Anodized shaders
Hera
Posts: 1,957
in The Commons
Does anyone know when this product stopped working (in which DAZ version) and if there's any plans of updating them? Anodized - Custom Shader and Preset Suite for Iray | Daz 3D
I was working with some old renders, and where there earlier came out sparkling colours are now just monocrome areas.
Comments
I'm pretty sure they are 3delight shaders - are you rendering in 3dl or iray?
The product page lists them as iray shaders.
So it does - I don't remember them working for ages which is why I thought they were 3dl.
Could it be the same issue that plagued OOT shaders?
Same for me.
I uninstalled it manualy and reinstalled via DIM . No changes.
I don't undestand why the product is still in the store and supposed to be working in 4.20.
You can try filing support tickets to see if Daz will fix it. However, it looks like this product has been broken for years. The reason this doesn't work is because of a MDL change in Iray.
If you need these shaders now, there are free shaders straight from Nvidia themselves in their vMaterials. However these do not work in Daz Studio out of the box. You need to go into shader mixer for that.
However there is good news, a Renderosity user named mertext has done this, and posted the presets for free. You need to do a little house keeping first. If you download the free shader set there are instructions.
Here is a rundown, because there is an error by Nvidia that complicates this, and the instructions might be confusing to some.
1 You need to download the preset by mertext. Just search "vMaterials 2.2 Carpaint DS Shaders".
2 You need to download the vMaterials 2.2 from Nvidia. https://developer.nvidia.com/vmaterials NOTE: This requires an Nvidia account!
3 The vMaterials come as a EXE. Install this, and just do the default unless you know what you are doing. Take note of where the installs go! You will have TWO installs. One will go into your program files, another will go into your documents (under the Windows user.) You need to keep track of exactly where these install. It is easy to make the mistake of not installing both. You might get TWO separate install popups here, you need to do them both.
4 Start DS, and open Shader Mixer. (Windows>Panes>Shader Mixer)
5 In Shader Mixer, click Edit>Open MDL Directory Manager. You will see Current Directories on the right side of the box. What you need to do is create a new directory UNDER the current directories. These will show up under Base Paths. Click Base Paths, and now navigate to the first MDL folder that was installed in Programs. After that, create another new directory and point it towards the MDL folder in your documents. Again, it is important these two new directories are nested under your current directory. If you created a separate directory this may not work correctly.
6 Click Accept, now everything should work, but it doesn't because Nvidia screwed up a file location. So we have an extra step.
7 Navigate to the MDL folder in your documents. You need to go to "Paint". Inside this folder is "Car Paint". What you need to do is take this folder and move it up to the MDL folder. That is the error, Nvidia nested this Car Paint folder in Paint by mistake. If you don't fix it, you will have a missing texture.
Once you complete all the steps you should be able to use these shaders. The Anodized style shaders are listed under Carpaint > Chameleon. I don't see a cool rainbow style, but you can alter the colors yourself in the material settings of DS make it look just how you want it to. While they lack the full rainbow, they do have several common anodized styles, and they look great. These shaders do not use any color textures, except for a bump map. You can also remove the bump map if you wish.
You can also sort of fake it by using weighted base mixing and playing with the colors and percentages of base color, glossy color, metallic flakes color and top coat color. Keep the roughness higher like the sheen on anodized aluminum. Not ideal, but passable.
(remove ".txt" from file to use as an example)
@outrider42
I am not a developer, how do I sign-up for an account on Nvidia? I tried my normal accunt for updates and that didn't work. As a retiree, not associated with a corporation or university, I am at a standstill. Or, I am just simply too stupid or ignorant to have access to these materials for my own use. (This is my bet, or my flu talking.)
Mary
I do find it odd that they have no options for something like freelance, a lot of people in this field fit that role. IMO, they really have no good reason to be asking for this information.
I just wrote in the school I went to, even though I have no association with it now, and it wouldn't have anything to do with 3D modeling anyway. It was not in their list, but it accepted what I wrote and let me create an account. I don't believe they are tracking anything here beyond email address. So I wouldn't be concerned about it.
Okay, thank you. I piecemealed my college education while in the military, so I have a number of colleges to pick from. Think I will go with the one that I took a blueprint reading course from.
Mary
This product works with Daz Studio 4.10.
4.11 and up doesn't work.