Breast Utilities 2 for Genesis 8 and 8.1 Females [Commercial]
Soto
Posts: 1,437
Breast Utilities 2 for Genesis 8 and 8.1 Females
The second part of my best selling product ever is here :D
While the original Breast Utilities focuses on shaping options, this second version is all about improving the material settings, giving you the power to customize the breast's independently from the rest of the body.
Have you worked hard on your female character only to notice her look is ruined by the UV stretching? As soon as you start augmenting the breast's size, you can see how harsh the materials look in that area compared to the rest of the body.
Now you have a one-click solution to this. The included script will automatically add a torso Geometry Shell, copy the source materials of Genesis 8 or 8.1 Female, and will also apply a customized version of the Iray Uber Base Shader with new Detail Normal and Specular bricks to add all the fine skin detail you need. All in one go. No matter the size of your character's breasts, you can define their detail and look as you want.
Customize, all material settings of the breasts, independently from the rest of the body with a smooth transition. Tile the skin pores detail as much as you want, adjust the heigh strength, the glossiness, the color... Everything can be easily customized with the help of over 130 Hierarchical Material Presets for your convenience. You don't even need to switch between Genesis and the shell to apply the presets.
There are also 4 types of tileable skin detail and 18 custom HD nipples as Normal and Specular maps in 8K for maximum clear detail even in extreme closeups.
As a bonus, the custom shader is included so you can apply it to other props and figures, even to the character's skin to add the detail options similar to the new Iray PBRSkin Shader.
Breast Utilities 2 is the perfect companion to the original Breast Utilities, but it's a completely independent product and does not require it.
The set is also a Merchant Resource; you can use the included maps to enhance your own Genesis 8 and 8.1 Female characters.
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Comments
OK. Trying to find my way using this.
Some first impressions:
- Applied the scricpt on Rosa Maria 8.1 - render gave me blackish spots all over?
- Tried to turn off the glitter - did not succeed but at least the blackish spots went away.
I have a hard time finding out which icon to use in smart content. As there are numerous icons it would be really helpful to have a "8" or "8.1" prefix on the icons to make it easer to pick the right one in smart content. Sure I could use the library folders but I hardly use those.
Is there a manual showcasing the various settings? It's cumbersome to try out all different settings with iray viewport on a slow machine so any documentation or sample images would help.
I'd also like to see a more detailed manual or description.
I got the black spots as well when I tried it on Ajisai, but then I realized it was because Ajisai loads with PBR shaders instead of Iray. They disappeared when I applied the Iray mats.
Matching the skin tone worked well on some characters; on others lowering the translucency didn't help and the difference in skin tone was very noticeable.
I'd definitely like more info on applying the shader to an entire character. When I applied it, it only loads the maps on the torso from what I noticed, Also, can it be used to add V8.1 detail maps for example on G8 characters?
Didn't get the chance to try it with other geoshells to see how they play together yet.
Hi! Thanks for your purchase!
The First Steps section of the included instructions tells you most of what you need to know to start:
"Just select Genesis 8 Female and load BU2 Shell Genesis 8 Female. A Geometry Shell with a custom shader and the Genesis 8 Female Body settings copied to it will be automatically loaded and ready to customize with the included presets."
So in short, you load the script and adjust the material settings to your liking as you normally would or with the included presets.
MATERIAL PRESETS
Detail Normal Strenght = The intensity of the Detail Normal
Detail Tiling = The number of times the detail maps repeats itself
Glitter = Applies or removes metallic flakes as either gold, bronze or silver
Nipples Normal Strenght = The intensity of the Nipples Normal
Nipples Type = Changes the nipples normal
Skin Type = Changes the skin detail type
Specular = The amount of visible highlights
Tint = Changes the SSS Reflectance Tint
Transition = The transition softness
Translucency Weight = Changes the translucency weight
UTILITIES
BU2 00 Shell Base Genesis 8 Female = The base Geometry Shell
BU2 01 Copy Source Body Materials to Shell = Copies the Genesis material to the base shell
BU2 02 Apply Shader and Opacity to Shell = Applies the custom shader and the opacity transition to the shell
BU2 03 Apply Custom Maps to Shell = Apply the custom nipples and detail maps to the shell
SHELL OFFSETS
Change the distance between the shell and the character. Sometimes if two shells collide or are too close to the character, you might get spots. I would make sure only one shell is loaded or increase the offset.
CUSTOM SHADER
Initially, I put the custom shader inside the Utilities folder, but since it has a separate use from the product itself, later I decided it was more organized to have it in the usual shader presets path. The instructions mentions the initial path, but the shader actually is in Shader Presets / Soto /Iray / Iray Uber Detail. I will send an update of the instructions to correct that to avoid confusion.
Yes, you can use it to apply V8.1 / M8.1 detail normal maps to G8 characters. Select the character's skin surfaces, apply the shader in Shader Presets / Soto /Iray and load the detail normal maps. The difference is the PBR shader uses detail specular roughness, while this one uses specular weight. You can take the V8.1's detail specular roughness map and invert the colors to get a detail specular weight map instead (I would also adjust the brightness/contrast to lighten it a bit so your specular doesn't end too dark. Remember this is a multiply blend effect over the character's specular maps). If I'm not mistaken, Handspan Studio Skin Detail Resource sets also include specular maps for their skin detail maps if you want more normal/specular options besides the included in Breast Utilities.
I am more interested in the shader you came up with. Because if you can use it on geoshells you have figured out something Daz could not with their Iray PBR Skin. PBR Skin has no option for opacity, which is a problem with geoshells as it basically makes them unusable, I am guessing that is why you decided to make this shader. Your shader opens up a whole new world of possibilities. It can be used to tile the fine stitch details in fabric, while keeping any opacity maps intact. PBR Skin also removed a couple other surface settings that I rather liked to use. Your shader is basically Iray Uber with added tiling options, which is exactly what I wanted! Plus it has more tiling options than PBR Skin.
I don't think people are grasping just how much of a innovation this shader is for Daz Studio, and I only happened to glance over it and spot the mention of a shader in this product. Most people probably see this is a breast product and assume it is just that. While that was a popular product, I don't many will look or notice that has this awesome shader included.
This shader is something you should seriously consider making into its own product somehow. "Iray Uber Detail, the Tiling Shader System for Iray". Since this product includes it, a new product could include the shader and a variety of presets to get people started and to show them what can be done.
I tried to apply the skin shader to whole body and it look really good, but I get this weird line all over the body?
Anyway, can you just make a skin ultilities or something, @Hellboy, because your skin shader look very good, one of the best even, and I feel like its a waste to only use it for the chest area only.
Thanks!
You got everything right. PBR Skin has no opacity option, so it can't be used on geometry shells, and Uber Shader has no detail option, which is what this uses to even the stretched maps on breasts. So the best option was to create a shader that could do both. In this case, a version of Uber Shader with additional detail options. One advantage of this is it doesn't alter your current Uber settings or results, it just adds more options to it. So it's very convenient for all items using the Uber Shader, not just characters, especially if you need cutout opacity. Your fabric example is spot on. Also background props or anything you would need to add more detail normal/specular tiling individually.
Yes, my idea is maybe to expand the shader with additional options and turn it into its own thing, like layers and blending modes. Something useful for adding tattoos, freckles, dirt, or tan lines without the need of LIE or Geometry Shells. I am focused on skin, but you can imagine the uses for other things too. Maxx HD already included a less polished version of what I want and without detail options.
That it doesn't alter existing Iray Uber settings is the cherry on top! That is amazing.
I bought this, but I haven't had time to test it out yet. I was thinking how this could work on torn jeans, or even just walls and ceilings. Now that we can use an opacity map it can be used on items that have multiple surfaces on a UV. You could add a tiled wall of bricks into a section. There are a lot of products I have which use kind of low res textures but the UV is made in a way that I can't tile it. Now I can just create an opacity map and tile the part I want. This is going to be so freakin' cool.
Agreed that this product should be advertised as way more than a "breast utility." Well done! And I really am looking forward to your skin shader product....
Thank you!! :D
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it's a shader preset you can apply to whatever you want regardless of UVs. :)
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The Glitter option seems to have some kind of bug. Creates large, blotchy black / white spots as reported above.
(looks like it's the SIZE of the metal flakes... they're set to 0.3, which is way too big)
Also, could you give some hints about how to use your detail shader on the rest of the body? Does it HAVE to be a geoshell? If I try to apply to other areas, the SSS is all messed up and the skin / body seem translucent?
Also, the default Detail Normal does produce a tiling effect, also as seen above.
EDIT: Yeah, applying the new skin shader completely fouls up the SSS of the skin, and higher translucency seems to make the skin totally transparent.
Your product was a nice and most welcome surprise!
Bought this shortly after your helpful reply to Outrider42's noting that this is actually built around a cool new shader!
You probably know already? but this works with a popular 3rd party geograft. :)
Just took a few minutes to look at your geoshell (note: not a geograft nor another figure) to understand how to tweak 3rd party nodes to manually make it work.
For your interest maybe, actually almost skipped this product all-together, because looked fast and thought this was another Geoshell design (and not fan of new DAZ storeUI). This thread changed that so I actually saw product for what it was.
Also bought Handspans skin details resource 1 based on your "maybe works" at same time, and yes spec & reflectvity worked work, or so my tests seemed to show. Did adjust the mats and test with Dual Lobe dialed up & NM dialed up to see results, and figure out what was what. So Handspan may owe you a drink ;)
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My tip would be treat this as a Geoshell, or an overlay overtop of existing textures on the figure underneath.
Then make sure dual lobe weight & other duallobe etc is first all zero, so you get no shine. Then move them to 100%, and play with tiling and maps to see effect change. Then finalzie your settings. Overlay result is still pretty impressive. That said I normally have Normal maps off (prefer subD HD) for base figure, but is essential for this geoshell or overlay.
This really is a cool additive shader for Iray Uber.
This shader works fantasticaly as a general skin shader, and makes matching geoshell textures with the underlying texture so much easier than trying to balance an iray uber geoshell with a PBR skin. My only wishlist item for any future update *wink* would be a mask layer for the details section of the shader so the effect strength can be controlled across the the map. I'm finding detail strength that looks great for upper arms is far too strong for fingers, so a control map like on V8.1 would be really usefull.
No matter which way i approach it from Skin type 3 and Iray causes DS to crash 100% of the time... the other 3 skin types work fine.
What version of DAZ Studio are you using? DS used to crash with some TIF files during Iray rendering, but that was corrected in recent versions.
How are you using it as a general skin shader?
I'm a gremlin so I immediately tried it on dudes and was SUPER thrilled to find that it works with no issues. Both of these guys have the shader applied directly to their skin (the demon also has it on his tail, horns, and hair bc I was messing around) and they're using the breast utilities shell. I just ran the script on a female character with the skin I wanted, applied the shell to the male character, applied the shader to his shell and then copied her shell materials over to his.
The demon's skin is from Ceridwen and the human's is from Acacios. To use the breast utility HD nipples over a male skin I just used a female texture as the overlay with G8F UVs.
I'm always trying to combine skins with geoshells so this shader is my new best friend, and I love how it looks as a basic skin shader. Thank you for including it, @Hellboy!
i use 4.16.0.3 which i believe is the lastest version.
Simply apply the shader to any character with an iray uber base shader. All the existing should remain, but now I can add the skin details maps. I can use the ones included in this product, the ones made for V8.1 or any of the skin detail resources available in the store here or by xyz texures to improve clarity of closeups. iRay PBR based characters need a bit more processing, but can be fairly easily converted. Because I use a good 20-30 characters for various comic series, I want them to be consistant so always process the skin maps in photoshop to give them 'similar' skin tones, but apart from the skin maps, they all share the same specular/roughness/normal/bump maps, now they can share the same detail maps too, and I've simply saved the new shader as a material preset with everything but diffuse and translucency color maps making it quick and easy to apply, give consistant skin surface texture, and help save on resoucres if say 8 characters are using the same spec/rough/normal/detail maps.
To be clearm you mean apply the shader to a geoshell, right? Because when I apply the shader directly to the skin, the SSS settings do not work right.
The two pictures I posted were of the shader applied directly to the characters' skin, not to a geoshell, and it worked fine. But I've been working on another character today and there are one or two files he's in where his settings look exactly like the PBR shader without SSS enabled, with no apparent fix. Saving the model as a scene subset and opening it separately seemed to work, so I initially thought it was an issue with the lighting, but then it happened again in a totally different scene.
Out of curiosity, were you applying the shader on a character using PBR or Uber? The two that worked fine were using PBR, but I'm playing around with two copies of this character in the same scene and have gotten some weird results applying it to a character using PBR. One time the skin appeared oily and plastic with what almost looked like holographic flakes, and futzing with the settings didn't change it at all. (<-- Figured out that this was because I somehow added one of the breast utility maps to top coat weight, but FYI you can make Twilight vampire skin this way. :V) Going from original Uber shader mats to PBR to Uber Detail gave him super shiny skin, and turning off dual lobe specular and glossiness resulted in this weird flat effect that almost looks cel shaded (which honestly kind of rules, I would love to be able to do that consistently for postwork reasons).
The second image is Uber Detail applied to the original material settings, with no adjustments.
Edit: After playing around with it, the easiest way to apply it to a character with PBR settings out of the box seems to be to do what Mart1n71 did and save the settings you want as a material preset. My totally uneducated guess is that if you're applying the shader directly it might be trying to keep or reset some default parameters that no longer exist in the same form, and it doesn't have to do that with the Uber shader.
Hi,
Fantastic product. I wonder if there will be a Glutes Utilities 2 with the same concept as this?
Best regards,
Minh
Nope. I applied it directly to the characters skin. I cant say I noticed any difference with SSS.
Interesting, thank you. I think the issue is that when I am applying directly to the skin, the SSS settings disappear completely from the character and are no longer editable. Is that not happening for others?
I also agree that a detail mask is somewhat essential.
just wondering...
do the normal/specular maps for this set's HD nipples match or pair with any of the HD nipple morphs in Breast Utilities 1? do they get along with each other, or is this more of an either/or scenario?
j
I get the black spots with every single character that uses the PBR shader and I cannot remove them without removing the PBR shader all together. Is this product not compatible with the PBR shader or did I miss something?
Update: I see, turn off glitter. So you can't use the glitter settings if the character uses a PBR shader?