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Thanks Havos, this is what I feared.... :-)
...still looking for an answer on the G3D-DA Grass and Plant Pack if the grass shader can handle uneven surfaces.
Not directly as such as the props are modeled for a flat ground plane and there is no dynamic fitting to an uneven terrain. Some are quite small sections so it is possible to strategically position the props which may work in some circumstances.
Hope this helps :)
...thank you. Saves me purchasing it then. So basically no "universal" grass shader (like AoA's) for Iray....yet
Well its unlikely that you will see a shader similar to AoA's grass that works with Iray, as the way Iray handles displacement is entirely different. So a new method will need to be developed for hader based grass. But who knows whats just around the corner, Im constantly surprised by the innovation of Daz PA's.
...exaclty, that is why I had hoped the G3D-DA grass would have been the solution.
What I meant by "universal" is a shader that can be applied to any surface contour. I know that it can be done in Vray for 3DS and Maya.
Supposedly the grass megapack has some sort of magnets to create hills. I have no idea (yet) if that can be made to order so you could try to fit the grass to a specific surface.
However, with the G3D-DA grass, I was able to do a pretty credible job of angling different planes of grass to somewhat follow contours. The fact that there were 'bald' spots where dirt showed through actually added to the verisimilitude, IMO.
This image: http://willbear.deviantart.com/art/Grasstest5-577228187
Now, if you want a hill at medium distance, close enough to see the grass blades but looking nicely rounded... yeah, that will be a problem. I think you can hide some of the instances and basically arrange a smaller subset of the grass plane to help, but it's more work -- not a 'click-conform to surface' sort of thing.
I have the Plant and Grass and they are props not shaders.
Here is a quick render with three grass props on the Versatile 4x4 Grass Terrain. I think I have also used them with Millenium Environment Painted Valley.
Fishtales illustrates a nice example of how grass props can really enhance the sense of a shader.
Low/tight ground cover, like from moss and other scrub, can be reasonably generated with a shader (bump/normal map, displacement) without looking weirdly spikey (like trying to do grass blades). Adding in patches/mounds/tufts of grass and other plants brings together a sense of looking at real ground.
A little work but D-Formers would give you some contour options. It's tough to see whats going on above ground so I usualy go underneath the landscape prop to make sure all of the blades are going downthrough.
Marshian, do the grass instances follow the dirt? That is, if you deform the dirt, the grass just moves rather than warps weirdly?
...yeah like I mentioned I've used the AoA grass shader on just about any ground prop that had grass from the Woodlands Playsets, to Millennium Environment, to Rolling Plains and Hilly Surround.
Since then, just cannot get into the "flattened down" look down anymore as if a heavy sheet of plexiglass was placed on top of the grass.
So the grass does not follow the dirt if you d-form it. HOWEVER, you CAN d-form the instanced group of grass itself. This isn't distortion-free, but I'm finding it looks fine under normal viewing conditions and without getting really nuts about the deformation.
Examples to come.
http://willbear.deviantart.com/art/Grassy-Giant-578460920
Trying out two 10x10 patches of grass and some deformers to fit on a, ah, curved surface. What I determined was that with more than a slight amount of deformation, you get some weird striations and curves in the grass, though the individual grass elements still look pretty good. I suspect experiments with weight mapping might work even better.
I have had good success with that grass pack in combination with using displacement on the ground map and Subd4. I have experimented just using ground maps too. I get some artifacs but they look like little weed flowers.