I know that you can achieve it by adding Noise in the material room...So if you want to bump up (*no pun) a skin texture that is flat (*or add a bit more porosity), how would you go about it? And how much texturing would you add? Does someone have a link to a tutorial, or knows how to do this? A screen shot would be awesome.

Ariana

The Catch Phrase for what you're looking for is Sub Surface Scattering.

Face-Offs HyperReal products are awsome.

On the Free Side, bagginsbill has several free tutorials.materials for skin; that each depend on which figure you are using, but can be interchanged, by switching the texture referrence, in the Material Room.

Don't mind me, I mis-read your question - move along, move along, nothing to see here

Attached Link: face_off's real skin tutorial for P5 (and above I guess!!)

Sub Surface Scattering is only a part of face_off's hyper real products...  SSS is faking the translucency of the skin in areas that would allow light (from behind) to illuminate "through" like the ears or the fingers (remember shining a flashlight through your hand as a kid in the dark)...  the Hyper Real products and tut that face_off put out way long ago involve bump, freckles, highlights, wet or dryness, skin irregularities and SSS all through the shader nodes of P5 and up... 

I think what DarkePhazeGraphiX is looking for is something like face_offs tutorial in the link above!

Hope this helps!!!  The tut looks daunting but really pays off if you don't want to get his real skin or hyper real products!!!

Gerard

Hi Everyone!

First so that everyone knows why I want to learn this. Since buying the latest models with lots of specularity and shaders, I now "Notice" the lack of texture even more on some of my old favorites (*like V3's, and early V4's) after working with shaders more in some of these models I now  REALLY miss the real textured skins some of my purchases have. I am also getting a lot more comfortable with the poser shading trees and other things I can learn to do inside the material room. So I don't do models and textures, but I am getting ready to maybe make the leap! First I have to learn how to add some of this to my own models and as I get better I am better prepared to make something of my own and offer it up to the public.

BTW, does anyone know of a good tut for learning how to add and work the Shading trees? I could use that too! :)

HuggerZ!

Ariana

ThanX Angelouscuitry for correcting my knowledge of the correct term. Can't find things if you ask the wrong questions!!! :)

ThanX ghelmer for that link and also helping me to learn and grow!!! ;)

Hey Anniebel! LOL!!! Just mosey on around this! :P I know you know this stuff too!!! :)

SSS is not the issue if we're talking about the surface bumpiness. You want to work with the bump channel.

I usually use the bump image that comes with figures, but sometimes its not enough or not quite right. In my Apollo Max shader, I added procedural pores. These look much more real on the nose and cheek than random bumps do. 

Here's an example - because the skin is so dark, the specular effects on the bumpy skin are really important.

The procedure for making those pores is math intensive and needs a lot of nodes.

Still, a lot can be done with simple shader setups for bumpiness. Here is a completely procedural skin - the color changes with the light because of some nodes that simulate SSS. By the way, SSS in skin is not just about lit-from-behind effects. Even on the front side, there is scattering of light that softens the look. Anyway, this fake skin has a surface bump made from a simple Granite node.

Hmm, do you know how do connect any nodes; have you had this experience yet?

Most of the complicated skin materials are offered to you as python scripts.  In other words you do'nt connect any nodes, the script does this for you, depending on what parameters you set for it while running the script.  In other words the scripts, when run from inside Poser, have windows; with Sliders, Radio Buttons, and Fields.  Then when you tweaked this, you tell the script to generate the material.  The script will then add like 30 or 40 nodes to your current material.

I'm surprised bagginsbill has'nt popped by yet.  He'd be quick to point out that True SSS(Sub Surface Scattering) does'nt really exist in Poser, but it is this effect that is functionally faked withing Poser.I guess other applications, like Modo, have more complicated SSS.  SOme of the images I've seen from these applications look exactly like Photos!

Another thing I've found very true, that bagginsbill has been trying to change, is that the SSS and Realism scripts only work wonderfully on Medium complexions.  I'm not real sure why(I tink it has to do with the script being benerated through the lights,) but by just running Face_Off's HyperREAL V3(which takes all of 20 seconds) I can great twice as real a skin texture than when I started, but this only happens with Medium compexions.  Fair skin gets blown out, and starts to Glow, and dark skin just gets really shadowy.

Attached is a Skin WIP of a texture' by Mari e17, namedjullisa, before and after Face_Offs HyperReal script.  I coulhave gotten results similar to this after my first night with Face-Offs shader.  Now that I've some xperience, the one set of parameters I really like seems to work on alot of textures; so this transformatio literally took a matter of seconds!

Edit:

bagginsbill - Ah, here you are!  I think the author has posted as moreover a search to boost Skin Realism, than actual use of the Bump(, or Granite) nodes, exclusively; by correctly hypothesizing that these have something to do with it.

BTW - Has a V3 version of the Apollo shader been posted?  

To illustrate my point about Fair sin, ere are a few images of my best V3 Character Study:

The top left is as best as I've done; without SSS, or Realism.

The top right is as best as best as I've made it with HyperRealV3.py.  It is'nt bad, but I think it is too busy, and prefer the much smoother shader of the first image.

But mind you I've had weeks of practice with Face-Offs script.  The bottom picture is an example of what happened the 99, of the hundred, times I've tried to get his script to work; with this free texture, from Valea, named Natasha. 

see this is getting more interesting as each minute passes! OK, Yes I want to add bump to the models that did not have or the bump was inefficient to the level I was looking for. I want Pores and more true texture in my older figures. I was told that if you add a speckle like noise in the material room, it could simulate nicely a more realistic skin. Or can I use Bump maps from other characters to give more textures???  I am not great at understanding the Python scripts yet, so it may be over my head. I know that a bump map is intensive, but for some of my best models it would be worth it to extend the render process, for the intensive poly's that might occur. bagginsbill, could you send me a simple granite node tut? Or is there a beginners step to understanding and building said nodes? I am appreciating this instruction immensely!

ThanX!

Ariana

You'd be 10-100x better off approaching this with a Python in your hand, than just narrowing in on Bump, without a script.  In fact now that I am getting abetter look at your avatar I'm seeing that your figure is an awsome candidate!  What texture is it?

Running and Writting a Python Script are two totaly different things.  Running a script is as easy as anything else in poser, if not easier, becasue you need to keep it in your Runtime.

To Run a Python Script(The easy way) click:

File  > Run Python Script > Browse to the script > Click Open > and the script window will appear.

To Run a Python with the Python Pallette click:

Window > Pythons Scripts > Then click a blank button > Browse to the script > Click Open > Now that blank button has your script on it so click it > And the script window will appear.

That blank button will now continue to be that script you loaded into it, as long as you have Poser open.  There is a way to set what scripts the Python Palette will display by default, but that's complicated in P6, and you would'nt need this. just yet, in P7. 

Hi again! I have 6 & 7 so since getting 7 I work almost exclusively in that...I should be fine. Now the $64,000.00  question is....

Where do I get a script to do this? Is it free or fee? Do you know of one out there? What wouldit be titled? and do you have any links to them???

BTW, I was looking at your reflection work, very nice! :)

HuggerZ!

Ariana 

***SSS is not the issue if we're talking about the surface bumpiness. You want to work with the bump channel.

***That was the point I was trying to make that SSS was not what DarkePhazeGraphiX should be going for and more for the bumps and other great stuff face_off and BB are doing with the shader nodes!! 

Best thing is read up at BB's Node Cult or purchase whichever of face_off's realism scripts suit the meshes you use!!

Gerard

Sorry, I hav'nt got the past two e-bots?

So far Face-Off is the King of the Hill; his scripts are available in the marketplace, for different figures.  I've purchased his HyperREALV3 script.  This script is solely responsable for the one change you see in the animation of my post on:

Tue, Aug 7, 2007 10:30 am, Edited Tue, Aug 7, 2007 10:42 am

(above)

I hav'nt tried bagginsbill's free skin script yet, becasue it is only adapted to the Aplollo Maximus.  Apollo, as far as free figures goes, is nice; but I'm not about to drop my three favorite Daz Figures to start work with him.  And there is supposed an easy to use V3 version of his script already finished, weeks ago, sitting on BB's desk somewhere..../me peeps around, looks to bagginsbill...and minds own business.

We could DL Apollo, DL the script, and get fancy wth them, and then replace his texture maps with V3's, to try the skin on her; but trying to get a female skin on a male figure just does'nt sit right.  And swapping those texture, with every tweak of the script would become a hastle...  

(...This is where other people, besides me, jump on the boat, and encourage bagginsbill to do more of his absoluttely fantastic scripting.)

ghelmer - When I asked what makes Face-Offs scipts tick; the answer, from him and others, was SSS.  Having asked BB about SSS, I was referrred to his Appollo script.  

Bump Is important, but I...like most people, appreciate smooth skin.  Skin that is...affected by light!

And Bump Maps do'nt just behave well, like a Black and White Transparency Map does.  See this thread.

ThanX everyone I am still working on a fix, it is really making progress tho.

I will keep you up to date.

HuggerZ!

Ariana

Check the P6 tutorial PDF for the section on building a better skin shader.  It might help you with some of the very basics including creating a bump map of textures that don't come with bump maps.