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No threads on Macro Wet Maps?

mtl1mtl1 Posts: 1,508
in The Commons

I went through the search engine and was surprised that there weren't any threads on the new Macro Wet Maps product released today. I'm still a little confused as to how this product works -- and more importantly, how it compares to other wetmap products that are currently out there.

At first glance, it seems like the most important difference is that it's a combination of spec/displacement maps along with specialized shaders. If that's the case, is it possible to extend the use of this product beyond the included maps in order to create different wet-map patterns?

Comments

  • ParrisParris Posts: 392
    edited December 2015

    Yah, what the heck? Someone should tell that Parris to start a thread or something ... Oh, wait that's me. Cripes.smiley Lucky for me you started something. Thank you.

    Well, basically this product loads as a geometry shell (like a super tight all-over body suit). The three main advantages to this technique are that the character textures/surfaces underneath remain untouched, that the base figure can have different UVs than the geometry shell, and displacement of the liquid. There is a shell that loads on Genesis 2 Female and one that loads on Genesis.

    Comparing this product to others might be very involved, since each artist has their own unique take and feature set. Also, I don't own any of the others, so basing my conclusions off their store page information would likely be innacurate. But I will say that I am very impressed by what other artists have done and that it is possible that these products could compliment one another.

    My main focus has been to get as close as I could to what I saw in close up photographs (namely shadow casting and interior caustics). In a sense, I had to force 3Delight to do some things it doesn't really do by default, so figuring out how to make that happen in Shader Mixer took a crazy amount of time. I won't say exactly how much, but a hint is that I started this before Iray and SimonWM's Wet Body Geometry Shell product existed. I would have made this work for Iray as well, but without closed geometry for every drop and drip, I think making the caustic effect and strong shadows would be daunting if not currently impossible. For me, that was a deal breaker. And since Iray seems adequately covered by other wet map products, I figured this would give 3Delight users something cool to play with.

    You definately could extend this product with your own patterns. You would just need to make a displacement map and a matching transparency mask. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have more questions, the more specific the better.smiley

    Post edited by Parris on
  • CybersoxCybersox Posts: 9,408
    Parris said:
    And since Iray seems adequately covered by other wet map products, I figured this would give 3Delight users something cool to play with.

    And greatly appreciated it is, as a lot of us aren't in any mad rush to move to iray.  However, it would really help if there was some documentation, especially when it comes to the included script, as it doesn't seem to be working 100% in 4.9 beta. 

  • ParrisParris Posts: 392
    edited December 2015
    Cybersox13 said:
    Parris said:
    And since Iray seems adequately covered by other wet map products, I figured this would give 3Delight users something cool to play with.

    And greatly appreciated it is, as a lot of us aren't in any mad rush to move to iray.  However, it would really help if there was some documentation, especially when it comes to the included script, as it doesn't seem to be working 100% in 4.9 beta. 

    Hmmm... There is a fair amount of documentation in the ReadMe. But what can I answer about the script specifically? It's just intended to make selecting all the surfaces on the shell easier, in case you want to make your own adjustments. But there are already so many ways to do that: You can use the Surface Selection tool, right click, and choose Select all surfaces using Shader "Liquid Shell". Or you can expand the base figure in the Scene tab and select the "Liquid Geometry Shell" figure, and then select "Liquid Geometry Shell" in the Surfaces tab.

    The script was written by DAZ, so I think a fix shouldn't be too difficult if necessary. I will look into it.

    Post edited by Parris on
  • mtl1mtl1 Posts: 1,508

    Thanks Parris :)

    Judging from what I've read, I think it's certainly feasible to port it over to iray in one way or another. The biggest issue is that I'm not 100% certain shader mixer will convert over to iray cleanly, but the maps should work just fine. Actually, I would think that it would be *easier* to implement this in iray than to use shader mixer since PBR could handle some of the caustic effects more easily... but just a thought :)

    Full disclosure though, I don't actually own the product since the Canadian dollar is tanking and I have to budget my purchases accordingly :(

  • KnittingmommyKnittingmommy Posts: 8,191

    This looks great from the promos.  I have it wishlisted.  I'm glad to know that it might be possible to combine it with some of the other products.  Anytime I can do that for more realism is a bonus.  I hope it does well.  I will have to wait a bit, but it is definitely getting a high priority.

  • bamboojibambooji Posts: 41

    This is a great product, with so much under the bonnet.  Works like a dream.  Here is an attachment, which shows controls under the parameter tab.  More to play with.  

    Macro Wet Maps.jpg
    1178 x 763 - 106K
  • ParrisParris Posts: 392

    Thank you Bambooji and Knittingmommy for the compliments and well wishes! Happy Hollidays.

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