Arraying Objects in Layout

[WShawn]

Hello:

I need to create an animation that shows hundreds of security cameras in a military-type formation. I've created the camera model which includes several texture maps. If I take that model and create an array of duplicates in modeler the texture maps of the duplicates get out of whack.

So it looks like I need to create the array of cameras in Layout. I can clone the camera as many times as I need, then manually move each one into place, but this doesn't seem very efficient. I also want each one to dissolve on every few frames. Can someone point me to an expression tutorial or some type of script that might be able to create an array of objects in Layout?

Thank you.

Shawn Marshall
Marshall Arts Motion Graphics

[wacom]

How are you doing the textures for your model? Is it the reflection maps or something that get messed up? Just wanting a little more info to help give you some answers to your problems.
UV maps might fix all this...


PS- I'm a fellow Portland'er here...for what it's worth...

[richpr]

You might want to check out HD Instance... I believe it is just the thing for that...

[WShawn]

Thanks for the replies.

Wacom-
The model is of a specific GE-brand camera. The texture maps to which I'm referring are surface maps added in the color and bump channels.

For instance, on the top of the camera is a sticker that has a bar code and information about the camera, made in Taiwan, UL, etc. I mapped it onto a polygon with a planar projection on the Y axis. The lens of the camera has various little indicators like "near", "far", "T" and "W". I used a texture map wrapped cylindrically around the z axis for this map.

So this all works great with the original model at 0,0,0. But if I make an array of duplicates the texture maps of the duplicates are no longer properly registered. For instance, the map of the sticker repeats itself wherever it comes across that surface, so part of the sticker shifts off one end of the polygon and appears on the opposite end.

So maybe since UV mapping sticks the surface to the specific points that would mitigate the problem. It's just that I don't have a lot of experience with UV mapping, but I can try to figure it out.

richpr-I can't find HD Instance in the manual. What is it?

And as I was looking through the manual and hard drive for something called HD Instance, I found a script from Eki I'd downloaded earlier this week called...Array. And what do you know. It takes an object in layout and makes an array of them. I downloaded his plug in pack to test out the lighting tools and didn't even know that array tool was included.

So, thanks for your help.

Shawn Marshall

[richpr]

Sorry, HD (Happy Digital) Instance is a commercial plug-in I read about recently...

[txbob]

You could link the models to particles. This is really good for a random look.

The method I would uses for a more straight rows and columns look is a bit time consuming at first, but gets cool in the end where you can add hundreds, or thousands with a click. Here's the deal:

Make the animation of the first one. save it. move the path of the the first one, writing down how much you moved it, and do a load items from scene .( It will ask you about lights... If there are lights on the cameras, delete the main scene light before saving or you are going to wind up with a zillion lights...) Save the scene. Move these two twice as much, and load from scene again. Move 4X the original amount, and load from scene. Repeat.

I know you could write a script for this, but because of the exponential nature of the number increase, it actually goes pretty fast by hand.

Hope this helps.


BTW: I learned this from Lee Stranahan back in 1993(?) His example also included time shifting the keys with each iteration. There was an old commercial where an audience in a stadium flipped over cards to reveal a picture. This technique allowed you to do that trick, although it involved a whole lot of recentering the image maps to fit on the multiple objects that made up the final large image... Someone might even still have the scene on a dusty old floppy (LW2.0 rules!)

[jeremyhardin]

http://www.kolumbus.fi/erkki.halkka/plugpak/index.html

go to the freebies. there's an array tool for layout.