I was only teasing :)

I've spent 3000 hours on a skin shader.

Quote - I was only teasing :)

I've spent 3000 hours on a skin shader.

Dude--seriously......you need a life. :laugh:  So do I. I'm one to talk. :lol:

this is what i have been talking some months or weeks ago. this is a good tutorial. i think this can be done in poser.
www.cgarena.com/freestuff/tutorials/maya/ldri/index.html

sometimes we just dont have hdri images. we have more ldr images on the internet. so you try to find out what is superbright in the image. and then you make a ''matte''. that way you can get superbright for reflection.

what do you think bagginsbill? 

Attached Link: Not your average IBL image

Here's an newer version of that shader, using the image from the tutorial you linked.

The Bias Value_1 multiplier scales the LDR image (in gray scale) so some of it is above 1. Then using a low Value_2 pushes all luminance down that is below 1, and all luminance up that is above 1.

The resulting value is used to multiply with the original colors and add some of that with the original colors.

On the left, you see a darkened version of the result, but the sun and it's reflections are still hyper-colors, because they were way above 1.

Too bad the image links at RDNA have not been reestablished, it would have been interesting to see the final results.  BTW, would your ENVSphere serve the same purpose described at the RDNA forum?

I'm confused. The images in the linked thread have been restored. When you go there, are they missing for you?

And, yes, I made my EnvSphere because I got tired of doing all those UV tricks on the Poser sphere.

Oh, I need to recheck the site.  Definitely did not get the images showing up on my browser.  Thanks for the response.

amazing.

basiclly we dont need now always HDRI panorama images for realistic reflections.

nice.

how  could we make the shader so that we could control how bright it is? 
for example to make sometimes 2 times brighter or 5 times. so that we could type in a number?

i made here a control map.

I used a Bias node again to make the mask directly from the source image, but you can use any mask you want.

Note the Color_Math:Max function to combine the boosted version with the original. Whichever is larger is used.

bias softens the shadows?

Comprehending nodes more than 2 layers deep, I despair I'll never be able to learn it.

I'm using bias to soften the transition from LDR (low dynamic range) to simulated HDR. This has no influence on shadows. It is influencing the lighting, particularly the parts of the image that would have been a lot brighter if the photo was HDR.

Would you have any recommendations for simulating torch light?

my scene is in a cave.  a few flickering torches and a fire elemental facing off a telekinetic human. 

never been in this situation in real life, but would imagine light would bounce off the cave wall to softly backlight the human character.

geologically, the cave is strontium rock.

fastscatter on the elemental to simulate a glowing lightsource?
with an edge blend node to make the edges of the elemental orange-ier?

Thanks!  

Chicken pot pie today.
[background music, Pink Floyd lunatic is on the grass ]

First I'd light the scene with orange point lights wherever there is a torch. I'd use the inverse square falloff shader on these lights. Lighting in an enclosed space with a local light source looks fake if you don't do the ISF thing.  If the elemental is supposed to be a signifant source of light, I'd include a point light or two near him, or wait for Poser 8. :-O

Then I'd generate an IBL using my GenIBL tool, measuring the direct illumination in the scene. I'd then add this to create the ambient bounced light. Or I'd wait for Poser 8. :-O

As for the elemental himself, fastscatter is not going to do anything for you. Here's what I'd do.

I'd load two copies of the figure. I'd call the second copy Flames and conform it to the first figure. On Flames I'd hide the eyes, teeth, inner mouth, etc. Then I'd load a good flame shader onto the skin materials of Flames. You probably don't have such a thing, but I do. When I have some time, I'll finish it up and post it. Can't right now because I'm working on Poser 8.

Have a look here for some discussion of lighting and shading a cave.[

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?message_id=3376139&ebot_calc_page#message_3376139](http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?message_id=3376139&ebot_calc_page#message_3376139)

Also here:

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?message_id=3382929&ebot_calc_page#message_3382929

The key feature of this shader is it will animate like real flames. I was going to sell this when I finished it, but maybe I'll give it away.

Thanks for the help.    I was about to give up the cave scene, but now I'll give it a fresh start.

(I don't want to make my scenes wait for P8.  Alyson isn't so attractive.)

Cheers,
Lara

BB, you are hinting that lighting is different in P8?

Eheheheh.

Awesome! Thanks bb :o).

Laurie

I installed your Environsphere- and followed the directions- I tried your double gradient material- and with the LIGHTS set at zero-there was no illumination on the model, I also loaded the EnvPanoramic material- and tried out a few hdr;s such as the HDRFX Pond texture-and a few others. They appear as background- nicely rotatable btw! But do not cast light on my character or her props.
PoserPro2010 Mac. Any suggestions?

Did you turn on IDL? You never mentioned it so I have to ask.

Well of COURSE I..... ur uhm, eh....DOH! :-)

    Thanks Bagginsbill-

i wonder what the correct color of the sky is? if you look at this links you can see that almost every image has a different blue color for sky.

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=equirectangular

i am wondering now if someone knows what the default color of the sky is during the middle of the day, in the morning  and at night. not with clouds. only the sky.

i know that this is on google. but i can not find it. so it would be great if someone can help me.

thanks

Some of those images look like they have been polarized to saturate the blue intensity.

Ice-boy: here is the answer, which I agree with 100%:

*"The sky is actually colorless. The color you see is actually sunlight being diffracted by the gases in our atmosphere. On a clear (non-hazy, non-polluted) day, the sky appears blue. This is due to the high concentration of Nitrogen. However, in a smog clogged city, the sky can appear white to dirty brown. This is due to the high concentration of hydrocarbons. You can even get a red-orange sky if you're near a large fire or if a large volcano has just erupted."

*And it was found with one google hit.

yea hhte problem is that its all color corrected.

but how to find the true blue sky.

And here are some other explanations.

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/otx/outreach/ttalk/colors.php

http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/sky_blue.html

http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/sky_blue.html

ice-boy is this because you use the sky for lighting? Otherwise, the rules of 3d CG photorealism says that real color is whatever appears in photos. grin

i use always your sphere for lighting.

the problem is that since every picture has a different blue it always looks different. ok .

but sometimes i just want the default blue.

i know that 3dsmax has a default sky for lighting. but i can not find what color for blue it uses.

my advice is to choose your own default blue.  don't rely on someone else to judge color for you.  you're the artist, you should chose what works best for your work. 

kobaltkween if i would be able to choose my blue i wouldnt ask here he he he ;)

oh, sure you can! just find a good sky photo, take that blue and tweak it until you feel it's right.  you've modeled some great stuff, so you've definitely been looking at the world.  trust your instincts.

ice-boy

Let me ask you in all seriousness. Do you think the whole cloudless sky is the same color or is it a gradient?

I'm talking about using an accurate scientific instrument, and also a high-end DSLR with and without a polarizer, and also with a film camera, and also subjectively with your own eyes.

Is any sky one color as measured by any of those devices?

How about you measure at 10 am, then at 3 pm. Same color?

How about in January and July? Same color?

which gets to my point.  there isn't one correct color for sky.  so if you want a default sky blue, you should just choose what blue works best for you and your work.  which someone else's might not do.

Sounds like painting yourself into a corner.  Restrict yourself to one setup and not having the desire to challenge yourself under a different set of variables.

Sky color depends widely on time of day AND time of year. For instance, there's a saying here in my area of the states: "October's bright blue weather". That's because of the angle of the sun in the sky during that time of year, the dryness of the air (moisture, smog, etc all affect the color as well). There really is no one standard color. It depends on where you are, what time of day it is, what time of year it is and the weather conditions.

Laurie

I just went outside (in my pajamas because it is my relaxing Sunday morning here) with my Nikon D90 and my 300mm lens. The lens gives a very narrow field of view. I set the camera fully in manual so there would be no changes to color, contrast, or exposure. All shots were as "neutral" as the camera can go, and identical parameters were used for each.

Note that nobody would publish a sky with these colors in a "finished" artwork, because this is real color, not enhanced over-saturated polarized looks the way people want in phtotos.

Choose whichever you want to make your gradients.

Here I used my roof to avoid blinding me or my camera. But I am looking directly at the sun here.

Note the camera settings are identical as earlier.

i have now a blue color that i am very happy with. i will also use this blue when i save 360 pics from flickr.