perforated metal panel

[frank_1331]

Have two questions.

 

I need to render a perforated metal panel. Camera would be soome distance away, but material would need to allow light to pass thru and cast shadow. What is the best way of doing this?

 

I also need to crete a fabric tensile structure. Modeling it is not an issue, (will use NURBS) but how to render the fabric so that light passes thru and actually looks realistic.

 

Thanks in advance

[Eric]

How far is "some distance"? Will it be far enough that you won't even be able to tell that there is a perforated metal casting the shadow? If not, I'd suggest simply using a material with opacity to mimic the amount of light that would get through the metal. For example, if you had very small holes, and not very many of them, you would hardly see any light pass through. But if you had a "screen door" like a screen patio door or the screen on your window, well, you're going to see a lot more light pass through. If you actually want to see the perforated effect in your shadows that are cast onto surfaces, you should use a tiled material with a black and white square with a circle in it for the opacity, with the UVW Mapping size set to mimic the actual size of the pattern on the metal. Or compensate the size to make sure the pattern shows up (if it's too small it may not show at all).

 

Without playing with some settings, I'm afraid I can't give you the greatest of responses in regard to the fabric, aside from perhaps a falloff material in the opacity slot, with the black falloff swatch adjusted down to a light gray to lessen the opacity.