Thanks, both for the code and for the links.  The Poser Python Methods Manual was exactly what I was looking for!

For the moment, though, I'm not manipulating any compound nodes, yet the error persists.  If I can't get it to work with normal nodes, I doubt it'll work any better with compound ones.

Success!  The key seems to have been in ChromeStar's recommendation to have two separate root nodes and assigning each to a different render engine.  A part of the solution was also taking up Hborre's advice on not plugging Cycles nodes into PoserSurface roots.

So here's what I did.  For each material zone, I plugged my original shader into a CyclesSurface root node and disconnected it from the PoserSurface root node.  I then plugged very basic diffuse and specularity into the PoserSurface root node.  Next, I designated the CyclesSurface node as the root for SuperFly and the PoserSurface node as the root for FireFly.  Finally, I made FireFly the current render engine in my scene, and voila!  While I was at it, I took the opportunity to add a preview shader for the eyebrows, which didn't even exist in my original workflow.

It's not an entirely seamless fix, since it essentially requires switching between render engines whenever I either start or finish rendering an image (e.g. if FireFly is active for preview purposes, I need to switch to SuperFly for actual renders), but it's much less hassle than anything else I thought to try.  For the sake of potential FireFly renderers, I wrote a Python script that will go through the figure's materials and swap the root node assignments.  So FireFliers can use SuperFly in preview and switch to FireFly for rendering.

The best part is that, even if I don't switch to FireFly in preview, the figure displays as light gray.  Although it's still textureless, it at least makes shading visible, which is still an improvement over a dimensionless black blob!  Thanks for the tips, everyone!

And Hborre, I'm glad to hear that the idea of dial-controlled shader settings intrigues you.  Now I know I'm not completely alone.  Maybe it's just me, but it has long seemed like a rather obvious step to take with the advent of animated shader nodes and master/slave parameter relationships.  Frankly, I don't know why fixed presets are still the standard that they are!

Yes, there are lights in every image.  For all but the very first image, I just loaded the character into Poser's default scene, which includes the default lighting arrangement.

I am indeed using alot of Cycles nodes, at least.  Here's my attempt to show as much of my shader as I can at one time.

Skin_Hair_Blend_Diff plugs into Alternate_Diffuse, and Skin_Hair_Blend_Spec plugs into Alternate_Specular.  The Skin_Diffuse_Map is plugged into main Diffuse with its value set to 0.  The stuff on he right is just doing math on input maps to generate a final hair mask based on user settings.  I also make heavy use of customized compound nodes to aid in organization and the reduction of clutter.  The main selling point of this product is that it enables the user to control various aspects of the shader (skin color, eye color, hair color, presence or absence of freckles, etc) via parameter dials instead of fixed presets.  That's why it has to be so complex.  The default dial settings produce this when rendered.

As it stands, the buck stops with a PoserSurface node activated as both a SuperFly Root and a FireFly Root.  I'll experiment with using separate roots and see if that helps.  Thanks!

Thanks, BB! I've actually tried a couple of different waysways. I have what should be the white areas in each traditional trans map in separate layers on a black background in a PSD. I've tried applying color overlays to those layers. I've tried creating a black background and three pure hue layers and then applying the original trans maps as layer masks. Nothing seems to work.

As we speak, I'm using color math nodes in Poser to turn my three traditional trans maps into an RGB-channel-based combo and rendering it on a square prop. Let's see if that works. If not, do you have any alternative software that you'd recommend for this sort of data manipulation?

EDIT: Nope, that didn't work either.

No worries! I actually appreciate the in-depth response, and there may be a bit more to test than you might think. I'm glad you like the morph, which is indeed a surprisingly quick dial-spin. The textures are indeed based on a combo of merchant resources, though I barely know what EZSkin even is and rely mostly on at least somewhat principled shaders culled and adapted from a mix of experience/trial-and-error and Internet research. For example, my triple-layer SSS shader is an adaptation of some impressive tutorials I found for Blender. I do aim for photo-realism, so that's always a focus of mine when I ask for critiques, which I do my best to take well and learn from.

Crucially, though, the morph is probably the least important part of the pack I'm putting together. In fact, I include one only by convention. The main selling point is the fact that I've rigged the shaders so that various material parameters can be controlled with dials in the same way that morphs typically are. It's an adaptation of an approach I first applied to G8F with Calista. The package is not principally intended as a single character but rather as a base for easy and convenient creation of diverse characters. There'll be dials for skin color, eye color, hair (i.e. eyebrow and pubic) color, freckles, and more! I'm a bit mystified as to why this isn't a more popular approach than fixed material presets, considering how relatively easy it is to set up. It is tedious at times, but not particularly difficult and, at least in my experience, well worth the convenience,

Anyway, PM me if you're still willing to test her (and him, since male options for L'Homme will be included), and we can proceed from there. I estimate that she'll be ready for beta in about a week or less. At least, that's what I'm hoping for.

Would any of you be interested in beta-testing this character when she's ready?

The update did the trick! I would've posted this sooner, but I got sidetracked trying to improve the eyebrow shader, which seemed to create way too much shine in the newer version of Poser. It worked out well, though, since I think her new brows are even better than the ones she had originally, though I welcome your opinions too, since those will be helpful as I continue to refine this texture/shader set, hopefully for eventual sale.

If her skin looks lighter too, that's because I put the raw render through a tone-mapping procedure that I developed to emulate a more dynamic and realistic color space (i.e. what the Blender folks call "filmic").

Sorry if my above comment seems a bit scatterbrained. I tried to follow each individual quote with the relevant part of my post, but apparently, the editor just automatically re-blocks all the quotes together.

hborre posted at 9:20PM Sun, 27 June 2021 - #4422132

Isn't IDL not supported by Superfly?

RedPhantom posted at 9:20PM Sun, 27 June 2021 - #4422131

Poser 12 was doing that with anistropic nodes. You had to plug the a tangent into the tangent plug of the node. I thought that had been fixed several versions ago. Maybe it still does it occationally.

Hmm, even though I've only just started really using Poser 12, I actually installed the upgrade from 11 quite a while ago, much closer to its original release date, and I've been getting notification of an update upon startup in the past couple of days. Maybe an update download is in order.

Thanks for the tips, Rhia! I'll see what I can figure out using your suggestion. The older method of IDL, probably not. But I interpreted IDL as a generic term for any implementation of indirect/global/ambient lighting, and I'm quite sure SuperFly has that.

Thanks for the prompt response! I'm using SuperFly in Poser 12 with IDL, an environment sphere (along with several solid parts of scenery that form an indoor room within the outdoor scene projected on the sphere), one infinite light, and two area lights.

Is there any way to buy the Pro morphs separately?

@hborre I'm quite sure I did save a new OBJ file with the re-saved CR2. It still didn't work for some reason. In any case, it was great to hear of your success with G8F! Care to share your workflow? Also, have you tried fitting any clothes to her yet?

As far as I can tell, Willdial only has two freebies on his profile, and the one I linked to is by far the closest to an importer. If anyone can point to something different, I welcome such information!

@HBorre I tried your re-saving method with a G8M base figure exported according to Willdial's tutorial. It doesn't seem to work for me. I get the ghost figure you describe above.

You mean this?

The problem is that it's not an importer per se. All the original software does is add the facial bones necessary for expressions to work in Poser, which I don't mean to minimize, but it's still useless if we can't even import the figure. The rest of Willdial's package is a tutorial on how to export the figure in a way that's Poser-compatible. This is done mainly by changing the weight-mapping method, but it still has to go through the DSON Importer in order to work.