User Guide

Chapter 19494
Properties of the newsprint shader
The #newsprint shader creates a dithering effect similar to a newspaper photograph. Use these
properties to work with the newsprint shader:
Properties of the engraver shader
The
#engraver shader gives the effect of an engraved metal surface. You can control the size and
number of etched lines by adjusting the brightness and density properties, respectively. Use
these properties to work with the engraver shader:
Textures
Each shader can have textures applied to it. Textures are 2D images drawn on the surface of a
model. The appearance of the model’s surface is the combined effect of the shader and textures
applied to it. If you do not specify a texture, a default red-and-white bitmap is used.
The pixel height and width of the 2D images you use as textures should be powers of 2 (that is, 2,
4, 8, 16, 32, and so on). All the textures used in a 3D scene must be able to fit in the computer’s
video RAM at the same time. If not, Director switches to software rendering, which slows
performance.
Be aware of the limitations of your video RAM and that of your intended audience. Some video
cards have as little as 4 megabytes of video RAM. Carefully budget your total texture size when
designing your 3D world.
highlight
Percentage
Get and set Percentage of lighting steps to be treated as
highlight
50
shadowStrength
Get and set Factor controlling darkness of shadowed
areas
1.0
highlight
Strength
Get and set Factor controlling brightness of highlighted
areas
1.0
Property Access Description Default
name Get and set Name of shader None
brightness Get and set Value controlling amount of white in shader 0.0
density
Get and set Value controlling density of dots in newsprint
image
45.0
Property Access Description Default
name Get and set Name of shader None
brightness Get and set Value controlling amount of white in shader 0.0
density
Get and set Value controlling number of lines used to
shade an area
40.0
rotation
Get and set Angle describing 2D rotational offset for
engraving lines
0.0
Property Access Description Default