Random Grayscale Grid/Checker/Tile Pattern

[ivanjay]

Hi all,

 

I found a great tutorial for making mosaic glass on cgarchitect. It uses a gradiant ramp with the various colors and a grayscale "tile" pattern to assign the different colors as the map. This "tile" pattern of course has no grout, it is just different levels of "grayness" in a tile/checker pattern.

 

My question is how to randomize it. Currently, I made my gradiant ramp with a checker map just as a test. I get the two colors as expected in a repeating pattern as attached.

 

Now, how can I create a random pattern of gray boxes with either 3 or 4 different predetermined grayscale colors?

 

I am also getting a weird variation occurring which I am sure is due to my tiling sizes not matching up so I need to play with that as well.

 

Thanks!!

[Peter M. Gruhn]

On the tile, under Advanced Controls increase Color Variance.

 

This gives you either hard to distinguish grays or a full range of gray. Two ways I can see to fix this. Put a color tab in the gradient for each color you want in the final collection and set the gradient to 'solid'. Or you could use the output on the tile to set the tile colors to a stairstep pattern rather than straight diagonal line.

 

Using tile output is more like what you asked. Using the gradient might be a bit less clicking to set up. Either one should allow for fine tuning the dominance of any given color. Though tuning it in the gradient has a better correspondence to the output; instead of saying "I think this shade of gray corresponds to blue" you get to say "this blue is blue."

 

Pah... tiles don't have output so you'd have to add an output map.

 

Testing now... both seem to work. I liked fixing the colors with solid gradient better.

[ivanjay]

On the tile, under Advanced Controls increase Color Variance.

 

This gives you either hard to distinguish grays or a full range of gray. Two ways I can see to fix this. Put a color tab in the gradient for each color you want in the final collection and set the gradient to 'solid'. Or you could use the output on the tile to set the tile colors to a stairstep pattern rather than straight diagonal line.

 

Using tile output is more like what you asked. Using the gradient might be a bit less clicking to set up. Either one should allow for fine tuning the dominance of any given color. Though tuning it in the gradient has a better correspondence to the output; instead of saying "I think this shade of gray corresponds to blue" you get to say "this blue is blue."

 

Pah... tiles don't have output so you'd have to add an output map.

 

Testing now... both seem to work. I liked fixing the colors with solid gradient better.

 

Not sure I quote followed all of this. If I add color variance I am going to get random levels of gray. I want to create a series of 2-3 gray scale values to correspond with the gradient ramp. If I am following this right, doing this method will result in a mosaic tile with all random colors between the values I set.

[Peter M. Gruhn]

Sorry, in a hurry. Attached what I think I/we/you are talking about.

[ivanjay]

Sorry, in a hurry. Attached what I think I/we/you are talking about.

 

This is wonderful, thanks... Exactly what I wanted to do!

[Peter M. Gruhn]

Awesome! Sorry it took me so long to be lucid.