Re: love that 2sided mtl
So, on SCF, thomthom posted this script called “Component Comparison”:
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?t=30143
It basically compares the geometry of components in your SU model, and if the geometries are similar enough, converts them to a single definition.
xfrog trees are very heavy in SU as you may know - full 3d trees, which, upon import to SU are all grouped unique geometry. thousands of leaves make the trees barely usable. each leaf is however just a quad-face - so, using another script by matt 666 (http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?t=17590), I was able to make each leaf a unique component (in batches of 300 as mentioned).
After you make each leaf a unique component, you can then use the Component Comparison to tranform unique comps to the same definition since geometry is the same.
doing this, i was able to bring a 102Mb birch model down to 45Mb. still not great, but much better. i’m working on a way to simplify the branches and trunk too.
This is also a benefit for rendering with VfSU, because in order to use the 2-sided mtl, we must first create it in vray, and then apply it to the SU surface. Applying the material to each leaf with proper UV mapping would take quite a while. With a component, I was able to apply the 2Sided mtl once, and also modify the leaf comp. somewhat, bending it so it didn’t look so flat.
so, it makes nice looking trees even nicer with the translucency effect of 2sided mtl.
unfortunately i can’t post the SU scene since it is an xfrog tree. there are however many free trees available at autodesk seek:
http://seek.autodesk.com/search/xfrog?count=20&startIndex=0
if you download a trial version of max or maya, you can convert the files to 3ds and import them into SU. the next one i convert will be one of the free ones, so hopefully i can share it with you guys.
yeah, it’s a long and tedious process, and the trees are cumbersome in SU, but, hey, they look soo cool when you’re done! might be useful as foreground trees in a render.