*In your subsequent posts, I notice your experimentation method produces quicker results than plugging into a PoserSurface Alternate_diffuse channel for purposes of rendering. So, those methods were bogus as well, since a rendered surface is going to be affected by the existing lights, which would affect outcomes too much for there to be a consistent, reproducible result: too many variables.

*Whoa - too far. First of all, yes it is quick to preview some things directly in the material room on the node, but not every node we use will actually preview at all. For example, Edge_Blend does not preview at all by itself. You will learn over time what you can preview in-node and what you can't.

So some things must be plugged into Alternate_Diffuse and then we can see what it does, but now on the PoserSurface. However, this is on a half-sphere. Even that doesn't always tell us enough information. So I often actually render test props that are specifically designed to reveal information to me.

We're going to be working with such a prop shortly. You will do many Alternate_Diffuse renders to expose information that is hidden by node previews.

We will call these ADR for Alternate_Diffuse Rendering. When you see me talk about an ADR as in "you should ADR that function on a cylinder to see what is happening", you'll know what I'm talking about.

(We're making these names up as we go, but these are not spontaneously made-up techniques. I've been doing these for years. It took me literally thousands of f'ing hours to discover how to reveal the hidden secrets of the nodes.)

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Renderosity forum reply notifications are wonky. If I read a follow-up in a thread, but I don't myself reply, then notifications no longer happen AT ALL on that thread. So if I seem to be ignoring a question, that's why. (Updated September 23, 2019)