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Apply visual effects
Presentation
Best practices for presentation
Using CgFX-based materials
Mudbox supports the CgFX material specification
on qualified graphics cards. CgFX is a shader specification that
lets you create custom materials that use the power of your computer’s graphics
card to produce many interesting materials and rendering effects
in real time.
The main advantage of
developing and using CgFX materials is that they are portable across
many hardware and software applications (for example, between Maya
and Mudbox) as well as other hardware platforms that support the
CgFx specification (for example, games consoles).
For more information
about the CgFX specification and how its structured as well as an
in-depth tutorial, refer to the following resource: http://http.developer.nvidia.com/CgTutorial/cg_tutorial_appendix_c.html.
Notes on using CgFX files
within Mudbox
- The CgFX file must contain at least one
valid technique. A technique is a set of instructions that describe
how to achieve a particular effect.
- If the CgFX material file contains annotations
for the assigned variables they will be used to generate the properties
items within the Properties window for the CgFX material when it
is compiled.
- If the CgFX file contains float3 vCameraLocalPosition, float3 vLightLocalPosition and float4x4 mModelViewProject variables,
Mudbox automatically assigns the appropriate values to them.
- Mudbox lets you specify textures in your
CgFX files that you can paint on in Mudbox. Using the MetaSampler
structure you can define a sampler containing a texture and select
it as a paintable channel in Mudbox.
- Mudbox supports a subset of the SAS annotations
and semantics. The following semantics are supported: World, WorldInverse, WorldTranspose,
WorldInverseTranspose, WorldView, WorldViewInverse, WorldViewTranspose,
WorldViewInverseTranspose, WorldViewProjection, WorldViewProjectionInverse,
WorldViewProjectionTranspose, WorldViewProjectionInverseTranspose,
View, ViewInverse, ViewTranspose, ViewProjection, ViewProjectionInverse,
ViewProjectionTranspose, ViewProjectionInverseTranspose, Projection,
ProjectionInverse, ProjectionTranspose, ProjectionInverseTranspose.
- The following annotations are supported:
UIWidget, UIName, UIMin, UIMax.
NoteThe definitions for
the above semantics and annotations can be found on the NVIDIA Web
site.
Loading CgFX files into
Mudbox
Mudbox automatically
generates the materials user interface for a CgFX material in the
CgFX Based Material properties window for any CgFX file that is
located in the effects directory. See Notes on using CgFX files
within Mudbox on this page.
- (Windows) <drive>:/Program Files/Autodesk/Mudbox/effects
- (Mac OS X) /Users/<username>/Library/Application
Support/Autodesk/Mudbox 2009/Effects
NoteThe effects directory also contains some example
CgFX materials. Files placed in this directory can be in .cgfx format (unencrypted)
or in .bin format (encrypted).
CgFX materials are compiled
each time you launch Mudbox. The more complicated the CgFX materials
in the effects directory, the longer Mudbox takes to launch.