CompuServe Messages

>>…windows in a spaceship… I recently worked on a space station project that required windows to be lighted on the dark sides. First, I created my texture maps for the station. I determined the color I wanted for my windows, then located the windows on the main texture map (in Photoshop using fixed size selections filled with light color). Next, I converted my main texture map to a bump map, using it as negative. This gave me raised sections of hull detail and recessed window openings. The next step was to convert my main texture map to an opacity map. To do this, make your windows black and everything else white. The final step is to scale down a copy of your mesh object and apply to this a 100% self illuminated material in the color you desire for your lights. These combine to give you lights that appear to have illumination on the "sun" side of your model and glow in the darkness on the "dark" sides. John Hostick