Command line preparation tool

Platforms: Windows, MacOS

To use the IG Blender script to render materials in waveform, there are some steps and stumbling blocks to overcome.

The IG.MaterialRenderer command line tool helps to set up and create necessary settings and files.

Download the software from here:

Windows binary Archiv, Version 1.0.2

MacOS binary Archiv, Version 1.0.1

Just extract the zip to a folder of your choice and start the program with “MaterialRenderer.exe” (Windows) or “MaterialRenderer” (MacOS).

The program will guide you through the setup process up to the creation of the startup files.

Before you start, check the following requirements:

• Blender installed on the machine running the script, Version 2.9 until 3.1 is supported, newer versions create wrong results!
• Scope of the IG.Creator Workspace, scope includes domain and sub domain, for example “IG.Reference”
• Readonly username and password for IG.Bridge access

The default waveform geometry is optimized for showing an 15×15 cut-out, which corresponds to the texture with a patch size of 15×15.

Version 1.0.2

• Updated base files (render script, waveform geometry)
• Improved cmd line mode (stores last setting)
• Modes added: new mode “sort” to copy all files to single output folder, default behavior is now “init” which is based on prior versions

Version 1.0.1

• Added MacOS Support
• Donwloading base files in existing working directory not longer purges all files in there
• Updated wave geometry

The program will guide you step by step through the following points:

• Check Blender installation, if necessary the download and installation of a suitable version is offered.
• Input and preparation of a local working directory
• Initial setup: download and installation of all necessary scripts and files
• Query and check of the necessary parameters (IG.Creator workspace)
• Optional download of the material list (index.json) with the possibility to edit it (editor or linked program)
• Query and check the options for the images (size, camera zoom)
• Creation of the necessary start files

When the program is successfully finished, the rendering process can be started by launching a batch file on Windows or an shell script file on MacOS.

There are some differences:

1. On Windows, the program can check if blender is installed. On MacOS, this check is not possible. Skip the installation task if Blender is installed on MacOS.
2. On macOS, vim is always used to edit the index.json if selected. On Windows, the editor app or a program associated with .json is selected.
3. Under MacOS, if selected as a step, the Blender installation is offered as either an Apple Silicon package or Intel package. For newer Apple computers with M1 chip or above, the Apple Silicon variant should always be selected. The Intel variant is supported on all, but especially older Apple machines with Intel processors.
4. Under MacOS an shell script called “MaterialRenderer.sh” is created to start the rendering process. For the script to start successfully, it must be marked as an executable file using chmod +x.

Settings for the renderer can be adjusted later in the configuration.ini.

The index.json file contains all information about the materials. If necessary, the list should be edited. if, for example, only a subset of the materials is to be rendered.

The default texture for the waveform is always located in the “wave.geo” directory and can be swapped if necessary.

At the moment the command line tool only supports creating materials via IG.Creator (bridge server). However, support for the IG.MatServer can be made available in the near future.