What colour for cardboard parts?

[N. W. Perry]

We have new colour entries for fabric parts, but what to use for the category Sheet Cardboard?

I can think of at least four finishes that would be needed:

• Raw, unfinished cardboard (usually for the unprinted back of a sheet, but possibly also dyed/printed for the front)
  
• Glossy
  
• Matte (or would this just be another case of Raw?)
  
• Textured - some of the early printed art cards have a textured, almost fabric-like finish. This may be more a result of the printing process than the material itself, because different colors show different textures, so maybe this is more a case of using fabric finishes in combination with cardboard base parts. See this image for an example of what I mean:
  

  eavesCrop.png (Size: 201.33 KB / Downloads: 51)

[Chris Böhnke]

We don't even have a category for the textured surface of slopes , to start with (which I'd like to have, but I guess there are other opinions).

Of cause, we could add yet another Colour category (that would only exist in LDraw and nowhere else ), but I'd rather like that not be the case. Especially since we'd need all the available colours there too (like with the Canvas/Rubber ones). 

Also, would some of those presumed "cardboards" be identical in surface to some existing stickers (=rework?)? I think I have some that are...

How many of those would need a Texmap? That would probably negate the effect anyways.

And the older ones you mentioned - are you sure the special texture isn't just some sign of ageing? I have both an aged and a relatively good copy of set 6450's stickers which are drastically different in look and feel.

What cardboard parts are out there (and which would be allowed for the PT)?

• backdrops/roofs etc. used in builds (Harry Potter 2001-2002 for ex.)
  
• Game Boy lenticular cards (would those even be considered cardboard?)
  
• the road-cards for the new Technic CMF-style packs
  
• that Minifig cards from 2000 for the 6x6 stands
  
• some older Backdrops, Studios or Set 6990
  
• some old Duplo parts
  
• Townplan/Legoland roads (I guess those are way thicker too?)
  
• Orient Expedition Board Game?
  
• ...?
  

[Magnus Forsberg]

We allready have many, using standard colours.

https://library.ldraw.org/parts/list?tab...0Cardboard

[N. W. Perry]

We don't even have a category for the textured surface of slopes , to start with (which I'd like to have, but I guess there are other opinions).

Me too. :-)

Of cause, we could add yet another Colour category (that would only exist in LDraw and nowhere else ), but I'd rather like that not be the case. Especially since we'd need all the available colours there too (like with the Canvas/Rubber ones).

Point taken, and I tend to agree. Rubber, canvas, cardboard, all these are just different surfaces. I'd rather just choose the color and assign the correct surface material—same with slope surfaces, for that matter.

Also, would some of those presumed "cardboards" be identical in surface to some existing stickers (=rework?)? I think I have some that are...

Probably. What we're really talking about is a completely flat (in finish, not in geometry), papery surface. Some stickers are certainly like that, while others are more like plastic film.

How many of those would need a Texmap? That would probably negate the effect anyways.

Some. Considerably more than zero.

And the older ones you mentioned - are you sure the special texture isn't just some sign of ageing? I have both an aged and a relatively good copy of set 6450's stickers which are drastically different in look and feel.

Pretty sure. I've never seen one in real life (they ain't cheap and aren't usually sold on their own, but as part as expensive antique building sets), but there are good photos of some of them. Here's another example:
   

[Orion Pobursky]

I don't want to get out into the weeds on this.  We're already too far, IMO, with the fabric colors.

Everything cardboard should be Sheet Cardboard and a user can define texture based on that.

[N. W. Perry]

I don't want to get out into the weeds on this.  We're already too far, IMO, with the fabric colors.

Everything cardboard should be Sheet Cardboard and a user can define texture based on that.

That works for me. So, what's the right way to define a surface/texture/finish in LDraw?

We might, in that case, only need to define a color for raw, buff, unfinished cardboard. Similar to how we have a color for bare metal, for example.

(There might just be some concern among the color-keepers, who note that certain colors only exist as printing inks, and so forth.)

[Chris Böhnke]

If you only want the "correct" base material, have you tried simply using Canvas White or Cream?

It's obviously not correct, but it should give a somewhat similar, "fiber-y" feel. A bit similar to how you can use Rubber colours to create the miky variants of Transparent colours for parts cast in PP/PE like 30093.

[N. W. Perry]

If you only want the "correct" base material, have you tried simply using Canvas White or Cream?

It's obviously not correct, but it should give a somewhat similar, "fiber-y" feel. A bit similar to how you can use Rubber colours to create the miky variants of Transparent colours for parts cast in PP/PE like 30093.

Yes, canvas is what I'm using as a fallback. You need Canvas Tan for raw cardboard, though it isn't a perfect match.

But for rendering in Studio, the only option appears to be rubber, at least until I learn how to create new materials.