I'm trying to make a tire and texture it with a bumpmap for the treads. My problem is that the treads don't reach the width of the tire. They are too narrow. This is based off of litst's tire. Hwo do I adjust the width of the treads? I really need to get a handle on making my own shaders. Help,please???? kaom

This is my shader tree for this texture. Am I totally off base here? I'm getting frustrated, I know someone out there has the answer. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks kaom

kaom, try cropping those black bands on each side of the treads. make them thinner and the center of the bitmap will fill more of the outer flat part of the mesh. another way would be to use a layer shape that covers the area you want the treads to show, use just the bump channel filled with your tread bump(crop the bitmap so that only the tread pattern is left) mdc

Duh! Your right! My brain is not working too well today. Thanks I'll try both methods and see which works better for me. I appreciate your help. Could anyone out there help me with applying Anyhting Grooves to this, I bought it and have no idea how to use it in practical situations such as this, I really wnat to use it, but I'm getting nowhere with it. Thanks to Eric Winemiller for the Tire Tread picture. kaom

How do I apply a layer shape to the middle section of the tire? What layer tool do I use? I've tried and it's not working for me, but I'm sure that I'm doing something wrong. Thanks kaom

What you're asking for is possible, Kaom . Though a bit technical . I'd suggest to add a rectangular layer, change its mapping mode to "cylindrical" in y (or x?) axis . Then change numerically the coordinates of the rectangular layer to fit your needs ( make a try with a color so you can see the layer ) . Then, if you're using that layer for the bump for example, change the "shader" of the layer to a "single channel", select "bump channel" and add your texture . I hope it works ! :P litst

I knew there was something I was missing with making the tire, I was starting to go insane. I'll be trying to make another tonight, and hopefully I'll be able to pull it off. Making a tire and texturing it is turning out to be quite a lesson in Carrara, I can't believe how tricky it is. You must be a pretty clever guy litst, cause you're able to do stuff with this program that I can't even begin to figure out. Thanks for the help to litst and rockjockjared! I appreciate it, I guess that's what makes the Carrara forum the best and my favorite here at renderosity. The Rhino forum comes in a close second, but the Carrara forum rules. I'll let you know how things work out for me with this tire project later tonight, hopefully all goes well! Thanks again, kaom