Cloning and Copying Topology in ICE

Cloning Polygon Meshes in ICE

1. If the source mesh has local materials on polygons, make sure that they are applied as Materials and MaterialID attributes. See Applying Materials in ICE.

   If necessary, you can convert cluster-based materials to ICE-based materials. See Converting Cluster-based Materials to ICE.

2. Get an empty polygon mesh, and apply a base material for the object. Typically, you would use the same material as the source.
3. Create a non-simulated ICE tree on the empty mesh.
4. Connect a Clone Polygon Mesh compound to the ICETree root, and specify the source mesh to copy.
5. If you are copying the texture projection from the source, make sure that Source Texture Projection Name refers to the correct attribute. The default value is ".cls.Texture_Coordinates_AUTO.Texture_Projection.UVWs" which is the default name for most projections, but some projections like Unfold have a different name by default and it is also possible to change the name of a projection.

6. If necessary, make sure that all materials are set to use the New Texture Projection Attribute Name. See Specifying Projections for Materials.

7. Use the various "Copy [Component] Data from Source" to copy additional attributes, such as weight maps, vertex colors, and additional projections.

   

Repeating Polygon Mesh Topology

You can create a single polygon mesh object that consists of repeated copies of another mesh's topology. You can specify the offsets of the copies using a transform, a group, or a particle cloud.

1. If the source mesh has local materials on polygons, make sure that they are applied as Materials and MaterialID attributes. See Applying Materials in ICE.

   If necessary, you can convert cluster-based materials to ICE-based materials. See Converting Cluster-based Materials to ICE

2. Get an empty polygon mesh, and apply a base material for the object. Typically, you would use the same material as the source.
3. Create a non-simulated ICE tree on the empty mesh.
4. Connect a Create Copies from Polygon Mesh compound to the ICETree root, and specify the source mesh to copy.
5. Do one of the following:
   • Set Nb of Copies and specify the Transform options.
   • To base the copies on a group of nulls or other objects, connect the Group Name port.
   • To base the copies on particles, specify a Point Cloud Template.
6. If you are copying the texture projection from the source, make sure that Source Texture Projection Name refers to the correct attribute. The default value is ".cls.Texture_Coordinates_AUTO.Texture_Projection.UVWs" but, for example, if you used an Unfold projection then you should change it to ".cls.Texture_Coordinates_AUTO.Unfold.UVWs".

7. If necessary, make sure that all materials are set to use the New Texture Projection Attribute Name. See Specifying Projections for Materials

8. Use the various "Copy [Component] Data from Source" to copy additional attributes, such as weight maps, vertex colors, and additional projections. Set Source Name to the data to copy, and Target Name to the attribute you want to create to hold the copied data.

   

Converting Cluster-based Materials to ICE

To convert local materials applied on clusters so that they can be manipulated and transferred using ICE:

1. Add the string name of each material used to the object's Materials array attribute.
2. Set each polygon's MaterialID attribute to the index of the material it should use, based on the cluster that it's a member of. The value 0 is for polygons that use the object's material.

Specifying Projections for Materials

To specify the correct attribute to use for a projection, first select the cloned or copied mesh, open or refresh the render tree, and then do the following:

1. Select the desired material.
2. Select a texture shader.
3. Select the attribute to use as a projection.