Looking for Help files for Let It Snow and Gathering Moss Shaders
kyoto kid
Posts: 41,040
...was trying to use the Gathering Moss shader on a scene and ran into a few issues with how to get results as shown in the promos.
On the bottom corner of the control pane I saw a button for "online help", however, when I clicked on it, nothing happened. I searched for any PDF manuals/tutorials or HTML files that may have come bundled with it but found none.
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Comments
Running off a few test render for this now - what, specifically seems to be the problem? What are you trying to apply the shader to?
...well some of the promo shots show some pretty realistic looking results.
All I get is it looking like a full carpet on larger flat surfaces rather than how moss would really grow on say a deck walkway or patch of ground.
I tried playing with the settings but they don't seem to do very much.
It all depends on the Mesh of the item you apply them too. And then the amount of the setting used. The only way I figured out either shader was to load a rock prop ONLY and then apply it with different settings to see what happened. It soon clicked.
I would tell you the settings but in all honesty I have not used either shader in so long I would just do the rock experiment again to know the answer.
...I spent over five hours using the base of Ethriel's Bower and couldn't get it to look like anything else than a full "carpet" in the render.
Again there is supposed to be an interactive help file accessible (like with many of AoA's products) however it doesn't seem to work. when I click the button.
Well, I'm certainly not getting that sort of appearance - I'm basing it on Moon Gate as that was the first thing I 'stumbled over' that had stonework. I'll also see what I can pull together with flat surfaces.
I just checked both files through the DIM. It appears the Documentation files were on ArtZone. So unless you contact the vendor and they still have the Doc's they are gone now. I did try.
...thank you.
Was afraid it might be something like that as it came out before the site changeover.
The shaders (Gathering Moss and Let it Snow) are by DraagonStorm, not Age of Armour.
That aside, Jaderail seems to be very much right with his comment about geometry. Just tried the shader on the Colony Sand prop from The Colony product which does not seem to be 'abounding' in polygons and the shader gives a result that looks a little like 'wavy pea soup' with default settings ;)
With Moon Gate we have:
1) The base, un-shaded render for comparison
2) Gathering Moss (GM) applied, using Bottom Up, Style 3
3) As 2) but setting Blend to 10 (lower numbers seem to give more moss, which is not how I would have though it would work!)
After applying you can adjust this manually via the "Value 2" property of "Blend Level" in Surfaces tab.
4) As 2) but Blend set to 100
5) As 3) but using Top Down instead
...thank you.
So I guess if the surface is smooth and rather featureless, you cannot get any variation in how the moss will look on it. I was hoping I could get a more "patchy" appearance which is closer to how moss really looks on flat surfaces. Guess I will not be using it in the scene then as it only looks good on the framework and bench of the set and it would be odd to have the base and steps completely "clean".
BTW I only mentioned AoA as a reference as he includes nice tutorial files (either PDF or HTML interactive) with his lighting and surfacing content.
It does seem to be closely allied to the (not sure what the right/correct term would be) changes in direction, or actual angle/direction of, of the underlying mesh for how 'prominent' and varying the moss application is. Does that make sense?
Here's a couple more tests (which will wrap it up for me for the night as it's coming on 1am). Both with two DAZ primitive cubes (10m a side), left hand one with a very few divisions (I'm tired so I forget - but around 4 or so?) and the right hand one with 128. Both have the Gathering Moss shader applied and I have slapped a D-former on each. Due to the more granularity of the right hand cube it gets affected more by the D-former.
I for one find some other layered Shaders work much better for your Use KK. Example the Layer Shader, it does have a blend mode and a PDF tut with it. It will need setup but should do just what your after.
http://www.daz3d.com/layer-shader-for-daz-studio
...ach, don't have that and am too broke (even for a 1.99$ item) to buy it as I am facing eviction proceedings in two days.
...no problem.
Yeah, sad when you can't even purchase a PC item.