Okay, now that you can use the gradient - yeah, I'm sure you knew how so that last one is useless, I know...

Create a layer of type.

Make a new layer above that one, and apply your Gradient of choice...

I hope this helps-

-Lew

I periodically think about her as well - she really was a sweetie.

Bigbraader - Sketchup, too? A simple OBJ export imports perfectly into Vue, which leads me to ask the question - are you using OBJ or Collada (which has bones, rigging, physics, weighting, gravity, surface and material properties, etc., as data placement even if it's not there that will confuse Vue, taking resources as it tries to even figure out what it's looking at)?

After .VOB, Vue's very favorite format is the simply uncomplicated OBJ.

Esha - now I'm wondering what your system is if you've had this with OBJs not related to Poser? A little older and not once top of the line processor (say, original P4, but medium speed at the time), and maybe 1GB of RAM with a 256MB graphics card type of situation?

I DO forget periodically that I reasonably trick-out my machine between good processors, as much RAM as I can afford, massive power supply (900-1,000ws), around 90% towards the top current (at the time) gaming cards, etc. While I don't spend $10k, I do hit around $2,500.

I've loaded multiple 8k and 12k textures without a hitch, but I DO keep a higher end system for this.

-Lew

It's not as simple as a clear path to the object, and a clear path to the texture.

There's the object, which is an unwelded dense mesh (which is problematic by itself) from one folder, with posed characteristics of numeric values in another folder, multiple props like clothing and hair from other folders - shaped to fit said unwelded character - which the coordinates and displacement values are in yet more folders... And on and on and on.

Then it's brought into Vue with the thought that it's a simple model with a clear path - why are there problems?

E-On has a long history of PO'd Poser customers.

Not so many PO'd customers who use 3D packages like Max, Maya, C4D, XSI, Wings3D, Blender, Lightwave, etc.

Just Poser... So...

Bring in a dense model that has zero to do with Poser in any way, and see how well it functions... Just a test.

-Lew

Esha - you didn't understand what I was saying. You gave me Poser related problem/solution descriptions. Take Poser out of the equation.

Either Vue doesn't like Poser as well as they hoped, or Poser doesn't like other apps, so resources go down the tubes - which is why when you lower the res of the Poser texture maps (and thereby freeing up RAM resources - get it?) it works "better".

Try bringing in a generic 3D mesh that has nothing to do with Poser. Bring it in with multiple massive texture maps and you'll find zero problems with your scene, animation, moving the viewports, rendering, etc. Download something from scifi3d, Evermotion, Dosch or 3DTotal, or one of the things on the 3D World discs - NOT Poser related things they periodically have on the disc, but cars, tanks, furniture, etc.

The problem isn't texture maps, but Poser and its convoluted file saving and reading system that is a beast all its own. Load any regular mesh and it's textures, no problem.

Good luck-

-Lew

Probably my setup.

It's a Dell, running Win7 64-bit, when V6I was made during XP 32-bit years for PCs. I have a feeling it just doesn't like my computer and OS.

I'm sure I could re-install it, and it might work for a while, but might stop working again, so I just been waiting til I could afford to simply upgrade to 8 - now 9 - where it would likely run more easily on Win7.

Glad I skipped Vista. Lot of co-workers and assosiates cussing all day cuz stuff they used from XP wouldn't work (like Softimage XSI 4.2 - nope!).

-Lew

HA - loved it!

Yes, I felt I needed Drammamine (sp?) and band-aids from getting smacked by a bunch of trees - but fun!

Yes, going to show it to MY kid tomorrow - he'll love it!

Thanks for the link!

-Lew ;-)

Actually, Esha - Vue doesn't have a problem with Poser because of "high-res textures" at all. Poser and Vue are different programs made by different companies and Poser wasn't written to export to another program - Vue/E-On tried to write Vue to accomplish this without Smith Micro's help, really.

There's this bizarre heirarchy between finding the meshes (not just the figure - the clothing, hair, props like gloves, shoes, etc.), it's posed characteristics, then the textures - all through different Runtime Folders (huh..?) when all Vue wants is the mesh and the texture file - done!

You can load massive textures onto hi-polygon meshes (multiple meshes in the low millions each) in Vue with no problem whatsoever. I save stuff out from C4D or Max, do HEAVY detailing in Mudbox, then do texturing through BodyPaint and Photoshop (and we're talking multiple 2k and 4k textures for each section of each mesh kind of thing - no single little 2048x2048 for an entire mesh) with zero problems. None.

But when I try to import 2 Poser characters at once it chokes up. Despite the hype, they don't really talk to each other as well as E-On would hope. And since pro FX houses and arch-viz houses don't use Poser, not a big deal to their big-ticket clients where they get the most PR from.

I hope this helps in understanding the Vue/Poser disfunctional relationship - they got it workin'... But barely... And it ain't a happy household when it's done...

Good luck and happy rendering!

-Lew

Vue is officially part of many a matte painter's toolkit - not as the finished render, but a starter cuz it cuts TONS of corners for them on deadlines. We're not just talking "Bob's FX House" - we're talking ILM, Digital Domain, etc.

Given how much those studios charge for high end sevices, Vue is an OMG bargain. Sure, to you and me (and hobbyists in general), it's expensive, but it's a steal for a medium to large studio.

Sadly, my copy of V6I is too old to upgrade/sidegrade. Just came from e-on's site - they only go back as far as V7I to qualify.

To make it worse, my copy at home stopped working around October/November-ish - which is why I haven't been active lately, or entered any contests. The one at my warehouse is working, but I'm not there when I have time for 3D play.

Guess I'll just have to save up and fork over the cost of V9I for what I do with it, even though I'm still not getting paid for it yet.

-Lew

I know I'm late to the party - and I don't get here too often anymore, sorry to say as well - coupla notes worth mentioning.

1 - If you have a lot of peripheral stuff (scanner, external HD, printer, webcam, etc.) each device you plug into your USB will draw a tiny bit of energy, but it asdds up and can choke your system. When we buy a new computer, one of the immediate things we do (because we DO have a LOT of peripherals) ir slap in a 900Ws power supply ASAP.

2 - One of our workstations would overheat, so my wife bought a little fan that sits beside it. Not enough - so now, it also has the side panel taken off. It no longer overheats - she's behind me playing WoW as I type.

3 - Graphics cards. And to be honest, I haven't read specifics about CS5 regarding ATI vs nVidia, but we've been using either/or for various machines and haven't noticed any performance issues or descrepencies. Also, understand we buy $200-$300 cards. Once you get past the $100, they start improving may things and between brands even out. The $100 or under - I go with nVidia.

4 - Regarding Macs - and this is not at ALL meant to start a haters war. When someone has a bunch of software and plugins, at least half (if not 2/3rds) will be OS specific. Changing the OS means a lot more than the case. Think of SLR cameras (where you can change the lens, buy a flash, etc. - high end ones). If you're a Nikon person, you can't just go out and get a Canon camera body - you'll have to buy all new cables, all new flashes, all new lenses - it's quite a huge investment to "just change brands".

Regarding Mac and PC debates - people, just pick the ones you like and use it. No matter what gripes/comments/hangups/preferences, at the end of the day, when you look at a 3D image, or watch a video, you have to take the artist's word for it as to which computer OS was used to run the software you actually used to perform the tasks needed. Both work great (I use both, BTW) - just pick the version that suits you best.

Hope this helps, and everyone have a Merry XMas!

-Lew

Merry XMas to you and Mrs. Bryster! Welcome back, and may your next year be "uneventful" ;-)

-Lew

Well, it's older and deteriorated. So I wanted it to have a surface - not deep gashes, but something you can tell is no longer pristine, so if you ever get up close you'll be able to see a faint texture.

-Lew

Topis the actual bump map, and bottom is the random image I used as a test - it's a mesh UVMap of a condom - yes.

-Lew

That area is almost white - VERY light grey and even. When I get home tonight I'll post that cross-section of the bump texture.

BTW, EnglishBob - LOVED Unforgiven! (just a guess as far as your usernamesake, aside from the fact that you're in the UK)