How do I load new textures into Bryce7?

tdrd · September 2012

OK I have done two things.

First I browsed the internet for texture files for stone walling.

They have been downloaded as jpegs.

In searching where to place these files... I came across these TIF files in:
user\My Documents\DAZ 3D\Bryce\Presets\Content\Textures\Legacy\Tiling\Stone

namely the file STONE15M.TIF interests me.

Now I go back into Bryce and try to locate this preinstalled texture and I cannot for the life of me load this material.

I also tried to load the downloaded material into Bryce and It simply cannot identify it or the TIF that I found.

Please can someone tell me how to get to these preset textures in Bryce7 and also how to import these downloaded textures into Bryce. THEN please tell me where the dickens to find them within the product.

Many thanks again (oh no it's not HIM again is it!)
Terry

tdrd · September 2012

Some lovely free wall textures at:
http://swtexture.com/

tdrd · September 2012

OK folks - found this good tutorial video (1 minute) about loading image as texture...
http://vimeo.com/49534521

David Brinnen · September 2012

Thanks for putting up the link, that's a good video. Using the image texture as a driver for the bump channel should only really be considered an option when you have no other choice. Indeed it is often better to try to create an appropriate bump pattern to suit your material with one of the procedural textures, for two reasons.

1. Bump channel in Bryce is driven by heightmap, but the input picture texture is only accepted at 8bit which is too low a resolution to give good bump response. Also there is no interpolation on bump images, so the image bump is not only stepped but also faceted.

2. The image texture (turned greyscale) rarely looks anything like an appropriate heightmap for the image.

The DS bridge, for some baffling reason, treats Bryce with such image based bump - I say baffling because in the intervening years that the DS bridge has been in existence, there has been plenty of scope to make this function sensibly with fixes from either direction. To get the best, take a look at Rashad Carters images of people http://www.bryce5.com/search.php?search_user=rashadcarter1 then it is necessary to process the textures passed over from DS manually.

There are applications out there, if you want to get into using image textures, that will almost instantly convert normal maps to height maps and indeed, some very clever ones, can try to interpret the images themselves into heightmaps. This is not always wonderfully successful, but having said that, it is still many times better than just using the image as a hightmap to drive bump channel.

David Brinnen · September 2012

Here the material on the dragon is a mixture of image based and procedural. The material on the ground is built up entirely of image based. To get a good bump map effect fairly high resolution sources are needed. You can check it out since I put this material up on the free material exchange. http://www.bryce5.com/details.php?image_id=4702&mode=search if you look at the remarks below the file you will also find more details regarding using images as textures.

tdrd · September 2012

Dave Brinnen - tried to register with Bryce5.com and it says it should send me an activation email before I can download anything.
Registered with them 2 hours ago - still no email.
So i'll just have to wait or re-register... all the details WERE correct.

Horo · September 2012

Where did you register? The galleries or the forum?

tdrd · September 2012

bryce5.com - main screen
box on left said register so I registered.
It accepted my registration but still no email....

Horo · September 2012

@tdrd - right Terry, your registration was received by the system 2012-09-18 12:13 and your account has not yet been activated. This may take some time since Nightst4r, the owner, is a very busy person. But your account will be activated eventually.

tdrd · September 2012

Thanks for that - I thought it was some kind of system error or something.
Terry

AHA! I am now in!

akmerlow · September 2019

Hope this is a fitting thread, so sorry for bringing it back.

convert normal maps to height maps

Is this a way to do anything with normal maps that come with models?

Looking at another example by David:

I see that there is black and white heightmap in alpha channel. I suppose it's a way to get anything out of it, because if i just keep alpha channel white, result doesn't have impact on anything.

Let's say, i have a model which comes with following image maps:

- Diffuse

- AO (i believe it's Ambient Occlusion)

- Metallic

- Normal

- Rougness

Which of them could find their use while importing in Bryce? And it can be more with those models, like also displacement maps etc. I understan those are modern models who are aimed at pbr.

Horo · September 2019

akmerlow - sorry, I'm not good at that. The maps you mention are images and you have to load them into the Pictures Library. In the Mat Lab, set a dot into Diffuse (or anywhere) and you get a random texture. On the lower side, there are two buttons at left, click on the right one [P] to enter the Pictures Library. Here you can load your image(s). Once they are there, you can use them in the Mat Lab.