Grasshopper: Texture Mapping

Texture mapping adjustments in Grasshopper can be varied automatically to reduce or remove the need for manual editing. This can be especially useful for repetitive elements that should visually be distinct from one another in the model. Vary the mapping of multiple objects using a single definition!

Try It

1. Download Rhino 8 Evaluation for Windows or Mac.
2. Download and open the Doric_Column.3dm model in Rhino.
3. Download and open the TryIt_Mapping_GH_v9.gh file in Grasshopper .
4. Select the two polysurfaces representing the columns model in a Rhino viewport.
5. In the Grasshopper canvas, right-click the Model Object parameter and select Set many model objects.
6. Press the Push Content button in the Grasshopper Content Cache component. Note that the columns created each have unique texture mapping using the procedural marble material defined in the *.gh file.
7. Double-click the Cluster component found on the canvas. It contains the logic that makes the mapping unique for each object pushed to the Rhino document. In this cluster, a UVW mapping method is assigned to each object and then rotated at a random amount around each object’s centroid:
   1. Change the value of the number slider controlling the Size in the Texture Mapping component.
   2. Select the open box icon at the top left of the canvas to Save & Close the changes made to the cluster.
8. Push the content again to see the change in the texture mapping, as in step 6.
9. In the Horizontal Frames component, change the value in the Number of columns slider to increase or decrease.
10. With each additional push of the content, the objects will get replaced and will always have unique texture mapping per object.
11. Try this with your own models by replacing the model objects referenced in step 5.
12. Share comments and feedback on the Grasshopper Forum.

Rhino Commands

• Grasshopper