Attempt to make kind of neon in Bryce (now need help with animation)
launok
Posts: 778
Just something I have tried today in Bryce. Got all the 'pipes' from Sketchup Warehouse and played a bit with it. I want to see how 3D neon will work out to add to scenes without using postwork afterwards on renders.
I still have to make some 'links' between the open spaces but need to look for something to add in.
Post edited by launok on
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Comments
Nice idea.
You could use Metaballs to join the tubes. If you place them slightly apart they will blend together like you see the glass on neon signs.
@StuartB, how do you get your tube to have that middle part to go inwards, where the two parts link together?
I have tried the metaballs but still not perfect. The 'cone' part I could not get a suitable glass color.
I also would like to know if there are ways to add a more rounded (bevel) effect to fonts created with Elefont so that it can be used for neon effects? Any ideas?
As you see in the wire frame image.
The 2 metaballs, 1 in side the end of each tube, have a gap between them, then they automatically blend / join themselves together when rendered.
If the gap is too big they wont.
Once you have your tubes and metaballs arranged how you want you can group them all together as 1 object.
Metaballs are fun to work with. I made a fairy light from metaballs once
That is quite impressive Chohole!
I should use the various features of Bryce more.
Here I have used my first neon model ever made in Bryce or any program that is! This is only test renders. I will use the model later on in a proper town scene. The building is an ice-cream shop I got at Sketchup Warehouse which was uploaded earlier this year. It has 2 stories but I removed the top floor to add neon roof sign the way I planned it.
It took some time to assemble the neon sign (I am not really a modeller) but with trial and error I will give more neon signs a go. This way I will gain more experience with modelling, Bryce program features, etc.
The neon model is currently better for front view purposes as there are still parts from side view not lining up/joining very well and I do struggle with movements to specific points. I need to play more with the moving of the various parts for perfection.
PS: Is it possible to give some animation to the neon sign within Bryce? On/Off type of ani? I have only a bit experience with postwork animation, i.e. Animation Shop for Paint Shop Pro. But I want to try using as little postwork as possible on 3D renders. This is why I have decided to build a neon sign rather than use Photoshop 2D neons, etc.
Laura
Laura- very impressive work. Maybe Jay (Jamahoney) can help you, with the animation
@mermaid010 - thank you for your compliment!
I have seen a beginners YouTube video on animation in Bryce and will try and see if it will work, otherwise I would like to hear from Jay about this. Currently I want the rooftop neon sign to have some animation.
If I have a look at the video it seems I need 2 parts on top of each other but I still have to follow it completely to see how the frames works.
EDIT: I had a look at the video in full and find it confusing for a beginner. I think I have misunderstood 2 parts on top of each other. Here is a link to the video. Will this video help for a simple on/off animation? All the moving around with the camera, etc., is this needed in my case? Maybe it is since it's 3D!!
My brain is still working in 2D where I have added animations via postwork afterwords! 
Thanks, Mermaid, for recommendation, and, yes, Launok, it is quite possible to create an animation.
In Bryce, it could finally be presented as an .avi still animation (that is, the view is the same throughout, with no movement, but with flashing neon changes). You could also create movement, too (slightly more complicated - with flashings etc.,).
In all, the final work could be .avi formatted, or, you could later change (given the video graphics software capabilities you have) to other formats, say, .gif...etc., available to you.
In Bryce, for both, it is possible to render the animation alone in one swell swoop, but you would want to be precise, know where you're going, what you want in your final render - flashinbgs etc. Vewing the animation through mesh alone is possible - over the few seconds/minutes/time you created.
But, always remember the viewer at the other end - you don't want to bore them-to-hell with a simple view that may have taken you interestinly hours/days to construct.
I note that some of the Bryce 'how-to-animate' videos are old-dish, but it is possible to still learn from them - get a feel of them, and then apply to the more modern version that you have.
It's not an easy task to take you step-by-step as to what you need to do - you would want to know several procedures beforehand.
Jay
I've done animations in Photoshop and Bryce the principal is the same except one has to think 2D and 3D. Here are few of my trials and errors https://www.pinterest.com/maryole3/animations-done-in-bryce-3d/ . The .avi file has to be converted to another format to be viewed on the net.
@Jamahoney - I have noticed the 'setup animation' menu and that is where I am lost without proper tutorials. I was hoping on some text tutorial but haven't look for such yet. I will have to search more but am sitting with terrible backache and will only be able to cary on when I can sit properly.
@mermaid010 - I haven't even done Photoshop animation either, only bit Paint Shop Pro. Your animation with metaballs looks great!
Laura - I don't use Paint Shop Pro so I'm not sure how animations are done there. Maybe this tutorial by Robin Woods will help you. http://www.robinwood.com/Catalog/Technical/BryceTuts/BryceClasses/IBryce1/IBryceLesson1-1.html
I keep referring to these tutorials from time to time.
Thank you for the link to tutorials by Robin Wood. As soon as my backache is better I will give it a go. Currently I can't sit properly.
Yeah, Launok, Mermaid's tut-suggestion (some 5 pages, I recall) was what I initially started off with, and while it is for Bryce 5.0, the same method for producing the animation is roughly the same for in Bryce 7.0. There are a few YouTube vids also, so Google them, too.
Jay
Launok: Very nice work. Keep trying new things.
Chohole: Lovely fairy!