NEW! Novica & Invited Guest Contributors Tips & Product Reviews Pt 6

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Comments

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
    edited July 2015

    I think you get it by now, lol. This is 12 minutes, not done, but we're testing effects and it's obvious at this point. The last one has a few of the areas circled where you can more easily see the difference in that render (with the iray Uber base) compared to the one above it without the Uber Base. There's definitely more enhanced shading with it.

    carissa12minsOptNO.jpg
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    carissa12minsOpti.jpg
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    carissa12minsOptUber.jpg
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    carissa12minsOptUberCIRCLED.jpg
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    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887

    I will have to enlarge these/put in posts when I get home. I am already 20 minutes late to meet out of town company. Feel free to post- sorry I don't have time to put them inline at the moment. Bye!

  • TJohnTJohn Posts: 11,107

    You can try turning up the glossy roughness on her skin a bit. That'll spread the glossiness out so you dont get those "hotspots". You're coming along really well with Iray. smiley

  • TJohnTJohn Posts: 11,107
    edited July 2015

     

    Invited Guest Contributor

    "Desert Sunset"

    Products used:

    FWSA Bonnie HD for Victoria 7

    http://www.daz3d.com/fwsa-bonnie-hd-for-victoria-7

    Summer Kiss for Genesis 3 Female(s)

    http://www.daz3d.com/summer-kiss-for-genesis-3-female-s

    Leyton Hair for Genesis 3 Female(s) and Genesis 2 Female(s)

    http://www.daz3d.com/leyton-hair-for-genesis-3-female-s-and-genesis-2-female-s

    DAZ Studio Iray HDR Outdoor Environments

    http://www.daz3d.com/daz-studio-iray-hdr-outdoor-environments

    Both the hair and the dress have nice movement morphs.

     

    Desert Sunset.jpg
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    Post edited by TJohn on
  • ZarconDeeGrissomZarconDeeGrissom Posts: 5,412
    edited July 2015

    Very nice render Tjohn, the lighting is outstanding, I love it. Nice looking dress. Bonnie has given me grief.

    now I am impressed. When I tried putting that hair on Bonnie, I got speckle-scalp and spotty hair-line. May I ask how you got around that, or dose that not happen in Iray?

    Also, that is a good dress choice for her, along with the "Sun Dress", as the cloth-mesh is over a centimeter away from the V7 skin surface, so the broken shape-follow thing doesn't cause such horrid Poke threw. Unfortunately resulting in the shape of the dress being V7 not Bonnie, lol.

    Still, I like the flow of the hair, and that pose. That dose work very well with the background and lighting.

    http://www.daz3d.com/sun-dress

    FwsaBonnie_LeytonHair_001.png
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    FwsaBonnie_LeytonHair_SunDress_001.png
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    Post edited by ZarconDeeGrissom on
  • barbultbarbult Posts: 24,249

    To apply any shader to only the selected surface(s):

    1) Select the surfaces you want to change in the Surfaces tab

    2) Hold down the control key (Ctrl)

    3) Double click on the shader

    4) In the pop up dialog, choose Selected instread of All

     

    Screenshot 2015-07-25 22.21.07.png
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  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887

    Thanks Barbult! Also, this is a neat, fast idea:

    Material Preset Idea  so it's a fast click.

    I love that dress- Summer Kiss has beautiful movement. Nice render!!!!!!!

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887

    Speaking of Bonnie, Mark128 made some changes to the skin- and was gracious to share the  settings. Take a peek. The translucency and a few other settings were changed. I like the end result much better than the original skin- Genesis 3 does seem more ruddy than the other generations.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
    edited July 2015

    In iray, you don't want your renders to grind to a halt because you haven't increased the Max Time (Go to Render Settings, Progressive Rendering)  If you want some fast conversions from seconds to hours, here you go. I set mine for 5 hours. You can always cancel your render, go change the setting, then resume. Love that feature. Curious- what do you folks using iray have yours set to? And I haven't a clue for the Max Samples. (Whichever iray hits first, the samples or the time, will make it stop.)  

    7 hours=25,200 seconds

    6 hours=21,600 seconds

    5 hours=18,000 seconds

    4 hours=14,440 seconds

    3 hours=10,800 seconds and to be safe, I wouldn't go under 3 hours.

    However, some people have tested and found you can double the size of your render (pixels) and cut the render time in half, then if you reduce your image size (pixels) it will be as clear with far less time to render. Anyone using this method?

    EDIT: Found a thread on it- mixed results

    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
    edited July 2015

    When I did the Material Preset option (discussed a few posts back) it put my Material Preset in Genesis 2 Female>Characters- which is perfect! When I load up a character, I don't have to go anywhere else to do the fast one click and apply the optimized iray setting for the eyes. (I named mine Iray Eyes G2F)

    BTW, try turning up Saturation from 1.0 to 1.25 and see how you like it. I'm working on Tiffany (Gen2) for you- today we'll test the different Saturation levels and perhaps different combinations of things. Question- what does changing the white point and white point scale do? I am using the default hdr map btw. Is white point affected by that or is that only when you are using sun/sky or whatever?  

    EDIT: Testing without the Uber Base application or the Iray Eyes. Will test those after this batch using default skin.

    Post edited by Novica on
  • RGcincyRGcincy Posts: 2,834

    Thanks for all the iray tips! I finally took the plunge last week and upgraded to 4.8. I'm actually finding I like it better than 3DL but lots to learn on how to use it, so your posts are quite helpful (along with other threads that discuss settings). 

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
    edited July 2015

    Sabby-Tiffany

    I did let this render go to 100% (the others I won't, as it was 38 minutes.)  I will add to this post and put the saturation amounts on each one. I am leaving Crush Blacks on .25 and Burn Highlights .25.  I am only testing one variable- Saturation. Only this render (and the default 1.00) will be 100% rendered as I can see the differences without doing each one almost 40 minutes.

    (using default skin, no Uber Base, Optimized skin, or Iray Eyes) All three- the 1.25, 1.35, and 1.45 are the Default skin.

    TiffanySat125A.jpg
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    TiffanySat1.00A.jpg
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    TiffanySat1.35a.jpg
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    TiffanySat1.45DefaultSkinA.jpg
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    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887

    You're so welcome Rich- I'm putzing so it will take me a lot longer to learn it than everyone else who is starting out- so I'll be asking you what you've figured out, lol! I've got to pop back over to the iray threads in Commons but it jumps around so much, I can't assemble a logical line of thought.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
    edited July 2015

    Oh my. Saturation isn't doing what I thought it would- I think of it as intensifying color- did you know it also lightens it? EDIT: After it came in more, the default lightened up a bit so they are closer.

    Now, I don't know if it's only Tiffany- but the yellow hue increases. Has anyone increased saturation and gotten reds or blues intensifying? I am assuming that would be the case with the paler, cooler skin tones rather than the warmer ones. I am doing Tiffany at full render so we can compare. Doing a partial one wouldn't be a fair comparison. Hang tight, it's 60% done with the setting at default. (1.00)   We'll compare it to the 1.25, above.

    Post edited by Novica on
  • ZarconDeeGrissomZarconDeeGrissom Posts: 5,412
    edited July 2015

    Sabby-Tiffany Oh that is nice. I didn't know she had Iray shaders, lol. It's all good, and the render looks nice. smiley

    On that note, I found that just ramming 3delight shaders down Iray's throat, can have very mixed results at best. Sometimes it's ought right random, lol.

    http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/787328/#Comment_787328

    Yes, FWSA Wachiwi, again. Well, she has AoA, Omni, and Daz Default shaders, so she was a good starting point for me with Iray.

    Oh and pleas don't get me wrong, I absolutely approve of tinkering with settings. That's exactly what I'm doing right now with EJ Valeria's mats. err, they just whent beyond just mats, lol.

    EjValeria_AltShaderTest_20150726_001.png
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    EjValeria_AltShaderTest_20150726_002.png
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    EjValeria_AltShaderTest_20150726_003.png
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    Post edited by ZarconDeeGrissom on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887

    Sabby-Tiffany Oh that is nice. I didn't know she had Iray shaders, lol. It's all good, and the render looks nice. smiley

     

    She doesn't- applying Uber Base is to get the iray materials put on the surface, and these are without. I'll test with the Uber Base after I finish with these. Thanks for pointing out that thread, I'll have to cruise through that one too. (Sigh, so many threads, so little time lol) I like the top lighting on yours, and the eyes with the hair is really pretty.

    I'm testing 1.35 Saturation- it will be done within five minutes. I am posting all these back on the first post so everyone can compare them easily. 

  • TJohnTJohn Posts: 11,107

    I'm not understanding why you are using the Iray Uberbase instead of using the optimized materials for G2F, G2M and G3F that are provided with the free essentials? I find them a good starting point, and the settings can be tweaked from there if necessary.

  • ZarconDeeGrissomZarconDeeGrissom Posts: 5,412
    edited July 2015

    Tjohn, I grrrr STOP that Forum!

    I haven't fussed with those 'optimized' settings since Iray was in Beta. Tho every one then was saying how they didn't work at all for maps that were never intended to be in Iray. Everyone including me was getting better results just applying the regular Iray shader to the 3delight mats, and going from there.

    Fast forward to now, and it may be very different. It takes hours on my decrepit computer just to get anything useful out of Iray, so doing simple spot renders while setting up surfaces is simply impossible for me. That's why for the meantime, I'm sticking with 3delight, till I can get a Watt-hog graphics card that is faster with Iray.

    Oh, that light setup in the above test spot-renders, is part of my "Test chamber" (for 3delight only for the time being).

    http://www.sharecg.com/v/81375/browse/21/DAZ-Studio/ZdgTestChamber-v2.2-UE2-for-Daz-Studio

    and the same file is also at Deviant Art
    http://zarcondeegrissom.deviantart.com/art/ZdgTestChamber-v2-2-UE2-for-Daz-Studio-543097364

    Post edited by ZarconDeeGrissom on
  • TJohnTJohn Posts: 11,107

    The optimized settings have been upated. they are now closer to Me4D's recommended settings.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
    edited July 2015
    Tjohn said:

    I'm not understanding why you are using the Iray Uberbase instead of using the optimized materials for G2F, G2M and G3F that are provided with the free essentials? I find them a good starting point, and the settings can be tweaked from there if necessary.

    Usually, Uber Base will be for things like clothes and hair and props.It will be the optimized materials for the skin. But I am going to test the Uber Base vs the Optimized for the skin, particularly with Saturation, as I don't accept 100% what people say. By testing it, I might find another use for something too wink  Edit: I went back and added "or Optimized Skin" to the list of "No Uber Base, Optimized Skin, or Iray Eyes." so it's clear. The intent was to tell everyone it was the default skin. (and that was mentioned.) 

    Post edited by Novica on
  • TJohnTJohn Posts: 11,107

    Gotcha.smiley

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
    edited July 2015

    Okay, remember the optimized iray skin mats for Genesiss 2 Female are in the Daz Studio format then People>Genesis 2 Female>Materials. (had to search for it again. That's why I use my thread so much, lol, I went back to what I posted.) I am now going to test the 1.25 shading rate with that.  If I don't like the skin, I can always go for only the eyes using the material preset that I made. But let's see how this looks. Will post it back here in about 35 minutes.

    EDIT: The eyes on this one look bad when I tested the optimized skin on it, so am only applying that to the skin.

    Here's my observations, for what they're worth. And this only applies to Tiffany but probably other characters as well. Using the Optimized Skin appears to have a similar affect to Saturation. Perhaps it's because I have Saturation on the brain as that's what I happened to be testing, but I am testing Tiffany again, this time without the Optimized Skin, and raising the Saturation to 1.45 and I think it could be a "AHA!" moment. We'll see.  

    So above, here's the 1.25 Saturation with default skin, and with Optimized Skin. 

     

    TiffanySat125A.jpg
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    TiffanySat1.25OptiSkinA.jpg
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    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887

    I know some of you may want to see the 1.35 and the 1.45 Saturation next to each other, so I have put the 1.45 up in that post too. Doing all this has convinced me that the 1.00 Saturation is very washed out, I will be using 1.35 to start and tweak from there. The Optimized Skin changes the color, will have to see what settings are visible for that. I haven't done diddly squat in Surfaces so am totally lost over there. Will have to go play.  

    Saturation changes the color (again on this one, yellowish) so I think this will vary from character to character. I do like the intensity increase. 

  • EtriganEtrigan Posts: 603
    edited July 2015

    Hi folks,

    "Saturation is an expression for the relative bandwidth of the visible output from a light source. In the diagram, the saturation is represented by the steepness of the slopes of the curves. Here, the red curve represents a color having low saturation, the green curve represents a color having greater saturation, and the blue curve represents a color with fairly high saturation. As saturation increases, colors appear more "pure." As saturation decreases, colors appear more "washed-out."

    So, yes it will wash out with lower saturation. The reason your yellows pop, is that it's a dominant color and that's what gets amplified. If a black mat turns red, it's because it was a black red vs. a blue-black, grey-black, etc.

    Forgive if this is redundant info.

    Cite: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/hue-saturation-and-brightness

    Edit: forgive the funky formats... I don't know what happened blush

    Steve

    Post edited by Etrigan on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887

    It's okay Steve- that's what happens when you do a copy/paste. It's very annoying but no way around it. It's stupid and time consuming to retype something that you should be able to paste. Thanks for the info, it makes sense.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
    edited July 2015

    Cross-back Dress For Genesis 2 Female(s) is not following Tiffany when I move her, using several different pose sets. I'm doing a 3DL render of Tiffany for you (no, I will not desert the 3DL users on this thread!) but if you have Tiffany and the BWC Centerfold poses (number 15) or the Blox N Poses (any) would you test and see if you have the dress parented to Tiffany (or if you don't have her, try any G2F) and click G2F to the pose, if the dress will follow G2F? I've installed, retested twice and this dress won't do what it's supposed to do for me. Figure moves, dress doesn't.  Thanks!

    EDIT: Using a different outfit and both of those poses worked fine. So I think it's the Cross-back Dress.

     

    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
    edited July 2015

    Who on the webteam decided to use a black background for black print? The ZevTastic sale is on a black background, so the marked through price shows, but not what the price is after the discount. Come on!

    Post edited by Novica on
  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 101,032
    Novica said:

    It's okay Steve- that's what happens when you do a copy/paste. It's very annoying but no way around it. It's stupid and time consuming to retype something that you should be able to paste. Thanks for the info, it makes sense.

    Use the second Paste button, the one with a T, to get a plain text insertion.

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 101,032
    Novica said:

    Cross-back Dress For Genesis 2 Female(s) is not following Tiffany when I move her, using several different pose sets. I'm doing a 3DL render of Tiffany for you (no, I will not desert the 3DL users on this thread!) but if you have Tiffany and the BWC Centerfold poses (number 15) or the Blox N Poses (any) would you test and see if you have the dress parented to Tiffany (or if you don't have her, try any G2F) and click G2F to the pose, if the dress will follow G2F? I've installed, retested twice and this dress won't do what it's supposed to do for me. Figure moves, dress doesn't.  Thanks!

    EDIT: Using a different outfit and both of those poses worked fine. So I think it's the Cross-back Dress.

     

    Parented isn't what you need - it must be fitted to the figure. And of course the skirt will need hand posing.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,887
    edited July 2015

    Parented isn't what you need - it must be fitted to the figure. And of course the skirt will need hand posing.

    It is fitted also. I had checked that first, then the parented as the fitted wasn't working.

    Post edited by Richard Haseltine on
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