clipka <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:

> As far as I can tell, that's usually not done.

I guess not - for some reason I thought I had seen lettering that was more
properly anamorphic than what is actually used for pavement marking.

I think it's the A, 4, and to some extent the Y and certain arrows that may have
given me that impression.

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In case anyone needs such a thing for scenes:

http://www.cbrd.co.uk/fonts

http://www.mutcd.org/en/products/fhwa/fhwa_symb_en.html

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clipka <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
> Am 12.03.2018 um 17:58 schrieb Bald Eagle:
>
> > I have not seen any specifications for these letters and arrows, and have not
> > yet found a source to download such a font / typeface.
>
> I guess different countries will have different standards (if any) for
> such purposes.
>
> According to Wikipedia, pictograms, numbers and texts on German roads
> must match regular traffic signs (*), except that they are to be scaled
> "vertically" by a factor of 3.
>
> (* Slight variations occur in practice, to allow for application via
> stencils.)
>
> > Doing a bit of trigonometric scribbling, at first glance it appears that the
> > upper half and lower half of such a typeface [ideally] ought to be scaled to
> > different extents.
>
> As far as I can tell, that's usually not done.

And probably for good reason.
Trying this out with projected_through lights the effect can appear great for a
non-parallel light source and camera placed at same location. It goes badly when
realizing it won't fulfill every situation, and worse because the road surface
text and symbols need so much space to accommodate them if done as a projection.

Check this out, if you don't mind the basic scene file inaccuracies. I literally
threw it together.

// BEGIN SCENE FILE
#version 3.7;

global_settings {
 assumed_gamma 1
 ambient_light 0
}

// parallel typical method of painting road surface text & symbols
#declare Parallel=no; // otherwise singular projected views
// projected viewpoint won't be seen good from other views

#declare OverheadView=no; // from above to see distortion
// a projected view text or symbol would require much more paint area

camera {
 location #if (OverheadView) <0,30,5> #else <0,3,-15> #end
 look_at #if (OverheadView) <0,0,5> #else <0,0,0> #end
 angle 30
}

#declare Text=
text {
 ttf "arialbd"
 //"IIIIIIIIII" // crosswalk
 "STOP"
 0.1, 0
 translate <-1.33,0,0>
}

light_source {
 <0,3,-15>,
 color rgb 1
  projected_through { object { Text } }
  #if (Parallel) parallel point_at 0 #end
  translate <-3,0,0>
}

#declare StraightArrowSymbol=
union {
 box {
  -0.5,0.5
  scale <0.25,0.75,0.01>
 }
 box {
  -0.5,0.5
  rotate z*45
  clipped_by {
   plane {
    -y, 0
   }
  }
  scale <0.325,0.5,0.01>
  translate y*0.375
 }
 translate <0,0.5,0>
}

light_source {
 <0,3,-15>,
 color rgb 1
  projected_through { object { StraightArrowSymbol } }
  #if (Parallel) parallel point_at 0 #end
  translate <0,0,0>
}

#declare RightTurnSymbol=
union {
 box {
  -0.5,0.5
  scale <0.25,0.5,0.01>
 }
 torus {
  2,1
  rotate x*90
  clipped_by {
   box {
    0,3
   }
  }
  scale <-0.125,0.125,0.01>
  translate <0.25,0.25,0>
 }
 box {
  -0.5,0.5
  rotate z*45
  clipped_by {
   plane {
    -y, 0
   }
  }
  scale <0.325,0.5,0.01>
  rotate -z*90
  translate <0.25,0.5,0>
 }
 translate <0,0.5,0>
}

light_source {
 <0,3,-15>,
 color rgb 1
  projected_through { object { RightTurnSymbol } }
  #if (Parallel) parallel point_at 0 #end
  translate <3,0,0>
}

plane {
 y, 0
 pigment {
  color rgb 1
 }
 finish {
  diffuse 2
 }
}

// grid
union {
#for (I,-10,10,1)
cylinder {
 -x*10,x*10,0.02
 pigment {
  color blue 1
 }
 finish {
  emission 1 diffuse 0
 }
 translate z*I
}
cylinder {
 -z*10,z*10,0.02
 pigment {
  color green 1
 }
 finish {
  emission 1 diffuse 0
 }
 translate x*I
}
#end
no_shadow
}
// END SCENE FILE

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"Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:
> In case anyone needs such a thing for scenes:
>
> http://www.cbrd.co.uk/fonts
>
> http://www.mutcd.org/en/products/fhwa/fhwa_symb_en.html

Thanks for the links!

Guess it should be no surprise someone made fonts for "pavement markings". That
term was eluding me before so I didn't find much from quick 'net search.

Now I've seen enough to realize each State here in the US probably has some
individualization regarding those, but maybe mostly adopted from a universally
accepted idea to begin with. Namely a simple vertical (or length) stretched
method. Although I didn't actually find a real answer to that question.

I came across a PDF about Florida and a road planning software, and Michigan has
a PDF telling about it's "research" into such things too.

You helped get rid of my Monday night boredom! Temporarily anyhow. ;-)

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"Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:

>
> The lettering on road surfaces is a vertically stretched typeface, to compensate
> for the somewhat extreme viewing angle from the driver's seat.
>
Funny thing about such road-painted signs:

Take this for instance...

         STOP
          ON
         RED

That's how it looks from the driver's location (or better yet, from a bird's eye
view above the driver.) And that's how we're expected to read it.

But on a dark rainy night, those big stretched-out words appear differently. The
first word *I* see in the headlights is... RED.
Then ON.
Then STOP.

Depending on the actual message, that can be... confusing!  So while I'm
attempting to make sense of it-- thinking, "red on stop? what does *that
mean*?"-- I mistakenly go through the read light, get broad-sided by a large
truck, then wake up in hospital months later-- my very first thought being,
"Hey, did I read that message the right way??"  :-P

The logic of civil engineering sometimes escapes me...

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Am 13.03.2018 um 20:47 schrieb Kenneth:

> Take this for instance...
> 
>          STOP
>           ON
>          RED

I hear you.

Fortunately, over here in Germany we rarely ever have this problem:
Virtually all our traffic signs and corresponding road markings are
purely pictographical; and when we do have text on road surfaces, it's
usually just a single word, such as "TAXI" or "BUS" to indicate a lane
reserved for particular typs of vehicles.

One of the things I found most annoying when driving a car in the US was
that I was ever so often forced to _read_ while driving. Felt pretty
distracting to me.

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Le 18-03-12 à 12:58, Bald Eagle a écrit :
> 
> As a natural and plentiful supply of Dried Frog Pills (TM) is becoming more
> scarce and illicit as the decades whiz by, errant thoughts on various subjects
> and POV-Ray such as the following continually fill my mind:
> 
> The lettering on road surfaces is a vertically stretched typeface, to compensate
> for the somewhat extreme viewing angle from the driver's seat.
> 
> I have not seen any specifications for these letters and arrows, and have not
> yet found a source to download such a font / typeface.
> 
> Doing a bit of trigonometric scribbling, at first glance it appears that the
> upper half and lower half of such a typeface [ideally] ought to be scaled to
> different extents.
> 
> So my questions are:
> a) can anyone dig up DOT specs?
> b) Are such fonts available for download?
> c) What's the best way to display a text{} object such that the bottom half and
> top half are unequally scaled?
> (I'm thinking CSG-type cropping, or something like Dave Blandston's excellent
> work with text)
> 
> I'll likely work up some diagrams and equations, but I figured I'd just throw
> this out there for fun.
> 
> 

For the fonts :
There is a font called "skyscraper" that you may find interesting for 
that purpose.
You can use any stencil like font vertically scaled by a factor from 2.5 
to 4.

I've never noticed any uneven scaling. Some characters and symbols may 
look that way, but are very probably not.

I don't think that there are any real DOT specs, or at least, not any 
universal ones. Those letterings are probably eyeballed to look about 
correct. Then, some countries could edict some "standards" based on that.


Alain

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Well actually there apparently is the predictable and virtually inevitable
pathological creeping bureaucratic control of everything in their grasp:

Manual On Uniform Traffic Control Devices

This seems to be very similar in the UK, Australia, and the US as far as I can
tell.   There are diagrams, and measurements, and all of that.

To make sure that everything, everywhere, for everyone, is the same.
In the name of diversity.

They also specify that instead of
STOP
 ON
RED

The first word is closest to the driver.  So it it needs to be:
RED
 ON
STOP

so that you actually DO read the words in the correct order as you drive up to
and over them.

And I don't think Bob was as bored as this guy:
http://joesretirementblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/progress-in-manomet-part-3-manomet.html


So, this was all interesting, educational, and somewhat terrifying all at the
same time.

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On 13-3-2018 21:26, clipka wrote:
> Am 13.03.2018 um 20:47 schrieb Kenneth:
> 
>> Take this for instance...
>>
>>           STOP
>>            ON
>>           RED
> 
> I hear you.
> 
> Fortunately, over here in Germany we rarely ever have this problem:
> Virtually all our traffic signs and corresponding road markings are
> purely pictographical; and when we do have text on road surfaces, it's
> usually just a single word, such as "TAXI" or "BUS" to indicate a lane
> reserved for particular typs of vehicles.
> 
> One of the things I found most annoying when driving a car in the US was
> that I was ever so often forced to _read_ while driving. Felt pretty
> distracting to me.
> 

The notice (STOP ON RED) generates an interesting (sociological) 
question. If such is necessary to be brought to the driver's attention, 
is it customary in the US to drive through red otherwise? Does the red 
light not suffice? Just a thought. ;-)

-- 
Thomas

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"Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:
> And I don't think Bob was as bored as this guy:
>
http://joesretirementblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/progress-in-manomet-part-3-manomet.html

No, not that much. Now this got me looking for a video of the arrow markings
being drawn before the paint goes down. I was envisioning templates but this
YouTube video shows a person capable of going without. Some skilled tape
measuring, but only a single hand drawn curved line at 1:40 into the vid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=109&v=qLa9OaB3-Z0

> So, this was all interesting, educational, and somewhat terrifying all at the
> same time.

Funny you should put it that way. As I read the blog I was thinking about when I
was a little kid and the family was at a campground. There was a road closed
barricade with those glass beads embedded in it, complete with a couple yellow
flashing lights, when we drove in after dark.
I was only interested in the reason it lit up in the headlights so I was
scrapping the glass off in my hand and some guy walked up and told me not to do
that because it won't shine anymore. Scared me, being just a kid. Felt like I
was taking some kind of magic stuff off it.

And another more recent memory when I felt a little silly for almost stopping to
gather up overflow of those things when they striped the road near home. There
was so much in one place where it must have spilled, had that same desire to get
some of that magic again.

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