my bad the brushes work dis-regarded that statement after looking at your source and example it was my oversight. i guess the brush example you have had 2000+ images so my .abr was smaller and it was counting to the structure count that previously was used by you....so i was getting a blank screen. i just made my own example and it worked fine. sorry i should have tested before. but yeah if anyone says it dosen't work its probably because the counter in your example. i just stuck the structure count to the end count of a interpolation and it worked fine.
that sucks i don't ever have to log in to the forum now that im registered. thats great cause i all ready forgot my user and pass word from when i grabbed the webkit plugin.
Brushes worked just fine for me, but I could use some directive on how to utilize PSDLayers. Are we supposed to be using a separate sprite or billboard for each layer? Some PSD files have hundreds of layers apparently?
Junk mail settings are off. I don't ever want to miss out on an opportunity to enlarge my anatomical features, find a place that sells inexpensive drugs that will stimulate them or miss out on the trillion dollar inheritance that someone on the other side of the world wants to share with me. :)
I inadvertently typed .com instead of .net so I had to re-register. When I recieved no response I tried re-registering a few hours later. It told me my email was already used so I know I got it right the second time.
use long paths , right now, ~/ and ./ do not fit the bill with this patch, give it time. same is also generally true for the brushes patch too.
a separate macro patch per layer rendered is the approach shown by the patches' author, however, it is not going to be the only approach that will work.
using sprites, bill boards, primitives, GLQuads, take your pick.
to use a Photoshop function pun - Apart from a full scale Render in Image approach, you can't merge the layer's structure into one renderable object previously listed in this post :-) , at least not yet so far as I am aware, I kind of half suspect that I am missing something. Anyway, please find attached my reversioning of .lovs example composition, using my own StickInsect PSD file
you can also set your index and other outputs by layer number or choose only a specific number of layers, probably bespoking the PSD before using it in your composition.
I'll work with it some more. I'm suspecting perhaps that the .psd files that I downloaded may have been somehow inappropriate. On Brushes, one of the files I tried caused my test compositions to become quite jerky while other files seemed to work just fine so I'm guessing that perhaps not all files are fully suitable to this type of rendering.
no filters, no effects, every layer to be totally rasterized before saving the file.
then the layers are available, doesn't seem to like anything more than 72 dpi, neither, but that might be open to disproving come to think of how that seemed to be the case. so rasterized layers at 72 dpi only, otherwise it's inclined to spit its dummy out.
k. I looked up rasterize. I'm getting the impression that these tools are going to require having photoshop on board in some instances. Maybe next year ....
no more than 8 bit images . version of PSD makes no great difference, it seems. just maximum compatibility covers the bases. see attached examples using Samples from the CS 4 demo.
methinks that's enough proofs of concept for one night.
back to some real composing.
now exporting a quartz composition to photoshop layers - that would be interesting.
You can use GIMP, that will output PSD, so will QuickTimePro and Quartz Crystal will output image sequences you can convert to PSD and layer up in GIMP.
i found that it adds an extra layer to the structure so you have to subtract -1 from your structure count to not get a dummy frame. this plugin actually saves alot of prep work for doing frame by frame animations. meaning i don't have to write an action script to render out all my layers to be used with image downloader patch. there seem to be many great uses for this plugin. attached is an example of using one layer to run an animation of psd layers by subtracting one from the structure count.
This should be of use to anyone using this plugin... it's a more "one size fits all" way of approaching the layers than the enclosed example is (at least in my opinion, etc., etc.).
I have to add that it was weird not being able to setup the file path to be relative! So excuse that, it seems the plugin requires that one will have to re-insert the file.
I almost never use Photoshop but this is still pretty cool!
a neat and thoughtful improvement upon the example .lov provided that I'd used & not much improved upon :-) as I sought to discover why the patch worked & / or failed.
BTW have you sussed out yet that the image structure can do some interesting rendering peculiarities , whilst layer structure provides the more faithful rendering of the original PSD composition?
well spotted about the structure index ordering. nice use of those early photographic studies. [ no animal was harmed in the taking of these pictures :-)]
cybero wrote: a neat and thoughtful improvement upon the example .lov provided that I'd used & not much improved upon :-) as I sought to discover why the patch worked & / or failed.
BTW have you sussed out yet that the image structure can do some interesting rendering peculiarities , whilst layer structure provides the more faithful rendering of the original PSD composition?
Thanks...
Yeah, it looks like when you use that image output port that the method of using image dimensions to control height and width doesn't work too well... the depth testing and image centering go fubar.... which kinda does make sense.
BTW, on the CoGe site it says something like, "reply here" for comments on the post, but it doesn't look like you can reply? Tamas, feel free to post the qtz or use it if you want.
just realised, you'd come up with a solution to getting all the layers to render collectively on one sprite.
GIMP it if no Photoshop available.
Reinserting the file reminds me of the talk elsewhere about double click, do that on the top level for File Location, clear out any existing text and then drag and drop the PSD file within that text area and the file path is sorted for you.
cybero wrote: just realised, you'd come up with a solution to getting all the layers to render collectively on one sprite.
GIMP it if no Photoshop available.
Reinserting the file reminds me of the talk elsewhere about double click, do that on the top level for File Location, clear out any existing text and then drag and drop the PSD file within that text area and the file path is sorted for you.
Lol....duh! That's what I thought you were commenting about below :) (just poking some fun about the slow uptake).
Yeah, I have Photoshop, I just usually use Gimp (I can be a bit of an opensource nerd). It is cool to have another use for that export to psd besides compatibility purposes.
That is a good point... the orig sample file could have benefited from having the file published to root in lieu of not being able to do relative path.
cybero wrote: Reinserting the file reminds me of the talk elsewhere about double click, do that on the top level for File Location, clear out any existing text and then drag and drop the PSD file within that text area and the file path is sorted for you.
just realised, your monkey psd is 1200 ppi, which merely makes me wonder why some files I've tried have not been working. According to the CoGe forum , 72dpi is the maximum.
Bit hit and miss, even when following my currently rough hewn , 'rule of thumb' guidelines.
Been having some outstanding crashes when trying to animate a set of transparent layers which evaporated like the morning mist when I gave each layer a fill.
Interesting.
However now that I've been through that I can't reproduce the crash at all. I had been hoping to utilise this with some Particle Tools, but although what works , works, it does seem as though it has some odd erratic results.
You might want to note if your crashes happen only when you do "node hovering" or other kinds of interactions with the actual editor interface, like grabbing patches, or connecting noodles/disconnecting while the viewer is rendering. (or other weird stuff... like using an email service, or some other program ... things like that can contribute to bugs that seemingly have no cause).
I may be wrong, but it sure seems like QC is much more stable about connecting noodles/ports when the renderer is running than it used to be in general, but it can still be an issue, especially when getting into non-stock plugins (and especially in combos).
The particle tools can be kind of finicky with the editor (try wiggling the editor around while in runtime for fun effect). I wonder what it is that's getting weird for you with this though... layer control or something, or just crashing? You might try reverting to the standard particle renderer and see if the look/crash thing gets more controllable.
PSD saved from GIMP working at all with this? I just discovered psd files saved with Pixelmator doesn't working, seems to Pixelmator saves an old(?) version psd.
Think i could implement some psd features in the future, like layer mask, opacity, a built-in a resize for layers, but some things, like pattern overlay in layer effects seems more then difficult to implement it.
So, what do you think, what are the most important features to go?
wow, thanks George to figure out this issue. Seems to i forgot to add the correct permission for the users when i created to forum. Thanks a lot!
Feel free to post your example comps there :)
the plugins writes a lot to the system.log when loading the psd files. So the last few lines from your system.log would be helpfull if you have issues with the plugin ;)
cybero wrote:
BTW have you sussed out yet that the image structure can do some interesting rendering peculiarities , whilst layer structure provides the more faithful rendering of the original PSD composition?
The PSD files stores the image data (which "outputed" Images), and the bounding rectangle, not the whole layer. For example, the psd says: "hey, there is an image on the 30, 210 x-y coords" :) When you loading a psd, the plugin will build the "Layers" with this information.
In some situation, better to use the Images instead of Layers, for example, if you want to rotate the image not the whole layer, check the attached example.
the crashes I had been getting had nothing to do with Particle Tools, I just had a Particle Tools composition waiting to go, but needed to get the .PSD patch working AOK.
After I posted up about these crashes, I haven't had another example crash happen - :-).
This also shows how to use the image texturing properties to do some x/y shenanigans while loading with iterator, allowing shifting layers around a bit without having to setup multiple render patches/macros.
Using rotation in this scenario will work with limited throws, it's just that the matrix rotation tries to rotate using the bottom left corner as it's center point (I believe). That could possibly be reigned in by playing with the bounding box coordinates, but I haven't gotten into that.
Again... the psd file will have to be re-inserted...
Also, example 1 never made it up here, that's why the last one was 2, and this is 3 :)
Nice, i love it. Figure out why Pixelmator saved psd file's doesn't work is a go.
And, it seems Pixelmator is a really good image editor and you can use QC patches/effects with that app. I asked the developers about the .pxm file format, no answer yet, but i hope i could make a pixelmator loader like this plugin :)
Well, that place and a related linked site is where I got three bunko files back at the very beginning of the discussion. I quit even trying with anything other than the files that you folks posted in here. So ... how do we unlock layers?
Thanks Tamas. I downloaded that /tech-65821541 file, unlocked the background layer in GIMP and saved the file. Could you post the example of the CoGePSDLayers quartz composition that you used with this specific file?
hmmmm. Well, perhaps a GIMP layer unlock is not satisfactory or perhaps there is some other requirement? With psdteszter.qtz, /Users/leegrosbauer/Desktop/CoGePSDLayers/tech_by_ebrehestock.psd (Background unlocked) designated as the File Location and layers 0, 1, 2 and 4 selected in the Layer Index fields of the appropriate Layer macros ... I'm still not able to see any imagery in the QC viewer.
I apologize for being persistent, but I'm determined to learn why I seem to be having problems with this when other folks do not seem to have problems using the same techniques. Thank you for your assistance.
Maybe this is a clue? I closed the viewer and tried to reopen it and I got this message from Quartz Composer: *** -[NSConcreteData getBytes:range:]: location 1308381301 exceeds data length 4774695.
This means the plugin want to read data from a position in the file which is over the file length. This happens if you would load a file with layer lockin and/or layer mask for example.
About PSD is a link to a blog from one of the Adobe Developer community that really covers a lot of bases, I mention it not so much in response to you .lov as I think you'll already have found this, but because it offers a revealing insight into the reasons behind the age accrued file format [form following function] problems going cross platform or cross application with .PSD.
I found in browsing that same site that the following was also available , After Effects from Quartz Compositions - similar idea to FXFactory , but for After Effects.
And finally, some examples exploiting both Kineme Particle Tools and CoGe PSD Layers patches together.
Broadly based upon some of the example compositions to be found in the Particle Tools download. [Fireworks & Carnot].
For those not used to the CoGe PSD Layer, you will have to re-associate the PSD file with the CoGe patches file path and long paths only please [ at present]
this one works for me. i couldn't get the brushes to work but this will save time from exporting my brushes 2 QC.
What about the brushes plugin, what didn't work? If people don't let me know about bugs, i can not fix it :)
I still haven't received my registration confirmation and there is no way to contact the site admin without joining myspace too. :(
unless CoGe [.lov] aren't responding I'd check out your Junk mail settings, just in case you've been deleting the reg mail.
my bad the brushes work dis-regarded that statement after looking at your source and example it was my oversight. i guess the brush example you have had 2000+ images so my .abr was smaller and it was counting to the structure count that previously was used by you....so i was getting a blank screen. i just made my own example and it worked fine. sorry i should have tested before. but yeah if anyone says it dosen't work its probably because the counter in your example. i just stuck the structure count to the end count of a interpolation and it worked fine.
that sucks i don't ever have to log in to the forum now that im registered. thats great cause i all ready forgot my user and pass word from when i grabbed the webkit plugin.
Brushes worked just fine for me, but I could use some directive on how to utilize PSDLayers. Are we supposed to be using a separate sprite or billboard for each layer? Some PSD files have hundreds of layers apparently?
Junk mail settings are off. I don't ever want to miss out on an opportunity to enlarge my anatomical features, find a place that sells inexpensive drugs that will stimulate them or miss out on the trillion dollar inheritance that someone on the other side of the world wants to share with me. :)
I inadvertently typed .com instead of .net so I had to re-register. When I recieved no response I tried re-registering a few hours later. It told me my email was already used so I know I got it right the second time.
use long paths , right now, ~/ and ./ do not fit the bill with this patch, give it time. same is also generally true for the brushes patch too.
a separate macro patch per layer rendered is the approach shown by the patches' author, however, it is not going to be the only approach that will work.
using sprites, bill boards, primitives, GLQuads, take your pick.
to use a Photoshop function pun - Apart from a full scale Render in Image approach, you can't merge the layer's structure into one renderable object previously listed in this post :-) , at least not yet so far as I am aware, I kind of half suspect that I am missing something. Anyway, please find attached my reversioning of .lovs example composition, using my own StickInsect PSD file
you can also set your index and other outputs by layer number or choose only a specific number of layers, probably bespoking the PSD before using it in your composition.
Now, that's pretty cool!
I'll work with it some more. I'm suspecting perhaps that the .psd files that I downloaded may have been somehow inappropriate. On Brushes, one of the files I tried caused my test compositions to become quite jerky while other files seemed to work just fine so I'm guessing that perhaps not all files are fully suitable to this type of rendering.
Thanks!
no filters, no effects, every layer to be totally rasterized before saving the file.
then the layers are available, doesn't seem to like anything more than 72 dpi, neither, but that might be open to disproving come to think of how that seemed to be the case. so rasterized layers at 72 dpi only, otherwise it's inclined to spit its dummy out.
brushes wise - less is more - too large a brush - unwieldy, and no multi brush sets. single .abr brush type only.
k. I looked up rasterize. I'm getting the impression that these tools are going to require having photoshop on board in some instances. Maybe next year ....
Thanks, eh?
no more than 8 bit images . version of PSD makes no great difference, it seems. just maximum compatibility covers the bases. see attached examples using Samples from the CS 4 demo.
methinks that's enough proofs of concept for one night.
back to some real composing.
now exporting a quartz composition to photoshop layers - that would be interesting.
You can use GIMP, that will output PSD, so will QuickTimePro and Quartz Crystal will output image sequences you can convert to PSD and layer up in GIMP.
i found that it adds an extra layer to the structure so you have to subtract -1 from your structure count to not get a dummy frame. this plugin actually saves alot of prep work for doing frame by frame animations. meaning i don't have to write an action script to render out all my layers to be used with image downloader patch. there seem to be many great uses for this plugin. attached is an example of using one layer to run an animation of psd layers by subtracting one from the structure count.
This should be of use to anyone using this plugin... it's a more "one size fits all" way of approaching the layers than the enclosed example is (at least in my opinion, etc., etc.).
This loads the file over an iterator.
I have to add that it was weird not being able to setup the file path to be relative! So excuse that, it seems the plugin requires that one will have to re-insert the file.
I almost never use Photoshop but this is still pretty cool!
a neat and thoughtful improvement upon the example .lov provided that I'd used & not much improved upon :-) as I sought to discover why the patch worked & / or failed.
BTW have you sussed out yet that the image structure can do some interesting rendering peculiarities , whilst layer structure provides the more faithful rendering of the original PSD composition?
well spotted about the structure index ordering. nice use of those early photographic studies. [ no animal was harmed in the taking of these pictures :-)]
Thanks...
Yeah, it looks like when you use that image output port that the method of using image dimensions to control height and width doesn't work too well... the depth testing and image centering go fubar.... which kinda does make sense.
BTW, on the CoGe site it says something like, "reply here" for comments on the post, but it doesn't look like you can reply? Tamas, feel free to post the qtz or use it if you want.
just realised, you'd come up with a solution to getting all the layers to render collectively on one sprite.
GIMP it if no Photoshop available.
Reinserting the file reminds me of the talk elsewhere about double click, do that on the top level for File Location, clear out any existing text and then drag and drop the PSD file within that text area and the file path is sorted for you.
Lol....duh! That's what I thought you were commenting about below :) (just poking some fun about the slow uptake).
Yeah, I have Photoshop, I just usually use Gimp (I can be a bit of an opensource nerd). It is cool to have another use for that export to psd besides compatibility purposes.
That is a good point... the orig sample file could have benefited from having the file published to root in lieu of not being able to do relative path.
Two great tips in one day. Real time savers both!
just realised, your monkey psd is 1200 ppi, which merely makes me wonder why some files I've tried have not been working. According to the CoGe forum , 72dpi is the maximum.
Bit hit and miss, even when following my currently rough hewn , 'rule of thumb' guidelines.
Been having some outstanding crashes when trying to animate a set of transparent layers which evaporated like the morning mist when I gave each layer a fill.
Interesting.
However now that I've been through that I can't reproduce the crash at all. I had been hoping to utilise this with some Particle Tools, but although what works , works, it does seem as though it has some odd erratic results.
must screen grab the next crash.
You might want to note if your crashes happen only when you do "node hovering" or other kinds of interactions with the actual editor interface, like grabbing patches, or connecting noodles/disconnecting while the viewer is rendering. (or other weird stuff... like using an email service, or some other program ... things like that can contribute to bugs that seemingly have no cause).
I may be wrong, but it sure seems like QC is much more stable about connecting noodles/ports when the renderer is running than it used to be in general, but it can still be an issue, especially when getting into non-stock plugins (and especially in combos).
The particle tools can be kind of finicky with the editor (try wiggling the editor around while in runtime for fun effect). I wonder what it is that's getting weird for you with this though... layer control or something, or just crashing? You might try reverting to the standard particle renderer and see if the look/crash thing gets more controllable.
if anybody have issues with registration or/and login, just drop me an e-mail to tamas.lov.nagy [thecharacteryouknow:)] gmail.com.
PSD saved from GIMP working at all with this? I just discovered psd files saved with Pixelmator doesn't working, seems to Pixelmator saves an old(?) version psd.
Think i could implement some psd features in the future, like layer mask, opacity, a built-in a resize for layers, but some things, like pattern overlay in layer effects seems more then difficult to implement it.
So, what do you think, what are the most important features to go?
hmm, it's possible i didn't understand you correctly, you cannot post a reply in the coge forum?
wow, thanks George to figure out this issue. Seems to i forgot to add the correct permission for the users when i created to forum. Thanks a lot! Feel free to post your example comps there :)
the plugins writes a lot to the system.log when loading the psd files. So the last few lines from your system.log would be helpfull if you have issues with the plugin ;)
The PSD files stores the image data (which "outputed" Images), and the bounding rectangle, not the whole layer. For example, the psd says: "hey, there is an image on the 30, 210 x-y coords" :) When you loading a psd, the plugin will build the "Layers" with this information.
In some situation, better to use the Images instead of Layers, for example, if you want to rotate the image not the whole layer, check the attached example.
what a cool idea! I can't figure out how, but i think it is possible. Cwright, what do you think?
the crashes I had been getting had nothing to do with Particle Tools, I just had a Particle Tools composition waiting to go, but needed to get the .PSD patch working AOK.
After I posted up about these crashes, I haven't had another example crash happen - :-).
Typical, eh? •~
This also shows how to use the image texturing properties to do some x/y shenanigans while loading with iterator, allowing shifting layers around a bit without having to setup multiple render patches/macros.
Using rotation in this scenario will work with limited throws, it's just that the matrix rotation tries to rotate using the bottom left corner as it's center point (I believe). That could possibly be reigned in by playing with the bounding box coordinates, but I haven't gotten into that.
Again... the psd file will have to be re-inserted...
Also, example 1 never made it up here, that's why the last one was 2, and this is 3 :)
actually example one did make it up, I've got a copy, but it mysteriously vanished to be replaced by the version 2 :-)
YES- Please see attached example
Nice, i love it. Figure out why Pixelmator saved psd file's doesn't work is a go.
And, it seems Pixelmator is a really good image editor and you can use QC patches/effects with that app. I asked the developers about the .pxm file format, no answer yet, but i hope i could make a pixelmator loader like this plugin :)
really great examples! It is possible to re-post it in CoGe forums? :)
Sure, no problemo...
I have found some psd files that reliably fail as well... a decent amount of these will raise exceptions:
http://www.noupe.com/photoshop/40-adobe-photoshop-psd-files.html
Pixelmator is built with CoreImage at the heart of its procedures, presumably the PixelMator psd output can be converted by GIMP?
Any further examples regarding this, unless exhibiting their dovetailing with Kineme plugins shall be made to your site .lov, as per your request.
if you connect the mouse x and y to the x,y matrix inputs you get some nice action on mutiple layered files.
Thanks!
i just randomly downloaded some, the only file with i had issue: http://ebrehestock.deviantart.com/art/tech-65821541
The first layer in the psd is locked, when i unlocked, works fine, this is a known issue.
Well, that place and a related linked site is where I got three bunko files back at the very beginning of the discussion. I quit even trying with anything other than the files that you folks posted in here. So ... how do we unlock layers?
In Photoshop, simple double-clicking on the locked layer, and select OK.
Thanks Tamas. I downloaded that /tech-65821541 file, unlocked the background layer in GIMP and saved the file. Could you post the example of the CoGePSDLayers quartz composition that you used with this specific file?
I used the sample comp which included with the plugin ;)
hmmmm. Well, perhaps a GIMP layer unlock is not satisfactory or perhaps there is some other requirement? With psdteszter.qtz, /Users/leegrosbauer/Desktop/CoGePSDLayers/tech_by_ebrehestock.psd (Background unlocked) designated as the File Location and layers 0, 1, 2 and 4 selected in the Layer Index fields of the appropriate Layer macros ... I'm still not able to see any imagery in the QC viewer.
I apologize for being persistent, but I'm determined to learn why I seem to be having problems with this when other folks do not seem to have problems using the same techniques. Thank you for your assistance.
Maybe this is a clue? I closed the viewer and tried to reopen it and I got this message from Quartz Composer: *** -[NSConcreteData getBytes:range:]: location 1308381301 exceeds data length 4774695.
What does that mean?
hmmm, i never used Gimp, but it seems different apps (PS, Gimp, Pixelmator) use different psd version.
This means the plugin want to read data from a position in the file which is over the file length. This happens if you would load a file with layer lockin and/or layer mask for example.
ok. Thank you very much. It's a very nice plugin. I will make good use of it with appropriate files whenever possible.
Thanks for the info.
About PSD is a link to a blog from one of the Adobe Developer community that really covers a lot of bases, I mention it not so much in response to you .lov as I think you'll already have found this, but because it offers a revealing insight into the reasons behind the age accrued file format [form following function] problems going cross platform or cross application with .PSD.
I found in browsing that same site that the following was also available , After Effects from Quartz Compositions - similar idea to FXFactory , but for After Effects.
And finally, some examples exploiting both Kineme Particle Tools and CoGe PSD Layers patches together.
Broadly based upon some of the example compositions to be found in the Particle Tools download. [Fireworks & Carnot].
For those not used to the CoGe PSD Layer, you will have to re-associate the PSD file with the CoGe patches file path and long paths only please [ at present]
Very nice! GrungeHeart and Shapes in particular. I see you have used GIMP for conversions. That bodes well for access. Thanks!