IRender nXt Bump Maps

IRender nXt has several options for Bump Maps .

Auto Bump Map

Auto Bump in Material Wizard

The Auto Bump Map option on the Material Wizard creates a bump map (automatically) from the SketchUp image on a material.
(This will be replaced with a slider bar - for bump intensity - later. But we wanted to get something implemented now and add the slider bar later.)


Here is an Auto Bump example of a wall with SketchUp's stone material, and two spot light shining on the the material:
(Bump maps have their best effect when there is lighting at an angle to the material, because the bump map 3D effect is more pronounced when there is light shining on the material.)

No Auto Bump Map
With Auto Bump Map and 100% color strength



Caveat

Note. This concept - using an image to create a bump map of itself is not really correct. It make the dark parts of the image seem depressed and the light parts raised up. However, many people and many rendering systems use it because it create a 3D effect for some materials.

Here is a better example, using a depth oriented bump map, rather than just an image to create the bump effect.

Stone bump map image.
Note: It does not look like a photo of stone, because the light and dark areas represent depth and not illumination.
Stone bump rendering in IRender.
It produces a very realistic stone effect. Notice the subtle difference in shading between the front and the top.
(Based on the angle of the light.)


Bump Map editor for nXt materials

The IRender nXt Material editor can create Bump Maps with underlying textures (beside the bump map) and other special features.

Bump map editor

There are two ways to do bump maps.

  1. You can use the original texture as a bump map or
  2. You can provide a separate image to use a bump map.


With IRender nXt, you can use the nXt material editor to create your own materials, with many additional material features, including bump mapping.

After creating an nXt material, the user can automatically create a material for SketchUp which appears similar, (but of course with no bump mapping or reflective properties). This SketchUp material will automatically render using the nXt material with IRender.

The bump map applied. The black dot was added to demonstrate a large bump effect. (The darker the bump image, the more the bump)
A close up rendering of the bump-map wall. You can see the bump effect more dramatically. Bumps do not create new geometry which sticks out of the wall. But they do effect lighting by creating a shadow effect around the bumps.



See also