Topic: Mapping

[IdeaImmagine]

When I assign a material to an imported object in Lumion, I can hardly "map" it to the surface so to make its borders "fit" object. For example, think about a bricks wall: I want left and lower material borders to match exactly wall, starting at lower left end.

With a little work, I can do this using "Scale" setting in Properties and X/Y/Z settings in Placing (see images 1 and 2).
But... what happens when I have another object with the same material, for example another brick wall?
I cannot "map" it correctly as it follows the same settings of the first wall (see image 3).
If I change settings to fit it, I'll lose first wall mapping!

So, how to correctly "map" textures in Lumion?

[RAD]

Isn't mapping typically handled in the 3D modeling software before it gets to Lumion?   

[BABE™]

hi IDEA....you can use the SHIFT button , while scaling the texture, Exactly.

but you might have to make a separate model -duplicate, if you need to map that model to match the previous one.

[peterm]

Hi IdeaImmagine

If you place an object more than once in a scene, then each will have the same material.  The object in the Import Library is a master object replicated twice for the scene.  Any material changes to one will change the other.

The way to manage that, where you need separate materials is to import the mesh file again and give the alternative object a new name, then you can assign it with different materials to the other.

Alternatively in the modelling app you could replicate your objects (if they are static) and assign different materials to each, so that when imported, Lumion will also see each having a different material reference and allow you to apply Lumion or other materials to each separately.

[IdeaImmagine]

Thanks everybody for your kind answer!

hi IDEA....you can use the SHIFT button , while scaling the texture, Exactly.

but you might have to make a separate model -duplicate, if you need to map that model to match the previous one.

As you can see from images, I double-clicked to manually insert value for scaling and placing. But that's not the issue. See what happens to the second wall!

Inserting a duplicate model could mean importing each wall of a building seperately? Probably that's not the most comfortable and practical way...

Alternatively in the modelling app you could replicate your objects (if they are static) and assign different materials to each, so that when imported, Lumion will also see each having a different material reference and allow you to apply Lumion or other materials to each separately.

That could be a solution, but it means hundreds of materials for a single object like a house, for example. Again, think about walls, openings or any other repeated "component" of a building.
Isn't it easier to just assign mapping coordinates to different surfaces of the objects?

As far as I know, that's the way professional software (like 3DS Max for example) works.... am I wrong?

[RAD]

That is one way.  There are a lot of other options too.   

[IdeaImmagine]

That is one way.  There are a lot of other options too.   

Please illuminate me!

[RAD]

Do some Youtube searches for this topic.   

Really hard for me to explain over text and quite time consuming.   
Just know there are multiple ways to get to where you want to go and that the possibilities do exist.   

[IdeaImmagine]

Really hard for me to explain over text and quite time consuming.   

That's not what we usually call an answer...
Thanks anyway. If anybody can link a webpage to these "multiple ways" and how to get them in Lumion, I'll be very grateful.

[peterm]

Hi IdeaImmagine

Inserting a duplicate model could mean importing each wall of a building seperately? Probably that's not the most comfortable and practical way...

Well generally you would not be building your scene in Lumion of the building one wall at a time.  That construction (creating the model) is done in a 3D modelling or CAD tool such as SkUp, Revit, Max, AutoCAD etc.

You use Lumion to import the building with all its parts/components already assigned with materials, and use Lumion to do what it is good at, and that's building the scene and fast rendering.

That could be a solution, but it means hundreds of materials for a single object like a house, for example. Again, think about walls, openings or any other repeated "component" of a building.

It all depends on what design iterations you need to go through with client, and at what point Lumion is used in the presentation of the design.  AFAIK, most houses would have, if not hundreds, then lots of materials, in Revit and some other CAD tools BIM lists and materials can extend well in to the hundreds. Unless of course, they are being designed as a minimalist design, but even then there's all the differences between interior and exterior as well as all the interior appliances etc

You would set a new material when you think the look or usage is different, or it is likely to incur a change from some other similar material.

Lumion has the advantage that when it is importing the building, it looks through all the surfaces and makes single common materials for all surfaces that share the same material reference.  This means when changing the material, such as using the material sliders to tweak how it looks e.g. brightness, then you do not have to go through 50 or 100 individual materials in Lumion, all surfaces sharing the same material are updated at once, nice 

Isn't it easier to just assign mapping coordinates to different surfaces of the objects?

That could be done.  If the user is familiar with UV Mapping methodologies such as those used in Max/Maya, then single textures can be created that act as an atlas/diffuse map.  They require to be rendered then finalised with a UV Map Editor.  Of course  very time a material look design change occurs, you would then need to redo the single texture map.  Lightmaps from Max are a similar concept.

As RAD mentions, it is actually a detailed and complex skill area of modelling (in Max, Maya, Cinema4D, etc), and best explained by searching for tutorials available elsewhere.

Hope that gives you a few pointers that assists in understanding about Lumion materials.

[IdeaImmagine]

Thank you Peterm for you great explanation!

Do you mean that... if I assign material and mapping coordinates to an object in modeling software, then I can import it and assing material in Lumion so that Lumion refers to and respects those coordinates?

I'm learning how to map materials in SketchUP...
Now waiting for Rad or someone else suggesting me about how to get this in ArchiCAD, too!

[RAD]

"Do you mean that... if I assign material and mapping coordinates to an object in modeling software, then I can import it and assigning material in Lumion so that Lumion refers to and respects those coordinates?" 

Yes.   

The scale of the material on the slider in Lumion will be Zero.   

 

[IdeaImmagine]

Thank for you quick reply!

So the scale must be zero to use imported mapping coordinates...
but what if I need to scale Lumion material texture because it doesn't match?

[RAD]

Use your own custom materials for situations like this for maximum control.   

[IdeaImmagine]

I think a way to preserve mapping coordinates while scaling texture is needed anyway.... maybe in a future Lumion realease!