Cull backface

assignator_da12fd057f

Is there any sane way to cull backfacing polygons while rendering? Like, apply global shader or camera effect to do so? Any hints?

Richard Haseltine

What are you wanting to do? It's fairly easy to apply different settings, such as total transparency, to a back-facing polygon if you use a Shader Mixer material but that doesn't avoid its contributing to the calculations performed by 3Delight.

assignator_da12fd057f

I need it as I compose images from many pieces later, so I don't mind if extra contribution still takes place.
So I assume, I can not do it globally? I'll need to separately edit every shader for this? Anyway, will go investigate Shader Mixer. So far sounds like it is the only way.

Richard Haseltine

I'm not clear how backface culling will help there - don't you just need an alpha channel? if so simply rendering with no background geometry and saving as PNG or Tiff should give you that.

WendyLuvsCatz

I think things like empty clothes etc to fit on figures in post
I have tried this myself, not with Daz studio but a shadowcatch shaded genesis figure in Carrara wearing the clothes, thus obscuring backfaces, not sure how to do that in studio.

Richard Haseltine

One potential problem is that clothing from DAZ at least should not usually have raw edges - there will usually be a "hem" of some kind, which will of course make a row of forward facing polygons. One option might be to place a figure in the clothing and have it coloured to match the background, with ambient set to 100% white to eliminate any shading, and then select by colour in an image editor.

assignator_da12fd057f

I need it for the same reason, as mentioned in this thread, you can easy understand it by looking at image provided in there:

http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/31394/

But this is sad. I see absolutely no way to apply such effect globally, or either I misunderstood that Shader Mixer stuff.

Ok, so I have this inside my Shader Mixer now:

http://s27.postimg.org/r48mj0btf/image.png

Essentially, all I do is set value either 0 or 1 based on its normal, and assign to opacity slot;

But, this way whole original shader is lost. How can I do this, while retaining the original shader?

Richard Haseltine

No, you would have to reproduce the original shader in Shader Mixer - for the DAZ Default Shader you can use the Import from Scene command in the Shader Mixer File menu, but for other shaders there isn't a short cut.

assignator_da12fd057f

Awwwwww, its seems I'll have to rely on external renderer after all, hmmm.

Lissa_xyz

Import from scene will work on other shaders. I can do it just fine with AoA's Subsurface Shader and Bishounen's Visual Shaders. You just need a material highlighted that's using the shader before you do the import.

Depending on the network though, you may wish you hadn't. AoA's Subsurface node network is terrifying when you look at it. lol

Syndaryl

Vaskania said:

Import from scene will work on other shaders. I can do it just fine with AoA's Subsurface Shader and Bishounen's Visual Shaders. You just need a material highlighted that's using the shader before you do the import.

Depending on the network though, you may wish you hadn't. AoA's Subsurface node network is terrifying when you look at it. lol

Those are not "other shaders" in the sense that Richard means - those are simply prepackaged shader network configurations.

Ubersurface is an example of a flat out new shader, it's not created using the Shader Mixer, it's raw Renderman code. All of omnifreaker's shaders are created like this. The pw series of shaders are Renderman as well. You can't open any of them in the shader mixer because they're not made from DAZ's shared basic building blocks - they're solid units.

Lissa_xyz

Aha! Gotchya! Must be why I couldn't open the Renderman Companion > Glow either.

mjc1016

Vaskania said:

Import from scene will work on other shaders. I can do it just fine with AoA's Subsurface Shader and Bishounen's Visual Shaders. You just need a material highlighted that's using the shader before you do the import.

Depending on the network though, you may wish you hadn't. AoA's Subsurface node network is terrifying when you look at it. lol

Some don't though...like the omnifreaker ones...

assignator_da12fd057f

Ah, darn, I'll just post-process it later in photoshop. Being with Daz for more then 7 year, why am I still complain :) Good-old-Photoshop and everything is settled ^_^````