Matching perspective to a backdrop - improvements

[quigley]

This is something we do a lot of, and there are a few things that would make our life a lot easier:

1. Be able to import an image with a transparent background that sits ABOVE the render preview image (so perhaps a foreground image rather than a backdrop image). The use case is this. We have a product shot that we need to add a new part onto - eg -  a printer sitting on a stand or tray system. We have the photo of the printer, and the model of the stand. This is feasible in Keyshot but it is not as simple as dropping a model onto a background image. Our workflow on this is currently, eyeball it, then do test renders as PNGs, drop into Photoshop and pull the top image over the render. Then repeat until we get it nearly right. Not ideal. Perhaps there could be a way to import a .PSD into Keyshot as a backdrop image, then specify which layers in that image the rendering is added to. This would provide a lot of extra flexibility.

2. Camera adjustments. Can we please have more control over the values. Sliders are useless for very fine adjustments, and typing in values is tedious, and using the arrow keys is very inconsistent in increments  (unless there is a hidden preference to set these increments I don't know about?). The simplest option for this would be to allow users to set the increments in the numeric values. SolidWorks does this very well. Copy that!

[CoalHedgehog]

"Can we please have more control over the values..."

Adobe Illustrator / Photoshop has an option in Preferences where you can set the increments for everything how you like.

For example, one keystroke can be 10 mm or 0.00026 mm.

[quigley]

The problem with a preference is that you need to go into preferences to set it. I am looking for something you can set on the fly. Maybe a button - change increments in the various dialogues. I might want the perspective to alter in increments of 1 but the camera twist angle in 0.1 increments. Currently it seems to be chaos. In this file I have open right now, the camera twist increment is 3.6, the azimuth is 7.2 and the distance is 1! Where do these values come from?

[DriesV]

Hey Kevin,

Thanks for the input.
We are making improvements to camera handling in KeyShot 7. "Absolute" control will have Position (X, Y, Z), Target (X, Y, Z) and Twist (angle), insted of the 'elusive' Direction and Up vectors in KeyShot 6.
You will also be able to move around the active camera in the Geometry View using the Move Tool.

How important are exact camera coordinates to you?

Dries

[quigley]

Hi Dries,

Sounds good! To be honest I think a more granular level of control of the camera using the up down arrows would be more useful. 9 tmes out of 10  eyeball the camera view but the increments are a bit chaotic.

Thinking out loud, could we have a global increment in preferences, then keyboard modifiers to alter the value of the up or down arrow increments. So, for example, set 1 as the increment, so up arrow would change twist (say) by 1. Shft + up arrow would make it increment by 0.1. Control changes it to 10, Alt Shift 0.5 etc. Is this feasible?