Stonemason's Dirt Shader (3dl)
Oso3D
Posts: 15,087
Someone was asking questions about this, so I thought I'd start a thread on Stonemason's Dirt Shader ( http://www.daz3d.com/daz-studio-dirt-shaders )
This is a great way to add some grunge and fiddly detail to objects in 3dl. It essentially uses two textures, and has one texture 'bleed through' based on proximity to edges of the shapes around it.
So, for example, a cube will have the second layer appear along the edges of the cube. It also reacts to other objects, so if you have a small cube resting on a large cube, and the large cube has a dirt shader, there will be 'grime' on the large cube's surface around where the small cube is resting.
An example with a tower is attached; the effect is subtle at this distance, but if you look along the edges of stuff, there it is.
Now, there are some caveats and limitations -- you can't control whether a wall is creating an edge effect or something that 'shouldn't' be leaving grime, like a chair. The shader doesn't work in progressive rendering. The dirt shader lacks bump or displacement. The effect is driven entirely by the shape of the object, so if you have a complex-looking shape that's actually just a cube, you are only getting dirt along the cube edges.
That said... it's pretty darn neat.
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Comments
Here are some more examples. I really like the dirt shader for interiors, like corridors, and for robots and other machines.
http://willbear.deviantart.com/art/Overgrown-Bradley2-593190563
This image uses dirt shader for the rusted out Bradley. I THINK I also cribbed a moss texture to add more 'dirt' on top.
http://willbear.deviantart.com/art/Patrol-592103749
Very simple... dirt shader, blue painted edge dirt. I could have attempted to use dirt shader on other stuff, like the columns or bones, but didn't seem necessary.
That looks really interesting. Basically dirt in the natural places dirt would collect...
That's odd...
I love this shader, and I am sure I there are countless possibilities I didn't have tried yet. Thanks, Will!
I would also recommend it, it's a pretty cool shader.
Alright, I gave in and bought it. I'm curious as to what it will do with the new Police Station by FirstBastion, and maybe try it out on the pavement. Should be interesting!
It does sorta work using the progressive render, the effect is lessened and seems to disappear when the original texture is plugged in which you have to do manually.
A good use for it would be things such as rocks where the bottom is slightly buried in the ground. This is a frustration for anyone rendering anything outdoors--rocks are everywhere.
Since it's possible to determine where the intersection of rock and ground is, perhaps a shader could be made that simply darkened the texture that already exists. This works well for what SM had in mind to use it for, but I had difficulty using the spread control and of the four tests below I preferred the effect shown with progressive ON and the provided texture.