| Texture | Gradient | Gradient Colors | Advanced | Render Tree Usage
Shader Type: Texture
Output: Color (RGB) value
Maps a gradient texture over an object’s surface. It takes a scalar value and performs an interpolation of a color map. The map can be up to eight colors and is set by a specific parameter.
Name |
The shader’s name. Enter any name you like, or leave the default. |
Texture Space |
Defines the texture space the texture will be applied to. The projection can be defined per object or to all objects in the selection. Object Selection: Defines whether the texture will be applied to a specific object or all of a scene’s objects. Property Selection: Lets you choose a Texture Support. If no texture support has been defined, you can create one by clicking New. If a texture projection is already defined, you can edit it by clicking Edit. Edit: Opens the Texture Support property page for the defined texture projection. New: Defines the new texture projection to be created. You can choose from the following: • UV: Projects the texture along the U and V. • Planar XY: Projects the texture on X and Y coordinates only. • Planar XZ: Projects the texture on X and Z coordinates only. • Planar YZ: Projects the texture on Y and Z coordinates only. • Cylindrical: Projects the texture as though it is a cylinder wrapped around an object. • Spherical: Surrounds the object with a spherical mapping across the whole surface with some distortion. • Spatial: The texture is centered on the scene’s origin. • Cubic: Applies the texture onto the object by first assigning the object’s polygons to faces of a cube, and then projecting the texture onto each face by default. The layout of a cubic projection can be completely customized using the options in the Texture Support property editor. • Camera Projection: The texture is mapped relative to the camera’s center. In this coordinate system, the camera is the center of the “world,” with an up vector, looking toward the negative Z axis. The result resembles an image projected from a camera. The texture will move with the camera and will be affected by any scaling, rotation, and translation. • Unique Uvs (Polymesh): Applies a texture to polygon objects by assigning each polygon’s UV coordinates to its own distinct piece of the texture so that no two polygons’ coordinates overlap each other. • Advanced: Opens the Create Texture Support property page from which you can explicitly define a texture projection. |
Gradient Mode |
Linear: Creates a standard linear gradient that starts from one edge of the texture projection object and gradiates to the other. Radial Wave: Creates a gradient that begins at the center of the texture projection and gradiates outward, in a bull’s-eye pattern. Radial Rainbow: Also creates a rainbow-like gradient that originates at the center of the texture projection, except this mode uses a linear, symmetrical pattern. |
Spread
Compact |
Defines where the gradient will be compacted. The default value of 0.5 will create an even gradient with equal color distribution. A value less than 0.5 causes Color 1 to extend itself toward the gradient’s center; a value greater than 0.5 causes the last color in the gradient to extend itself (bleed) toward the center of the gradient. A value of 0 causes the gradient to display Color 0 only. A value of 1 causes the gradient to display the last color only. |
Pitch |
Defines how the gradient will be pinched or expanded. A value less than 0.5 pinches the gradient using the first and last colors, squeezing the colors in between. A value greater than 0.5 does the opposite and spread the gradient from the center. |
Offset
X, Y |
Offsets or shifts the gradient in either X and/or Y directions. |
Number of Colors |
Defines the number of colors the shader will use. A maximum of eight colors is accepted. To add more, use the Mix8Color shader. |
Color 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 |
Defines the color for each position from 1 to 8. |
Spread Position |
Defines the location of colors 2 to 7 within the color spread. 0 = low end; 1 = high end |
Repeats
Texture Repeats |
Contains the repetition factor in X,Y, and Z. A value of 2, for example, shrinks the texture so that it fits twice in a [0..1] interval. |
Alternate
U, V, Z |
Specifies whether every other copy of the repetition should be reversed so that the successive copies of the texture are alternated. |
UV Remap
Minimum, Maximum |
Determines the remapping of the texture image. For a 2D image, only X and Y are used. |
Color parameters can be connected to other textures or image processing shaders. For example, you can connect a different texture to any input from Color 1 to 8 to create a gradient of textures or colors. You can also use Texture Generator shaders to control the weight parameter of each color.
A texture shader has limitless capabilities in a render tree. It can texture an object, be used as a camera or light projection, define bump or displacement maps, or be blended with any number of other textures to create any effect.
SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.6.01