How to map a radial brick pattern

[Tim Nelson]

What is the best way to make something like this? I'll be using regular bricks, but the same principle would apply. Its fora roundabout. I tried sweeping a line 360 degrees, but the mapping looked way off.

 

[erickdt]

You're trying to make the map procedurally? I personally would make the the complete map in photoshop/illustrator. If your wanting to make the geometry, I'd make a displacement map, also in photoshop/illustrator, and use the MAX displacement from the modifier list.

[Tim Nelson]

I'm kinda just looking for a quick way to do this. Its pretty far away from the camera so it probably won't even show up that much. But I guess now I'm wondering how you would go about making that type of map in photoshop? That seems like it'd be really hard.

[Iain Denby]

Loft the shape? Loft has it's own mapping coordinates

[Tim Nelson]

Loft the shape? Loft has it's own mapping coordinates

I tried loft too, and it gave me the same wacky results as taking a circle shape and sweeping it. That was on a procedural tiles map, so I'll try it with a bitmap. Probably what will happen though even if that does work, is the tiles on the outside will be super stretched, and the inside ones will be squeezed.

[erickdt]

I'm kinda just looking for a quick way to do this. Its pretty far away from the camera so it probably won't even show up that much. But I guess now I'm wondering how you would go about making that type of map in photoshop? That seems like it'd be really hard.

 

Do you have Illustrator? If so I'd make the pattern of the bricks in Illustrator which would be pretty easy as it's pretty easy to do radial arrays in Illustrator via. the rotate tool. Do it once with make copy selected and then continue pressing Ctrl+D until your brick pattern has made its way all the way around. This will give you a very clean, non-grungy result. So what I'd do is use colors in the Illustrator file that will make it easy to select the different elements in Photoshop to apply different texturing filters etc. to add grunge.

 

You could also make your brick pattern with Autocad and export a Jpeg that you bring into Photoshop.

[Stephen Thomas]

Yeah, you can't really do it by using normal UV methods as you will end up with thinner blocks near the centre and wide ones at the outside. As you can see in the example picture the brick sizes are constant and the number of blocks in each ring changes to suit the diameter.

 

The only way that I can see around this would be to just take a single row as your diffuse map and before you sweep or lathe your line divide it into however many rows you have. Then detach each ring and adjust the tiling seperately for each one. Sounds pretty tedious but other than finding a good ready-made texture I'm not sure what else to suggest.

[Tim Nelson]

Do you have Illustrator? If so I'd make the pattern of the bricks in Illustrator which would be pretty easy as it's pretty easy to do radial arrays in Illustrator via. the rotate tool. Do it once with make copy selected and then continue pressing Ctrl+D until your brick pattern has made its way all the way around. This will give you a very clean, non-grungy result. So what I'd do is use colors in the Illustrator file that will make it easy to select the different elements in Photoshop to apply different texturing filters etc. to add grunge.

 

You could also make your brick pattern with Autocad and export a Jpeg that you bring into Photoshop.

I don't have or know illustrator at all, BUT I do like your autocad idea! Maybe I will give that a whirl. Thanks

[erickdt]

I can't say enough good things about Illustrator. It's a great tool for making textures, titling, drawing quick sketches etc.

 

Anyhow, here is the result...

[Tim Nelson]

You suck. :-)

[Gus_Rayvus]

Photoshop - Filter - Distort - polar coordinates

Max - Map a regular tiles to a box with a lot of segments, collapse map, bend modifier

[Tim Nelson]

Photoshop - Filter - Distort - polar coordinates

Max - Map a regular tiles to a box with a lot of segments, collapse map, bend modifier

Haha, thanks Petey. I ended up doing the box bend. Sure the tiles on the inside are smaller, but you can't really tell from this view. Don't need to collapse the map though, as long as its below the bend.

[Peter M. Gruhn]

Erick's is prettier than mine.

 

I made mine in max. Model a single block.

 

Make a bunch of circles of increasing radius in a bullseye pattern with about the size of a block between them.

 

Make one circle an editable spline and attach them all together.

 

Select the block. Open the Spacing Tool. Select the circles.

 

Adjust the parameters and don't forget to turn on follow.

 

That's a lot of geometry, but you can render it, make a depth map. Tart it up with some noise...

[Peter M. Gruhn]

The problem with the various mapping and bending and lofting based solutions is that ultimately you end up asking to apply the same number of tiles around the very outside as you do the very inside. Ask twenty bricks to span 2' and also 12' and the bricks will not be pretty.

[Tim Nelson]

Erick's is prettier than mine.

 

I made mine in max. Model a single block.

 

Make a bunch of circles of increasing radius in a bullseye pattern with about the size of a block between them.

 

Make one circle an editable spline and attach them all together.

 

Select the block. Open the Spacing Tool. Select the circles.

 

Adjust the parameters and don't forget to turn on follow.

 

That's a lot of geometry, but you can render it, make a depth map. Tart it up with some noise...

I was actually trying to do that earlier! I guess the thing I was missing was the "follow" option. I didn't think there was a way to rotate the bricks as it follows the circle. Guess I am wrong! Thanks

[Peter M. Gruhn]

I forgot a step. I rotated each circle some random amount so they wouldn't all start at the same place and end up stacking the failure gap obnoxiously.

 

Remember this next time you need to fill a theater with chairs.