What is the best way to convert older products to be Iray-compatible?
What is the best way to convert older products to be Iray-compatible?
I'm a new user on a budget, so I need to be smart about my purchases. Ideally, I'd love to find a low-cost item that will convert every kind of material and is easy to use, but I know that's probably hoping for too much.
So what are your favorite products for converting older generation mats to Iray? And for that matter, what are your favorite Iray lights? Recommendations appreciated!
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It can all be done manually with the include Daz Iray Uber Base....and then manually saving out new presets. Of course a large amount of tweaking is needed to get the best results.
You may already know this, but SickleYield has a great YouTube channel, and in one of her videos she goes through the entire process of converting an older set to Iray.
After that video, my two favorite tips are to:
Is this the tutorial you mean? I just watched it, and it does seem to explain the process. If it is as easy as SickleYield's tutorial makes it seem, though, then what's the purpose of products like N.G.S. Anagenessis 2 - Revolution, UHT2: Ultimate Color, or Iray Converter for Genesis and Generation 4 Bundle?
I don't know if deciding to start using DAZ just before all of these flash sales was a fantastic or terrible idea ... it's so overwhelming, but still so much fun!
Yep, that's the one!
I don't use any of those products, but I think they offer convenience, that you can select a character and then run their scripts to modify multiple surfaces at once, doing for you stuff you could do yourself.
The purpose of N.G.S. Anagenessis 2 and the Iray Converter for Genesis is to attempt to get more realistic skin on the models. For, now, I would just experiment with converting manually and play with surface settings so that you can learn the software or just use figures who already have Iray surfaces. If you stick to the newer models, most have Iray surfaces.
UHT2 is a hair shader system for hair. I highly recommend it and use it on a lot of my hairs. It's a great resource to have, but isn't one that you need right away. You can do great renders with the materials that come with most hairs. However, if you have any older hairs that only have 3Delight materials, it is worth the investment to get UHT2 as the shaders can you give you much better results than trying to convert the 3DL hair shaders to Iray.
The best way to know that you are getting value for your money is to learn the software. While you are doing that, I would invest in a good basic light set for Iray if you don't have one already. There are some really good ones in the store. However, it's hard to give a definitive list because a light set that I love might not be something that you like or find easy to use. If you are considering buying something, a good thing to do might be to find a thread about the product you are looking at. The PAs have Commercial threads for their products in the Commercial forum and a lot of people start threads in the Commons about products asking questions and or to show off a product they are excited about. A lot of times, those threads have a lot of render examples to show you what you can do with the product.
That being said, one can do a lot with the sun/sky built into DS or free HDRs so you don't have to invest in a light set right away.
Also, remember that DAZ has a great 30 day money back guarantee. So, if you purchase something and then find out that you don't like it or can't use it, you can return it. No questions asked.
Iray shader sets go a long way to retexture older items. I am guilty of having a collection of shaders for housing, hair, clothing items. I waited too long to get lights but a sale happened and I picked up some and love them. I am a memeber of the Platinum Club so when there is a big sale I have loaded up on old cheap items and I sometimes want to apply the newer shaders to them. But if you add up the costs of all my shaders, I am not saving a ton of money, just buying the ability to update older items I already have and have a bigger selection to work with.
@LaPetiteVerita, I encountered a problem today that I thought I should share. As SickleYield's video demonstrates, you can select surfaces, then Ctrl-double-click on the Iray Uber shader to convert them for Iray. But I found this doesn't always work: The Voodoo Queen outfit and textures include some jewelry shaded with something called pdmt-MetalShader. For some reason, DAZ Studio has trouble getting rid of it. I cannot seem to replace it with the Iray Uber shader as usual.
When you try to apply textures to the necklace, armbands, or bracelets that come with the outfit, part or all of them will go white in the viewport and Iray renders.
I have found that if I double-click on the Iray Asphalt shader or try various other of the Iray shaders, sooner or later one of them will work. Once that happens and something finally replaces it, then I can go apply the Iray Uber shader or whatever other shader I really want.
You may not have the particular products I mentioned, but it could be useful to remember that clicking around and trying different shaders can help if DAZ Studio seems to get "stuck" and unable to replace a 3DL shader.
@Inkubo - that is extremely good to know. Thank you so much for sharing!
I have the Voodoo Queen outfit and all I did was select all the items, used Iray Uber Shader and then select the white items and add an Iray Metal shader and that worked. You have to make sure that the item is selected in the scene tab as well as the surface tab.
Would you happen to have the URL to that video? I went to her page and I could not find it. Thanks In advance - Richard
@rtester - I think the video they were talking about is this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5FZ5gS9v50
There's a pdf version in her journal at DeviantArt here: https://www.deviantart.com/sickleyield/journal/Tutorial-Getting-Started-With-Iray-519725115 - if you look through her journal there you will find links to all sorts of useful tutorials and info.