Filter Forge - out from selection

Rawn (RawArt)

Texture Artist

Posts: 803
Filters: 103

Anyone know how to make a filter that will apply a pattern that projects out from a selection?
I have seen alot of cool things done with FF2 and directional filters, but I dont have the time lately to play and see what can be done. So I am wondering if anyone has tried something like this.

I have a couple pattern settings I would love to apply this way for a few projects I am working on.

I think alienskin or one of those used to have a lightening effect that followed the edge of an object *shrug*

Posted: August 24, 2010 8:53 am

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Sphinx.

Filter Optimizer

Posts: 1344
Filters: 38

Yes, I worked a bit on that some time ago. Its a tough problem and I didn't manage to make it perfect. Check out the discussion here.

Njyldgarkn sample cache!

Posted: August 24, 2010 9:02 am

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Kraellin

Kraellin

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Filters: 97

uhm, is the selection within photoshop or FF? cause if it's in ps, then it's easy, you just invert it and apply the FF pattern to the inverted. and since FF has no real 'selection' thingie, no 'marching ants', then i'm not sure what you mean. but, frames and ellipses come to mind as a starter.

If wishes were horses... there'd be a whole lot of horse crap to clean up!

Craig

Posted: August 24, 2010 4:07 pm

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Rawn (RawArt)

Texture Artist

Posts: 803
Filters: 103

Yeah, I am thinking of a photoshop selection....but I am confused as to how to get the filter to recognize the selection and project the pattern out accordingly with regard to the edges of the selection.

Rawn

Posted: August 25, 2010 8:22 am

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GMM
Moderator

Filter Forge, Inc

Posts: 1727

Rawn, there is a pretty detailed help article on the subject. Does it make the issue clear?

Posted: August 25, 2010 9:08 am

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Sphinx.

Filter Optimizer

Posts: 1344
Filters: 38

Think about how the coordinate x and y dimensions look respectively for that mapping, i.e. what would you need to plug into a Lookup component to get the pattern.

One dimension would look like gradient going from black to white outwards from the shape (or inverted). This can be faked with a blur (ideal is a distance transform).
If the selection is a disc/circle, this would be a radial gradient.

The other dimension would look like a repeating gradient around the shape path. This is the "hard" problem I tried to solve (see the link).
If the selection is a disc/circle this would look like a repeating angular gradient with center in the center of the disc.

Follow?

Njyldgarkn sample cache!

Posted: August 25, 2010 9:09 am

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Rawn (RawArt)

Texture Artist

Posts: 803
Filters: 103

I think I follow...thanx guys
If nothing else, I at least have some ideas to play with till i figure something out smile:)

Rawn

Posted: August 25, 2010 9:25 am

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tigerAspect

Posts: 221
Filters: 9

Quote

One dimension would look like gradient going from black to white outwards from the shape (or inverted). This can be faked with a blur (ideal is a distance transform).
If the selection is a disc/circle, this would be a radial gradient.

The other dimension would look like a repeating gradient around the shape path. This is the "hard" problem I tried to solve (see the link).
If the selection is a disc/circle this would look like a repeating angular gradient with center in the center of the disc.

Gah, again, another effect that a Distance Transform is perfect for. It's really frustrating, it's impossible to implement without the bitmap-based Script component.
After passing the area through the distance transform, one direction is the normal of the resulting heightmap, and the other is simply that normal rotated 90 degrees (or the "orthonormal"), at least, I think, i'd have to actually see if that worked or not smile;)

Posted: August 25, 2010 12:06 pm

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CorvusCroax

Posts: 1175
Filters: 17

Hi Rawn,

A way you can sort of fake distance transform is to use photoshop's outer glow (or inner glow). Once you have that, say as a selection, you can then use a technique similar to Sphinx's and Mike's dotted lines.

There will still be distortion at the narrow points, though.

Quote
tigerAspect wrote: Gah, again, another effect that a Distance Transform is perfect for.

Yeah, even some kind of 'outer glow' would be hugely useful. It seems like, since all the noises use distance in their generation, that a generalized node should be possible...

Maybe later I'll whip up something to demonstrate.

Posted: August 25, 2010 5:47 pm

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CorvusCroax

Posts: 1175
Filters: 17

OK: here you go. This is based off of the filter thread that Sphinx pointed to above. Lacking a proper distance transform, I just made one in Pshop, and loaded it via a selection channel.

Here is the source image, which gets wrapped around the shape:

Posted: August 26, 2010 12:55 am

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CorvusCroax

Posts: 1175
Filters: 17

Here is the selection, which defines the shape which the pattern is wrapped around:
(I just used the pshop's outer glow and inner glow to make it)

Posted: August 26, 2010 12:57 am

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CorvusCroax

Posts: 1175
Filters: 17

Here is the result:

Posted: August 26, 2010 12:58 am

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CorvusCroax

Posts: 1175
Filters: 17

Here's another one, with different A and B repeats
(actually, I probably should have called it U and V, respectively)

Posted: August 26, 2010 1:02 am

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CorvusCroax

Posts: 1175
Filters: 17

And here is the filter. (again, based off of Sphinx's original.)

You can control where the shape starts and stops by messing w/ the cuves. You can change the 'circularity' of it by changing the control after the derivatives. You can rotate the whole thing by changing the curve driving the Repeat A shape. If you shift the phase on this, you roate the pattern around the shape.

Basic Angular Expansion PATTERN.ffxml

Posted: August 26, 2010 1:09 am

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Rawn (RawArt)

Texture Artist

Posts: 803
Filters: 103

Thanx...I look forward to playing with this this weekend smile:)

You guys Rock!

Rawn

Posted: August 26, 2010 7:41 am

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