Hi there, I am just learning about textureing and have heared things about specular mapping, but you never see any tutorials or anything on how to create them. Im also wondering about other mapping options to get a more realistic look in my poser 5 renders but there is not many tutorials out there, all you ever see is color mapping and bump mapping I know there is so much more to it then this, but how will I ever learn if I can't find any info on it. Please help me. If you could post links to tutorials and such I would be ever so gratefull thanks Grace37

Specular mapping isn`t used so much, I think that is partly because it tends to make things look a bit like shiny plastic. The displacement mapping is great you can do effects like fur. there are some recent topics in this forum that go into details about using the displacement mapping.

Attached Link: http://www.keindesign.de/stefan/poser/

Specular mapping would be good for a wet effect but apart from that it is not used that much.

If I understand correctly what I have read, specular mapping is used to reduce the shiny plastic look. Specular mapping is to control the specular strength with a map, witch is possible in Poser 5 but not in Poser 4. That may be the reason we don't see it much. It seams to be state of the art in higher end apps. I would like to experiment with it, but unfortunately I have no idea how to create such a map. So I would also appreciate a link to a tutorial.

Attached Link: http://leigh.cgcommunity.com/making_of_orc_head.htm

Attached Link: http://leigh.cgcommunity.com/making_of_orc_head.htm

Specularity (and mapping) is used all the time in other packages. I've been using Lightwave since P5. One of the base attributes of a surface in LW is specualrity which is the "Hot Spot" created on a surface by a light source. Imagine a dark room, with a single spotlight aimed at a polished black bowling ball. The strength of the amount of reflected light on the surface of the ball is specualrity. Glossiness is how big or small the spot is. The more glossy a surface, the smaller and tighter the spot.
This image in my gallery uses a turbulence procedural as input in the specualrity channel of the surface of the heart shaped box to create the wood effect. Like real wood, the reflection values vary in density. Mapping specularity can be done the same way in poser. You can use the procedural or create gray scale images just like you use bump maps. The level of gray controls the specualrity.

A short example would be to take a black flat plane in poser and apply the same gray scale image to bump map and specularity. You'll get something resembling a parking lot with puddles or patches of ice (depending on the darkness of your splotches)

Hope that helps.

It is also good for wet things and mapping where it should be wetter .. Say if you wanted someone to cry or wanted a sweaty person or someone out of the pool you can do a lot of that in specularity maps

I mentioned earlier that it is good for wet things. Stewer, the orc head would probably look just as good without the specular map.

For a really intersting use of speculaity maps look at the article "The Making of the Elven Armour" at the site Stewer linked. Great link by the way, thank you stewer!

Was reading it very late for me and missed that xantor ...Sorry

I have noticed that people have used specular maps on faces in poser 5 but faces are not as shiny as the specular maps can make them. Sometimes the effect is overdone.

the forehead is a bit too shiny...

hee hee -- ya mean that spot right where the light hits ya during a hot day when ya sweat in Arizona? Not at all too shiny if you've got pale skin -- or dark skin like mine, which tends to be pretty darn shiny! lol Given that that's the only spot in the entire map where the light is directly on the skin, I'd say ya might have to reconsider. Specular mapping is an awesome tool if it's used properly -- but it does have limitations as noted. Now, just what is the name of that faboo tex, and where can ya get it, I wonder....

I just thought that a map of someone sweating a lot all the time might not be too useful. If you were in glasgow you would know that we don`t get much hot weather so no sweating. :)

ya got me there! (of course, ya put me in glasgow, and it had best be in a good pub near a hot fire with a large pint o stout -- this gal ain't one fer cold weather.)