Camera and BackGround Images

Hello,

I’ve been experimenting with some simple Camera Mapping and I’ve run into a bit of a snag. The image I want to project is a panorama that is very wide but not so tall. When I load the image into the background image slot and view it through the ‘camera’ viewport, the image is stretched to fit into the safe zone.

Is there a way to have the image retain it’s original proportions?

Thank you for any help you can provide, I appreciate it. I’ve been very impressed with the help I’ve recieved so far from this forum!
Thanks!

Use it as a texture to the inside of a big shadeless tube that is the proportion of the picture. The camera sits inside the “arena”. To use an image as a texture, see the wiki on Textures.

Oh, I understand how to put a texture on an object ( Sort of ) What I’m talking about is using the camera to project a sticky texture? But the image you load into the background of the camera viewport seems to distort to fit the camera guide. I’m sure there’s someway to solve this, perhaps just creating a deadzone around the image so it doesn’t distort?

well, any object can project a texture using the UVProject modifier. If you use a camera as the projector, when you move the camera, the texture will move and not be sticky. To make it sticky, use an empty as the projector (and don’t move it).

Regarding the distortion, well, the image is projected out and whatever it falls on reflects it back. If the thing it hits is curved or not flat, the image will have to be distorted across its non-normal surfaces.

Would changing the aspect ratio of the camera solve your problem, if the picture you are using is an odd ratio you would have to experiment with it to get it right.

Oh, I see what you’re saying. I’ll check into both of these solutions. Thanks alot guys, I appreciate the responses. I’ll update you if I get this worked out! Thanks!