Want to put Stoke around edge of Clipper

[RobH22]

I'm trying to figure out if there is a way to get a stroke around a vrayclipper's edge. I'm cutting some bone and there is thickness from the outer surface for a mm or so. I can certainly model it but if there is a way to do this with Clipped it would be fast. I've posted what I have and the bottom image is what I'm after.

[dlparisi]

I'm not sure if it's possible using the clipper but you could always have a non-renderable object aligned withe clipper and set up a vraydistance texture using that object. Even though the object is non-renderable the vraydistance material will still "see" it.

[cheerioboy]

Hmm, only thing I can think of would require a bit more work. Having the main mesh shelled to the desired thickness and then clipping -- and a second solid mesh of the same bone that is pushed in slightly with no shell. And using a second clipper for that mesh that might need to be slightly offset to reduce any overlapping geometry. You could then link the clippers and have them move around together if needed.

[super gnu]

so (im away from my pc so correct me if im wrong)

the clipper is cutting that "bone" geometry, and you have a material assigned to the "cut" with the spongy texture on? if so, just use a distance texture in a blend material assigned to the cut, which blends between "sponge" and "bone" materials. set distance texture to reference a copy of bone object which is set to non renderable. n set distance texture to give thickness you need.

edit: BASICALLY WHAT DLPARISI SAID

[RobH22]

Both suggestions are very intriguing. I'll try both. While this project is not a difficult one and I could easily build a mesh to do it, I'm exploring this as a good technique to use in the future. I look forward to trying these suggestions and I'll report back. Thank you.

[RobH22]

super gnu dlparisi

Thanks again guys. 'super gnu' your suggestion is working nicely for me. I wish I could control the sharpness of the edge but it's still a fast and efficient technique.

What's funny is that I could have modeled this and had it done the old-fashioned way in about an hour. But I've spent about 4 hours messing with this new map and getting it to work. But, it's hard to put a value on new knowledge. You never know when it might save you a LOT of hours one day and balance the scale.

[super gnu]

if you want a sharp edge, just set the "inside solid" and "outside solid" colours, and shell your hidden "driver" geometry. distance tex will then shade only the area within the driver geometry.



alternatively, if you want to go down the rabbit hole, you can use the distance tex in the map slot of a gradient ramp set to "mapped" mode.. then you have basically crazy levels of control over the edge you generate (want concentric rings? no problem)

you could also (slightly simpler) pipe distance tex through an output map and play with the output curve till you get a hard edge.

edit: yeah its well worth getting the hang of distance tex.. its one of my favourites.. very useful, especially in combination with gradient ramp..

[RobH22]

Yea, rabbit holes are fine. You learn a lot.

I tried the "inside and outside" solid colors. What I hadn't done is 'shell' the driver. I'll go back and try that. I'll also explore the other suggestions your have. Crazy levels of control would be great. Thanks again, I'll report back after my brain cools down...

[RobH22]

super gnu
This is working perfectly. I have control over the softness of the edge that delineates the two materials. It's exactly what I needed it to do. The gradient ramp suggestion is really great. I appreciate the extra 'hand holding' on this. It got me to the place I needed to be. Thanks again.