problem with staircase when viewed from above

[Anonymous]

please can you help with the following issue:

in the 3d window, when i view a staircase from above (even when not directly above but high up), there is no difference in the shading of each step and the staircase looks more like a solid block or a ramp.

how do i get each step to be clearly defined?

any help is greatly appreciated.

[Link]

Are you Forreal?! Sorry I couldn't resist. That was terrible and you've probably heard it a million times. Anyway, welcome to the community.

What you are describing is the effect of same material blending into itself. IMHO the best way to show some separation between them (apart from changing the material of each step with GDL ) would be to render the 3D view out with shadows.

Not the best solution I know, but that's about all I can come up with right now.

Cheers,
Link.

[Anonymous]

"Link" wrote:
Are you Forreal?! Sorry I couldn't resist. That was terrible and you've probably heard it a million times. Anyway, welcome to the community.

What you are describing is the effect of same material blending into itself. IMHO the best way to show some separation between them (apart from changing the material of each step with GDL :shock: ) would be to render the 3D view out with shadows.

Not the best solution I know, but that's about all I can come up with right now.

Cheers,
Link.

thanks for the quick reply, and yes, i do get it all the time!

a couple more points:

even when i render with shadows, there is still not enough distinction between each step... it looks really bad in renderings when at the wrong angle! are there any particular shadow settings i should be using (i'm new to CAD and the learning curve is pretty steep!)

also, apologies if it's a really stupid question, but what is IMHO?

thanks, derek

[Link]

IMHO = In My Humble Opinion.

The only thing I could suggest is to position the sun in such a way that the shadows cast in a direction that shows the distinction you need.

Do that in Image>3D Projection Settings.

Cheers,
Link.

[Anonymous]

i've tried that too, but the problem is it's a 'u' shape staircase. therefore, there's always one side that's always wrong. i shall continue experimenting with additional lighting to try and force the shadows... or maybe i'll just change the viewing angle!

if anyone else has any suggestions, i'd be happy to hear them. in the mean time, thanks very much for your help Link. at least i know i'm heading in the right direction.

derek

[Anonymous]

If you are just in the 3D window, not render window, would it be satisfactory to turn contours on? (either in OpenGL or shaded Internal Engine 3D mode). If you are after a render, ofcourse that is another issue. Sometimes I find the simplicity of a shaded image with contour outlines gives a clearer idea of what is happening than a fully lit "photo realistic" render, just depends what you want and who it's for.

[Anonymous]

I know this is way off topic.. but Derek Forreal (maybe different spelling?) was a big time drug dealer in california in the '70s and '80s...

[Anonymous]

i think that until i learn how to position and direct lights, using contours is the best result i'll get. thanks for that tip s2art!

as for the dealing, i was only just born in the 70s so i don't think it was me... although the film is a cracker!

thanks for the help guys. may be posting again soon with queries regarding sun/light objects

Derek

[Anonymous]

hi all,

just to let you know that i managed to solve the problem...

to get the shadows on each step, place a window light at the top of the staircase and angle it down to the same pitch as the stairs. adjust settings to taste - personally i use hard shadows which defines the staircase nicely.

cheers

Derek