Sketchy - Toon and Art Style Shaders for Iray [Commercial]

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  • nonesuch00nonesuch00 Posts: 18,131

    I have a question for DimensionTheory...

    I'm trying to achieve the fake rim light effect that's used in comics and animation for dark clothing.

    An example of what I'm trying to do would be like the black/blue clothing in this image:

    Or maybe the darker areas in this image:

    I think I can do it with Sketchy but I can't seem to get the right look. Could you provide any assistance?

    Thanks in advance!

     

    I think I'm on the right track. I tried attaching the rendered image, but I was having trouble so I added it to my gallery:

    https://www.daz3d.com/gallery/#images/523206/

     

    Looks good. I think if you have different types of velvet, satin, silk or shiny lycra material it will help too.  

  • I have a question for DimensionTheory...

    I'm trying to achieve the fake rim light effect that's used in comics and animation for dark clothing.

    An example of what I'm trying to do would be like the black/blue clothing in this image:

    Or maybe the darker areas in this image:

    I think I can do it with Sketchy but I can't seem to get the right look. Could you provide any assistance?

    Thanks in advance!

     

    I think I'm on the right track. I tried attaching the rendered image, but I was having trouble so I added it to my gallery:

    https://www.daz3d.com/gallery/#images/523206/

     

    Looks good. I think if you have different types of velvet, satin, silk or shiny lycra material it will help too.  

    I think I have a faux velvet that I got by accident. It's a variation on the one above. I'll post some samples soon.

     

  • I think I figured out a nice faux velvet that's good for a superhero costume. Also found a way to fake metal. Results below and on my gallery (https://www.daz3d.com/gallery/#images/524681/).

    I've found out one funny thing: Iray works hard to keep things realistic-looking even when using Sketchy. The robot crab is using the Sketchy shader except for the parts that emit light. Definitely going to play some more with Sketchy. I'm used to pwToon which offers really fast renders on my MacBook Pro. Even when running Render Throttle, Iray renders are a lot slower and I'm sure the atmospheric effects I dropped in this scene don't help any.  Still, it's pretty exciting...

    SuperHeroMan VS Crab01.png
    800 x 600 - 860K
  • MrPatrickMrPatrick Posts: 33
    edited March 2018

    Just came across this and putting it to use.  What I like with this over photoreal renderings is that the mistakes and imperfections are easily hidden or dismissed.

    Post edited by Chohole on
  • MrPatrickMrPatrick Posts: 33
    edited March 2018

    And some more fun with it...

    ViperCharge01.png
    1080 x 900 - 1M
    Post edited by Chohole on
  • Sfariah DSfariah D Posts: 26,282

    I went to see if I ever got this but that 404 bug is not letting me see it.

  • TaozTaoz Posts: 9,941

    I think it's worth it.  You can get some interesting effects with Sketchy that you can't really get with the others.  Since it's a shader, I actually think it's easier to use.  But then, I love playing with surface settings and I have a lot of fun playing with the settings to see what they can do.  It renders fairly fast so I think it is comparable to render times with 3Delight.  

    I recall some problems with PWToon caused by a DS update, have these been fixed? Long ago I've used it because of these problems.

  • MrPatrickMrPatrick Posts: 33

    I went to see if I ever got this but that 404 bug is not letting me see it.

    Yeah that is weird...  I'm guessing it is a problem with the website as there are a number of Dimension Theory's products coming up with 404's, but not all of them.

  • MrPatrickMrPatrick Posts: 33
    Taoz said:

    I think it's worth it.  You can get some interesting effects with Sketchy that you can't really get with the others.  Since it's a shader, I actually think it's easier to use.  But then, I love playing with surface settings and I have a lot of fun playing with the settings to see what they can do.  It renders fairly fast so I think it is comparable to render times with 3Delight.  

    I recall some problems with PWToon caused by a DS update, have these been fixed? Long ago I've used it because of these problems.

    I haven't used PWToon so I do not know, just that Sketchy does work.

  • Taoz said:

    I think it's worth it.  You can get some interesting effects with Sketchy that you can't really get with the others.  Since it's a shader, I actually think it's easier to use.  But then, I love playing with surface settings and I have a lot of fun playing with the settings to see what they can do.  It renders fairly fast so I think it is comparable to render times with 3Delight.  

    I recall some problems with PWToon caused by a DS update, have these been fixed? Long ago I've used it because of these problems.

    PWToon's working great for me. There was a big problem with it on the Mac side but it's been a while since that was an issue. Just make sure to have the most recent versions and you should be fine. I prefer using PWToon because it's faster on my older Mac than using Iray, but it's neat to use Sketchy with some of the great Iray features.

  • TaozTaoz Posts: 9,941
    MrPatrick said:
    Taoz said:

    I think it's worth it.  You can get some interesting effects with Sketchy that you can't really get with the others.  Since it's a shader, I actually think it's easier to use.  But then, I love playing with surface settings and I have a lot of fun playing with the settings to see what they can do.  It renders fairly fast so I think it is comparable to render times with 3Delight.  

    I recall some problems with PWToon caused by a DS update, have these been fixed? Long ago I've used it because of these problems.

    I haven't used PWToon so I do not know, just that Sketchy does work.

    Thanks, good to know, I do have it but haven't tried it yet.

     

    Taoz said:

    I think it's worth it.  You can get some interesting effects with Sketchy that you can't really get with the others.  Since it's a shader, I actually think it's easier to use.  But then, I love playing with surface settings and I have a lot of fun playing with the settings to see what they can do.  It renders fairly fast so I think it is comparable to render times with 3Delight.  

    I recall some problems with PWToon caused by a DS update, have these been fixed? Long ago I've used it because of these problems.

    PWToon's working great for me. There was a big problem with it on the Mac side but it's been a while since that was an issue. Just make sure to have the most recent versions and you should be fine. I prefer using PWToon because it's faster on my older Mac than using Iray, but it's neat to use Sketchy with some of the great Iray features.

    There were also problems with the Windows version, whether it was the same problems I don't know. Will give it a try with the latest version then and see how it works. Thanks!

  • tcassattcassat Posts: 74

    Hi guys. No need to apply lighting after I put the shaders on the surfaces, right? For example, I applied the shader in the model below and rendered the image without any light source or headlamp and I got the desired effect:

    However, when placing a scenario surrounding the model, this ends up interfering with the lighting, as in the image below:

     

    Is it possible for me to achieve the same result from the first image without having to place light sources all over the scene?

     

  • UthgardUthgard Posts: 863

    If you render in Iray without any light, you will just get a perfectly black image. I would wager you used the default HDRI environment light source (or the HDRI included in the render presets of this product), which will get obstructed by any closed environment. Possible solutions would be to hide the ceiling of the room or to use Iray section planes, which allow light to pass through the intersected surfaces as if there was no geometry, but that can give unrealistic results. If you opt for the second option, I have heard good things about this camera preset, and it will save you a lot of trouble setting things up: https://heroineadventures.deviantart.com/art/Iray-interior-camera-for-DAZ3D-728244344

  • tcassattcassat Posts: 74
    edited April 2018
    Uthgard said:

    If you render in Iray without any light, you will just get a perfectly black image. I would wager you used the default HDRI environment light source (or the HDRI included in the render presets of this product), which will get obstructed by any closed environment. Possible solutions would be to hide the ceiling of the room or to use Iray section planes, which allow light to pass through the intersected surfaces as if there was no geometry, but that can give unrealistic results. If you opt for the second option, I have heard good things about this camera preset, and it will save you a lot of trouble setting things up: https://heroineadventures.deviantart.com/art/Iray-interior-camera-for-DAZ3D-728244344

    Thanks, man! The camera worked relatively well. Below is an example of the same image without any light source, only with the dome lighting. It was not perfect and the lighting was looking like an open space, not an interior, but with a few adjustments I think it will be fine without having to spend a lot of time adjusting lighting inside the room.

    EDIT: 

    With the camera you suggested, and applying the shaders also in the scenario, not just in the model, I ended up getting the image style I wanted. So I can say that the solution worked 100% for me. Thank you!

    Post edited by tcassat on
  • UthgardUthgard Posts: 863

    Glad that helped! Truth be told, I haven't had much practice with lighting these shaders, I'll see if I can learn anything useful one of these days.

  • KnittingmommyKnittingmommy Posts: 8,191
    Taoz said:

    I think it's worth it.  You can get some interesting effects with Sketchy that you can't really get with the others.  Since it's a shader, I actually think it's easier to use.  But then, I love playing with surface settings and I have a lot of fun playing with the settings to see what they can do.  It renders fairly fast so I think it is comparable to render times with 3Delight.  

    I recall some problems with PWToon caused by a DS update, have these been fixed? Long ago I've used it because of these problems.

    @Toaz Sorry it took so long for me to see this. I don't recall seeing the notification. Are you talking about a glitch with a recent update or the old glitch from when DS switched from DS3 to DS4? There was a workaround for the older glitch. I'm not sure if that still works with the newest version of DS because I haven't used it in a while. I believe I still have it installed. I'll try and take a look at it and get back to you and let you know if it still works in DS or not. I'll also see if I can track down the glitch and what the workaround for it was.

  • AlmightyQUESTAlmightyQUEST Posts: 2,003

    I hate to comment about it on this thread, but pwToon seems to be working fine for me in the current version of Studio, though it's a new computer with a clean install of both.

  • AlmightyQUESTAlmightyQUEST Posts: 2,003
    tcassat said:

    Thanks, man! The camera worked relatively well. Below is an example of the same image without any light source, only with the dome lighting. It was not perfect and the lighting was looking like an open space, not an interior, but with a few adjustments I think it will be fine without having to spend a lot of time adjusting lighting inside the room.

    Just wanted to say, not sure if the second image was closer to what you were going for, but the lighting on this looks really cool to me!

  • tcassattcassat Posts: 74
    tcassat said:

    Thanks, man! The camera worked relatively well. Below is an example of the same image without any light source, only with the dome lighting. It was not perfect and the lighting was looking like an open space, not an interior, but with a few adjustments I think it will be fine without having to spend a lot of time adjusting lighting inside the room.

     

    Just wanted to say, not sure if the second image was closer to what you were going for, but the lighting on this looks really cool to me!

    Yes, the lighting was interesting by accident in this first case. But my intention in this test was to get an image without shadows, to see if it was possible to use only the Dome on the iray to achieve "standard" lighting that would work on indoor environments.

  • UthgardUthgard Posts: 863

    Alright, I have been following the tutorial video and testing for quite a bit of time till I finally decided to reproduce it as much as possible and use the first preset on Guy 7 with the included HDRI, but the black outline didn't appear on any of my tests. Sure enough, a pattern can appear on the figure that follows my preset of choice when I start tweaking parameters, but nothing like the sharp differences between light and dark that are shown on the promotional video. Am I doing something wrong or has Daz Studio somehow broken this shader?

    Guy 7 - Sketchy.PNG
    1920 x 1006 - 579K
  • UthgardUthgard Posts: 863

    Uhm... hi? Anyone who uses this shader knows what's going on/what I'm doing wrong?

  • AlmightyQUESTAlmightyQUEST Posts: 2,003

    I'm not sure if this shows in the preview, did you get the same results in a render?

    Would need to look at this more closely later, haven't used these in a while.

  • UthgardUthgard Posts: 863

    Yes, the render looks identical. Moreover, the instructional video used the preview mode and showed the effect just fine just by applying the same preset I did. Thanks for taking a look.

  • AlmightyQUESTAlmightyQUEST Posts: 2,003
    edited July 2018

    Well, it's working in the latest version of Studio if it's 4.10.0.123

    It might be worth reinstalling, though since it is showing the correct shader in your view which I don't think would show up if the shader files got moved somehow.

    Which lighting are you using? And what stage do you have issues? Is what you showed what you see after applying the 01 Full Shader Basic A, or is it after modifications?

     

    **Other things to try, have you applied a different character preset to the figure and then reapplied the base toon shader? Have you applied it to other figures or non-figure objects?

    sketchy.PNG
    765 x 573 - 358K
    Post edited by AlmightyQUEST on
  • UthgardUthgard Posts: 863

    I started by applying it to g8f, then, after much hair-pulling, tried it it with Guy 7 with the included HDRI and Full Shader Basic A just to try and reproduce the settings in the promo video, then reinstalled it and... well, that's when I took the screenshot. I guess I will try and see if it is a Connect problem and it works via DIM (though I couldn't fathom why would that be the case). Otherwise, my only rational conclusion would be that my computer is haunted.

  • UthgardUthgard Posts: 863

    After reinstalling via DIM, reinstalling Daz Studio and trying to make the shaders work in the public beta, I must conclude that my computer is, in fact, haunted. Thanks for trying to assist me, I guess I'll try with technical support, though I won't get my hopes up.

  • AlmightyQUESTAlmightyQUEST Posts: 2,003

    Did you try some of the other suggestions, like starting with another figure or primitive and seeing if you got the effect you are looking for, or trying to swtich between the two lighting options included?

    Do you have any other custom shaders (not shader presets for iray uber) installed, and are those working as expected?

  • UthgardUthgard Posts: 863
    edited July 2018

    Yes, I tried it with different figures and lighting, and I haven't noticed any problems with my other shaders (though I haven't been that exhaustive in that regard).

    Edit: Further investigation shows that neither Oso master shader 1 for Iray nor Procedural gem shader for Iray are working as they should. Something's up with my system, I'll contact technical support and see if they can help. Thanks.

    Post edited by Uthgard on
  • AlmightyQUESTAlmightyQUEST Posts: 2,003

    You metioned reinstalling Studio. A few months back I had gotten a new computer and I had copied my content but reinstalled Studio. This meant that DIM thought I had already installed things like Oso Master shader, PW Toon, and other shaders like that, and it appeared that I could apply them. However they would either render black, or render with default materials. This affected all custom shaders for me.

    What I had to do was remove the manifest files for the shaders themselves (not Studio) and reinstall the actual shaders. I believe this was because there were shader files with the studio installation, and since I had reinstalled studio, it couldn't find the shader files it needed so it switched to default on renders.

    So, if you only tried reinstalling studio, especially if you deleted the previous studio installation, you may want to uninstall or at least remove the manifest files for the shaders, and reinstall the shaders.

    Note that I was installing through DIM, this should also apply for manually downloading and installing. I haven't used connect or smart content, so I'm not sure what the process is for removing and reinstalling content there.

  • UthgardUthgard Posts: 863

    Usually it's done just by right-clicking on the product icon and selecting "uninstall" on the menu--which I already tried. If there's something else borked with my products installed through Connect, I honestly haven't got a clue as to where to start fixing them, so I am waiting for some feedback from tech support. Really, thank you very much, you have been most helpful even if the issue is yet to be solved (and the clue about non-uber base shaders is much appreciated, I didn't even know those shaders needed fixing till now, and it would have been quite bothersome to realize it in the middle of a project).

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