Topic: material

[huzefa]

how can we apply a material to a surface with the same BUMP texture as the DEFUSE material ?
as the one loaded in the lumion library (so that the textures colour does not change) can u plz help !!
and what is the 3d glasses to be used to view the stereoscopic images of lumion come 3d ?
and lastly can can we directly import 3ds max seen file or 3d studio model in lumion ?

[peterm]

Hi huzefa

how can we apply a material to a surface with the same BUMP texture as the DEFUSE material ?

Lumion uses a normalmap to combine bump mapping and additional lighting for advanced material usage.

1. Simply create a normalmap from the texture using any of the tool mentioned below,

2. and add in to the second texture slot (see attached pic 1).

3. Then adjust the bump, glossiness, brightness etc sliders to get the desired result.

Note the Lumion Material Normalmaps show up as slightly different in blue but they are the same thing. (see image 2)

Please also do a search on the forum, there are a number of topics that could also help.
From my recent post in the Commercial Users Section:

Please see my reply here in topic Do bump makes work ok in lumion?.

In addition to the plugin for Photoshop and those mentioned in that topic there is also Substance Designer.

Adding Normalmaps to a surface can greatly improve the look especially the lighting aspects and depth, changing a flat looking surface in to something much more real.  The Bump slider (Materials --> Custom --> Standard Properties) needs to be tweaked with fine adjustment to get just the right look you are after, in addition to using the Advanced Options settings.  

Normalmaps are however not needed for every surface, it's easy to go over-board with them, selective use pays dividends.  Also to get the best, the normalmap itself should be tweaked for the right values for depth etc information.

Edit:  here's a list of links to some tools that make normalmaps (and general specular and other map textures):

1. ShaderMap:  http://shadermap.com/home/.
2. Substance Designer:  http://www.allegorithmic.com/products/substance-designer-2
3. nDo2:  http://quixel.se/
4. CrazyBump:  http://www.crazybump.com/
5. PixPlant:  http://www.pixplant.com/

[peterm]

and what is the 3d glasses to be used to view the stereoscopic images of lumion come 3d ?

Please see topic: 3 d video

[peterm]

and lastly can can we directly import 3ds max seen file or 3d studio model in lumion ?

3d Studio Max scenes and models: yes.  Lumion can import a number of formats including 3ds, OpenCollada DAE (do not use the Autodesk Collada), FBX, Obj and open directly Max files.  Note of course that not everything in Max can be translated across for example you can't have mentalRay or VRay materials etc.

Please see forum Board: Import & Export Advice: topic: 3D Studio Max: How do I export a model?

Please refer to Lumion Specifications and for some further information on importing to see topic: IMPORTING & UPDATING MODELS LUMION 3: Tips, Tricks and Shortcuts.

The preferred export format is OpenCollada or FBX.  Note that some versions of Max do not yet have an updated OpenCollada exporter, please refer to that site for news.

A new exporter has just been released. It is compatible with 3DS Max 2009-2013. A download link is provided in "3D Studio Max: How do I export a model?" above.

To open the required format, simply select from the list of drop-down formats, as Lumion will default to common *.DAE *.FBX.  (see attached pic)

[huzefa]

thanks a lot for your feed back it was really helpful , can u expalin me the functions of lite map editor and builboard materisl as what is the use of it ??
and is their any way to provide a cove light (rope light, indirect light) in the ceiling , cuz too many spot lights or omni lights are making the seen too slow and difficult to work with .

[peterm]

.. can u expalin me the functions of lite map editor and builboard materisl as what is the use of it ??

The Lightmap Material is used to import a Lightmap from 3DS Max that contains a pre-rendered lighting greyscale image used when static lighting and shadows are applicable in a scene.

Please see Import and Export Advise Board: topic: 3D Studio Max: How do I export a model?, and also use the forum search for "lightmap" for additional information and user comments at the forum.

Billboard Materials let you import an image and apply to a plane that always faces the camera.  It lets content be used with low rendering impact but is only suitable when continuous camera facing is not obvious for the scene, such as for photos or in video where not noticeable.  For example, photos of people are often used.  There are examples in the Lumion Library - 2D People (high and low detail).

Please also search the forum for "billboard", that will find posts on billboards and how to prepare, there's some good step-by-step posts from users.

and is their any way to provide a cove light (rope light, indirect light) in the ceiling , cuz too many spot lights or omni lights are making the seen too slow and difficult to work with .

Other light shape types such as cove and rope are not provided in Lumion. The work-around is to have a light shape (mesh) that you can use with high Emissiveness or Overbright values that then glows.  Then, add a few Spot or Omni lights to approximate the light caste on to other objects (sometimes these are not required, depends on the scene lighting needs).

Adding real-time IES lights to a scene does require a lot of performance from the PC.  A couple of suggestions include:
1. place lights in to their own layer(s) and turn on/off in Build Mode as needed
2. follow the guidelines in SPOTLIGHT PROPERTIES LUMION 3: Tips, Tricks and Shortcuts
3. follow the guidelines in LUMION 3: How to reduce render times

HTH