RGB vector anisotropic maps?

[thebeals]

Hey everyone,

I've been seeing more and more anisotropic maps that are actually rgb in appearance rather than greyscale. Modo has a great description here:

http://modo.docs.thefoundry.co.uk/mo...Direction.html

Can Vray use this type of map in anisotropy? If so, does it follow the same guidelines and color wheel as modo and are their any best practices in regards to creation?

Thanks!

[Dan Andersen]

Is there a benefit to having anisotropy direction as RGB? If it represents rotation in UV space, a single value should cover it, no?

[vlado]

Can Vray use this type of map in anisotropy?

No, but it's trivial to write a GLSL shader that converts the red/green vector values to a single greyscale rotation value. Let me know if you need help with it.

Best regards,
Vlado

[vlado]

Is there a benefit to having anisotropy direction as RGB?

There is a slight discontinuity where the greyscale map goes from one to zero, I guess. Other than that, the only benefit is that for painting programs like Mari it is easier perhaps to do the maps as vectors.

If it represents rotation in UV space, a single value should cover it, no?

Yes, it is. And it's easy to convert one format to the other, even on the fly.

Best regards,
Vlado

[Dan Andersen]

Thanks for the info, Vlado

[vlado]

Here is a set up with a GLSL texture that converts the red/blue gradients into rotation values for VRayMtl, and some examples using the maps from the Modo site.

vector_aniso.zip









Best regards,
Vlado

[thebeals]

You both are amazing! Thank you so much! Super helpful!