Quote - Thanks for the tip ErickL88!

Replaced the chainmail textures with BB's chainmail Material #1 shader.  (I don't think I've ever seen that many nodes in one shader before...  O.O  Thank you very much BB.)

Wow that looks good. I impress myself, sometimes.

That feels like mithril as contrasted with ordinary "silver."

Very beautiful, even radiant. Fine work.

Do you think that the chainmail would flow naturally if animated? Like cloth?

::::: Opera :::::

Thanks!

I assume it would, but as it takes about three hours to render a single frame, I doubt my computer is up to taking on a full animation.  lol  At least in this lighting...

That chainmail looks very nice indeed. Looks like someone has spent a long time polishing that armour

Now...

...can we see it after the battle?

Attached Link: Got Mohawk?

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=2396564

(nudity)

Yes! I'm an animator, and use the Z-depth to drive Depth Of Field in my video editor (Vegas). This works really well, and in realtime (!) instead of adding an hour or so to the render time of each frame. It is also really easy to edit the focal point on the fly.

One thing that really, really, annoys me though: I render as png, QM names these (filename)(frame number).png - easy, I can load these directly as a video file in my editor. However, the Z-depth files are named (filename)(frame number)-Z.png - stupid! Because every video editor I'm aware of needs the frame number at the end to be able to load them as a sequence. Hence I have to use a bulk rename utility to make files usable.

Nevertheless, the Z-depth output is a really neat feature that would enhance many a render without increasing rendertime.  Highly recommended, and I am very indebted to Artbee who has a very funky tutorial on how to use it.

Captain, can you give the name of the bulk rename utility please?

Your information very useful. What is the equivelent program in the Adobe Master Suite that equates to Vegas? Is it AfterEffects, Premiere?

::::: Opera :::::

Operaguy: here you go:-

http://www.bulkrenameutility.co.uk/Main_Intro.php

Does the job and it's free!

As for Vegas, it's basically a standard NLE, so it would be like Premiere. On the other hand, it has some fairly decent compositing functions (masking and the rest of it) so I also use it where others would use AfterEffects.

That being said, I've also considered getting into a dedicated compositor, still trying to make up my mind between AfterEffects or going completely mental and taking the plunge with Nuke.

I recently blew up a helicopter (haha I've always wanted to do that!), so I'm compositing direct light, IDL, DOF, two explosions, fires, smoke, and mixing in some motion blur - all for one six second scene. So I did that in a new Vegas project, otherwise the main project would have become too confusing for my curry and beer infested mind. (I render to uncompressed avi and import this into the main project.)

Since I am adding a separate compositing step into my workflow anyway, I have therefore wondered if using a real compositor might give me an edge...

i have not touched Nuke, but I have imported folders of .png poser image sequence into AfterEffects, applied lots of things, exported. Liked it.

Thanks for the link to bulk renanmer.

Quote - Thanks for the tip ErickL88!

Replaced the chainmail textures with BB's chainmail Material #1 shader.  (I don't think I've ever seen that many nodes in one shader before...  O.O  Thank you very much BB.)

Is that shader included in a certain product or is it one of the free ones he's given out? It looks nice.

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?thread_id=2846423&page=1

i'm beginner and i want to render my models like this

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/media/folder_10/file_482755.jpg

but i can't understand what he did i have everything rim studio idl studio everything but i dunno anything about lighting , can someone with patient tell me how can i render something like this ?

thanks for any help

Hey everyone. I'm kinda a poser noob and trying to replicate the renders I've seen in this very thread. However, its way over my head! I've tried searching to no avail and hope you guys can point me in the right direction.

I have figured out how to use the render script I saw BB using - finally lol. So there is hope for me yet.

What I can't grasp are how you make a light out of an object, I think that is what you all are using for your source light. I tried using a primitive but could not find a way to make it glow.

Second is that back drop (the ones in both BB's post) where did you get that? Is it something I can buy?

How do you get to the screen with all the boxes, I'm not sure what there called. In lots of the posts here your changing values on them. I'm not sure what you guys are doing there.

I know, I need a lot of help. I really want to make great renders but I really need help getting there. Any help would be great. This post is amazing and I find myself staring at the detail you guys have managed to get.

On a side note I have Poser Pro 2012, not sure if that will make a difference.

Thanks in advance for any help!

You are asking many questions with side references but no links or images.  BB has many posts and threads both here and RuntimeDNA.  It would help if you break down your questions to specific categories with images, if possible.  It will help us better to help you.  However, you must become familiar with the many rooms Poser has to offer.  Only the manual can tap into each aspect, providing the information necessary to get you off the ground.  And have you read the manual yet?

Just to answer your first question, no; not everyone use objects to provide environmental light.  We only use them as another enhancement to shed an ambient illumination to a scene.  Don't get me wrong, they are great as a light source also, but a series of different render settings are needed to make them work properly.  

Making an object emit light is just a simple setting in the Advanced Material Room.  On the PoserSurface node, there is an Ambient Color and Ambient Value; driving the Ambient value to 1 or greater will make an object emit light when you render with raytracing and IDL.  If you are not familiar with these terms, again I suggest reading the manual.

Thank you so much! I was able to achieve light with the prop! Awesome.....

Ill be honest, I skimmed the manuel. It started speaking another language and I blacked out and forgot to pick it back up.....seriously....no, really that happened. 

Okay, Ill check it out again.

I've never been able to get good lighting using the Poser lights or any light sets, ever...my figures always look washed out like they were rendered with pastel chalk instead of nice crisp textures.

Several of the pics I was refering to were these:

What is that backdrop?

Here is another one of the editing boxes I was talking about:

I learn better by doing. You guys seem to explain it in a really easy to understand way better than any manuel. I will pick that up and start reading it though. Thanks again and I hope these images help.

The backdrop is a morphing prop that I made and never published. It's not important - use anything large.

Quote - The backdrop is a morphing prop that I made and never published. It's not important - use anything large.

Thanks, I was able to finally get a decent render. I'm still not sure how to use the materials section to add all those math functions for the skin shader. I couldn't see where everything attached in your one screen shot in this thread.

Anyway, here is my first attempt.

SnarlyGribbly has a nice script that most people use these days for the skin shaders. EZskin2

http://www.snarlygribbly.org/3d/forum/

I use it and it works well....and best of all i don't really have to know how it works too much.

Ill give that a try. Thanks for shareing!

Quote - Speaking of store, I see these V4 fix things and apparently people buy them a lot.

This pisses me off. See my V4 shoulders? Sweep sweep with the morph brush and they are fixed - two minutes.

Are people really paying for this stuff? I should sell toothpick props - bet people would pay for those, too.

Well I bought a few fixes, I hate that damn morph tool. It lags my machine and half the time it won't even do what I want it to because I don't quite understand how to make use of it. Besides if I can buy a fix that can fix all of V4's parts, that saves me time if it works. I don't like sitting around trying to fix parts of a model that should have already been fixed prior to buying it. I bought a few fixes that were bad. But oh well, better than trying to fight with the morph tool.

Hey guys..posted in another thread bit I think its dead...so ill ask a couple questions briefly here.

Anyone ever get the dreaded blueish green tint when one part of ezskinned model touches another? Say foot touches hand..green blue marks where they touch?

Next is the sparkles that come with my one intensity light render using ezskin 2? Nothing shows as in sparkles until final render then theres sparkles on the darker side of the model. Any help would be greatly appreciated...

click full size and zoom once...look at the neck and chest...

 P.S. I do realize there are a couple seam issues, this is just for exemplify the meshlights.

Quote - I use one standard light that I turn on/off for pose/render.

Go into the material room for that one light and set the diffuse and spectral in its material to pure 0,0,0 black. It will look normal for the preview, but when you render won't have any effect. That way you don't have to keep turning it on and off.

And turn its shadows off so it won't waste time calculating them.

Quote - > Quote - I use one standard light that I turn on/off for pose/render.

Go into the material room for that one light and set the diffuse and spectral in its material to pure 0,0,0 black. It will look normal for the preview, but when you render won't have any effect. That way you don't have to keep turning it on and off.

Wow, that is a great idea, thank you ... and BB, thanks for the shadow tip!  That's wonderful! 

Boni

Just learned that in the preview light ... specularity should be on because the diffuse aspect of the IDL light excludes specularity.  Thoughts and tips on this?

If it generates a non-zero specular energy, but you have no specular nodes, then it has no effect. 

Just because you use IDL, though, doesn't mean your specular is disabled. Do you have any specular effects turned on in materials? If so, the preview light will energize them.

This is with Fredel's benchlight (from another site) a specular only light and some reflections I learned from BB. 

any way I could get you to upload a pic of your whole skin up up bagginsbill ? I am having a hard time following this thread :(

I may not be bagginsbill but I might be able to get that screenshot for you ... next week, I am away from my main machine at the moment. Let me know which setting you are questioning.

Boni

thanks, I got EZskin so playing with that for now

thanks again

Frankly, that will get you a fantastic result equal to what you are looking for.

i am gettign great results with it, so dont bother yourself :)

thanks :)

I designed the separate cover for the cornea because we want to use refraction, not transparency. But - without transparency, the cornea shadows the iris and so the iris gets no light.

My solution was a separate cover prop, and then turn of cast shadows for that. Thus the iris is fully lit even though completely covered.