I ignored your question because instead of just saying, "Gee! Thanks for the service to the community", you chose to be an ass and question the wording of my announcement. You're welcome!

Why are you sniping at me and calling me names? I said I didn't have a problem. What do I have to do, shoot a youtube video for you to see that I'm not trying to have a fight with you. Are you really retired, or are you twelve and don't understand written communication?

I wasn't questioning your wording. I was questioning whether or not you knew that other people are paying attention and already doing what you did. Please, by all means, do whatever you like. I was trying to save you some concern, since it was you that expressed that concern. I didn't invent it.

Apologies for not putting the hair in a subfolder. I'll update as soon as I get a chance.

The comment about "two different softwares" is spot-on. I don't understand how the hair node works. The root colour seems to have very little effect, the tip colour has a huge effect. The specular colour tends to dominate everything if you are not careful. What I want is just a gentle shine, not something that looks as if the hair is wrapped in reflective cling-wrap. I tried using the bitmap for root, tip and specular colour and that minimises the shine, but it may not be shiny enough for some people. You can't satisfy everyone.

I don't think the hair node is as useless as the velvet and skin nodes though - I am just trying to understand how to get it to do what I want.

Quote - I tried using the bitmap for root, tip and specular colour and that minimises the shine, but it may not be shiny enough for some people.

Easy..  use the map as is for root and tip, and use the very slightly lighter version of the map for the specular.  I'm sure BB can tell you an easy node to run it through to do that without having to actually make another map.  (not a primary poser use, don't know node majic off the top of my head)

You use a map to modulate, i.e. create variation. Whether or not you wanted modulation in the shine would determine why you plug in a map. If there is a reason to have some hairs be more shiny than others, or shine with a different color, then use a map.

If you're just trying to decrease the intensity of the shine, you put a darker color into it.

These colors are numbers, one per channel. Putting a shade of gray simply means that you're putting the same number in all three channels. If you want less blue in the shine, you lower the blue. If you want less of everything in the shine, you lower all three.

When you want to raise, you raise the numbers. But you cannot enter bigger than 255, right?

OK then insert an HSV node, and use the Value parameter - easy to enter any number from .00001 to 999439843983948398. And the HSV node has a place to plug in a texture if you need modulation as well.

In general, any time you need a color "amplifier" with total freedom to alter the level, insert the HSV node into the chain.

Thank you, here we go.

Nanette, this is best dynamic hair which I've seen. Maybe not very aesthetic but natural.

Thank you Shuy, that is very kind. I'll make these materials also redistributable for free items. For me, the bitmap is the way to go. What I needed to work out was how to use the hsv node to vary it. Once I realised that I had to make the root darker than the bitmap, and lower the saturation on the specularity, it all fell into place.

The hair room can also use a complete overhaul. The styling tool makes assumptions about the curve the hair is going to follow, and these are not always how I imagine hair would behave. It behaves more like wire while you are styling it. It is not that easy to control the curve, and if you lengthen the section of hair, the curve changes and you need to adjust it all over again. I would love to be able to use something like the morph tool on the hair to make adjustments to the curve - at least give us a few control points to work with rather than just the tip of the hair and a falloff ratio that behaves unpredictably!

I would also love to be able to copy and paste the hair parameters from one hair group to another rather than having to re-enter them for every hair group. Like the cloth room, I get the impression that the hair room was programmed and then more or less abandoned by the developers, leaving it to the user to figure out how to use it.

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?thread_id=2798819&page=18#message_3824872

That's the best looking dynamic poser hair I've seen.

I am so glad the colour is finally coming out the way I want it. I just needed a nudge in the right direction.

I saw Cage was working on a styling tool, but I didn't realise it was ready for use. I'll definitely have a go.

Quote - I saw Cage was working on a styling tool, but I didn't realise it was ready for use. I'll definitely have a go.

Actually, I didn't think it was in a state in which it might be useful to anyone.  :lol:  I'm not sure how to use it for good results myself, at this point, so the features are pretty much undocumented.  The script does successfully provide four or five different ways to style the guide hairs, however.  :unsure:

The most recent version of the script is available at the "Loop Scripts" link in my sigline.

Quote - Like the cloth room, I get the impression that the hair room was programmed and then more or less abandoned by the developers, leaving it to the user to figure out how to use it.

I guess I've done more or less the same thing.    Ahem.  IIRC, both the Cloth Room and the Hair Room are plugins for which the Poser programmers have basically provided an interface.  FireFly and the Materials Room may be like that, too, but in those areas they've customized things a bit more over time. 

While I think that the cloth room is pretty good documentated and there are many tutorials around (I like especially this one: http://my.smithmicro.com/tutorials/2313.html) the hair room seems indeed to be of few interest to the majority (and the Poser developers) what is a pity as I like what can be done with dynamic things.

The new hair looks pretty realistic, Nannette, the aesthetic will come with movement Please give us a holler when it's available.

I've used the hairscript and while itstill has some drawbacks, it makes it so much easier to style hair.

After a small poll in the Wiki? thread the contents of the former Antonia Wiki here on Renderosity were consolidated, actualized, and worked into a Wikipedia page. I hope the format, content and wording will stand under scrutiny by the Wikipedia policing.

The final draft is in my sandbox at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:BagoasOfPersia/Antonia

You are invited to visit and read.

If no serious complaints come before Tuesday I will push the text as it is now to Wikipedia content. Purpose now is to track any blatant errors. Since it is a WIKI, addtions to content can be made later.

The new hair is in the freestuff queue now with 13 colour variants. Please feel free to experiment with the colours, use them on other dynamic hair props such as Adorana's, and even combine them for funky effects. These materials and the accompanying textures can be included and redistributed with free items. I have included a subfolder in the package with example renders so that you can see what the different colours look like.

Ok, who's gonna weight map Antonia in Poser Pro 2012?

Quote - Ok, who's gonna weight map Antonia in Poser Pro 2012?

I was wondering the same thing. Can she be made to bend even better? Is it possible?

From what I was reading about weight mapping in another thread it sounds great.

As good as Antonia bends now, she would be almost human with this weight mapping...Wow!

I would not be surprised if some of the beta test crew had alrady been playing with this. The advantage of doing this with Antonia and not with another figure is that you can actually distribute the weight-mapped version without copyright restrictions.

By the way, did you notice this thread hit the 350 pages mark?

Yay, 350 sites!!!so far we are the longest thread Renderosity ever saw (and, most of all, it's a constructive thread not a just-for-fun thing). When do we hit the "longest constructive thread on the net" mark?!

Bagoas, I found no problems in the Wiki-site, I am one day too late but anyway wanted to let you know! Sooner or later I think I should render a three site view for the Wiki and, maybe, an animation with a bending Antonia. But as I have lots of other work I am not angry if someone else does this.

Quote - I was wondering the same thing. Can she be made to bend even better? Is it possible?

Weight-mapped joints can bend quite nicely, as I guess Genesis shows.  Antonia might be a good candidate for this conversion, as her topology is apparently designed with good bending in mind.

One assumes that Antonia's JCMs would not be automatically factored in with any automated weight-mapping conversion, but also that they would be rendered ineffective by that conversion.  To get bending equivalent to what we have with the JCMs, weighting would (presumably -- Cage has no insider information :lol:) have to be manually adjusted for best results.  Possibly a new set of JCMs would be needed to bring a W-M Antonia up to par with what we have.  :unsure:

As noted, a W-M Antonia could be freely redistributed.  One assumes conforming clothing creation would be easier if a W-M version handles well with no/fewer/less complicated JCMs.

It's all rather exciting, really.  I hope the Poser's implementation of weight mapping allows the same ease of actor scaling that has been shown with Genesis.

Quote - Bagoas, I found no problems in the Wiki-site

Thanks.

In the mean while the page is up at the public area of Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonia_Polygon

It will not do as community hangout and pubboard, but may serve as a Light for the sorry muggles dwelling in the eternal darkness outside the 3D world. Once a decision about a new den is made, we can add a pointer. My preference would be to have it on the Antonia Freesite, mainly because that is where the Antonia readme file directs. 

You mean a prominent link to the Wiki? In the Antonia page? Good idea, I'll lead this forward to Mr. Site-Admin-Lion

Well, no. A link would be a good idea, but what I meant was that the natural place for the Antonia community Wiki would be on the Antonia Freesite, and such for the reasons I mentioned: The Antonia Readme file points there and to the Rendo Wiki. now that the Reno Wiki effectively is no longer there, the Freesite is the only 'official' portal outside the places maintained by ODF.

I know that installing and maintaining a Wiki on the freesite may not be feasible right now, so we may have to do with hosting it elsewhere and linking.

Leo already tried to install a Wiki on the freesite but with no success... so yes, an outside host may be the only solution.

What was the problem? I see the freesite uses PHP in the upload section, so that is supported.

I am not sure and will ask. The problem is that Leo explains everything preferently in german and it's not so easy to translate technical things.

Well, I decided to try a little work tonight and started a new texture for Antonia.

So far it's just the face I'm working on trying to get features on the base texture.

I'll post an image or two a sit goes along.

Meanwhile I still need to finish a V4 set that needs to go in my other store...sigh.

For those interested:

I uploaded antonia 1.2 compatible versions of the TGP poses and the extreme gym poses to the Freesite.

Have fun,

B.

Very good, thanks a lot!!

Well I'm putting off the work on my latest texture (and my other set) for tonight.

My web page needs re-vamped and I'm trying to change the background but it keeps hanging my program for some reason.

It will be replaced by a completely new one later but I'd sure like to get the background changed to anice blue gradient...sigh.

If there's nobody doing or about to do it, I'm very willing to try and weight-map Antonia. I really wish to help make her the new Poser standard if Genesis won't work properly with Poser ever.

But I'm not a PP2012 tester, which means it'll have to wait until I can actually buy it.

In the PoserPro2012 forum at RuntimeDNA I heard some of the 'ambassdors' already speculate on weight-mapping Antonia. No firm announcements are given there, of course, but Antonia (and Apollo Maximus it Anton Kiesel permits) appear to be on some people's to do list, with tick mark in the box or without I can not say.

That would be great - and gives me the chance to ask a question, maybe someone can help me to filter this information from all the news about Poser 9 and PoserPro 2012: Is Weight Mapping a feature that can only be used in PoserPro 2012 or can it only be made there. In other words: Can Poser 9 owners use the technique while not creating weightmaps? I will definitly buy the Pro version because I am not only a user but a creator as well (and kind of a technique-junkie - other women may have their shoe shops, I have computer and electronic stores and markets to spend hours in and buy shoes within 10 minutes). But I am interested anyway because I think I remember that Poser 7/ Poser 8 where able to use HDRI-based light while the Pro versions are able to create HDR images. So I thought that it may be the same thing with weightmapping.

from what i've read on the rnda forum, p9 users can use weightmapping but not make it.  you need 2012 for that.  i'm saving up my pennies too.....

I hoped for this solution, this way we stay in the scheme "standard for "pure" users/Pro for creators".

Well, and Pro also for users with large demand for render capabilities, (RenderQueue, 64 bits render engine), people needing the Colada interface or interface with Maya etc., or wanting more control over or postprocess capabilties for their rendered results (gamma control, HDRI and PSD-layers format output)

See the compare table at http://poser.smithmicro.com/comingsoon/

My personal favourite is the exponential tone mapping. It prevents 'washing out' of light spots and gives a much more balanced image.

Forget that last phrase in my above post. Tone mapping is not an exclusive Pro feature.

So many options that one can indeed be puzzled. As I render hardly anything under a size of aproximatly 2500 x 1800 pixel I like the queue renderer a lot. Leo likes the Cinema support and so on. There's no question which version I choose.

Unfortunatly the actual version of the queue renderer does not handle IDL very well, many renders look awful when rendered with the queue renderer and so I need to use my working computer instead of the server (what means blocking the working place for anything else) to get the result rendered with the settings I've made. I hope that this has been fixed!!

Are you saying there is a difference between the renderer in the queue app and in Poser? There should not be.  Maybe you want to look at the version. The queue app that came with Poser Pro 2010 is different from the one that came with original Poser Pro.

I checked each and everything, it's all up to date and the right version. It was necessary to me to use the queue renderer to render countless promos and thumbnails with IDL so I really made sure that I missed no update or compatible version. We already had a discussion over at the forum about it and people backed up my experience. It happends when you use the D3D-rendersettings that seem not to be transported by the queue renderer. But there are also remarkable differences in the quality when you use the standard render settings dialogue.

I have the same problems with dynamics that are only (!) simulated with drapes. You can not save the results, they are resetted when reopening the scene. And this seem to be a reason why the queue render isn't able to render what you see on your screen. But back to the IDL-problem...

Here's the thread:

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?thread_id=2830354&page=1

I've posted a comparison of the same scene with exactly the same settings made once on the computer that holds Poser and once over the queue renderer (without closing Poser and reopening the scene or anything like this that MAY alter things.

About the IDL: What if you load the scene file the Queue Manager uses into Poser and render? Do you get the result from the Queue Manager or those from Poser? If you get the Queue Manager result, the renderer engines may be the same but there may be differences introduced during saving.

Did you contact Smith Micro Support about this?

You can in fact control the Queue Manager manually and feed it any .pz3 file. It's task list is in a .xml file in C:Documents and SettingsYourUserNameApplication DataQueue Manager. It is .xml, so plain text and open to edit. In the manager uncheck accept local jobs and heve Poser feed it a file to render. Then switch off the queue manager and edit the commmand line you created. You can also open the command file in Poser and do a test render.

This is a very intersting fact as I only knew how to call the Queue Manager via the poser Menue. I'll have to try this out soon. I confess that I hardly understood the steps I have to take but things will get clearer as soon as I try to follow them with the computer, Poser and the Queue manager.

I have few hope for scene with draping only (dynamic hair, necklaces and such) as this can not be saved in the pz3. But for IDL I see hope.

So far I did not contact SM as I found out about the whole thing only a month or so ago - when Poser 9 was already a rumour. Now where I know that I will pick it up I will see if the error is gone and otherwise file a bug-report so that the creators can look into the problem.

And there is more

• operating system 32 or 64 bits

• processor type

Differences are in computationally intensive areas, where results of floating point calculations are used in floating point calculations, that are used in ... etc. Minute differences in the result of one calculation are magnified in the following one.

Different processors (AMD versus Intel) or different versions of same manufacturers, running the same code can give the differences you see. The higher quality the image, the more loops the process makes (and the more time it takes), the more repeating calculations, so the larger the differences in the outcome. This is referred to as 'stability' and it is a major area of investigation and concern in numerical analysis using integration steps. 

I know that this has an influence as well... Of course the so called server computer and my working computer are different in some parts, the fact that the server is more up to date is only one of the important points. But what makes me think that the Python script for advanced Firefox settings is the thing that does not work in the Queue manager is that when I leave the setting on the lowest level in the standard dialogue and use solely the D3D Firefly dialogue for setting up the render options my computer (that holds Poser) renders everything with IDL and such while the Queue renderer renders a draft without IDL and even shadows or reflections. Maybe, if you use the Queue renderer, you could try a small scene (of course I can send you my IDL lights for this) and try it out to see if I am the one who makes the mistake of if the Queue renderer does not use the advanced settings.

Hello, :)

I have been a busy gal for a bit.

My web page needed updating and it sure was time consuming to do. Things might have gone smoother but a migraine caught me off guard and laid me out for a day and a half...ugh!

But the new page is up and running as of now. I'll still need to edit the other pages as time permits. Just click the link in my sig here to see it. Opinions are welcome.

There has been a little more progress on my new APG texture, it's looking better. :biggrin: When I get a decent render I'll post a preview image. now I need to think of some names for her, maybe one will come to me when I do another face morph to go with it.

waves in the general direction of the thread

Waves back Hello, good to see you here again. :)