Tweaking the golden globe WIP

PhotoComix · **Joined:** Apr 12, 2010 **Posts:** 5870

I played a lot with Erisian globe and how to tweak it and i thinking some tweak are interesting so ..here we go

first the nice globes just derived from (the parameters of) a Erisian 3D fractal

and that i will use here

now i didn't do yet but the idea is simple, when doing a similar sphere (or anything else ) with M£D is possible get automatically also the z-buffer..cryptic name but indicate a height map and what much more relevant here something perfect to delete the image BG ( i can't say here "to make a render" because in 3D "render" mean something very different...

so i take the chances to show a few variants

and HERE THE POINT i may scale the z-buffer with same value so i may load as layermask to make the BG transparent..

opps sorry for the OT but i just found the lost black egg :yes

ok till now is just normal asymmetric resizing (=scale width and height differently)...now what i really turned me on

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
i was thinking to make a gmic filter for this for no linear resizing , but not sure if i will:

to me wrote code is a pain and if i do is usually to do something new that is not available in other way
, in this case i would just reinvent the wheel because there is already a nice utility that does well
(well..it has weird limit for file type only bmp and jpg, no png...but does works well and is free and is called Non Linear Image Resizing Tool, i forgot where i got it but google would know...)

here what non linear resizing may do

as i say that utility doesn't load png but is possible use with the same values to the matching z-buffer, and then load the z-buffer as layermask to eliminate the BG...

just a idea i am working on

Not sure to have the skill , time and patience to make a analog Gmic filter but still that app workls fine maybe can be even called from gimp (with the robA shell script) and similar routine can give quite interesting result

Starting from high res images the output seems quite clean with no visible pixelation or artifacts...

Erisian · **Posted:** Mon Apr 02, 2012 7:26 pm **(#2)**

Some nice work here. It was ages before I realised you could use z buffer as a layer mask.

PhotoComix · **Joined:** Apr 12, 2010 **Posts:** 5870

i requested a script to do it more easily and quickly and saulgoode was so helpful to make it
You may found it useful , just convert the above layer in a layermask

just look in the script board for it

Erisian · **Posted:** Mon Apr 02, 2012 7:53 pm **(#4)**

Thank you. Actually, after you pasted the z buffer image and created the floating layer, all you had to do was right-click/anchor layer and it drops into the layer mask. Anyway, that script makes everything so much easier!

PhotoComix · **Joined:** Apr 12, 2010 **Posts:** 5870

Exactly , more i HATE have to deal with floating selection:
in my opinion floating selection should be a inner mechanism to be exposed to the users only when and if specifically requested.

I.e when you copy & paste, you expect the thing copied and paste not transformed in a strange entity that if not treated in the correct way will forbid you to do any other edit

sure there are a few cases where floating selection allow to do things no possible in other way, but are quite rare case so rare i can't remember a single one (but i remember that once Saulgoode was able to present convincing examples ) but for that i wrote that t should be a inner function ,exposed only IF requested

PhotoComix · **Joined:** Apr 12, 2010 **Posts:** 5870

BTW the link for the script topic is viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3785

Erisian · **Posted:** Tue Apr 03, 2012 10:53 am **(#7)**

Of course If you have a floating selection and you click on the new layer icon it will turn it into a new layer, but then you can't drop it into the layer mask. You can't move a floating selection up or down in the stack either. It is a bit annoying.

BTW how did you get on with those parameters after downloading Darkbeam's formulas?

PhotoComix · **Joined:** Apr 12, 2010 **Posts:** 5870

maybe you can't answer to my question on darkbeam pack ?
http://www.fractalforums.com/index.php?topic=9810.30

Erisian · **Posted:** Tue Apr 03, 2012 12:31 pm **(#9)**

Darkbeam creates new formulas on one version of M3D and they become default in new versions. I think its too much hassle for him to delete old files so when he creates new formulas, they are just added to the old ones. It won't make any difference to existing formulas on your hard drive if you just copy them all. Hope this answers your question.

PhotoComix · **Joined:** Apr 12, 2010 **Posts:** 5870

yes !!