Quote - So, I hope this is a legal process:

I bypassed the Bump map and Specular Map and grabbed the Color map from the eighth column and dragged it back over near the Main node and connected the Diffuse_color to it.

Hm... now that I'm using PR2, I have the same problem with the preview. But this trick didn't work for me (assuming I did it right).  :-

Edit: Actually, I know I didn't, 'cause I didn't bypass anything... not even sure if I should. I don't want the Bump and Specular maps bypassed, do I?

Quote - Some people work with hundreds of scripts and others have never seen them. Again, this is a mystery to me. Why people don't take advantage of the hundreds of free scripts that save you time.

You ain't seen nothin', Bill... at least people kinda do use the basic functions of Poser. I work in Operating Theatres with other nurses. You would cringe to watch them use Excel. I was watching one of them... she had a calculator in her hand and was running her finger down the screen as she typed into the calculator.
This is the honest truth!

Quote - BB, see post above. I've never owned Poser 6. I just got into 3D.. For the most part, I have no idea what are new features and what are not.

But what I'm suggesting is that maybe it's helpful to aim at those people who haven't tracked down all these wonderful freebie scripts. If there are clear instructions for the dummies, maybe they will get used.. or more importantly, THIS script will get used (and generate you sales later, I may add). There are zillions of free things available, but I'm not going to sort through them all... I saw from the beginning that you were onto something great here, and so I wanted to use it. That has nothing to do with whether I want to use other free scripts, and I suspect I'm not alone. You're working on something fabulous, and you're bound to attract attention from folks who normally think Python is just a snake. Surely that's a good thing, yes?

Good points - I'm listening.

(Python is just a snake ... LOL)

Have to go out for most of the day to see my daughter in a competition, but I'll get back to you on this.

Quote - BB,

I load the same control prop as ever.
I go into material room.
I select the Template Skin.
I double-click the PR3 material.
I get this dialog :
http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=1782202

 

Well that's a new one on me. Honestly I have no idea.

Have you looked inside the .mt5 file to see if it looks like your typical Poser material file? I"m wondering if you got the contents mangled somehow?

Quote - > Quote - So, I hope this is a legal process:

I bypassed the Bump map and Specular Map and grabbed the Color map from the eighth column and dragged it back over near the Main node and connected the Diffuse_color to it.

Hm... now that I'm using PR2, I have the same problem with the preview. But this trick didn't work for me (assuming I did it right).  :-

Edit: Actually, I know I didn't, 'cause I didn't bypass anything... not even sure if I should. I don't want the Bump and Specular maps bypassed, do I?

The preview business is not bypassing anything. Poser preview cannot render these effects.

If you look carefully, I have Diffuse_Value set to 0. That means what you plug into Diffuse_Color is not affecting the render. Only the preview.

This is one of those "secrets" of the Poser masters - plug what you want in preview into Diffuse_Color (image only because Poser can't handle more), set Diffuse-Value = 0 so it has no impact on the render, and plug what you want to render into other channels such as Alternate_Diffuse.

your skin shader with a realistic figure looks even better

Quote - People already think VSS is a shader, and you don't want to have the shader on the same page. Fair enough, though I still wonder about that... I tend to think you're bucking something that you're never gonna shake.

i think you think way too small.  no one will think that when they use it to apply leather, linen and metal to the appropriate parts of a Luthbel outfit.  or easily retexture a Stonemason set.  Stonemason makes brilliantly compact UV maps, but his stuff is loaded with material zones.  or even better, use a Stonemason set and Davorama set together and control their metals, stones, plastics and lights with one interface. or control several pieces of P.I.C.K. with one application. 

i'm hoping and wishing for material packs for those types of surfaces, but an easy way to handle them all would do just fine.

No, I think I understand what the less technical people are going to think. Yes, you may well find it more significant for its method. But most people want the actual material packs and shaders.

you don't have to be technical to understand your remote control tunes into more than one station.  i want the actual material packs, even if no one else does.  but right now, people think VSS is only about skin because that's the only thing it's being used for, and how it's built in default to work.  when there's an interface, and examples and community using it on other things, even the least technical people will see they can use it on, say, D&M scenes.

You're missing the point. To use your own analogy: I don't care about the remote control, I care about the stations.

When I suggested BB was fighting a losing battle trying to keep people from thinking this was a shader... did I say anything about skin? No, I did not. (Although, truth be told, that's going to be the single most important usage for the overwhelming majority of people.)

 If you have any of the P.I.C.K room creator stuff, you will go absolutely crazy trying to change the textures on a room you created even with a few pieces without BB's tools. Agree skin seems to be the examples. But it works wonders on other things.

JB

Here's a render I did with VSSPR3, so far so good.  I think it's newer than PR2, the only trouble I have is figuring out it's AO settings, I managed to plug-in the Color Map into the Diffuse, other than that, it's looking good.

JB

Let's also consider the feasiblity of using this system across multiple models with similar material nomenclature.  With some tweaking and changes, you could apply shader settings to almost any character.  I came across freebie shader textures created for G2's which can be converted easily to DAZ models, Apollo, etc. using this system.  Once I work out the conversions, there will be possible posts.

Is there a way to incorporate props that are parented to a figure? Somehow I don't get the script to accept them even though the material names match.

I tried to fiddle with the script but can't seem to find the place where it excludes actors that have a figure.

In the Material Room, under Preview.  Create a new rule with the name of the prop and delete the original.

Best regards,

Bopper.

@bopperthijs: Very nice render except that your main light angle does not match the background lighting.  Look at the shadows.  The main light should be coming from over her right shoulder.

@hborre, I noticed that also, I've tried a render with the sun-light coming from behind, but it obscured her face and didn't looked nice.
So I have to look for a better matching background, I hoped no-one would notice 

best regards,

Bopper.

You could try using a fill spot light without shadows pointed toward her face  and drop the intensity quite a bit to eliminate any detail washout.  It's duplicates a photographer's reflection screen to fill bath the dark areas with light.

Quote - In the Material Room, under Preview.  Create a new rule with the name of the prop and delete the original.

Thanks for the quick answer. However it does not solve the problem. I think what's happening is that bagginsbill tries to prevent the VSS prop to synchronize itself. This would happen if it could synchronize props parented to a figure. However, it also limits the usability for certain props. I was wondering if there's a way around it, so that props (which are actors in python) can be synchronized.

Best regards,

Bopper.

parisgreek,

Yep - this is a bug in VSS. Let me take a look at the code and see if I can fix it. (No promises as I'm swamped with work.)

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?thread_id=2737823&page=34#message_3299061

Fivecat ran into the same problem a month ago. See the linked post.

We found a workaround. Temporarily un-parent the item while you're messing with materials.

yes, that is better.  though i'd say just use the IBL for ambient.  and now i see why IBL doesn't generate specular.  she's too shiny in the front, on top of being a little too saturated for that photo.  look at the brick building behind her.  it looks less red than her cheeks.  even accounting for a distance (which i don't think would have much effect here), it means she stands out.  i'd say either adjust the levels and saturation on your photo, or the saturation of your skin texture and SSS.

edited to add: same goes for her bathing suit and hair.

Hey Baggins do you ever study siggraph papers? Some very interesting ideas I think could be translated into VSS. The math is far beyond me but maybe you'll get a kick out of it and learn something new. I found this the other day and instantly thought of you...hehe :)

http://www1.cs.columbia.edu/CAVE/publications/

scroll down to 2005 Technical report pdf on "The Appearance of Human Skin"

Hey guys,

After running VSS PR2 for the first time, I now notice that my TIF and PNG files no longer create a channel. My background becomes part of the image no matter what I do.

This was not the case prior to running VSS. Of course, it may be a coincidence, but I'm trying to exhaust the possibilities.

Have any of you experienced this?

Thanks,
Dave 

I haven't tried TIFFs, but my PNGs are working just fine.  I've put many of my VSS renders over a background picture

@ gomcse:  Are you running the script after you compose your scene?  Usually I bring in my model, texture then run the script before creating any scene.  It would help to save the character in the library after scripting to preserve the settings in case of a crash.

Every time I run VSS on M4, I get splotching skin. I've tried it with other textures, bagginsbills lights, other light sets, etc but it skin always comes out the same. This is the default M4 texture, the Generic VSS (I've also tried VSS PR2),  and I'm using Poser 7 with SR3.

I thought I had read all the posts in this thread but maybe I've missed something. If I have, what am I missing and how do I correct it so the skin doesn't turn out like this.

are you using a specular map? 

These are the default M4 Hi-res textures.

Tried to edit my last post and Rosity deleted the image so here it is again.

I don't see the problem. The only "splotch" I see is actually the shadow of his head falling on the right shoulder. Did you think that was a splotch?

It's very faint because you have a lot of IBL or some other light.

I ran the scipt first. Let me clarify something; I did not have this problem at all. Then, around the time I first ran VSS I noticed that NONE of my png or tiff exports support a channel--whether or not I am using VSS. From you responses I gather that my problem has to do with something else. Thanks.

The only time I get any issues with the shader Bill provided - I'm assuming the shader's the issue, not VSS?? - is when I use bogus lights. So, I start off with those Bill provided with the shader (indoor or outdoor) and go from there. No dramas, then.

Quote - I ran the scipt first. Let me clarify something; I did not have this problem at all. Then, around the time I first ran VSS I noticed that NONE of my png or tiff exports support a channel--whether or not I am using VSS. From you responses I gather that my problem has to do with something else. Thanks.

VSS can't affect the background. There has to be something filling your render. Are you using an environment sphere or some other prop that is filling the render?

I have only used BB's suplied indoor light with VSS. I'm not using any other prop, sphere or anything. I found a forum on Content Paradise where others have run into this problem, so I'm certain it's not a VSS issue now. The conversation there says it's something to do with Poser 7. They offered a workaround but it didn't work for me. Oh well.

Don't waste any more time on this. I'm sure it's not a VSS issue and I don't want to hijack this thread.

Thanks. 

Edit: first time posting, posted nothing at first

cherokee69, are you by chance using lights with AO on them? This was what I was doing at first, and I don't think you are supposed to use a light with AO, rather this is a work around to create AO with out AO lights. I could be wrong, if I am, I'm sure someone will correct me.

um, not to say VSS is a shader, or thats the only thing the skin shader does.. I think I better just go back into the shadows now.

Couple quick questions,

Can VSS work with props? I read the read me, the pdf, but I don't seem to understand how to get it to work on props with multiple material zones.

After using the default skin shaders and falling in love with them, I have one little problem, when using props and figures that are not people, I have to tone down the lighting to get the look for the skin, then everything becomes too dark. I have tried coping the shader tree from a figure to the props and changing texture and bump maps, but this isn't quite right obviously. Is there a simple way to figure out what to change for say rock or wood to get it too look as good as the skin, and still be correctly lit?

Hi Bill,
just a couple of heads-up notes, here... been struggling with the lips mask, wondering why the heck the mask didn't fit the lips on Charlotte. I was using the Luciferino LM Dream III resource kit.

Well!

It's not enough to use a hi-res image created by UV Mapper Pro as your template. No. That won't guarantee lip-edge accuracy. The texture template sets the parameters.

Dang.

So much for having one template fit all... at least from where I'm sitting. I'm sure you're clever enough to come up with something quite mind-boggling...

<sigh - wish I were that smart!>

?

one mesh/uv mapping  has only one template.  so technically one template fits all.  if what you mean is having one mask fit all textures, then you're right.  that won't work because everyone decided to deal with lips differently.  in point of fact, most of the differing material zones are unnecessary because almost no one uses pure zone borders because they look awful.  and never at the lip because that's glaringly bad. so people make their boundaries with textures  not zones.  as a result, they can put them anywhere within the template, not just on a zone boundary. 

the only exception i've seen are gloves, and even that's rare. 

Technically, that's true, CobaltDream, but from what I'm experiencing, just using the template as your grid left me with lipstick that either over-ran or didn't quite cover the lip texture.

Wouldn't surprise that I stuffed up somewhere - I have a track record for that - but I've spent ages trying to get this right, and so far I've got:

with the edges deliberately slightly blurred because there again trying to invoke the bias concept to blur edges seemed to move the lipstick mask off-centre with respect to the underlying lip-face texture. I have worked with this so long, and finally gave up, and just slightly blurred the edges instead.

I just know there's a far more elegant solution to this, one that BagginsBill will pull out of his magic bag.

Just re-read your post, CobaltDream, and saw you and I were actually singing off the same page! Sorry, didn't mean to sound like I was disagreeing...

oh, no, that's fine.  i'm just trying to figure out what problem you're encountering.  if it's actually where the lips have their edge and you're working with just your own, from scratch texture, you might want to look at  a V4 seam guide.  if you're using  a kit, though, it's probably placed the textured edge of the lips close to that seam but in an arbitrary position.  basically wherever Luciferino chose. if you're altering the mask to work with the texture in regards to where the lips are, and not altering the texture to work with the mask, then you might as well use the texture to create the mask. 

Exactly, CobaltDream, which makes it impossible - at least, so it seems to me - to make a one-mask-fits-all... not for the lips, anyway. Even for the eyeliner, I had to tweak the mask a little. It seems resource kit people take a few liberties with texture alignment... wonder if they're all like that?

I suppose I could always make my own texture set from photographs and stop my whingeing...lol

Bumping this worthy thread.

This needs to be a product!

Attached Link: "Red Heels" (VSS render)

I'm late to this party (appropriately, perhaps, for my username), but I wanted to add my praises and a million thanks to bagginsbill for sharing VSS with us.

I've been using Poser for a long time, but ended up taking a hiatus for various reasons including my own frustrations with its limited capabilities.  I recently got back into the program and upgraded to Pro, but it was really my stumbling across this thread and testing out VSS that inspired me to update my gallery (and post in a thread) for the first time in 4 years.

Technical notes: rendered in Poser Pro (with gamma correction) at max settings on a Mac, using the PR3 shader and bagginsbill's indoor lights.  Comments are welcome. :)

Attached Link: The LookOut

Mr. bagginsbill,

Is there any way to monkey with the shader to give wetter specular highlight? The specular, as it is now, is quite good but to be able to add a secondary, more glossy specular on top would be very valuable.

Also, when I render with PPro and VSS, my imagemaps tend to look rather washed out. Do you suggest using and inverse gamma function on image maps when using VSS and gamma 2.2?