I have created an alpha map for the cloud over the moon. I don't know why but the edges of the cloud is rough even when rendering in final mode. Cloud Size 24" x 6" at 72 dpi Alpha Size 24" x 6" at 72 dpi I painted the cloud in Photoshop and the edges fade nicely so I don't know why this is happening. All help is appreciated : )

There was a problem with Vue and Alpha Maps in Volumetric Atmoshperes. I don't know if this is waht you're using.

dburdick, Just checked and I'm using a Standard atmosphere not a Volumetric. Hmmm. Wonder what's causing this... Any ideas on how I can go about this a different way? I am trying to create an eerie mood and create some clouds in front of the moon.

A couple of things to check/try: 1. What type of alpha map are you using (e.g. jpeg, bmp, etc)? You might try saving it as a different type (e.g. bmp) to see if this helps. 2. Instead of using an alpha plane, you can create a cloud in front of your moon by using a sphere, stretching it out and mapping it with a volumetric cloud material. Several of the Vue5I sample scenes have volumetric cloud/fog objects you could use as a starting point

dburdick, thanks, I tried creating a sphere and using a volumetric cloud material but when I rendered it in final the cloud gave the edge of the sphere a noticable edge, I will have to play with it again and see if I can get it to work better. I never thought of the .bmp idea though I will try it. Thanks

I think it is your dpi. Just like for quality printing you need a high dpi to avoid 'jaggies', the same holds true for alphas, since you are practically printing an image on an invisible sheet. Try painting your cloud in PS again, but at a dpi of 200-300 and see if that doesn't make a difference.

Also , you should make sure the transparency mask has soft edges e.g: apply some amount of gaussian blur on the mask. 'black and white' only would create a sharp edge similar to what is shown on your screenshot.

Message edited on: 02/18/2006 06:40

Never mind the dpi thing. I just tested a 72dpi alpha against a 300dpi one and I couldn't see any appreciable difference. But like Polax says, the blur will kill the hard edges.

Thanks, Like Monsoon I tried 300 dpi and 72 dpi and saw no difference. I originally had applied a motion blur and gaussian blur so the edges were very soft. If someone has time to do a test and post the files I would appreciate it. I'm sure someone has done this before.

A rough test with a .jpg and its inverted greyscale as a mask. No obvious edge artefacts.

Would be interesting to have your alpha color and the mask posted here so that we could further investigate.

That looks nice....maybe that was the prob-using a constructed mask instead of the inverted image itself??