I know there has been some discussion on how the different Face-Off realism products work, but I'd like to hear from some of you actually using the products. I use Mac, btw, so the HyperReal is out. Also, I'm not yet using Jessi and James much, so I can (for now) cross off the P6 Realism kit. That leaves me with these for Mac: Occlusion Master, Real Skin Shader, and Unimesh Kit. For now, I can only afford two of the three...which two would you pick? I'm leaning towards OM and Unimesh. I base that on nothing really, other than I think I saw on one of the comparison links it got four stars and the others got five. LOL. Thanks in advance, Juli

i bought uk and oc. they are both great though i don't love what uk does to black skin on mike (til i work out what to tweak:)) you can use oc on props as well

I bought OC and RSS (real skin shader, not real simple syndication). My RSS copy dates back to before the more advanced ones, but I haven't upgraded yet. I may not, just because the RSS is so good.

Juli, the Realism Kits address some of the issues that people had with the original RSS (like too many freckles around the eyes/ears, fingers too shiny, displacement in some parts that it shouldn't be) - these are mainly issues relating to partraits and close-ups. On full body shots, it is very hard to pick the difference.

Thanks you guys! I'm definitely going to get the OC, but I'm still torn between the other two. I'll probably get the UK and then save my pennies for the RSS. It's like being in the candy store with only two quarters. (Does that show my age?)

face_off: i have a request which you should feel free to turn down because i know it would be time consuming. could you post side by side comparisons of your products? so same lighting, same render settings, same background, but using the different shaders? in portrait and full body would be ultra nice, but i also know that's pushing it. it's just that i've looked at the chart on your site several times and still don't feel like i can weigh the loss in realism against flexibility, because i don't have a visual sense in the difference. for instance, people edited the RSS to work on Miki when she came out, which i assume wouldn't be possible with the more specific kits. but i know the more specific kits are able to acheive greater realism. again, this is something i'd just really appreciate. i realize that this would take significant time and effort, but i figured it couldn't hurt to ask.

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/viewed.ez?galleryid=1059839

I bought the real skin shader (basic) and it seems to do pretty well for me: I see no reason to upgrade. This is an example of a closeup image I did with it. I don't see any glaring errors...

thanks so much, ju8nkm9l, that does look great. and that's really creative and funny - quite original (which is very rare in the galleries). i'm still interested in the relative realism and how the products compare to each other, though.

Wow, that's a great render!!! I've made that face in the mirror when putting on my makeup too!

I bought Real Skin Shader basic and it's a great product. It's easy to use and does what it promises. Face-Off also has a Skin Shader tutorial that you can try, you'll be able to see what RSS does.

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/viewed.ez?galleryid=863187

cobaltdream - there is a pretty horrible comparison at the above link. I've tried a couple of times since to do a better comparison, however render quality is extremely light dependent, so under some light conditions the Realism Kits look miles better than RSS, and under other conditions you can't pick the difference. And I don't want to post misleading info.... The "relative realism" between the products is often hard to pick. But it's there if you work on realism renders a lot. In an ideal world, the products would be merged, so if the shader recognises the uv layout of the figure, it will be in "Realism Kit mode", and if not, it reverts to "RSS mode". I've already done some work on this concept, and it's feasible - but would be a lot of work to bring to reality. Also, the P6 Character Realsim Kit /does/ work on Miki and Koji - if you make the changes posted at http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?Form.ShowMessage=2418245. I'm in the process of getting an update finished to incorporate this change (will be available in a few weeks). ju8nkm9l - that was a great render. And you are right - there are certainly no glaring errors in it.

face_off: thanks so much! that actually does give me the perspective i was hoping for. just out of curiousity, what else are you working on? i ask because somehow your statement about the combined product gives me the impression you've got other ideas brewing.

cobaltdream, yes, there are definitely things happening...which will be announced in the next month or two....

I'd say get any of them and then learn your self some Python Scripting. I got V3HyperReal because it was the best that was out when I got it and if shows examples of how to assign an new image map texture to a material. From that I'm busy constructing 'custom HyperReals' It's amasing how easy FaceOff has made these to be able to be customised. Lots of comments through out so it's like reading a road map.