Model of multi-layered paint

Of course, the design in opposite direction is also possible: in this case, even more complex (multi-layered) model of a paint can be used. Manipulation of the appearance attributes assures the design of the manufacturable paints because it is based on the composition model of a paint. However, it generates composition data for two-layer paint only (Fig. 3.1).

A real paint often displays a more complex structure - many layers with intermixed pigments and flakes. Such paints can be re-designed by the manufacturer using a composition driven design facility available in Formula II as demonstrated in Fig. 3.3.

Fig. 3.3. The paint composition tree and the paint cross-section.

Some nodes are expanded displaying their internal structure and the structure of their constituents. The paint layers can be inserted or deleted anywhere in the paint structure as well as the paint composition parameters shown in the left part, whose values can be directly edited.

The composition-based design provides more potentials and flexibility in modeling a paint with required features, but it is also more tiresome and complicated. This is because the parameters it operates with are not so easily comprehensible as in the appearance-based design (they do not have a direct one-to-one correspondence to appearance). Therefore, their manipulation demands a good deal of experience to predict how their adjusting affects the appearance of a simulated paint.