Geometric Shell looks
jmucchiello
Posts: 126
Is it possible to make a geometric shell look exactly like the G9 figure it is attached to when the figure is not visible? The shell always looks a bit lighter in color even though it has all the same diffusion images attached to it.
Comments
diffuse texture maps is only one aspect of the shader. Glossiness, metallicity, roughness, specular, etc etc all play a role too.
To make it the same, apply the same shader and copy/paste the surface settings.
Problem is I want skin. It uses all sorts of sliders that don't exist on the shell.
If I select the G9 figure and hit copy selected surfaces, when I then select the shell, paste surfaces is not an option. So please explain how to "apply the same shader and copy/paste the surfaces settings" of G9 figure to the shell.
If I try to apply the MAT asset of the G9 figure to the shell, I get an error because a shell just isn't a figure.
2024-11-01 07:46:06.088 [INFO] :: Begin asset load (merge): /People/Genesis 9/Characters/.....MAT.duf
2024-11-01 07:46:06.105 [INFO] :: Determining missing assets...
2024-11-01 07:46:06.238 [WARNING] :: Invalid hierarchy for selected node(s) and "preset_hierarchical_material" type; no root(s) found.
So, again, how do I make a shell look exactly like the figure underneath it?
If you are copying from a different shader, you need to apply the correct shader first.
For G9 you will usually have to apply PBR Skin shader first.
A material preset is not a shader. It's a preset for applying a specific shader and surface settings to a specific object.
The PBR Skin shader will be under Shaders. I think in Smart Content it will appear under Default Resources. You need to select the desired surface you want to apply it to in the Surfaces tab before applying it.
Once they have same shader, you can copy and paste.
How do I figure out from the MAT or from the loaded figure what shader is loaded when you set the MAT on the figure? We are talking about a G9 asset. And a CJ Deborah (https://www.daz3d.com/cj-deborah-for-genesis-9) from the Daz Store. There does not seem to be a shader here. You are saying find the shader in Smart Content. There are hundreds of PBR shaders in my smart content/Shaders. Which one is used by this figure? How do I find that out? All it says in the Surfaces tab is PBRSkin. (I don't see anything that says "Default Resources".)
If you have applied the MAT to the underlying figure, then in Surfaces tab it will tell you near the top of the Surface tab what shader is applied to a specific surface.
All it says is PBRSkin (MDL). None of the entries in the Smart Content when I search for PBRSkin have that name. Just pick any of them?
PBRSKin is the shader.
You will find it in Smart Content in Default Resources or in Content Library in Shaders folder.
The preset will probably be called PBR Skin with a space. You can always just type PBR instead of PBRSkin when searching.
PBRSkin is not in the smart content at all. See the search? It's not there.
When I search the Content Library, I find "DAZ Iray PBRSkin" but that doesn't seem to work. It applies to the shell, the shell says "PBRSkin (MDL)" just like the figure does. And the option to paste the copy is there. But the paste doesn't change the look of the shell.
So I applied PBRSkin Plus to both the figure and the Shell and I was able to duplicate the look of the figure on the shell doing that.
So I have a work around. But I find it weird the base skin doesn't work correctly. Or isn't installed correctly.
I wouldnt jump to that conclusion. If two surfaces have the same shader you should be able to copy and paste individual surfaces (surface by surface) between them.
I do wonder if you can convert the H. Materials to Material presets (by applying them to figure and then resaving them out as Material Preset). And then apply the Material Preset to your shell. But I cant remember if Geoshells accept material presets and am not at a PC to check. H. Mats are a bit more annoying than normal material presets becuase they have heirarchy requirements, but material presets dont.
It works just fine with PBRSkin Plus. It doesn't work with PBRSkin. All other things being equal. That makes me thing the PBRSkin has a problem. But I have a workaround for now.
In any case, thanks for being so patient with me.
If you want to filter out PBRSKIN shader in Smart Content, check screenshot1, by using name:: to precisely locate the shader file.
If you want to filter it out in Surfaces pane, check screenshot2.
Then save the filter for easy use.
Yeah, that shader didn't work like the plus one did. I even started with a clean G9 figure each time just in case.. But thanks for the name:: info. Is there a item you can use to filter on "prop" "wardrobe" etc?
Nope... but you just can select the category of Prop or Wardrobe before entering filter words. And filter by using "key:: is also a quick way.