Altern8! Altern8! Altern8!

nicstt

posecast said:

I am using a converter to change v4 skins to g8. Is there a way to use Altern8 with those modified skins?

I convert using Blacksmith Pro's Texture Transformer.

I've used it on those transfers - after I've applied them to G8.

FSMCDesigns

Diva, broke down and picked it up. More useful than I expected. Lots of options and pretty easy to use. I especially like the render settings also. Thanks for a great product. Going to be hard to top this one, LOL

Here's a test render using Mousso's Izanami skin and various Altern8 tweaks

 

ChadCrypto

FSMCDesigns said:

Diva, broke down and picked it up. More useful than I expected. Lots of options and pretty easy to use. I especially like the render settings also. Thanks for a great product. Going to be hard to top this one, LOL

Here's a test render using Mousso's Izanami skin and various Altern8 tweaks

 

Awesome! 

3Diva

Patroklos said:

Hello Divamakeup, I have been testing Altern8 and have run into a number of issues, mostly small, but one more serious.

The major issue is that I cannot get Altern8 Lucas 8 gens to work on a G3M character. The colour is completely different to the Altern8 Lucas 8 body. I have tested this on a couple of G3M mats, including Michael 7, each time with the same result. I don't think that I am installing incorrectly as I get it to work fine on G8M mats, and I get Altern8 Edward 8 to work properly on G3M.

I would be grateful for some help with this.

Thanks

 

Are you using the "Lucas 8 A" or the "Lucas 8 B" setting? If you're using the "A" gens preset, try applying the "B" one first and then the "A" and see if that helps. :) 

If you're still having issues with it feel free to drop me a PM with a link to the image(s) and we'll see if we can figure out what the issue is. :) Sometimes G3 mats are set up differently from G8 mats, so that might be it. Drop me a PM if you're still having the issue after trying the first suggestion. :)

3Diva

cdpro_2831bbd990 said:

Diva-

Great product!  I really like the added render settings.  Here's a side by side comparison using my latest creation, Valerya for G8F.  Her skin is a custom created texture.  From the viewers' POV, on the left is with Altern8 over the NGS2 settings.  On the right is NGS2 only.  In both cases, I have Dual Lobe at zero.  Initially, I tried it with Victoria settings...but it made her look like a zombie.  Then, I switched to Monique, and Voila'...very cool, dark and dusky girl...just the gypsy she was meant to be.   Honestly, I was very happy with the NGS2 version.  But, the Altern8 settings really add even more darkness and realism to her look.  Thanks again...glad to be a supporter of a new and talented PA. :)

Wow! Fantastic character! 

Thank you for your support by purchasing Altern8 - I'm really glad you're liking the product. :) I never thought to try Altern8 WITH Anagenssis 2 - it looks like it gives a cool result! :D

3Diva

Patroklos said:

A couple of comparisons;

Lucas 8 Tosos.

First render, right (dark) torso is Lucas 8 out of the box. Left (light) torso Lucas 8 with Altern8 settings lloaded. There appears to be a great deal more detail visible using the Altern8 settings.

Second render, the left torso settings are unchanged, the right torso is now identical to the left except that it has one (only) setting changed, bump is reduced from 2 to 0.5. I believe that this change makes the skin more usable for younger characters

Oh cool! Yeah, the adjustment looks good and looks like it would be great for young characters! :) Very nice!

3Diva

scorpio said:

This is the George texture using the Edward No Maps Altern8 preset.

I feel the presets look better on the males the red nose effect that i dislike is a great deal more promanate on females, I'm also finding that the bump is sometimes rather high giving a pitted look to the body skin, lighting seems to effect this quite a bit.

hahah He looks delightfully grumpy! :D I really like the render! 

3Diva

Oso3D said:

I LIKE the red nose effect for a lot of character types; it helps convey that rather white skin look.

Ollie shape, but Aldo skin run through Altern8.

 

Oh man! That's a guy who's been through a LOT! Poor guy. The render is really cool though. You can really feel a bit of his despair or depression - you've captured that mood well! The choice of a beat up broken down car next to a kind of beat up and broken down man - really creates an impactful image. 

That's an interesting skin - I'll have to look into getting it. It looks almost like a person who's lost a lot of weight in the tummy area. 

3Diva

FSMCDesigns said:

Diva, broke down and picked it up. More useful than I expected. Lots of options and pretty easy to use. I especially like the render settings also. Thanks for a great product. Going to be hard to top this one, LOL

Here's a test render using Mousso's Izanami skin and various Altern8 tweaks

 

Wow! She's a knock-out! :D I'm glad you "broke down and picked it up". :) Thank you! 

I'm happy that you like the product. I tried to include a few render settings and adjustments to help make things easier to set up scenes, so I'm glad you've found that helpful. :) I look forward to seeing more of your renders with Altern8! 

PhilW

I've redone a number of promos for my next product (Morena Hair for Genesis 8 & 3 Males and Females) using this wonderful shader system. Here's one of them using Edward 8.

3Diva

PhilW said:

I've redone a number of promos for my next product (Morena Hair for Genesis 8 & 3 Males and Females) using this wonderful shader system. Here's one of them using Edward 8.

Oh my! Be still my heart! heheh He looks great! 

Thank you for sharing the render. I'm glad you are liking the product!

And speaking of liking products - I might have to pick up your Morena hair, that looks really nice! There is a major lack of hair that looks good on the men-folk, your Morena hair looks great though! Hopefully it won't be too long before it hits the store. :)

Oso3D

Nice job, Phil!

Diva: Heh, thank you!

Yeah, I was a little surprised at Aldo looking at some of the stomach and other details. I've been really impressed with G8 male figures; LOTS of character.

 

cdpro_2831bbd990

FSMCDesigns said:

Diva, broke down and picked it up. More useful than I expected. Lots of options and pretty easy to use. I especially like the render settings also. Thanks for a great product. Going to be hard to top this one, LOL

Here's a test render using Mousso's Izanami skin and various Altern8 tweaks

 

I think you just sold me on Izanami. :)

FSMCDesigns

cdpro_2831bbd990 said:

FSMCDesigns said:

Diva, broke down and picked it up. More useful than I expected. Lots of options and pretty easy to use. I especially like the render settings also. Thanks for a great product. Going to be hard to top this one, LOL

Here's a test render using Mousso's Izanami skin and various Altern8 tweaks

 

 

I think you just sold me on Izanami. :)

LOL, keep in mind that is just the Izanami skin and the Izanami face at 60%. The body is all mine and a little bit of a free asian face morph in the freebie section

cdpro_2831bbd990

Divamakeup said:

cdpro_2831bbd990 said:

Diva-

Great product!  I really like the added render settings.  Here's a side by side comparison using my latest creation, Valerya for G8F.  Her skin is a custom created texture.  From the viewers' POV, on the left is with Altern8 over the NGS2 settings.  On the right is NGS2 only.  In both cases, I have Dual Lobe at zero.  Initially, I tried it with Victoria settings...but it made her look like a zombie.  Then, I switched to Monique, and Voila'...very cool, dark and dusky girl...just the gypsy she was meant to be.   Honestly, I was very happy with the NGS2 version.  But, the Altern8 settings really add even more darkness and realism to her look.  Thanks again...glad to be a supporter of a new and talented PA. :)

Wow! Fantastic character! 

Thank you for your support by purchasing Altern8 - I'm really glad you're liking the product. :) I never thought to try Altern8 WITH Anagenssis 2 - it looks like it gives a cool result! :D

Thanks.  I didn't check to see what NGS2 settings were still in place after applying Altern8.  I haven't looked at the dials side by side to see how much difference there is between products.  But in any case, they both look useful on their own and combined.  I do notice that the eyes look deeper and more bloodshot after adding Alternate.  Also, the details are all slightly deeper (more contrast?) after applying your settings.  It really gives Valerya that bad girl / anti hero kind of look.

PS...There are very few items that I'll instabuy these days.  But, this was an easy decision.  Any settings or tools that can add more reality to my renders AND speed things up, are way up there on the priority list. :)

3Diva

cdpro_2831bbd990 said:

Divamakeup said:

cdpro_2831bbd990 said:

Diva-

Great product!  I really like the added render settings.  Here's a side by side comparison using my latest creation, Valerya for G8F.  Her skin is a custom created texture.  From the viewers' POV, on the left is with Altern8 over the NGS2 settings.  On the right is NGS2 only.  In both cases, I have Dual Lobe at zero.  Initially, I tried it with Victoria settings...but it made her look like a zombie.  Then, I switched to Monique, and Voila'...very cool, dark and dusky girl...just the gypsy she was meant to be.   Honestly, I was very happy with the NGS2 version.  But, the Altern8 settings really add even more darkness and realism to her look.  Thanks again...glad to be a supporter of a new and talented PA. :)

Wow! Fantastic character! 

Thank you for your support by purchasing Altern8 - I'm really glad you're liking the product. :) I never thought to try Altern8 WITH Anagenssis 2 - it looks like it gives a cool result! :D

Thanks.  I didn't check to see what NGS2 settings were still in place after applying Altern8.  I haven't looked at the dials side by side to see how much difference there is between products.  But in any case, they both look useful on their own and combined.  I do notice that the eyes look deeper and more bloodshot after adding Alternate.  Also, the details are all slightly deeper (more contrast?) after applying your settings.  It really gives Valerya that bad girl / anti hero kind of look.

PS...There are very few items that I'll instabuy these days.  But, this was an easy decision.  Any settings or tools that can add more reality to my renders AND speed things up, are way up there on the priority list. :)

For the "bloodshot", try one of the lower sclera settings. Some of the presets have the sclera up pretty high, but for other characters that already have a lot of detail or color in the sclera it can be overload and look like they are high or have been crying. lol For those characters a sclera setting of 25 helps. :)

I'm so glad that Altern8 was an instabuy for you! That puts a big smile on my face! Thank you!

marble

Just bought the product and looking forward to experimenting. A few hints would be welcome as I can't find a ReadMe and I'm no expert on shaders. Also, I have no  G8 characters but I bought on the assurance that the product will work with G3. However, just browsing these threads I see that a G3 specific product might follow - did I jump the gun here?

3Diva

marble said:

Just bought the product and looking forward to experimenting. A few hints would be welcome as I can't find a ReadMe and I'm no expert on shaders. Also, I have no  G8 characters but I bought on the assurance that the product will work with G3. However, just browsing these threads I see that a G3 specific product might follow - did I jump the gun here?

I plan on a G3 specific product but it's probably months and months away. 

As for instruction, I included tip files with what to apply - but if you have any farther questions I'd be happy to answer any questions that might come up. The "No Maps" icons (green icons) are presets that can be used on any G8 or G3 character. 

marble

Divamakeup said:

marble said:

Just bought the product and looking forward to experimenting. A few hints would be welcome as I can't find a ReadMe and I'm no expert on shaders. Also, I have no  G8 characters but I bought on the assurance that the product will work with G3. However, just browsing these threads I see that a G3 specific product might follow - did I jump the gun here?

I plan on a G3 specific product but it's probably months and months away. 

As for instruction, I included tip files with what to apply - but if you have any farther questions I'd be happy to answer any questions that might come up. The "No Maps" icons (green icons) are presets that can be used on any G8 or G3 character. 

Just general, really ... such as what can be achieved using different translucency options. I know I can find out by experimentation but, other than going through all of the options and making a render with different characters under different lighting, I'm a little daunted by the number of options. So a starting point is what I have in mind. I'm guessing that I choose a character close to the skin tone I want, make sure it is the No Maps vesion (for G3) and then start experimenting with translucency, etc?

PhilW

Yes, start by applying a No Maps character preset that you think might work - if it looks wrong, try another. Once you get something close, use the other options to fine tune. There might be a more scientific way, but that's what I've been doing so far and getting good results pretty quickly. Make sure you have the iRay preview on so you can see the results quickly without having to re-render each time.

marble

PhilW said:

Yes, start by applying a No Maps character preset that you think might work - if it looks wrong, try another. Once you get something close, use the other options to fine tune. There might be a more scientific way, but that's what I've been doing so far and getting good results pretty quickly. Make sure you have the iRay preview on so you can see the results quickly without having to re-render each time.

Actually, the experimentation is going much quicker than I expected. It is rather straightforward - even for a shader novice like me. :)

3Diva

marble said:

Divamakeup said:

marble said:

Just bought the product and looking forward to experimenting. A few hints would be welcome as I can't find a ReadMe and I'm no expert on shaders. Also, I have no  G8 characters but I bought on the assurance that the product will work with G3. However, just browsing these threads I see that a G3 specific product might follow - did I jump the gun here?

I plan on a G3 specific product but it's probably months and months away. 

As for instruction, I included tip files with what to apply - but if you have any farther questions I'd be happy to answer any questions that might come up. The "No Maps" icons (green icons) are presets that can be used on any G8 or G3 character. 

Just general, really ... such as what can be achieved using different translucency options. I know I can find out by experimentation but, other than going through all of the options and making a render with different characters under different lighting, I'm a little daunted by the number of options. So a starting point is what I have in mind. I'm guessing that I choose a character close to the skin tone I want, make sure it is the No Maps vesion (for G3) and then start experimenting with translucency, etc?

Yes, exactly that. Just experiment with the different presets and the different settings until you get a look you like. :) Pretty much what @PhilW said - I couldn't have said it better. heheh :D

Don't be afraid to try all of the settings - many of the guy presets look good on female characters and vice versa. :)

marble

I have to say that this product really saves time in getting a skin tone closer to that I would hope for. Up to now I have been attempting to tinker with individual surface settings and often ending up in a state of confusion, needing to start over. Here's my fist attempt using Altern8 (the lighter one is Altern8) ...

shaneseymourstudio

I was excited to purchase this today and am enjoying playing around with the different settings! The below image contains 2 results using Altern8 on Miriam HD (bluejaunte) that I picked up today also. I am very happy with the options and results and am about to try it on some of my favorite ebony characters and will post those results once done as well.

cdpro_2831bbd990

PhilW said:

Yes, start by applying a No Maps character preset that you think might work - if it looks wrong, try another. Once you get something close, use the other options to fine tune. There might be a more scientific way, but that's what I've been doing so far and getting good results pretty quickly. Make sure you have the iRay preview on so you can see the results quickly without having to re-render each time.

Phil....just an aside...wanted to let you know that I really like the Lustre Shaders.  They make blonde hair actually look blond instead of that gawdawful pink color that so many of the blonde hair presets seem to look.  :)

nonesuch00

AllenArt said:

Likin' it ;)

Laurie

That looks like Björk.

shaneseymourstudio

Here are my tests with Angelica (Daz Original/iSourceTextures):

Fixing post to show what character base I used from Altern8 for each image.

 

Ichiban

shaneseymourstudio said:

Here are my tests with Angelica (Daz Original/iSourceTextures):

 

It may help if you share the lighting set used. They look different under different setups.

shaneseymourstudio

Ichiban said:

shaneseymourstudio said:

Here are my tests with Angelica (Daz Original/iSourceTextures):

 

It may help if you share the lighting set used. They look different under different setups.

For all the images I used one of Dreamlights HDRI Iray Soft Light 10k presets. I used the SLP HDRI 4 LightGreyBack WarmLight 10k with dome off.

PhilW

cdpro_2831bbd990 said:

PhilW said:

Yes, start by applying a No Maps character preset that you think might work - if it looks wrong, try another. Once you get something close, use the other options to fine tune. There might be a more scientific way, but that's what I've been doing so far and getting good results pretty quickly. Make sure you have the iRay preview on so you can see the results quickly without having to re-render each time.

Phil....just an aside...wanted to let you know that I really like the Lustre Shaders.  They make blonde hair actually look blond instead of that gawdawful pink color that so many of the blonde hair presets seem to look.  :)

I appreciate you taking the time to say so! Glad you like it.