From: Jason Smith (jason_smith_18_at_sfu.ca)
Date: Mon Apr 12 2021 - 00:47:52 CDT

I have always assumed that VMD doesn't do so well on that cartoon style because it operates with shaders and rays, and the outlines like that are perhaps a resterisation over the top of the render? I could be wrong.

I have pasted below some settings that I sometimes use to achieve similar, they look ok in tachyon and optix, but not as rasterised as your chimera example.

Can you let us know why you need vmd to do this if you can already get chimera to do it?

============

set viewplist {}
set fixedlist {}
proc vmdrestoremymaterials {} {
  set mlist { Opaque Transparent BrushedMetal Diffuse Ghost Glass1 Glass2 Glass3 Glossy HardPlastic MetallicPastel Steel Translucent Edgy EdgyShiny EdgyGlass Goodsell AOShiny AOChalky AOEdgy BlownGlass GlassBubble RTChrome RTSurf ChalkSurf Cartoon }
  set mymlist [material list]
  foreach mat $mlist {
    if { [lsearch $mymlist $mat] == -1 } {
      material add $mat
    }
  }
  material change ambient Opaque 0.000000
  material change diffuse Opaque 0.650000
  material change specular Opaque 0.500000
  material change shininess Opaque 0.534020
  material change mirror Opaque 0.000000
  material change opacity Opaque 1.000000
  material change outline Opaque 0.000000
  material change outlinewidth Opaque 0.000000
  material change transmode Opaque 0.000000
  material change ambient Transparent 0.000000
  material change diffuse Transparent 0.650000
  material change specular Transparent 0.500000
  material change shininess Transparent 0.534020
  material change mirror Transparent 0.000000
  material change opacity Transparent 0.300000
  material change outline Transparent 0.000000
  material change outlinewidth Transparent 0.000000
  material change transmode Transparent 0.000000
  material change ambient BrushedMetal 0.080000
  material change diffuse BrushedMetal 0.390000
  material change specular BrushedMetal 0.340000
  material change shininess BrushedMetal 0.150000
  material change mirror BrushedMetal 0.000000
  material change opacity BrushedMetal 1.000000
  material change outline BrushedMetal 0.000000
  material change outlinewidth BrushedMetal 0.000000
  material change transmode BrushedMetal 0.000000
  material change ambient Diffuse 0.000000
  material change diffuse Diffuse 0.620000
  material change specular Diffuse 0.000000
  material change shininess Diffuse 0.530000
  material change mirror Diffuse 0.000000
  material change opacity Diffuse 1.000000
  material change outline Diffuse 0.000000
  material change outlinewidth Diffuse 0.000000
  material change transmode Diffuse 0.000000
  material change ambient Ghost 0.000000
  material change diffuse Ghost 0.000000
  material change specular Ghost 1.000000
  material change shininess Ghost 0.230000
  material change mirror Ghost 0.000000
  material change opacity Ghost 0.100000
  material change outline Ghost 0.000000
  material change outlinewidth Ghost 0.000000
  material change transmode Ghost 0.000000
  material change ambient Glass1 0.000000
  material change diffuse Glass1 0.500000
  material change specular Glass1 0.650000
  material change shininess Glass1 0.530000
  material change mirror Glass1 0.000000
  material change opacity Glass1 0.150000
  material change outline Glass1 0.000000
  material change outlinewidth Glass1 0.000000
  material change transmode Glass1 0.000000
  material change ambient Glass2 0.520000
  material change diffuse Glass2 0.760000
  material change specular Glass2 0.220000
  material change shininess Glass2 0.590000
  material change mirror Glass2 0.000000
  material change opacity Glass2 0.680000
  material change outline Glass2 0.000000
  material change outlinewidth Glass2 0.000000
  material change transmode Glass2 0.000000
  material change ambient Glass3 0.150000
  material change diffuse Glass3 0.250000
  material change specular Glass3 0.750000
  material change shininess Glass3 0.800000
  material change mirror Glass3 0.000000
  material change opacity Glass3 0.500000
  material change outline Glass3 0.000000
  material change outlinewidth Glass3 0.000000
  material change transmode Glass3 0.000000
  material change ambient Glossy 0.000000
  material change diffuse Glossy 0.650000
  material change specular Glossy 1.000000
  material change shininess Glossy 0.880000
  material change mirror Glossy 0.000000
  material change opacity Glossy 1.000000
  material change outline Glossy 0.000000
  material change outlinewidth Glossy 0.000000
  material change transmode Glossy 0.000000
  material change ambient HardPlastic 0.000000
  material change diffuse HardPlastic 0.560000
  material change specular HardPlastic 0.280000
  material change shininess HardPlastic 0.690000
  material change mirror HardPlastic 0.000000
  material change opacity HardPlastic 1.000000
  material change outline HardPlastic 0.000000
  material change outlinewidth HardPlastic 0.000000
  material change transmode HardPlastic 0.000000
  material change ambient MetallicPastel 0.000000
  material change diffuse MetallicPastel 0.260000
  material change specular MetallicPastel 0.550000
  material change shininess MetallicPastel 0.190000
  material change mirror MetallicPastel 0.000000
  material change opacity MetallicPastel 1.000000
  material change outline MetallicPastel 0.000000
  material change outlinewidth MetallicPastel 0.000000
  material change transmode MetallicPastel 0.000000
  material change ambient Steel 0.250000
  material change diffuse Steel 0.000000
  material change specular Steel 0.380000
  material change shininess Steel 0.320000
  material change mirror Steel 0.000000
  material change opacity Steel 1.000000
  material change outline Steel 0.000000
  material change outlinewidth Steel 0.000000
  material change transmode Steel 0.000000
  material change ambient Translucent 0.000000
  material change diffuse Translucent 0.700000
  material change specular Translucent 0.600000
  material change shininess Translucent 0.300000
  material change mirror Translucent 0.000000
  material change opacity Translucent 0.800000
  material change outline Translucent 0.000000
  material change outlinewidth Translucent 0.000000
  material change transmode Translucent 0.000000
  material change ambient Edgy 0.000000
  material change diffuse Edgy 0.660000
  material change specular Edgy 0.000000
  material change shininess Edgy 0.750000
  material change mirror Edgy 0.000000
  material change opacity Edgy 1.000000
  material change outline Edgy 0.620000
  material change outlinewidth Edgy 0.940000
  material change transmode Edgy 0.000000
  material change ambient EdgyShiny 0.000000
  material change diffuse EdgyShiny 0.660000
  material change specular EdgyShiny 0.960000
  material change shininess EdgyShiny 0.750000
  material change mirror EdgyShiny 0.000000
  material change opacity EdgyShiny 1.000000
  material change outline EdgyShiny 0.760000
  material change outlinewidth EdgyShiny 0.940000
  material change transmode EdgyShiny 0.000000
  material change ambient EdgyGlass 0.000000
  material change diffuse EdgyGlass 0.660000
  material change specular EdgyGlass 0.500000
  material change shininess EdgyGlass 0.750000
  material change mirror EdgyGlass 0.000000
  material change opacity EdgyGlass 0.620000
  material change outline EdgyGlass 0.620000
  material change outlinewidth EdgyGlass 0.940000
  material change transmode EdgyGlass 0.000000
  material change ambient Goodsell 0.520000
  material change diffuse Goodsell 1.000000
  material change specular Goodsell 0.000000
  material change shininess Goodsell 0.000000
  material change mirror Goodsell 0.000000
  material change opacity Goodsell 1.000000
  material change outline Goodsell 4.000000
  material change outlinewidth Goodsell 0.900000
  material change transmode Goodsell 0.000000
  material change ambient AOShiny 0.000000
  material change diffuse AOShiny 0.850000
  material change specular AOShiny 0.200000
  material change shininess AOShiny 0.530000
  material change mirror AOShiny 0.000000
  material change opacity AOShiny 1.000000
  material change outline AOShiny 0.000000
  material change outlinewidth AOShiny 0.000000
  material change transmode AOShiny 0.000000
  material change ambient AOChalky 0.000000
  material change diffuse AOChalky 0.850000
  material change specular AOChalky 0.000000
  material change shininess AOChalky 0.530000
  material change mirror AOChalky 0.000000
  material change opacity AOChalky 1.000000
  material change outline AOChalky 0.000000
  material change outlinewidth AOChalky 0.000000
  material change transmode AOChalky 0.000000
  material change ambient AOEdgy 0.000000
  material change diffuse AOEdgy 0.900000
  material change specular AOEdgy 0.200000
  material change shininess AOEdgy 0.530000
  material change mirror AOEdgy 0.000000
  material change opacity AOEdgy 1.000000
  material change outline AOEdgy 0.620000
  material change outlinewidth AOEdgy 0.930000
  material change transmode AOEdgy 0.000000
  material change ambient BlownGlass 0.040000
  material change diffuse BlownGlass 0.340000
  material change specular BlownGlass 1.000000
  material change shininess BlownGlass 1.000000
  material change mirror BlownGlass 0.000000
  material change opacity BlownGlass 0.100000
  material change outline BlownGlass 0.000000
  material change outlinewidth BlownGlass 0.000000
  material change transmode BlownGlass 1.000000
  material change ambient GlassBubble 0.250000
  material change diffuse GlassBubble 0.340000
  material change specular GlassBubble 1.000000
  material change shininess GlassBubble 1.000000
  material change mirror GlassBubble 0.000000
  material change opacity GlassBubble 0.040000
  material change outline GlassBubble 0.000000
  material change outlinewidth GlassBubble 0.000000
  material change transmode GlassBubble 1.000000
  material change ambient RTChrome 0.000000
  material change diffuse RTChrome 0.650000
  material change specular RTChrome 0.500000
  material change shininess RTChrome 0.530000
  material change mirror RTChrome 0.700000
  material change opacity RTChrome 1.000000
  material change outline RTChrome 0.000000
  material change outlinewidth RTChrome 0.000000
  material change transmode RTChrome 0.000000
  material change ambient RTSurf 0.070000
  material change diffuse RTSurf 0.650000
  material change specular RTSurf 0.500000
  material change shininess RTSurf 0.530000
  material change mirror RTSurf 0.440000
  material change opacity RTSurf 0.200000
  material change outline RTSurf 0.820000
  material change outlinewidth RTSurf 0.160000
  material change transmode RTSurf 1.000000
  material change ambient ChalkSurf 0.480000
  material change diffuse ChalkSurf 0.470000
  material change specular ChalkSurf 0.440000
  material change shininess ChalkSurf 0.500000
  material change mirror ChalkSurf 0.000000
  material change opacity ChalkSurf 0.140000
  material change outline ChalkSurf 1.540000
  material change outlinewidth ChalkSurf 0.400000
  material change transmode ChalkSurf 1.000000
  material change ambient Cartoon 0.050000
  material change diffuse Cartoon 0.650000
  material change specular Cartoon 0.250000
  material change shininess Cartoon 0.110000
  material change mirror Cartoon 0.000000
  material change opacity Cartoon 1.000000
  material change outline Cartoon 1.310000
  material change outlinewidth Cartoon 0.680000
  material change transmode Cartoon 1.000000
}

Cheers,

-
Jason Smith
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Robert N. Young Lab, Simon Fraser University
8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, V5A-1S6
Canada

________________________________
From: owner-vmd-l_at_ks.uiuc.edu <owner-vmd-l_at_ks.uiuc.edu> on behalf of Robin Betz <robin_at_robinbetz.com>
Sent: Sunday, 11 April 2021 9:18:38 PM
To: Mcguire, Kelly
Cc: Vmd l
Subject: Re: vmd-l: Visual Help

If you want more control over rendering than the slider options offer, you can write your own OpenGL shaders to render however you want. I managed to get a reasonable cartoon style if you want to try that: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://robinbetz.com/blog/2018/02/20/toon-rendering-in-vmd/__;!!DZ3fjg!ofQoJrG8xUjmtrNa5uK4dV7AO-B65JO_FWjDKD2yUj3RhX49N_LgN23zwYrhBB6NlQ$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://robinbetz.com/blog/2018/02/20/toon-rendering-in-vmd/__;!!DZ3fjg!smwJ7RLmj_QbJa065cRXvCGrggqrzFOn8Ww1xYc4JzrTWZpeiO65cqpzfbovBH2yOA$>

Best,
Robin

On Sun, Apr 11, 2021, 8:01 PM Mcguire, Kelly <klmcguire_at_ucsd.edu<mailto:klmcguire_at_ucsd.edu>> wrote:
I am trying out the outline setting in the materials window to make my rendering look more cel-shaded. I am would like to have a strong outline on the new cartoon representation, and t almost looks the way I want it to. I turn the outline slider to a maximum of 4, but the outline is still quite thin. I use the outline width, but it increases the shading more than I want. I have a attached what I have done with my settings and an example of what I want from Chimera. Yes, I could just use Chimera, but I'd like to get this to work in VMD as well. Is there a way to increase just the outline setting (not the outline width slider) beyond a maximum of 4 to look as thick as the Chimera example but without the thick shading that the outline width slider creates in my VMD example? Thanks!

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.dropbox.com/s/w8eqpck9gy02uf8/VMD.bmp?dl=0__;!!DZ3fjg!ofQoJrG8xUjmtrNa5uK4dV7AO-B65JO_FWjDKD2yUj3RhX49N_LgN23zwYpmDs54YQ$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.dropbox.com/s/w8eqpck9gy02uf8/VMD.bmp?dl=0__;!!DZ3fjg!p8MzcHiT9fvQZCnGb4jxF9nMIeJ2zD2xNF30QByNmkRZIoPB3l62xvpdmnGt8-3wDA$>

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.dropbox.com/s/zw7pm6pvb1m1fwd/settings.bmp?dl=0__;!!DZ3fjg!ofQoJrG8xUjmtrNa5uK4dV7AO-B65JO_FWjDKD2yUj3RhX49N_LgN23zwYrZXH1YWg$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.dropbox.com/s/zw7pm6pvb1m1fwd/settings.bmp?dl=0__;!!DZ3fjg!p8MzcHiT9fvQZCnGb4jxF9nMIeJ2zD2xNF30QByNmkRZIoPB3l62xvpdmnFWLU2X6A$>

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.dropbox.com/s/zkosl7rwv11409t/Chimera.png?dl=0__;!!DZ3fjg!ofQoJrG8xUjmtrNa5uK4dV7AO-B65JO_FWjDKD2yUj3RhX49N_LgN23zwYr8IFTjQw$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.dropbox.com/s/zkosl7rwv11409t/Chimera.png?dl=0__;!!DZ3fjg!p8MzcHiT9fvQZCnGb4jxF9nMIeJ2zD2xNF30QByNmkRZIoPB3l62xvpdmnGxrUa8tA$>

Dr. Kelly McGuire
Postdoc
Chemistry/Biochemistry Department
Natural Science Building, 4104A, 4106A, 4017