Text to be entered in edit fields will appear like this.
Commands to be selected from the meny bar will appear underlined like File->Open…
• Launch Contours 1.0
• Enter a function as a function of x and y in the Function text field:
cos(x*y) + sin(x*y)
This function will be how the z value will be calculated: z = cos(x*y) + sin(x*y)
• Select Render->Low Detail from the menu bar. This will evaluate the function and plot the results in the contour window named "Untitled 1". The detail level is low and the image will be plotted in 8 pixel square to allow you to preview the results.
• Select Render->Medium Detail from the menu bar and observe the results. The detail level in medium and the image will be ploted in 4x4 pixel squares for a medium resolution preview. The blue areas in the image are where the z values exceed the z max value in the Axis Variables section in the settings window. The green areas in the images are where the z values are less than the z min value in the Axis Variables section in the settings window.
• Select Window->Show Info to display the info window on the screen. This will display information about the current function when the cursor is held over the contour window, or the "Unititled 1" window in this example. As the cursor is moved, the x, y, z, and resulting RGB values are displayed according to where you are in the image. Also the Zmin and Zmax values are displayed. These are the minimum and maximum values of z over the whole image area. Observe the values for Zmin and Zmax.
• Enter a value slightly larger than Zmax in the Axis Variables:z max text edit field
1.42
• Enter a value slightly smaller than Zmin in the Axis Variables:z min text edit field
-1.42
• Click on the Medim Detail icon located in the Image Controls section or select Render->Medium Detail from the menu bar.
• Enter a value for Axis Variables:x max text edit field
5.0
• Enter a value for Axis Variables:x min text edit field
-5.0
• Enter a value for Axis Variables:y max text edit field
5.0
• Enter a value for Axis Variables:y min text edit field
-5.0
• Type the H keys on the keyboard to do a High Detail rendering.
• Select File->Save Single PICT… from the menu bar. Select a filename and save the PICT file. This will save the image that you have created to a PICT file with the contour information that was used to generate it in the PICT header of the PICT file. This file can now be loaded in a 3D program for use as a map, or to made into a 3D terrain.
• Change the function to include an animated variable a. Enter the following text in the Function section of the Settings window.
cos(x*y*a) + sin(x*y*a)
• Change the size of the image to 64 x 64 pixels by entering these value in the Image Controls section of the settings window.
• Enter a value for Animated Variables:a max text edit field
1.0
• Enter a value for Animated Variables:a min text edit field
0.0
• Press M key combination to preview the picture in medium detail mode.
• Select Animation->Animate from the menu bar, or press A to view the animation in medium resolution mode.
• Press H key combination to preview the picture in high detail mode.
• Select Animation->Animate from the menu bar, or press A to view the animation in high resolution mode.
• Select File->Save Animation PICTs… from the menu bar and select a base file name for the numbered PICTs that will be generated. The contours program will generate numbered PICT files (15 of them since in the Animation Controls section of the Settings window we can see we have 15 frames in our animation).
You now know how to use the Contours program to generate PICT files and animations that can be used in your 3D programs. Many other things can be done with the program. The color that you map Z to can be changed by selecting a different color by clicking on the color swatches in the Z Axis Color Mapping section of the Settings window. You can also map the >z max color to white, the <z min color to black if you wish to clip your function at a certain value.
