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Using Terrains to Model
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Terrain Mapping
 Terrain Mapping II
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 Terrain Mapping

 Here are some notes on using grayscale images to create terrain objects, then mapping them correctly.

This can be recreated using only Photoshop.
HP Integrity SuperDome I really want one of these to help me render a bit faster! Anyway, this picture of a large HP computer, is rendered using only a single terrain and a single box object. The terrain has 3 images associated with it:

1) A terrain displacement map
2) An image map
3) A bump map

The box has nothing but a color associated with it.

Getting Started First, I looked around the web and found this picture of the server which I used as a 'guide' in Photoshop. I cropped it to something I thought I could use. After cropping, the image size was 330 x 846.

Using this image as a background template, I began to build my image map for my terrain.

The Image Displacemnt Map I gradually build up the image displacement map using layers in Photoshop, always keeping in mind darker colors recede while lighter colors advance.

I created a quick action to duplicate the image I was working on, flatten it and copy it to the clipboard.This way I could easily switch to Vue and paste it into the terrain to check it. It's a very iterative process. It's important to note you MUST have the exact same size terrain as bitmap you are pasting. Also, you must make sure your document is in GRAYSCALE mode.

Notice the black around the edges of the image. Black will be the very lowest polygons of the terrain, and you can easily 'trim' them off using height adjustments. More on that later.

Also of interest is the 'curving doors' on the top half of the server. A regular gradient renders only an incline, not a cylinder profile-- which is what I want. So, I went into Vue and rendered a cylinder straight on, with no ambient and the light straight on with a very long focal length. I then copied it into Photoshop and used it to build the 'curving doors.'

Setting up the Terrain As I mentioned earlier, the image map I am using to build the terrain is 330Wide x 846Tall. So, I go into Vue, create a new terrain, and then click the Resize Terrain button, and enter in my new values. Leave the other settings. Next, copy your grayscale map to the clipboard then click the Paste button (4th on the top row) to use it as a displacement map for your terrain.

  Now that the image is imported, you can start to clip the altitudes of the terrain. Generally, I use this function to manage the 'thickness' of the terrain.
  Once you've applied the displacement image, you'll see the terrain object doesn't reflect the resolution settings. This is because the terrain defaults to square. To fix this, go into the Numerics tab in the top right requestor, and click on the 'Display true object's dimensions On/Off' button until you see the actual dimensions of the object. Then type in the dimensions of your displacement image.
Test Render Now, set the Pitch of the Terrain to 90 to 'stand it up,' and add a cube behind it scaled correctly to act as the backend of the server.

Typically, I'll choose an off color, like Red, to test render the terrain and check it for errors. Here you can see there's some stair-stepping on the 'curving doors.' This artifacting is really impossible to get rid of, so we'll use a bump map later on to hide it. If I wanted to, I could increase the resolution of the originating displacement map, along with a smoother gradient for the door, and the stair-stepping would be less noticeable.

Creating the Image Color Map Create your image color map the same size as your image displacement map. You can choose to use a larger or smaller color map, but make sure it has the exact same aspect ratio as the displacement map.

It's important to make sure your color map 'bleeds' to the edges, so you don't get any undesired effects from minor offsets in the terrain.

I use the existing image displacment map to help create the color map keeping in mind to be very careful to allign colors with the displaced geometry.

Adding the Image Color Map We'll add the image color map. Edit the material of the terrain, and choose the 'Mapped Picture' radio button under the Colors tab.

Load your Image Colors Map. Then you'll need to 'flip it upside down' by clicking the rotate button twice.

  There are a couple of issues to be concerned with when adding maps to terrains.

Here's what I've figured out.

1) If you're ONLY adding a 'mapped picture' to the Colors channel (Image Color Map), then it's fine to use the Mapping 'Object - Parametric' as this will allow the image map to scale properly with the object. But, if you intend to add a bump map you shouldn't use this mode.

I generally turn this mode on now as it's very easy to quickly do a test render and see if everything is lined up properly. Once you set 'Object-Parametric' then you should be able to see a perfect mapping of your terrain.

If you're not adding any other maps then, GREAT, YOU'RE DONE!
Creating the Bump Map Let's add a bump map to help mask the artifacting on the 'curved doors.' Back into Photoshop, and allign the texture (add noise filter) with the doors and save it as a PNG.

I typically use PNG's instead of JPG's as sometimes JPG artifacts can be seen, especially in displacement maps.

Remember with bump mapping, black is down, and white is up.

Loading Multiple Maps So, if you want to use multiple maps, for instance a bump map and a luminance map, you need to use a different mapping scheme. This is because, while Object-Parametric works fine for image maps, it's not OK for some other maps, in particular, bump maps.

This method of alligning maps is predicated on the fact you cannot 'resize' your object after the maps are set. If you do, you'll need to reset the map settings. So, go ahead and resize your terrain to what you want it to be.

A lot of what I'm about to convey, I learned from the  B)art website hosted by Charles ?. Some of the settings have changed since his wonderful tutorial on 'Mapping a Vue 4.12+ Terrain.'  First, change the material mapping mode from 'Object-Parametric' to 'Object Standard.'
Calculating Image Scale As mentioned before, if you plan on using bump mapping, then you need to be sure and set your mapping style to Object Standard and not Object Parametric. This is because Object Parametric scales the bump 'border' with the object when it scales.

If you use use Object Standard, then you must first set the Image Scale (Colors Tab) for your mapped picture to:

Image scale X = object width/45
Image scale Y = object height/45

You can find the object size by toggling the "display true object dimensions ON/OFF" in the Object Size requestor (as we did above in 'Setting up the Terrain.'

Also, always be sure and set the aspect ratio for the image/bump/luminance map to the same ratio as the terrain (usually square). Keeping it the same size isn't important, just the same ratio.

Calculating Image Scale for Color Map So, let's apply our calculation to the color map settings. Since we haven't resized our terrain, we know it is 330W x 846H. So, once we've set our mapping mode to 'Object Standard,' we then set our scaling as follows:

Image scale X = 330/45 =  7.333
Image scale Y = 846/45 =  18.8

Now render and test that everything is correct. If it's not, make sure you set mapping to 'Object-Standard' and 'Automatic.'

Adding the Bump Map Go to the Bump tab, and control-click on the Bump production sphere to go into the function editor.

You should see the Color grayed out. Click on the 'Add Texture Map Node' button on the left, then choose the correct bump map, and click the rotate button twice to flip it upside down.

  Now, we need to scale the bump map, just as we did the color map. To do this, click on the UV Coordinates node right above the bump texture node. Then enter in the exact same settings as we did for the color map (X: 7.333, Y: 18.8). Then press OK and test render.
Adding the Bump Map (cont) When done, you can adjust the bump map depth lower for a more subtle effect.
Finished! Now, all you have to do is light it, and you're good to go!

PDF version Here's this same tutorial in PDF format.
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