texxer / 03
Masks
A mask decides where a layer shows. With several masks, the layer shows where all of them do. M shows the selected layer's mask.
+ mask adds one; it replaces an empty paint or stamps mask. Most masks have amount (how much shows), soft (edge falloff), rough (a noisy edge) and invert. Soft and rough show once set, or under more.
| mask | shows where |
|---|---|
| surfaces | the picked parts of the model, and islands: surfaces bounded by hard edges. ⌘click adds a part, ⇧⌘click an island; once the layer has the mask, plain clicks do (⇧ for islands). A model of one part has only islands |
| paint | you paint with the brush |
| stamps | stamps sit |
| volume | inside a box, cylinder or sphere you move in the view, all around the model. soft fades it towards its walls |
| grunge | a grunge map, projected from three sides |
| ao | the surface is occluded |
| edges | convex edges, for wear. 1–3 px gives crisp lines that many texels wide |
| cavity | creases, gaps and corners where surfaces meet, for grime. 1–3 px as for edges |
| drips | below edges, running down walls. rough varies their length |
| gradient | rises from one side: below, above, left, right, back, front (as in a front view) |
| facing | the surface faces a direction |
Use surfaces for zones, ao, edges and cavity for wear. Volume with grunge puts dirt exactly where you want it.
Grunge maps
texxer brings a few maps made from noise: clouds, blotches, grime, specks, streaks, scratches, lines. Your own go into the grunge folder, the last tile of the map grid (on a Mac ~/Library/Application Support/texxer/grunge): grays, white = dirt, best tileable, PNG or JPG, the file name is the map's name. They are evened out on loading, so amount is about the share they cover. A map a project uses but the folder lacks shows red and masks nothing.
Q edits the layer's volume, adding one if needed: click the model to put it there, drag it over the surface, or use the gizmo. W E R (or the buttons on the mask) move, turn and size, [ ] size it all at once, X mirrors it across x. Prefer hard cuts: soft masks read as smears once crunched.