Way cool effect, Clay!!!

I'll post the .mat file if anyone is needing such a thing..but it will cost one trillion dollars!!! USD LOL!

Thats CHEAP!

Side note: this is one of those "things" that came up during testing to see if we could do it with the basic bryce settings, so the answer is.. yes it can be done :-) with a bryce mat or a reflection map, most overlooked feature methinks in the mat lab.

That's pretty nice Clay, reminds me of the irridescense mats in the Bryce backroom (which I think are no longer there unfortunately), but different.

I'm sure I can find a reference for a dollar somewhere online - could probably make you a bunch of Bryce dollars for it?

OOOh nice!  I hope you'll tell us how to do this - since you're going to be nice and let us play with it.  I don't think I've ever used a 'reflection map' before.

Just add a second pebble in the mat lab on reflection and add an image or mat preset for reflection.

I guess it depends on what you use in there - thinking about it I've only ever used the same image in there that I've used in other places in the same texture, and I don't think they worked too well, cos I'd click in the same channel that say diffuse was using, and usually that made the resultant material very dark.

I've just tested it using one of my sky photos, and even that can darken the texture too much.  There must be a trick to using it.

Just have to tweak.

Attached Link: http://claygraphics.phase2.net/Iridescence.br7.zip

Looks excellent from the images Clay.

However, When I download the zip file from your link, it unzips to Iridescence.br7 for PC and Mac. When I load the file into Bryce 7 Pro, I'm asked to "Please Locate 15.jpg" If I try to Cancel, Bryce crashes. Do you have any idea why? And where should one find 15.jpg?

[quote]Here you can download and fiddle around with it.

Yup, me too. Bryce crashes, and I can't do anything about it because I too don't have your 15.jpg.

It also crashes if you try to replace the missing 15.jpg with an image of your own, I just tried it.

Very cool effect but on my MacPro (Intel) it loads fine, no find file message, but it crashes as soon as the wireframe complets drawing. This coming from a Mac PPC?

oops yeah forgot I added the image in the reflection node, and yeah Dan from a PPC, I'll re upload in a bit without the image.

Awwww!  You could just add the image to the zip.... (hopeful expression)

Attached Link: http://claygraphics.phase2.net/Iridescence.zip

ok it should have the cloud image in there now, download from above message.

Um... nope, not working.

There seems to be an error with the jpeg - nothing will see it, not windows picture viewer, not PowerArchiver, not Bryce, not Corel PaintShopPro PhotoX2, nor Adobe PhotoShop - nothing.

And Bryce still crashes...

Attached Link: http://claygraphics.phase2.net/Iridescence.zip

It's still asking for 15.jpg, Clay... and still crashing

Ha! WOW!!!! Ok here's what I'll do, I'll just upload the .mat file, then you just add that to whatever sphere or half dome object that is in the shape of a lens. Apparently even after shutting off the map in the mat lab then resaving the file Bryce is still trying to re-call cached file paths. Gimme a minute and I'll repost just the .mat file.

Attached Link: http://claygraphics.phase2.net/Iridescence.mat.zip

In the meantime I've been trying to create something of the sort myself... (not too well, but there's something there)

So I'm very eager to see what your Iridescence.mat holds...

Just a rainbow type thing in the DTE, nothing to fancy. When you do anistropic type effects like you would use on a CD reflection etc it can get a little more in depth.

Can you show a screen shot of the material settings you used - with your 15.jpg? 

I'll try that on my sky image then, but at the moment I'm just guessing - I think the middle lens is more like a CD.... Lol!

The left one has your mat - the right 2 have mine.

Oh, and your sky settings might make a difference too... so if you could manage a screen shot of them too... ?

Attached Link: httphttp://claygraphics.phase2.net/iridecent.zip

But I still want to see your mat settings for the image you add to the various channels like reflection, diffusion, ambient.

Then maybe I can tweek my mats and yours too, & see what comes up.

But I'm about ready to call it a day for today, it's time for bed here in the UK. So I'll have another go at it tomorrow.

P.S. you've got 2 https on the link.

By the way that's a nice telescope/spyglass model

just add an image in the mat lab on the 2nd reflection pebble, that's all.

Yeah,

I have been doing.

But I'm not getting what you are getting, I'm trying for something like the second image:

And it's just not getting there, this looks like a different model to the telescope, and I'm wondering what you are using as a backing just behind the lens, I've been trying various different materials on a 2d disc positioned just behind the half sphere I'm using as a lens.

So is this just the cut off front end of the telescope?  I can see you've got a pretty low refraction value on the lens.

I've worked at this for a while now, and I can't get any better effect than the second from the right, and I can't seem to get the iridescence that you get.

I think there are just too many factors involved in this that I don't know.

I just used basic black on a 2d disc didn't I?

Its what I used in the original where it said it would load or whatever.

Thanks Clay - all is good!

There's something weird about the lens in your model.

Weird in as much as I can get better iridescence on that than I can on a shape that looks exactly similar but made in another prog (Wings), but I can't get the same effect on it.

Here are a couple of attempts:

And another:

Comparison of the top 2 in particular shows that the lens on the left has more variation in colour than the right one (Right is Wings, left is Clay's), but both use same image.

Here however I am using a different image on the WingsLens on the right:

When I use the same image, the colour is predominately blue as the left one is now, but the colour differences are more subtle.

Hmm I used Maya to make the half dome, maybe it has something to do with it being a subdivided object being exported from maya, interesting heh.

I think it's partly something to do with the fact that it's just a shell, not a complete half dome, and partly to do with the smoothing that's made up the facets of the shape.

I have other smoothing methods in Wings, which I'm going to try - or I might also try modeling it in C4D too, if Wings' smoothing doesn't manage it.

Was it a hypernurbs object?  And yeah, it's fascinating the difference the modelling method on a simple half dome can make.

More HERESY!!!!

Yes Bryster, but we are at least doing things IN BRYCE.  Now there, there,  have a little sit down... I'm sure we can find you a nice comfy chair somewhere...

...someone keeps leaving a lot of them about!

Clay, was the lens object UVmapped?

I was wondering if the mapping I've been using (Camera Projection in Wings) might not be the best option?

I can't stand Unfolding for this sort of shape, it twists too much, but UVMapper Classic cuts the map up, (as does Cinema) into 2 long strips (weird!)

But I also don't think cutting the two half poles (as if it was a complete sphere) would help much... so I wondered what you'd used, Clay?

no not uv mapped, in Maya I just created a simple polygon sphere and only had it revolve 180 degrees instead of a full 360 that would make the full sphere, that's all, its just a 1/2 a sphere LOL!

Revolve?  That sounds like it was made from a spline.

No, you cancreate an object in maya and if you just click it to create it, it will create the whole object, then you can select its attribute dials and tell it "hey I only wanted that partilly created, and use a slider to create however much you want of the object.

Oh really?  It's a long time since I tried learning Maya from a 30 day demo... and failed.  And I don't remember such partial creation being possible back when I was at uni either.  But then I didn't learn much of it.

Well whatever you used I seem to have fallen into a well of 'how did he do that' and 'I must figure it out', so I think I'll stop now, it's been an interesting exercise and I've discovered that you can use adjusted images for your sky reflection, souped up ones!

I've been away for a week or so and return to see this awesome thread.  Thanks, Clay!

I've faxed you a 20 pound box of money for sharing this.  

BTW Fran, I just went and re-did my half dome, its a nurb object where I can manipulate the dementions, 180 etc etc, then I convert it to a polygon object within maya, but the more spans you give it the smoother it becomes, so a lil bad on my part:-)

Oh so it is a nurbs model - I wondered about that earlier.

Just a thought, have you tried out irridescence on anything else apart from a lens?

Yup, works perfect on everything I have tried, of course I'm a lil weird though heheh.

Clay this looks fun,but I get 404 on the links .So I'll lurk.

Attached Link: http://claygraphics.phase2.net/iridecent.zip