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How to make glowing tattoos like this one?

manollol1234manollol1234 Posts: 10
in New Users

Hi! So, I've spent some good 12 hours (6 before sleeping, 6 after) trying to figure out on my own how to make glowing tattoos. I'm working on a fantasy visual novel where one of the characters has a tattoo that reacts to his power activation, shining in bright gold. I've tried using decals, with no luck. Geometry shells? Can't edit surface, for some reason. So I was snooping around on the internet and found this:

https://www.daz3d.com/tara-sachra-hd-for-victoria-7

And it's EXACTLY what I needed! A tattoo that emits light! Is there a way I can replicate this effect on another tattoo? I'm relatively new to Daz3d, been using it for 4 or 5 months, and learning how to do that would certainly take my skills to the next level.

I appreciate anyone willing to help me. I've been getting kinda crazy trying to do this on my own, haha.

Comments

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 100,781

    You need a map, black wheer you don't want glow and white or another colour where you do, which you then apply to the Emission Colour property in the Surraces pane (assuming the surface currently has Iray Uber Base), setting the actual Emission Colour value to white. Then you can use the other properties under that to set the brightness and to adjust the colour.

  • manollol1234manollol1234 Posts: 10
    Richard Haseltine said:

    You need a map, black wheer you don't want glow and white or another colour where you do, which you then apply to the Emission Colour property in the Surraces pane (assuming the surface currently has Iray Uber Base), setting the actual Emission Colour value to white. Then you can use the other properties under that to set the brightness and to adjust the colour.

    One of the major problems I'm facing is, when I add !UberSurfaceBase to the tattoo, it covers the entire decal object, not just the tattoo itself. Is there a way to adjust it so it only affects the tattoo?

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 100,781
    manollol1234 said:
    Richard Haseltine said:

    You need a map, black wheer you don't want glow and white or another colour where you do, which you then apply to the Emission Colour property in the Surraces pane (assuming the surface currently has Iray Uber Base), setting the actual Emission Colour value to white. Then you can use the other properties under that to set the brightness and to adjust the colour.

    One of the major problems I'm facing is, when I add !UberSurfaceBase to the tattoo, it covers the entire decal object, not just the tattoo itself. Is there a way to adjust it so it only affects the tattoo?

    Ah, I meant on the base maps. You should be able to to do it on a decal too, but you'd also need the black/white map applied to Cutout Opacity.

  • manollol1234manollol1234 Posts: 10
    edited May 2020
    Richard Haseltine said:
    manollol1234 said:
    Richard Haseltine said:

    You need a map, black wheer you don't want glow and white or another colour where you do, which you then apply to the Emission Colour property in the Surraces pane (assuming the surface currently has Iray Uber Base), setting the actual Emission Colour value to white. Then you can use the other properties under that to set the brightness and to adjust the colour.

    One of the major problems I'm facing is, when I add !UberSurfaceBase to the tattoo, it covers the entire decal object, not just the tattoo itself. Is there a way to adjust it so it only affects the tattoo?

    Ah, I meant on the base maps. You should be able to to do it on a decal too, but you'd also need the black/white map applied to Cutout Opacity.

    That worked! That may sound dumb, but I've been cracking my head just to do that, haha. Another issue though, is that when I add Uber Base, the emission option seems to disappear, for some reason...is this option somewhere else...? Or under a different name, perhaps? Sorry if I look like a complete fool, I really am a beginner.

    Post edited by manollol1234 on
  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 100,781

    It should be there, I was expecting Iray Uber Base was the  shader in use. If Emission Colour is black the rest of the related properties will be hidden

  • manollol1234manollol1234 Posts: 10

     

     

    Richard Haseltine said:

    It should be there, I was expecting Iray Uber Base was the  shader in use. If Emission Colour is black the rest of the related properties will be hidden

    Heavens, I did it! I was so obsessed with the decals and confused with maps and such that I overcomplicated everything in my head. I did as you said, edited a random tattoo over the (blacked out) torso texture, used it as a map on the emission parameter and BOOM! Light-emitting tattoo. I will be doing some more tests, but I'm definitely using this method pretty much always from now on.

    Mate, you just ended a 25-hour trial and error. I thank you, sir, from the bottom of my heart. I'll definitely be sleeping better knowing this is finally done.

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  • thejackal0815thejackal0815 Posts: 8
    edited February 2021

    Hello guys,

    I have a similar problem at the moment. Could you help me out?

    Edit:
    Nevermind, figured it out.

    For anyone trying to make illuminated tattoos, here's a quick guide:

    1. Create tattoo materials
    1.1 Inside Photoshop or similar paint tattoos over the texture map on a separate layer (textures are found under /runtime/textures; check Surfaces tab of your character to find the exact texture map you want to modify). Save. -> Base Texture Map
    1.2 Create new layer with black background behind the tattoo. Hide every layer except tattoo and background layer. Save. -> Emission Color Map
    1.3 Take the image from 1.2 and make it black and white. All non-black parts will be the parts that glow in the end. Save. -> Luminosity Map

    2. Get back into DAZ and select your character
    2.1 Go to the Surface tab and apply the base textures to the body, replacing the original textures with the ones you edited with the tattoos.

    3. Create a geoshell of the character (Create -> New Geometry Shell)
    3.1 Go to Shader Presets and apply Uber Base Shader to GeoShell. (Don't know if this is necessary but just in case.)
    3.2 Select the Geoshell. Go to the Surfaces tab. Check all body parts which are not covered by your created tattoo and set their Cutout Opacity to 0.
    3.3 Still in the Surfaces tab select the bodyparts where you added tattoos. Load the respective maps from 1.2 into the "Emission Color" field and choose the color that you would like the tattoo to emit.
    3.4 Load the map from 1.3 into both the "Luminance" and "Cutout Opacity" field.

    4. Done.
    4.1 Play with the Cutout Opacity, Luminance and Emission Temperature Sliders until you got the glow that you like.
    4.2. Using a geoshell has the advantage that you can easily toggle the glow on and off by just hiding the geoshell.
     

    Post edited by thejackal0815 on
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