Quote - Further, we have to consider what happens when you don't even give the Image_Map a name. Suppose it still has its Poser-assigned default name such as Image_Map_4. Then VSS will try to figure out what the image map is actually used for, and try to assign it a name. If you already have a Color Map (which you do have in my template) that name is not eligible. However, it may get confused by other possibilities. For example, if you connect Image_Map_4 to the specular calculation, VSS might think that the purpose of the image is for a Specular Map, and it may rename it accordingly.

If you want to avoid this (and you should) it is a very good idea to give the Image_Map node a name. Unfortunately I have not provided a tool for you to do that. It should be part of the VSS Designer but it isn't yet.

Fortunately, there is already a Python script out in the wild that renames material nodes. You can use that script to give the map an unambiguous name, so VSS doesn't try to do anything funny with it.

http://poseworks.com/files/addons/WCRO_RenameNode.zip

You install that into your PoserScripts/Wacros/UserDefined folder and then you can change the names of nodes in the material room.

Bill, THANK YOU!!! I was so focused on the last part of that post that I completely missed that gem! I have been wanting to rename nodes for ages - looked through all the docs and googled it: no luck.

Thanks so much for this! Champion!

BTW, tonight after the kids are in bed, I'm gonna nut this bias / gain out a bit... see if I can get some interesting effects, which I'll post... first, with a hard-line lip mask, then...

Monterey/Mint21.x/Win10 - Blender3.x - PP11.3(cm) - Musescore3.6.2

Wir sind gewohnt, daß die Menschen verhöhnen was sie nicht verstehen
[it is clear that humans have contempt for that which they do not understand] 

Metaphor of Chooks