Which way is north?
- Thread starter Innerdreamrecords
- Start date
It really depends on what your application is. When I export to Unity I use Z as North. Its really arbitrary, pick which ever axis makes most sense for your workflow.
Jeff
Jeff
It's not a quiz. :redface:
This is the default top view and my question is serious, which direction is North for the setting up orientation and the skylight. :smile:
This is the default top view and my question is serious, which direction is North for the setting up orientation and the skylight. :smile:
Hi Jeff and thanks,
This is to study the sun and shadows on the pool deck, it does matter as the skylight is set @ Longitude and Latitude of the city the pool deck is in. So, you can't just pick an axis. Correct me if I'm wrong.
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Why don't you just make 2 renders—one sunrise and one sunset—and take notice of the direction of the shadows? Then you'll know which way it is north... That's how I do it at the farm
.Why don't you just make 2 renders—one sunrise and one sunset—and take notice of the direction of the shadows? Then you'll know which way it is north... That's how I do it at the farm
I can do this and probably will have to. The point is that there should be an easy way to see where North is. It's a basic problem and should be addressed.
Ah, I didn't realize it was in ref. to the skylight. I've never used the skylight.
OK, let's assume that North is only really meaningful in relation to the skylight object. The skylight can be rotated (rather than rotating the model) exactly the same as the northpoint on a drawing. So one solution to the problem is:
1) Work out which way the skylight thinks is North: set it's rotation to zero, the longitude to zero, and the time to 12:00 on June 21st. The shadows should be pointing North, so render something and note their direction.
2) Now make an object to serve as a northpoint, pointing in this same direction (could be a spline or polygon arrow or whatever. Uncheck it's 'visible in renderer' property, so it only appears in the editor.
3) Add it as a child to your skylight, et voilà- now you know which way is north. If your model requires a different orientation, change the rotation property of the skylight, and the northpoint will follow.
4) Save your new northpoint/skylight object in a jas file and post it here for others to use. :wink:
1) Work out which way the skylight thinks is North: set it's rotation to zero, the longitude to zero, and the time to 12:00 on June 21st. The shadows should be pointing North, so render something and note their direction.
2) Now make an object to serve as a northpoint, pointing in this same direction (could be a spline or polygon arrow or whatever. Uncheck it's 'visible in renderer' property, so it only appears in the editor.
3) Add it as a child to your skylight, et voilà- now you know which way is north. If your model requires a different orientation, change the rotation property of the skylight, and the northpoint will follow.
4) Save your new northpoint/skylight object in a jas file and post it here for others to use. :wink:
Loosing North ? That may have different meanings in various countries !
Hi All,
I am not tired and this is a serious answer. There is no need for graphics nor renders to answer such a basic question. And I used "basic".
Andreu is right ! Do like in the farm !!
A new blank scene and only a sky light (with geometry on). Nothing else. Zoom out to see your sun and change time. Don't forget to look at it. Eventually from a top position.
As far as I know, the sun acts the same everywhere. From East to West. And that will never change, no matter what / where the model is or will be.
The rest should not be too difficult ...
Hi All,
I am not tired and this is a serious answer. There is no need for graphics nor renders to answer such a basic question. And I used "basic".
Andreu is right ! Do like in the farm !!
A new blank scene and only a sky light (with geometry on). Nothing else. Zoom out to see your sun and change time. Don't forget to look at it. Eventually from a top position.
As far as I know, the sun acts the same everywhere. From East to West. And that will never change, no matter what / where the model is or will be.
The rest should not be too difficult ...
Thanks ROI and everyone else. :redface:
The best way to get lost is to rotate the skylight. You can't do it in real life, so why would you want to do it in a model ? Just leave the sky alone (you know where the north is, right ?) and rotate the model according to life requirements ( architects/terrain/ ...). And then nobody has to scratch their heads
Hence the big green arrow to remind you which way is North! :smile:
For the same reason it is done routinely on architectural plans: because buildings are usually orthogonal to some extent, and it makes it easier to draw (or model) if the building is aligned to the page (or grid, in this case). So it's laziness, basically.
If you import a model from another source (perhaps based on an architectural plan drawn with a particular orientation) it is often useful NOT to have to rotate it, in order that extra objects added later are still aligned correctly. IMHO the best way to get lost is to rotate the model.
Actually they might be scratching, because on geographical maps for instance, North is up (by euro-centric convention), whereas by default the C3D skylight thinks North is to the left...
I agree with Innerdreamrecords, it would be nice if there were a simple graphic - only it needs to be on the skylight, not the grid (which is just graph paper: you can turn it any way you like, but the sun still shines just the same).
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:smile: I love that.