Hi all, I just wanted to show you this tex, i'm kinda proud of it ! ;) And for those who wonder how i did it, here's a little step by step explaination : - I've first modelled a ring in 3D, duplicated it and placed the rings to form a regular web . - i've used an isometric camera on the top of the web - rendered the scene in photoshop format, using the "mask" and "distance" g-buffers - then, in Photoshop, i've shrunk the "mask" and "distance" textures to make them seamless - and finally, i've used the "mask" as a transmap and the "distance" as the bump in a shader So simple . Imagine the hell it would be to model those things in true 3D !!! Now i just have to make a pic using it ! :) litst litst.@freesbee.fr

Simple?! Perhaps for you & people like Mark, Eric & Clint. Very nice work litst, you should be proud of it. It looks very good as a start for chain-mail armour. Perhaps a hood for your Hellboy head? Thanks for the short description, helps me to understand why it will be a long time before I comprehend these shaders.

Well ok, it's a bit tricky ! But in the end, it's just a transmap and a bump map ! I just hope someone have understood my explaination ;) And thanks, now i know how to name the shader ("chainmail") . BTW, i can't find the english word for "ferrailleur" . Anybody have an idea ? It's someone that sells old metallic stuff ... litst

Sweet! It's always fun to see how the 'wheels turn' in someone elses head. Uh oh, now mine are going.... And when americans don't have a word in english to describe something, they just use the word in the language it came from. Isn't that why american english is such a tough one to learn? ;) Mark

Excellent! Thanks for sharing the information! Clint

Very cool shader; elegant logic in its construction. As for "ferrailleur," literally it is "ironer," or from German Eisener or Eisner, which is a fairly common surname, but not really an occupation. We often call folks who deal in old metal stuff "junkmen."

• then, in Photoshop, i've shrunk the "mask" and "distance" textures to make them seamless I've rendered to photoshop with those g-buffers on before but how does shrinking them make the rings seemless? I cant figure out how you could make that shader w/o any seams.

To Brent: First, the rings got to form a REGULAR pattern . If you look well, you'll see that i've begun with a group of 7 rings that was duplicated regularly to form a web, using collision detection and the "shift" constraint . Then, before render, i've aligned the isometric camera to the shape of the web . This is the tricky part : the angle of the cam must follow the regularity or the pattern . You got to be precise when duplicating the rings and when placing the cam (see the image) . I hope that helps ! By the way, how's your earth anim going ? My parents tell me that a chainmail is not made of rings, it's in fact a knitting of metallic thread . So what could that texture be ??? I gotta give it a name ! My mother works in a jewelry factory, and she saw necklaces made like that . Hopefully she'll find the word for it ... And believe me, if there is such a word, I WILL FIND IT !!! Words really bother me sometimes (remember the "quiproquo" thing on e-groups ?) LES MOTS, C'EST DE LA MERDE !!! litst alone against the word ;)

Well thanks for the step by step..I feel much better now. I think that was a very useful tip that I will be able to use in other projects. thanks for taking the time to explain :)

Not to be a moocher, but will litst post the shader in the free stuff area?

I'll post the shader ... not free, unfortunately . Sorry but i really need a bit of money !!! See the message i've sent about it . Also, i've posted a shader pack on e-groups a while ago . Sorry, "Yahoo" groups ! I think the file is always there . Do you need the URL ? litst

Thanks low stress ! Now i can sleep quietly ! ;) litst

You never cease to amaze me! Everything that I have seen of yours if AWESOME! How long have you been doing this stuff anyways?

Thanks Rockjockjared, To answer your question, i've bought my first PC in 1999 and i do 3D stuff since last year . In fact, i've done 3D before :) It was on my old Amstrad CPC and the software was called " 3D construction kit " . I needed more than 10 minutes to launch it via the tape player ! But that was fun, even with 64 KB ram ! ;) litst