Yes I'm doing lashes and brows. I lump those together in a Lash shader. It's basically a transmap with a color and no specular.

No not all eye materials are the same.

Eyewhite (or sclera) gets gamma, a subsurface scattering treatment, some bump, glossy specular and AO.

Iris and pupil just get gamma. But - sometimes people don't load a color map on the pupil. So I have to set those up as two different shaders. The pupil has to have a default black color. The iris gets a default blue color. In the futue, the iris may get a procedural color.

Cornea, eyetrans, tears, whatever - they all get a water shader. Generically I call that the Template Cornea.

I don't do special stuff with nostrils, although you can if you want. By default it gets skin. Because I use AO, they don't have glow. Nevertheless, we should set up a specific Template Nostril that by default is disabled and will use Template Skin instead. That way you can override the default skin should you need to. So you should note for me which zones are nostrils.

Genitalia - not sure how to handle those. May be a special case. I don't see me spending a lot of time working out the details of that shader with people around. :) LOL If you have a need for it, it would be easy enough to connect one of those "special" zones to the eyewhite shader - you know - wet look. Ahem.

Eyelid line sounds like - hmm. Not sure - you need to show me that one. Ball joints - not sure. It's a doll so you'd set up the Template Skin to be plastic, right? In which case I'd expect the joints to be the same. But wait, maybe we want metal joints?! Ok identify those as a special case for me.

I haven't talked about this feature of VSS (or a billion others) but when we set up a rule we can specify more than one place to look.

For example, Nostril can be set up like this:

Rule nostril <- Copy Template Nostril <- Copy Template Face <- Copy Template Skin

What that says is check for a nostril template. Use it if you have one. If not, check for a face template. Otherwise use the generic skin template.

This is a piece of my rule initialization script.

[t+'Skin',  ['skin', 'body', 'torso',  'nipple', 'chest', '*hip', 'head', 'neck', 'face',
'nostril', 'lip', 'limb', 'arm', 'wrist', 'hand', 'fingernail',
'toenail', 'gland', 'leg', 'thigh', 'calf', 'ankle', 'toe', 'foot',
]],
[t+'Eyewhite',  ['eyewhite', 'eyeball', 'sclera', 'lacrimal',]],
[t+'Iris', ['iris']],
[t+'Pupil', ['pupil']],
[t+'Cornea', ['cornea', 'eyetrans', 'eyesurface', 'tear']],
[t+'Lash', ['lash', 'brow']],
[t+'Teeth', ['teeth',]],
[t+'InnerMouth',['gum', 'tongue','innermouth']],

The "t+" part means thats a template. The rest of each group are the substring matches associated with that template.

This is not fixed. It's just the initial default value. You can change the rules in the material room afterwards.

Displacement in Poser Pro?
I hear it does displacement better. So if I got Poser Pro I could do crazy displacements? Does Poser Pro have all the P7 goodies too?

Okay, I sent you my list. The most interesting oddities are from the Japanese figures (mucus for the inner nose), or the humanoid animal figures (claws for nails).  ^^

I see no difference in PPro displacement versus P7 or P6. Works the same in all. I've been using it for a long time.

Got your list. Thanks.

What a cool concept this has turned out to be.  Really some interesting and bizarre tricks with the whole rules network thing in a container prop, that's all brilliant and innovative stuff.  Very interested to play around with this when you're done.

Attached Link: VSS Home Page

I'll always have the up-to-date versions there, as well as any interesting links related to VSS.

Do not try this if you don't like to live dangerously.

The shaders make extensive use of AO for the effects. By all means, do quick test renders without raytracing, but to see the full effects, enable raytracing and shadows.

I've included seven light sets. They use procedural IBL and one or two other lights. All use raytraced shadows. This produces the best results. However, if you feel you must use depth-mapped, go ahead.

Suggested Render Settings:

SuperFast - just to test lighting

Raytrace Off
Shadows Off
Pixel Samples=1
Min Shading Rate=3

Normal - for moderately good results at decent speeds

Raytrace On
Raytrace bounces = 2
Shadows On
Irradiance Caching = 50 (P7 only)
Pixel Samples=3
Min Shading Rate=1

Great

Raytrace On
Raytrace bounces = 2
Shadows On (and you're using raytraced shadows)
Irradiance Caching = 70 (P7 only)
Pixel Samples=3
Min Shading Rate= .5

Awesome - for final renders

Raytrace On
Raytrace bounces = 2
Shadows On (and you're using raytraced shadows)
Irradiance Caching = 99 (P7 only)
Pixel Samples=5
Min Shading Rate=.2

@BastBlack - I didn't include the wierd zone names yet. I want to test the basics first. I'll add them later.

I will present them here, so you know if you're getting the right results.

Here is Indoor01

Testing !

Bagginsbill, I knight thee Sir Bagginsbill Ubernerd, Knight of the Realm (of nerds).  Time to get out my pen protector and fiddle with this gadget!

@pokeydots:

I've never seen that figure before. I don't know what she's called or how she is UV mapped or what the material zones are called, yet it works!

Many thanks for the renders! So what do you think about it?

@pj:

Hehehe. This has been a dream in my head for six months. I'm glad you think its worthy.

Folks:

I'm really excited. Unfortunately I have to now go on a 3-hour drive to get back home. (I'm on the road again.)

I'm looking forward to seeing more renders.

By the way, for the node-aware, you guys can go into the VSS prop and edit the shaders. Particularly look at the Template Skin.

Easy things to mess with (Numbered arrows in the screen shot)

1. The SSS strength. Default is .7. Higher is more.
2. The SSS Spread. Default is 2. Lower is more spread.
3. The skin Tint. Removes a lot of built-in SSS from the color map. Lower the red or raise the green+blue amounts if the color map is too red overall still.
4. The spots tinter. Tiny little spots get this tint - like freckles but more subtle. Also the Spots node has interesting changes from Spot_Size, Softness, and Threshold.
5. The specular reflectivity. How bright the specular highlights are. Also, for outdoor sunlight, decrease the Eccentricity to tighten the highlights.
6. The diffuse reflectivity. Try lower numbers for a mild to deep tan.

You only have to edit the Template Skin, then click Synchronize. Then Render. Your changes will go into all the right places. If you want to save your skin shader, just save it like you would any other shader, as a material. You can load it again.

Or save the whole collection.

Or save the whole prop as a new specialized shader set.

Click for full size. This is with Beach lights.

I notice his eyes have turned pink. I screwed up. Since yesterday, I completely changed the overall levels of all my light sets, and I forgot to adjust the SSS sensor on the eyewhites.

I'll fix that soon.

bagginsbill- yes, you have.  if i'm not mistaken, that's V4 with A4 morphs.  and if i am mistaken, that's A3.

though you should still be mega proud.

I'd just like to add:  Your kung fu is the best.

Here is another image using Rishiki, there is a problem when using VSS with him, but nothing a copy and past didn't cure :)  He has a few extra material zones. I put them in with the picture so you could see

Now here is a render using Farmer Joe From CP I think it is a Sixus figure.

Quote - Forgot to say that Rishiki has other mat poses for Beard 2 3 etc, and they add on to the materials so you have to copy and paste the VSS materials on the face for the beards when you load any of them.

Now here is a render using Farmer Joe From CP I think it is a Sixus figure.

The farmer is intertessting.

Oh noes... I did report Rishiki's zones, but I thought if the words "beard" and "mustache" are covered, it would work for all materials zones with  "beard" and "mustache" in them.  If not, there will be many more materials I should I have included in my list.  I do have my masterlist so I could recheck things.

No it didn't work for them I had to copy and paste them

The VSS works with Teo too :)  Just be sure you use the new eyes from him from Nursodas site! The new eyes are conforming instad of props and you can use the VSS on them. If you just use the prop eyes they will look funny without the VSS!

 The Mac report -- Mac OSX4, P6

I opened a pz3 with a character.
Loaded the VSS prop.
Ran the python.
Clicked Synchronize.

And I got an error. Here's what it said:

    synchronizeScene()

  File "MacMini HD:Applications:Poser 6:Runtime:Python:vss:vss.py", line 1755, in synchronizeScene

    Synchronize(figure)

  File "MacMini HD:Applications:Poser 6:Runtime:Python:vss:vss.py", line 1739, in Synchronize

    synchronizePair(smats, tmats)

  File "MacMini HD:Applications:Poser 6:Runtime:Python:vss:vss.py", line 1465, in synchronizePair

    srcstd = shaderTreeDictionary(srcmats)

  File "MacMini HD:Applications:Poser 6:Runtime:Python:vss:vss.py", line 513, in shaderTreeDictionary

    std[mat.ExtName()] = mat.ShaderTree()

AttributeError: ExtName

Quote -  The Mac report -- Mac OSX4, P6

AttributeError: ExtName

Thanks. Dang it all with the P6 Mac - its like that isn't Poser at all, but some other dang program. Geez - what the heck does having an external name on a material have to do with being PC specific.

Dang dang dang. Every time I write a script, it works but not on P6 MAC. What were they thinking?

I'll look into it.

Quote - I don't have any characters other than the usual poser and daz figures to test. Here is a first try with V4 and the first indoor light set.

Nice - that looks great to me. Don't forget this isn't just about testing the figure - its also about the color maps texture files you're using.

You know what would be interesting people? I'd like to see Before/After renders, if you could. That really helps me know what its doing to the figure. Pick a light set, load the figure, and render BEFORE you synchronize. That is the real thing I was after. Whatever you've got, I'm hoping that VSS makes it clearly better. It's supposed to be like a force magnifier. Makes all your existing content more valuable to you. At least I hope.

Quote - bagginsbill I used A3 with Capsces kioki in the images I posted.

Here is another image using Rishiki, there is a problem when using VSS with him, but nothing a copy and past didn't cure :)  He has a few extra material zones. I put them in with the picture so you could see

I'll add those tomorrow. BastBlack told me about those, but I didn't put them in. I was so close to shipping, and didn't want to break anything. Now I feel comfortable adding more rules.

Here's a quick lesson on how to do rule editing.

Open the VSS Prop in the material room.
Edit the Shader Rules material.
Click the "Designer..." button in VSS buttons.
Click "Add a Rule Node".
(I'm not at VSS - doing this from memory)
Use pulldown and choose other - type it in
Type in the name, such as beard. That's for exact match.
For substring match, enter beard
Hit ok.
The "Rule beard" node will be added near the top.
Connect it to the desired Copy Template.

To add a new shader zone altogether:

Use Designer.
Click "Add a Material Zone".
Use dropdown to choose.
If what you want is not in my dropdown, choose other - type it in. Then type Template XYZ.
Edit Shader Rules in mat room.
Click "Add a Copy Node"
Use pulldown to choose the material you just made. (It will be there.)
Add Rule nodes as needed, and connect them to your new template shader.
Populate the template shader with some shader.
As you add Image_Map nodes to the template, they need to be named correctly.
Hook them where they go. Then click Auto Rename Images (or Image Maps - can't remember.)

Quote - A close-up render. Thank you bagginsbill for letting us play with your shaders -- you're a node 'n code genius and I'm thankful that you're also generous!

Wow that came out nice. Do you like the eyes?

Quote - > Quote - Forgot to say that Rishiki has other mat poses for Beard 2 3 etc, and they add on to the materials so you have to copy and paste the VSS materials on the face for the beards when you load any of them.

Now here is a render using Farmer Joe From CP I think it is a Sixus figure.

The farmer is intertessting.

Oh noes... I did report Rishiki's zones, but I thought if the words "beard" and "mustache" are covered, it would work for all materials zones with  "beard" and "mustache" in them.  If not, there will be many more materials I should I have included in my list.  I do have my masterlist so I could recheck things.

It's ok - I didn't even add them yet. They will work - no worries.

I just need to know this: is "beard" skin or a transmap hair overlay? Meaning, do I use the Skin Template or the Lash Template, or should I make a whole new template for this, so you can have different color from brows, lashes, etc.

Off doing some renders now. I didn't include a face displacement map for Apollo, so the script swells the head via displacement. I had to manually reset those face materials. Be back with some renders.

PS. In Poser6, How many buttons are suppose to load?

Here are some Apollo renders in Poser 6, using my render settings. FIrst two are my lights. Last is your "Sunset" light set.

Quote - I just need to know this: is "beard" skin or a transmap hair overlay? Meaning, do I use the Skin Template or the Lash Template, or should I make a whole new template for this, so you can have different color from brows, lashes, etc.

Okay I double checked, Rishiki's beard1, beard2, beard3, mustaches1, skin_face, and skin_head are all part of the face's skin texture, and NOT a transmap.  -- His face has more material zones than any male figure I've seen! oO

Here is another using another old light set I had.

Playing around still. And exploring settings. I hate that some shaders combinations don't work under some light sets.

Quote - Off doing some renders now. I didn't include a face displacement map for Apollo, so the script swells the head via displacement. I had to manually reset those face materials. Be back with some renders.

Hi Anton. Thanks for trying it out.

VSS is supposed to detect an unused Image_Map and discard it. This was a relatively recent addition and I did not go back and test it on P6. On P7 this is working fine. On P6 it is not.

It seems that when you have an Image_Map node, and the Image_Source shows "None" on the screen, I get different results between P6 and P7 as to what the value of Image_Source is. I'm looking for None (the Python constant) or an empty string. Apparently that is not what is coming back from P6 Python.

I'm investigating this now. I'm sure I'll come up with a fix for this. I'm sorry I missed this in my testing.

The buttons should look like this in any Poser.

However, if you do not have my parmatic utility installed, the Parmatic button should not be there.