mcjTeleBlender:Daz Studio scenes/animations w/Blender's Cycles Engine

mCasual

daveleitz68 said:

Thanks, I will try out those suggestions. I did read at least part of the manual :)

I've also noticed that some textures don't get included in the 'Maps' folder. I still don't fully understand all the material options included with characters in DS. Some are designed to work with special kinds of lighting and others trigger 3Delight specific options like SSS. I wonder if this is a character specific issue, or does it have to do with material options? It's not a problem for me since I just copy the files from my DAZ textures to the working directory for the .blend file and then see what I like best.

So much to learn and do and so little time!!

My current 'cloth' shader node group:

Only a few standard parameters and maps of the materials are exported,
you can see them in the .mtl file exported by teleblender/DazStudio.
When the material is a shader, all the non-standard parameters and maps are not written in the .mtl file,
so they don't reach Blender.

one way to make sure a given non-standard image map of a shader makes the voyage to Blender
is to apply it to a channel like "Specylar Color" in Daz Studio. Once you're in Blender, you can re-connect it.

mCasual

reminding everyone that there's environment maps in a format usable by Blender/Teleblender

right over here :

http://zbyg.deviantart.com/art/HDRi-Pack-1-97402522

this render used studiohdr017.hdr

which was part of HDRi_Pack_2_by_zbyg.zip

whivh i got from ... let me see ... http://zbyg.deviantart.com/art/HDRi-Pack-2-103458406

Wallace3D

I have been using this plugin like crazy. I noticed I have to put a texture file in Ambient which becomes Emission. Is there any way you can change the default strength to 1 instead of 100?

Oh and Also rather than pulling the Name of the object (like Genesis) is there a way to pull the Label Name?
When i have 3 Figures they group as one object because they all have the same origin name. I mean I can change the name in Daz in the scene tab by going to Menu > Edit > Scene Identification and changing the Primary name.

mCasual

wallace3d said:

I have been using this plugin like crazy. I noticed I have to put a texture file in Ambient which becomes Emission. Is there any way you can change the default strength to 1 instead of 100?

Oh and Also rather than pulling the Name of the object (like Genesis) is there a way to pull the Label Name?
When i have 3 Figures they group as one object because they all have the same origin name. I mean I can change the name in Daz in the scene tab by going to Menu > Edit > Scene Identification and changing the Primary name.

the Diffuse Color of the surface can be used to lower the light strength, and to colorize it

for example in the image below i set the long light/plane's diffuse color to RGB = 33,24,24

in the second image i used RGB = 240,240,255

( the quick and dirty pickup truck freebie can be found here http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/15760/ )

Wallace3D

Casual said:

wallace3d said:

I have been using this plugin like crazy. I noticed I have to put a texture file in Ambient which becomes Emission. Is there any way you can change the default strength to 1 instead of 100?

Oh and Also rather than pulling the Name of the object (like Genesis) is there a way to pull the Label Name?
When i have 3 Figures they group as one object because they all have the same origin name. I mean I can change the name in Daz in the scene tab by going to Menu > Edit > Scene Identification and changing the Primary name.

the Diffuse Color of the surface can be used to lower the light strength, and to colorize it

for example in the image below i set the long light/plane's diffuse color to RGB = 33,24,24

in the second image i used RGB = 240,240,255

( the quick and dirty pickup truck freebie can be found here http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/15760/ )

Perfect!
thanks

I was trying everything in the ambient area and colors and nothing was changing. did not think to do it in Diffuse :P

mCasual

wallace3d said:

I have been using this plugin like crazy. I noticed I have to put a texture file in Ambient which becomes Emission. Is there any way you can change the default strength to 1 instead of 100?

Oh and Also rather than pulling the Name of the object (like Genesis) is there a way to pull the Label Name?
When i have 3 Figures they group as one object because they all have the same origin name. I mean I can change the name in Daz in the scene tab by going to Menu > Edit > Scene Identification and changing the Primary name.

on the topic of scenes with many instances of the same character ...

when teleblender exports the scene, it uses the export services offered by Daz Studio
and teleblender requests that the exporter uses the "Write groups / use figure name(s)" option
if i don't do that each body part is a separate object and it looks quite nasty when it reaches Blender

unfortunately, as you could see, if 2 figures have the same name, they get welded

one way to prevent this is to rename the figure(s)

. . . oops after writing and posting the little script, i see you already had a way to rename the figure . . .
. . . well, it can maybe save you 1 second :)

here is a short script that will rename the selected figure to a different name, by appending a random number to it

you can download this script over here: under the name "mcjRenameFigureRandom.dsa"

the companion thumbnail is named mcjRenameFigureRandom.dsa.png

those 2 files should preferably go in your daz content folder, in the scripts/mcasual folder

nakamuram002

Thanks for creating mcjTeleblender, Casual!! I will post a render soon. I agree with daveleitz68 regarding the Mix Shader vs the Add Shader. I'm finding that most of my tweaking involves replacing the latter with the former.

mCasual

nakamuram002 said:

Thanks for creating mcjTeleblender, Casual!! I will post a render soon. I agree with daveleitz68 regarding the Mix Shader vs the Add Shader. I'm finding that most of my tweaking involves replacing the latter with the former.

Update ~~Update ~~Update ~~Update ~~Update ~~Update ~~Update

at mcjTeleblender's homepage, i added a file named mcjMakeCyclesNodes_MIX_instead_of_ADD.zip

it contains an alternate version of mcjMakeCyclesNodes.py which creates MIX nodes instead of ADD nodes

go in your blender's "modules" folder, which is where you did install mcjBlendbot ( a kit of python scripts )

make an archive copy of the existing file mcjMakeCyclesNodes.py

then unZip the new version, thereby overwriting it

here are the changes i made to obtain this

.
.
.
addNode = nodes.new('MIX_SHADER')
addNode .location = ( ox - 300, oy )
links.new( mixNode.outputs[0], bsdfNode.inputs[0] )
links.new( bsdfNode.outputs[0], addNode.inputs[1] )
links.new( glossNode.outputs[0], addNode.inputs[2] )
links.new( addNode.outputs[0], outNode.inputs[0] )

KaMap = getMap( mat, 'Ka', 'Ka.' )
if KaMap:
emNode = nodes.new('EMISSION')
emNode.location = ( ox - 600, oy + 300 )
emNode.inputs[1].default_value = 100
links.new( mixNode.outputs[0], emNode.inputs[0] )
links.new( emNode.outputs[0], addNode.inputs[1] )
.
.
.

the second image shows how the diffuse channel's color and optionally diffuse image map are fed through the emission node for materials that emit light

the third image show there's one rock with an emissive strength of 1 , which is like a surface lit with a 100% ambient light

nakamuram002

Thanks Casual!! I'll try it out, but I'm concerned about the Emission Node. I use the Emission Node for lights, not for "normal" diffuse textures. This is how I use the mix node. Note that Diffuse and Glossy have the same input.

mCasual

nakamuram002 said:

Thanks Casual!! I'll try it out, but I'm concerned about the Emission Node. I use the Emission Node for lights, not for "normal" diffuse textures. This is how I use the mix node. Note that Diffuse and Glossy have the same input.

welcome.

about the emission node, it still works like before: if you apply any image to the ambient channel of a surface in Daz Studio, teleblender will export it as an emissive surface, the diffuse color can be used to weaken the strength of the light, and give it a tint. The diffuse color can have an image map applied to it (see figure 4), but if there is none, the node graph looks pretty much like yours ( fig 3 )

nakamuram002

Here is the result of my experiments with mcjTeleblender. It has also been uploaded to shareCG, as I did not realize that we could upload large images.

mcjTeleblender makes things easy -- Thanks Casual!!

mCasual

nakamuram002 said:

Here is the result of my experiments with mcjTeleblender. It has also been uploaded to shareCG, as I did not realize that we could upload large images.

mcjTeleblender makes things easy -- Thanks Casual!!

welcome.

overall it looks good.

in my images sometimes i wish there were more ambient-occlusion types of shadow
maybe it's a matter of using smaller lights, and adding obstacles in the scene
in your image, the thigh skin i think look better because there's shadowy areas caused by the desk and books.
the books themselves look quite realistic, and there too i think the shadows help
the chair's painted metal should probably be more shiny.

trying to think of an image where i obtained interesting shadows ....

maybe this one

i guess the trick is to create recessed areas that dont get too much light, maybe also use many sources of lights, and not flood the scenes too much with light. I noticed when i let the walls be too glossy, they help flood the room with too much light. matte walls often look better.

nakamuram002

I take no credit for the skin textures. That's just a matter of selecting a superb product, in this case Danae's Lyon. My lighting is the world, plus setting the emission shader on the overhead florescent lights. Too bad there is no ambient occlusion for the emission and/or lamp output nodes. Maybe that will come in the future?

I'm trying to get the aluminum frame around the backboard to look like aluminum, instead of steel. I just using a white anisotropic shader there. How can I get lighter than white.....

Overall, I'm impressed by how easy it is to get a good render using your tool, Casual!!

Wallace3D

Casual said:

wallace3d said:

I have been using this plugin like crazy. I noticed I have to put a texture file in Ambient which becomes Emission. Is there any way you can change the default strength to 1 instead of 100?

Oh and Also rather than pulling the Name of the object (like Genesis) is there a way to pull the Label Name?
When i have 3 Figures they group as one object because they all have the same origin name. I mean I can change the name in Daz in the scene tab by going to Menu > Edit > Scene Identification and changing the Primary name.

on the topic of scenes with many instances of the same character ...

when teleblender exports the scene, it uses the export services offered by Daz Studio
and teleblender requests that the exporter uses the "Write groups / use figure name(s)" option
if i don't do that each body part is a separate object and it looks quite nasty when it reaches Blender

unfortunately, as you could see, if 2 figures have the same name, they get welded

one way to prevent this is to rename the figure(s)

. . . oops after writing and posting the little script, i see you already had a way to rename the figure . . .
. . . well, it can maybe save you 1 second :)

here is a short script that will rename the selected figure to a different name, by appending a random number to it

you can download this script over here: under the name "mcjRenameFigureRandom.dsa"

the companion thumbnail is named mcjRenameFigureRandom.dsa.png

those 2 files should preferably go in your daz content folder, in the scripts/mcasual folder

Will give this a shot :) because Daz Studio does not keep the names changes for the genesis figures. it renames them back to there default name when re opening the file :( so hitting this script will reduce that frustration
and thanks for what you do. Awesome Plugin for sure.

daveleitz

@nakamuram002,

That's a nice render!

nakamuram002

Thanks Dave!! Even I can get good renders with mcjTeleBlender and Blender Cycles!!!!! Now if we only had better Cycles Node Management in Blender...

mCasual

~ Update ~ ~ Update ~ ~ Update ~ ~ Update ~ ~ Update ~ ~ Update ~ ~ Update ~

Starting with version 2.64 it seems, Blender's .obj importer no longer supports the "map_refl" keyword ( only the "refl" keyword" ) in the .mtl files.

This was effectively breaking the way mcjTeleblender marks surfaces as "mirrors" ( Sharp BSDF Glossy once in Blender )

This new update corrects this, if you check-mark mcjTeleblender's "Fix .mtl file for Blender";" check-box

mCasual

- important update - important update - important update - important update -

mcjTeleblender's February 8th update contained a severe error

---

the February 10th version fixes this and gives you (back) mirror surface materials

---

and to make you forgive me i'll soon post a bunch of shader presets ! :)

---

( i discovered the error while working on that dress for Aiko3 i started working on in 2012 )

https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=10151712112794746

nakamuram002

Thanks Casual!! Got your latest version. What is "mcjTeleBlenderDS2.ds" for?

I also tweaked your "mcjMakeCyclesNodes_MIX_instead_of_ADD". I added the following line of code to connect the mixNode (multiply) output to the glossNode Input.

links.new( mixNode.outputs[0], bsdfNode.inputs[0] )
links.new( mixNode.outputs[0], glossNode.inputs[0] ) <-- added this line<br /> links.new( bsdfNode.outputs[0], addNode.inputs[1] )
links.new( glossNode.outputs[0], addNode.inputs[2] )
links.new( addNode.outputs[0], outNode.inputs[0] )

It seems to me that Glossy shader is really a reflection shader. There really is no Specular like there is in Poser and DAZ Studio -- that is just a simple form of reflection. Now I need to figure out how to best adjust my Diffuse/Glossy mix and roughness, based on a material's DS4/Poser reflection and glossy settings.

mCasual

nakamuram002 said:

Thanks Casual!! Got your latest version. What is "mcjTeleBlenderDS2.ds" for?

I also tweaked your "mcjMakeCyclesNodes_MIX_instead_of_ADD". I added the following line of code to connect the mixNode (multiply) output to the glossNode Input.

links.new( mixNode.outputs[0], bsdfNode.inputs[0] )
links.new( mixNode.outputs[0], glossNode.inputs[0] ) <-- added this line<br /> links.new( bsdfNode.outputs[0], addNode.inputs[1] )
links.new( glossNode.outputs[0], addNode.inputs[2] )
links.new( addNode.outputs[0], outNode.inputs[0] )

It seems to me that Glossy shader is really a reflection shader. There really is no Specular like there is in Poser and DAZ Studio -- that is just a simple form of reflection. Now I need to figure out how to best adjust my Diffuse/Glossy mix and roughness, based on a material's DS4/Poser reflection and glossy settings.

hi there

by default the BSDF Glossy node uses the 'Beckman' type,
which gives a sort of specular effect since it disperses the rays.
In Daz Studio if you apply a random image to the reflection channel,
mcjTeleblender changes the BSDF Glossy type to "Sharp" which is closer to a mirror.

in the examples shown below, i apply a given hue to the diffuse color, and vary the intensity.

For the specular color. sometimes i apply different intensities of white, sometimes i apply different intensities of that same hue.

in all those examples, the mcjTeleblender was set to gloss factor=0.1 roughness=0.1

if the Daz Studio's obj exporter and Blender's obj importer allowed it, each surface would have its own gloss factor and roughness
unfortunately the obj/mll pipeline is limited

---
mcjTeleBlenderDS2.ds is the version for Daz Studio version 1.8 and version 2.3 which are still in use in far corners of the galaxy.

-- later tonight i'll publish the materials shown below, as poser poses or daz scripts

mCasual

~ 160 Material presets ~ 160 Material presets ~ 160 Material presets ~ 160 Material presets ~ 160 Material presets ~

in this thread ---> http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/16798/

i posted 160 material presets ( for DS 1, 2, 3, 4 ) intended to be used with mcjTeleblender

CauriB

Thank you very much for making this free. Works great and renders in almost no time :-).

mCasual

CauriB said:

Thank you very much for making this free. Works great and renders in almost no time :-).

Welcome !

i use it quite a bit too,

i often use images from the sIBL archive http://www.hdrlabs.com/sibl/index.html as mcjTeleblender's "environment maps". or "world environments"

those are "equirectangular" environment maps

you can find others by googling "equirectangular

there's also some free packs of "photography studio" types of environment maps here:

http://zbyg.deviantart.com/art/HDRi-Pack-1-97402522

( there's more than 1 pack from that same artist )

( little known fact - Daz Studio and Blender accept .hdr images )

Tempest!

Casual said:

( little known fact - Daz Studio and Blender accept .hdr images )

What do you mean by DS accepting .hdr images?

I've been wondering, is that last image purely lit by IBL or is there a sun lamp (or something similar) to get the sharp cast shadows?

Thanks for the links too. I've had sIBL bookmarked but somehow have missed the actual maps altogether until now.
So, if you just heard a slapping sound from a distance that was me facepalming due to being an idiot. :)

mCasual

Tempest! said:

Casual said:

( little known fact - Daz Studio and Blender accept .hdr images )

What do you mean by DS accepting .hdr images?

I've been wondering, is that last image purely lit by IBL or is there a sun lamp (or something similar) to get the sharp cast shadows?

Thanks for the links too. I've had sIBL bookmarked but somehow have missed the actual maps altogether until now.
So, if you just heard a slapping sound from a distance that was me facepalming due to being an idiot. :)

some images, like environment maps, are supplied in .hdr format which i think, has 16-bit or more intensity levels per pixel color channel

in mcjTeleblender you can specify those images as the "World Environment" image

i was under the false impression that you can also apply those .hdr images to surfaces in daz studio and that they would be rendered correctly in software (3delight) render mode. apparently they are not.

but but i do remember that Daz Studio does accept 16-bit .tiff files ( which is quite usefull for smooth displacement maps )
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/3269/

----------

in this render, the IBL map did not produce sharp shadows, so indeed i added a cube with an emissive surface outside the field of view.

i think we can get the equivalent of Daz's shadow-catchers using Blender's post-processing compositing and the layers

but i was in a hurry so i placed a beige plane under her feet :)

new camera tracking experiment video ! ----> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9dGsAA1-Ww

Tempest!

Well, that falls in line with my (very limited) experiences too. While DS doesn't seem to support .HDR, it does support HDR images in if they're TIFF format. 32 bit TIFFs seem to work fine with UE2 for lighting. So basically you just have to convert the .HDR into TIFF using the utility provided with UE2 or Photoshop or something else that does the job.

I'm under the impression that "catching shadows" is fairly simple with the latest builds of Blender, particularly since the heavy focus on compositing with 2.64. Haven't had a need for it myself (nor much time either), so no first-hand experiences here. :)

mCasual

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
* Update ** Update ** Update ** Update ** Update ** Update ** Update ** Update ** Update *
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

i fixed a longstanding issue, Blender uses 1 unit = 100cm, not 1 unit = 50 cm

in mcjTeleblender's settings the "blender scaling factor" should be 1%

this new version now applies the same scaling factor to the positions of the cameras and lights

in the image below you can see Blender's default cube which is 2 m x 2m x 2m

mCasual

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
- UPDATE - V13 - UPDATE - V13 - UPDATE - V13 - UPDATE - V13 - UPDATE - V13 -
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
if you're in a hurry, here's a direct link to the zip
https://sites.google.com/site/mcasualsdazscripts/mcjteleblender-for-ds1-2-3-4/mcjTeleBlender.zip
else it's at the bottom of this page, as usual
https://sites.google.com/site/mcasualsdazscripts/mcjteleblender-for-ds1-2-3-4

there was a confusion between mcjTeleBlender.zip and mcjTeleblender.zip
so you possibly didnt get the correct version if you updated recently

V13 fixes the issue wherein the materials were not smoothed when rendering animations

V13 has better scaling support, if you export to Blender, set mcjTeleBlender's "Scale(%)" setting to 1

Blender's default cube is 2 m x 2 m. x 2m

in the image below you can see Aiko was exported from Daz Studio using mcjTeleBlender with a Scale of 1%

Yogino

Thanks a million for this update, Casual. The smoothing fix has definitely improved the quality of rendering Daz animations in Cycles. You are like a one-man software company!

mCasual

Yogino said:

Thanks a million for this update, Casual. The smoothing fix has definitely improved the quality of rendering Daz animations in Cycles. You are like a one-man software company!

welcome !
i guess at some point the smoothing code got lost during a version update
because i'm almost sure it was part of mcjTeleblender when i launched it last year
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTIIwjTV7s4