Decals

Note: Decal previews will only display in wireframe views if OpenGL is enabled for wireframe mode. The Pipeline setting must be OpenGL in Options > Appearance > Advanced Settings > Wireframe > Other Settings > Pipeline and Conduits.

When multiple overlapping decals are applied on a single object, the order in which they are applied may be significant. Decals are applied in the order they appear in the list. The last decal in the list appears to be on top.

Moves the decal. At the Point to move from and the Point to move to prompts, enter any locations as for the Rhino Move command.

Note: When using the planar mapping on a curved object, the entire bitmap must lie behind the surface of the object. Portions of the bitmap that lie in front of the surface will not be visible.

Drag the center control point on the top and bottom edges of the control widget.

Drag the center control point on the left and right edges of the control widget.

The information from the bitmap replaces or blends the object's color with the decal's color. This is the most common use of decals.

The mapping style determines how to project the decal onto the object. It is a good idea to draw construction lines in the scene to help accurately place decals. A rectangle drawn just behind a surface can act as a guide for a standard decal. Use object snaps for accurate placement.

Controls the same properties that are controlled by a material definition. Apply these properties to the specific areas of the object that are affected by the decal. By default, decals have a matte finish.

Sets the size of the highlight. Lower numbers specify a broader highlight; higher numbers focus the highlight in a smaller area. See Advanced Material Properties, Sharpness.

Linking options

Specifies how the image file will be linked to materials.

Linked

Creates a link to the image file. The file must be present on the local disk.

Embedded

Embeds the image information in the current file.

Linked and embedded

If the bitmap is found on the disk before rendering, the external file is used. If the image cannot be found on the disk, the internal definition will be used.

Note: The images are cached for the life of the document.

To see changes in linked or linked and embedded files

On the Flamingo nXt menu, click Utilities and then click Clear bitmap cache.

Masking

Obscures portions of the image based on either a color value or an alpha channel stored in the image.

In this example, an image with an alpha-channel background is placed as a decal on a rectangular surface. Masking for materials works the same.

The material assigned to a planar surface in this example has a red base color.

Original decal image. The gray checkered area represents the image alpha channel.

Final rendered image.

None

With no masking, the decal image obscures the underlying material. The rectangular planar surface casts a rectangular shadow on the ground plane. Masking allows the material to show through the image where the alpha channel or color masking takes place, but the shadow on the ground plane is rectangular, and the background behind the surface is blocked by the surface.

Without masking (left) the image covers the surface, with masking (right), the red material shows through.

Alpha Channel

Uses the image's alpha channel to define the masked area if one exists.

The alpha channel is a portion of each pixel's data that is reserved for transparency information. Alpha channels create and store masks that let you isolate and protect parts of an image while you apply color changes, filters, or other effects to the rest of the image.

Each pixel in an image is described as channels of data that define the mixture of the red, green, and blue (RGB) colors. The alpha channel is an 8-bit (256-level) grayscale representation of the image that masks the color of the underlying pixel. The value of the alpha mask determines the intensity of the pixel color.

If a mask is fully transparent, a red pixel would have full intensity (be fully visible bright red) and if the mask is completely opaque, this red pixel will appear completely transparent.

Color

All image pixels within the sensitivity range of the selected color will be masked.

Specify a color that will be masked and let the background show through.

Color Dropper

Click to select the color from the bitmap.

Color swatch

Click to select a color from the Select Color dialog box.

Sensitivity (Color only)

The value indicates the size of the area around the color that is also masked. Must be greater than 0.0 for color masking to occur.

Blur (Color only)

Partially masks pixels. The value determines the magnitude of partial masking around the masked color

Reverse

Inverts the mask—pixels that would have been masked are now included, and vice versa.

Transparent

Makes the masked area of the underlying object transparent so other objects or the background behind the object can be seen through the object. Normally, the material of the object shows through in that area.

Transparent masking allows a more natural shadow and allows the background objects to show. The underlying material could simply be transparent, but sometimes it is useful to make the surface behind the decal transparent while keeping other areas of the surface opaque.

Causes the decal to appear on the back face of the surface on which it is placed as well as the front face.

1.	Select one or more objects.
2.	On the Edit menu, click Object Properties.
3.	On the Properties list, click Flamingo nXt Decals.
4.	Click the Add button.
5.	In the Open Bitmap dialog box, select a bitmap name, and click Open. Note Refresh the image definition When a bitmap file is changed using an image editor such as Photoshop, you must refresh the bitmap definition in Flamingo nXt. To refresh the bitmap On the Flamingo nXt menu, click Utilities > Clear bitmap cache.
6.	In the Decal Properties dialog box, select options, and click Place.
7.	At the prompts for points, pick points on the model to locate the decal. The precise sequence depends on the type of decal selected: Planar, Cylindrical, or UVMap.

1.	Click the Edit Placement button.
2.	At the Select control point prompt, use the graphical editor to change the placement of the decal.
3.	Press Enter when finished.

1.	Click the Properties button.
2.	In the Decal Properties dialog box, use the controls to change the decal's properties.

Cylindrical
The cylindrical mapping type is useful for placing decals onto objects that curve in one direction, such as labels on wine bottles. The cylindrical projection maps the bitmap onto the cylinder with the bitmap's vertical axis along the cylinder's axis, and the horizontal axis around the cylinder.
Planar
Planar mapping is the most common mapping style. It is appropriate when mapping to flat or gently curved objects. The corners define the bitmap's location and extents. If the rectangle does not have the same proportions as the bitmap, the bitmap will be stretched or compressed to fit. When using planar mapping on a curved object, the entire bitmap projection must lie behind the surface of the object. Portions of the bitmap that lie in front of the surface will not be visible.
UV Map
Decals using UV mapping are useful for objects like hair and tree bark where the decal flows and stretches to fit the surface. The decal covers the entire object; there is no control over the decal placement. UV mapping uses the u- and v-parameterization of the surface to bend and stretch the image; therefore, no manual placement is necessary.