A-to-Z Shader tutorial

WsCG

Hi all,

So I've spent the last little bit scouring Google and YT and the forums, and haven't been able to find much by way of comprehensive shader tutorials, I mean everything from the absolute basics of "this is what a Shader Domain is, this is what a Master Shader is, this is how you apply a Shader to an object. This is how you create a new Shader", etc. etc... from the most basic, up to intermediate or advanced topics. 

The best thing I've seen so far is this video here: 

Just by demonstrating what they do, I can see that Carrara's Shader system is very powerful and flexible, and that gets me excited to work with and learn it. 

But I do feel like I need some training wheels, because so far it's been a bit mystifying to me understanding how it works.

So... does such a series exist? Whether in Video or Written form, doesn't matter. As long as it gives a good, thorough introduction to the system, that will be perfect.

Thanks!

3drendero

http://www.daz3d.com/infinite-skills-inc

http://carraracafe.com/tag/shaders/page/2/

WsCG

3drendero said:

http://www.daz3d.com/infinite-skills-inc

http://carraracafe.com/tag/shaders/page/2/

Hey there, thank ya.

Yeah, I've seen those links before. In fact, the video I linked was originally from that page. The others are either too specific (applying shaders to characters, etc), and one of the videos on the page has kinda poor sound, and the constant random camera zooming makes it difficult to follow. Another isn't really structured as a tutorial, and reads more like a blog post.

The Infinite Skills one I can look into, but I'm looking to find something that won't cost additional $ for now, though this one looks like it goes into it a bit, based on the description. I'm kinda assuming such a thing exists, given how old Carrara is, and how many tutorials there are on other areas of the program. Unless shaders is an area people don't delve into much? Not sure.

Thanks again!

3DAGE

Hi Mitovo :)

The best source is the Manual, (included with carrara) .. it explains the definition of Shaders,. and Shading domains.

The shaders which come with carrara,. are provided to give you something to use instantly,. but also as an example of how a shader is contructed.

when you create a model in carrara,. Carrara applies a "default" shader to that object (grey) which allows you to see it.

You can either edit that default shader,.. to change the colour,. (or any other surface property)

or,. you can create a new "master shader" (a unique shader)  with a new name.

A shader describes the properties of a surface,. what colour it is,. how shiny or glossy,. how smooth or rough,. etc.

A shader tree contains a list of "Channels" (Colour, Bump Shininess) etc.

you can change the settings in any of these channels to adjust the apperance of the surface of your mode.

 

Shading domains,. are specific areas of your model, where you want a different "shader" to be applied.

In the vertex modeller,. you cn select an area of polygons,. and create anf NAME a new "shading domain for that selection.

When you go back to the main assembly area,. you'll see a new shading domain in the list for that object,.

at this point,.. you can either create a New Shader,. or load an existing shader from the browser to apply that to you model.

 

You should spend some time simply reading through the Carrara manual,. or use it as a reference/guide,.. and if you get stuck,. pop in here and ask specific questions.

Hope it helps :)

Dartanbeck

I have actually printed mine out on paper (two-sided), all 853 pages of it, and bound it in a giant three-ring binder.

3DAGE is right. It's an excellent tome to read through.

If not start-to-finish, at least using it to look up answers to current questions. It's laid out nicely with an excellent Table of Contents.

Right after you made the first post, I was tempted to start blasting links in here... but there really are no complete guides, as such. Closest thing is the manual in combination with the sample shaders that come in the browser. It even has some excellent Daz3d figure examples under Skin.

V4 Skin Shader Kit and Lights by Indigone has given me an excellent start, when I was first learning. This used to be in the freebies section of the old, Old forums. Luckily it's still available. Funny thing is that the shaders themselves work on literally any figure or model, since they're all procedural. But the instructions that come with it also explain, very nicely, how to incorporate texture maps into them. They do take some advantage of Sub-surface Scattering, so that's good to now if you're wondering why the renders lag a little before starting. Easily turned off. That's why I'm glad she included it. Easier to turn it off than to set it up just right.

The big thing with this kit is the manual that comes with it. The shaders are excellent too, don't get me wrong. But she did an excellent job of explaining some stuff.

She also has Endless Eye Kit for V4 

WsCG

Hey folks, thanks!

So, I guess I'll go through the manual, then, and align what I'm reading with what's in the program.

I get Carrara's shader system overall, from a 30,000' view. It's basically what other programs would refer to as Materials, etc. And looking at it, I can see what's happening overall. It's when you start digging down into it that it gets a bit eye-crossing to look at - especially with all those drop-downs to use, and all the options therein - it's like layers within layers within layers.

So, I just need something to kinda step me through each of those "sub-systems", so to speak, to give them some context. I've worked with other programs before, but Carrara has some of its own terminology (which I think is part of the confusion :p), so I just need to find the relationship between what I'm used to in other programs, and what Carrara calls it.

I'll give the manual a look, then. Thanks!

Dartanbeck

Keep in mind, also, that for working with most anything from the Daz3d (and others) store it's best to use a Medium Magnitude scene.

When going through the Scenes tab, those upper landscape presets are almost all Large Magnitude, so if you open one of those and then load in, say, Genesis, the figure will be so tiny you won't see it.

We can still work in this Large Magnitude, however the camera will be Very touchy, since it's meant to move across miles quickly, not feet.

If you load Genesis (or whatver) into a Large Magnitude scene, use the camera you want to render with, select the loaded figure, and type "0" (zero) to zoom the camera into that figure's bounding box.

That being said (especially why I used the words Bounding Box) if we really want to be in one of those large scenes, drop in a plane or a smaller terrain or something so that we can select that and type 0, so that we're not so close to the main subject. You'll still find it hard to manipulate the camera though.

There's a much easier way:

Instead of using our content in a Large scene, open a medium scene (or create one using the Wizard) and then just drag the large scene we want into that scene. It'll be centered according to it's bounding box, so it'll most likely be way too high. Use the Director's Camera, select the large thing we just dropped in, and type 0. Then lower it down while watching for the tiny setup of three grids at the ceneter of the scene.

Now is where I suggest plopping in a smaller terrain or plane or prop from your collection for the character to stand on - and not try to use that gigantic terrain we've just loaded in.