Background Images Bugged too?

[EricChadwick]

Use Plane primitives instead of the background?

[chach]

you certainly are eager to write off your issues as bugs. don't do that.
for this problem, all you have to do is check 'lock zoom/pan' when you are loading your background.

[Aearon]

posm is right, that's the best method. the viewport background stuff doesn't really look like it's supposed to be used for reference images... i think it's there so you can put 2d backgrounds behind your scene in the viewport...that's also how they use it in some of the example files i think.

here are some general tips for setting up reference planes:

- use a material with self-illumination set to 100
- use quad patches, in the object properties disable "show frozen in gray", then freeze 'em

[chach]

that only works if you have a beefy video card to push the viewport. too much of a performance hit for me, plus, you can't work in wireframe (& compare to your reference image) like that.

you have the ability to turn on/off anti-aliasing of the background image in preferences as well if the quality doesn't suit you.

[Aearon]

chach: i still think it's easier to align reference images on planes, unless you have a nice trick for that using viewport backgrounds. also, could you explain why the viewport backgrounds don't decrease performance? it's also an opengl display just like everything else in the viewport, or isn't it?

btw: your first reply wasn't there when i first replied, so this: "posm is right" wasn't to say you were wrong, in case you thought anything along these lines ;)

[Primitive]

Originally posted by chach
plus, you can't work in wireframe (& compare to your reference image) like that.

You could turn on "See through" in the properties of the object and that problem is solved.

[chach]

If you're only using 1 reference image per viewport, using viewport background seems to be the way to go.
I'm not clear on what you mean by 'aligning images' If you're talking about placing a plane on each axis so that you can have reference on 3 intersecting planes, then, your viewport background alternative would simply be to create your refefence images all on the same size canvas. if you load them up and preserve the aspect and lock zoom/pan they'll line up just right. If you're talking about aligning several images in a single viewport, you'd have to do that in the shaded view, but , AFAIK, you can't combine more than 2 or 3 transparent shaded surfaces in the viewport anyway.
As far as viewport cost goes, when you're using the viewport background you're adding only the single bitmap to the viewport, if you're using planes, you're generating geometry, mapping, occlusion, lighting, etc...(more).
re:btw : cool. i try not to be that argumentative anyway...it gets dangerous around here. ;-)

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