I've neglected Poser for years, just using it for morphs and posing, then rendering in.. well, you name it.

Now I'm totally, utterly, completely confused about skin shaders and textures. I have a couple of good ones, one by MaskEdit and one by Danae, but even using their lights, I'm getting no joy. I read through the entire VSS thread, but haven't given that a try, because it seems to require at least some clue about nodes.

So, if all I want is just really smooth skin, any suggestions? Should I keep trying with what I have, or try a different sort of texture, or just_give_up? Go back to rendering couches? Read the manual? (ugh)

What does everyone else here find the easiest to get decent results with? We won't even discuss eyes...

You don't need any clue about nodes to use VSS.  Use it, you'll notice an unbelievable difference.  That's what I use all the time now.

As for lights, try getting to grips with IBL and/or other advanced lighting techniques.  IMO, supplied light sets aren't really that useful for most redering purposes.  Oh yeah, and don't ever use depth mapped shadows or you're immediately going to compromise the quality of your renders.
 
Really smooth skin?  Just change the Diffuse_color to whatever you want and don't use a bump map.  Extremely smooth.  Unrealistic but smooth. 

VSS out of the box works without entering the material room at all.

VSS PR3 Shader provides many adjustable things in the material room, but they are organized.

Want more shine? Increase PM:Shine. PM nodes are parameters, to control the parametric shaders I produce. I would make a single box for you if Poser allowed it, but it does not. So I do the next best thing. I move all the parameters to the left side, and you just ignore everything else.

Again, those parameters are there because invariably after you get past your initial fear and find that you don't have to set a single thing, you will come back and ask "how do I get more shine?" and I will say increase PM:Shine, etc. You will ask "How do I get less SSS redness?" and I will say decrease PM:SSS. See? Ignore them until you have a desire to change something.

Meanwhile, I promise, without you doing anything at all, your figure will look a lot better in far more lighting scenarios than anything you've ever used before.

I am color blind, and have trouble getting my skins to look right. With Poser 8, and Global Illumination, the shaders that come with many products glow in the dark. By the time all of the glowing materials are removed, the skin looks like plastic. Enter bagginsbill's VSS shader. I read some of the forum, and gave up, thinking it would be too complex to use. Then I broke down, and tried it.

VSS requires no knowledge of nodes. It can be loaded and used with bagginsbill's lights and produces amazing results. You can, of course, learn how to tweak its results if you want to. It is free, so you lose nothing by trying it. It is designed to buffer you from the material room, and complex nodes.

You add a figure or figures to the scene, add material poses to the figure(s), add one of the VSS props to the scene, run the python script to put the script menu on the screen, and click the Syncronize button. The script does all the rearranging for you. It even improves the eyes (in my opinion).

It can be used with TerraDome, and I guess with other sets and scenes as well. The results can be saved as a material set in the materials room, and applied to a whole figure with just one click. Bagginsbill is working on a commercial version, with more control and features. But, VSS is free and available now. (And no, I don't get a commission.)

lmk

Quote -
   ...Bagginsbill is working on a commercial version, with more control and features... 
lmk

Interesting.  Sounds like that will be on my wishlist.

Note:

If you do make changes to the shader, say in SkinHead, that you want to use in SkinTorso, etc. You can copy and paste it to the other material zones. BUT, that will change the special names that BB has placed on the left side of his shader.

To avoid this, save your changes as a Material file, and load that to the different material zones. Then the special names that BB has (PM:Shine, etc.) will be preserved.  :)

lmk

You have no idea how intimidating all this sounds. I may need screenshots. Not joking. I have gone through some of bagginsbill's gamma correction shaders, but only because he posted screenshots. I have to work backwards: show me how to do something, and let me go back through it and figure out how it works.

I'm going to go and download it, and find that VSS for Dummies thing.

Smooth, unrealistic skin? I'm female. Visible pores, redness, and blotches are things I've been brainwashed to cover up, slather with creams and masks, and airbrush out. Ever watch those mineral makeup infomercials? Flawless, glowing skin is the standard.

Quote - You have no idea how intimidating all this sounds. I may need screenshots. Not joking.

Hehe I know how you feel ;)  When I first started using VSS I felt the same way,  What I did at first was to apply different shaders to V4 and hit synchronize until I got the look I wanted.  Then I started adjusting the main nodes, mostly bump and shine.  Then, after reading several threads like this one, I started doing more complicated stuff.  Now I can create my own VSS props and have them almost everything I want and I'm still learning new techniques with it. 

I'll post some screenshots for you to save you some of the trial and error time.

I spent more time a) looking for the place to run the Python script, and b) making the hair prop 'not blinding'  than anything else. It's your outdoor light set and skin shader system. I did move one light. That's it.

bows to bb

The recommendation is not to use BB's original light sets.  BB, himself, has confessed that the light sets are way too hot and need to be turned down very low in intensity.  Also, depending which Poser version you are using, you will need to address gamma correction as part of your workflow.   

VSS should be part of Poser as standard, not an afterthought or addin like it is at the moment, Bagginsbill you know what you have to do. ;)

Quote - The recommendation is not to use BB's original light sets.  BB, himself, has confessed that the light sets are way too hot and need to be turned down very low in intensity.  Also, depending which Poser version you are using, you will need to address gamma correction as part of your workflow.   

Yea when I did the first set of lights and shaders I wasn't loading anything else and I kind of got off on a lighting tangent that looked good but was incompatible with every shader ever written.

So since then I've released the Preview Release 3 shaders (PR3) which are meant to be adjustable and usable with other props and shaders.

And for any of the light sets included in VSS, cut the IBL intensity - by at least half.

Actually, I like the exposure in that render. Since I'm constantly criticised for doing 'dark renders' this is a refreshing change. I totally cheated on toning down the hair, but it turned out exactly the color it was supposed to. Just like Pink's hair!

I use LWF in Vray constantly, so the gamma correction is nothing new... a little harder in P7, but manageable.

The possibilities are visible now, so I think I'll give Cinema a rest and have some fun with faces. Eyes are the next project.

Thanks so much for convincing me to use this, guys. It really got me interested in rendering in Poser for the first time ever. And I discovered Camera controls I didn't know were in there!

How did Bagginsbill ever figure all this out? It's like trying to decipher noodles. ;)