Digital Art Zone

I want to know how to create a shader like the LIE series that applies additional texture overlays to any character skinshader you have loaded and leaving the original shader setting in place. I know how to do multi layer editing, but I want a shader instead of manually doing it.

To learn about the Shader Mixer, I would suggest looking at the forum archive here - List of Shader mixer tutorials and recipes

Unfortunatley the Shader Mixer has changed so much I am finding it hard to continue my self education even using the reciepes above.

Cool thread BTW, excellent Idea.

Thanks, Szark.

I hope to have many more people chime in with tips and tricks that work in 4.5 so that the original two posts can be fleshed out into a monstrosity of helpful info.

If anyone sees Zigrafix, please point him/her towards this thread. *smile*

One question that comes up from time to time is, if you apply some exotic shader and go, “Eeewww how do I get back to where I was?” The simplest answer (other than Ctrl-Z) is to apply a material preset or pz2 file that sets it back to some simple shader like Daz Studio Default. From the Surfaces tab, you can change the materials used, but I don’t think you can change the shader directly. That’s why applying a saved MAT pose, or shader preset will take you back to a simpler shader. Then you discover that Ctrl-double click on the shader trick. Once I tweak something the way I like it, I always save a MAT pose in dsa format as a starting point for future fiddling.

Mattymanx - 12 September 2012 02:06 AM

To learn about the Shader Mixer, I would suggest looking at the forum archive here - List of Shader mixer tutorials and recipes

Unfortunately, all the links to Artzone are dead. Some good stuff in there, still.

Ok,

I am going to go through Pendraia’s link and trying to find the dead links and weed them out and port over some of the info from that thread.

If anyone can help me do that, I would appreciate it!

Please do me a favor and test the links when you have a moment and let me know what does and does not work.

Thanks for all your help!

Pendraia wrote:

“Shader Mixer and Shader Builder are now consistent (by default) in that the brick/block network flows from left to right, like a[n English] book is read. From start (the input - either user or programmatic) to finish (the final output or the “root”). If you prefer the flow of the network to be in the opposite direction, where the roots/outputs are on the left and all of the inputs flow in from the right, you can change the default for any new shaders in Edit > General Preferences. Each shader can be changed separately in Edit > Shader Preferences. “

Carnite’s Tutorial on Shaders at Youtube

Beginner’s Introduction to Shader Mixer

Beginning Shader Mixer 2 - Saving a Shader Preset

Shader Mixer - Catching Shadows Part 1

Beginning Shader Mixer 2 - Saving a Shader Preset

DAZ Shader Tutorials

DAZ 3D - Shader Mixer Part 1

DAZ 3D - Shader Mixer Part 2

DAZ 3D - DAZ Studio Advanced Rendering Part 1

DAZ 3D - DAZ Studio Advanced Rendering Part 2

omnifreaker’s Tutorials on Youtube

UberSurface2 Introduction Tutorial

UberSurface2 Layering Tutorial

Okay, here’s the first batch!

Fun with Area lights (UberArea lights) in DS3

http://forumarchive.daz3d.com/viewtopic.php?p=1882813#1882813]Recipe for aaPoint Light in Shader Mixer

You guys? Please let me know when I post something that has outdated or useless info. I would appreciate it.

You may want to have a look here - http://forumarchive.daz3d.com/viewtopic.php?t=134854

It was the master list of DS tutorials for DS3 and older.  Most of the info should be relevant still

Thanks, MattyManx!

I did it once more.
Rhymes here galore!

There should not be that much out of date if any really.  In DS4, features may have been renamed or things moved and new things added but 99% of the over all functions have remianed the same (from my observation anyways)

Thank you again!

At this time UberArea lights are not working in DS4.5, they have supposedly fixed it in the next build.

Zev0 - 12 September 2012 01:35 AM

I want to know how to create a shader like the LIE series that applies additional texture overlays to any character skinshader you have loaded and leaving the original shader setting in place. I know how to do multi layer editing, but I want a shader instead of manually doing it.

I think: Yes. Compose layers with DS Default Material (or brick with skinshader’s parameters) using mix function. Some layers must be Image bricks with transparencies, another with Image you want add matching with transparencies. When you save your shader as preset you can decide which parameters/layers to include. If you apply a shader preset with partial parameters saved over a shader with complete parameters (or matching parameters) only partial parameters are override.