Adding Opacity Map?

Scavenger

I'm attempting to make a shaped patio out of a plane primative.  I made an opacity map to cut out the shape I want from the patio.  However, I've found that the rock shader I was going to use doesn't appear to have a place to put the opacity map (or any kind of map--diffuse, specular etc)....just an "opacity color" field

Finding a different shader to use isn't a problem, but is there anyway to add an opacity map to a shader that doesn't have one (if that's the right question)

Toyen

My guess would be no, you'll have to use a different shader that has that slider I think.

patience55

I do not know how to use all this [yet] but somehow, yes, there has to be a way. It possibly involves making a new shader ....

 

mjc1016

The more important part is the upper part of the surfaces tab, showing which shader is being used...can you put up a screenshot of that?

Scavenger

I'm away from that computer...It was mosaic or something like that.

But again, I can just find something else for this (it'll just be seen out of a window)*, I'm less interested in this specific case, but in general... or is it not a "in general" kind of thing?

 

 

 

* If I really want this shader/texture, I can just rendera hq version of the plane from the top camera and use that to make a diffuse map etc.

mjc1016

Scavenger said:

I'm away from that computer...It was mosaic or something like that.

But again, I can just find something else for this (it'll just be seen out of a window)*, I'm less interested in this specific case, but in general... or is it not a "in general" kind of thing?

 

 

 

* If I really want this shader/texture, I can just rendera hq version of the plane from the top camera and use that to make a diffuse map etc.

Some shaders, especially shader mixer networks will not show empty parameters...that's why I asked, because then it's a simple matter of clicking 'Show Hidden" in the Surfaces tab and then plugging in the map to the Opacity Strength channel.

Scavenger

Ah! I'll give that a look!

Richard Haseltine

if it is a Shader Mixer shader it's fairly simple, at least for 3Delight, to add an opacity control.

Scavenger

Richard Haseltine said:

if it is a Shader Mixer shader it's fairly simple, at least for 3Delight, to add an opacity control.

 

Ok...how do you do it?

None of these have a slot for an opacity map.

Richard Haseltine

Ah, the problem is that there are multiple sliders named "Strength" so they end up stacked. If you use the groups on the left of the Surfaces pane to find the Opacity group you will have access to the Strength setting - and if you click the gear icon and go to Parameter Settings you can change the label to Opacity Strength so it doesn't get lost.

Scavenger

Richard Haseltine said:

Ah, the problem is that there are multiple sliders named "Strength" so they end up stacked. If you use the groups on the left of the Surfaces pane to find the Opacity group you will have access to the Strength setting - and if you click the gear icon and go to Parameter Settings you can change the label to Opacity Strength so it doesn't get lost.

Ok.. I did that. 

And the point of this little exercise was?

Richard Haseltine

You now have an opacity control - though it isn't set to take maps so that's a partial advance only.

Select a Surface with the shader applied, open the Shader Mixer pane and from the Pane's File menu (not the main File menu) select Import from Scene, then Accept the dialogue. You should see a Default DAZ Material brick - right-click next to the C in a circle by Opacity Colour and from the menu select Insert>Bricks(Default)>Functions>Texture>Image Map. Now move that so you can see the C in a circle for Opacity Color, if it's covered, and drag from the C in a circle next to Image Color on the Image Map brick to the C in a circle next to Oapcity Color - you should see a link formed. Expand the Image entry in the Image Map brick and double click the label - Image - then change it (and the name) to Opacity Color or Opacity Strength and Accept. Now you can click the Apply button in the pane to update the shader (as long as the surface is still selected - for this you can even multi-select surfaces if you are using the same shader on them) and you should find an Opacity Strength (or Color) control that will take a map.

millighost

Here is a detailed walk-through with images (tried to make screenshots faster than Richard Haseltine could type -- i could not)

1. Apply the Wood shader to a square. It is procedurally generated, so it will not show in the viewport. [1]
2. I open the ShaderMixer from Window->Panes->ShaderMixer.
3. Select the square and the square's Default material in the surfaces tab, then in the ShaderMixer window i use File->"Import From Scene" to open the network in ShaderMixer. I use "Material" for a Type when importing. The network looks like this [2]
4. I look for the brick named "Surface". Its "Opacity" Input is not connected to anything, meaning it will not do anything useful. [3]
5. First i connect the Opacity output of the brick named "DS Default Material" to the "Opacity" input of the "Surface" brick. Now the surface will take the opacity from the Material, but it is still not mappable. [4]
6. From the Brickyard use Textures->"Image Map" to add an "Image Map" brick to the network (by dragging it with the cursor), placing it left of the "DS Default Material" brick. [5]
7. I connect the "Color Output" of the "Image Map" brick i just created to the "Opacity Color" Input of the "DS Default Material" brick. [6]
8. That basically was it. Finally i "Apply" the finished network to the square surface (which is still selected). Now the Surface parameter tab has an "Image Map" into which i can load a map. [7]

Note that the loaded map will not show in the viewport. For that to work i would need to rename the "Image Map" parameter "Opacity Color".

 

mjc1016

Looks like the Strength isn't 'mappable' in that example...

jestmart

IMO those shaders aren't worth, AFAIR they where included more as an example of what Shader Mixer can do.