Improving colored surfaces appearance

Rendering colored surfaces

• Select Options - Y-Axial Light in the top menu, or press the Y-axis illumination yes/no button.
• Press Light Color and Intensity button at the right of the one mentioned above.
• Select the desired light color in the Light Color Tab.
• Select the intensity (luminance) in the Light Intensity Tab.
• Close the panel.
• Click on the XYZ Space frame to see the results.

Improving colored surfaces

• Select Configure - Plane XZ And Surface in the top menu or by its equivalent button.
• In the Surface Tab, the Triangulate Surface Polygons box should be activated with the check mark to see the effect of light shades; otherwise, the surface will be colored but with the same solid color for all the surface tiles.
• Wire Frame Visible can be selected or not, depending on your preferences. If checked, then in the Borders Tab in this window, the Tile Border Color scroll bar can be used to select the wire frame contrast. If unchecked, the surface will render smooth without any visible interruption.
• When using high definition rendering (too many divisions per units), the Wire Frame Visible box should be set to off.

Use the Try This button to immediately see the results.

Symmetric colors in the Borders Tab is of no use in this selection.

Changes in the background color or background picture will dramatically affect the final picture look.

To add a commentary of numbering to the picture use the Insert the figure caption button. In the Fig. Extra Input Box write a comment or number and then press OK. To delete the caption just press the Cancel button. Redraw to see the changes.

Create the fog effect with surfaces

The fog effect is done using mappings. Follow the same steps to produce a surface with mappings. Select a map that previously was rendered as such. Fogged maps can be created with any picture manipulation program that can create gradients of fogs.

When a map is smaller in points than the surface to be created, 4DLab repeats the map to cover all surface. When the fog effect is desired, the map chosen should be big enough so that no repetition is produced.

Rendering time of surfaces with textures

Once the points of a surface are computed, it takes the same time to render a surface as solid colors than to render it as a textured surface. You can try it by clicking on/off the Add a map to picture button.

Working with two different equation sets in the same workspace

Plotting a mathematical function always involves a set of two equations. The simultaneous graphing of those of those equation is what produces a line graph or a surface. The graphing of any function always goes to the Main Picture window. 

However, since 4DLab provides for adding more than one picture window, it is possible, under controlled circumstances, to have one equation set plotted in one window and another equation set plotted in a second picture window.

To achieve this:

• Define and chose the first equation set, that is, the function to plot, and do the graphing as usual.
• Bring a new frame (Ctrl - N) and the new equation set, viewing distance, texture, etc. as if it were the first. Move it so that they don't overlap. The Main Picture became temporarily cleared. Click on it to refresh.
• Click on the recently opened frame and work with it as if it were the first one: new equation, new distance, new texture, etc. If you wish to have a different view of the same equation set, don't replace the equation.
• Click on it to plot the new function (if it was replaced) with the new attributes.
• Do not click again on the Main Picture. If you do it, the Main Picture will assume the new and last settings. You can click on the title bar of the graphing windows if you need to move them.
• Repeat these steps for more windows and more functions.

Using the Equations Calculator to find specific values

The user can invoke the tables that a function is using to see the computed values for the image in the range of every point of the domain. But if he wishes he can use the Functions Calculator to find specific values, even those that are not included in the domain.

What is important to bear in mind is that this calculator is tightly connected to the equations under use.

When the Equations Calculator is on the screen, just write in the first two boxes the values for x and z. Pressing the U(x, z ) button will compute the value of the first equation in the Equation Editor for the values in the boxes in the Calculator. For the V(x, z) button is similar, but for the second equation. 

With this in mind, the Functions Calculator can be used to find the values for equations that are not even plotted or graphed.  Just enter the equations in the Equation Editor and the calculator will use them as needed.

Additional Images

You can copy the following images to use them as textures and for surface mappings as described in Options - Use Texture Mappings.

Haze effect pictures

The following pictures were specially manipulated to be used with Options - Use Texture Mappings. Click on the picture to download the full image. The full image is best suited when the XZ-points are near 121,801 in the Axes Entries Panel. For other dimensions the image should be resized accordingly.