Quote - I know I'll never know as much as Bagginsbill or some of the other poser gurus, I'm hust not satisfied with paint by numbers. I got into this to make quality work. I've been around long enough to know that some of these add ons are needed to do that. I've never wanted a make art button. 

Based on responses I need to learn python before matmatica. Do I also need it for vss? All i've done with that is synchronyze it and copy and paste it to new materials that it did sync to. Is there a better place to start with it than that huge thread?

 

ps sorry about the black text I don't know what happened there. It wasn't intended.

 

There is no need to learn Python to use VSS.  When you Synchronize you're using Python scripts that bagginsbill created and there is no need to alter the script.  The key to using VSS is understanding how it works.  Another thing to keep in mind is that the current versions of VSS are WIP.  That's why you need to go into the material room to change things.  If and when bagginsbill releases the Pro version it will have a proper GUI and there'll be no need to go into the material room.

Basically, all you need to do is load the VSS prop and hit Synchronize to apply the VSS shaders.

I can give you a rundown of the settings for VSS but I'm far from being a pro when it comes to VSS.  I don't like doing too much work in the material room and I don't fully understand all the basic settings.  

I use Inches in Poser so all the numbers below are based on inches. 

To change the properties of the skin shader, select the VSS prop and go into the material room.  Select Template Skin from the material list.  The only nodes you need to change are the ones on the far left.  They all begin with PM:.

PM:Gamma is for setting the Gamma level.  If you have Poser Pro and you render with Gamma correction, set this to 1.  If not, try anything between 1.3 - 2.2.  2.2 is the most common (don't ask me why).  If you have IDL you might try lower values.

PM:Bump is just to control the Bump value.  It's set to 0.3 as a default.  Just increase or decrease as needed for the textures you're using each time.

PM:Shine is my favorite.  This controls the specular system.  Higher values create stronger but also narrower speculars.  Try setting this to 1 and hit synchronize.  The results from this vary greatly based on the specular maps on the figure.

PM:Shine Spread and PM:Shine Level.  These are controlled by PM:Shine and I don't change these often but these are basically like Specular Value and Highlight Size from the main Posersurface node.

PM:Diffuse Reflectivity.  Don't really know what this one does :)  Sometimes when I find the skin to dull or flat I increase this number.

PM:SSS.  Controls the fake SSS.  If you're using IDL you should drop this to 0.3 or lower.

PM:SSS Falloff is always set to 1.  I have no idea what this does.

PM:Boost.  This boosts all the settings in the shader system (I think).   Use with care I suppose.

Anytime you change any of these values you need to hit Synchronize again.

Maybe you know all this already but next step is to look at the Apply Rules material and the Shader Rules material.  To change these you need to use the Designer that comes with VSS.

I have to sleep now (it's 5:30 in the morning:)  Was this helpful to you?  I'd be glad to answer any of your questions or continue with the rest. Just let me know.

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