MasteringPiranesi PDF

Mastering Piranesi
Version 4
By Bonnie Roskes
with contributions by: Susan Sorger Wang Wang Marco Crawford
Exercises that will guide you from basic painting through expert techniques.
*** Licensed PDF version. Not for external distribution ***
Every effort has been made to ensure that all information contained within this book is complete and accurate. However, the authors assume no responsibility for the use of this information, nor for any infringement upon the intellectual property rights of third parties which would result from such use.
First Edition. Copyright 2006, Bonnie Roskes
No part of this publication may be stored in a system, reproduced, or transmitted in any way or by any means, including but not limited to photography, photocopy, electronic, magnetic, or optical, without the prior agreement and written permission of the publisher.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Piranesi is a registered trademark of Informatix Software.
All illustrations in this book were produced using Piranesi.
Cover design by Susan Sorger, Entourage Arts.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Quick Introduction
About this Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Navigating a File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Brushes, Locks, and Fills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Brush Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Locks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Fill Applicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Basic Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Grainy (Noise) Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Placing an Image in the Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Using an Image as Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Paint, Texture, and Blend Amounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Chapter 2: Applying and Blending Paint
Paint Applicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 2D Circular and Rectangular Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 2D Raster Brush. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 2D Multiple Raster Brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 2D Bristle Brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 3D Brushes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Pen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Painter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Painter Basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Splattering Techniques. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Using Painter with Locks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Dynamic Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Dynamic Settings for Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Dynamic Settings for Painter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Using Dynamic Settings for 2D Scenes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Blend Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Painting with One Colour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Painting with Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Painting Lighter and Darker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Painting to Change RGB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Difference and Exclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Dodge and Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Painting to Change HLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Mastering Piranesi Version 4
Chapter 3: Render Actions
Standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81 Edge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81 Edges by Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82 Edges by Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86 Edges by Colour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87 Combining Edge Effects with Locks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89 Construct. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90 Changing Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90 Adding Planes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92 Adding Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95 Replacing Pixels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96 More on Offsetting Constructs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98 Changing Materials Before Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100 Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101 Setting up the Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101 Restoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102 Re-Rendering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104 Restore Versus Zero-Colour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106 Textured Restore Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107 Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109 Blur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109 Emboss. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114 Random . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117 Custom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122 Halftone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123 Brightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130 Hue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135 Reduce Colours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138 Majority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141 Sharpen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142 Classify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143 Smooth Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147 Smudge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
Chapter 4: Textures and Grains
Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155 Raster Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155 Raster Textures with Colours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155 Raster Alpha Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161 Raster Alpha Textures with Colour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163 Where to Get More Raster Textures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164 Noise and Plane Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164 Captured Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169 Texture Thresholds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .172 Grains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176 Raster and Noise Grains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176 Combining Texture and Grain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180
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Chapter 5: Using Fades
Linear Fades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 Depth Fade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 Ground Fade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 Any Fade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 2D Fade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 Linear Fade with Brush and Texture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 Radial Fades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 2D Radial Fade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 3D Radial Fade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 2D Line Source Radial Fade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 3D Line Source Radial Fade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Illumination Fades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 Parallel Illumination Fade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 Point Illumination Fade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 Cone Illumination Fade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 Strip Illumination Fade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Chapter 6: Style Browser
Creating and Saving Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Setting up a New Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Saving Styles to the Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 Using Library Styles in a New Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 Style Library Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 Multiple Fill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221 Predefined Multiple Fills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221 Creating a New Multiple Fill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224 Using Multiple Fill with Locks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228 Re-Render and Auto-Contrast Commands in Multiple Fills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Chapter 7: Cutouts
2D Cutouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 Cutout Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 Shadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245 Burning In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248 Importing Cutouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 2D Text Cutouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 3D Cutouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 Cutout Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 Combining 2D and 3D Cutouts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 3D Tweaking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 Copying Cutout Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262 3D Text Cutouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264 RPC Cutouts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 2.5D RPC Cutouts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266 3D RPC Cutouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267 3.5D RPC Cutouts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
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3D+ RPC Cutouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .270 Importing RPC Cutouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .271 Where to Get More Cutouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .272 Trick: Tweaking a Cutouts Shadow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .273
Chapter 8: Lighting
Preparing the Daytime Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275 Creating the Nighttime Scene. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .280 Darken the Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .280 Adding Street Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .282 Adding Building Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .284 Completing the Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .288
Chapter 9: Piranesi and Principles of Composition
The Principles of Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .292 Why Bother? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .292 The Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .292 Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .292 Emphasis and Focal Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293 Unity and Harmony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297 Rhythm, Mood, Effect, Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297 Critiques of Compositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .298 Composition Errors: Example 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .298 Composition Errors: Example 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .300 Composition Errors: Example 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301 Composition Errors: Example 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301 Composition Errors: Example 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .302 Composition Errors: Example 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .304 Composition Errors: Example 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .305 Good Compositions: Example 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .307 Good Compositions: Example 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .308
Chapter 10: Examples from the Experts
Wang Wang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .309 Downloading Wang Wangs Styles and Example Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .309 Wang Wang: Example 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .310 Wang Wang: Example 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .316 Wang Wang: Example 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .322 Marco Crawford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .330 Marcos Two Different Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .331 Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .331 Elegant Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .332 Rustic Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .339 Marcos Outdoor Scene: Day and Night . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .345 Setting up the Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .345 Softening the Daytime Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .350 Night Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .353
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Quick Introduction
About the Author
A structural engineer by education and training, I have worked for several years in the software documentation arena, specializing in CAD, CAM, CAE, and engineering applications. Ive written user guides, reference manuals, online help systems, tutorials, training guides, and software demos for a large client list. This is my first book on Piranesi, and Ive written books for the last few versions of SketchUp, and two versions of OneCNC (a machining application). More books are always in the works! Comments, feedback, and suggestions are welcome - bonnie@f1help.biz. My other books are listed at www.f1help.biz/ccp51.
I became familiar with Piranesi through my involvement with SketchUp (I wrote the SketchUp Book for Versions 2, 3, 4, and 5, more to come!). These two applications have a seamless interaction, and many SketchUp users are also Piranesi enthusiasts. It didnt take long to discover the staggering scope of what can be done with Piranesi, and how much fun it can be to work with. Many thanks to Brian Woodward, David Rimmington, and Nick Ansley of Informatix Software International, for their support and encouragement during this project. Lesley Gall, Informatixs eagle-eyed technical writer, helped immensely with hunting down typos, technical problems, and inconsistencies (though I cant promise that we eliminated all of them!). One disclaimer: my profession is writing materials for CAD and CAD-related software. I am not an architect nor an artist. So if some of my painted scenes look like they were created by a right-brained engineer, they were! Here is the chapter layout: Quick Intro: A short exercise that gets you up and running with some easy painting. 2. Applying and Blending Paint: Options for all brushes and splatter methods, as well as all the ways you can blend paint. 3. Render Actions: Edge, Construct, Restore, Filter, and Smudge rendering. 4. Using Fades: Linear, Radial, and Illumination fades. 5. Textures and Grains: Painting materials and backgrounds, reflections, and adding noise. 6. Style Browser: How to create, save, and re-use styles and effects, and how to use multiple fills. 7. Cutouts: Applying people, trees, furniture, and text in 2D and 3D. 8. Lighting: How to add lights to a darkened scene. 9. Piranesi and the Principles of Composition: To make up for my lack of artistic perspective, this chapter was contributed by artist Susan Sorger, on the right and wrong ways to create a composition. 10. Examples from the Experts: See how two master renderers, Wang Wang and Marco Crawford, use Piranesi to create their works of art. 1.
About this Book
Navigating a File
Enough with the introductory text - lets get started painting a scene! This rest of this chapter contains a short exercise that will familiarize you with the basics of Piranesi - how to get around a file and do some simple painting with colour and texture, and use locks to control what gets painted. To start, we will open one of the files provided with Piranesi, and look around to see how the user interface is set up. 1. Start Piranesi, and click Open (menu: File / Open, hotkey: Ctrl+O).
2.
Browse to where Piranesi is installed and open the Examples folder. (This folder may open by default, depending on your settings.)
3.
Find the file Gate.epx and double-click it, or highlight and click Open.
5.
Close the File Properties, and look at the left side of the Piranesi window. The Toolbox is the set of painting tools, located by default vertically along the left side of the window. At the top of the Toolbox are the various paint applicators. The one selected by default is Brush. (Click it if something different is selected.)
This is the scene - a plain gate with a sky background.
NOTE: If you hover your cursor above any button, you will see a tooltip describing what the tool does, as well as its hotkey (when applicable).
6.
Move your cursor around the scene. The cursor is in the shape of the current brush, an open circle by default. (Yours may look different if youve changed settings.)
4.
Open the File Properties (menu: File / Properties, hotkey: Alt+Enter). Under Geometry, you can see that the units and scale are 1 model unit = 1 meter.
7.
Now look to the right side of the Piranesi window. This is the Tools Manager, and it contains parameters for the current painting tool. Under Settings are the parameters for the brush, including its shape (select Circle if something else is selected).
Quick Introduction
and moved around the screen. Right-click anywhere on either one and select Dock.
NOTE: Both the Toolbox and Tools Manager can be undocked
10. Make sure the cursor location is read as XYZ Position. The coordinates update as you move the cursor along the column, and the colour values also change. The material here is Column.
Then the window can be moved by dragging its toolbar. To re-dock a window, right-click again and select Dock, or just drag the window to the left or right edge of the Piranesi window.
8.
At the top of the Tools Manager is the Information pane, open by default to the Pixel tab. Here you can see the location, colour, and material of whatever is under the cursor. Move the cursor anywhere in the sky background. This scene is set up so that the sky is blank space, so no coordinates are indicated. The sky colour is listed here in RGB values (Red, Green, Blue). At the bottom of the Information pane is the material Sky.
11. Look at the horizontal toolbar above the scene window. On the right side of this toolbar is the Information Bar, which lists the same information as the Information pane. This is convenient when you need to know coordinates, depth, or material but dont have the Information pane open, or when it is open to a tab other than Pixel. 12. In the Information Bar or pane, change XYZ Position to Pixel and Depth. This means that (0, 0) is now at the top left corner of the scene, and you can see the depth of the pixel from the eye position.
13. Place the cursor in the sky background - the depth is indicated as Infinity.
9.
Now move the cursor somewhere along one of the columns.
14. Place the cursor on the ground, near the horizon line.
The material is Default and the depth is around 40m.
The scale of the scene updates to zoom in on the window you specified.
15. Move the cursor toward the front of the scene - at a point close to the eye.
TIP: If you have a wheel mouse, you can scroll the wheel up and down to zoom in and out. Wherever your cursor is when you scroll becomes the centre of zooming.
Now the depth is lower, ~8m.
17. On the Navigate tab, use your left mouse button to press and drag the zoom window to another part of the scene.
16. In the Information pane, open the Navigate tab. When you are working on a large scene, you might need to zoom in on certain areas of the scene, while still seeing a view of the scene as a whole. Using your right mouse button, press and drag a small zoom window.
Piranesi now zooms in on that part of the scene.
Quick Introduction
18. To return to the original view, click Fit to window.
20. To change the colour on the Colour tab, click first somewhere along the ring surrounding the triangle to define the main colour. Then click inside the triangle to define the shade. This example uses a bright yellow.
TIP: Double-clicking on the Hand icon on the Toolbox has the same effect as Fit to window.
The colour also updates on the Toolbox. This is the colour that will be used when you start painting.
19. Now open the Colour tab. The large rectangle at the top right contains the current defined colour (white by default).
21. Finally, open the Material tab. All the materials defined in this file are listed here. These are materials defined in the application in which the original model was created. Highlight Base and click Colour.
This colour can also be seen on the Toolbox.
22. Change the colour to something a bit darker, and click OK.
The colour is updated in the colour box for Base material.
25. Look at the lower right corner of the Piranesi window. Material, channel, and drawing scale are indicated here as well. To change any of these, click on the corresponding arrow.
Brushes, Locks, and Fills

Now a quick word about channels, a term used frequently with Piranesi. A Piranesi channel contains information about one particular property of every pixel. Using options on the View menu, you can display RGB (colour), Depth, and Material channels. The current channel (RGB) is indicated along the title bar of the scene.
Before getting too far into Piranesis complexities, its essential that you understand some basics about applying paint. Brushes can be used to apply paint in certain areas, and you can use flood fills to paint entire areas with certain properties. Locks are used for controlling what gets painted.
Brush Basics
This section covers some basic usage of some different brushes. For more detail on the specific options and settings of the Brush applicator, see Brush on page 21. 1. Make sure Brush is selected on the Toolbox.
(You can also display Restore Channels for RGB, Depth, and Materials. This shows what colors, depth, or materials were in the original channel, before any paint or effects were applied. When you Re-render a scene, the restore channels are replaced with the current colors / depths / materials. To understand this better, see Restore on page 101.) 23. Select View / Material, and each object is displayed in the colour corresponding to the objects material, listed on the Materials tab. With this channel displayed, Material is now listed along the title bar.
2.
The Blend mode, located near the bottom of the Toolbox, should be set to Paint. When the Blend is set to 100%, all of the colour is applied. (For other Blend modes, seeBlend Modes on page 54.)
3.
The Brush tab in the Tools Manager should reflect these default settings. (If not, click Reset at the bottom of the tab.)
24. Return to RGB by selecting View / RGB.
Quick Introduction
4.
Move the cursor near the top left corner of the scene. Press and hold the left mouse button and drag the mouse quickly toward the right. This creates a spattered line of paint across the top of the scene.
8.
So far the paint lines are a bit fuzzy around the edges. Return to the Brush tab and change the Softness to zero.
or vertical lines.
TIP: If you press Shift while painting, you can paint in horizontal
9.
Draw another paint line; this one has crisp, sharp edges.
5.
Paint another line below the first, this time moving the mouse slowly. More paint is filled in, since the mouse spent more time on the screen.
6.
On the Brush tab, change Normal to Continuous.
10. Now change the shape from a circle to a Rectangle, and increase the Size to 60 pixels. Also, change the Angle to 20, so that the paint shape will be slightly tilted.
7.
Draw another line. This time you can move the mouse quickly or slowly, and you will get the same results.
11. Draw one more line - the cursor has a diamond shape.
12. Back to our scene. Erase all the painting youve done so far by using Undo. You can click the button as many times as needed, or press Ctrl+Z.
Locks
1.
Locks are used for controlling which objects are painted. Below the applicators on the Toolbox are the lock options. Click Material lock to activate this lock, or press Shift+M.
A quick word about numerical fields and sliders. Where you see a small, triangular icon next to a field, you can click it to display a slider. 2. When Material lock is on, you can only paint objects that have the same material as the object where you started painting. Place the cursor over one of the balls atop a column.
When the slider is displayed, you can drag it to change the fields value, or click along the slider line. You can also press the left or up arrow keys to move the slider to the right, or right/down keys to move to the right.
3.
Press the mouse button and drag the cursor around until all the balls are painted. No other objects receive any paint, since only the balls have this material.
To change the value within the field itself (not using the slider), you can type the number manually. You can also use the arrow keys to increase or decrease. Pressing Shift with an arrow will increase the value by a larger value. Arrow keys can also be used for the sliders on the Toolbox.
4.
Undo the paint. To deactivate locks, click Clear locks or press Shift+U. (You could also click the Material lock button again, or press Shift+M, to toggle it off.)
Quick Introduction
5.
Activate Plane lock (Shift+P). This lock constrains paint to the same flat plane as the object where you started painting.
9.
6.
Start painting along the front face of one of the column bases, and drag the cursor around the entire gate. All faces on this plane are painted, including those at the top of the columns.
To change the tolerance of what gets painted, open the Lock tab in the Tools Manager (next to the Brush tab). This tab appears whenever any locks are activated. For this lock, you can change the Orientation tolerance - the number of degrees a face can deviate from the original face and still be painted. Change this value to something low, like 5 degrees.
TIP: You can always open the Lock tab by double-clicking the lock button on the Toolbox.
7.
Undo this paint, clear the locks, and activate Orientation lock (Shift+O). This constrains the paint to all faces that face the same way as the object where you started painting.
10. To redo the paint with the new settings, click the Reapply button or press Ctrl+R. (Reapply works only for the last paint action you performed.)
8.
Start painting on any of the faces that face the left side of the scene. Drag the cursor around the entire gate. All faces that have the same orientation are painted. Depending on your lock tolerance, some of the rounded faces of the balls and caps might be painted.
Now the paint on the flat faces remains, but the paint on the curved faces is reduced.
11. Now make the Colour lock (Shift+C) the only active lock. This constrains the paint to objects of the same colour as the object where you started painting.
12. Start painting on the ground plane and drag the cursor around. Depending on your lock settings, you might paint some other gray surfaces.
16. Start painting on one of the left-facing sides of a column. This time only faces that have the same orientation AND the same material are painted. The column bases are not painted.
13. If you have too much paint applied, open the Lock tab and reduce the Colour tolerance value.
Fill Applicators
1. 2.
To save yourself from having to drag the mouse around to paint a large area, you can use a fill applicator. Undo all paint, and clear all locks. Activate Local fill or press L. (The button is located below the Brush.)
14. Reapply the paint, and only the ground plane is painted (depending on the tolerance, some other faces may also be painted).
3.
The cursor changes to a paint can. Click anywhere in the scene, and the entire scene is covered in yellow (or whatever colour youve set as active). There will probably be cases in which you would want to cover a scene in one colour, but this isnt one of them.
15. Undo all paint. As you may have guessed, locks can be combined. Activate both Orientation lock and Material lock. 4. Undo, and set the Plane lock.
10
Quick Introduction
5.
Click on any front-facing face of a column. That face, and only that face, is painted. Local fill only fills the immediate area selected.
Basic Textures
This section will introduce you to grainy paints, as well as using pictures as texture.
Grainy (Noise) Texture

1. Undo all paint, and keep the same yellow colour. Below the colour box, check Texture. If youve never used texture before, the sample that appears in the box is a grainy texture with an alpha symbol. In Piranesi, alpha textures work by applying the active colour in the black areas, leaving the white areas transparent. Shades of gray mean shades of active colour.
6.
Undo, and switch to Global fill (hotkey: G).
7.
Click the same face, and now all faces in the same plane are painted in one click.
2.
8.
Naturally, fills can be used with multiple locks. Activate Orientation and Material locks (turn off Plane lock).
In the Settings pane, open the Texture tab. (If your sample box doesnt match this one, change the settings to whats shown here.) The default texture type is Noise, represented by the grayscale sample in the box. This is the same alpha texture sample you see, tiled and smaller, on the Toolbox on the other side of the Piranesi window.
9.
Undo the previous paint, and click any of the left-facing faces of the columns. All faces that have both this material AND orientation are painted.
TIP: As you may have figured out by now, you can double-click the Texture preview on the Toolbox, to open the Texture tab.
11
3.
Use Global fill and Plane lock, and click the ground plane. The gray surface is now a grainy yellow.
7.
This value represents the amount of colour applied. With less blue in the paint, the texture colour is a bit fainter. Reapply for a fainter blue grain.
NOTE: You may be wondering what are the differences between textures and grains. These are explained in the chapter Textures and Grains on page 155.
4.
Change the active colour to light blue.
You could get similar results if you changed the Blend value, at the bottom of the Toolbox. The Blend amount controls the entire combination of paints and textures. The Colour Amount only affects the amount of paint colour in the blend.
Placing an Image in the Background

1. 5. Reapply (Ctrl+R) the texture. The yellow is replaced with blue, and the areas of gray remain unchanged. (The original gray of the ground plane shows through where the noise sample is white.) Undo this texture. We will now apply an image as the texture. Replace Noise with Raster.
No image is selected yet, as you can see on the Toolbox.
2. 6. On the Toolbox, above the Texture check box, reduce the Colour Amount to about 60%. You can drag the slider control or click along the slider line itself, or use the arrow keys to get precise values.
Back in the Tools Manager, click Browse to find a file to use.
12
Quick Introduction
By default, Piranesi starts searching in the ...\Piranesi\Style Libraries\Textures folder.
6.
What is the Piranesi Library alias? It is listed here as well: ...\Piranesi\Style Libraries\.
3. 4.
Close this window for a quick diversion into file locations. Select File / Preferences and click the File Locations tab. Texture files are located in <Piranesi Textures>.
7.
8.
You could enter a new path and click Set to change it, but we will keep it. Click OK or Cancel. Now you know why the default search folder is ...\Piranesi\Style Libraries\Textures. On the Texture tab click Browse again, and in the Textures folder, open Scenes.
5.
When you see a location in angle brackets (< >), Piranesi is using an alias - a name for a specific path. Now click the Aliases tab. The Piranesi Textures alias is defined using yet another alias: <Piranesi Library> Textures.
9.
This folder contains sky images. Make sure you can view previews, and select one of the images. Double-click the file, or click Open.
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This image, or at least a portion of it, now appears on the Toolbox.
Using an Image as Texture

1. You can easily locate texture files within Piranesi, without having to use your Windows browser. If the Style Browser is not displayed, click the button or select View / Style Browser.
10. With Plane lock still on, click in the background. The sky image is the wrong scale, and is tiled repeatedly. 2. By default, the Style Browser appears as a separate window at the bottom of the Piranesi window. On the left side click the Piranesi textures library, and on the right side, double-click to open the category Bricks, Tiles and Stone Slabs.
11. Change the raster mode from Tangent to Fit, so that the image will be stretched to fit in the sky plane. Make sure the Hook point is at 0,0 so that the image will start at the top left corner of the scene.
3.
Locate Warm grey bricks (the list is alphabetical).
4.
12. Reapply.
Right-click the thumbnail and select Properties (hotkey: Alt+Enter). According to the list at the bottom, this style only contains a texture file. It does not contain any information about applicators, locks, blending, etc. Close the Style Properties window.
14
Quick Introduction
on page 209.
NOTE: The Style Browser is covered in depth in Style Browser
8.
Undo. Re-check the Repeat boxes, and make sure the default mode is set to Tangent.
5.
Double-click the Warm gray bricks thumbnail to set is as the active texture. Bricks now appear on the Toolbox. This is not an alpha texture, so as long as the texture Amount is 100%, it does not matter what the colour Amount is. 9. Reapply the brick, and the image adheres correctly to the selected face. But because the mode is Tangent, the brick does not wrap around corners.
6.
The preview also appears in the Tools Manager. Uncheck the Repeat X and Y boxes, so that you can see one instance of the image.
10. Change the mode to Frontal and reapply.
7.
With only Material lock checked, and using Global fill, apply the brick to the columns. It only appears once, since it is not set to tile.
This looks correct, but the brick is actually not wrapped correctly - it is always facing you. Frontal projects the image head-on into the scene.
15
11. Now change to Auto Wrapped and reapply.
2.
Reapply. Slightly less of the texture is applied to the paint blend, which enables all of the yellow to come through.
The difference here is subtle, but now the brick wraps around corners correctly. (To see the difference more clearly, you can increase the X Scale and Y Scale of the image on the Texture tab.
3.
Reduce the Colour Amount and reapply. The texture looks the same, but with less yellow.
Paint, Texture, and Blend Amounts

1. Textures can be combined with other effects, such as colour. Select a bright yellow, and reduce the Texture Amount to ~60%. Blend and Colour Amount should be 100%. 4. To see the difference between colour and blend amounts, return the Colour Amount to 100% and reduce the Blend. Now the entire effect is reduced less texture and less colour. The outlines of the bricks are fainter.
16
Quick Introduction
5.
For the material of the base, look in the Style Browser and find the Real World Texture Library and open the Marble category.
8.
This is because when you opened the new style, the mode reverted back to Tangent. Change this to Auto Wrapped and reapply.
6.
Double-click on the marble you want to use.
This texture now appears on the Toolbox - again, not an alpha texture. Set the Texture Amount to 100%. The Blend should still be low.
9.
Note that you can still see shadows on the marble. This is because the Blend is less than 100%, which means the original, unpainted base still shows through. Increase the Blend to 100% and Reapply.
7.
Apply this marble to the base. The wrapping isnt correct.
Now the marble covers the entire base, including painting over the shadows that were there before.
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10. Another way to preserve shadows while still painting a new material is to change the Blend mode. For example, change Paint to Overlay and reapply.
3.
We can change parameters of this texture in the Tools Manager. Change the X Scale to 4. If the aspect ratio box is checked, then Y Scale should update to 4 as well.
This uses 100% of the texture and blend, but does not coat the entire base in a uniform layer of paint. Rather, it overlays a layer on top of what was there before, and you can still see the shadows.
4.
Reapply to increase the size of the tiles.
Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Textures

1. In the same style library, open the Tile category and select a pattern like this one:
5.
You can also change texture by eye. Click the Tweak button.
2.
Keep Overlay, in order to preserve shadows.Use Plane lock and apply the tiles to the ground plane.
A single instance of the image is isolated on-screen, located where you clicked to apply the texture. The drag handles and axes can be use to resize and rotate.
18
Quick Introduction
6.
Place your cursor within the texture box (the cursor becomes a double-headed arrow) and drag it so that the corner meets the lower left corner of the column base.
This the result, lengthened in one direction:
7.
Now place your cursor along one of the axes. The cursor symbol turns into a rotation symbol.
10. To exit Tweak mode, press Esc or click Tweak again. The preview has updated, as well as its Angle and Scale values.
8.
Drag the axis to rotate the texture image.

NOTE: In some versions of Piranesi, you must exit Tweak mode using the Esc key, if you want to see the updated values.
11. We will leave the rest of the model as is. To see the styles youve used so far, click the arrow in the Information Bar. Three styles should be listed.
9.
You can also scale the texture in Tweak mode. A corner handle scales the image in both X and Y, and a side handle scales in either X or Y. For example, press and drag one of the side handles to make the tile longer.
This should be just enough to give you a taste of what you can do in Piranesi. Once you know how to use a basic brush, fills, and locks, youre ready to move on to the more sophisticated stuff!
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20
Applying and Blending Paint

3. Accept the defaults for this new file.
This chapter will focus on the applicators used to apply paint to the scene, and how to blend paint to get the colours you want.
Paint Applicators
This section covers the three ways you can apply paint to the scene: Brush, Pen, and Painter.
NOTE: Fills are another way to apply paint, but they are covered in the "Quick Introduction" chapter. Also see Multiple Fill on page 221. The Montage applicator is covered in Cutouts on page 239.
Brush
The Brush applicator was introduced in the "Quick Introduction" chapter, but here we will explore each brush option in depth.
4. 5.
Set the colour to something that will contrast with the white background. If Brush is not selected, activate it.
2D Circular and Rectangular Brushes

1. Start a new, blank file (File / New). 6. In the Tools Manager, select the Circle brush. If the settings do not match the defaults shown here, click Reset.
2.
Choose to create a new EPix file.
NOTE: Another option here is to create an EPix files from an image file, which is how you import an image (not model) into Piranesi. Panorama files are not covered in this book.
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7.
You are now using a Circle brush, 40 pixels in diameter. Move the cursor around the image, and the outline of the brush is shown.
10. Switch to Continuous, and draw another line. This time you can move fast or slow; the paint line is always smooth.
8.
Change the Size to something larger, like 80 pixels. The preview size looks smaller, but its scale has changed to 2:1. 11. Now switch to Spaced. This method defines the spacing between brush points as a percentage of the brush size. Set the percentage very low, and the paint line resembles a Continuous line.
TIP: You can use the bracket keys ( [ and ] ) to increase and decrease brush size.
9.
Draw two approximately horizontal paint lines across the Piranesi window. Do this by placing the cursor at the start of the line, pressing and holding the mouse button, and dragging the mouse to the right. Draw the first one quickly, and the second one slowly.
The second line is denser, because the cursor spent more time creating it. This is because the Brush repeat spacing is set to Normal, which paints according to the cursors speed.
12. When you need to clear space on the screen, use Undo (Ctrl+Z) to erase your paint lines, one by one. 13. Increase the Spaced % to 100. This starts one brush point at the end of the previous one. It looks like the brush points are not contiguous, but they actually are. This brush has a Softness of 100%, so the brush fades outwardly. By the time the radius is reached, the brush fades completely.
22
14. Reduce the Softness to zero and Reapply. Now you can see that the brush points are contiguous. It appears that the brush size has increased, but actually the whole brush is now filled.
17. Increase the size to about 180, so that you can clearly see the differences in the Profile settings. Change the repeat mode to Continuous so that an entire brush point can be seen.
15. Reduce the Spaced % to 75 and Reapply. Now the brush points overlap at their quarter points.
18. With Profile set to Soft, click once to place one brush point. Then switch to Plateau and place a brush point, and do the same for Spike.
Soft (left, above): Maximum density at the centre, even fall-off to the edge. 16. Return the Softness to 100%, and increase the Spaced % to 200. Now the brush points are quite far apart. Plateau (centre): Has a wide area of maximum density at the centre, linear fall-off toward the edge. Spike (right): Maximum density at the centre, rapid fall-off toward the edge. 19. There are two ways you can control the Softness %. First, enter a value manually, such as 30. The Profile preview updates accordingly.
Softness effects are controlled by the Profile setting, currently set to Soft. The preview outline above the Profile setting shows you the softness fall-off curve.
23
20. Place your cursor on the small white circle on the preview and drag it around. This updates the profile curve, and updates the Softness % as well.
23. With this modified brush shape, change the Size, Softness, and spacing options as shown here, and draw a paint line.
21. The next two settings can also be changed via the preview. On the curve to the left of the softness profile, drag one of the black square handles. This changes the aspect ratio - you can squash a circle into an oval, or pull a square into a rectangle. Of course, this value updates the Aspect ratio value, which can also be edited manually. 24. Check Ramp to apply the profile laterally across the brush, as opposed to radially outward. (For an unrotated brush, the profile would be darkest at the left side.)
22. Drag the white circle to change the brushs Angle.
TIP: It is possible to make the angle of brush marks change randomly as the brush moves. See Dynamic Settings on page 48.
24
25. This effect, and all others weve seen so far, also apply to rectangular brushes. Switch Circle to Rectangle, and keep Ramp checked (dont check 2 way).
You can also constrain the direction in which you can paint. The current Constraint type is Image, in which you can paint either horizontally or vertically.
28. To do this, press Shift before painting. Then paint a horizontal and vertical line.
26. Now check 2 way. This option is only available for rectangular brushes, and applies the profile from the top left corner, diagonally to the opposite corner.
The next constraint type is World axes, which is not relevant for a blank file - it depends on the axes of the objects in an EPix file. 29. Switch to Fixed direction. You can enter the X, Y, Z direction manually, but to define the direction on-screen, click Pick.
27. At the bottom of the Brush tab, click Reset to return the defaults for a rectangular brush.
30. This enables you to define the constraint direction on-screen. Press and drag the mouse in a diagonal direction.
31. Press Shift and draw some lines; you are always constrained to the direction you defined.
25
2D Raster Brush
This file is now listed on the Brush tab.
A raster brush uses a picture as the imprint of the brush. Several raster images for brushes are provided for you, and you can create and add your own. 1. 2. Continue working in this file, or start a new EPix file. Change the brush type to Raster. Until you select a raster file, the brush will be a plain square by default. To locate a raster file, click Browse. In the "Quick Introduction" chapter we looked at default file locations and aliases, but heres another chance to explore this. The default folder is identified by its alias <Piranesi Brushes> (angle brackets always enclose an alias). To identify this alias, select File / Preferences and open the Aliases tab. <Piranesi Brushes> is defined using another alias: <Piranesi Library>; this alias is defined a few rows down.
4.
In the Open window, you can see the default folder where Piranesi looks for raster brushes: ...\Piranesi\Style Libraries\Brushes.
5.
On the General tab of the Preferences, make sure Use outline for raster brush cursor is checked. This means that the cursor outline will take on the shape of the raster image. Otherwise, the cursor outline will be a rectangle.
3.
Use the preview window to find a brush like this one. The size of the image should be indicated, in this case it is 143 x 63 pixels. Double-click the file, or click Open to load it.
NOTE: Displaying outlines for complex raster brushes can slow the display. In this case, it is helpful to display the rectangular cursor outline
6.
Close the Preferences, and press and drag to paint a curvy line. The brush is always horizontal, no matter how the line is drawn. (Also note the cursor outline it matches the shape of the raster image.)
26
7.
On the Brush tab, click Follows stroke, and Reapply. This time the orientation of the brush changes to match the orientation of the curvy line.
9.
Paint another line; now you are placing the brush near its lower right corner.
You can use most types of images as a raster brush. If the image has colour, it will be converted to grayscale and used as an alpha brush - the darker the gray, the more paint is applied. 10. Click Browse again and switch folders to ...\Style Libraries\Textures\Scenes.
By default, the hook point is at the centre of the image. (The hook point is where the cursor holds the image.) The image size is 143 x 63, so the hook is at 72/32 - right at the centre.
11. Open one of the cloud scenes.
8.
To change the hook point, you can enter new values under Hook, or click on the preview image. Click somewhere near the lower right corner of the preview. Also, uncheck Follows stroke.
27
12. This image is loaded as the raster brush. Click to paint a few points with this brush - the dark sky area gets the most paint, while not as much is applied to the light clouds. (You may want to increase the brush size to see this better.)
2.
Click Add to define the first image.
3. This cloud image may not be a great example of a raster brush, but it demonstrates the grayscale conversion (alpha channel) concept. The remaining options on this tab are the same as those youve already seen for the circular and rectangular brushes. You can change the angle by dragging the white circle, or entering an angle. You can also use constraints the same way. A more typical way to access raster brushes is through the Style Browser. By default, there is a library called Piranesi brushes that has several categories. Double-click on an image to activate the brush.
The tab for the first image can now be accessed. Click Browse to select the image.
4.
Like with standard raster images, the browser opens to the Brushes folder. Select the A file.
2D Multiple Raster Brush
This brush is similar to the standard raster brush (see 2D Raster Brush on page 26), but you can specify more than one image. The images will be applied consecutively, rather than all at once. 1. Change the brush type to Multiple. The preview is blank, because there are no brush marks defined yet. To start defining the raster images, click Define.
5.
This image now appears on the first tab. Use the default size of 40 pixels. To continue on to the next image, click Add again.
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6.
For the second imagine, select B. Change the size to 30 pixels.
10. Check Follows stroke and paint another curvy line (or Reapply). Each repeated image stays perpendicular to the curve.
7.
Click Add a third time, select C, and make it 20 pixels.
2D Bristle Brush
This brush acts like a circular / rectangular brush, and is also similar to a raster brush. But rather than select an image to apply, you control the number of bristles in the circular brush area. 1. 8. Click OK to finish defining multiple raster images. Back on the Brush tab, the first image (A) is shown in the preview window. Below the Define button, you can see that three brush marks are defined. You already know how to change the hook and angle, so accept the defaults. Change the spacing method to Spaced at 125%. 2. Switch the brush type to Bristle, and use zero Softness (so that you can see the entire brush area). Enter 500 for the number of bristles.
Click once to place a brush mark. Then change the bristle number to 750 and place another mark. Do the same for 1,000 bristles. You can see how this increases the brush density.
9.
Start painting a curvy line. The images repeat - large A, medium B, small C.
3.
Another way to set the bristle density is to enter a percentage. In place of the bristle number, enter 50% (include the % symbol). Place one mark.
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4.
This method is handy when you want to change the brush size and maintain the same look. Increase the Size and place another mark - the density is the same.
3D Brushes
The brushes weve used until now have been 2D - they always lie in the plane of the screen. Brushes in 3D have the same characteristics as their 2D counterparts, but they align to the plane on which they are painted. To see this, a 3D model must be used. 1. Open the file Blocks1.epx which is located in the ...\Piranesi\Tutorial\Epix folder.
5.
For a realistic representation of bristle painting, use the Spaced method at 25% for a tight overlap, and paint a wavy line.
2.
Open the Properties (File / Properties, hotkey: Alt+Enter). The units of this file are set to meters.
NOTE: For the other options on the Brush tab, see 2D Circular and Rectangular Brushes on page 21. To get a more random bristle pattern, see Dynamic Settings on page 48.
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3.
Close the Properties and open the Preferences (File / Preferences). Display units are set to the file units (m), but this is the place you can change this setting to any units you prefer.
6.
In the Information pane, open the Navigate tab. You can see the zoom rectangle on the image. This feature is useful, particularly in large files, to show whats in view relative to the entire scene.
7.
Activate Brush, and set the brush type to 3D Circle, and remove the softness. With 3D brushes, the size is in real world units, rather than pixels. Reduce the size as needed to make the circle small enough so that several will fit on any block face.
4.
To zoom in on a specific area, click the Zoom button on the Toolbox.
5.
Drag a window around the block shown. This block now fills the Piranesi window.
8.
Move the cursor along the various faces of the cube, to see how the circle orientation changes. On the right front face, click several times to place circles on this face.
TIP: You can also zoom in by pressing Ctrl+ (plus key). If you have a wheel mouse, you can place the cursor at the zoom centre and scroll up to zoom in (and down to zoom out).
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9.
Do the same on the top face - the orientation changes.
13. As before, place a few circles on various faces. Each circle is oriented to its face.
10. Place more circles on the left front face. Assuming no locks are active, some of the circles will appear in front of the cylinder. 14. On the Brush tab, check Vertical.
11. If you are familiar with locks, you know the solution. Turn on the Plane lock. Undo and repeat these last few circles - now they are confined to the block face.
15. Undo and repeat these circles, and now they remain vertical no matter what face they are placed on. Vertical circles orient correctly to any vertical face, but for all other faces the circles are vertical with respect to the ground plane - they appear to be standing up.
12. On the Navigate tab, drag the zoom window to the cube at the front.
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16. To zoom out so that the scene fits in the Piranesi window, click Fit to window on the Navigate tab.
20. With Plane lock still on, use a single click-and-drag motion to paint the top faces of these two cubes.
17. Undo the vertical circles on the second cube. 3D raster brushes work the same way: they are based on images like a 2D raster brush, but orient themselves to 3D faces. 18. Open the Style Browser to Piranesi brushes, Brush marks category. Double-click on the first brush to activate it.
21. To paint the left front faces, activate Orientation lock, and turn off the Plane lock.
22. Now you can use one motion to paint both left front faces. If the paint is applied to more faces than these two, adjust the locks Orientation tolerance.
19. This is defined as a 2D raster style, but switch to 3D Raster and make sure the other settings match these:.
NOTE: 3D brushes remain oriented to the face where the brush is first applied. If you turns locks off and paint along multiple faces, the brush will not change orientation while painting.
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23. Now switch to 3D Multiple. Define the ABC brush you used in the exercise 2D Multiple Raster Brush on page 28 (this brush will still be defined if you havent changed it). The default size of each letter is 1m, which is too large, so reduce the entire brush size by changing its overall Scale.
1.
Activate Pen (hotkey: P). Set a colour that will contrast with the background. On the Pen tab, use these default options.
24. Change the colour. Using Plane lock only, and using Spaced at 125%, with Vertical unchecked, paint letters all over the ground plane.
2.
Drag the cursor from one point to another.
3.
Release the mouse, and the straight line is drawn, in the active colour and specified line thickness.
4.
To demonstrate Anti-aliased, zoom in closely on the pen line. If the line is diagonal, the edges should be smooth but a bit blurry.
Pen
This very simple applicator is used to draw straight lines in the scene. It is most often used to close off open areas of an imported picture, so that locks can be used inside the area.
NOTE: For an example of this, see Using Dynamic Settings for 2D Scenes on page 52.
5.
Uncheck Anti-aliased lines and Reapply. The edges are now sharp but jagged.
1.
Start a new, blank EPix file. If you dont know how, see "2D Circular and Rectangular Brushes" on page 21.
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Painter
The painter applicator is used when you want a random brush look, or a splattering effect.
Painter Basics
1. Start a new, blank EPix file. If you dont know how, see "2D Circular and Rectangular Brushes" on page 21. Activate Painter (hotkey: S). Set a colour that will contrast with the background.
NOTE: The scattering is caused by the Mark spread value of 80%, set by default in the Dynamic settings. This and other dynamic values can be changed; see Dynamic Settings on page 48.
4.
1.
Draw two paint lines, like you would with the Brush applicator. Draw a slow line for a higher concentration of splatter marks, and a quick line for a lower concentration.
2.
The Painter tab in the Settings pane lists all the properties of this applicator. Use the defaults for a Rounded splatter, as shown below (you can click the Reset button at the bottom of the tab to restore these settings). The values for Start and End define how wide the mark is at either end, in pixels. The Length of the mark is also in pixels.
5.
Increase the Delay value and draw another line. This increases the milliseconds between splatter marks, resulting in slower marks.
6.
Switch to a Squared shape and change the Size to Relative. Now Start and End values are defined as percentages of the Length (rather than pixels). Start with 40% of the length and taper to 10%.
3.
Click a few times on the screen. A few painter marks are scattered around each click.
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7.
Change the Angle to tilt the marks.
10. Typically the Painter is used to splatter paint uniformly over the entire Piranesi window. Undo to remove any marks, and click Splatter. The Cell size determines the spacing between marks.
8.
Change the Angle back and add a Skew. This tilts the left and right edges of the marks.
11. Click anywhere to fill the Piranesi window with marks. Because the Cell size is smaller than the length of the mark, the splattering will be very dense. The progress is shown in the lower right corner. You can press Esc if you want to stop the splatter before its complete.
9.
Remove the Skew and add some Wobble. This adds waviness to the marks.
12. Increase the Cell size and Reapply the splatter (Ctrl+R).
The last option is Hook - the point along the mark where the cursor places it. By default Hook is 50% halfway along its length. You can change this manually or click in the preview window to define it.
Now the marks are spaced much farther apart.
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13. Finally, deselect Random spread and Reapply. Now the marks are placed evenly, one in each 50 pixel X 50 pixel cell.
2.
Set the active colour to white, and use Global fill (with no locks) to cover the entire scene.
3.
Now activate Painter and set the colour Amount to zero. This means that wherever the painter is applied, the white cover will be removed.
Splattering Techniques
To really see the full range of painter options, we need to start with an actual model - one that has both colour and depth. 1. Open the file Downtown.epx. This is located in the ...\Piranesi\Examples folder. 4. Use the painter settings shown below.
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5.
Press and drag one back-and-forth line on the scene. The white cover is removed, and the colours of the scene below show through.
Vertical marks now fill the entire scene.
7. Each mark is assigned a single colour - the colour of the pixel at the hook point of the mark. Undo this paint line. Switch to Splatter with Random spread and a small Cell size, and click on the scene. Let the splatter proceed until its finished.
To increase the density of splatter, change the Cell size to 4 pixels wide by 15 pixels high, which exactly matches the size of the mark itself. Reapply.
6.
Now more of the scene shows through.
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8.
Because each mark gets a single colour, the fine level of detail in the underlying scene does not show through. For more accuracy, you could continue to reduce the size of the mark and cell size, but you would still get a splotchy effect. Now deselect Random spread and Reapply.
As long as the cell size is smaller than the mark, the marks will overlap and there will be no blank spaces.
Marks are now placed in exact 4 x 15 grid cells. This is the size of the mark itself, so there are no overlaps or spaces between marks. (Because the mark is rounded, there is actually some space between marks at the corners. Using square marks would eliminate all space.)
10. Increase the Cell size slightly to make the marks less crowded. Until now, the Reference direction has been 2D - all marks vertical. Change this to Face normal.
9.
Reselect Random spread, reduce the Cell size, and Reapply.
11. With Face normal, The face you click to apply determines the orientation of the marks. Therefore, we wont Reapply the paint; we will start over. Place the cursor over the yellow wall (to set the cursor in the right place).
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12. Undo previous marks, so that the scene is white again. Click to apply the splatter. Along the yellow wall the marks are vertical, and marks are placed on other faces according to this reference direction. Each mark is orthogonal to both the reference direction and the plane on which it is painted.
14. Change the Reference direction to View plane and Reapply.
Now the plane normal to the line of sight is the reference plane. The marks on the ground plane converge toward the vanishing point.
13. Place the cursor along one of the tall vertical walls, Undo, and click. Now these walls have the vertical marks. 15. For the last Reference direction, select Fixed. To set the direction, click Pick.
16. Drag the mouse to set a direction like this:
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17. Reapply, and now the marks along the yellow wall are diagonal.
19. Set the Reference direction back to 2D.
20. Do not Reapply, but click again in the scene. The vertical marks are placed on top of the existing ones.
18. You can combine two or more sets of painter marks for interesting effects. First, reduce the density of the marks by increasing the Cell size, then Reapply.
21. Undo twice to return to the white cover. We will now look at some dynamic settings. Make sure Use dynamic settings is checked, and click Show.
NOTE: Dynamic settings are covered further in Dynamic Settings on page 48.
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22. This opens the Dynamic Settings window. Mark spread controls the spread of scattered marks as a percentage of the mark length. The default value for this is 80%, but change it to zero.
Now the marks are scattered a bit more.
23. Click to apply the paint. This is similar to splattering non-randomly - adjacent marks are placed side-by-side.
25. Change Mark spread back to zero. Change the Colour spread to 50% RGB and Reapply.
Now the colour or each mark can deviate slightly from the colour of the pixel under the hook point.
24. Change the Mark spread to 40% and Reapply.
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26. To sharpen the lines, decrease the sizes of both the mark itself and the cell. Keep the Colour spread the same, and Reapply.
28. Now the marks along planes deeper into the scene are increased by that scale value. Marks closest to the front maintain their original size.
The overall lines of the scene are sharper, but there appears to be less colour deviation. The deviation is actually the same, but the marks are smaller so it is harder to see colour difference between adjacent marks. 29. Now check Depth sort and Reapply.
The results are similar, but the deepest planes are painted first, closest are painted last. Therefore the lines between objects are slightly sharper.
27. Increase the Depth scale and Reapply.
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Using Painter with Locks
2.
Set the Material lock.
Locks for the painter are basically the same as for other applicators, but some added features enable you to control blurring between materials or planes. 1. Set the painter settings back to whats shown below. Remove the Dynamic Settings or set them back to their defaults (click Reset at the bottom of the window). Reapply.
3.
Deselect Reset lock and Reapply.
Faces of only one material are painted. The material is the one that was clicked when the paint was originally applied.
Note the blurring between different planes and materials - for instance, along the intersection of the yellow wall and the ground plane, and along the foreground roofs.
4.
Click a few more places to paint objects of different materials.
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5.
Undo all paint, and check Reset lock. With this on, you can splatter paint on the entire scene even if a lock is set (in this case, Material). As each mark is applied, the lock updates to the current pixel. Therefore, marks from different planes, materials, orientations, or colours are not smeared into one another (apart from a slight overlap).
8.
You can define multiple brush marks, but we will just use one. Click Add to create Tab 1, and click Browse to find a brush like this one (This example uses swarm.png).
6.
Click the scene to apply the paint with material locking. Now the lines between objects of different materials are sharper, though there may be slight overlaps.
NOTE: For information on selecting raster images to use as brushes, see 2D Raster Brush on page 26 and 2D Multiple Raster Brush on page 28.
9.
Click OK, and back on the Painter tab, set the cell size so that the brushes will overlap.
10. Reapply to place big, blurry raster brush marks in the scene. With Material lock on, there is actually separation between materials, but the brush is so large that its hard to see this.
7.
To demonstrate another lock feature, we should first switch to a larger brush. Instead of increasing the rounded brush size, switch to a Raster brush. Click Define to select an image.
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you could use to place marks at various angles.
TIP: The Dynamic settings also has an Angular spread, which
As before, only one material is now painted.
11. Check Strict lock and Reapply.
Strict lock keeps the lock active within each mark. Therefore, along edges you will see partial marks, and no overlapping. 13. Finally, for one last neat effect, replace Reset lock, deselect Random spread and Reapply.
12. Deselect Reset lock and Reapply.
The marks are now placed in an even pattern, and materials are still strictly separated.
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14. Until now, the Painter has been used with zero colour. Set an active colour with 100% Amount, and Reapply.
Now the painter marks have a mix of the active colour and the underlying colour.
The marks now all have the active colour.
16. Finally, add a Grain: check Grain on the Toolbox, and make sure Noise is the grain type. Reapply.
The marks are now grainy. 15. Reduce the Amount and Reapply.
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see Creating a New Multiple Fill on page 224.
NOTE: For another exercise that uses the Painter applicator,
3.
To modify the dynamic settings, make sure Use dynamic settings is checked on the Brush tab. Then check Show.
Dynamic Settings
Dynamic settings can be used to specify additional options for the Brush and Painter applicators.
Dynamic Settings for Brushes

1. Start a new, blank EPix file. If you dont know how, see "2D Circular and Rectangular Brushes" on page 21. Set a bright colour, Standard rendering, and Brush applicator. On the Brush tab, define a Rectangle brush with these settings:
1.
4.
By default, all the settings on this window are zero. Increase the Mark spread slightly and Reapply.
The brush points now deviate slightly (in this case, up to 20%) from their horizontal position. 2. Hold Shift and drag your mouse to create a horizontal line made of spaced brush points.
5.
Increase the Mark spread further and Reapply again.
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Now the marks spread out even further.
9.
Change the colour calculation to Lightness.
6.
Return the Mark spread to zero, and increase the Angular spread.
Now there are slightly varying degrees of lightness, as opposed to colour.
Now the marks can have a slight angle. The angular pattern is random.
10. To see this better, increase the Colour spread.
7.
Increase the Angular spread.
Each mark is a light or dark version of the active colour.
Now the range of angles is greater.
11. Switch to Saturation.
8.
Keep the Angular spread and add some Colour spread. Now each mark ranges between the full colour and gray.
Now the colour of each can deviate slightly from the active colour.
12. Now switch to HLS.
Also note that each time you Reapply, the marks are created from scratch, randomly.
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With this method, all components of the colours can change.
16. Increase the Opacity and Reapply. The strokes can now be more transparent.
13. For transparency settings, return to the Brush tab and enter an Angle to switch to a vertical brush.
17. Switch the Fade to Along stroke, using a distance of 300 pixels. Now the paint line starts at full opacity and becomes fully transparent after 300 pixels.
14. Return all previous dynamic settings to zero, and assign an Opacity of 30%.
18. Increase to 1000 pixels.
19. Create a new line, using back and forth strokes. It takes numerous marks before the line is transparent. Its easy to see the transparency where the paint lines overlap. 15. Create a new, horizontal line with these brush strokes (or Reapply). Each stroke ranges between full opacity and a 30% deviation from full opacity. 20. Switch to Fade in. Now the stroke starts out transparent and becomes fully opaque.
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Dynamic Settings for Painter
There is no deviation along the paint line.
For a detailed exercise on the Painter applicator, which uses many of these dynamic settings, see "Painter" on page 35. 1. 2. Continue working in a blank file. Activate the Painter, and define the brush strokes using these settings. A slight Delay is used so the lines wont be drawn too quickly. 5. Increase the Mark spread and Reapply. Now each stroke can deviate above or below the paint line.
6.
Increase the Mark spread more to spread the lines further.
3.
Display the Dynamic Settings. If the settings dont match those shown below, click Reset. By default, all values are zero except for Mark spread. The default value of 80% gives the painter strokes their random placement.
7.
Add a slight Angular spread. Now the strokes can range from vertical to a slight angle.
4.
Change Mark spread to zero, and draw a horizontal line. (Pressing Shift does not lock the Painter s direction; it only works for Brush. So draw this line by eye.)
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8.
Raise the Angular spread; now the lines can have almost any angle.
3.
Create the EPix file using all the default options. If you look closely at the area indicated, there is a small gap in the pen lines.
The remaining options (Colour spread, Fade, Opacity) work the same way as for the Brush applicator. See "Dynamic Settings for Brushes" on page 48.
Using Dynamic Settings for 2D Scenes

1.
A typical usage for dynamic setting is painting on 2D views, such as site plans. Start a new Piranesi file, based on an image file.
4.
We want to paint in the grass, but first we will give the grassy areas a yellow base so that some yellow will show through. Switch to Local fill, Colour lock, and yellow colour.
2.
Browse to the file House Plan.png, found in the ...Piranesi\Tutorial\Resource folder.
5.
Click to fill this area. The area indicated is supposed to be a pond, but was filled in because of the gap in the pen lines.
6.
Undo the yellow fill.
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7.
This gap can be easily closed using the Pen applicator. To match the colour of the existing pen lines, click the Colour Picker, then click on any line.
10. Switch to Brush, activate a green colour, and select a Raster brush like this one. The Dynamic settings should have some Angular spread and Colour spread.
8.
With the proper colour set, set the pens Line thickness to 1, and drag a short, straight line to close the gap.
11. Paint over the yellow grass (Colour lock should still be on). You should have varying shades of green over the yellow.
9.
Activate the yellow colour again, and flood the two grassy areas with yellow. The pond now remains empty.
12. Undo the grass, and try again using a Bristle brush with the same colour and angle settings.
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13. Change the colour to pink, and remove the Colour lock. Switch to Painter with these settings. Mark spread should be zero, so all the painter marks will be in the same place. Use the full Angular spread, and add some Colour spread using Lightness. A little Opacity also adds a nice touch.
NOTE: For a more complex exercise on painting 2D plans, see Wang Wang: Example 3 on page 322
Blend Modes
There are several blend modes available, and can be chosen from the list near the bottom of the Toolbox.
14. Click and hold the mouse button in a few places to add some flowering plants. If your Painter Delay is long enough, you can see each mark being created at a different angle, colour, and opacity.
The slider above the blend mode determines how much of the effect is applied. If you have combined colour and texture and/or grain, the blend amount will evenly reduce all elements of the effect.
Painting with One Colour
This section covers Paint, Ink, Tint, Overlay, and Paint random. All of these blend modes involve adding one colour to the scene. 1. Open the file Downtown.epx. This is located in the ...\Piranesi\Examples folder.
TIP: Try adjusting the Hook and Wobble values for some different results.
15. If you create the same plants using RGB, the results will be more colourful.
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2.
Use a hard Brush like this one, and select a colour that will contrast with the scene (magenta in this case). Use Standard rendering, and make sure the Blend mode is set to Paint.
The colour is now fainter because less of it is applied to the scene.
5.
With the reduced amount, paint a few more strokes. Each stroke adds a layer of colour. Once the colour is opaque, additional strokes wont make any difference.
3.
Paint with one back-and-forth stroke in this corner. The paint covers everything - colours, textures, and shadows.
6. 7.
Undo all paint. Bring the amount back to 100%, and switch to Ink.
8.
Paint one stroke again. This is like laying a translucent layer of the active colour over the scene: the colour is superimposed on the scene and the lightness of everything below decreases.
4.
Reduce the Blend amount and Reapply.
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9.
Paint a few more strokes. With enough ink added, the colour gets darker and darker until its almost black (but still translucent). Eventually all shadows and textures are almost covered.
Overlay is similar to Ink because it mixes the active colour with existing colours. But, unlike Ink, the lightness of pixels below is preserved, similar to Tint.
10. Undo all paint and switch to Tint.
NOTE: Overlay is basically a combination of Ink and Light blend modes.
11. Paint another stroke. This changes all colours in the scene to the active colour, preserving lightness and darkness of the colours below.
13. To see the differences more clearly, Undo all paint and switch to Global fill. First apply Ink to the entire scene - it gets darker and more magenta.
If you paint additional strokes, the effect will not change. Also, if the active colour is black or white, the result will be grayscale. 12. Undo all paint and switch to Overlay, then paint another stroke.
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14. Switch to Tint and Reapply. All pixels turn magenta with varying degrees of lightness.
16. Now switch to Paint random with an Amount less than 100%. Reapply.
This applies the paint at a random pattern. If the Amount were 100%, the entire scene would be covered.
15. Switch to Overlay and Reapply. All colours now have magenta mixed in, but lightness remains unchanged.
17. Reduce the Amount further and Reapply.
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This reduces the density of the paint splatter.
The paint splatter has the same density, but fainter colour.
18. For another way to adjust this effect, reduce the Amount of colour and Reapply.
This blend mode could be used for creating an overall grainy pattern over the scene, or it can be limited to certain materials to create grainy textures.
Painting with Light

1.
This section covers Light, Hard light, and Soft light. All of these blend modes add light to the scene. Open the file Downtown.epx. This is located in the ...\Piranesi\Examples folder. (If this file is already open, use File / Revert to return to the original scene.)
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2.
First well start with a blend mode youre probably familiar with. Use Global or Local fill, Standard rendering, light green colour, and Overlay blend mode. Make sure all amounts are 100%.
4.
Click again to overlay more layers of green.
5.
Undo all paint, and switch to Light.Click to apply.
3.
Click to overlay the scene. Light and dark is preserved, and green is added to all colours.
The entire scene is lightened with green. The difference between this and Overlay is that this time all colours are lightened.
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6.
If you click to apply again, the scene will grow closer to white. Switch to a very dark green and Reapply.
7.
Switch back to light green, and switch to Hard light. Reapply.
8. The scene is darker with this colour, but still lighter than the original. If you are specifying the active colour by HLS, the lightness of the scene is affected by the Lightness value of the colour.
When using a light colour (less than 50% gray), the effect is similar to using the Light blend mode. It is like shining a bright spotlight into the scene.
9.
Use a dark green and Reapply.
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When the colour is over 50% gray, the scene is darkened, similar to using the Ink blend mode. As the colour approaches black, the scene approaches black cover.
The closer to white, the closer the scene approaches white cover.
Therefore, Hard light can lighten or darken a scene, depending on the lightness of the active colour. Whereas with Light, the scene is always lightened, no matter the colour or lightness. 10. Switch to a very light green, close to white, and Reapply.
11. The difference between Hard light and Soft light can be demonstrated with a fade effect. First, Undo all paint. 12. Below the blend mode, click the Linear fade button. On the Fade tab, select Depth and click the Pick button next to Full.
NOTE: For more information on this type of fade, see Linear Fades on page 183.
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13. This way you can determine on-screen where the fade starts and ends. Press and drag the cursor, starting at a point in the foreground and ending at a point further back on the pavement.
Now the light is more diffused, for an ambient lighting effect.
14. Click to apply. The effect is still Hard light, but it is applied mostly in the foreground. Imagine a bright green spotlight placed on the foreground, facing into the scene. 16. Switch to a darker green and Reapply.
15. Now switch to Soft light and Reapply.
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Like with Hard light, Soft light can lighten or darken a scene depending on the lightness of the active colour.
The scene is full of ambient, light green light.
18. Change the blend to Hard light and Reapply. 17. Switch to a very light green, remove the linear fade, and Reapply.
The effect is harsher and more uniform - a large spotlight pointing right into the scene.
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This section covers Paint lighter and Paint darker blend modes. Both replace all pixels that are either lighter or darker than the active colour with the active colour. 1. Open the file Downtown.epx. This is located in the ...\Piranesi\Examples folder. (If this file is already open, use File / Revert to return to the original scene.)
Painting Lighter and Darker
3.
Use Global or Local fill with the Paint lighter blend mode.
4. 2. These effects depend on the lightness of the active colour. Open the Colour tab and select the HLS method of colour calculation. Use a dark green with these values:
Click in the scene. All pixels darker than the dark green are lightened - they are painted dark green.
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5.
Lighten the green colour by increasing its L value, and Reapply.
The same pixels are affected, but are now red.
More of the scenes pixels are darker than this new colour, and they are all painted light green. Some colour now appears between bricks and paving stones.
7.
Now decrease the S (saturation) value to make the colour more pale. Reapply.
The red is paler, and more pixels are affected. Detail in the background buildings is lost, and more colour is filled between paving stones and bricks.
6.
Change only the H value. This keeps the same lightness and saturation, but changes the hue. Reapply.
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8.
Keep the same colour values and switch to Paint darker. Reapply.
Fewer pixels are affected; only those lighter than this new colour are painted.
This darkens the scene by painting all pixels lighter than the active colour. For example, the light blue sky is now a darker pale red.
This section covers Difference, Exclusion, Dodge, and Burn. These blend modes all use RGB values of the active colour combined with the original colour of each pixel, to obtain new colours.
Painting to Change RGB
Difference and Exclusion

1.
These effects change the colours of each pixel uniformly, without changing lightness or contrast. 9. Make the red a bit lighter and Reapply. Open the file Downtown.epx. This is located in the ...\Piranesi\Examples folder. (If this file is already open, use File / Revert to return to the original scene.)
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2.
To see how Difference works, its easiest to start with a known colour, like the blue of the sky. To get the RGB values of this blue, click the Colour Picker.
6.
Click in the scene. When you take the difference between the original scene and white, the result is a reversal of all colours in the scene. The roof that was previously black is now white, and the previously blue sky is now dark orange.
3.
Click anywhere in the sky.
4.
Make sure the Colour values are listed as RGB. The values for this blue are R = 175, G = 223, B = 230.
7.
To see how the new colours were calculated, sample the new sky colour.
5.
Switch the active colour to white (R=G=B= 255), and use Global or Local fill, with Standard rendering. Make sure the blend mode is Difference.
R = 80, G = 32, = 25.
The new RGB values are calculated according to this formula: new R = absolute value (active R - original R) In other words, 80 = (255 - 175).
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For G and B values, the formula is the same: G: 32 = 255 - 223 B: 25 = 255 - 230 If the original value is higher than the active colour value, the difference is a negative number, but the absolute value (positive) is used. Undo, or click again with white to restore the original colours. Now set a very dark colour and click in the scene.
The black roofs are now yellow and the blue sky is now purple.
8. 9.
This has little effect - as the active colour approaches black, the colour difference decreases. This makes sense, since dark colours have low RGB values. These are the RGB values for the new purple sky: 79, 31, 130.
The new B value is calculated like this: 130 (purple sky) = absolute value of [100 (active yellow) - 230 (original blue)]. 11. When the Blend is reduced, that changes the results a bit. Reduce the value to 62%, make sure the active colour is the yellow you used before (254, 254, 100), and Reapply. 10. Now set a bright yellow like this and Reapply.
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This is the result: the colours are not as bright.
The results are similar to Difference, but with less contrast.
These are the RGB values of the sky with the reduced blend: 115, 104, 168.
The mathematical formula for Exclusion (and the other blend modes) can be found in the online help.
Dodge and Burn

1. 12. The formula is now weighted by the blend amount (a): new R = absolute value (active R - original R)*a + original R * (1-a) 115 = (254 - 175)*0.62 + 175*(1.0-0.62) 13. Bring the value back to 100%, make sure the colour is yellow, and switch the blend mode to Exclusion. Reapply.
These effects lighten or darken pixels according to the colour and lightness of the active colour. Open the file Downtown.epx. This is located in the ...\Piranesi\Examples folder. (If this file is already open, use File / Revert to return to the original scene.)
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2.
Use Global or Local fill with Standard rendering, and Dodge blend mode. Use an active colour like this magenta - about 50% gray and bright.
5.
Switch back to Dodge. Make the colour lighter and Reapply.
The lighting effect is much brighter - the active colour is applied to the pixels that were originally dark.
3.
Click in the scene. All pixels are brightened and take on the magenta colour.
6.
Activate a different colour, keeping the same lightness and grayness. Reapply.
4.
Switch the blend mode to Light and Reapply. The effect does not change. For colours with 50% gray, these two effects are the same.
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The same dark pixels are painted, with the new colour.
8.
While in Light blend mode, reduce the colour Amount and Reapply.
The scene is still light, but the light is fainter.
7.
Switch to Light blend mode again, to see how this effect compares. Reapply.
The difference is more clear with a light active colour - Light brightness the entire scene uniformly, maintaining relative contrasts. Dodge lightens each pixel differently, based on the original and active colours. This results in sharper contrasts.
9.
Keep the same colour Amount, switch to Dodge, and Reapply.
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The contrasts are still more severe, but a bit of the original colours now show through.
11. Switch to a lighter colour, full Amount, but with a reduced Blend.
The colour is still strong, but fewer pixels are painted. Only the darkest pixels now have the active colour. 10. Darken the active colour, bring the colour Amount back to 100%, and Reapply.
As the Dodge colour approaches black, the effect grows weaker.
12. Compare this to the effect you would get with Light using the same colour and amounts.
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Again, the overall scene is lightened uniformly, but faintly.
14. Switch to Burn and Reapply.
This effect is basically the opposite of Dodge lighter pixels are now given the active colour, darkening the entire scene.
13. To compare Dodge and Burn, activate a 50% gray bright colour with Dodge, full blend, and Reapply.
15. Make the colour darker and Reapply. This is the scene brightened with Dodge.
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Unlike with Dodge, when the Burn colour approaches black, the scene approaches black as well.
The contrasts are still sharp, but more of the original colours come through. The active colour is applied most heavily to gray pixels.
16. Reduce the Colour amount and Reapply.
17. Change to an equally dark colour (click elsewhere on the colour wheel) and Reapply.
The same gray pixels are painted.
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18. Finally, lighten the active colour and Reapply.
These effects change the Hue, Lightness, and/or Saturation values of pixels in the scene. 1. Open the file Downtown.epx. This is located in the ...\Piranesi\Examples folder. (If this file is already open, use File / Revert to return to the original scene.)
Painting to Change HLS
As the Burn colour approaches white, the effect grows weaker. With Dodge, this was the case for darker colours.
2.
To see how these effects work, its easiest to start with a known colour. Lets use the blue of the sky. To get the HLS values of this blue, first click the Colour Picker.
3.
Click anywhere in the sky.
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4.
Make sure the Colour values are listed as HLS. The values for this blue are Hue = 188, Lightness = 79, Saturation = 52.
6.
Click to paint the scene. Each pixel takes on the hue of the active colour, retaining its original lightness and saturation. Each pixel now has a magenta hue, ranging from bright magenta to grayish magenta.
5.
Switch the active colour to a bright magenta like this, and use Global or Local fill, with Standard rendering. Make sure the blend mode is Hue.
7.
To verify this, use the colour picker to sample the light magenta sky. The H value is that of the active colour, but the L and S values did not change from the original light blue.
8.
Change the active colour to a dark magenta, keeping the H value the same. (Use the L and S sliders, or click anywhere on the current colour triangle).
9.
Reapply the effect. There is no change, since H did not change.
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10. Adjust the H value to activate another dark colour, such as green, and Reapply.
This changes the lightness of each pixel, leaving the hue and saturation. Because the active colour is dark, all pixels are similarly dark.
This changes the hue of all pixels, but lightness and saturation do not change.
If you change the H or S values of the active colour, the effect will not change. 12. Get the HLS values for this dark blue sky. The L value is that of the active colour. The H and S values are the same as the original light blue.
11. Using this same dark green, switch the blend mode to Lightness. Reapply.
13. Keep this sampled blue colour, and increase the lightness. Reapply.
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Now all pixels are lighter.
Like with the previous blend modes, if you change the H or L values of the active colour, the effect will not change. 15. Reduce the S value and Reapply.
The colours are now washed out. As saturation approaches zero, the scene approaches grayscale.
14. Switch the blend mode to Saturation, and raise the saturation of the current colour. Reapply.
All colours now have a high level of saturation - they are very vivid. 16. Finally, change the blend mode to Colour and Reapply.
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This changes the hue and saturation of each pixel. Lightness stays the same. Applying a light blue gives the scene a blue, faded look.
17. Activate a new colour with high saturation.
Now the saturation of all pixels is high, and all pixels have a magenta hue.
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Render Actions
3. Click to apply the paint. The edges are painted in the selected colour. This looks nice, but isnt a very useful effect. Most cases of Edge are used on blanked scenes in which edges are to be brought out.
This chapter will focus on render actions (what appears in the scene while using an applicator).
Standard Edge
1.
Standard rendering is mostly used for straight painting, without any special effects. Most of the exercises in this book use Standard rendering. This render action paints edges. An edge is identified when Piranesi detects a sharp change in plane (depth), colour, or material. Start with the file Bridge House.epx, located in the ...Piranesi\Examples folder.
4.
Undo, and set the colour to something light, like off-white. Use Standard render action to cover the scene.
2.
Choose a contrasting colour with Global fill. Set the Render action to Edge.
5.
Change the colour again, and change the action back to Edge. Click to paint all the edges.
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The edges now appear in the active colour.
Now lets examine the Edge settings. The default edge type is Depth, in which you can distinguish between external (silhouette) and internal edges. Silhouette edges are detected when the depth of the scene changes. Internal edges are detected between planes that have similar depth. The default setting here is to paint both silhouette and internal edges. (If you need to restore the default settings, click Reset at the bottom of the Edge tab.) 1. Move the slider so that only Silhouette edges are painted, and Reapply.
Edges by Depth
6.
If no colour is applied, the edges are restored - they are brought back in their original colours. Change the Colour Amount to zero and Reapply. Only external edges are detected. You can see faint internal edges as well, but this tolerance can be changed. The edges now appear in their original colours.
7.
Return to 100% colour and Reapply.
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Render Actions
2.
Increase the Strength and Reapply.
Now the edges are much fainter, but still present. You may have to zoom in to see the really faint edges.
This increases the boldness of detected edges. No additional edges are painted, but those that were painted before get thicker.
4.
Return the Strength to 1.00 and increase the Silhouette limit. This changes the sensitivity, or tolerance, of edges that are detected.
3.
Decrease the Strength and Reapply again. Raising the Silhouette limit lowers the tolerance of edges - fewer silhouette edges are detected.
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5.
Decrease the Silhouette limit, and more edges are painted as silhouettes.
The difference between Line width and Strength is subtle. Strength controls the boldness of edges and some edges will show through more faintly than others. Line width affects the thickness of all edges that show through.
7.
For the final silhouette edge settings, use the following:
6.
Increase the Line width - this sets the thickness of the eges.
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Render Actions
8.
Now some internal edges will be brushed in. Change the colour, and change the applicator to Brush. Make the brush a soft circle, with a rather large size.
11. The internal edges are bright (depending on the active colour you set), but you can fade them a bit. Reduce the Blend amount and Reapply.
9.
Set the edge balance all the way to Internal, with a Line width of 1. 12. Return the Blend to 100% and reduce the Colour Amount, then Reapply. This brings back the strength of the effect and restores the original colours of the edges, while keeping a bit of the active colour blended in as well.
10. Use one back-and-forth motion to paint in some internal edges around the middle of the scene.
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Edges by Material
1. 2. First, Undo so that no edges are painted, but the scene is still covered in off-white paint. To see the materials in the file, select View / Material. Each material is shown in its own colour.
4.
Switch back to the RGB channel (View / RGB) and click to apply the paint. The edges are painted wherever a change in material is detected. Compare to the Material channel you looked at before to see how the edges are created. For example, edges surround the entire group of stairs, but no edges are brought out within the staircase.
The Material tab shows each material and its colour.
5.
A nice effect in this case is to paint internal edges in a different colour. Change the colour, and use the Depth edge type with the default settings.
3.
Set the colour to something dark like brown or green, full colour, and Global fill. Change the edge type to Material and use a Line width of 2.
6.
Click again to apply these edges. Now faint internal edges appear along the steps, as well in other places.
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Render Actions
Edges by Colour
1. Undo to remove all paint, leaving the off-white cover. When setting edges by colour, you can use the current RGB channel or the Restore RGB channel. To show the difference, we will start by painting a large chunk of the scene. Set a light colour and use the Brush applicator with Standard render action. Reduce the colour Amount so that the original RGB will show through. Define a large Raster brush (Swarm.png is used here).
4.
Switch to Edge with Global fill, full colour, and change the colour to something dark. Set the Edge type to Colour and use these default settings:
2.
5.
Click to apply the paint. The edges that are painted according to the RGB currently showing, and not what lies below the off-white cover. Therefore, the fuzzy border of the uncovered area is painted, as well as some edges within the uncovered scene.
3.
Use one back-and-forth motion to uncover a portion of the scene.
6.
This paint uses the Gradient setting, which detects and paints areas where the colour changes. To lower the gradient tolerance, lower the RGB step and Reapply.
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Now more edges are painted, because edges are detected when there is less of a difference between colours.
10. Check Use Restore RGB and Reapply.
Now the edges painted are based on the original colours that lie below the paint cover. Because the restore RGB colours are brighter than the faint colours you uncovered with the raster brush, many more edges are detected.
7.
Switch to Contours and Reapply.
With this setting, edges are detected where there are changes in brightness. Thin edges are applied to each colour. So there are more outlines around individual bricks, and all edges are thin. 11. Increase the RGB step to reduce the painted edges.
8.
9.
The next setting uses the Restore RGB channel. To see what this is, select View / Restore RGB. It is simply the original view of the model. Until you Re-Render a file, this restore channel always contains the conditions of the original file. Switch back to the current display by selecting View / RGB.
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Render Actions
12. Switch to Gradient for a different effect - thin and thick edges, less definition between colours.
This gives a chalk or blueprint effect.
3.
Use the Brush applicator, and activate the Material lock. Use a soft circle or raster brush. Set the Edge type to Colour with the settings below.
Combining Edge Effects with Locks

1. 2. Undo everything until you return to the original, uncovered scene. Select a dark colour with Standard rendering, and cover the scene again. Set a light colour and use Global fill to paint edges by Depth, using the default settings. 4. Use the brush to paint in some bricks along the wall. No other areas are painted because the material lock is active.
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5.
Switch to Global fill, and keep the Material lock on. For edge settings, decrease the RGB step to pick up more edges.
Construct
This render action is used to change the depth of pixels in the scene. You can change pixel material as well.
NOTE: For an example that uses Construct on a 2D scene (plan view), see Wang Wang: Example 3 on page 322. And for another example that uses Construct to create two different interiors, see Marcos Two Different Rooms on page 331.
Changing Materials
1. 6. Click on the tiled plaza to paint in the tile edges. Start with the file Gate.epx, located in the ...Piranesi\Examples folder.
2.
Open the Material tab to see the seven materials defined in the model. Move your cursor around the scene to see where all these materials are used (the material of the current pixels is displayed above the scene).
3.
We will start by lightening up both the ground plane and sky background. Use Global fill and Plane lock, Standard rendering, with 60% white.
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Render Actions
4.
Apply the paint to the ground plane. It is lightened except for one strip toward the back. (This file was modified in Piranesi to patch the horizon.) These pixels have the same material (Default), but are on a different plane.
7.
Open the Construct tab. Most of these options will be described later, but for now we will just apply a new material. Set the bottom option to Set material only, and for Material name, choose Select. Click the Pick button to pick a material on-screen.
5.
One use of Construct is to change pixels material. This strip should be made part of the sky - same material and same blue colour. To get the right colour, click the Colour Picker.
8.
Use the colour picker to click anywhere on the sky, which sets the material name.
6.
Click in the sky, and the blue colour appears in the colour box. Switch the render action to Construct, returning the colour Amount to 100%. 9. Click on that unpainted strip, which is now blue and has the correct material.
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10. To lighten the entire sky, go back to Standard render with 60% white. Switch to Material lock.
2.
Use Global fill, Material lock, and Standard rendering at 100%. Use Overlay blend so that shadows will be preserved. On the Texture tab, make sure Auto Wrapped is set so that the bricks align correctly at the corners. In this example, the bricks are scaled to 75%.
11. Click anywhere in the sky - because it is all the same material, the entire sky is lighter.
Adding Planes
1. Before continuing with constructs, we will dress up the scene with a few textures. Use the Style Browser to open Real World Texture Library, and open the Brick category. This example uses a yellow brick pattern. Double-click the thumbnail to activate the texture style. 3. Apply the bricks to the columns.
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Render Actions
4.
Now select a new material (such as green granite, found in Real World Texture Library / Marble), and apply it as an overlay to the base, recesses, and caps.
6.
7.
8.
9.
At this point, we want to save the model with these textures. First use File / Save As to save the model under a new name, so that you wont overwrite the original Gate.epx file. The restore channel still contains the original gray model, which you can verify by selecting View / Restore RGB. Return to the current RGB (View / RGB). To place the current textures in the restore channel, select File / Re-Render. Click Yes to continue, and note that this cannot be undone. Now if you switch to the Restore RGB channel, youll see the textures. Now we are ready to construct a new wall. First, switch textures to something that will contrast with the current column texture - in this case, red bricks.
5.
Finally, apply something like this to the spheres atop the columns.
10. Switch back to Paint mode (Overlay is translucent, and we want to create an opaque wall). Keep Global fill with no locks, and switch to Construct.
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11. On the Construct tab, make sure Replace farther pixels is selected. This means that all pixels deeper than the point you click will be replaced with the brick texture. Also, make sure there is no Offset, so that the wall will be created exactly where you click.
14. Undo again. This tool can be used more effectively with the Brush tool. Use a circular brush with zero softness.
12. Click on the front face of any column. This creates a new plane along the face you clicked, which has the texture you picked.
15. To create an adjoining wall between the two gates, place the cursor along one of the front column faces and keep the left mouse button pressed. Move into the space between the gates and fill in the area as shown. The wall looks nice except for the top which is probably not straight.
13. Undo, and now click on the front face of one of the bases. This time the new plane moves forward a bit.
16. Undo. To get the top straight, you can set a direction on-screen. On the Brush tab, set the constraint to Fixed direction and click the Pick button.
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17. Zoom in and drag the mouse from one column to the other to define the top of the new wall. You can count bricks from the top to make the line more exact.
20. Fill in the area below the top of the wall. (If you have zoomed in and need to pan the scene to access part of the area, you can press Ctrl to stop painting temporarily, so that you can move the cursor to pan the scene.)
18. Place the cursor so that top aligns with where you want the top of the wall. Press Shift, and hold the left mouse button.
Adding Materials
1. Check the material of the wall you just created. Unless you changed some options on the Construct tab, it should be Sky. This is because you last used Construct to change the material of the stripe along the ground to that of the sky. On the Construct tab, under Material name select New name every time. Keep the default Base of Construct.
2.
19. Drag the mouse toward the other column. This creates a straight line in the direction you set. Release Shift but keep the mouse button pressed. (The wall must be created using one continuous paint action, because you will use Reapply in the next steps.)
3.
Reapply and check the material of the wall. Each time you create a new construct this way, its material will be named Construct 1, Construct 2, etc.
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4.
Now switch to Select and enter a material name such as Red Brick. Reapply, and the walls material is Red Brick.
3.
Draw the wall to align with the front face of the left column. This time, pixels appear everywhere you use the brush.
Replacing Pixels
1. Until now we have been using the default construct mode that replaces pixels behind the selected plane. To explore the other replacement options, start by painting a red brick wall from the left-most column. For accuracy, change the fixed direction for the brush. 4. Switch to Replace nearer pixels and Reapply. Now you can only see the pixels that lie on planes in front of the column face.
2.
Before painting, on the Construct tab switch the mode to Replace all pixels. Also, set the construct to Set depth and material.
5.
Check Include pixels in plane and Reapply. Now those pixels that lie on the column face are included.
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Render Actions
6.
Switch to Replace farther pixels.
9.
Now for the wall on the right side. First, reset the Offset to zero. To align the new wall to the same plane as the left wall, check Used fixed plane and click Pick. Click on the left wall to define the new plane.
7.
Finally, deselect Include pixels in plane. This is the default option we used for the previous wall, in which you only see what covers pixels behind the column face.
10. Draw the wall on the right side, which lies in the same plane as the one on the left.
8.
To move the wall back, enter an Offset of -0.5 m and Reapply. The wall is now aligned closer to the back of the column.
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11. To verify this, switch to a new material such as wood.
More on Offsetting Constructs

1. To see some different effects, we should first remove all these new walls. Switch the render action to Restore, and use the Brush applicator. Remove all locks.
12. Use Global fill, Plane lock, and Standard rendering to apply this texture to both walls. If they are both painted, that means they are in the same plane. 2. Paint all the walls. Wherever the brush paints, the colours, materials, and depths in the restore channel are restored. (If we hadnt done a re-render when we did, this action would restore the channels of the original Gate.epx file.)
NOTE: You could have done this in one click if you used Global fill. But its neat to watch the walls disappear slowly!
3.
In the Style Browser, open the Piranesi textures library to the Hedges, Railing, and Fences category. Open the Ornate iron railing.
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Render Actions
colours. This means that the images white area actually appears transparent when painted onto a scene.
NOTE: This texture is an alpha texture, though it also has its own
6.
Add an Offset of -0.5m and Reapply. This moves the fence back a bit, so that it is aligned with the centre of the gates.
4.
To add some colour to the railing, set a bright colour and reduce the texture amount so that the colour can show through a bit. Use Global fill.
7. On the Texture tab, notice that the image repeats only in X. This makes sense - the fence should extend to either side but should not stack. The hook point is at the bottom of the image.
In the same category, open Low hedgerow.
8.
Apply this to the same plane.
5.
Click the front face of any base. The railing is applied to that plane.
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9.
Use an offset of -2 m to move the hedge behind the railing.
2.
Use Construct with Global fill, Plane lock and zero colour.
10. Use an offset of +2 m to move the hedge in front of the gate. 3. On the Construct tab, check Include pixels in plane, so that the actual plane will be affected, not just whats behind it. At the bottom, select Set material only. For material, click Select and then click Pick.
Changing Materials Before Painting

1. Return to the original Gate.epx file. Use Restore with Global fill to return the file to its original colours. The goal is to change the material of some existing faces without applying any paint or textures. 4. Select an area inside one of the recesses.
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Render Actions
The material should be Recess.
Restore
This render action restores whatever is in the restore channels: material, depth, or colour (RGB).
Setting up the Scene

1. 5. Apply this material to the column face shown. This should affect all four of these faces, changing them from column material to recess. Open again the file Gate.epx, located in the ...Piranesi\Examples folder. If the file is already open, select File / Revert. Apply some materials.
6.
Activate a new texture, and use Standard rendering and Overlay with Material lock to assign this texture to the recesses. All faces between the columns have the recess texture as well.
In this example, all materials are from the Real World Textures Library. The blend mode is set to Overlay, so that shadows will be preserved. Floor: Paving category, MPV0135. Global fill, Plane lock. Base, Recess, and Cap: Marble category, MGR0446, Material lock, Auto-wrapping. Columns: Masonry category, MMY0084, Auto Wrapped. Spheres (materials is Balls): Marble category, MGR0866 Sky: Sky category, Sky102. Switch to Paint, Plane lock, and set the Texture to Fit mode. 2. To construct a railing, find the Piranesi textures library and open the Hedges, Railings and Fences category. Activate Ornate iron railings. The render action is Construct (see Construct on page 91).
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Clear all locks, and on the Construct tab, enter an Offset of -0.5m. Make sure Set depth and material is checked.
5.
Activate a few cutouts and apply them to the scene. Note that the scene perspective is maintained - closer cutouts appear taller. Also, the shadows match those that already exist in the scene.
3.
Click any front face of the marble base to create the railing.
NOTE: If the railing construct had not been created with depth (if it was created using Set material only), then cutouts placed behind the railing would actually appear in front of it.
Restoring
1. To restore everything, use Global fill and change the render action to Restore. Click anywhere to apply.
NOTE: For details on how this railing is created, see More on Offsetting Constructs on page 99.
All materials revert back to the original, but the cutouts remain in place.
4.
Now to add some cutouts. Open the library Piranesi cutouts - with shadows to the People category.
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Standard render action with zero colour. But the two methods do differ, as youll see toward the end of this exercise.
NOTE: You would get the same look if you had used the
5.
2.
3.
If you had placed a cutout behind the railing, youll notice that it now has holes where the railing was. To re-create it, double-click the cutout in the Cutout Manager to activate its settings, then Reapply. Undo, and this time set the Material lock. Click on the ground plane.
The brushed section is now only partially restored.
Only the ground plane loses its new material.
6. 7. 4. Undo again and remove the Material lock. This time use a soft Brush and uncover a portion of the scene.
Undo to bring back the full materials. The reason the cutouts remain in the scene is that they are floating - they are not integrated into the scene. Open the Cutout Manager (located below the Settings on the right side) and highlight one of the cutouts. Then click Burn In (or select Burn In from the local menu).
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8.
Using 100% blend and a brush, restore part of the scene again. Now the burned-in cutout is included while restoring.
3.
One one of the cutouts was burned in, but they must all be burned in for a re-render. Click Yes.
Now there are no cutouts in the Cutout Manager.
4. 9. Undo the restore. 10. Look at the Cutout Manager - the burned in cutout is no longer considered to be a cutout since it is now integrated in the scene. The other two cutouts remain.
We will now change the scene to show how the restore channels have changed. Switch to Standard render action, and activate a new colour for the floor plane. Paint the floor using Overlay or Tint blend mode, adjusting amounts and locks as needed.
Re-Rendering
When you have the scene set up the way you want it (with textures and cutouts), its a good idea to Re-Render it. This means that the current colours, depths, and materials will be what appears during a restore. 1. 2. First, save the file to a new name (use File / Save As), so that you wont overwrite the original Gate.epx file. Select File / Re-Render. This operation cannot be undone, but the original file still exists. Click Yes.
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Render Actions
6.
Like with the railing, click on any front face of the base to create the hedgerow.
5.
Now we will add a hedgerow. Return to the Hedges, Railings and Fences category and activate Low hedgerow. Make sure the Blend mode is 100% Paint, with no locks. Set the Construct Offset to 2m, and specify a new material name, such as Hedge.
7.
You can also use Construct to change an objects material. Clear the Texture check box, and set the Colour Amount to zero, so that no changes in appearance will be made. Activate Material lock. Choose to Replace all pixels, change the material name to Stone and choose Set Material only.
NOTE: There is no need to change the Offset since this action only affects material.
8. 9.
Click anywhere on the columns. The material of the columns should now be Stone. Set a light colour and cover the entire scene with it (Global fill, no locks, Standard action, full colour, Paint mode).
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Restore Versus Zero-Colour

1.
4.
Uncover the rest of the right gate.
There are two ways to uncover whats below this layer of paint: zero-colour paint, and Restore render action. First well use the zero-colour method. Switch to a Brush, keeping the Standard render action, and reduce the Colour Amount to zero.
2.
Uncover part of the scene - all of the left gate plus part of the right gate. The new colour of the floor, and the hedgerow, are not visible.
5.
Now well see what the difference is between these two methods. The results look the same because they both restore the RGB (colour) channels. But they differ in how the depth and material channels are restored. Set a new colour with Global fill and Material lock. Switch to Standard with 100% colour and Overlay.
3.
Now switch to Restore.
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Render Actions
6.
Click on a column on the left. Although the columns all look alike, there are two different materials. The column material on the left is the one you just changed - Stone. But for the portion on the right, restored using Restore, the material of the columns reverted back to the original COLUMN material, so that portion is not coloured.
8.
Move the cursor around the left side where the hedge was placed. When you see the Hedge material, click to paint it. The hedge material does not exist on the right side, where Restore was used, because this area reverted back to its original material.
9. The point is that zero colour paint brings back the Restore RGB channel only. The Restore render action brings back all restore channels: RGB, Depth, and Material. Heres another way to see this. Change the colour again, and use Paint.
Undo to return to the solid-covered scene.
You cannot add texture to a Restore action, but you can add grain. 1. Open Piranesi grains and activate one of the raster grains.
Textured Restore Effects
7.
2.
Use a Brush with Restore, no locks, to uncover some of the scene.
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The effect is that the restored area contains some texture.
4.
Finally, to restore the entire scene, remove the texture switch back to Restore, and click on the scene.
The scene returns to how it was after you re-rendered it. 3. Switch to Standard with reduced colour and Global fill. Reapply to uncover the entire scene.
The effect is similar, except that this way you can add a bit of colour to the texture.
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Render Actions
Filters
Blur
1.
3.
The various Filter types are used to change colours of pixels in the scene. Start with the file Bridge House.epx, located in the ...Piranesi\Examples folder.
Click the scene to blur it. Its a little hard to notice, but the edges and textures blur slightly. The yellow colour isnt used because the Filter Amount is 100%.
4.
Increase the Range and Reapply. This sets the number of pixels over which the blurring occurs.
2.
Choose a bright colour like yellow, and select the Filter render action. Use Global fill. On the Filter tab, select Blur and use the settings shown here: Now the scene is more blurry.
TIP: Select View / Reset Toolbox to get most of these settings on the Toolbox.
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5.
Check Preserve edges. The Range field changes to Order, which controls how the pixels are smoothed. Use a low Order value and Reapply.
The textures are blurrier.
The sharpness between objects is maintained, and textures within edges are slightly blurred.
7.
Reduce the Amount and Reapply.
This brings some of the active colour (yellow) into the effect. 6. Increase the Order and Reapply.
8.
This render action can also be used to restore colour and blur it. Undo all effects, and cover the scene with a light colour Paint using Standard rendering.
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Render Actions
9.
Switch to Edge with a dark colour, and use these settings to bring out the scenes edges.
This blurs the edges.
11. Check Preserve edges and Reapply.
This is a neat effect - it creates dark blurry areas on either side of each edge.
10. Switch back to Filter and Blur, with these settings. Click in the scene to apply.
12. Undo to restore the sharp edges.
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13. Activate Material lock, and open the Lock tab. We will set the materials that will be affected by the next action. Check Material list, and click the Pick button.
15. On the Filter tab, check Use Restore channels to bring out the selected materials in the scene.
16. Click in the scene. Edges are preserved between materials, and textures within these areas are blurry.
TIP: If you double-click the Material lock button, the Lock tab will automatically open. This works for the applicator buttons as well.
14. The cursor becomes a dropper symbol. Click the walls, stone caps, roofs, windows, etc., so that you have the list of materials shown below. (If you select a material you dont want, highlight it and click Remove.) When finished, press Esc or click Pick again. 17. Uncheck Preserve edges, and Reapply.
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Now all textures and edges are blurry.
20. Set a gray, foggy colour, no locks, and click the Linear Fade button at the bottom of the Toolbox. On the Fade tab, use these settings. Click Pick for None so you can define the fade limits on-screen.
18. Reduce the Amount again.
A bit of the active colour (yellow again in this case) comes through on the restored materials.
21. Drag the cursor from the point where nothing is blurry (in the foreground) to a point deeper in the scene where the blurring will be complete.
19. Finally, heres a neat effect you can create using Blur and Linear Fade. Undo all paint to restore the original, uncovered scene.
NOTE: If you had clicked Pick for Full, you would drag the cursor in the opposite direction.
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22. On the Filter tab, use these Blur settings. The Amount is less than 100% so that the gray colour will come through.
Emboss
1.
This effect creates an embossed, or stamped, look. Open the file London.epx, located in the ...Piranesi\Tutorial\Epix folder.
23. This is the result when you click in the scene - clear and unpainted in the foreground, blurry and gray in the background. (In this example, the effect was actually applied twice.)
2.
This effect can be used with a brush, but it is more common to use Global or Local fill. Choose a colour like yellow, no locks, and set the Filter render action. The Blend mode should be Paint. Set the filter type to Emboss, with these settings:
24. When finished with this exercise, uncheck Material list on the Lock tab. Otherwise, next time you use the Material lock, only these materials will be included in the effect (even if you are working on a different file).
3.
Click in the scene to emboss it.
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Render Actions
4.
Reduce the Amount and Reapply.
6.
The dial on this tab is how you control the direction of light. Switch to South and Reapply.
Contrary to what you might think, this increases the amount of the active colour.
There are many horizontal edges which disappear when the light hits them head-on.
5.
Increase to 100% Amount and Reapply.
7.
Switch to Northwest and Reapply.
This eliminates the active colour, and makes the entire scene gray. If you changed the active colour and reapplied, the scene would remain gray.
The vertical and horizontal edges all appear now. Try switching between light directions to see how this works.
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8.
To see how restore channels work with Emboss, we first need to add an effect that will cover the current channels. Its not enough just to change the RGB, since the colour of Emboss ranges between the active colour and gray. Instead, we will change the edges themselves. Undo all effects, and switch to Blur with these settings. Click in the scene to blur the edges.
The embossing is done on the blurry edges.
10. Check Use Restore channels and Reapply.
Now the sharp edges are blurred, because the restore channels contain the unblurred scene.
NOTE: If youre unfamiliar with Blur, see Blur on page 109.
9.
Switch back to Emboss, and add Material lock. With Use Restore channels cleared, click on the cathedral.
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Render Actions
Random
1.
3.
This filter scatters pixel colours. Open the file Downtown.epx. This is located in the ...\Piranesi\Examples folder.
Click in the scene to distort it. The pixels are randomly dispersed. Look at the borders of the scene - the original colours of the sky and ground get dispersed into the scene.
2.
Use Global or Local fill, no locks, with the Filter render action. Choose a colour like magenta, with 100% Paint. On the Filter tab, set the Random action with these values:
4.
Increase the Amount and Reapply.
This increases the amount of original colour, and decreases the amount of the active colour.
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5.
For a neat effect, reduce the Blend amount and Reaply.
This reduces the distance over which the pixels are scattered.
You can now see the original pixels below the random ones.
7.
Reduce the Scale and Reapply.
6.
Bring the Blend amount back to 100%. Reduce the Amplitude and Reapply.
This controls how dispersed the pixels are. The dispersal distance is the same, but the pixels can stray father from adjacent pixels
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8.
When the Scale gets really low, the dispersal of individual pixels can be seen better. Try a Scale of 10 and Reapply.
10. . . . and a Scale of 1.
This scale makes for a pointillism effect. 9. Now a Scale of 3 . . .
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11. Return the Scale to 30, and reduce the Softness.
Now the effect is more distorted.
A low Softness produces a smoother overall transition between pixels.
13. To see how restore channels work with this effect, first we need to change the RGB. Undo all effects so far. 14. Switch to Standard rendering with Light blend mode, and click in the scene to lighten the scene in the active colour.
12. Now increase the Softness.
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16. Click one of the buildings. When the restore channel is not used, the active colour is mixed with the lightened pixels.
15. Activate Material lock, change the active colour, and switch back to Filter and Paint. Use these Random settings:
17. Click Use Restore Channels and Reapply.
Now the active colour is mixed with the original pixels that are in the restore channel.
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18. Finally, Random is good for creating wobbly lines. Undo all paint, cover the scene in white, and bring out the edges using a dark colour and these Edge settings:
Custom
19. With these Random Filter settings, the edges are given a hand-drawn, wobbly look. Make sure Use Restore channels is not checked.
This type of filter is used to create your own customized filter effects. It involves the use of a 5 by 5 grid, whose numbers are used as multiplier for each pixel and its surrounding pixels. Custom is a bit advanced for the scope of this book, but you can read more about it in Piranesis online help.
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Halftone
1.
3.
This effect creates continuous tones. Start with the file Bridge House.epx, located in the ...Piranesi\Examples folder.
Click in the scene. Because Threshold is the pattern, each pixel is assigned a colour based on how dark it is. Dark areas and light areas are separated into black and white, with the active green colour mixed in.
2.
Use Global or Local fill, no locks, a bright colour, (green), Filter rendering and the Paint blend mode. Select Halftone filter with these settings:
4.
Switch to Colour & White and Reapply.
Areas that were previously black mixed with green are now coloured in the active green.
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5.
The dark areas are now sepia-coloured. The background is near-white, but still has a little amount of the active colour mixed in. (If the Amount were 100%, the background would be all white.)
Now there is less of the active colour in the background.
7.
Reduce the Bias and Reapply.
6.
Switch to Sepia tone and Reapply. With a low value, more areas are dark.
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8.
Increase the Bias and Reapply.
A noise pattern is used to randomly smooth pixels.
Now more of the scene is light.
10. Switch to Error diffusion.
9.
Switch to another Threshold option: Random dither. Return the Bias to 0.50. Reapply. This method spreads the error in thresholding into neighboring pixels.
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11. Change the Pattern to Ordered Dither.
13. Increase the Cell size.
This produces an orderly series of dots. Its easier to see if you zoom in.
The dots are larger, resulting in a blurrier effect.
12. Switch to Newsprint, with a small Cell size.
14. Switch to Hilbert Chunks with a low Coarseness.
This produces dots of varying size.
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Render Actions
This pattern uses random (not ordered) dots of varying size.
16. Switch to the most flexible pattern: Pencil. Use these settings.
This creates horizontal (Angle = 0) pencil strokes in the dark areas. 15. Increase the Coarseness.
This increases the dot size so that the scene is almost unintelligible.
17. Increase the Scale.
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This makes the pencil strokes wider and spaced farther apart.
19. Increase the Frequency.
This makes the pencil lines more noisy, or wobbly. 18. Reduce the Frequency to zero.
This eliminates the noise along a pencil stroke, giving clean lines.
20. Now add some Smudge.
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This is like softening the pencil - there is a bit more dark colour between strokes.
22. Check Align with normals.
The pencil strokes in the background are still vertical, but within faces the strokes are normal to the face. 21. Change the Angle to 90 degrees.
Now the pencil strokes are vertical.
23. The last option is cross-hatching. Its tough to see, so redo the effect with these settings.
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You should have clean, diagonal lines with no smudging. In the dark areas, there is white between each dark stroke.
Brightness
1.
This effect controls both contrast and brightness. Open the file Downtown.epx. This is located in the ...\Piranesi\Examples folder.
24. Check Cross-hatch and Reapply. 2. Use a bright green colour with Global or Local fill, no locks, and the Filter render action. Set the filter type to Brightness with these settings:
Now the dark areas show a faint cross-hatching in the opposite direction from the main stroke direction.
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3.
Click in the scene to apply. This reduces the brightness of the entire scene, and mixes in some of the active green. No change was made to the contrast.
5.
This reduces the amount of green mixed in, applying the effect mostly to the original colours.
4.
Increase the Brightness to a positive value and Reapply.
6. The scene is brighter than the original, and still has the green mixed in.
Bring the Brightness down to zero, and use a low Contrast value. Reapply.
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This brings all pixels closer to gray.
8.
When both Brightness and Contrast are positive . . .
. . . the scene is light with sharp contrasts.
7.
Increase the Contrast to a positive value.
This increases the contrast between light and dark colours.
9.
When Brightness is high and Contrast is low. . .
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. . . the scene is light with little contrast between colours.
11. And when Brightness is low and Contrast is high. . .
. . . the scene is darker with sharp contrasts. This can be seen best in the bricks along the yellow wall in the foreground.
10. When both Brightness and Contrast are low . . .
. . . the scene is dark with little contrast.
12. Apply this last settings a few more times. Eventually the light colours all become green, and all dark areas become black.
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13. Undo everything to return to the original scene. Another way to set the values is via the Histogram window. Click Histogram.
Lower the Brightness value by dragging its indicator downward. Click OK to close the Histogram.
14. The range of brightness in the current scene is indicated by the brown lines in the window. To find values that most closely fit this range, click Best fit.
15. Click the scene to darken it a bit and bring the colours closer to gray.
These are the values calculated - they span between the high and low brightness areas. However, these values wont cause a noticeable effect on the scene.
16. Finally, we will see how restore channels work with this effect. Undo all paint, and apply a Random effect with dark purple and these values:
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18. Check Use Restore channels and Reapply.
Now the effect is based on the original colours and sharp edges of the building.
17. Switch to Brightness, and add the Material lock. Use these values and click on the building in the foreground.
Hue
1. Click one of the foreground buildings. This sharpens the contrast between light and dark colours, based on what was in the scene after Random was applied. The buildings edges are still wavy.
This effect controls saturation and hue. Open the file Downtown.epx. This is located in the ...\Piranesi\Examples folder. (If this file is already open, use File / Revert to return to the original scene.) This scene is appropriate because it contains vivid blocks of colour.
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2.
Use Global or Local fill with the Filter render action, no locks. On the Filter tab, select Hue. The Hue value is the distance around the 360-degree colour spectrum. With a setting of zero, the colours do not change. On the colour bar, the colours line up.
5.
Click in the scene. The sky is now magenta, the orange walls are now green-blue, and the yellow brick wall is now cyan. All colour are replaced with those 1/3 around the circle.
3.
(Amount is 100% in this example. As Amount decreases, more of the active colour is added to the scene.) If you want to change the cyan sky to magenta, you need to go around the spectrum 120 degrees. Enter 120, and magenta appears on the bottom colour bar beneath cyan on the top.
6.
Click again in the scene. This adds another 120 degrees to the cycle. Magenta turns yellow, cyan turns purple etc.
4.
Another way to visualize this is via the colour wheel. Open the Colour tab. Cyan is at the bottom, and magenta is 1/3 around the circle, counter-clockwise.
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Render Actions
7.
Click once more to return the colour wheel to zero position. We completed a 360-degree turn around the colour wheel.
10. If you want to turn this wall reddish-purple, click the colour on the wheel and get the desired H value (350).
11. On the Filter tab, enter the numerical difference between these values: 350 - 49 = 301. (Negative numbers are OK here too, if your example uses different values.)
8.
For another example, we can use slightly more exact values. If you want to start with the current colour of the yellow brick wall, first click the Colour Picker on the Toolbox, then click anywhere on the wall.
12. Click in the scene to change the colours. The yellow wall is now reddish-purple.
9.
The colour appears in the colour preview box. Make sure the colour values are listed as HLS, and you can get the H (hue) value for this colour. In this example, H is 49. 13. Saturation changes the colour purity. Use a negative number and Reapply.
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This removes colour, leaving more gray tones.
15. If you use a very high Saturation value, the colours may be too vivid!
14. Increase to a positive value and Reapply.
Now the colours are more vivid.
Reduce Colours
This effect reduces the number of colours in the scene. The resulting colours are selected from a set group, depending on the reduction level.
NOTE: A similar filter effect is Classify, in which colours are also reduced, but resultant colours are those found in the original scene. See Classify on page 143.
1.
Start with the file Bridge House.epx, located in the ...Piranesi\Examples folder.
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Render Actions
2.
Use Global or Local fill with the Filter render action and no locks. On the Filter tab, select Reduce colours with the settings shown. The value for Levels determines how many colours will remain in the scene.
Now you can see the change in the plaza tiles and steps. The colour between bricks is also reduced.
3.
(Amount is 100% in this example. As Amount decreases, more of the active colour is added to the scene.) Click in the scene to reduce the colours. Because the value for Levels was relatively high, the only noticeable change is in the clouds. The transitions between blue and white now contain fewer intermediate colours.
5.
Switch to Reduce HLS and Reapply.
Instead of changing the colour of each pixel, this changes the hue, saturation, and luminance.
4.
Reduce the Levels and Reapply.
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6.
Reducing the Levels further makes a dramatic difference. Try a value of 4.
When reducing HLS, this breaks down the scene into black and white.
There is now little variation in colour along the brick wall.
8.
Switch back to Reduce RGB.
7.
The lowest value is 2.
The scene is broken into its first-level colours.
9.
To verify this, open the Pixel tab and set the colour selection to RGB. Move the cursor over the various pixels; they are all combinations of 255 and 0.
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Majority
3.
This filter changes the colour or intensity of each pixel to the colour / intensity which occurs most frequently in the pixels region. This is good for smoothing colour boundaries and removing noise. 1. Open the file Pavilion View 1.epx, located in the ...Piranesi\Tutorial/Epix folder.
Click in the scene to see the effect. The level of sharpness and detail decreases, and the colours of each region become more uniform.
4.
Increase the Size and Reapply.
2.
Use Global or Local fill with the Filter render action and no locks. On the Filter tab, select Majority with the settings shown. Size sets the size of the region. The colour or intensity that occurs most often in this region replaces all pixels in the region.
With larger regions, the noise and details are reduced further. Because all pixels of the large region have to be analyzed to find the most common colour, it might take a few minutes to update the scene.
(Amount is 100% in this example. As Amount decreases, more of the active colour is added to the scene.)
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Sharpen
1.
3.
This filter increases the contrast of adjacent pixels in the scene. Start with the file Bridge House.epx, located in the ...Piranesi\Examples folder.
Click in the scene to sharpen contrasts. Now you can see the separation between bricks along the wall.
4.
Change the Type and Reapply.
2.
Use Global or Local fill with the Filter render action and no locks. On the Filter tab, select Sharpen with the settings shown. The Type of grid controls how sharp the contrast will be.
With a heavier grid, the contrast is even more pronounced.
(Amount is 100% in this example. As Amount decreases, more of the active colour is added to the scene.)
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5.
If you click again to apply the filter (not Reapply), the contrast is sharpened between all existing pixels. So sharpening repeatedly can actually make the scene less sharp.
2.
Use Global or Local fill with the Filter render action and no locks. On the Filter tab, select Classify with the settings shown. Colour levels determines the level of colour reduction.
Classify
This filter separates pixels into category by colour. The resulting colours are those found in the original scene.
NOTE: A similar filter effect is Reduce Colours, in which colours are also reduced, but resultant colours are based on the colours of the selected reduction level. See Reduce Colours on page 139.
3.
1.
Open the file Downtown.epx. This is located in the ...\Piranesi\Examples folder.
(Amount is 100% in this example. As Amount decreases, more of the active colour is added to the scene.) Click in the scene to reduce the colours into categories. With a Colour level of 6, there wont be much effect. The bricks in the area indicated lose a bit of detail.
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4.
Reduce the Colour levels to 2 and Reapply.
6.
Check Merge isolated pixels and Reapply.
Some (not all) of these isolated pixels join surrounding groups and take on their colours. Now the colours are classified into a smaller number of colours.
7.
Now check Use material and Reapply.
5.
To see how the Merge isolated pixels option works, zoom in on this area. Note the small number of gray pixels between the yellow bricks.
TIP: To zoom back out, double-click the Hand button.
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There is now separation between buildings and sky in the background. Without this option, the colours of the sky and some of the background buildings were similar enough to be classified in the same group.
colour difference between adjacent pixels within a category.
Direction tolerance sets the maximum angle by which the normals of matching, adjacent pixels can differ. When this value is 90, there is not much
8.
Reduce the Colour levels further, and set the Direction tolerance to 90 degrees.
9.
Change the tolerance to 45 and Reapply.
A bit more detail and colour difference can be seen.
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10. Bring the tolerance to zero and Reapply.
14. Save the image someplace you can easily find it.
This allows for the most difference between pixels.
15. One way to use this image as a texture is to superimpose it on the scene at a very slight offset. Use these settings, with Standard rendering and Texture clicked. Make sure the texture mode is Fit, and place the Hook point slightly away from the lower left corner.
11. To calculate the pixels of a scene, click the Classify button.
16. Click in the scene to place the image on the original scene.
12. Then click in the scene. 13. To save this calculation as a raster image, click Save.
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17. You can play with the results by clicking Enable threshold (see Texture Thresholds on page 172) and adjusting the values.
Smooth Edges
1.
This filter smooths out edges between areas of different colour, depth, and material. Start with the file Gate.epx, located in the ...Piranesi\Examples folder. In this example, a red colour was added, using Overlay, to all surfaces of Column material. The results of this filter are subtle, so zoom in closely on the indicated area.
2.
We will smooth edges along the curved face of the cap.
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3.
Use Global or Local fill, no locks, with the Filter render action. Use any colour with 100% Paint. On the Filter tab, set the Smooth Edges action. Set the top slider to Vertical, since this is a mostly vertical face. Select the Depth option, and set this slider toward Silhouette.
5.
Move the slider toward Internal edges, and Reapply.
Now this internal edge is smoothed.
4.
Click in the scene. The edge shown gets a little blurrier, for a smoother look. This is a silhouette edge, since it along the outline of the model. It is smoothed because a change in depth is found along this edge.
6.
You can adjust the Strength and Limit settings to see how these affect the results. For definitions of these settings, see Edge on page 81. Change the filter to Material and Reapply. (The results may be clearer if you first Undo, then click to apply.)
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Now both edges of this face are smoothed, because the material changes along both edges.
Smudge
1.
This render action is useful for scenes that have a large swath of a single colour, or a large background area, in which you want to create a smudge effect. Start with the file Bridge House.epx, located in the ...Piranesi\Examples folder.
7.
Finally, change the filter to Colour.
2. This time, edges are smoothed when there is a change in colour. This includes the edges of the shadow on this face.
First, cover the scene with a light colour. Then use a dark colour and switch to Edge. Use these settings to bring out most of the scenes edges.
You may have to adjust the Gradient, Contour, and RGB step settings to get the results you want. For explanations of these settings, see Edges by Colour on page 87.
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NOTE: If youre unfamiliar with Edge, see Edge on page 81.
5.
3.
Select a bright colour like yellow, and switch to Smudge. Turn on the Material Lock. This action is usually used with a Brush, and a large circular soft brush will be used here.
Place the cursor in the sky background and fill in the area with back and forth strokes. The effect is like finger-painting; there will be areas where the white, unpainted areas are smudged into the yellow.
6.
Increase the Pigment to 25%. Pigment refers to the base colour of the smudge paint; in this case, yellow. Reapply.
The yellow colour is now deeper. 4. Open the Smudge tab. Use the following settings:
7.
Check Smudge restore RGB. This brings out the restore colour - the colours that lie under the paint cover. Reapply.
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Now the blue of the sky shows through, along with the yellow pigment.
Now only the smudged sky shows through.
8.
Decrease the Pigment to 10% and Reapply.
10. Zero pigment is what youd use to uncover the entire scene. Undo the sky paint, and remove the Material Lock. Then paint over the entire scene to uncover it. The smudge on each stroke is so long that the scene underneath is quite distorted.
Now more of the sky shows through, since the yellow pigment was reduced.
9.
Reduce the Pigment to zero and Reapply.
11. Reduce the Smudge distance and Reapply.
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Now the smudge lines dont stretch as far, and the scene is a bit more clear (though still smudged!)
14. Undo, and this time do the same thing, starting in an area where gray or white clouds lie below (click around where the arrow is). The entire sky uses that colour.
12. Undo, and set the Material Lock again. Well go back to smudging only the sky. Bring back some Pigment, uncheck Smudge restore RGB, and check Use restore RGB as pigment.
15. Undo the smudge. 16. You can combine the two restore settings. Check Smudge restore RGB, and remove the Material lock again.
17. Paint the entire scene, starting at a point on the blue sky. The pigment colour is blue (from the sky), but the restore colours also show through a bit. With this setting, the active yellow colour is no longer used as the pigment colour. Instead, the restore colour, wherever you first click, is used as the pigment. 13. Start on the left side of the sky, where the restore colour is blue, and paint the sky. The entire area is painted in blue smudge.
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18. Undo and paint the whole scene again, this time starting from a point on the red roof. Now the pigment colour is red, blended with the restore colours.
20. Uncheck Use restore RGB as pigment and Reapply.
The pigment from the red roof is replaced with the active colour (yellow).
19. Reduce the Pigment and Reapply.
Now more of the original colours can be seen, still with a small amount of red pigment mixed in.
21. This probably isnt where youd want to end your rendering, so as an example, switch back to Standard rendering, Global fill, dark red, Material lock, small Blend amount, and Soft light blend mode.
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22. Click to enhance the brick walls. The smudge effects are still visible, but the walls are now more pronounced.
23. Similar effects were added to the steps and paving.
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Textures and Grains

Raster Textures with Colours
1. Start with the file Gate.epx, located in the ...\Piranesi\Examples folder. Use Global fill and Plane lock to colour the background white.
Textures and grains are similar - they are both used to paint an image, pattern, or noise onto the scene. The main difference is that textures can be applied in 3D, whereas grains can only be placed over the scene in 2D. You can make a texture act like a grain, but not vice-versa. Also, textures can contain their own colours, or they can be dependent on the active colour. Grains are always dependent on the active colour. Grains or textures that use the active colour are alpha grains/textures. If you reduce the active colour while applying texture or grain, the original colour will be restored (the colours in the Restore RGB channel). Textures and grains are separate entities within Piranesi so that you can use them both in the same style. There are several ways to apply textures: Raster, Noise, Plane, Captured (reflections), and Cube. Cube textures apply to panoramic files, which are not covered in this book.
Textures
2.
Raster Textures
Open the Style Browser to Real World Texture Library, Paving category. Select and activate (double-click) a texture like this one, that has vertical and horizontal lines and rectangular (not square) patterns.
This is probably the most typically applied texture. You can use a raster image to paint images on surfaces, for simulating materials like brick or marble. If the raster image is in colour, those colours will be used. If the image is an alpha image, the active colour will be applied.
NOTE: Some images with colour can also be used as alpha textures; see Raster Alpha Textures with Colour on page 163.
Piranesi has many textures included in its style libraries. If you want more textures, see Where to Get More Raster Textures on page 164.
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3.
The image appears in the Texture preview on the Toolbox. Disable all locks, and keep Global fill. On the Texture tab, set the mode to 2D, and decrease the Scale (otherwise the pattern will be too large to see).
5.
The pattern is fainter because less texture is applied, and you can see the scene beneath.
6.
Return the Blend to 100% and switch the blend mode to Overlay. Reapply.
4.
Click in the scene. 2D mode paints parallel to the screen, like a flat sheet over the scene. (At a Scale of 1, one instance of the image would fill the scene.) Because there are no locks, and the paint is 100%, the entire scene is covered with paving stones. This effect layers the pattern over the existing colours. So the white background is not painted, and you can see the objects and shadows.
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7.
Keeping Overlay, switch the mode to Frontal, and increase the Scale. Reapply.
9.
Another way to adjust a pattern is to do it manually on-screen. Click the Tweak button.
This mode projects the 2D image onto the objects in the scene. If you undo and re-paint the scene by clicking different faces, the results will be the same.
10. A box appears where you clicked to place the texture. This box represents one tile of the repeated image. You can drag side handles to widen or shorten, or corner handles to adjust both X and Y directions at once. You can also press and drag a tweak axis if you want to rotate the pattern. Adjust the box to increase the scale and make the stones vertical again.
8.
There are a few ways to adjust the pattern. One way is to rotate it; change the Angle to 90 and Reapply.
11. Press Esc to leave Tweak mode. The new X and Y values and angle are updated on the Texture tab. 12. Undo all paint and switch to Tangent.
The paving stones switch from vertical to horizontal.
13. This mode places the texture flat on the face you pick, and that texture orientation is used for other faces as well. Click on a vertical face, and that face is painted correctly with the texture.
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14. Undo and click the ground plane. Now that face is painted correctly, and the gate faces have the same orientation. In neither case is wrapping done.
17. Paint two adjacent faces. The texture is oriented correctly on each face, but the faces are painted individually with no consideration fro the other face. In other words, there is no wrapping at the corner.
15. Undo all paint. Switch to the Brick category and activate something like this:
18. Undo, switch to Wrapped, and paint the two faces again.
The pattern is now wrapped correctly at the corner. 16. Switch to Local fill and keep Overlay. Turn on both Material and Plane lock. On the Texture tab, adjust the Scale to make the bricks larger, and tilt the bricks by entering an Angle. The mode should be Tangent.
19. Undo again. Now turn off the Plane lock, and paint all gate walls using Wrapped. The texture is aligned to the face you click, but adjacent faces are not wrapped.
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20. Switch to Auto Wrapped and Reapply.
Without Auto Tangent, only the clicked face has the properly aligned texture.
This mode is useful when you want to paint faces in one click. The face you click wraps correctly with adjacent faces. The wrapping on other faces may not be perfect, though.
23. Undo the brick (or keep it if you want). 24. For the last two modes, we will use a background image. In the Piranesi textures library, open Backgrounds and activate a narrow sky image.
21. Now switch to Auto Tangent and Reapply. 25. Make sure Paint is active, otherwise you wont see the background over the white background paint. Keep the Plane lock, but turn off Material lock. Set the mode to 2D and click in the background plane.
The textures are all aligned to their faces, but wrapping is not done.
This places one instance of the image in the background. At its current scale, the image does not fill in the background plane.
22. Switch to Tangent, and Reapply to see the difference.
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26. Change to Fit and Reapply.
This fits the image to the outer boundaries of the entire scene. It does not fit the image only to the selected face. If you Tweak this texture, you will see its bounding box borders the entire scene.
Finally, we can adjust and mix colours to the texture image. Unless a texture is an alpha texture (see Raster Alpha Textures on page 161), it has its own colours. (Grains do not have their own colours.) You cannot change a textures colour unless you modify its source image, but you can adjust amounts to mix in the active colour. 28. Choose an orange or pink active colour, to simulate a sunset effect. Reduce the Texture amount and Reapply.
This reduces the strength of the textures colours and allows some of the orange to show through. If you reduce the amount further, more orange will appear. 27. To fit the texture to the background plane, Reapply in 2D mode and click Tweak. Pull the bottom handle of the image to the horizon line.
29. Changing the Blend amount changes the entire effect - both active colour and texture. Reduce this amount and Reapply. This stretches the background picture vertically so that it fills the background plane.
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Now both the background image and orange colour are fainter.
2.
Use 100% Overlay and Material lock, with Auto Wrapped mode, to paint the base. The pattern is white with black lines and diamonds. (The Scale in this example was increased.) If you change the active colour and Reapply, the effect will not change.
Raster Alpha Textures
These texture images (which can also be used as grains) do not have their own colours. Rather, they take on the active colour. Alpha textures are almost always black and white - the black areas are filled with the active colour. Areas of gray are filled with lighter versions of the active colour.
NOTE: For alpha textures that have their own colours, see Raster Alpha Textures with Colour on page 163.
3.
Set a contrasting active colour and reduce the Texture amount.
1.
Continue with the same gate file, with all textures removed. For an example of an image that is not an alpha texture, open the Bricks, Tiles category of Piranesi textures. Activate Diamond cornered white tiles.
Now the active colour shows through, but it is only really visible on the white portion of the texture.
This texture is black and white, but has no alpha symbol on the preview. These colours are just the colours of the texture.
4.
Undo. Now switch to Alpha only textures and activate one like this:
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Note that this texture preview has an alpha symbol.
7.
Reduce the Colour Amount and Reapply.
5.
Paint the base again the same way. The active colour is filled in along the dark lines of the texture. The white areas of the texture are kept unpainted.
This fades the colour. If you reduce the colour to zero, the original colour will be restored. If a different colour is in the restore channel, that colour will be used.
6.
Switch the active colour and Reapply.
8.
Note that you cannot reduce the Texture amount. This makes sense, since it is only colour that is being applied. Now activate an alpha texture that is mostly black.
The brick lines are now red. This time the texture mostly consists of the active colour.
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Raster Alpha Textures with Colour
3.
There are a few hybrid texture images that have colour and are also alpha textures. In this case, the colour is applied according to the texture image, and white areas are left blank. 1. As an example, open the Metal category of Real World Texture Library. There are several colour-alpha textures here; this example uses the one below.
Unlike black and white alpha textures, coloured alpha textures do allow you to reduce the Texture amount. Set a contrasting active colour and reduce the amount.
The pattern colour is now a blend of the pattern and active colours. This texture has the alpha symbol, and has its own colour. The white areas in the texture image will remain unpainted.
4. 2. Use Overlay, with full colour, to paint some faces. The texture should be set to Auto Wrapped. The gray of the columns remains visible below the blue pattern.
Reduce the Texture amount to zero.
Now the texture contains only the active colour.
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Some other places you can find these hybrid textures are in categories that contain fences, railings, trellises, logos, etc.
2.
Where to Get More Raster Textures
If you want to find textures beyond whats provided in Piranesi, there are a few places you can look. On the Piranesi website, you can find a list of third-party firms which supply images for textures. See http://www.informatix.co.uk/piranesi/user_third.shtml. This page currently lists: Form Fonts (www.formfonts.com), ImageCELS (www.imagecels.com), RealWorld Imagery (wwwl.realworldimagery.com) and Marlin Studios (www.marlinstudios.com). Search engines: Go to www.google.com or www.yahoo.com, both of which have links at the top for Images. Enter what youre looking for (tile, marble, brick, etc.) and youll get dozens of thumbnail samples of these images. To save one of these images, right-click on the image and select Save Picture As.
Use Global fill with no locks, and check Texture. Activate a bold, contrasting colour. Use Paint with a reduced Blend. On the Texture tab, select Noise with these default settings. This is a built-in alpha raster image.
Noise and Plane Textures

1.
These are standard alpha raster textures designed to add some white noise to the scene, or to delineate planes. We will use the file Gate.epx, located in the ...\Piranesi\Examples folder. (If this file is already open, select File / Revert.) In this example, some simple colours were painted using Material lock and Overlay. The background was coloured using Paint. 3. Click to cover the scene with the pattern, creating a grainy effect. In fact, the result looks like a grain was applied rather than a texture, since it is hard to see that the texture was projected in 3D.
(If you want to download this file, go to www.f1help.biz/ccp51/cgi-bin/Pir4Files.htm. Right-click on the link for GateColoured.epx and save the target to your computer. Or simply click the link and choose to save it.)
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4.
To see this 3D projection, increase the Scale and Reapply.
The pattern is now a bit more structured, with sharper contrast between light and dark areas.
It is now easy to see that the texture was projected in 3D - it lies flat on the ground plane, vertical on the background, and wraps around all 3D objects.
6.
Bias controls the noise density. Decrease this value and Reapply.
5.
Keeping the increased Scale, increase the Smooth value as well. Reapply.
The noise now contains more blank areas, making the scene appear lighter.
7.
Check Invert, which reverses light and dark areas.
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Now the pattern is much more dense.
9.
With no locks, click to paint all planes. With the default settings, the paint is applied relative to the ground plane. All planes normal to the ground are painted in horizontal stripes.
Naturally, Noise can also be applied only to certain materials, enabling you to create a grainy texture without searching for a raster image to use.
10. To set a new relative plane, click Pick.
8.
Also, keep in mind that you can reduce the colour amount to lessen the effect. As the colour amount approaches zero, the colours in the Restore RGB channel will come out. Undo all paint, and switch from Noise to Plane. Use the default settings for this tab (you can always click the Reset button at the bottom of the tab to restore the default values). Use a large Scale so the pattern will be easier to see.
11. Click anywhere on the background plane.
New X, Y, Z and Depth vector values are listed.
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12. Reapply, and now the striped are applied to all planes normal to the background.
14. Reduce the Amplitude to 0.
The stripes are now completely straight; there are no bumps and waves. 13. Decrease the Frequency and Reapply.
The stripes are now less wavy; their bumps are farther apart, making the stripes appear smoother.
15. Keep the low Frequency and increase the Amplitude.
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The bumps are still spaced far apart, but the bumps and waves diverge farther from the stripes.
17. Increase the Frequency.
This creates a funky pattern with lots of diversion and amplitude from the stripes. 16. Increase the Smooth value.
This smooths out the stripes, reducing the noise.
18. Finally, check Symmetric. This places equal amounts of white on either side of a black stripe, and vice versa.
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Captured Textures
2.
This type of texture is used for creating reflections. The reflecting image can be saved as a .tif or .png file. This type of texture is used to simulate glass windows or floors, water, wet or shiny ground planes, etc. 1. Start with the file Gate.epx, located in the ...\Piranesi\Examples folder. Add some textures and cutouts. In this example, all textures were applied using Overlay blend. The cutouts of trees and people came from the library Piranesi cutouts - with shadows, and the shadow direction was set using an existing shadow cast by one of the spheres atop the gate. The tiled ground plane will become a reflective surface.
Use Global or Local fill, Material lock, and 100% Paint. Make sure Texture is checked, and the amount is 100%. On the Texture tab, specify Captured and use a Dispersal of 0. Click the Capture button.
3.
In Capture mode, click the surface that will become reflective.
The reflections that will appear on this surface appear in the preview window. (If you plan to use this image another time, you can click the Save button.) (If you want to download this file, go to www.f1help.biz/ccp51/cgi-bin/Pir4Files.htm. Right-click on the link for GateCaptured.epx and save the target to your computer. Or simply click the link and choose to save it.)
TIP: You should always colour or texturize the reflecting surface before using Capture to create actual reflections. In this case, floor tiles were applied. For water, you could use a transparent blue colour with rippled texture, etc.
NOTE: Cutouts do not have to be burned in to be included in a reflection.
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4.
Click the ground plane to draw the reflection on the surface. With these settings, it looks like the ground plane is a large mirror - the reflections are crisp and unfaded. This is because there is no dispersal (no distortion).
7.
8.
Unlike with other effects, you cannot change Capture settings and simply Reapply. This is because you are applying an actual image, which would have to be re-created when you change settings. So Undo the reflection you just created. Increase the Dispersal. When a positive Dispersal value is used, you can also enter a Scale value. This value should be 1.
9.
Re-capture the ground plane, and click the ground plane again to create the reflection. The reflection is distorted now, and the distortion increases the farther the object is from the reflecting plane. The low Scale value means that the reflection pixels are scattered.
5.
A more realistic setting would be to reduce the Blend amount. This example uses 62% so that the results will be easy to see. For a real rendering, you would probably want an even lower amount.
6.
Reapply to fade the reflection a bit.
10. Increase the Scale and re-create the reflection.
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The reflection is still distorted, but the pixels are not as scattered.
Now the pixels are scattered, for a grainier reflection.
13. You can always reduce the Blend amount to lessen the mirror look. 11. Reduce the Dispersal and re-create.
The reflection is only slightly dispersed, and the reflection itself is a bit wavy, rather than scattered.
You can also try reducing the Texture amount to mix in the active colour. If the active colour is slightly darker than the reflecting surface itself, this can create a nice, even-coloured reflection. You can also try using Overlay or Ink blend. 12. Finally, reduce the Scale as well.
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Texture Thresholds
3.
When applying textures, you can specify a threshold to determine on which surfaces the texture will be placed. The darkness of a surface is the determining factor. 1. Start with the file Stein.epx, located in the ...\Piranesi\Examples folder.
Now activate a texture. This example uses a relatively neutral raster image, found in the Miscellaneous category of Real World Texture Library. All texture types can be used, however.
4.
The texture will be applied to the entire scene, so use Global fill and remove locks. The Texture amount is reduced to 50% so it will be mixed with cyan (the active colour). The overall Blend amount is reduced as well, so as not to completely cover the scene. For this particular texture, the Scale is increased and Auto Wrapped is used.
2.
To make a slight change in the RGB channel, we will paint a walkway. Use Plane lock, 100% white paint, no texture, a hard circular brush, and set a Fixed direction or use World axes for the brush. (If youre not sure how to set the brush direction, read about brush settings on page 25.) Shift-lock the brush to create the first straight-line stroke, then release Shift and fill in the rest of the area.
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5.
Click to cover all surfaces with the texture. All surfaces are covered.
7.
Reapply the texture. Dark areas receive the texture, and light areas are left unpainted.
6.
Check Enable Threshold, and the Dark and Light fields are enabled. These are typically filled in with a low value for Dark and a higher value for Light, but use the default values shown. Also, check Use Restore RGB. 8. 9.
The white sidewalk is faintly painted (unlike the light front walls of the house), because it is painted according to its Restore RGB values. So it is painted like the rest of the ground plane (assuming the scene was not re-rendered). You can change the threshold values manually, but it is easier to select them on-screen. First, Undo the texture. Click the Pick button next to Dark.
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10. You could click a dark area, then click Pick for Light and click a light area. But a faster way is to drag the cursor from a dark area to a light one. Start in the background, press and drag the mouse, and release the mouse on the side wall.
12. Undo again, and set different Dark / Light limits. This time define Dark on the side wall and Light on a white front wall.
start in the light area and drag the cursor to the dark area.
NOTE: If you had clicked the Pick button for Light, you would
Both values are now higher, since the selected faces are lighter than the previous settings.
The values for the selected pixels are now listed. 13. Apply the textures again. The side wall gets the full texture, and the light front walls are not painted. Areas darker than the side walls are painted darker than the full texture. Areas between the threshold limits are painted according to their lightness.
11. Click the scene again to apply the texture. The dark sky background is painted with the texture, and the side wall is left unpainted. All faces whose lightness is between these two limits are painted relative to their lightness.
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14. Threshold values can be greater or less than one. If you want the front walls painted, increase the Light value to its upper limit - 1.25, and Reapply.
Now the white sidewalk is painted faintly, unlike the rest of the ground plane. It is painted according to its current colour (white) and not its restore colour (gray).
The front walls now have a faint texture.
16. Finally, the Dark value does not have to be lower than the Light value. Undo the texture, and set the Dark-Light values again, this time dragging the mouse from light to dark.
15. Uncheck Use Restore RGB and Reapply.
Now the Dark value is higher than Light.
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17. Apply the textures - now the light areas are painted more heavily than the dark areas.
2.
So that we will have different colours in the RGB and Restore RGB channels, assign some simple colours to some objects. These colours were assigned using Overlay with Material lock. The background was coloured using Paint. Do not Re-Render.
Grains
Grains differ from textures in that they can only be applied in 2D - they do not wrap or project onto objects. Also, grains are always alpha images, even if the grains image has colour defined.
NOTE: Cube grains are used in panoramic files, and are not covered in this book.
3.
(If you want to download this file, go to www.f1help.biz/ccp51/cgi-bin/Pir4Files.htm. Right-click on the link for GateColoured.epx and save the target to your computer. Or simply click the link and choose to save it.) Open the Style Browser to one of the Grain categories and activate one. This examples uses an image from the Grains category of Real World Texture Library.
Raster and Noise Grains

1. Start with the file Gate.epx, located in the ...\Piranesi\Examples folder.
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4.
Set a contrasting colour, and use Global fill with no texture, and no locks so you can cover the entire scene. The Grain tab should have these default settings.
6.
Change the Mode to Fit and Reapply.
This places one instance of the image in the Piranesi window. You could adjust the scale to reduce the size.
5.
Click to apply the grain. The active colour is applied where the dark areas of the grain are, and light grain areas remain unpainted.
7.
(This example isnt really the best case to demonstrate Fit. For a better example, in which a saved image is imported as a grain using Fit mode, see Wang Wang: Example 2 on page 316.) Return to Normal mode and reduce the Bias. Reapply.
Note that the grain is applied in the plane of the screen, and not projected or wrapped onto any object. (You could replicate this by using a texture in 2D mode.)
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This makes the pattern less dense.
Now in areas where the active colour was previously applied, there is a combination of the active colour and the Restore colours. The dark blue sky and gray objects start to appear below the colours you painted in the beginning.
8.
To reverse dark and light areas, check Invert.
10. Reduce the Colour Amount to zero.
Now the reverse areas are given the active colour.
Now the active colour appears nowhere. In the dark areas of the grain, the Restore channels appear fully. In light areas of the grain, the paint remains untouched.
9.
Reduce the Colour Amount.
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11. Bring the Colour back to 100% and reduce the Blend amount.
13. Switch folders to find a coloured texture, like this one from the Art category of Real World Texture Library.
14. When this image appears on the Grain tab, it becomes grayscale. Set the Scale and Bias values as needed and Reapply.
This represents a typical usage of a grain - laying a light texture over the painted image.
The texture is applied as a raster grain, with the active colour appearing in dark areas of the image.
12. You do not have to use a black and white image as a grain, but even images with colour will be treated as an alpha images. To change the image, click the Browse button.
15. Now switch from Raster to Noise. This is similar to Raster, but with a fixed pattern representing white noise.
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This is the result of Noise grain - a layer of white noise in the active colour.
3.
In Piranesi textures open the Alpha only textures and activate Wood grain. The wavy lines of this pattern can be used to simulate pencil strokes.
4.
On the Texture tab, adjust the Scale as needed, and set the image to Auto Wrapped. Also, set an Angle so that the pencil lines will be diagonal.
Combining Texture and Grain

You can easily reproduce the effect of a grain using a texture, but they are separate objects within the Toolbox to enable you to use both at the same time. As an example, we will create a hand-penciled effect. 1. Start with the file Gate.epx, located in the ...\Piranesi\Examples folder. (If this file is already open, select File / Revert to return to the original scene.) Cover the entire scene with a light paint. Use the Edge render action, with a dark colour and these settings, to bring out the edges.
2.
5.
Use Global fill, Material lock, 100% Paint, red colour, and make sure Grain is also checked. The type of grain should be Noise.
NOTE: If you arent familiar with Edge, see Edge on page 81.
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6.
Click on the columns to fill them with red pencil lines. You may have to click a few times to bring out the lines.
7.
If you look closely at the pencil lines, you can see the noise grain. If there was no grain, you would see clean, wavy lines, which would not resemble pencil.
8.
Change colours and pencil in the rest of the gate.
TIP: If you used zero colour, the pencil lines would be drawn in the Restore colours - in this case, various shades of gray. But if you had changed colours first and Re-Rendered, those new colours would be brought out when applying then pencil effect.
For another exercise that creates a penciled effect, using Painter instead of texture, see Creating a New Multiple Fill on page 224. The multiple fill creates both the edges and pencil fill with one click.
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Using Fades
2. We will use a Construct to add this strip to the background. First, click the Colour Picker to match the colour of the background.
This chapter will focus on how you can fade paint. The three methods are Linear, Radial, and Illumination. Fades are activated by clicking one of the buttons near the bottom of the Toolbox.
Linear Fades
This type of fade makes the colour or texture intensity gradually fade away toward a specified direction. The colour can fade away altogether, or can gradually change into another colour.
NOTE: The Direction fade type will not be covered in this chapter. Direction is used for panoramic files which are not included in the scope of this book.
NOTE: If you are unfamiliar with using Construct, see Construct on page 91.
3.
The dark gray should now appear on the Toolbox. Use Global fill with Material and Plane locks, with 100% Paint. On the Construct tab, use the settings below and under Material name choose Select. Then click the Pick button to select the material on-screen.
1.
Start with the file Stein.epx, located in the ...Piranesi\Examples folder. Before applying any fades, note the strip along the horizon that has infinite depth (like the background), but has the material of the ground plane. This strip is shown below in magenta.
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4.
Click anywhere in the background, and its material, Mat:0, should be listed on the Construct tab.
Depth Fade
1.
This fade moves into the scene, front to back (or vice-versa) according to depth. Set a bright colour like magenta, and use a Standard render action. Remove locks, and reduce the Blend so that the effect wont be too strong. Click the Linear Fade button at the bottom of the Toolbox.
5.
Click the strip between the horizon and ground. It should now have the same material and depth as the rest of the background.
2.
Set the Fade tab to Depth, with these default settings. The colour will fade to transparent, meaning the colour will gradually disappear. To define the depths for full colour and no colour, click the first Pick button.
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Using Fades
3.
Place the cursor at a point at the bottom of the Piranesi window, where the depth is the lowest. Drag the cursor to the back edge of the ground plane, where the depth is highest.
5.
This is one way to simulate fog (though you would reverse direction - full fog would be in the background). Click Pick again and define the values this way.
NOTE: You could also click Pick for None and drag the mouse from back to front, to get the same results. You could also click once (without dragging) to define the Full depth. Then you would click Pick for None and click again to define that depth. But dragging is an easier way - you can define both values in one step.
6.
Reapply, and the results should be about the same. As long as foreground depth and background depths are constant horizontally, it does not matter what kind of vector you use to define them.
The depths for Full colour and None are now listed.
4.
Click to apply the faded colour. The magenta is strong in the foreground, and fades to zero toward the back of the ground plane.
7.
Move the Fade to slider to 40% and Reapply.
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Now the magenta fades from 100% in the foreground to 40% in the background.
10. Bring the Fade to back to zero, and click Colour. To define the colour, click the colour box. Use the Fade Colour window to define a colour like this:
11. Click OK, and the orange colour should appear on the Fade tab.
8.
To concentrate more of the colour in the foreground, redefine the values using this vector, halfway through the depth:
12. Define the depth starting at mid-depth, and Reapply.
9.
Reapply, and now the fade ends at 40%, halfway toward the back.
Now the fade starts at mid-depth, and the colour turns orange at the background.
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Using Fades
13. Fade the colour to 40% and Reapply.
Ground Fade
1.
This type of fade proceeds vertically in 3D: from the ground up. Now the fade colour is 40% magenta and 60% orange. Continue with the same file and settings, and Undo the previous effect. Change the Fade to Ground.
2.
Use Pick for Full and drag the mouse from the bottom of the building to a point halfway up.
14. Finally, click the Swap button and Reapply.
3.
The active colour should still be magenta, and set the Fade to to 0% and Transparent.
This switches the two colours - the orange is in the front and magenta in the back. 4. Click to apply. The magenta covers the ground, and fades to nothing about halfway up the building. This is another way to create fog effects (ground fog this time, as opposed to depth fog).
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5.
Switch to Colour (orange) and Reapply.
Any Fade
1.
This type of fade will set the fade in any direction you choose. Now the orange starts halfway up the building. Continuing on with the same file, Undo the previous effect and switch to Any fade.
2.
Set the Full to None direction along this front wall:
6.
Change the Fade to to 60% and Reapply.
3.
Use Transparent fade to zero.
The colour at the top of the building is now 60% magenta and 40% orange.
4.
Click to apply the fade. The magenta is strong at the Full point (and all areas to the left of this point), and fades to zero toward the end of the wall.
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Using Fades
5.
Switch to Colour (orange) and Reapply.
2D Fade
This type of fade is applied uniformly over the scene, in the direction of the screen. It does not apply paint to 3D objects. Therefore, it works best for vertical backgrounds. The magenta now reaches orange at the end of the wall. 1. Continuing with the same file, Undo the previous effect and switch to 2D fade. Turn off any locks.
2.
Using Colour fade, define the Full / None direction from left to right.
6.
A more typical usage of Any fade would be to colour only certain objects. For example, use Material lock and Plane lock, and click these three walls.
3.
Click to apply, and the magenta-to-orange fade is applied uniformly over the whole scene.
Note that the fade is always based on the same two points - the start and end of the top front wall. If you wanted the shorter walls to start with the full magenta, you would have to redefine the fade values according to those walls.
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4.
Do this again, using a lock to paint only the background.
Linear Fade with Brush and Texture

1. 2.
Fades are not limited to fills - brushes, textures, and grains can be faded as well. Continue with the same file and Undo the previous effect. Switch to Brush applicator, and use a Raster brush. Select Fixed direction and click Pick to set the brush direction on-screen.
5.
A more realistic example would be to define the Full to None direction from top to bottom. The active colour is dark blue, the fade colour is orange.
3.
Press and drag to define a diagonal line.
4.
The fade should be 2D, with dark blue at the top and orange at the bottom. The blend mode in this example is Dodge.
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Using Fades
5.
Press Shift to lock the direction, and draw one diagonal stroke in the background. The colour changes from orange at the bottom to blue at the top.
8.
Activate a texture like this, and use the Overlay blend mode (or Paint with reduced Blend amount).
9.
Use a brush or fill to paint the ground. The texture appears in the foreground and fades out to orange toward the background.
6.
With Shift pressed, draw more strokes like this. With Dodge, you can overlap strokes.
For another example that uses linear fade with brushes, see Wang Wang: Example 1 on page 310.
7.
For the ground plane, switch to Depth fade. The fade should proceed from the foreground to about halfway toward the background. The texture should fade to orange.
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Radial Fades
2.
Like the name implies, a radial fade concentrates the active colour and/or texture at a centre point, and then fades out away from the centre point. This type of fade is mostly used to simulate various types of lights. For an exercise that uses some of these fades to create lights, see Lighting on page 275.
NOTE: There are also illumination fades, which are also used to simulate lights (see Illumination Fades on page 202.) The difference is that radial fades can create the actual lights themselves, while illumination fades simulate the effect of the lights on surrounding objects.
Set a bright yellow colour, Global fill, no locks, and 100% Paint. (You could also use Light or Hard light.) Click the Radial fade button at the bottom of the Toolbox. On the Fade tab, select 2D and use these default settings. To set the centre and range of the fade, click the Pick button.
NOTE: For adding lights, open the Piranesi brushes style library to the category Lights and lens flares. This is a collection of simulations of lights.
2D Radial Fade
1.
This type of fade creates a circular fade in the plane of the screen. Paint is not projected onto any 3D objects. Start with the file Gate.epx, located in the ...Piranesi\Examples folder.
3.
Place the cursor at the centre of the fade, then drag and release where you want the fade to end.
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This sets the Centre and Range values.
The centre point is represented by a small square, and the range is represented by a circle.
NOTE: You could also click Pick for Centre, and click once (no dragging) to define that value. Then repeat for Range. Of course, you can also set these values manually.
4.
Click to create the fade. The yellow is centred at the Centre point, and the fade ends at the Range radius.
6.
To move the circle, press and drag the square centre point.
5.
Once the effect is created, you can edit it. (But once you have created another effect, you can no longer edit this one.) Click the Tweak button.
7.
To adjust the range, drag any point along the circumference. Or just click where you want the new radius.
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8.
Once the circle is moved and resized, Reapply to see the results.
11. Undo the repeated fade, and check Place centre at start of stroke.
12. Now wherever you click is the centre of any new circles. 9. Undo and create the effect again, using Material lock to confine the effect to the background.
10. Click to apply the effect again. No matter where you click, the fade is created in the same spot - the circle is intensified. This is because the Centre value has not changed.
13. Change the Fade to value and Reapply the last circle you created.
The background now fades to 40% yellow, 60% blue (original background colour).
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You would get similar results if you faded to a colour instead of transparent. 14. Undo all yellow circles and release the Material lock. Return to zero transparency, and uncheck Place centre. Change the active colour to white. Place a large white faded circle at the centre of the scene.
16. To make more of the scene visible, the Range must be larger. You can enter this value manually, or you can use Tweak. with Tweak, you can zoom out past the extents of the scene to adjust the radius.
Now more of the scene is visible.
15. Check Invert and Reapply.
Now the fade is reversed - the original scene appears in the centre and the fade proceeds outward.
17. Radial fades can be used with textures and grains as well. For example, add a Noise grain to this effect, for this result:
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3D Radial Fade
1. 2. Continue with the same file, and Undo any previous effects. Set the active colour to yellow, and remove any Grain. Switch the Radial Fade to 3D. This creates a ball of colour, starting from the Centre point, and fading out toward the Range value. Use these default settings. To set the extents, click Pick for Centre.
4.
Click to apply. The yellow paint is concentrated at the spheres centre and tapers to nothing. This is a good way to simulate light bulbs.
5.
Use Tweak to increase the Range (or you can enter a new value manually). If you defined your extents using only points on the sphere, the preview circle should be more-or-less vertical. If you defined the range by clicking on the background, youll see a much larger circle.
3.
Zoom in on the left-most sphere atop the gate, and drag the cursor from the centre to the outer limit of the sphere. Do not click in the background: because this is a 3D definition, that would make the Range much larger than you want!
6.
Reapply, and the paint extends further before fading.
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Using Fades
7.
Check Atmospheric and Reapply.
10. You can still change the properties of the last fade you placed. Uncheck Place centre so that Tweak is available, then click Tweak.
The colour now permeates through the atmosphere, simulating light through fog. 11. Give this sphere a smaller radius and Reapply.
8.
If you click again, another fade will be created in the same plane. So check Place centre at start of stroke.
12. Then check Place centre again and place one more fade at the last sphere.
9.
Click the centres of the next two spheres to simulate lights.
13. For another way to see how 3D fades behave, switch to a white colour and create a large radial fade at the centre of the scene. The colour is projected onto objects, and the background is not painted
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If you had created this effect using 2D, a uniform paint circle would have been created, in the plane of the screen.
4.
Check Infinite line and Reapply.
2D Line Source Radial Fade
This type of fade graduates paint or colour emanating from a straight line in 2D space. For lighting, think of a line source fade as a tube of light. 1. Undo all effects and activate a white colour. Switch to 2D line source with these default settings. As before, click Pick for Start so you can define the line on-screen.
The paint is applied along the entire projection of the line.
2.
Define a short line like this: 5. Undo this effect and set Material lock. Then redo, confining the paint to the background. You could get similar results using a linear fade, except that the fade emanates in all directions from where you defined the line.
3.
Click to apply. Depending on your Range value, your effect should resemble this. You can adjust this value manually on the Fade tab. 6. To adjust the fade, click Tweak.
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Using Fades
7.
There are a few ways you can adjust this fade. First press and drag an endpoint of the centre line. The cursor becomes an angle symbol when the + symbol is on an endpoint.
10. Reapply with the new settings (which of course can also be entered manually on the Fade tab).
8.
To change the Range, drag either of the lines on either side of the centre line. You can also click where you want to move the lines.
11. Use Tweak to change the fade into a narrow, short paint line. Remember to uncheck Infinite line.
12. Check Place centre at start of stroke (at which point Tweak becomes disabled). 9. Finally, the entire line can be moved. Press and drag the line itself. The cursor becomes a rectangle symbol when the + symbol is on the centre line.
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13. Place a few more fades in the background.
3.
Click to apply the effect. The paint is projected onto the objects in the lines path.
3D Line Source Radial Fade

1.
This fade graduates colour from a centre line outward, projecting paint or light in 3D space. Undo all effects, and switch to 3D line source. Remove any locks. Click Pick for Start to define the line source in 3D space.
4.
Check Atmospheric and Reapply.
Now you can see the colour in the air as well.
2.
Define a line like this, starting in the background and ending on the ground plane. If Place centre is not checked, you can use Tweak to adjust the start and end points, as well as the Range. You can leave Tweak mode by pressing Esc.
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Using Fades
5.
Use Tweak to make the fade narrower, and Reapply.
The light source now appears closer to you. If you want to see where this new vector lies, try to Tweak the fade.
This simulates a spotlight.
7.
Finally, check Place centre and add some more spotlights.
6.
Enter a Pick offset value. This sets the distance from the surface to the light source. Reapply.
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Illumination Fades
3.
Illumination fades are used to simulate light effects on surfaces. The difference between these and 3D radial fades is that illumination fades create only the light projections, not the lights themselves. To simulate an actual light plus its projection onto surrounding surfaces, you may have to define both an illumination and radial fade.
Click to apply the illumination. The default direction is straight down, so yellow sunlight covers all horizontal surfaces.
Parallel Illumination Fade

1.
This type of fade represents a far-off light source, most typically sunlight. Start with the file Lobby.epx, located in the ...Piranesi\Tutorial\Epix folder. 4. To change the direction, click Pick.
5.
Press and drag from one point to another, defining the direction of sunlight. In this example, the direction is from the floor toward the staircase.
2.
Set a bright yellow colour, Global fill, no locks, and Hard light. (You could also use Paint or Soft light.) Click the Illumination fade button at the bottom of the Toolbox. On the Fade tab, select Parallel and use the default Direction.
The new direction vector is listed. (You can always enter a vector manually here.)
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Using Fades
6.
Reapply, and the sunlight now fills vertical surfaces.
Point Illumination Fade
This fade simulates light emanating from a single point, projected in a 3D sphere. It is good for creating illumination from single light bulbs. 1. Undo the previous fade. Switch to Point, and click Reset to restore default settings. click Pick for Centre to define the location of the point light source.
7.
Change the Fade to value and Reapply. 2. The fade colour is now 40% yellow. You would get similar results if you fade to a colour. Press and drag from the centre of this light to its outer edge. Make sure this vector stays on the lamp (watch the object material as you move the cursor).
The Centre and Range values are listed on the Fade tab. (Of course, you could also click once to define the centre, then modify the Range value manually or Tweak it.)
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3.
Use Tweak to define the Range like this:
Now the illumination spreads farther.
6. 4. Click in the scene to create the illumination. The objects affected within the defined range are table below, and the adjacent sofa.
Click again, anywhere in the scene, to increase the illumination.
7.
To create illumination from another source, check Place centre at start of stroke.
5.
Change the Range manually and Reapply.
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Using Fades
8.
Then click the similar light farther along the wall. To double the effect of this light, you can uncheck Place centre and click again anywhere. (Or keep Place centre and click again on the light itself.)
2.
This illumination will be projected down from the overhead hanging lights, so the direction must be vertical and downward. Press and drag a vector downward, along any wall you know to be vertical. (The vector will be tweaked to the correct location later.)
NOTE: The illumination fade only lights surrounding surfaces; it does not create the light itself. You could use a 3D radial fade to simulate the bulb, or just apply a Hard light fill to the light itself, using Colour lock.
Cone Illumination Fade

1.
3.
This fade projects light in the shape of a cone. Undo previous fades, and activate a colour thats easier to see on this background, like magenta. Switch to Cone, and click Pick for Centre to define the start point and direction of the cone.
You could also click a Centre and define the Direction manually: 0.0, 0.0, -1.0. If you picked on-screen, make sure the Direction vector is correct. Make sure Place centre is unchecked, and use Tweak to see the illumination location and extents.
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4.
The first step is to move the centre point to the overhead light. Press and drag this point (the cursors arrow symbol becomes a double arrow), moving it onto the light bulb.
8.
Check Place centre and illuminate the area below the other overhanging light.
9. 5. Then move the Range point downward to the floor.
Again, the illumination fade did not light up the bulbs themselves. In this example, radial fade (see 3D Radial Fade on page 196) was used to simulate magenta light bulbs.
6. 7.
Finally, you can change the Angle by dragging or clicking the tweak lines. Press Esc to leave Tweak mode, and click to create the illumination. With the values used here, a circular area on the floor and steps is illuminated.
Strip Illumination Fade

1.
This fade simulates light projected from a 3D line, simulating the effect of a track light or neon tube. Undo previous fades. Switch to Strip and click Pick for Start.
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Using Fades
2.
For lack of a better place in this model, assume the small vertical support on this wall is a strip light. Define the vector vertically, up or down, along this light.
5.
Check Infinite line and Reapply.
Now the illumination extends to the ceiling and floor.
3.
Use Tweak, or enter a Range manually, to get a value like this:
6.
Check Place centre and apply another fade in another location.
4.
Click to apply the fade. It should light up some of the surrounding surfaces.
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7.
Again, this fade only simulates light projected, but does not create the light itself. To light up the tube itself, you can use a radial fade (see 3D Line Source Radial Fade on page 200).
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4. First well select bricks for the gate columns. Open the Real World Texture Library to the Brick category. Find a yellow brick pattern.
This chapter will focus on how to maneuver around the Style Browser, save styles and create your own libraries, and create multiple fills.
Creating and Saving Styles

Setting up a New Library
1.
In this section, we will create some styles and save them to a new library. Start with the file Gate.epx, located in the ...Piranesi\Examples folder. We will create and save texture and background styles for this scene. 5. To see how this style was defined, open its Properties. You can do this by clicking the i button at the top of the Style Browser, or right-clicking on the thumbnail and selecting Properties. The only characteristic saved for this style is the texture itself. 2. 3. Save this file under a different name, to prevent overwriting the original file. If the Style Browser is not displayed, click this button or select View / Style Browser.
The Style Browser opens. The default view is Tree view, but this can be changed by selecting the relevant option in the View / Select menu. The tree on the left contains all of the libraries, and each library contains subfolders, or categories.
Also note that the Name and Fields are grayed out. This style cannot be edited in this category, but it can be saved as a new style, with different properties.
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6.
Activate this texture.You can activate a style in the Browser in one of several ways: Double-click the thumbnail Highlight the thumbnail and press Enter Right-click on the thumbnail and select Apply Highlight the thumbnail and click the Apply Style button at the top of the Style Browser. Select Edit / Apply in the Style Browser menu The texture is displayed on the Toolbox. Other items on the Toolbox do not change. In other words, if Painter was already active, it remains active when the style is applied. Same goes for locks, blend mode, etc. This is because applicator, locks, blend mode, etc., were not defined for this style, only its texture.
8.
On the Texture tab, Tangent is the default mode. Change this to Auto Wrapped, and adjust the Scale so the bricks can be seen clearly.
9.
Apply the bricks to the columns.
10. Now to save this style to its own library. In the Style Browser, select Library / New / Style Library.
7.
Set Global fill, Material lock, and 100% Overlay. All of these properties will be saved as a new style. 11. The file browser opens to ...Piranesi\Style Libraries. This is the default location for libraries, which are .psf files. Add a new library called My Effects.
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for libraries. Open File / Preferences to the Aliases tab, and modify the alias for Piranesi libraries.
TIP: You can change this default location by changing the alias
2.
My Effects appears on the tree list, and this library contains one category called Default.
Make sure My Effects is listed for Library, and Gate for Category. Within a category, styles are listed in alphanumeric order, so if you plan on applying styles in a certain order, its a good idea to use numbers. Name this one 01 Yellow Brick. Make sure all Fields are checked, so that each property of this style will be saved with it.
12. My Effects will contain more than one category, so Default should be renamed. Open the categorys Properties (right-click on its thumbnail or tree branch and select Properties) and give it a new name like Gate. You can add a Description if you like.
The category should now be called Gate.
3.
Click OK to save, and this style is listed in the Gate category.
Saving Styles to the Library

1. To add the current brick style to this category, click the New style button (or press Ctrl+N).
4.
For the next style, assume we want a marble texture but dont know where to find it. Click Search.
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5.
Type marble in the search field, and several styles appear. Highlight this green one:
8.
Apply the green marble to the other areas of the gate.
9.
NOTE: When using Search, keep in mind that some texture style names are just letters and numbers, and not recognizable words. You can rename style names using the Properties, if you want to be able to search them.
To save this style, click New style. This button can be found both on the Style Browser itself, and along the main Piranesi toolbar.
6.
With the selected thumbnail highlighted, click Tree view.
10. Name this second style 02 Green Marble and check all Fields. Make sure the style is saved in the correct library and category.
Now you can see where this texture is located: Piranesi textures library, Stone category.
7.
Activate this style. As before, only the texture is defined for this style. Global fill, Material lock, and Overlay should still be set from the previous brick texture. Set Auto Wrapped on the Texture tab.
Gate should now have two styles.
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Style Browser
11. For the third style, activate a gray paving stone. This one is found in Real World Texture Library.
The ground plane now has blue stones.
12. Remove Material lock and set Plane lock, keeping all other settings on the Toolbox. Keep the texture Tangent, and adjust the Scale. 15. Save this style as 03 Paving, and check all fields EXCEPT Colour. The blue colour will not be saved with the style, so that another colour can be applied instead.
13. Apply this texture to the ground plane.
NOTE: If you save the style with an incorrect name, or lose track of your numbering, dont worry. You can always open a styles Properties and change its name.
14. Change the active colour to light blue and reduce the texture Amount to let this colour come through. Reapply.
There are now three styles.
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correct image, select Edit / Update Thumbnails from the Style Browser menu bar.
NOTE: If the thumbnail for a saved style does not have the
19. Cutouts can also be saved as styles. Open the Piranesi cutouts - with shadows library to the People category, and activate one of the cutouts.
16. Now activate a sky background, with Plane lock, in 2D texture mode.
20. Click to place the people somewhere in the scene.
17. Apply the sky to the background. If the background is not the right size, you can Tweak it.
NOTE: Depending on your settings, you cutouts shadow may not match the shadow set in the scene. Shadows are covered in the chapter Cutouts on page 239.
21. Save this cutout as 05 Couple (or whatever name makes sense for your cutout). The only fields to save here are Applicator and Lock.
18. Save this style, with all Fields checked, as 04 Sky.
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22. Activate another cutout and place it in the scene.
27. For the Edge style, its easiest to find an existing one and modify it. Open the Painting Techniques library to the Simple Painting category, and activate Edge Painting (Fill).
23. Save this second cutout to the library. You should now have six styles, the last two of which are cutouts.
NOTE: To get the style list displayed as above, select View / Select / Large Details.
24. The next styles will cover the scene, bring out the edges, and restore some of the textures. For the textures and cutouts to appear during the restore process, the current state of the scene must be in the restore channels. Select File / Re-Render, and choose to burn in the cutouts when prompted. 25. For the next style, activate an off-white, cream colour, Global fill, no locks, and 100% Paint. Click to cover the scene. 26. Save this cover style, with all Fields, as 07 Cream Cover. Its thumbnail should be a fill can.
28. Click to bring out the edges. Modify the colour or Edge settings if you want.
29. Save this style, with all Fields, as 08 Restore Edges.
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30. Finally, find a restore brush, or define your own. This example from the Paint Restore category works well. If you define your own, define a soft brush with Standard rendering and zero colour, or with Restore rendering.
Now the restored textures and cutouts are softer.
31. Restore a bit of the scene with the brush. (The cutouts and textures appear because the scene was re-rendered.) The restore action is too sharp; the edges are lost.
33. Save this style as 09 Grainy Restore Brush. Note that the Grain field is on.
32. To soften this effect, add a Noise Grain to the brush, with these settings, and Reapply.
NOTE: If you are saving a brush with Restore render action, Colour and Texture fields will be unavailable - these cannot be defined when using the Restore render action.
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Style Browser
Using Library Styles in a New Scene
4.
One reason to save styles to a library is if you want to re-create your effects on the same scene, after experimenting with different styles. You can also save styles if you want to use them on other scenes. (Also, it never hurts to be prepared with saved styles, in case of a system crash!) 1. With the My Effects library highlighted, click New Category.
The Gate styles will be copied into Stein. Open Gate and select all styles. You can use Ctrl+A for this, or highlight each style individually while keeping Shift or Ctrl pressed. Right-click and select Copy, or press Ctrl+C.
2.
Name this category Stein since that is the scene that will be opened next.
5.
Open Stein and Paste in the styles (in the list view on the right, not in the tree). Stein should now contain the same nine styles as Gate.
3.
My Effects should now contain two categories. 6. Open the file Stein.epx, which is in the ...Piranesi\Examples folder. As before, save this file under a new name so you wont overwrite the original file.
TIP: You can also create categories within categories if needed. Look in the library Piranesi multifills for an example of nested categories.
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7.
In the Stein category, start by activating the first style: 01 Yellow Brick. This style has Material lock defined, so apply brick to these walls:
9.
Now apply 03 Paving to the ground plane. This style uses the current active colour (in this case, off-white), because no colour was defined for this style. In the Gate scene the pavement was blue, but this blue colour was not saved with the style.
NOTE: The narrow walls facing to the right are white, so the Overlay blend wont result in any texture on these walls. You could make them a bit darker first if you want, then apply the brick.
8.
Activate 02 Green Marble and apply it as trim.
10. To verify this, open the Properties for 03 Paving. Colour is not checked.
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Style Browser
11. Close the Properties. Make the active colour red and Reapply.
14. Activate the next three styles for the sky and cutouts.
12. Click New Style to update this style. The New Style window lists the same style Name. Keep this name, and check Colour.
15. Re-Render and apply the cream cover, edge restore, and restore brush. The results are pretty similar to the Gate file.
13. When you save this style, you are asked whether you want to overwrite the previous style; click Yes.
As you can see, saving styles libraries is very handy, particularly if you develop a series of styles you use often.
Now the style includes its own colour, and if you apply it elsewhere, the texture will be red.
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Style Library Files

1.
4.
Now that youve created a new library with two categories of styles, what can you do with them? First, you can delete categories from the Style Browser. Simply right-click on a category, and select Delete. Careful - this will remove the category from the library, and you will have to re-create it if you want to get it back.
In the Style Libraries folder, My Effects.psf is still there. Open it to re-display this library in the Style Browser.
NOTE: If you want to permanently delete a style library, you must delete its .psf file from the folder. NOTE: You can only delete categories you have defined or added. The categories that are included with Piranesi cannot be deleted.
5.
2.
If you right-click on a library to delete it, you are actually only closing it. Try this with the My Effects library.
Now a word about style files themselves. In your file browser, open the ...\Piranesi\Style Libraries folder. Each library consists of two files, whose extensions are .psf and .psb.
3.
My Effects no longer appears in the Style Browser. The library itself has not been deleted, however. Select Library / Open.
The .psf file is the library itself. You can open a .psf file with a text editor to see how the categories and styles are listed. The .psb file is the collection of bitmaps that comprise the thumbnails you see in the Style Browser.
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Style Browser
6.
From the folder, delete My Effects.psb. When you return to the Style Browser, the thumbnails for this library have disappeared. The styles are still defined - activate any one to see that the style remains intact. 2.
The 01 Styles category contains the multiple fill styles themselves, indicated by the double fill can buttons. For each of these styles, there is a corresponding category within 02 Data. For example, open the Line Drawing category under 02 Data. The three styles here, in order, comprise the Line Drawing multiple fill in the 01 Styles category.
7.
To re-create the bitmaps, select Edit / Update Thumbnails.
This replaces the .psb file that you deleted. The point of this section is that if you want to share a library with others, be sure to share both the .psf and .psb files.
3.
Styles in a multiple fill are applied in alpha-numerical order. That is the reason each style is preceded by a number (01, 02, 03...) To see how these fills work, open any scene. This examples uses London.epx, located in the ...\Tutorial\Epix folder.
Multiple Fill
A multiple fill is a series of fills and commands applied, in order, to a scene. This section is in this chapter because you need to create and save styles in the Style Browser, when defining and using multifills.
Predefined Multiple Fills

1.
The easiest way to learn about multiple fills is to look at some that are predefined within Piranesi. Open the Style Browser to the library called Piranesi multifills. This library contains two categories: 01 Styles and 02 Data. 4. First we will apply each style individually, then we will redo the scene as a multiple fill. Within the Line Drawing subcategory of 02 Data, activate the first style - 01 Fill to Cream.
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5.
Like youd expect, this style uses Global fill and cream-coloured paint, no locks. Click in the scene to cover it with the paint.
8.
Activate the third style, 03 Wobble, and click in the scene again. This style uses the Filter render action on the Random setting, to give the edges a hand-drawn, wobbly, look.
6.
Activate the second style - 02 Edges. This style uses the Edge render action to bring out the scenes edges, both silhouette and internal edges. A grain is applied as well, to reduce the sharpness of the edges. 9. Undo the three styles. 10. Now go to the 01 Styles category and activate 02 Line drawing.
7.
Click in the scene to bring out the grainy edges.
The applicator is Multiple Fill.
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Style Browser
Under Settings, the Library and Category are listed.
13. Apply the same multiple fill to this scene to get the same wobbly, grainy edges.
11. Click on the scene, and all three styles are applied in order.
You can continue exploring the predefined multiple fills. For example, the Sepia Etching style opens the Sepia Tone category.
12. Multiple fills are used for producing the same effects repeatedly. Open any other Piranesi scene.
The fill contains three styles: White cover, Sepia halftone, and Sepia edges.
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This is how Sepia Etching looks when applied to different scenes:
2.
Assign a name such as My Multifills.
3.
This library will contain two categories, similar to the Piranesi multifill library. One category will contain the styles themselves, and the other will contain the data - the individual styles that comprise each multifill. Start by changing the name of the Default category, which was created along with the new library. Right-click on the Default name and open its Properties.
4.
Change the name to something like Multi Fills. This category will contain the multifill styles.
Creating a New Multiple Fill
5.
Its easy to understand an existing multiple fill, but in this section, you will create styles from scratch and combine them into a multiple fill. 1. We will start by creating a new style library dedicated to multiple fills. On the Style Browser, select Library / New / Style Library.
To create a second category in this library, highlight the My Multifills library and click the New Category button. (You could also right-click on the library and select New Category.)
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Style Browser
6.
Name this category something like Multi Fill Data.
9.
The first style is typically a paint cover. Set a light colour and Global fill. Apply this cover.
7.
The set of styles created for each multiple fill will have its own category within Multi Fill Data. For the multiple fill were about to create, add a subcategory called Edge and Pencil.
10. Make sure Edge and Pencil is highlighted, and click the New Style button (or press Ctrl+N).
8.
Were now ready to create the styles. Open Stein.epx which is located in the ...\Tutorial\Epix folder. 11. Assign a name, such as 01 White Cover, that starts with a number, so that this style will always be performed first. (In multiple fills, styles are applied in alpha-numerical order, and its a lot easier to order numbers than letters.) Make sure all the Fields are checked, so that all properties of this style will be saved.
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active style (whatever is currently on the Toolbox) will be used.
NOTE: For any field that is NOT checked, the relevant field of the
15. Apply this style to the white cover to bring out the scenes edges in thick lines.
12. Click OK to save, and this style is now in the Edge and Pencil category.
13. For the next style, use the Edge render action with a dark colour. These are the Edge settings that are used:
16. For the last style, use the Painter with a light colour and Standard rendering. Reduce the colour Amount in order to restore some colours of the scene below. Reduce the Blend also, to soften the effect. The Painter settings used are shown on the right. 14. Save this style as something like 02 Black Edges in the same category.
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Style Browser
multiple fill. This is equivalent of a global fill - click once and the scene fills with paint. Painter without Splatter works like a Brush.
NOTE: Splatter must be used when using the Painter in a
20. Activate the Multiple Fill applicator. For Multiple Fill under Settings, make sure the Edge and Pencil category is selected.
17. Save this style as 03 Light Pencil.
18. Apply this style to add light pencil lines to the entire scene. Because the Painter s reference direction is Face normal, the face you click when applying defines the orientation of the marks (the background was clicked in this case). Your results might look different.
21. With this multiple fill active, click in the scene. The styles are applied, one by one in order, to get the result shown above. 22. To save these styles as a multiple fill, highlight the Multi Fills category and click New Style.
23. Assign the name Edge and Pencil (you can use a different name, but consistency makes things easy). Under Fields, make sure only Applicator: Multiple Fill is checked.
19. Now that the styles are defined and the end result is known, Undo all paint.
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Now the multiple fill is saved to the Multi Fills category, and can be accessed for other scenes.
Using Multiple Fill with Locks

1. 2.
In the pavilion scene, what if you wanted to draw edges and pencil lines only on certain objects? First, Undo any paint on this scene. Because we will need a new multiple fill, create a new category under Multi Fill Data, called Highlight Edge and Pencil.
24. Now to test this multiple fill on another scene. Open the file Pavilion View 1.epx, located in ...\Tutorial\Epix.
3.
This fill will be based on the one you just created. So select the three styles in Edge and Pencil (use Shift to select them all), right-click, and select Copy.
25. Apply the multiple fill to this scene.
TIP: The usual conventions for Cut, Copy, and Paste apply as well (Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V).
4.
Paste the three styles into Highlight Edge and Pencil.
5.
The first style will not change. Activate the second style, 02 Black Edges. It appears in the toolbar above the scene.
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Style Browser
6.
To get edges only on certain objects, activate Material Lock.
9.
When you are finished, the selected materials appear in the list. If you missed any, you can always edit the style and pick additional materials. Click Pick again to leave Pick mode (or you can press the Esc key).
7.
On the Lock tab, check Material list. This enables you to select all the materials to which the style will be applied. Then click Pick. 10. To update the edge style to now include materials, click New Style.
You dont have to change the style name (unless you want to) since it is already active. Note that locks are now indicated.
8.
The cursor is a dropper symbol. Click in all the areas of the pavilion and steps in front of it.
11. Save the style, overwriting the existing one.
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12. Do the same for the third, splattering style. The same materials should be set from the edge style. In this example, a little bit of colour was added as well, using the Dynamic Settings. Dont forget to re-save the style.
The third style colours in the pavilion and steps. Remember, where you click determines how the splatter marks are oriented.
If you notice that any materials are left out, activate the relevant style, change the material list on the Lock tab, and re-save. 13. Apply the styles individually, or as a multiple fill. This is what you should see after the first two styles are applied - white cover and edges along the pavilion and steps.
TIP: Those extra edges to the left are painted because have a material on the Material Lock list. A perfectionist would use Construct to change the material of these objects, so that they wouldnt be painted. See Construct on page 91.
14. Undo all paint so that you can create some more styles based on materials. 15. To bring out a bit of the background, use Global fill with Standard rendering, and Material lock. Adjust the Blend amount to get the effect you want. Add Grain, using a Raster image like this in Fit mode, to remove the white cover from the centre of the scene and leaving the edges covered.
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Style Browser
16. Keep Material list on, and remove any materials of the pavilion and steps. Select all the materials of the background: the buildings behind the pavilion, roads, ponds, fences, etc. Check Include pixels with no material, so that the sky area between buildings will also be included.
19. Save this style as well, also keeping the Texture field unchecked.
17. Save this as a new style in Highlight Edge and Pencil. Under Fields, make sure all items are checked except one: Texture. This is to show how fields work.
20. You should now have five styles defined. Activate Multiple Fill and make the Highlight Edge and Pencil category active.
This should be the result:
18. Create one more grain style, using a different colour and a different raster image, to remove a slightly different area of the white cover. Keep the same material list as the previous style.
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21. If any background materials are omitted, open the style, add materials, and re-save. 22. In the My MultiFill category, save this multiple fill.
24. Check Texture and use the Noise option.
25. Re-save this style, keeping Texture unchecked.
23. The result is a little stark in the background; it would look nicer to add some texture to those areas. Go back to the Highlight Edge and Pencil category and active the first Grain Restore style.
26. Erase any paint, and apply the multiple fill again. This time the texture was applied to both grain styles.
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Style Browser
The Texture field was not saved with either grain style, but when any field is not specified, the style uses the relevant settings from whatever is currently active on the Toolbox. Because Texture is still checked on the Toolbox, it is applied to both grains. 27. Uncheck Texture on the Toolbox and Reapply. There is no grain now.
Both styles should now have texture buttons in the Style Browser.
29. With the multiple fill now correctly defined, open the other view of this scene: Pavilion View 2.epx.
28. Put the texture back into both grain styles, and re-save them, this time checking Texture.
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30. Apply the multiple fill. This view includes materials that were not visible in the previous scene, so they are not included in the background painting.
33. When finished with this exercise, uncheck Material list on the Lock tab. Otherwise, next time you use the Material lock, only these materials will be included in the effect (even if you are working on a different file).
Re-Render and Auto-Contrast Commands in Multiple Fills

1.
You can add a Re-Render and Auto-Contrast into your scene while creating a multiple fill. Start with the file Gate.epx, located in the ...Piranesi\Examples folder. Save this file under a new name (or use this one, but be careful not to save).
31. Activate both of these styles, and add the missing materials to the list. 32. Now when you apply the multiple fill, the entire background should be painted.
2.
Under Multi Fill Data, create a new category called Change Hue, Restore.
3.
The first style will change the colours of the scene. Use a Filter render action, set to Hue, with these settings:
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Style Browser
4.
Click in the scene to change the colours.
8.
Save this style as 03 Splatter Restore. You should now have three styles in this category.
9. 5. 6. 7. Save this style to Change Hue and Restore, using the name 01 Change Hue. For the next style, define 02 Cover as a light-coloured cover, Standard rendering. The third style uses the Painter with zero colour, to restore colours below the cover. Check Material lock to keep the splatter separated between materials. Use a Raster brush; this one has a defined size of 60 pixels and a cell size small enough to ensure overlap. Reset lock and Strict lock are checked to keep the splatter separated between materials.
Undo any effects to return to the original scene. Activate the Multiple fill applicator and select the category you just defined.
10. Click in the scene to apply. The colours that are restored are the original colours - not the changed hues.
The solution is to Re-Render the scene after changing the hue.
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11. Define a new style in the Change Hue, Restore category. Name it 02 Re-render, since it must be applied right after 01 Change Hue. Check Command at the bottom of the window, and select Re-Render.
14. The other command you can add is Auto-Contrast. In Multi Fill Data add one more category, called Auto Contrast.
15. Create a single style in this category, called 01 Auto Contrast. Check Command and select Auto Contrast.
12. This style is added to the category, and the Cover and Splatter Restore styles must be renamed to get them in the proper numerical order. Use each styles Properties for this.
13. Undo the previous fills, and apply this multiple fill again. Now the changed hues are in the restore channels, and appear when the restore splatter is applied.
This is the only style in this category, but a multiple fill does not need to contain more than one style.
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Style Browser
16. Open the original Gate.epx file. (If you were working before with the original Gate file, close it without saving, to remove the changed hues from the restore channels.) Activate Multiple Fill and set the new category.
20. Apply this multiple fill again. The contrast is applied first, then the hue change, re-render, cover, and restore styles are applied.
17. Click to apply the single style. The contrast and brightness in the scene are adjusted to give the scene its best look.
18. Undo the Auto Contrast. 19. Open the Change Hue, Restore category and copy the four styles. Paste them into Auto Contrast. (There are now two styles that start with 01, but you can rename them if you like. All that matters is that the styles are in the correct order.)
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Cutouts
2. Cutouts are applied using the Montage applicator, so click the button or press C.
Insertion of cutouts (people, trees, furniture, etc.) is done using the Montage applicator. Many cutouts are provided for you in, libraries you can view in the Style Browser. For photorealistic cutouts, look in the Piranesi cutouts libraries, either with or without shadows. For non-photorealistic cutouts, open the Sketch Cutouts library. If you find you need some more cutouts to choose from, see Where to Get More Cutouts on page 272.
3.
2D Cutouts
Cutout Files
The Montage tab contains all the options you need for cutouts. Click Browse to find a cutout file.
The easiest type of cutout to insert is a 2D image that always faces front. Typically these are people, trees, and furniture such as lampposts. You can also insert 2D text. This section focuses on how to insert 2D images into the scene. A cutout file is typically a digital photo or artistic picture that has been masked - all blank space or background space has been removed. 1. Open the file Pavilion View 1.epx, located in ...Piranesi\Tutorial\Epix. This folder also contains a file with another view of the same model. The folder that opens is Cutouts.
4.
Cancel the Browse for now. To see why Cutouts was opened, open the Preferences (File / Preferences) to the File Locations tab. Cutouts are located in <Piranesi Cutouts> - the double brackets mean that it is an alias.
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5.
Open the Aliases tab, which gives you the location for the cutout alias.
For the cutout in this example, the default Hook point is at the bottom of the right foot. You can change this by clicking elsewhere on the preview, and adjusting the X, Y pixel coordinates if necessary.
TIP: For a neat way to use the hook point to modify a cutouts shadow, see Trick: Tweaking a Cutouts Shadow on page 273.
6.
Return to the Montage tab and click Browse again. Open the People folder and select any of the provided .png files. (To see the image types that can be used as cutouts, open the Files of type list.) Double-click the file, or click Open. 7.
If you check Show extent, a box will appear around the preview thumbnail, showing the size of the image file itself. Finally, note that Shadows is not checked. This means that shadows will not be cast from this cutout (though we will change that later). Vertical should be checked, so that the person will always be standing. Move the cursor around to see an outline of the cutout. Perspective is always maintained - as you move deeper into the view, the cutout gets smaller.
The cutout appears in the preview window on the Montage tab.
NOTE: The cutout cursor is set on the General tab of the Preferences. If the cutout outline is not displayed, a rectangle is used instead.
8.
Move the hook point somewhere on one of the steps and click. The cutout appears. If you click again, you will place the same cutout again.
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Cutouts
9.
For the next cutout, we will use the Style Browser, which is usually easier than browsing. Open the library Piranesi cutouts - no shadows to the People category, and find someone facing his right. Double-click the thumbnail to activate the cutout.
NOTE: Mirror H would flip him upside down.
12. There are several ways to adjust the cutout once it is placed. You can change its dimensions manually reduce his height to 1770 mm and Reapply.
10. Place this cutout here. He is approaching the steps at a strange angle. Now he is a bit shorter.
11. To change the orientation, click Mirror W and Reapply.
13. Switch the Measure setting to Width. It has adjusted to keep the aspect ratio; the man has gotten smaller in both directions. (Note that both Height and Width are dimensions of the bounding box around the image. They are not dimensions of the man himself.)
Now hes facing away from the steps.
14. All cutouts are listed below the Settings pane, in the Cutout Manager. (If the Cutout Manager is closed, click its title bar to open it.) We will continue changing this last cutout, so highlight it and click the Tweak button.
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(You can also activate Tweak mode by pressing Ctrl+W while the cursor is over a cutout.)
TIP: If you want to place the Cutout Manager, or any pane, somewhere else, right-click on its title bar. Then select (in this case) Dock Cutout Manager to release it from the Tools Manager.
NOTE: Depending on which version of Piranesi you are using, this might not be the case. If your values are not grayed out, and do not update automatically, they will update when you end Tweak mode by pressing Esc (not by clicking the Tweak button).
16. You can also move cutouts. Move the cursor inside the cutout frame, so that it becomes a red arrow.
15. In Tweak mode you have some drag handles for resizing, and axes for rotating. To make this man chubbier, drag one of the side handles.
17. Press and drag. The cursor jumps to the hook point of the cutout, so you are placing the cutout as before. (For example, if you move to the first step, the feet are placed there.
NOTE: If you press Alt while dragging one of these side handles, the resizing will be centred around the hook point. If you press Shift, you can move the cutout from side to side or vertically, keeping its original size.
He now looks like this. Depending on where your cutout is placed, the feet may also be buried in the step.
You can also drag the cutouts axes (shown as dashed lines) if you want to rotate the cutout. This is not particularly useful for 2D cutouts, since they will no longer be facing you. Rotating 3D cutouts will be shown in the section 3D Tweaking on page 258. Note also that, while in Tweak mode, you cant edit any of the parameters on the Montage tab. But the Width value reflects the change you just made.
NOTE: RPC cutouts, in 2.5 dimensions, can be rotated to get different views. See RPC Cutouts on page 265.)
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18. To exit Tweak mode, press Esc. The drag handles and axes lines dissapear.
21. Release the mouse button. Because the depth of every pixel is known, the cutout depth is correct partially hidden by the entryway.
19. Activate another cutout; this one will be placed in the doorway of the pavilion. First, place the cutout on the plane on which he/she will stand. Press but do not release.
22. Add one more cutout next to the one of the cutouts, such as a dog (which you can find in the Animals category).
20. With the mouse button still pressed, which locks in the cutouts plane, drag the cutout to where it will be partially hidden.
23. We will move the dog and master together. First, both cutouts must be selected. There are two ways to select cutouts - via the Cutout Manager or on-screen. Well try the latter; click the Select button.
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24. This method is good if you have many cutouts or cant identify them by name. First click the master. . .
26. Click Tweak. (You cant use Ctrl+W to tweak when more than one cutout is selected.) One cutout has the drag handles, and the other has a diamond at its hook point, indicating that it is connected to the first. If you click the diamond symbol, that cutout will then have the drag handles.
25. . . . then press Shift and select the dog.
27. Drag both cutouts to a new location.
Both are now selected in the Cutout Manager.
Assuming you know cutout names, you could have selected them by highlighting them directly in the Cutout Manager. Selecting multiple cutouts works like in a file browser: use Shift to select consecutive cutouts, and Ctrl for non-consecutive cutouts.
If one of the cutouts (like the dog) seems to be hovering above the ground, use Tweak to move it. 28. Finally add another cutout, such as a group or couple. Place it where shown, near the left side of the model.
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Shadows
4.
So far the cutouts that are placed do not look very realistic, because they do not cast shadows. Even if the cutout does not include shadow data when placed, you can add shadows later. 1. For two of the cutouts, click the Shadow box - a tree with shadow button appears in each box.
There are a few places you could use, but the easiest is the one shown below. First, click on the corner of the roof (make sure the material is Gutter), then drag the cursor to the corresponding corner of the shadow.
2.
Make sure the Generate Shadows button is pressed; otherwise, shadows will not appear. Once the shadow vector is established, it appears next to Direction.
3.
If you click Update selected or Update all, the shadows may not appear at all, or may appear incorrectly (depending on what you may have done with the file or settings before this). The default shadow Direction is straight down, which wont show anything in this scene. You can set the shadow direction based on information you can get from the scene; click Pick.
5.
Highlight one of the shadowed cutouts and click Update selected.
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This places a shadow only on the selected cutout, in this case, the couple.
TIP: While selecting cutouts in the Cutout Manager, you can use Ctrl+A to select them all, then click any Shadow box to apply shadows to all cutouts.
8.
The Cutout Manager can also be used to control cutout visibility. Remove the eye button from a few cutouts.
6.
Now click Update all. This creates shadows on all cutouts that have the shadows enabled, in this case, the couple and the dog.
Those cutouts are no longer visible.
7.
Now enable shadows for all cutouts and click Update all again.
9.
Display all cutouts. The Cutout Manager can also be used to control shadow properties. Start by increasing the Shadow blend.
All cutouts now have shadows.
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This makes the shadows darker.
12. Reset the blend, and change the Cutout blend mode to Overlay. This is like overlaying a layer of cutouts over the existing scene. You can experiment with the various blend modes, of all which are explained starting on Blend Modes on page 54.
10. Reset the blend (default = 40%), and change the shadow colour.
13. Set the mode back to Paint. 14. Activate one more cutout, this time from the Piranesi cutouts - with shadows library.
11. Reset the colour (black), and reduce the Cutout blend. This applies only a fraction of the full cutout, making them transparent.
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15. Note that this time, the Shadow box is checked. Place the cutout, and the shadow is included.
Burning In
At this point, the cutouts are floating, which means they are not integrated into the scene. Any operation you perform on the scene now will not affect the cutouts. 1. To see what this means, select a colour and blur the scene. This is done using Global fill with a Filter render action, with the Filter type set to Blur.
2.
Because you will use this style again, create a new style library and save this style. (Youll be saving many cutouts as styles later, so its a good idea to create a separate library for the styles you use in this exercise.)
To remove shadows, you can remove the shadow button from cutouts in the Cutout Manager. However, if you want to replace the shadows, you need to replace the shadow button, then update the cutouts.
NOTE: If you dont know how to use the Style Browser to create libraries and save styles, see Creating and Saving Styles on page 209.
3.
Click anywhere in the scene to blur it. The cutouts remain unchanged.
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4.
Undo, and try a different style - covering the entire scene with solid paint (save this style as well). Cutouts and their shadows still appear.
NOTE: Unlike with saving, you can burn in only selected cutouts. If a selected cutout is invisible, it will be deleted (and not burned in).
Once burned in, the cutouts are part of the scene and can no longer be manipulated. (But for now you can still get rid of them, because the cutouts are not yet in the restore channels). The Cutout Manager is now empty.
5.
If you blank any cutouts, the solid cover will appear below it. Undo. The solution is to burn in the cutouts, but once that happens you wont be able to access the cutouts in the Cutout Manager. So before burning, lets save them out to their own file. Then the cutouts can be brought into another scene. Click the Save button, or right-click on any cutout and select Save.
8.
Reactivate and apply the blurry style you created before. Now the cutouts are blurred also.
NOTE: You can only save the entire cutout list, not just selected cutouts.
6.
Cutouts are saved to a .pcf file. Assign a name and place them in a folder you choose.
9.
Undo, and cover the scene (which covers the cutouts also).
7.
Then select all the cutouts and click the Burn In button (or right-click and select Burn In).
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10. Then use a raster brush and Restore render action to uncover some of the scene (the brush in this case also has a grain applied). The cutouts do not appear. This is because Restore brings back whatever is in the restore channels. The scene has not been re-rendered, so the restore channels still contain only the original contents of the file.
Importing Cutouts
Heres a very cool feature of Piranesi: when you import saved cutouts into a different view of the same model, the cutouts are placed in the correct location. 1. Open the file Pavilion View 2.
11. Undo to return to the unpainted scene with burned-in cutouts, and save the file under a new name (if you didnt at the start the exercise) so that you dont overwrite the original pavilion file. 12. Re-Render (File / Re-Render), then apply the cover and raster restore brush again. Now the cutouts appear below the paint cover.
2.
In the Cutout Manager, click Import. Locate the .pcf you saved before.
3.
The cutouts are placed in the new view. They are in the same location relative to where they were in the other view, but they do not change their orientation to reflect the new angle - they always face front.
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Lets say Scene 1 has cutouts you want to import into Scene 2 (these cutouts cannot be burned in). First make sure Scene 1 is saved with the current cutouts. Then open Scene 2, and click Import in the Cutout Manager. Specify *.epx files rather than *.pcf files, and select Scene 1.epx. All cutouts found in Scene 1 are imported into Scene 2.
TIP: You do not actually have to save cutouts to an external file.
How does Piranesi know how to accurately place the cutouts? When a cutout is brought in to the first scene, its hook point coordinates are global - relative to the origin of the entire model. A different view of the same model has the same global origin, so the imported cutouts are placed at the same global coordinates. In theory, you could place a group of saved cutouts in any model file. If you are consistent when creating 3D models, and always place them more or less in the same place relative to the global origin, the cutouts should transfer easily (but will probably need to be moved around).
NOTE: This example uses standard 2D cutouts, which will always face the same way, regardless of where they are. 3D cutouts and RPC cutouts would maintain their original orientation when imported into a new file. See3D Cutouts on page 254 and RPC Cutouts on page 265.
4.
Depending on where the original cutouts were placed, they probably do not all appear in this view. However, they all appear in the Cutout Manager and can be moved, tweaked, or deleted. If you need to tweak or move a cutout that you cannot see (in this case, the couple), use the Cutout Manager to locate it and Tweak it. If you zoom out, you can see the drag handles.
2D Text Cutouts
Until now weve been placing cutouts from a 2D image file. The other type of 2D cutout is text. (As youll see later in this chapter, text cutouts can also be 3D.) 1. 2. 3. Continue with the same file, Pavilion View 2.epx. The first text cutout will go on the side of the building, so set a contrasting colour. Uncheck Grain if you had checked it before. Activate the Montage applicator, and change the Cutout type to Text. Click Font to choose a font, and click in the large box and type two lines of text. Leave the size as is for now. The Mode should be set to Frontal.
If you need to move a cutout slightly, tweak it and use the right or left arrow keys. This moves the cutout slightly. To move by a larger distance, press Shift with the arrow keys. The tweak distances (with or without Shift) can be set in File / Preferences, on the General tab. In this example, the couple was moved slightly, so that they would be visible in the scene.
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4.
Like with file cutouts, move the cursor around to see a preview outline of the text. By default, the hook point is at the centre of the bottom edge of the text group. Also, because Frontal is the mode, the text always faces you, and does not align to walls.
7.
Change the Mode from Frontal (always facing front) to Tangent.
NOTE: Tangent is also available for 2D file cutouts. This can be useful when pasting a poster to a wall, for example.
8.
Reapply, and the text has the correct orientation.
NOTE: Remember, the cutout cursor is set on the General tab of the Preferences. If the cutout outline is not displayed, a rectangle is used instead.
5.
Because the text should be centred along the top of the wall, change the Hook to Top Edge. 9. To change the size of the text, you could tweak it like with the file cutouts, but this time use the Scale values. If the Aspect ratio box is checked, you can enter a decimal value for Width, and Height updates to reflect the same value. Reapply, and the scaling is relative to the hook point.
6.
Click a point near the centre of the top of the wall. The text is created (with shadows), but does not lie flat against the wall.
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In the Cutout Manager, the text appears like any other cutout.
11. The next cutout will lie on the pavement outside the pavilion. Change the colour, and type one line of text, and reduce the Height a bit.
TIP: You can go back any time and edit the text of a text cutout. Simply double-click the cutout to activate it, change the text and Reapply. This can be used for all types of cutouts. For example, you can change blend modes or colour amounts, or re-create a cutout for any other reason.
If you have a .pcf file containing text cutouts that need to be edited or changed, you can always open the .pcf with a text editor and make the necessary changes. When you import the edited .pcf into Piranesi, the text strings will be updated.
12. Move the cursor in front of the doorway. Even though the cursor lies on the floor plane (and aligns to it), the text is still vertical.
10. Save this text montage as a style in the library created for this exercise. Its a good idea to save all cutouts you use from now on, in case you want to repeat steps later.
13. Before placing the text, uncheck Vertical. Then place the text, centred in front of the doorway.
TIP: This text would look more natural if its Cutout blend amount were reduced a bit. However, whatever amount you set will be used for all cutouts in the scene. If you want to use various blend amounts, shadow colours, etc., you should burn in cutouts one at a time as they are created.
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14. If the text is upside-down, tweak it and/or change its Angle to 180. 15. Like with file cutouts, you can set text orientation along a face, then place it away from that face and keep the orientation. Create a short text string, using Tangent, Vertical, and Shadows.
3D Cutouts
3D cutouts are actual 3D model files, as opposed to 2D image files. They are placed and tweaked basically the same way as 2D cutouts, with a few additional options. To see the 3D file types you can use, first make sure the Montage type is File. Then click Browse and look in the Files of type list.
Cutout Materials
1. In the Style Browser, open the library Piranesi cutouts - with shadows. Browse to 3D Cutouts/External, and activate Rubbish bin. Note that each 3D cutout has a black background.
16. Orient the text along the fascia where shown. Keep the mouse button pressed.
17. Drag the text down slightly so that it sits right below the fascia. The shadow is cast from the text onto the wall behind it.
This cutout is a .3ds file (as you can verify under File name). Under Measure, the default setting is Use size from file, which means the size will match the dimensions of the *3ds model. You can choose another option here if you want to set new dimensions. Materials is set to Single New, which means that each time you place one of these cutouts, it will consist of one new material.
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2.
Place one rubbish bin in the corner shown. The shadow is automatically cast.
6.
Place a few more bins with these settings. Each has its own material: Montage 17, Montage 18 etc.
3.
Tweaking 3D cutouts is similar to 2D, but there are a few more drag handles. Move the cursor over each rotation axis to see the rotation direction. A green arrow means you will rotate about the vertical axis.
7.
Remove the bins, either by using Undo, or deleting them via the Cutout Manager. Switch to Multiple New.
8. 4. Press and drag this axis to approximately align the rubbish bin with the steps. Note that the Twist value updates to reflect the rotation. (In certain versions of Piranesi, this value does not update.)
Place a few bins as before. Now each bin has two materials: Rubbish Bin1 and Gold1, Rubbish Bin2 and Gold2, etc. Rubbish Bin and Gold are the materials from the original model.
9.
Try once more, this time using Multiple Shared.
5.
Now check the material of this cutout. Because Single New was set, the entire bin has the material Montage 16 (your number might be different).
This time the material names are shared among the cutouts: Rubbish Bin and Gold. 10. Remove the extra bins, leaving just one at the corner.
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Combining 2D and 3D Cutouts

1. Start by inserting Advertising board 1, found in the same External category.
5.
Tweak to rotate the cutout so that one side is facing you.
6. 2. Use Multiple New or Multiple Shared so that the model materials will be preserved. By default, Use Colours is not checked. This means that the colours of the original model will not be used, and the cutout will take on whatever is the active colour on the Toolbox.
In the next step, we will place a 2D image file on a face of this cutout. Keeping Montage active, Browse to an image file that would work well as a background image. (In this case, a .png file was selected from Real World Texture Library / Art.) Make sure Tangent is selected, and Vertical is not.
3.
Place the advertising board in the scene.
7.
Place the image on the face of the advertising board. Depending on the size of the 2D image, it is probably not the right size.
4.
Check Use colours and Reapply. Now the cutout has the colour of the original model (gray).
8.
In Tweak mode, use the drag handles to size the image to meet the board.
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9.
Similarly, create a text cutout and place it on the board, sizing as needed.
11. Use the green rotation axis to slightly spin the board, image, and text.
10. As you already saw with the file cutouts, multiple cutouts can be tweaked as one unit. In this case, it is easier to select the cutouts in the Cutout Manager. The order selected is important, since the last cutout selected in the Cutout Manager is the one whose drag handles are shown. Therefore, make sure the advertising board cutout is the last one you select. Then click Tweak.
12. Spin again so that the blank side faces you.
13. You can easily repeat cutouts, without having to return to the Style Browser. Right-click on the art image and select Apply.
NOTE: You can also click Tweak first, then click the cutouts in the Cutout Manager.
The drag handles and rotation axes for the advertising board are shown, and the other two cutouts have a diamond symbol, indicated that they are connected to the board (it may be hard to see both diamonds since the image and text occupy the same space).
14. This image has the same properties as the one on the other side, no need for tweaking. Place it on the board.
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15. Place another text cutout the same way. Instead of right-clicking, you can double-click an item in the Cutout Manager to activate it.
18. Undo and burn in all five cutouts that comprise the board. Then apply the wood texture again, and the posts of the advertising board are painted.
16. Now the board consists of five cutouts. Select all of them (advertising board cutout last), and move and rotate the entire board.
This is why its a good idea to save the cutouts to a style library. Once a cutout has been burned in, you can no longer manipulate or reapply it. Having the board, background, and text saved for you makes it easy to re-create the cutout set, if needed. So, If you think youll want to place a cutout in another view, save the cutouts before burning anything in.
3D Tweaking
1.
3D cutouts have several placement and sizing options. Start by bringing in a park bench, found in the same category as the advertising board.
17. Because the advertising board was inserted with its original materials, you should see three materials: Advert, Woodwork. and Painted Board. To make the cutout more realistic, use Global fill and Material lock and try to apply a wood texture to Woodwork material. As long as the cutout is not burned in, it cannot be painted. Instead, the area painted is below the advertising board wherever you clicked, along the ground or on the steps. 2. Tweak it and rotate it about its vertical axis so that its approximately facing outward from the bulding.
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axis, press Ctrl to change the axis. You can also press Alt to shear the cutout.
TIP: If you grab an axis and want it to rotate about a different
6.
You can also place the bench directly against the wall. Grab the centre-back handle shown, and press Shift.
3.
You can make this alignment exact. First, hover over the rotation axes normal to the side wall. . .
7.
With the mouse button and Shift pressed, move the cursor to the wall, and then release the mouse. The bench moves back to the wall
4.
. . . and press Shift. Note the change in the cursor.
5.
Click and hold the mouse button, and keep Shift pressed. Then move the cursor anywhere along the side wall. The alignment changes so that the bench has the same exact angle as the wall.
8.
Next to tweak is the rubbish bin. If youve used any 3D modeling application, the Piranesi sizing conventions will probably seem familiar. Centre handles along a side will scale in one direction. Centre handles along an edge will scale in two directions. And corner handles can scale in all three directions. Drag the handle shown downward . . .
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. . . to squash the bin.
In one motion you can make the bin shorter, wider, taller, and/or shallower.
9.
Undo. Now drag the same handle down, but this time keep Ctrl pressed. This trims off the top of the cutout.
11. Undo, and drag the corner handle inward again, this time pressing Shift. This maintains the aspect ratio, so the bin is scaled the same percentage in each direction.
10. Undo again. Now drag one of the corner handles inward.
TIP: Pressing Alt scales the cutout relative to its hook point. You can press Alt and Shift at the same time to scale about the hook point while maintaining the aspect ratio.
12. Undo again. Recall that you could move a 2D cutout behind another object. The same can be done with 3D cutouts. When the cursor is a red arrow, press and drag the hook point.
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13. Try dragging the bin to the centre of the doorway. (It might help to blank the existing cutout here.)
15. This keeps the cutout on the same X-Y plane. Move to the same point you tried before, and the bin is placed correctly.
In a case like this, it is hard to keep the bin on the same plane (though you might get better results).
16. Undo to move it back. Youve already seen how to abut a cutout against a plane; you can also do it when the plane is not directly behind the cutout. Use Shift with the drag handle shown. . .
14. Undo and try again, this time keeping Ctrl pressed. The cursor becomes a double-pointed arrow.
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. . . to abut the bin against the side wall of the building. The bit abuts the theoretical extension of the wall.
Copying Cutout Groups
There is no easy way to reapply multiple cutouts when one or more is 3D, but here is a good workaround for this. The example will be a planter combined with a 2D tree cutout. 1. Start by bringing in the Circular planter cutout from the External category. Be sure to use Multiple Shared to keep the material information. Deselect Smooth, and check Use colours.
17. You can also move a cutout along a specific axes. Once again using Shift, drag the handle shown.
2.
Insert the planter where it will appear the largest, and where you can have the best view of whats inside: anywhere along the bottom of the scene. This isnt where the planter will stay (it will be moved) but a good view is needed to set up the cutout group.
This way you can slide the bin along an axis, parking it next to the bench.
3.
Check Smooth and Reapply - the round face is now smooth. This option is useful for curved surfaces that were created in their original modeling application using faceted surfaces.
TIP: You can also use the arrow keys to move along an axis. If the move distance is too small, press Shift to increase it by a factor of ten.
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will be painted in the active colour.
NOTE: If you uncheck Use colours and Reapply, the planter
7.
To sink the tree into the planter, enter a negative Offset value and Reapply.
4.
Now activate a 2D tree.
5.
Since the tree should have its hook point at the tip of the trunk, place this point at the centre of the soil inside.
8.
Now select both cutouts, either using the Select tool or by highlighting them both in the Cutout Manager, and move them to another location.
6.
Depending on the tree you picked, it may be the wrong size. If necessary, adjust the scale values, or tweak the tree about its hook point (using Alt or Shift + Alt).
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9.
To place another planter/tree group, apply another planter from the Cutout Manager, in the same place you used before. Then apply the tree you used before. The Scale and Offset values are already set, so the hook point is above the bottom of the tree.
This cutout should match the one on the side of the pavilion.
2.
With this style active, delete the existing 2D text. The text string, including its colour and other properties, is still active, however.
10. Move this group into place, then repeat as needed to insert as many as you want. 3. Under Montage, start by adding a Thickness. This makes the cutout 3D, as you can tell by the black background in the preview box.
3D Text Cutouts
Text cutouts can be easily made into 3D cutouts simply by adding some thickness. Rather than create new text cutouts in this already-crowded scene, we will replace existing text with 3D text. 1. First, activate the Museum Tickets text in the Cutout Mananger.
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4.
Place the 3D text where the previous text was. It sticks out from the wall, and casts shadows. The colour is also more realistic. 7.
(Of course, you could have placed the text as before: clicking and holding on the front face, and dragging the text down to place it.) Like you did before, save all the cutouts in this scene, and import them into the original Pavilion View1 scene. (The one you worked on before has cutouts already burned in.) Note that 2D cutouts always face the same way, but 3D cutouts, such as the OPEN text, maintain their orientation in 3D space. In this example, the couple was moved in the Pavilion View 2 scene, and is no longer visible in this scene.
5.
Now do the same for the OPEN text. Set its hook point to Front Face and place it where shown.
The front face of the text is aligned with the vertical face.
For final touches, you may want to apply some more paint effects. Remember, cutouts have to be burned in before they can be painted.
RPC Cutouts
RPC stands for Rich Photorealistic Content, and these cutouts are produced by Archvision. These are basically 2D and 3D cutouts that have some extras. The four types of cutouts we will use in this exercise are 2.5D, 3D, 3.5D, and 3D+. The features of each type will be clear in the exercise. 1. 6. Move it just below the fascia by using the down arrow while in Tweak mode. (You can press Shift with the down arrow to move down in larger steps.) There is only one RPC cutout included with Piranesi, but you can download some free samples. Go to www.archvision.com, and click the link for Products. Go to Demos and Sample Content / Sample Content. Youll have to submit a few details to get the samples. The ones used in this exercise are Lisa, Tina, Penny, VW Beetle, and Leap Chair. Save these .zip files and extract the .rpcs.
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2.
Open the file Lobby.epx, located in the ...Piranesi\Tutorial\Epix folder.
3.
Turn on Shadows and Reapply. The actual shadow appears, according to the Direction set in the scene. But the original shadow is also still there.
2.5D RPC Cutouts

1.
2.5D cutouts basically work just like 2D ones, except that they also have animation data included. Activate Montage and browse to the folder where you saved your sample .rpcs. Activate Lisa, and turn off Shadows. 4. To remove this extra shadow, increase the Threshold and Reapply. This is handy for removing noise from this type of cutout.
2.
Place her in the lobby, and note the small shadow by her feet. This appears even though Shadows are turned off, because the shadow is part of the cutout itself.
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5.
Heres where you can see the extra movement data. Try different values for RPC Frame and Reapply each time. This cutout contains animation data several frames in which Lisa turns the pages of her book.
7.
Use Tweak to rotate one of the cutouts. Here you can tell that it is still essentially 2D - you are rotating a flat cutout.
3D RPC Cutouts
These cutouts simulate 3D cutouts, without being actual 3D models (which would be much more complex to create). They do not contain animation data. 1. Remove the Lisas, and activate Tina. Make sure the mode is Tangent, and set the Threshold back to zero.
NOTE: If you use these cutouts in an application in which you can export animation, such as a fly-through, this type of .rpc cutout can be animated within the animation.
6.
Place a few more Lisas in the scene. No matter where she is placed, she faces the same way. This is the case whether the cutout mode is Tangent or Frontal.
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As before, this cutout contains a small shadow. Before placing the cutout, you can see the shadows outline as part of the cutout preview.
3.
Place a few Tinas in the scene. They all face the same way.
4.
Remove these cutouts, and switch to Frontal.
2.
Increase the Threshold like you did before. Now there is no shadow outline.
5.
Place several cutouts, and now they each face a different direction.
6.
To see how this happens, tweak one of the cutouts. The axes of the cutout are relative to the scene centre. The end of the axis shown is at the exact centre of the scene.
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Cutouts
7.
Move this cutout to the other side of the lobby, and now she faces the other way.
3.5D RPC Cutouts

1.
3.5D cutouts basically act like 3D ones, with some added animation data. Remove the Tinas and activate Penny. The mode should still be Frontal, with a Threshold high enough to remove shadows.
8.
Finally, tweak one of the closer cutouts and rotate it about its vertical axis. At each rotation angle, Tina appears from a new angle. You can turn her all the way around.
2.
Place one cutout in the scene; she appears to be walking.
You could get the same result using an actual 3D model of a person, which would be quite heavy and complex to create. Instead, this cutout is actually a collection of pictures taken from several different angles. 3. Scroll through a few RPC Frames and Reapply each time. These frames are part of an animation of Penny walking.
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4.
Place a few more cutouts, and as before, their direction is relative to the centre of the scene.
2.
To see what can be modified on this car, click RPC Details.
5.
And, as before, rotate one of the cutouts. This cutout also contains graphic data from several angles, so you can view her from any angle. 3. For this car, you can change its Height, modify the window Transparency, add Tinting, and display a License Plate. (Custom Plate enables you to paste your own image to the license plate.) When you have the settings the way you want, click OK.
3D+ RPC Cutouts
3D+ cutouts act just like 3D cutouts. They have no animation data (they are inanimate objects and not people), but they contain extra characteristics you can play with. 1. Remove previous cutouts and active VW Beetle. Place it in the lobby.
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4.
Reapply to see the new size, windows, and license plate.
8.
Finally, insert the Leap Chair.
9. 5. As with any 3D cutout, this one can be rotated so that the car can be viewed from any angle.
Use RPC Details to modify the chairs colour, height, swivel, etc.
Importing RPC Cutouts

6. Find the RPC car thats included with Piranesi, located in the Style Browser.
As you would probably imagine by now, you can save RPC cutouts in one scene and import them into another, maintaining their orientation. 1. Open the Pavilion View1.epx folder, and insert Lisa, Tina, and Penny toward the left side. The cutouts must be in Frontal mode for this to work.
7.
Insert this car and modify its RPC Details. You can modify the windows, size, and how far the front wheels are turned.
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2.
Save the cutouts to an external .pcf file, and import them into Pavilion View 2.epx. Tina and Penny are facing the same points they were facing in the other view, and not facing front in this view. Lisa is 2D, however, so she is oriented the same way as before.
Where to Get More Cutouts
Some examples of third-party cutouts are included in Piranesi. Open the Sketch Cutouts library to see these.
Entourage Arts (www.entouragearts.com) provides hundreds of NPR (non photo-realistic) cutouts, including people, animals, plants, trees, and skies. Their primary artist is Susan Sorger, whose work can be seen in this book (see Piranesi and Principles of Composition on page 291). Cutouts by Wang Wang are also available here; some examples of his work can be seen in Wang Wang on page 309. Archvision (www.archivision.com) provides RPC (rich photorealistic content) cutouts, which are 2D and 3D and contain extra information, such as animation frames and editable parameters. For more information on these types of cutouts, see RPC Cutouts on page 265. Form Fonts (www.formfonts.com) provides numerous 3D models (including 3D people), and 2D images that can be used as cutouts. They also provide 2D images that can be used as textures and backgrounds. ImageCELS (www.imagecels.com) and RealWorld Imagery (www.realworldimagery.com) provide photorealistic entourage. Marlin Studios (www.marlinstudios.com) supplies textures, 3D cutouts, and animated people. For SketchUp users: the SketchUp website has a Partners page that lists some sites where you can find a wealth of 3D models. Go to www.sketchup.com, and click the Company link at the top of the page. From there, click the Partners link. Look at the list under Product Resources.
On the Piranesi website, you can find a list of third-party firms which supply images for textures, as well as entourage cutouts. See http://www.informatix.co.uk/piranesi/user_third.shtml. The following firms are currently listed on this page:
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Trick: Tweaking a Cutouts Shadow

1.
This simple trick comes from Susan Sorger of Entourage Arts. It shows how to trick Piranesi into showing a slightly different shadow than the one calculated by Piranesi. Open the file Pavilion View 1.epx, located in ...Piranesi\Tutorial\Epix.
The back foot is above the ground, as indicated by the gap between the shoe and shadow. We want this foot to appear as though it is on the ground.
4.
Undo the cutout and change its Hook Point to the bottom of the higher foot. You can do this by clicking the point on the preview window, or by entering values in the Hook field.
2.
In the Style Browser, find this cutout of a man checking his watch.
3.
Make sure the cutouts shadow is displayed, and the shadow Direction is set on-screen. (If you dont know how to do this, see Shadows on page 245.)
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5.
Place this cutout. The shadow from the higher foot looks good, but the lower foot has sunk into the ground.
8.
Use the outline to figure out where the cutout should go. The higher feet should be aligned.
9. 6. Heres the trick: this shadow will be used, but another cutout will be placed on top of the current one. First, return the Hook Point to the lower foot. The easiest way to do this is to activate another cutout, then re-activate the one were using. This restores the original values. Turn off Shadows (we already have the shadow we want), and change the Scale. This cutout will be placed in front of the previous one, and will need to be slightly smaller if the heights are to be the same.
Place this cutout on top of the previous one. Then tweak it and pull the top drag handle upward (pressing Shift to maintain the aspect ratio) until the tops of the heads match. Now it appears that both feet are on the ground.
7.
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Lighting
2. The first step is to add a sidewalk, along which the lamp posts will be placed. Find a paving texture you like and activate it.
This chapter will focus on how various lighting effects are achieved.
NOTE: Another example of day and night scenes can be found in Marcos Outdoor Scene: Day and Night on page 345.
Preparing the Daytime Scene

1. Open the file Stein.epx, found in the ...Piranesi\Tutorial\Epix folder. This model already contains some texture and cutouts. Save it under a new name, to avoid overwriting this file.
In this section, we will add a few effects to complete the scene as it should look in daytime. In subsequent sections, the scene will be darkened and lights will be added. 3. Use a Brush with Material or Plane lock. The render action is Construct, so that the sidewalk will have its own material. This example uses Light blend mode so that shadows will be preserved, but you may find another mode more useful. The brush should not be soft, and select World axes to set the brush direction relative to the building.
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the building follows the models coordinate system. If this is not the case, you can use Fixed direction instead, and click Pick to define the brush direction on-screen.
NOTE: Using World axes in this case uses the assumption that
6.
Then fill in the remaining area.
4.
For Construct parameters, set a new material, such as Pavement and use these parameters:
7.
In this case, the texture was tweaked a bit to properly align with the sidewalk edge, and its scale was increased.
NOTE: If youre unfamiliar with Construct, see Construct on page 91.
5.
Press Shift and paint one stroke along the grass in front of the building. Then release Shift, but keep the mouse button pressed.
TIP: When you have set up the sidewalk effect the way you like it, save it to the Style Browser. You can set up a category especially for this exercise. All effects you create, including cutouts and light effects, should be saved here as well, in case you ever want to quickly re-create what youve done. For details on libraries and styles, see Creating and Saving Styles on page 209.
8.
The next steps involve adding some 2D cutouts. Cutouts are explained in-depth in Cutouts on page 239. Activate a lamp post with shadows.
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Lighting
9.
Place two of these along the sidewalk to the left of the building.
It should look something like this:
10. One lamp post will also go to the right of the building, but it should be placed so that the light bulb wont be hidden by the large tree. Set the plane of the base by clicking and holding anywhere on the grass or sidewalk. Then drag the base so that the bulb will be visible, and release to place the lamp post.
11. Place a person cutout in front of one of the lamps.
12. Now well insert some external light fixtures. For lack of something more realistic, activate a cylinder.
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13. Make sure it is not Vertical, and that its mode is Tangent so that it will align with faces. Set the Hook point on the Bottom face. Set Materials to Multiple Shared so that each cylinder cutout will have the same material. Also, check Use colours to preserve the cutouts original colour.
15. Tweak it and use the lower drag handle to shrink it.
16. Insert another light (the condensed cylinder should still be active) on the side of the buliding.
14. Place the cylinder on the ceiling of the balcony.
NOTE: In certain versions of Piranesi, you have to end Tweak mode by pressing Esc (not by clicking the Tweak button), for the condensed cylinder to remain active.
17. Tweak it to shrink it. To shrink it uniformly about its centre, press Shift and Alt while dragging a corner handle.
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18. Add two more of these down the side of the buidling.
20. Activate Local fill (to exit Montage mode), and adjust texture and blend amounts to mix this texture with the blue-gray colour of the rest of the building. (You can click the Colour Picker (dropper symbol) to pick up colour anywhere on the screen.) Use both Material and Plane locks. Below the Paint blend mode, activate Linear fade. On the Fade tab, select Direction and click the first Pick button to set the fade direction.
Note the yellow reflective highlights that were added to the front of the building.
To complete the daytime setting, this effect should be removed (actually, painted over) so that the building no longer has sun effects. 19. Find and activate a texture that somewhat resembles that of the rest of the building, and of similar colour. This one is found in Piranesi textures / Stone.
NOTE: For details on this type of fade, see Linear Fades on page 183.
21. Press and drag from the yellow edge to where the fade should end.
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22. Adjust the amounts of colour, texture, and blending as needed, and click once or more along the top wall to return it to a uniform colour and texture.
Creating the Nighttime Scene

We can now make the scene darker and add some lights.
Darken the Scene

1. One good method for this is the Filter render action, with a blend mode of Ink (Paint works, too). Remove any fades. Use the Brightness method, and use these settings to get a dusk effect. (Adjust the Brightness and Contrast settings as needed.)
23. Do the same for this wall:
The scene is dark, but the sky still looks bright, particularly the clouds. 24. This daytime scene is complete. Before proceeding, Re-Render the scene so that the cutouts will be included in the restore channels. You will be prompted to burn in the cutouts as well.
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2.
To paint the sky, use Material lock with Standard render and a dark blue colour. Use Paint with a slightly reduced amount so that you can still see the clouds (Ink also works here.) Because the time is right after sunset, click Linear Fade and set a pink Fade to colour. The fade itself is 2D because it is along the background. To set the fade distance between dark blue and pink, click the first Pick button.
NOTE: You could also do this in two steps: click Pick next to Full and pick the fade start point, then click Pick next to None and pick the fade end point.
4.
Click anywhere in the sky to paint it. The pink should appear along the lower part of the sky. (If you want to adjust the fade, use Pick to reset the fade limits and Reapply.)
5.
To add some stars, switch to a light colour and find the Star raster brush (in Piranesi brushes).
3.
Press the mouse button at a point where the dark blue is full and starts fading to pink. Drag to a second point where the colour is fully pink.
6.
Adjust the brush size, and with a few clicks, add some stars.
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7.
Now activate the Full Moon raster brush.
NOTE: This type of fade is covered in Radial Fades on page 192.
2.
Zoom in closely on the top of the lamp with the person cutout.
8.
Adjust the brush size and reduce the colour amount, and click to place a realistic-looking moon.
Adding Street Lights

1. First we will light the lamp posts. Set the colour to light yellow, and use Global or Local fill. Reduce the colour Amount so that the light is not too harsh. The blend mode is Hard light, and activate Radial fade. Use a 3D fade, so that the light will emanate in all directions. Check Place centre at start of stroke. The other settings should be these default values:
3.
Click on the top of the cutout. The lamp is now lit, but there is a bit too much light.
4.
Reduce the Range by a few meters and Reapply.
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This is a bit more realistic.
7.
In Tweak mode, you can drag the light to a new location, or change its range. Use the cursor to drag the range inward (or click where you want the range to end), and Reapply.
5.
Because Place centre at start of stroke is checked, you can light another bulb. Click the bulb of the next lamp. More of the sidewalk and grass is now illuminated.
This light is much dimmer; even the lamp post itself is no longer illuminated.
8. 9. 6. The most recent light fade you place can be edited. Uncheck Place centre, and click Tweak.
Switch the Range back to what it was before (6.00 m) and Reapply. Re-check Place centre, and apply the same light to the lamp post behind the tree. This lights up the corner of the building as well as the sidewalk below.
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Adding Building Lights

1. The cylindrical lights will be lit in two steps. The first step is to light the bulbs themselves. Use Local fill and Material lock, and change the colour to white.
3.
Now remove the Material lock and click the top light. This example uses a Range of 4m. This creates the light emanating from the cylinder.
2.
Using Place centre, light each of the four lights. Range is not important, since the light does not extend beyond the cylinders. The lights themselves are lit, but no light is emanating from them.
4.
Click Atmospheric and Reapply. This simulates a foggy effect, in which the light would be reflected in the air.
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Lighting
5.
Remove Atmospheric and Reapply, then apply the same light to the other two lights along the side of the building.
7.
Switch the type of radial fade to 3D Line Source. This creates light in a cylindrical shape, rather than light than emanates from a single point. To define the lights start point, click Pick next to Start.
8.
Start the 3D line source at the centre of the light fixture. (Click the point, do not drag to the end point.)
6.
Apply the same light effect to the balcony light. It only lights up the area directly around the light fixture, but does not provide enough light down into the balcony.
9.
Now click End and pick an end point on the floor below the fixture.
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10. To see the shape of this light source, uncheck Place centre, then click Tweak. The shape is a cylinder, but it may not be exactly vertical.
12. Since the light is supposed to be projected straight down, we can use known reference points to create the light, then move it to the correct location. Click Pick for Start and drag a vertical line to define both the Start and End points. Drag a line along the side of the building, or anywhere else you know is more or less vertical.
11. Press Esc to leave Tweak mode, and click anywhere to create the new light. It looks pretty good, but we can make it more accurate.
13. Tweak the light, and drag the radius to enlarge or shrink the cylinder.
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Lighting
14. To move it into place, move the cursor to the centreline of the cylinder, where it becomes a rectangular symbol. Move it to the balcony light fixture.
17. Check Infinite line and Reapply.
Now the light goes to the floor (but not past the floor).
15. Zoom in if needed, and make sure the top of the cylinder starts at the centre of the light fixture. Dont drag the endpoint of the centre line, since this will alter the vertical alignment. Be sure to drag the centre line itself, near the top.
18. If the beam of light appears too narrow or wide, you can always Tweak it. 16. Reapply, and the light projects straight down. Depending on how long your cylinder is, the light might not make it all the way to the floor.
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Completing the Scene

1. You can create light effects even where there is no actual light source (like a lamp post) represented in the scene. For example, the right side of the sidewalk probably has lamp posts, but they would not be visible in the current view. To simulate such a light, set the colour to yellow and use Linear Fade, with the fade type set to Any. (The Blend amount is reduced slightly to prevent a glaring light.)
3.
Click anywhere to place the light, and a small section of the sidewalk, and the cutouts, are illuminated.
4.
Finally, some lights can be added inside the building. Keep the same yellow colour you just used. Radial Fade with 3D should be selected, and add Material lock.
2.
Click Pick and drag a line like this one, to define the Full and None locations.
5.
Click one of the windows to light it from behind. Because Material lock is on, only the glass is illuminated.
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6.
Similarly, light up the top windows of the three stairwells.
8.
Set Global fill and Material lock, and reduce the colour to zero. Activate Texture, and use Overlay blend (or Paint with a reduced blend amount). On the Texture tab, select Captured and set Dispersal to zero to create a perfect mirror image. Click the Capture button.
7.
You can use this effect to light up all the rooms of the building. Or, for an easier way, first Undo the interior lights. Then remove the Radial fade, use Global fill, and click any window to light the entire building at once.
9.
Click the sidewalk.
The last effect has nothing to do with lights, but can be used to reflect lights. The sidewalk will be made shiny so that it will slightly mirror what appears above it.
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10. The image that will appear on the sidewalk plane now appears on the Texture tab. Click the sidewalk again to apply the reflective texture. The building, lights, and cutouts are now mirrored on the sidewalk.
NOTE: For more information on creating reflections, see Captured Textures on page 169.
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Piranesi and Principles of Composition

work is shown below), she set out to fill the niche in the community by sourcing and creating a collection of affordable, digitized watercolour entourage. Susan brings an eclectic background to the field with both extensive art training, as well as an MBA majoring in Marketing and Arts Administration. In addition to Piranesi, she is also a contributor to the SketchUp forums, and is a beta tester for both products. Susan lives and works in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
This chapter was graciously provided, in its entirety, by Susan Sorger, a frequent contributor to the Piranesi user forum (www.informatixsoftware.com/forums) and user gallery (www.informatix.co.uk/piranesi/gallery.shtml). The founder and president of Entourage Arts (www.entouragearts.com), Susan was frustrated, like many, by the lack of high quality digital watercolour artists and digital watercolour collections, leaving the style unaffordable and inaccessible to graphic artists and architects. As an illustrator in her own right (some of her
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The Principles of Composition
The Rules
Digital Illustration, a comparatively new phenomenon in the history of Architectural Rendering, has too often suffered at the hands of otherwise technically adept creators with little formal training in visual presentation. To address this gap, this chapter endeavours to provide a concise overview of the Principles of Composition and the Elements of Design, specifically as it applies to digital media such as Piranesi.
Why Bother?
The impressions occurring in the brain when viewing an image are subliminal and almost instantaneous. Attempting to break the process down and apply rules or theorems may seem artificial or forced, but historically they have proven to work. Traditional treatises list varying Principles of Composition, often including the tools, or elements of design, as one of the Principles. This is an abridged list. We will address the various elements of design as tools to use to apply the Principles. 1. 2. 3. 4. Balance Emphasis/Focal Point Unity/Harmony Rhythm/Mood/Effect/Interest
Architectural illustrations have a twofold purpose: 1. Provide a clear visualization of architectural plans 2. To engage and sell the viewer on a design Armed with sophisticated software, the visualization aspect is easily achieved. But the sell is subconscious; the tools to achieve it are subtle and require knowledge and skill to employ. A few talented artists are able, without any apparent effort or training, to create strong compositions that are powerful, engaging, evocative and succeed in selling the idea to the utmost. The rest of us must, as legions of artists have over the ages, learn the rules and use them unashamedly and deliberately until they are internalized and used with ease (and then, at times, knowledgeably broken). Before the advent of cameras and modern technology, artists were the visual chroniclers of their day and, over centuries, devised the Principles of Composition as aids to convey a message with clarity and finesse. Rather than debate whether an architectural rendering should be artistic or not, we will go forward on the premise that using these tools will boost our marketing efforts to our clients. If in so doing we inadvertently create a work of art, who will complain?
Balance
An unbalanced image results in discomfort to the viewer and may fail to engage him. He will not tarry long in viewing.
Rule 1: Imbalance in a rendering is caused by juxtaposing areas of dissimilar visual weight in the image so that one area looks heavier and gives the impression that the image will topple toward it. Surprisingly, it is often not natural to discern this and one must carefully review a rendering for balance and make corrections as required. When critiquing your rendering, check for the following: 1. Large objects are heavier than small objects. The most self-evident rule, it is nonetheless abused, often when the objects are not alike in shape. Many small objects can be used to balance against one large object. Small objects can be made to appear heavier by employing the features in the rules that follow.
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2.
Dark areas appear heavier than light, bright areas. Balance large light expanses with smaller darker areas. Coloured renderings are often the most difficult for the novice to see in terms of balance since the colour values on a grayscale are not always clear to the untrained eye.
intentionally divided their canvasses according to this Divine Proportion, which humans are predisposed to appreciate.
TIP: To identify values of the colours used, and show areas that are out of balance or worse, monotonous, you can De-saturate your image: render Action = Standard, Blend mode = Saturation @ 100%. Apply with Global fill and no Locks. Print the de-saturated image or review on-screen and then Undo.
3.
Detail and textures appear heavier than areas without detail. Counterbalance very detailed areas with a larger area that is simple. Not only will this aid balance, it will avoid confusion to the eye.
Rule 2: Balance achieved using perfect symmetry is less interesting, and therefore less engaging to the viewer, than balance achieved through asymmetry. A structure placed squarely in the centre of the image will divide the page in half both horizontally and vertically and will create balance. However, it is a rare artist that can carry this off and create interest by counterbalancing other elements around the image. Pre-school children instinctively balance their compositions in this symmetrical or formal and simplistic fashion. Achieving balance by creating a tension through the asymmetry of the counterbalanced elements is much more interesting and sophisticated. When viewing a rendering we can actually see distinct divisions of the canvas based on how we employ dark versus light, size and shape etc. as described above. 1. 2. 3. Avoid visually dividing your page in equal halves vertically or horizontally. Place your centre of interest off centre in either direction. Create more interesting divisions of your canvas by varying and counterbalancing large and small, dark and light, detailed and simple areas. You may use the Principle of the Golden Mean as a proven method of creating an engaging visual balance. Divide the areas of your canvas by a proportion of 1 to 1.618. This ratio, referred to as Phi (fee), was discovered by the Mediaeval mathematician, Fibonacci, who found this proportion repeatedly in nature. Artists from Leonardo to modern abstract artists have
An example of using the Golden Mean: For a 30 x 24 image in portrait orientation, place the horizon line at approximately 0.618 x Height ( = 18.54) from the top. Place a structure so that its edge is parallel to the side of the canvas, at a distance of 0.618 x 24 = 14.83, creating a vertical division. Continue dividing each area using this formula within the available space for each major element you wish to render. Force the areas of dark and light and other balancing elements to fit within these divisions.
Emphasis and Focal Point
The main centre of interest in an architectural rendering is, of course, the structure. In landscape renderings, it is the plantings that showcase the structure. Every element of design employed must be used to point the viewer to the centre of interest. The accoutrements, or entourage that surround the structure, are there to place it in human context and provide added appeal. They should not assume undue importance. They must not usurp the role of the structure as the focal point. Entourage is often made semi-transparent in order to downplay its importance. However, the entourage then appear so strange in contrast to the surroundings that in fact, it act as a visual magnet instead. The structures are often so large and occupy so much of the area of the illustration, that a more specific focal point within the centre of interest should be selected as a starting point to view the remainder of the structure and the balance of the image.
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The focal point in an architectural illustration is generally the main doorway or entryway. This welcomes the viewer in. However, other structural elements may be the focal point. This is to be determined in advance, and all the elements of design should be used to clearly identify it. To create visual paths, the rendering should be orchestrated using the following design elements: 1. Identify an entry point. The entry point is a strong visual path that leads from some point at the edge of the canvas directly to the focal point. Possible entry points: A path or corridor or roadway in perspective, leading to the focal point The bough of a tree or bush, pointing to the focal point Any object that starts from the edge (it may be a large portion of the edge) of the canvas and points the eye strongly towards the focal point 2. Lead the eye to the focal point. The entry point may begin the path to the focal point, but other pointers or lines within the image may pick up the path and lead to the focal point. 3. Lead the eye around the rendering, and back again to the focal point. The visual paths directed away from the focal point should be secondary to those leading to the centre of interest, but should allow the eye to travel around the entire image and then bring the eye back to the focal point. 4. Make it difficult for the eye to leave the rendering. There should never be any strong paths that lead the eye out of the image, unless there is a strong countering line to lead the eye back in. These design elements should be used to establish emphasis: 1. Contrast: The area of greatest contrast should always be at the centre of interest. The single greatest eye-catcher is an area of contrast. If nothing else is retained from reading this chapter, this one point alone is of paramount importance in improving a rendering. Contrast may be established by placing dark against light, or very bright colours against dimmer colours (lower Chroma). The strongest darks should be juxtaposed against the strongest lights to create the area of contrast. 2.
One of the most common flaws is the use of too many areas of equal contrast that compete with the intended focal point. Small areas of lesser contrast may be used as beacons or pointers, to lead the eye around the image. For instance, a person dressed in a white shirt, contrasting with the surroundings in one area of the image, may attract the eye which will naturally skip to the next contrasting white item, perhaps a sign on the building somewhere else in the image. Using several points of secondary contrast spaced close enough to allow the eye to jump to them, is one method of leading the eye. Light and Shadow: Shadows may be used as markers to lead the eye, or as colour dampeners to decrease the visual impact of an area. The positioning of light and shadow are very powerful tools in the arsenal to control emphasis. Too often renderers rely on the lighting effect created in their 3D modelling applications, and do nothing to mitigate or embellish them. In your 3D modelling application, you may wish to carefully select the time of day and sun position, so that your focal point receives the greatest light. Within Piranesi, you can increase the brightness or light falling on your focal point. Most 3D modelling programs do not make any use of reflected light, a concept well understood and used by traditional artists. Reflected light can be used with artistic license to brighten areas that require emphasis. Remember too, that reflected light will also be infused with some of the colour of the area that the light is reflecting from. For instance, a bright red car may produce an area of reflected light in a doorway that has a reddish hue. Large expanses of brick, roofing or other uniformly textured or coloured areas carry enough visual weight that they may attract undue attention. Traditional artists use shadows cast from outside the composition as a technique to cut brightness, or to create lines to lead the eye. Walls or roofs will show cast shadows of trees not in view. Shadows of unseen, overhead clouds can be used to justify shadowed areas painted into otherwise sunny spots. While many renderers are aware of this to the extent that they make use of large shadow areas of unseen foreground trees in bright grassy areas, they fail to use this tool elsewhere.
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in several ways:
TIP: In Piranesi, shadows from unseen objects can be created
4.
1. Use appropriate brushes to paint in a transparent shadow colour and shape. 2. Create a shadow cutout by using either Piranesi or PhotoShop to paint an existing cutout shape, and flood fill with a shadow colour. Place the shadow-cutout using a semi-transparent blend. 3. Use an EPix file with extents beyond the actual framing of the intended completed image on either side and the bottom. Use the areas of the larger extent to place the entourage from which you wish to cast shadows. Use Piranesis shadow tools to cast the shadows on the usable area of the rendering. When complete, reduce the extents to the required canvas size, thus cutting out the unwanted entourage, but maintaining the cast shadows.
Atmospheric Perspective: Employing the properties of atmospheric perspective will naturally de-emphasize unimportant elements and create emphasis for more important elements. As objects recede from view, our eyes are less able to discern details. Objects are not necessarily blurred or out of focus as many digital filters would make them. In fact, because of atmospheric particles hanging between our viewpoint and the object, the object appears increasingly blue as it recedes, and detail becomes less discernible. An artist would paint it that way. It is a mistake in Piranesi to make the object increasingly more transparent. In nature we do not see through the object as it recedes from us; it becomes less saturated and more blue.
TIP: In Piranesi, atmospheric perspective can be achieved in several ways:

1. Apply materials and colours to surfaces using a depth fade. 2. Use the Colour Picker to select a portion of the blue in the sky. Use this colour in a semi-transparent blend, using a reverse depth fade so that the most blue is furthest away. (Be sure to apply this over a Re-rendered scene!) While Piranesi allows you to apply colours and materials that fade to another colour, such as the blue, we may achieve far more control by doing this as a two-step process. The degree of fade required may need to be adjusted for different colours and materials. 3. Use the same blue and the reverse depth-fade, and flood fill burned-in cutouts of people and vegetation. You may need to play with the degree of fade, or apply the paint more than once to achieve the correct amount of obscurity that mimics atmospheric perspective. Again, the further back the cutout is in perspective, the more obscure and blue it will be. 4. This same technique may be used to obscure unwanted detail on foreground and mid-ground objects in shade, using a dark, more opaque colour selected from the object itself. Any object that is too detailed for its relative importance to the composition may be treated in this way, using a midtone colour selected from the object.
3.
Focus: Apply selective focus by lavishing the greatest detail in and around your focal point. Other areas should be less detailed, as though not in prime focus. The canvas is a miniature representation of a large expanse. Were we to be viewing a landscape, our eyes would select and focus on only one central area at a time. All other elements in the view would be in our peripheral vision and out of focus. We use this principle to our advantage in rendering by creating the greatest area of clarity around the focal point. Photorealistic renderings rarely make good use of this feature; presenting everything in sharp focus and of equal detail makes everything equally important. This results in a confusing presentation and one that actually does not mimic the way we take in a scene. Those who market entourage and textures must provide these images in the sharpest clearest focus, but the illustrator should NOT always use them as provided. The detail level in the entourage or texture must fit the importance ascribed to the area in the composition. For ways to de-emphasize the detail, read on!
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Foreground, Midground, Background: Establishing two or more of the foreground, midground or background creates a sense of depth and adds context to the image. The most common gimmick to establish the foreground is to frame the rendering with dark overhanging boughs and leaves around the perimeter of the canvas. Any portion of a large foreground object may be used to establish depth. The centre of attention may be in any one of these positions, so it is very important to apply all the possible tools available to direct attention accordingly. Line: Lines within the image may be used to lead the eye: trees, boughs, furniture, people pointing, lamp-posts or any item that has an easily discernible line that will lead the eye. Be careful with strong lines; they can lead the eye beyond and out of your image. Lean trees and other verticals inward toward your image and toward your centre of interest. Do NOT lean trees or posts out and away from the image. Foreground trees that bisect the image must have strong boughs or leaves that lead back down into the image. Structures in linear perspective facing in toward the focal point, such as roads or cars, will create a line to lead the eye. Very strong straight lines should be avoided except in short runs, since they lead the eye too sharply and quickly. It is best to allow a meandering path. If you have a strong and straight path, interrupt the path with some overlapping shrubbery or people. An S curved path is preferable. Do not begin the entry path from the corners of the image. Entry points that coincide with the way we read are most effective. For countries using the Roman alphabet that would be from the top left or even bottom left.
People facing in, looking at, or walking toward the focal point will direct the eye toward the focal point. People facing out, walking away from or looking out of the image will direct the eye away from the focal point. Do NOT place people walking outward anywhere near the outer edges of your composition, or you will lead the eye right out of the rendering. People placed at the extremities should all be facing inward and there should be a clear connection leading from them back toward the focal point. Excessive motion or activity of the people cutouts will compete with the focal point. Avoid the use of people running or jumping, or otherwise clearly in motion, particularly if they are not framing the focal point or running toward it. Frame the focal point with entourage such as people or shrubbery. The viewer is drawn to look at people first. Use this to effect by creating more visual interest in and around your focal point. Warning: people facing straight out toward the camera will often grab the eye and thus become the focus of your rendering. Position people and other entourage close enough to one another so that they are used as a visual path allowing the eye to easily jump from one to the other. Remember to use overlap in the placement of your people, to allow for a more natural look and to aid in the continuity of line. Another common error in many graphic architectural illustrations is placing people who are not touching or overlapping. They all appear to be walking at a distance from one another, creating a stilted, unnatural composition.
Paths that lead diagonally are more pleasing and less abrupt or jarring than those that are parallel to the edges of the image. 7. Entourage Cutouts: Here are some guidelines for placing people, plants, and other cutouts in your rendering:
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Unity and Harmony
The rendering must work together as a whole. No area, not even the focal point, should assume so much importance that the viewer is prevented from exploring the entire image. If the elements previoulsy described are employed properly, this can generally be prevented. However, the use or misuse of colour is one factor that may yet threaten the harmony of the composition. Visual harmony may be described as a balance that is neither boring nor chaotic. Colour theory is a study in itself, and beyond the scope of this discussion. The incorrect use of colour can create boredom and fail to engage the viewer, or be so chaotic that it will repel the natural sense of order that the brain seeks. Briefly, colour theory describes various systems/schemes of colour application which are proven harmonious and convey an appropriate mood. (The next section describes this in more detail.) Poor colour choices can cause the rendering to fail to hang together. In actual painting, it is not uncommon for the artist to mix a small amount of one colour into every other colour, or to mix the colour of an adjacent area into the colour used.
entire image, to fix a rendering that does not appear unified. This is a very commonly used tactic in fine art paintings. In Piranesi this can be achieved by selecting an appropriate colour and flood filling the entire image with a very low blend.
warm colour or cold colour scheme within the context of analogous or complementary colours on the colour wheel.
An analogous colour scheme will limit the use of colours to three that are adjacent on the colour wheel. This can be very effective in conveying a scene that appears washed out by the sun in a beach scene, and completed in tints and shades of only warm colours. Or alternatively, a ski resort may be rendered in colours analogous to the blues. The use of complementary colours expands the available palette and is more common, though not necessarily a better choice. A complementary colour scheme employs colours opposite to one another on the colour wheel. Complementary colours are perfect matches and are pleasant to the eye. So blue-violet is a perfect match to yellow-orange, and green is a perfect match to red. When selecting a warm colour scheme, use the versions of cool colours that contain some of a warm colour. The red on the colour wheel above is a cooler red than the red-orange next to it. Use it when requiring red for a cooler effect. The juxtaposition of certain colours will create the illusion of movement or dynamism. The study of colour theory is highly recommended to acquire the tools to achieve the degree of movement required. As an illustrator, you are urged to make use of every contrivance outlined in this chapter to create a compelling composition. Critiquing ones work using this chapter as a checklist will result in a tighter, more pleasing composition and the reward will be a customer that not only grasps the design but has bought in to it.
TIP: Use an almost transparent glaze of a single colour over the
Rhythm, Mood, Effect, Interest
As suggested earlier, a composition may follow all the rules and work compositionally, but still fail to engage the viewer. Throughout the section Emphasis and Focal Point are several pointers on ways to improve interest while applying the rules. The use of diagonals and s curves to lead the eye, for instance, affect the rhythm or dynamic of the image. Asymmetrical balance adds a creative tension. Mood or effect may be determined not just by the subject matter, but by the manner in which it is presented. The use of line and the type of brush stroke used can differentiate a sharper look or a softer look, depending on the mood/effect desired. The use of colour is one of the greatest factors in determining mood. Warm colours such as reds, yellows and oranges will create a warm and inviting atmosphere. Cool colours such as blues will create a more sophisticated, professional atmosphere. One may use a
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All of the renderings critiqued here have been kindly provided by professional renderers as teaching aids. Because of space limits, this section will not focus on all the positive aspects of these illustrations. Bear in mind, few illustrations have no weakness!
Critiques of Compositions
Even in Photorealistic work using Raytracing technology, the knowledge of the artist is required. We cannot slavishly accept the output of our software applications, since no program can account for all that we know. We may layer our knowledge of reflected light and colour over such works, not just to make them more artistic but to create clarity for the viewer where the software has produced confusion.
Composition Errors: Example 1
Used with permission, anonymous 1. 2. 3. The too-bright yellow of the window lights rob the entranceway from its position as centre of attention. These lights should be toned down. The lighting in the entrance way needs to be brightened to create a sharper, more obvious area of contrast, and to create a bold focal point. The gray of the building is not sufficiently tinged with night colour to make for a convincing night scene.
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Highlights of light should be spilling onto the roadway and the sidewalk in front of the building. This would also create an entry path in the foreground, to lead the eye inward and to create a sense of depth. The light area of the night sky could be brightened somewhat to allow contrast with the dark roof, enabling the building to visually pop out at the viewer.
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The quick adjustments below demonstrate some of the suggestions above. Two differing colour schemes are shown. In the warm colour scheme below, the magenta of the sky was used as a filter for the gray of the building and the image in general. This makes for a cohesive and overall warm image, magenta being a warm colour.
The cool colour scheme uses some blue filtering on the building and on elements below the sky. The blue on the warm gray creates a green colour effect on the walls, creating a contrast of cool against the warm magenta of the sky, leading to greater focus on the structure.
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Used with permission from Mihnea Simiras 1. The standing figure in the white shirt in the foreground is a glaring area of high contrast that has become the focal point. He is looking up and out, and has little connection to any other area of the composition. His pose arrests the viewer, inhibiting further exploration of the composition. This figure should be replaced with a lower contrast figure walking into the composition, thus leading the eye. Some smaller people in white or bright shirts, placed zig-zagging into the scene, would allow the eye to move on from the man into the scene, proceeding to a focal point that is part of the structure. There are too many static people in a scene where there is an expected movement. By standing in traffic zones, rather than walking, they fail to move the viewer into the scene. There should be more people walking.
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Too many of the people are looking out. This dilutes the focus and fails to draw the viewer in to explore. The subject should be the venue, and not the people in it. The people are too evenly placed. With a one-point perspective such as this, the velocity of moment carrying the viewer inward along the perspective lines is too fast to allow one to really notice the story of the image on the way. To counter this, the people should be grouped looking at or walking into stores, thus also inviting the viewer to stop and look. People should overlap in places, and some space should be left free. The lighting coming from the shop windows should be contrived to promote movement back and forth across the floor, to slow the velocity at which we move through. At the back end, a tall plant or sign curving back towards the store in front may be used to prevent the viewer from exiting out of the picture, once he reaches the end of the hall.
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Used with permission from Devin Johnston; 3D Arc; (Houston, Texas) 1. According to the artist, the requisite focus of this rendering was to be the parking garage in the lower third of the tower. In fact the focus of this image is the traffic in the street. The highest area of contrast is in the car lights. A forced illumination of the area of the parking garage and toned-down traffic lighting would create a path leading to the glowing garage, thereby creating the required focus. The strong red strip at the base of the building, and the powerful vertical line of the tower, lead the view out of the image without any countering objects to lead the eye back in. An overhanging foreground object curving back into the image, such as a street light or the bough of a tree, would not only lead the eye back in, but would also soften the impact of the abruptly chopped-off top of the building. The mid-ground in this scene is so distant that it can almost be said to be part of the background. Because there is no foreground to speak of, there is very little depth or dimensionality in this image. The addition of a foreground item as mentioned above could counter this. The barely-lit hood of an entering foreground car, with lights shining on the road, would not only build up the foreground, but would also provide a good entry point and lead-in toward the traffic at the left, and indirectly toward the intended focal point.
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Used with permission from Architect John Voltaire M. Garcia, Managing Director, 3Dltd, Philippines; Challenge 2 Entry: Architectural Visualization Competition 2005, www.cgarchitect.com 1. Were this an advertisement for the red Lamborghini, this would be a more successful composition. Almost every design element focuses on the car, making it the centre of interest rather than the architectural surroundings. The vehicle is positioned front and centre as the viewer enters the composition, and the low vantage point leads the eye directly to the vehicle. The car is rendered lovingly in great detail while the buildings have little or simple detail. Also, the high-contrast high chroma red colour rivets the viewers attention. The bright yellow license plate and road paint are too high contrast and vie for attention with the car. They would be a problem even if the buildings were the focus. The four spots of green foliage are too evenly distributed at the corners of the image - an uninteresting placement that adds little to the overall composition.
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Used with permission, anonymous 1. The mood of this image is no doubt intended to be calming, warm and inviting, and indeed the colour palette is well chosen to convey that. However, the warmest areas are firmly in the rafters. The saturated yellows of the ceiling are so strong that, in comparison, the warm oranges in the upholstery and the brown wood grains appear almost cool. Further, the brightness of the ceiling leads the eye up and away from the room, presumably where we should have been invited. There is no focal point at all in this room. All elements are equally richly detailed. The illumination is equally bright everywhere, with no single area of highlight or contrast. The perspective lines would appear to converge and lead us in, but opposing lines lead us out of the image without ever allowing us to stop and explore. The patterns of lights against darks are peppered equally throughout, and do not cut a path through and around the image. So even though the room is well lit, we cannot really see. There are too many elements treated the same way, and the result is confusion.
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If we were forced to select a centre of interest, it would most likely be the vase of white flowers on the foreground console table. It accounts for a small area of the whitest white in the image, and is surrounded by a very dark, very detailed table. Because the table and the accompanying chair are so detailed and are the largest objects in the image, the entire centre of interest can be considered to rest in this area. However, even that is not carried off successfully, because there is so much going on in the background that competes almost equally for attention. At any rate it isnt very likely that the designer of the room would really want the viewer to concentrate on this one island of furniture. From the design of the room, it would appear that the tall plant and two-tiered table should be the focus of attention. The artist has unfortunately placed it precisely centred in the rendering; not a very exciting positioning. Here it fails to assume the central focus.
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With very broad brush strokes, Susan has prepared a quick and dirty revision of the image to show where some improvements may be made:
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The saturation of the yellow wood in the ceiling was toned down. The foreground furniture and vase were placed in shadow, thereby diminishing the details. The background wall was also shadowed, and the lighting dampened from the windows. The fluorescent lights were also toned down. This creates a framing effect of a brighter central area that invites the viewer in. The image extent was cropped on the right side and the bottom. This throws the focal plant off centre to a more appealing compositional position. This also takes the focus away from the foreground furniture, which we are now peering over and not stopping to marvel at. The chandelier, which was contrasting strongly with the ceiling and stealing attention, was toned down using the orange cast of the surrounding wood. The focal plant was changed to a bright green, cooler than the surrounding colour palette, as a means of creating a sharp contrast to any other colours in the room. Since there are so many profoundly contrasting lights and darks throughout the image, this was the fastest and easiest way to create a focal
point. With the original file and software application, it would also be possible to force the lighting to create the highest contrast in this spot. 6. The green colour of the plant was subtly applied in highlights in other areas within the image so that it would lead the eye and tie the room together. 7. The highlights on the two-tiered table directly under the focal plant, as well as its vase, and the arms and upholstery of the nearest chairs, were brightened considerably to create a pool of lighting in proximity to the focal point. In general, the lighting could use much more judicious and deliberate tweaking in the name of artistic license and arguing reflected light. There is a weak area behind the central table where there is a confusing view leading away into the background. That area needs to be plugged to prevent the eye from meandering back and out of the rendering. The chair may be positioned across it, or an additional plant could be placed in front of it. Best yet, if allowed by the client, a person could be placed standing or sitting looking at the central table.
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Used with permission from Alejandro Perez Willis (Buenos Aires, Argentina) 1. The photorealistic entourage used here is highly saturated and not compatible with the non-photorealistic rendering (NPR) techniques used. NPR entourage would work better here. The people behind the glass are just as clear as the person walking out the door. They should be much more muted and less detailed, using techniques similar to achieving an atmospheric perspective. All the people are looking or walking out. It is better to have people walking and looking into a scene, to focus the viewers attention inward. If they are leaving or looking out, attention is drawn away from the scene. 4. There is a large bare spot in the mid-wall that divides the image in two. This wall should be covered to create a bridge between the two halves. A plant or artwork would be helpful here. The people are scattered too far apart. Their placement does nothing to tie the image together and help lead the eye around the office. What is needed is some overlapping elements and some carefully placed contrast. Insufficient depth makes for an uninteresting and flat image. Foreground objects would help to create depth.
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The image below is a quick and dirty demonstration of the suggestions above, used to make some improvements in the composition. The NPR entourage is courtesy of Entourage Arts.
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The most notable feature in this illustration is that the mass of foliage is confusing and busy. Because the entourage is used out of the box, there is no diminution of detail or colour saturation, and a sense of atmospheric perspective is not successfully conveyed. There is a lack of depth. As the vegetation recedes from the viewer, it could be washed with increasing opacity of a blue semi-transparent glaze which will work to de-saturate and diminish contrast and detail, thus creating a sense of atmospheric perspective. This saturation differentiation of the foliage will read more clearly and the plantings will appear less confusing.
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There seem to be two different focal points: the high contrast columns and the high contrast figure on the left side. Theses areas of the rendering have no connecting features between them, so they appear unrelated and can be cut into two separate compositions. The figure should be placed closer to the focal point, or toned down and other figures placed between as a visual path one to the other. The left-most figures are not only a centre of interest themselves, they are also walking out of the edge of the composition and lead the eye out. They should be facing inward when positioned here.
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The image below is a quick demonstration of the suggestions above. We have used the Colour Picker to select a mid-tone from some of the foreground bushes at the two side edges of the image and applied it with a semi-transparent brush to wash over each shrub in its own mid-tone. This serves to diminish the foliage detail where it is too conspicuous. Weve also applied some blue atmospheric perspective colour to the building in the rear, to further indicate depth.
TIP: To isolate areas that need work, export the scene image in the RGB Channel and the Material Channel, using the same dimensions. In PhotoShop, overlay the material channel onto the image file. Because each material has been assigned a solid area of a unique colour, you can use the magic wand to quickly select and isolate an area you wish to work on in PhotoShop. Once you make your selection, you just change to the image layer, and hide the material channel layer. You can see from the picture how easy it is to select out any area you would want to isolate for some artistic treatment in PhotoShop (or similar software).
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Good Compositions: Example 1
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The red colour reflecting from the car and the fuchsia from the bougainvillea were worked into the shadows and highlights in various places in the image, to create a harmony connecting all elements of the image together. A barely perceptible transparent glaze of warm yellow was used to flood-fill the image, ensuring unity of colour. This image was not intentionally composed with the Golden Mean in mind. However, an analysis using some of the precisely calculated divisions of the theorem indicate how closely the layout of the composition adheres to the Divine Proportion.
Used with permission from Susan Sorger, Entourage Arts 1. 2. The angle of the sun has been placed so that the entryway is highlighted. Entourage has been placed so that the hub of activity centres about the entryway. Closest to the door itself, people are walking in and towards the structure. A dark contrasting plant has been juxtaposed to the bright entryway. A great expanse of the bright Spanish tile roof would have overpowered the image and usurped the viewers attention. Out of our view, a tree was positioned to cast a shadow across most of the front part of the roof, to tone down the brightness. The shadow from the trunk carries down the wall adjacent to the doorway, and acts as a further path to lead the eye back to the doorway.
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Good Compositions: Example 2
Used with permission from Timothy J. Eckmair, AIA / NCARB, Sr. Project Designer / Associate; Odell Associates Inc.; (Charlotte, NC) The line of the foreground lamp serves as an entry 3. However we do not linger on this bright figure point that leads the viewer quickly up the lamp stand, because the brighter spots and colouring of the allowing the eye to leap over the hurdle of the people entourage serve as connecting points that foreground furniture. carry the viewer beyond into the desk area on the left, back around to the hindmost desk, and on through the 2. The angle of the lampshade forces the view back painting on the wall towards the right-most figure. down into the image, to the focal point in the area 4. The colours, contrasts and lines from here pick up where the brightest figure (using a walker) is further showcased by the bright books in front. and carry the viewer continuously around the image. The colour scheme above is muted and reserved: an appropriate mood suggesting an official atmosphere. While this may give the impression of low contrast, an examination of the image in grayscale below clearly identifies that the contrasts above are actually pronounced where they are required, and sufficient to act as road markers. 1.
TIP: When in doubt about contrast, you should always check in grayscale.
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10 Examples from the Experts

Wang Wang
Wang Wang is a 30-year old architect living in Shanghai. He is a graduate of Southwest Jiaotong Universitys College of Architecture, and currently works as a freelance architect and illustrator. In addition, he is pursuing a Doctorate from Tongji Universitys College of Architecture and Urban Planning. Since he was an undergraduate in 2000, Wang Wang has created architectural and landscape design for residences, hotels, and public parks and gardens. Since 2002, his primary design tool is SketchUp, and his favorite rendering application is (what else?) Piranesi. His work is featured prominently on Piranesis User Gallery (www.informatix.co.uk/piranesi/gallery.shtml), and you can find more examples on his blog: http://snoopywang.multiply.com. His entourage of people and plants can be purchased from www.entouragearts.com.
Downloading Wang Wangs Styles and Example Files
All files for these three examples can be found on this website: www.f1help.biz/ccp51/cgi-bin/Pir4Files.htm. To download any of the files on this page, right-click on the link and save the target to your computer. Or simply click the link and choose to save it.
There is one style library for all three examples. Download the file WangWangStyles.zip, which contains two files: WangWang.psf and WangWang.psb. Extract both of these files to ...Piranesi\Style Libraries. Within Piranesi, select Library / Open from the Style Browser menu bar. This opens the WangWang style library, which has three categories (one for each exercise).
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Wang Wang: Example 1
To download the files and styles used in this example, go to the website listed on the previous page. Files for this example are in WangWang1_Files.zip. Extract these three files: WangWang1.skp (SketchUp model) WangWang1_Before.epx (Piranesi image exported from SketchUp) WangWang1_After (Piranesi image with completed rendering) If you are a SketchUp user, the command to export the current view as a Piranesi file is File / Export / 2D Graphic. For Files of Type, select *.epx. Here are some recommended practices for tailoring your SketchUp models for Piranesi export: Within SketchUp, always apply materials. The actual textures used (solid colours, textures, etc.) is not important, but faces of the same material should all have the same material assignment. This is so that you can use the Material lock easily. This is especially important for curved surfaces, where identifying planes and orientation can be difficult. Even if you export a Hidden Line (black and white) view, the materials will still convey into Piranesi. Set an appropriate direction for the shadows. Wang Wang generally sets shadows opposite the focal point of the scene. Turn shadows on before exporting. Set the edge style you like: profiles, extensions, jitters, etc. For complicated models, it is best to use the simplest, narrowest edges. Wang Wang usually exports in Hidden Line mode from SketchUp. In this mode, you can actually turn off all edges.
Orbit to a view you like and export the file. Click Options for EPix files, and set the dimensions in pixels. If you click Export ground plane, the ground plane will be identified within Piranesi.
NOTE: At the time of this writing, there is a bug in ground plane exporting, for SketchUp Version 5. If you dont get the results you want on the ground in Piranesi, you might try creating a large ground plane manually within SketchUp. You can also create a ground plane in Vedute, Informatixs free viewer.
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In Piranesi, open WangWang1_Before.epx. (Or, if you exported your own EPix file from this SketchUp model, open that file.)
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In the Style Library, open the library WangWang, and open the subfolder WangWang1.
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Examples from the Experts
library, see Downloading Wang Wangs Styles and Example Files on page 309.
NOTE: If you need help downloading and installing the style
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In this area, you can adjust the blend value (lessened, in this case) to reflect light and shadow changes.
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We will start by painting the front walls. Activate the style 01-basic wall. This style uses a soft, rectangular brush with Ink blend and Material lock. Linear fade is implemented for colour - at the bottom of the building the ink is olive, and at the top it is light blue. Press Shift to lock direction (brush settings are locked by Image mode), and paint vertical lines along the walls. Change the brush size with every few strokes. The brush is also set to Normal, so fast mouse movements will break up the lines a bit.
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Activate 02-dark wall, which has a slightly darker base colour than the previous style. Paint the darker areas of the wall. In these areas, try not pressing Shift - to enhance the feel of manual rendering, some strokes can venture outside wall boundaries. Again, change the brush size and overlap a few times.
The olive-to-blue fade simulates daylight reflection. And with Ink, you can overlap strokes for a shiny effect.
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Use 03-light wall, a bright yellow tint, to modify the colours and hues on the light areas of the wall, to simulate the subtle changes of light effects on the wall.
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Now we can start with the glass. Activate 04-windows fill, blue-to-olive Ink with Global fill, to colour all the glass at once.
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Activate 05-windows light. This effect uses a raster brush and similar linear fade colours as the windows themselves. The blend mode is Light, to lighten the colour. Go over a few areas of glass to add some reflections. If you want to use Shift to lock a direction other than horizontal / vertical, select Fixed direction on the Brush tab and click Pick to define the new angle.
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10. Activate 06-windows dark to paint the darker areas of the glass. These areas should be adjacent to the walls, to simulate interior shadows. Adjust the brush size as needed. Outside the glass windows, if there are building parts like fences or poles, darken them as well to simulate material depth.
11. When the building is finished, activate 07-cloud. This raster brush has a radial fade, with the colour becoming more transparent as it proceeds from the start point. So paint randomly in one stroke, starting at the top of the sky. The clouds fade toward the horizon.
12. Use this style again to get a layered cloud effect.
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13. When the sky is finished, use 08-ground to paint some strokes on the ground. Turn off any locks, because the ground plane does not actually reach the bottom of the scene (check the Depth channel to verify this). This style has transparent fade, so start the strokes at the bottom of the building and proceed straight down. Adjust the brush size.
14. With the same style, adjust the lock direction and draw a few ground strokes.
15. Use some very large and small brushes in this same style, to add some framing lines.
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16. Add some trees and people. Along the building, one tree was used repeatedly with different scales, sizes, and insertion points. These particular cutouts can be purchased from www.entouragearts.com, or you can use the ones provided with Piranesi.
17. If the colours of the cutouts do not fit in with the scene, they can be painted as well. First, burn them in to make them part of the scene. (Use the Cutout Manager to burn in.) Then use a brush with the appropriate colour, Tint blend mode, and Material lock. Ink and Light can also be used to adjust colours within cutouts.
18. Compare your results with the file WangWang1_After.epx.
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To download the files and styles used in this example, go to the website listed in Downloading Wang Wangs Styles and Example Files on page 309. Files for this example are in WangWang2_Files.zip. Extract these four files: WangWang2.skp (SketchUp model) WangWang2_Before.epx (Piranesi image exported from SketchUp) WangWang2_After (Piranesi image with completed rendering) rain.png (will be used as a Piranesi texture) This model was created in SketchUp and exported into Piranesi. For some recommended practices for working this way, see the beginning of Wang Wang: Example 1 on page 310. 1. In Piranesi, open WangWang2_Before.epx. (Or, if you exported your own EPix file from this SketchUp model, open that file.)
NOTE: If you need help downloading and installing the style library, see Downloading Wang Wangs Styles and Example Files on page 309.
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Activate 01-background, which is a light purple paint fill. Click the scene to cover it. Activate 02-edge1. This is a dark purple ink with a grain. Because the grain file used by Wang Wang has a different name, click No when asked if you would like to locate the file. Then on the Grain tab, browse to the .png you saved before. Click in the scene to replace the edges and shadows.
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Use 03-wood wall to paint wood on the exterior walls. Press Shift to keep the strokes vertical, and use different brush sizes. Overlap strokes occasionally. Because the brush mode is Normal, different speeds will produce different strokes.
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Before doing any painting, select File / Export. Export this scene as a 2D image, in .png format, and save it someplace logical. This file will be used later as a grain, so you can save it as a grain file, or save it with the other files used in this example. In the Style Library, open the library WangWang, and open the subfolder WangWang2.
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After painting all the wood walls, your scene should look something like this:
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Use 06-brick wall to fill in the walls in front of the steps. This style has a linear fade, so the colour at the top is lighter. For the large face, click twice to enhance the 3D effect.
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Activate 04-shadow and import the grain file again. Paint some casual strokes in the shadowed areas. Because the shadows are part of the style, only the shadowed areas are painted.
10. Use 07-stone wall for the walls that support the base of the structure.
11. Use 08-glass general, ink with linear colour fade, to colour all the glass with one click.
8.
Use 05-white wall1 to paint the non-wood walls. To get the uneven effect, you can modify the Blend amount. When painting the shadowed parts, use the grain file again.
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12. Activate 09-glass 1st floor to darken the glass where needed. The Shift key does not need to be used all the time, try following where the glass should reflect light or shadow.
14. Use 11-glass frame to darken some of the glass window frames. This style can be applied to all frames unevenly.
15. Use 12-glass frame2 to paint parts of the larger frame pieces. 13. Use 10-glass lighter to lighten the glass in a few places.
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16. Use 13-I beam to paint the beams and the sides of the roof plates. The beams can be clicked twice to deepen their colour.
17. Use 14-roof bottom to paint the undersides of the roof plates. Modify brush sizes and Shift-lock directions, to create a rich effect of the brush touch. The darker areas should be painted darker on the outer edges, and brighter gradually toward the inner areas as light from other areas is reflected onto them.
18. Use 15-lawn to colour the grass.
19. Use 16-ground to draw some fading vertical lines to represent ground light reflection.
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20. Activate 17-ground2 - this style has a horizontal fade. Paint some horizontal and random strokes using various brush sizes.
22. Use the same style with a larger brush, and without using Shift to lock direction, to add some clouds.
21. Use 18-sky1 to add vertical brush strokes in the sky.
23. Insert cutouts: a few trees and people. One tree cutout can be used, varying its size and aspect ratio.
24. For the next style, use Global fill, Standard rendering with Texture, and use Captured texture mode. Adjust the Blend amount and Fade, and capture the ground plane. Apply the effect to the ground plane to create a faint reflection.
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25. The final step is to apply a grain to give a rainy effect. If you want the rain to appear over the cutouts, remember to burn in the cutouts. Uncheck Texture and check Grain, and import rain.png as the grain texture. Check Invert to reverse the alpha channels. Click to fill the scene with rain.
26. Compare your results with the file WangWang2_After.epx.
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1.
To download the files and styles used in this example, go to the website listed in Downloading Wang Wangs Styles and Example Files on page 309. Files for this example are in WangWang3_Files.zip. Extract these four files: WangWang3.dwg (AutoCAD model) WangWang3Boundaries.png (image exported from AutoCAD) WangWang3Hatching.png (image exported from AutoCAD) WangWang3_After (Piranesi image with completed rendering) In this example, you will render a blank, 2D plan view of a hotel and surrounding grounds. From AutoCAD, two image files were exported in .png format (the recommended file type when working with Piranesi). WangWang3Boundaries.png contains boundary lines of buildings, roadways, lawns, paved areas, etc. 4. 2. 3.
Select File / New to create a new file. Use the second option, to create the EPix file from an image.
Finish creating the EPix file, using the default options. To set the units of the EPix file, we will use a length we know to be 20m. Select Edit / Set Model Size and enter this dimension. Then click Pick from Model.
Press and drag the mouse from one end of this line to the other.
WangWang3Hatching.png contains the same boundary lines, and also has hatching lines.
We will start with the first files (Boundaries) so that we can easily use Colour lock on large areas. (If hatching lines are displayed, filling areas with colour becomes much more difficult and tedious.) Once we have painted colours and effects on this image, we will import the hatching image on top of it.
Now all measurements are set relative to this length. You can verify this by setting pixel information to XYZ Position and testing other lengths. Z should be zero everywhere on the scene. Relative scale is important since we will be setting depths and materials using Construct mode.
TIP: When importing images like this, it is common to find small gaps in lines or curves. If you need a quick tool to close off these gaps, in order to seal areas so that locks can be used, use the Pen tool. See Pen on page 34.
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5.
In the Style Library, open the library WangWang, and open the subfolder WangWang3.
7.
Click one of the sections in the main structure. Now the Z position within this area should be 18m, and the material is main building 1.
NOTE: If you need help downloading and installing the style library, see Downloading Wang Wangs Styles and Example Files on page 309.
8.
6.
We will now use constructs to delineate different materials and depths. Activate 01-main building plane. This style uses Local fill, Colour lock, and Construct rendering. The Offset is 18m, which sets the new depth, or the height of the buildings. A new material name is defined, and this style will replace both depth and materials.
To keep all materials for this style uniform, click Select on the Construct tab. Then click the Pick button and click the area you just filled, to set the material name to main building 1. If you do not perform this step, each time you apply the style, the material names will be main building 2, main building 3, etc.
9.
Click in the rest of the building areas, which should all have the same depth and material name.
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10. Activate 02-glass, which is the same style as before, with a different colour and material name. Use this style to fill in two glass areas. Remember to keep the material names the same.
13. Use 05-other buildings to fill in surrounding buildings, at a height of 5m.
14. Use 06-river to create a river, 1m below the ground plane. Then use 07-road to fill in the roadway. 11. Use 03-lawn to fill in grassy areas. The height of these areas is 0.1m.
15. The next few steps create a pavement. Each style has zero depth. Use 08-pave1 here: 12. Use 04-outside lawn to fill in grassy areas beyond the property line. This height is also 0.1m.
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16. Use 09-pave2 here:
19. Activate 12-lawn-paint. This style uses the Painter applicator, with a long, angled line rounded at its end. A grain is added as well. Press and drag in random spots on the grass to create some lawn shading effects.
17. Use 10-pave3 here:
18. Use 11-park for the parking lot.
20. Activate 13-lawn-paint-B, which inks with a simple raster brush. Highlight the outer perimeter of the lawns.
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21. Activate 14-lawn-paint-C which is similar to the previous style but lighter in colour, and uses paint rather than ink. Go over the outlining you did in the previous step, to smooth sharp and blotchy transition areas.
materials. If you applied pavement or lawns in different places than Wang Wang, youll have to add more materials to the list (done on the Lock tab.)
22. Re-Render the scene, so that the new colours will be in the restore channels. Then use File / Import to bring in WangWang3Hatching.jpg. This image is placed on top of the scene. 23. Activate 15-leave lines, a Restore style with Colour lock. Click in any white area to bring out the colours and effects that lie under the imported image.
25. Use 17-river line A, another Painter style with horizontal lines, to add ripples in the river. Make sure that the lines are grouped smoothly and randomly, simulating the flow.
26. Use 18-river shadow to trace the river path, adding a shadow line. Because you cant use Shift locking, you need some dexterity for this step. Zooming in closely will help.
24. Activate 16-shadow, a dark ink with a soft raster brush and Material lock. Use Shift to lock direction, and paint a few straight lines around building perimeters to represent shadows. For the diagonal buildings, youll have to set the brush to Fixed direction and define a new direction. Also, the material lock is set to paint only on specific
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27. Activate 19-river ripple, a Painter style with a thick horizontal line. The blend mode is Light. Add some lines in the water to create reflection effects.
29. Similarly, use 21-pave hatch B to texturize these areas:
28. Activate 20-pave hatch A which is an alpha texture with Global fill. Click to texturize these paved areas:
The next three styles are plan-view cutouts of trees, from among the sketch cutouts included with Piranesi. Each of these cutouts has an Offset, which represents how high the tree is. 30. Before placing a cutout, activate one of the cutout styles and go to the Cutout manager. Click Pick to set the shadow direction. Find one of the building shadows you created before, and drag the mouse from the top of the building corner to the edge of the shadow. Make sure you start dragging with the mouse on the building, so that the proper building height will be used.
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31. Use 22-plant1, 23-plant2, and 24-plant3 to add the trees. Shadows should be created from each tree.
This is how the scene might look with all the styles applied so far:
32. The next two styles are for flowering shrubs. Use 25-flower1 and 26-flower2 with mouse clicks (not dragging). Use 27-plant3 to darken the lawns under the trees.
33. Use 28-plant4 to insert some small, 1m high shrubs.
TIP: If you want to divert from the red or yellow colour of the flowers, open the styles Dynamic Settings and increase the Colour spread.
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34. Use 29-car to place some cars in the parking spaces. This car cutout is among those included with Piranesi.
Here is the final product:
35. Finally, activate 30-title. This is a text montage at a 3m offset, so that shadows will appear below each character. Adjust the text colour and blend amount if you like.
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Marco Crawford
With a background in architecture and graphic design, Marco has been rendering for about 30 years, in numberious cities throughout Europe and Asia. He started with traditional paints and air brushes, but has now fully evolved into digital visuals. He is currently the CAD manager for a mid-size architectural practice in London, and does in-house training on MicroGDS (his 3D modeling application of choice) and Piranesi. Some samples of his work can be seen on the Piranesi user gallery (www.informatix.co.uk/piranesi/gallery.shtml).
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Marcos Two Different Rooms
In this section, we will start with one EPix file and add constructs, textures, and cutouts to create two very different rooms. The files for this examples can be found on this website: www.f1help.biz/ccp51/cgi-bin/Pir4Files.htm. To download any of the files on this page, right-click on the link and save the target to your computer. Or simply click the link and choose to save it.
and select Same as material at start and Set depth and material. Check Use fixed plane, and click Pick to define the plane.
Setup
In this section, we will take the basic room and make some changes to it, to prepare for the two different renderings that will be performed on it. 1. Download the file MarcoInterior.zip, which contains several 2D images (which will be used as cutouts) and the file interior.epx which is the basic room we will start with. Extract this folder, and save it in a location that be easily found (such as My Documents). An alias will be created so that Piranesi can refer to this location. Open the scene interior.epx. It contains a few basic walls, borders along the floor and ceiling, and a window (which will be filled in).
NOTE: Constructs are covered in Construct on page 91
2.
3.
5.
Select any point along the wall that contains the window.
4.
Now we will fill in the window. Activate any colour (or match the current blue), and use a circular or rectangular brush with no softness. Use Construct,
The coordinates of the picked plane should appear
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like this on the Construct tab:
9.
In Piranesi, select File / Preferences, and click the Aliases tab. Create an alias named marco and use Browse to find the MarcoInterior folder.
6.
Place the cursor anywhere on the wall (so its material will be used to fill in the window) and brush in the window cover. Its colour may be different than the rest of the wall, but depth and material are the same.
10. Click Set to create the alias. It should now appear in the list.
11. Close the Preferences.
Elegant Room
1. Start with the EPix file you saved for the elegant room (InteriorElegant). The floor will be painted first, with a texture whose image is in the MarcoInterior folder. Use Local fill with Plane lock or Material lock, and Standard rendering. Click Texture. On the Texture tab, type <marco>parquet.tif and press Enter. The preview of the parquet floor should appear in the window.
2.
7.
8.
Now save this file under two different names: one for an elegantly furnished room (InteriorElegant.epx) and one for a more rustic room (InteriorRustic.epx). For this example, the MarcoInterior folder was placed in My Documents. Note where you placed yours.
TIP: If you dont know the name of the image file, just type <marco>. Then when you click Browse, you will be looking in the right folder.
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3.
Click to paint the floor. It looks a bit orange.
5.
Since the MarcoInterior is already the active folder, you can click Browse to see what else is in the folder. Activate the border texture. Bring the texture amount back to 100%.
4.
To even out the colour, change the colour to brown and reduce the texture amount. You might want to adjust the Scale as well. Then Reapply.
6.
Switch to Global fill and apply this texture around the floor. Its scale is a little too large.
7. This looks a little nicer (in my opinion, anyway).
Use Tweak to size and position the tiled image. To scale it, drag one of the corner handles inward, using Shift to maintain the aspect ratio.
The border should look like this when it is the right size:
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8.
Next, activate paneling and apply it to the walls. If the mode is Tangent, the texture will look like this:
11. On the Montage tab, browse in <marco> and activate fireplace. Make sure it is Tangent and Shadows are not displayed, and place it on this wall.
9.
Switch to Auto Wrapped, and use Tweak to adjust the scale so that one panel spans from floor to ceiling.
12. To adjust the size, highlight the fireplace in the Cutout Manager and select Tweak.
13. Drag a corner handle, again with Shift pressed to keep the aspect ratio, to size the fireplace so that it takes up the entire height of the wall. Then drag it so that it is centreed.
10. The next objects to add are cutouts. Switch to Montage.
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14. The next cutout is rug, which should be brought in with Vertical unchecked. To rotate it so that it has the same angles as the walls, click Tweak and hover on the green rotation axis. Press Shift, which changes the cursor to this:
16. Continue to move and resize until the rug fills the room. If part of the rug appears to sink below the floor, add a small Offset and Reapply.
15. With the mouse button and Shift pressed, move the cursor to the wall with the fireplace, and release. Now the rug is parallel to this wall.
17. Next, bring in the sofa. This cutout should be Vertical and should have Shadows. Turn off locks so that the sofa will be visible over any material or plane.
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18. Place the sofa on the floor (not the rug) along the back wall. The scale is probably wrong, and so is the angle.
20. Add a couple yuca plants. The direction you just set for shadows will be applied to these plants, but these shadows can be changed later.
19. Use Tweak to change the scale, and use the rotate-Shift method (like you used for the rug) to align it with the back wall. This cutout should have its Shadow displayed. Assuming light emanates from the ceiling, the shadow should be cast on the back wall.
21. Add the chair and adjust its size if necessary. Depending on the shadow direction, some shadows from the plant may overlap this chair.
NOTE: Changing the shadow is handled in the Cutout Manager. Click Pick for Direction, and use two points to define the shadow vector. Then, with the cutout highlighted, click Update selected.
22. Now for the room lighting. Activate the sconce cutout and make sure Tangent is selected.
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23. Place a few sconces around the room, adjusting the scale.
25. Activate light_effect. Change the colour to white, and use the Hard light blend. Reduce the Blend to avoid harshness.
24. A 3D Raster brush can be used to add light effects above the sconces. Make sure Texture is not checked. On the Brush tab under File name, type <marco> and then click Browse.
26. Use an appropriate brush size to place a light effect along the wall above the right-most sconce. Because the brush is 3D, the brush mark aligns to the wall.
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27. Place light effects on the other two sconces.
30. The final step is to create ceiling lights. To simulate recessed lights, a fade will be used. Use Local fill, Material lock, and Linear fade. The Fade should be Any. Click Pick next to Full.
28. For this corner plant cutout, change its shadow so that it is projected into the corner.
31. Drag the cursor from the maximum light to where it fades away. Start at the edge of the wall, and stop at the centre. 29. Do the same for the closer plant.
32. Click to create the light.
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33. Use Pick again to define the direction for the next light fade.
Rustic Room
1. Start with the other file you saved - the scene that will become the rustic room.
34. Click to create this second light - it appears from the right side. A lower blend for this fade will reduce the harshness.
2.
35. Finally, create a similar light from the other side of the ceiling. Done!
Some of the walls will be turned into windows, but the first step is to create the vertical dividing posts. Use a dark brown colour with Material or Plane lock, Construct rendering, and a small, rectangular 3D brush with no softness. Remove Linear Fade if it is still set, and use 100% Paint. On Construct, select Replace all pixels and uncheck Use fixed plane. Select Set depth and material, and create a new material called Post.
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3.
Keep Shift pressed so that the brush line will be vertical, and create two posts. Check that the material of these posts is Post.
5.
Now the windows can be separated from the walls. Switch to Local fill, set Material and Plane locks, and set a colour that contrasts with the posts and walls. Use Set material only, and name this new material Window.
4.
Draw two more posts along the back wall. Because you are using a 3D brush, there is no need to adjust the brush size.
6.
Click to change the material and colour of these four sections of wall.
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7.
Activate a brick texture and switch to Standard rendering with Global fill and Material lock only. Make sure Auto Wrapped is set.
9.
For the windows, keep Texture and activate <marco>garden.jpg. Use Fit mode, and adjust the Scale and Hook to paint the scene onto the windows.
8.
Paint all walls with the material Walls.
10. Next, paint the floors, ceilings, and borders using your own textures, or those found in the Style Browser.
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11. For cutouts, switch to Montage. Select <marco>green_rug.jpg
13. For a fireplace, bring in the one from the Internal category of 3D Cutouts.
12. Like you did with the elegant room, rotate, move, and offset as needed to cover the floor.
14. Fill in the fireplace with black paint, using a brush and Material lock.
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15. Add some plants and a couple chairs. These particular chairs are from the 3D Cutouts by Marco category.
17. The final step is to make the fireplace look more realistic, by extending the brick wall past the plane of the windows. Switch back to Construct and rectangular brush, and use any contrasting colour, like white. For Construct, select Replace all pixels and Set depth and material. For material, click Pick next to Select.
16. To give the scene some early or late-day sun, change the shadow direction and update the 3D cutouts.
18. Click on any brick wall to match its material. (You also could have typed Walls, since the material name is known.)
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19. Select Use fixed plane, and use Pick to get the plane of the short brick wall perpendicular to the window.
21. Apply the same brick texture you used on the other walls.
20. Material lock should still be active. Use Shift to paint a vertical construct wall outside the house.
22. Because all brick walls have the same material, you can easily change this material with one click!
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Marcos Outdoor Scene: Day and Night
2.
All files for this exercise can be found on this website: www.f1help.biz/ccp51/cgi-bin/Pir4Files.htm. To download any of the files on this page, right-click on the link and save the target to your computer. Or simply click the link and choose to save it. For this exercise, download MarcoSquare.zip. This file contains two EPix files, some cutouts, the style libraries, and a few graphics. Extract everything from this file, into a folder called MarcoSquare.
To see what the original scene looked like, select View / Restore RGB. This model, including geometry, some sparse textures, and cutouts (one tree) was created entirely in MicroGDS.
Setting up the Scene
In this section, we will see how some textures were added, and insert some pre-defined cutouts. Then some finishing touches will be added, before the scene is given a non photo-realistic rendering. 1. Open MarcoSquare.epx. This scene already contains some effects that were painted on the original EPix. 3. If you want to compare the two scenes side-by-side, make a copy of MarcoSquare.epx. When both files are open in Piranesi, you can display both the RGB channel and the Restore RGB channel. Here are some of the effects that were used to create MarcoSquare: The most noticeable difference is that a sky background was added. A few tree cutouts were added. The large tree on the right was placed on the pavement, then moved to the right in Tweak mode so that it appears partially off-screen.
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Several textures were added for paving patterns, using Paint with a reduced blend amount so that shadows remain visible.
Paint, Material lock, and Global fill were used to colour all the glass blue-gray.
In this area, dark blue paint (matching the paint of the bench on the far right) was used to paint the chairs. The orange wall was painted using a rectangular brush with Overlay or reduced Paint, in vertical strokes. The yellow roof was painted using a similar blend, using Local fill, Material lock, and Plane lock. (These are the main effects; others can easily be created with narrow, straight brush lines.)
Some of the windows contain drapes, or vertical blinds. These can be created using an active colour and an alpha texture, such as Straight horizontal lines with an angle of 90 degrees.
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The original scene contains a few banner flags. The four identical ones in the centre of the scene are covered with the same raster texture. The large banner to the right has a 2D image inserted as a cutout.
The undersides of the balconies were painted white.
Back to working on this file! 4. Marco has provided the cutouts he used to populate this scene. To import them, switch to Montage. On the Cutout Manager, click Import.
5.
Open the file MarcoSquare_Cutouts.pcf (this file is in the MarcoSquare folder you downloaded). If Piranesi cannot identify the location of a cutout, search in the MarcoSquarePeople subfolder of the MarcoSquare folder.
The various storefronts and booth displays were created using raster textures or 2D cutouts. Check the materials of various signs and images: if it is a Montage then a cutout was used. If it is a typical material name, then it is covered with a raster texture.
NOTE: Similar 2D people can be found in the Style Browser, in the Sketch Cutouts library. There are samples by Marco here, as well as some other artists.
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Some of these cutouts are 2D text strings. Each Cappuccino and Filter cutout in the lower left corner actually consists of two cutouts - one alone is a bit faint. Its easy to place one directly atop the other by eye.
8.
Move the cursor to the roof above the coffee stand. If you place the cursor near the top, the text will be placed just above the roof.
9. 6. We will add one more text cutout (just to see how its done). First, activate one of the horizontal Cappuccino cutouts, in order to make its parameters active.
Click in this location to place the text.
7.
Change the text string to Fresh Coffee and change the Font (Times New Roman, in this case). Change the hook point to Bottom edge. Set the Offset to -60 so that the text will be located above the hook point. Change the Size to 1300mm, and assign a Thickness of 40, which makes the cutout 3D.
10. Place another text cutout on the left side of this roof. It overlaps the first text string.
11. Tweak this cutout and use the left arrow to nudge it to the left. Pressing Shift with the arrow moves the cutout by larger steps.
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12. Place one last cutout on the right side of the roof. Notice how it maintains its alignment with the roof.
16. 01-shade brush is a diagonal rectangular brush, which adds a little white to the current colour. This brushs shape, angle, and colour can be adjusted to add the shadows under the roof, under balconies, and to create interior ceilings. Youll see many instances in the scene in which this style is used.
13. Now we can start looking at the styles in the library. The two library files are MarcoSquare.psf and MarcoSquare.psb, both of which are located in the MarcoSquare folder. Open this library by selecting Library / Open in the Style Browser. 14. Open the MarcoSquare library to the category 01 Setup Day Scene. This category contains a few styles used to add some shadows and lights.
15. Right-click on any style and select Properties. Here you can read Marcos comments about what the style is used for.
The result after these styles are applied can be seen in the file MarcoSquare_Populated. You can open this file and look at the results, or you can try applying the styles yourself to the current MarcoSquare scene.
17. 02-glowing lights and 03-wall washers are used to add light reflections on walls. For the wall washers, there are three WallLight images provided in the MarcoSquare folder. These are not used too much in this scene, but they are handy if you need to reflect adjacent light onto buildings. If you look closely along the storefronts, you can see similar effects.
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18. 04-lights sparkle is a large, angled raster brush that places a star of light at its centre. Its effect can be seen in a few places:
Softening the Daytime Scene

1. If you added some of the previously described effects to MarcoSquare, Re-Render so that all new paint, textures, and cutouts will be burned in. Otherwise, start with the file MarcoSquare_Populated.epx.
2.
The category for this section is 02 Soften Day Scene. Activate and apply the first style, which covers the scene in white.
The next style, 02-vellum, can be used to apply a light coloured grain to the white cover. This style is not used in this example, but Marco often uses it for similar scenes.
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3.
The next two styles, 03-find edges 1 and 04-find edges 2 are used to restore edges. Using these is a matter of taste. The first style restores material edges and uses a low blend. The second picks out internal edges and is a little stronger. You can use one style or both, and you can switch to Global fill to get all edges at once. For now, restoring edges is important mainly so that you can see where the objects are.
5.
06-block restore 2 is a similar brush, but has a higher blend. Adjust the size to your taste, and click around the scene to uncover more.
6.
Next is 07-sky effect. It is still a restore brush, but with Material lock. Use it to uncover large diagonal swaths of sky.
4.
Activate 05-block restore. This is a large restore brush with a low blend amount. Click in a few places near the centre of the scene to uncover faint blocks of colour.
7.
Use 08-highlights to restore any important areas that are still covered. Feel free to change the brush size, angle, etc.
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8.
Now to fade the cutouts, which is done in two steps. First, activate 09-fade people 1, which is a white cover with Material and Plane locks. Click on each cutout to paint it white.
11. Repeat these steps for each cutout (you can use the same Full-to-None range for cutouts of similar size and placement). All cutouts should be white at the bottom. If you want to adjust a fade later, use 09-fade people 1 to bring back the white, then redo the fade using 10-fade people 2.
9.
Next is 10-fade people 2. This is a restore brush with a linear fade, so that you can partially restore cutouts. On the Fade tab, click Pick to define the Full-to-None range. Press and drag from the head of one cutout to its feet.
10. Click the cutout to restore its colour. The head is fully restored, and the colours fade to white at the feet.
12. Use 11-border edges, if needed, to go over any edges that were covered or were not previously restored. This style is most effective along the borders of the scene, particularly along the feet of people cutouts.
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13. Finally, use 12-replace lights to replace any sparkly effects that disappeared. If the light is too bright, reduce the brush size.
Night Scene
1. To change the scene from day to night, return to the unpainted scene MarcoSquare_Populated.epx. (If this file is still open, select File / Revert.) If you dont want to overwrite this file, save it under a new name.
2.
Open the category 03 Night Scene and activate the first style, 01-sunset sky. The texture for this file is located in Real world textures\Sky.
14. If you want to save this file, use a new name, since we will revert back to the unpainted scene for the next section. In this exercise I have shown my less-than-professional results, attempting to re-create Marcos scene (remember, Im not an artist!). If you want to see the real thing, open the file MarcoSquare_DaySoftened.png.
3.
Replace the sky background with this sunset background.
4.
Style 02-re-render doesnt do anything; its just a reminder to Re-Render the scene so that the new background is burned in.
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5.
Use 03-darken to coat the scene with ink. You can adjust the blend and click more than once to get as dark as you want.
7.
05-darken fade can be used to darken the sky and top of the scene a bit more, while leaving the ground as is.
6.
Use 04-paint buildings to darken the buildings, roofs, balconies, railings, etc. This style has Material lock and Global fill, so it wont take too many clicks to paint everything you need.
8.
06-sky glow is a restore brush with fade and Material lock, to bring out some of the lower sky. You can use this more than once, defining the fade at different locations. You can also lighten the entire sky, by removing the fade and using a very low blend.
NOTE: You could also use the Material list on the Lock tab, if you want to apply this effect with one click.
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9.
Use 07-restore lighting, which is a 100% restore brush, to replace the street lights, illuminated store fronts, and banners (like the one on the far right). You can also light up the entire coffee stand on the left.
12. Then use 10-ground level restore to fade the cutout colours back in, adjusting the fade for each cutout to maximize colour at the head.
10. Activate 08-light windows. This is a rectangular, ramped brush with Material lock. Change the brush size and angle to match the window you are lighting, and adjust the blend to adjust the light strength.
13. Using the same style, turn off the Material lock, and click to lighten the entire ground area and lower part of the buildings. Youll have to adjust the fade locations and reduce the blend amount.
11. Like you did with the daytime scene, use 09-fade people to gray out (but not completely) the people cutouts.
14. The next style is 11-pools of light on the ground. It can be used to light circles on the ground below street lights. In this scene its hard to access these areas. 15. Use 12-halo lights to simulate atmospheric effects of light around the street lights. Adjust the brush size, and click more than once on the closer lights.
16. 13-find edges can be used to restore any edges that were lost, particularly on the lower parts of the cutouts.
355
17. Use 14-finishing 1 like you did for the softened daytime scene. Use the diagonal brush with Material lock to restore bits of the sky. Change the brush to vertical, clear locks, and lower the blend amount to restore other parts of the scene.
18. 15-finishing 2 can be used to replace any sparkly lights that may have been lost. Again, my results dont quite measure up to the work created by Marco, but never fear - you can view the real thing by opening the file MarcoSquare_Night.png.
356
Index
Numerics
2 way ramp . . .25 2D cutouts . . .239, . . .241 Text . . .251 2D fade . . .189 2D Line Source radial fade . . .198 2D radial fade . . .192 2D texture mode . . .156 3D Brush . . .30 3D Cutouts . . .254 Text . . .264 Tweaking . . .258 3D Line Source radial fade . . .200 3D radial fade . . .196 Paint darker . . .64 Paint lighter . . .64 Paint random . . .54 Saturation . . .75 Soft light . . .58 Tint . . .54 Blur . . .109 Brightness . . .130 Bristle brush 2D . . .29 Brush . . .21, . . .22 Brush repeat spacing . . .22 Burn blend mode . . .69 Burning in cutouts . . .248 Hiding . . .246 Importing . . .250 Materials . . .254 RPC . . .265 Saving . . .249 Shadows . . .245 Text . . .251 Visibility . . .246
D
Day to night effects . . .280 Depth fade . . .184 Depth scale . . .43 Depth sort . . .43 Difference blend . . .66 Direction of shadows . . .245 Direction tolerance . . .145 Dispersal (Captured texture) . . .169 Dither . . .125 Dodge . . .69 Dropper . . .67 Dynamic settings . . .42, . . .48
A
Aliases . . .13, . . .26, . . .239 Align with normals . . .129 Aligning cutouts . . .259 Along stroke . . .50 Alpha textures . . .161 Amplitude Plane texture . . .167 Random filter . . .118 Angular spread . . .49 Any fade . . .188 Archvision . . .265 Atmospheric (fade) . . .197 Atmospheric perpspective . . .295 Auto Contrast . . .234 Auto Tangent texture . . .159 Auto Wrapped texture . . .159
C
Captured texture . . .169 Channels Material . . .86 Restore . . .101, . . .107 RGB . . .86 Circle brush 2D . . .21 Classify . . .143 Coarseness . . .126 Color lock . . .9, . . .52 Color spread . . .42 Color tolerance . . .10 Colour picker . . .67 Colour spread . . .49 Colour tab . . .5 Composition . . .291 Critiques . . .298 Cone illumination fade . . .205 Constraint type . . .25 Construct . . .90 Continuous spacing . . .22 Contours (edges) . . .88 Contrast Brightness filter . . .132 In composition . . .294 Crawford, Marco . . .330 Critiques of compositions . . .298 Cross-hatch . . .130 Custom filter . . .122 Cutout Manager . . .241 Cutouts . . .239 2D . . .239 2D text . . .251 3D . . .254 3D text . . .264 Aligning . . .259 Burning in . . .248 Exporting . . .249
B
Balance (composition) . . .292 Best fit . . .134 Bias Halftone . . .124 Noise texture . . .165 Blend modes . . .54 Burn . . .69 Difference . . .66 Dodge . . .69 Exclusion . . .66 Hard light . . .58 Hue . . .75 Ink . . .54 Light . . .58 Lightness . . .75 Overlay . . .54 Paint . . .54
Edge rendering . . .81 By colour . . .86 By depth . . .82 By material . . .86 Emboss . . .114 Emphasis (composition) . . .293 Enable Threshold . . .173 Entourage (composition) . . .296 Entourage Arts . . .272, . . .291 Error diffusion . . .125 Exclusion blend . . .66 Exporting cutouts . . .249 Eye dropper . . .67
F
Face normal . . .39 Fade . . .183 Illumination see Illumination fade Linear see Linear fade Radial see Radial fade Fade (dynamic settings) . . .50 File properties . . .2 Fill applicator . . .10
357
the SketchUp Book Version 4 Filter . . .109 Blur . . .109 Brightness . . .130 Classify . . .143 Custom . . .122 Emboss . . .114 Halftone . . .123 Hue . . .135 Majority . . .141 Random . . .117 Reduce colours . . .138 Sharpen . . .142 Smooth Edges . . .147 Fit texture . . .160 Fit to window . . .5 Fixed direction constraint . . .25 Floating cutouts . . .248 Focal point . . .293 Fog effect . . .113 Follows stroke . . .27 Frequency Halftone . . .128 Plane texture . . .167 Frontal Text cutout . . .251 Texture . . .157 Strip . . .206 Image constraint . . .25 Image files as cutouts . . .239 ImageCELS . . .272 Importing cutouts . . .250 Infinite line . . .199, . . .207 Information Bar . . .3 Information pane . . .3 Ink . . .54 Internal edges . . .85
O
Offset Construct . . .97 Cutouts . . .263 Opacity (dynamic settings) . . .50 Opening a file . . .1 Order (Blur) . . .110 Ordered Dither . . .126 Orientation lock . . .9 Overlay . . .54
L
Lamp lights . . .282 Library of styles . . .209 Light blend mode . . .58 Lightness (dynamic settings) . . .49 Lightness blend mode . . .75 Linear fade . . .183 2D . . .189 Any . . .188 Depth . . .184 Ground . . .187 Local fill . . .10 Locks . . .8
P
Paint . . .54 Paint darker . . .64 Paint lighter . . .64 Paint random . . .54 Painter . . .35 with locks . . .44 Parallel illumination fade . . .202 PCF files . . .249 Pencil . . .180 Pencil (halftone) . . .127 Picking a color . . .67 Pictures as cutouts . . .239 Pigment . . .150 Pixel and Depth . . .3 Pixel tab . . .3 Place center at start of stroke . . .194 Plane lock . . .9 Plane texture . . .164 Plateau . . .23 Point illumination fade . . .203 Preserve edges (Blur) . . .110 Principles of Composition . . .291 Profile . . .23 Properties File . . .2 Style . . .209 PSB files . . .220 PSF files . . .210
G
Generate Shadows . . .245 Geometry units . . .2 Global fill . . .11 Gradient (edges) . . .87 Grain . . .176 Graphic files as cutouts . . .239 Ground fade . . .187
H
Halftone . . .123 Hand-drawn pencil . . .180 Hard light . . .58 Harmony (composition) . . .297 Hatching . . .130 Hilbert Chunks . . .126 Histogram . . .134 Hook . . .27 Hue blend mode . . .75 Hue filter . . .135
Majority . . .141 Marco Crawford . . .330 Mark spread . . .42, . . .48 Marlin Studios . . .272 Masking . . .239 Material channel . . .86 Material list . . .229 Material lock . . .8 Material tab . . .5 Materials of cutouts . . .254 Merge isolated pixels . . .144 Mirror H . . .241 Mirror W . . .241 Montage applicator . . .239 Moon . . .282 Multiple fill . . .221 Creating new . . .224 Multiple New . . .255 Multiple raster brush 2D . . .28 Multiple Shared . . .255
R
Radial fade 2D . . .192 2D line source . . .198 3D . . .196 3D line source . . .200 Ramp . . .24 Random dither . . .125 Random filter . . .117 Random spread, painter . . .37 Range (Blur) . . .109 Raster brush 2D . . .26
I
Illumination fade Cone . . .205 Parallel . . .202 Point . . .203
N
Navigate tab . . .4 Newsprint . . .126 Night scene . . .280 Noise grain . . .176 Noise texture . . .164
358
Index Raster brush, multiple . . .28 Raster grain . . .176 Raster texture 2D . . .156 Alpha . . .161 Auto Tangent . . .159 Auto Wrapped . . .159 Fit . . .160 Frontal . . .157 Tangent . . .158 Wrapped . . .158 Raster textures RealWorld Imagery . . .272 Rectangle brush 2D . . .21 Reduce Colours . . .138 Reduce HLS . . .139 Reduce RGB . . .140 Reflective surfaces . . .169 Render Actions . . .81 Re-render . . .104 Command in multiple fill . . .234 Reset lock . . .45 Restore . . .101 Restore channels . . .6 Revert . . .101 RGB channel . . .86 RPC cutouts . . .265 Sorger, Susan . . .272, . . .291 Spaced brush . . .22 Spacing of brush . . .22 Spike . . .23 Splatter . . .35 Standard rendering . . .81 Stars . . .281 Street lights . . .282 Strict lock . . .46 Strip illumination fade . . .206 Style browser . . .209 Style library . . .209 Style properties . . .209 Susan Sorger . . .272, . . .291 Symmetric (Plane texture) . . .168 Cutouts . . .253 View plane . . .40 Visibility of cutouts . . .246
W
Wang Wang . . .309 Wobble, painter . . .36 Wrapped textures . . .158
X
XYZ Position . . .3
Z
Zoom extents . . .5
T
Tangent Cutouts . . .252 Texture . . .158 Text cutouts . . .251 3D . . .264 Texture . . .155 Captured . . .169 Noise . . .164 Plane . . .164 Raster See Raster textures Threshold . . .172 Tweak . . .157 Thickness of text . . .264 Threshold Halftone . . .123 Textures . . .172 Tint . . .54 Tools Manager . . .2 Tweak . . .241 2D cutouts . . .241 3D Cutouts . . .258 Radial fade . . .193 Texture . . .157 Twist . . .255
S
Saturation Blend mode . . .75 Dynamic settings . . .49 Saving cutouts . . .249 Saving styles . . .211 Sepia tone . . .124 Shadow blend . . .246 Shadow direction . . .245 Shadows of cutouts . . .245 Sharpen . . .142 Silhouette edges . . .82 Silhouette limit . . .83 Single New . . .254 Slider . . .8 Smooth . . .262 Noise texture . . .165 Plane texture . . .168 Smooth Edges . . .147 Smudge (halftone) . . .128 Smudge distance . . .151 Smudge rendering . . .149 Soft light . . .58 Softness . . .22 Random filter . . .120
U
Units . . .2 Unity (composition) . . .297 Updating cutouts . . .245 Use Restore channels (Filter) . . .112 Used fixed plane (construct) . . .97
V
Vertical Brush . . .32
359
the SketchUp Book Version 4
360
For questions, comments, and information on updates, contact Bonnie Roskes 202-243-1046 bonnie@f1help.biz
For information on more books by Bonnie Roskes, see www.f1help.biz/ccp51
Printed by: Hignell Book Printing 488 Burnell Steet Winnipeg, MB R3G 2B4 Canada

MasteringPiranesi PDF

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Mastering Piranesi

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First Edition. Copyright 2006, Bonnie Roskes

Manufactured in the United States of America

Piranesi is a registered trademark of Informatix Software.

All illustrations in this book were produced using Piranesi.

Cover design by Susan Sorger, Entourage Arts.

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Chapter 2: Applying and Blending Paint

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Mastering Piranesi Version 4

Chapter 3: Render Actions

Chapter 4: Textures and Grains

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Chapter 5: Using Fades

Chapter 6: Style Browser

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Mastering Piranesi Version 4

Chapter 9: Piranesi and Principles of Composition

Chapter 10: Examples from the Experts

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About this Book

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Mastering Piranesi Version 4

This is the scene - a plain gate with a sky background.

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NOTE: Both the Toolbox and Tools Manager can be undocked

Now move the cursor somewhere along one of the columns.

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Mastering Piranesi Version 4

The material is Default and the depth is around 40m.

Now the depth is lower, ~8m.

Piranesi now zooms in on that part of the scene.

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18. To return to the original view, click Fit to window.

This colour can also be seen on the Toolbox.

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Mastering Piranesi Version 4

The colour is updated in the colour box for Base material.

Brushes, Locks, and Fills

24. Return to RGB by selecting View / RGB.

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On the Brush tab, change Normal to Continuous.

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Mastering Piranesi Version 4

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Mastering Piranesi Version 4

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Grainy (Noise) Texture

Undo, and switch to Global fill (hotkey: G).

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Mastering Piranesi Version 4

Change the active colour to light blue.

Placing an Image in the Background

No image is selected yet, as you can see on the Toolbox.

Back in the Tools Manager, click Browse to find a file to use.

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By default, Piranesi starts searching in the ...\Piranesi\Style Libraries\Textures folder.

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Mastering Piranesi Version 4

This image, or at least a portion of it, now appears on the Toolbox.

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