Hm, i already feared that the wiki was the main information available, and things like the famous 'MakeNamedMaterial' (for example) are simply not documented anywhere. But it is an open-source project, right? Thanks anyway :-)

Quote - Where do you learn anything about lux-materials? I tried luxrender these days, but did not find any substantial documentation about luxrender's materials except some parameter names in the lux scene file description. Otherwise any documentation on the topic seems to be like "Click here in the luxblend-gui and then the right thing will magically happen...". Is there some place where the lux scene file is documented, do i need to read the source, or am i looking in the wrong place (ie. is the knowledge in the PBRT-book or somewhere else?).

That's the problem, the documentation is very poor and many times wrong, for example the parameter "index" do not exist in a glossy material, what exist is the "d" parameter that is something different from the refraction index.

So, unless they improve the documentation, the only way to know the materials is to experiment with them and discover how it are and the effect of its parameters.

Quote - So, unless they improve the documentation, the only way to know the materials is to experiment with them and discover how it are and the effect of its parameters.

Which is rather easy. It sure ain't rocket science. Besides, the more you experiment with them, the more you understand what they actually do.

Laurie

they added something new to the glossy material. its called multibounce.

multibounce

''This option will give the material's surface a fuzzy appearance, like velvet or peach skin''

so everyone who was using velvet for skin should now use glossy with this multibounce function. because velvet is nto like skin. it makes the skin look to dry.

the multibounce glossy material is closer to skin. so please try it out.

i forgot this but can we translate the velvet  material from poser?

I think iceboy that we'll have to settle with what's already been done and we'll have to do the rest by hand. I'm thinking this project is dead in the water, sad as it is to say. Too many easily bruised egos, too little time the programmers have to work on it, too little teamwork.

Laurie

I'm sorry to see this project die out as well.

Well, a lot has been accomplished already - lets not discount that. This project might just be on hiatus. Which wouldn't be a bad thing, given LuxRender's level of maturity. For the tinkerers (like me) there's always the option to port to Blender. One door partly closes, another swings wide.

It was never a project. I manage projects for a living and this is no "project". There is no project statement, and there is no leader, there are no stated measures of success, no deliverables, no accountabilities, and no action items. Without those things, there is no project.

One thing is odd, though. It seems if I don't work on it, nobody does. Hardly a community activity, IMO. There are plenty of things that need fixing yet, having nothing to do with materials. And, there are other people who could do something with materials if they wanted to.

For example, I already gave a bunch of code to read every kind of Poser node - to find any kinds you like - and to construct any kind of LuxRender node.

Nobody can see that you could call "findAKindOfNode" to find a Velvet node, and then generate the Lux velvet material? How about a glossy and generate paint? Really - the community is so at a loss that even after I publish all the necessary hard parts you can't see how to connect them?

When I have time, I will work on this some more.

The larger majority of us aren't code ppl bb. And it's the materials that do seem to be the hang up right now. Geometry goes over more or less ok, but it's the materials that need hand editing. Some of us don't have too much trouble, but the masses on average, will.

Laurie

Quote - It was never a project. I manage projects for a living and this is no "project". There is no project statement, and there is no leader, there are no stated measures of success, no deliverables, no accountabilities, and no action items. Without those things, there is no project.

One thing is odd, though. It seems if I don't work on it, nobody does. Hardly a community activity, IMO. There are plenty of things that need fixing yet, having nothing to do with materials. And, there are other people who could do something with materials if they wanted to.

For example, I already gave a bunch of code to read every kind of Poser node - to find any kinds you like - and to construct any kind of LuxRender node.

Nobody can see that you could call "findAKindOfNode" to find a Velvet node, and then generate the Lux velvet material? How about a glossy and generate paint? Really - the community is so at a loss that even after I publish all the necessary hard parts you can't see how to connect them?

When I have time, I will work on this some more.

 

 

did you miss the part where ADP quit becase of you? it's only one page back. you, BB, are now the only person working on it.

It might not be finished by a long shot, it might not be a 'real' project, sure I have to tweak some settings and materials, but I'm using it for all my renders now and with some pretty nice results.

Considering the whole LuxRender project is only at pre-0.8 version and features and materials are still changing on a weekly basis, I'd say we're not that bad off.

I am looking forward though to a time when BB has some time again to get something a bit more polished done. ;)

For anyone who is interested, Reality is 50% off through 12/01/2010

http://www.daz3d.com/i/shop/itemdetails/?item=11203

All video tutorials plus the manual are listed on the Product Documentation Wiki here:

http://artzone.daz3d.com/wiki/doku.php/azproduct/11203

Reality is a Daz studio plugin

most here are not DS users.

I use DS ( for animate +)  but have no need for LUX as I use VRAy and Mawell.

Cheers

So....

Whose hind end do I have to smooch to get this project moving again?? ;o)

My pucker is at the ready...

Laurie

What is mainly missing, btw? It need a UI for mat finetuning, thats all?

Ugh. I certainly don't want to make this project (or this thread) about me, but since Luxpose progress is obviously of interest to the community, I have to relate some news that affects it. Rather dramatically.

My paid work over the last six months has been outstandingly busy and I have been working very hard - so hard that at times I was rather sick from lack of sleep. Most of the work was for one company. That company just informed me a couple days ago that they can't afford to keep me involved as before and they are terminating my contract at the end of the month. Coincidentally, the other two projects also end Dec 31.

Which means that my currently identifiable work/income is absolutely zero starting January 1. Needless to say, I and my family are pretty much freaked out at the moment, especially with Christmas just a few weeks away and my daughter's next term of tuition due January 1. Ow ow ow.

Please don't anybody take this as looking for sympathy - I'm just telling you guys honestly what is going on with me, so you won't think I'm too much of a jerk not working on Luxpose. While I'm still under contract, I need to cram as many billable hours into this month as I can. I had actually hoped to take most of December off and get the Luxpose material editor published. That is no longer my plan. I hope you'll understand and bear with me until I get my personal house in order again. I already have made some progress toward acquiring new work for January and while it's not a deal yet, I have high hopes that it will close.

'Nuff said. LuxPose takes a backseat to family, livelihood, health ;o). Maybe I can kiss your rear end some other time when things are better...lol.

Take care.

Laurie

Well if there was ever a time for the community to step up and offer some compensation for your programming skills now is the time

set up a paypal donation button on your site if you have not already

if people here want his thing so bad they should be willing to pay Like the DAZ users who have already made a tidy $$Sum$$ For "Palo" the maker of "reality, by his account.

Best wishes

BagginsBill

Cheers

I was thinking the same thing. Do the LuxPose thing as a paid item. I don't think many would fault you for that. I sure wouldn't ;o). I couldn't really afford it either, but I'd find a way...lol.

Something is certainly better than nothing ;o).

Laurie

Thanks for the votes - I certainly have considered doing some commercial things - many things. What always stops me is the final packaging effort and the level of support I'd anticipate having/wanting to perform if I asked people to pay for something.

A couple weeks ago Steve Cooper asked me to have a look at the Miki 3 materials (just days before release.) Of course, I didn't like them. I spent a few hours making new ones and gave them to Coop - he liked them better and SM replaced the entire set with what I gave them, which is now in the released package. It only took me a few hours because I just generated the material collections using matmatic - and I was done. It was they that took the time to create all the thumbnails, organize the many materials into folders - changed their minds about how they were named and renamed them all - and wrote up all the documentation to go with them, and packaged them for Windows and Mac. Had I undertaken those aspects, it would have cost me a couple days just to package them.

I actually made 9 sets of advanced materials for Miki 3 but only gave SM 3 of them and they only released the main set - I may sell the full set on CP if they'll deal with the packaging.

Of course if I have no work, then there's a boatload of things I could assemble for sale to help make ends meet, not just Luxpose. As you say, something is better than nothing!

Want to see a couple of the Miki 3 skin variations? See attached. Click it.

They look really nice :o)! And yes, I agree that the packaging is the drudgery of the job...lol. Oh well, you can't like every aspect of every job I guess ;o).

Laurie

They sure do look nice, lovely soft gloss on these skins.

Keep your head BB..just to let you know we apreciate all the generous contributions you have aready made to the rendering community. Your still the "poser Man" in my book. We respect you efforts so far and look forward to the completion of luxpose at some point in the future. Good luck with the January work scenario! My best wishes go out to you and your family during the holidays. Hang in there my friend.

Cream rises to the top, BB... your work speaks for itself. I for one totally understand the frightening implications your situation has, and wish you all the best and much success with your next position, whoever may be lucky enough to have you working for them.

I was only thinking making it for pay since you were insistent you were gonna rewrite the whole thing yourself anyway BB ;o). I guess it wouldn't be right to include the other guys contributions in there. And for ppl that are satisfied with what's already been written, they can keep using that ;o).

Laurie

BB, take care of important matters first.  We'll still be here when you have more time.  Echo, thanks for all you have done over the years. I'm just breaking ground on some of it matmatic loom.

cheers, keep us posted how you are doing when you can.

Quote - I actually made 9 sets of advanced materials for Miki 3 but only gave SM 3 of them and they only released the main set - I may sell the full set on CP if they'll deal with the packaging.

It sounds like you and SMCP have a synergy that works. Each side utilizes what they do best. You, the actual material files, and SM the packaging.

I would certainly buy those Miki 3 Material sets.

Keep the Faith BB, with your Skills and Talents you will always have work.

Luxrender will get a new scatter material

http://www.luxrender.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=5057

juhuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

This thread is dead....killed by to many egos.... why its still a sticky ?

Not dead - paused.

Patience please. I lost my job, found 3 new ones, am working on next gen Poser library and VSS Pro and many other things. I have no time to talk, but at the moment I'm the only one who has anything to say, so it's quiet.

It will not be quiet forever.

Tis on the back burner ;o)

Laurie

Unsubcribed.

I have my own converter now. It moves content right out of Poser into Blender 2.5 ( with Poser-Python to Blender-Python).

LuxRender is perfecly integrated into Blender, so there is no need for something like a Lux-Material-Editor anymore. 

Quote - Unsubcribed.

 

I have my own converter now. It moves content right out of Poser into Blender 2.5 ( with Poser-Python to Blender-Python).

LuxRender is perfecly integrated into Blender, so there is no need for something like a Lux-Material-Editor anymore. 

There is if you don't use Blender :o(

Laurie

Quote - > Quote - Unsubcribed. I have my own converter now. It moves content right out of Poser into Blender 2.5 ( with Poser-Python to Blender-Python).

LuxRender is perfecly integrated into Blender, so there is no need for something like a Lux-Material-Editor anymore.

There is if you don't use Blender :o(

Laurie

And even for those of us who do use Blender, the material aspect of things in the new 2.5xxx is still not set in stone, so whilst most of it works, there's bound to be changes. Guess we'll have to wait and see, in any case.

Quote - Unsubcribed.

 

I have my own converter now. It moves content right out of Poser into Blender 2.5 ( with Poser-Python to Blender-Python).

LuxRender is perfecly integrated into Blender, so there is no need for something like a Lux-Material-Editor anymore. 

this is interesting.  

it was always hard to load all the textures into blender for M4. to many material groups.

I have at least two projects of my own that are of higher priority right now (on top of my day job, mind you), so I will not be pushing this one forward. I think I said something like that right in the beginning. But if there's a clearly identified and isolated task I can work on, I'm still happy to help. Just let me know.

Well, I am also in other things, like making faster the processing of ten million polygons meshes.

Cool!

Quote - Unsubcribed.

 

I have my own converter now. It moves content right out of Poser into Blender 2.5 ( with Poser-Python to Blender-Python).

LuxRender is perfecly integrated into Blender, so there is no need for something like a Lux-Material-Editor anymore. 

when will you realese this converter for poser-blender?  

i would like to test it out.

I think ADP should make it free for you for non-commercial renders only.  Sound useful?

ice-boy - unless he lied, adp has unsubscribed and is probably not aware of your question.

markad's gallery - Poser > Blender > Luxrender

Quote - markad's gallery - Poser > Blender > Luxrender

To be brutally honest, that stuff doesn't look any different than Firefly. Same rather unrealistic matte skin and all...

Laurie

In Blender 2.5 old 16 mats per figure has been solved making it way better importing poser figures, and the integration of Lux is great, those pictures kobaltkween shows it can be done somehow easy, material aspect like skin is not a problem of the proces, or Blender or Lux, it for shure can be handled

There is a very good reason for the Poser->Blender->Lux workflow: you can fix stuff (like pokethru) by actually editing the mesh. In addition, you can add Blender specific stuff like particles and then render the lot with Lux.

Similar comments for the Poser->Blender->Vue workflow: here you have also the option to add natural environments.

If you are scared by Blender, I give you my word of honor that 2.5 is totally different from old versions and is (almost) user friendly. Needless to say that it is not a Make-Art-Button application but you are unlikely to hit a wall with it (unless you are a pro, doing pro work).

The reason for unbiased renderers is not to add "realism" but to make scene development natural: instead of faking things with clear tricks/techniques/elbow grease you just provide physically correct stuff like illumination or materials. For example, architects use similar programs to assess the effect of illumination: to do so, they don't add a "point light with power 10" but a light source driven by the correct IES profile from the actual bulb manufacturer documentation.

" is (almost) user friendly"

the programmers need to look up what that means. even 2.55 is a trainwreck from the interface point of view.... but I am getting somewhere.