[NeoHunter]

I only have Adobe Photoshop 6.0, so if you want to tell me how to do what I am about to ask, it must be relevent to that version only.

If I were to render a scene in 3D Studio Max R4 with the ships and background all in one picture without engine glows, save it as JPEG then open it up in Photoshop to add engine glows, how do I do it? Because if the fighters are flying TOWARDS me, the enigne glows must definitely be behind the fighter. But since everything is in one layer, how do I do so? Screen in Blending Options won't do I think because if you place it over the engine, the engine glow will overlap the engine but not hide behind the engine.

I did think of a way though but I am not sure if it will work. I was thinking of rendering each fighter and capital ship in 3D Studio Max with lighting only. No backgrounds. Once I have rendered all the required ships into JPEGS, I would open up a new Photoshop file and then insert each ship as a new layer. To make then blend in with the background and the engine glows, I will use Screen on all of them. Including the engine glows.

Will that work? Please tell me a better way if there is one.

Thank you.

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[Pez]

Thunder made a tutorial on this subject: http://www.3dap.com/hlp/hosted/sot/tutorials/tut_engines.shtml

But you can add engine glow in 3DS Max. Add a light at the engine. Then add volume light.There are a pretty good tutorial on this here: http://www.3dmaxer.dk/tutorial.asp?ak=0

Click om "Thrusters". It's in danish but if you follow the pics and download the file it shouldn't be a problem.

Pez

[This message has been edited by Pez (edited 10-20-2001).]

[NeoHunter]

Oh I see. Thanks for the tip.

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[Martinus]

 

Originally posted by Pez:
Click om "Thrusters". It's in danish but if you follow the pics and download the file it shouldn't be a problem.

Pez

Use the fish Luke:
Babelfish



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[NeoHunter]

Oops! Looks like the Sounds of Thunder site teaches how to add engine glows IF your ship is in one layer and the bacground is in another layer.

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[Martinus]

Bleh, it looks like the fish is incapable of translating danish. Oh well, anyone want to do a quick translation?  

[Setekh]

*don't look at me*  

You could always render your background, then render your ships on a plain bg, delete the plain bg, and then you'll have everything on different layers...  

[joek]

 

Originally posted by NeoHunter:
Oops! Looks like the Sounds of Thunder site teaches how to add engine glows IF your ship is in one layer and the bacground is in another layer.

That's not that big of a problem. Take your rendered scene and duplicate it into two layers in Photoshop. Then in the top layer, use the eraser around your foreground objects (like the ships), so that you erase the background from them. Since the background still exists in the layer below, it will still show up. Now you can put any number of objects in between those two layers, making them in between the ships and the background.

Joe.

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[Sandwich]

No, no and no!

Look at a streetlight at night, from behind. Notice that not only do you see a halo of glow, but the glow even bleeds into the center of the halo and lightens it a bit.

Apply the same thing to engine glows:

1) Render and save as BMP or TIFF or TGA - not JPEG. (JPEG is a lossy format - it doesn't keep a true replica of the pixel data, adn so the more you work witha  certain JPEG, saving and opening it, the more the image will get corrupted).

2) Open the render in PS, and create a new layer above it.

3) Select the area you want to have the engine glow in, and then feather the selction about 30-50% of the selection. When you make the selction, make sure to select mostly around the engine if you are viewing the ship from in front. However, select some of the edges of the engine so you get the streetlight effect as well.  

4) Fill the selction with white.

5) Change the blending of the layer to screen.

6) Enjoy!  


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[NeoHunter]

Wah......shows how little I know of Photoshop.

Will try again.

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