already pondering the usefulness of the newly found function for another awe inspiring python script! :-) Every few days you surprise us with new good and handy plugins for Poser - I'm awaiting your next hit anxiously. Keep up the good work! Willy