Mirror chrome wings

azureboone-2234715

Anybody know how I can get a mirror chrome look on my epic wings via a texture? I've tried many things that I've found around the forum that haven't worked yet.

Kattey

Chrome is best done with shader. What program do you use?

azureboone-2234715

Daz 3d 4.5

Kattey

http://www.sharecg.com/v/27568/material-and-shader/Ultimate-Shader-Pack-for-DAZ-Studio
There are some chrome presets for DAZ3D (should work in 4.5), but for chrome to look believable you'd have to add some environment or, at least, environment sphere to get some reflections.

Szark

To get a half decent metal I agree Shaders are the way to go but you can get some good results from using Uber Surface that is included in Daz Studio these days. You will find it in the Content Library (Not smart Content) under Daz Studio Formats in the Shader section under Omnifreaker. It has all the tools in there to get a good finsih just with using the colour channels and no maps needed. But to get beter results using a bump map and reflection strength map (not reflection map) will gives some realistic variations if realistic is what you want.

Tramp Graphics

Kattey said:

http://www.sharecg.com/v/27568/material-and-shader/Ultimate-Shader-Pack-for-DAZ-Studio
There are some chrome presets for DAZ3D (should work in 4.5), but for chrome to look believable you'd have to add some environment or, at least, environment sphere to get some reflections.

I use the Ultimate Shader pack a lot for my mirrored finishes, One thing you should do though, if you've got a full scene with a lot of environment, remove the "reflection map" from the object you've applied the chrome shader to, and alter the color of the reflection setting itself to the color you want it to be (for example, use a slightly orange yellow in the reflection color for gold).

SickleYield

Tramp Graphics said:

Kattey said:

http://www.sharecg.com/v/27568/material-and-shader/Ultimate-Shader-Pack-for-DAZ-Studio
There are some chrome presets for DAZ3D (should work in 4.5), but for chrome to look believable you'd have to add some environment or, at least, environment sphere to get some reflections.

I use the Ultimate Shader pack a lot for my mirrored finishes, One thing you should do though, if you've got a full scene with a lot of environment, remove the "reflection map" from the object you've applied the chrome shader to, and alter the color of the reflection setting itself to the color you want it to be (for example, use a slightly orange yellow in the reflection color for gold).

Seconded. The bigger and more reflective the surface, the more important it is to go raytraced vs. reflection map. Make sure you have your raytracing depth turned up a bit from default in your render settings if your hardware can possibly handle it.

sriesch

Remember that the chrome is a mirror-like surface that reflects your environment, so your environment should make sense. If you see a chrome bumper on a car in a photo for example, it's often reflecting a blue sky or blue sky and white clouds above, and dark ground or pavement underneath. You may not get the effect you want or not even close if your environment's colors or lighting are significantly different. If you just open a new scene and add and object with great chrome but it's floating in featureless space, you won't get the chrome effect at all.

Tramp Graphics

Sean Riesch said:

Remember that the chrome is a mirror-like surface that reflects your environment, so your environment should make sense. If you see a chrome bumper on a car in a photo for example, it's often reflecting a blue sky or blue sky and white clouds above, and dark ground or pavement underneath. You may not get the effect you want or not even close if your environment's colors or lighting are significantly different. If you just open a new scene and add and object with great chrome but it's floating in featureless space, you won't get the chrome effect at all.

That's what the "reflection map" is for. It's to get that "reflective" chrome look to your mirrored surfaces when you don't have a background or other "environment" present in your scene. Otherwise, you should forgo the reflection map and just use raytracing.

sriesch

Tramp Graphics said:

That's what the "reflection map" is for. It's to get that "reflective" chrome look to your mirrored surfaces when you don't have a background or other "environment" present in your scene. Otherwise, you should forgo the reflection map and just use raytracing.

Thanks for pointing that out! I was thinking of raytracing only when I wrote that.

riftwitch

This thread caught my eye; I've been trying for months to make Epic Wings look metallic, but with no luck. If I apply a shader to the wings, a lot of the details of the feathers are lost. If I hold down the Shift key when I apply the shader, the feather details remain, but when I render, there are areas around the edges of the wings that have turned invisible, giving some sections a ragged appearance. Are there any other things to keep in mind when applying a shader to the wings? I've been trying to do the same thing with hair, with the same results.

Tramp Graphics

I would say that you would need to make sure the original bump maps and transparency maps are still in place.

riftwitch

Tramp Graphics said:

I would say that you would need to make sure the original bump maps and transparency maps are still in place.

Thanks. I compared a set of wings with the normal white texture, and one with the metal shader applied, and all the maps seem to be there. I'll take another stab at it in the morning.