Product texture/shader suggestion

druc

Hi, I have purchased a lot of "period" sets for Daz Studio over the years. It has always surprised me that the textures look like the set is over a 100 years old and not been maintained. For example https://www.daz3d.com/the-pirates-cove-scene-kit-with-props-and-poses-for-genesis-8 the row boat looks about 100 myears old and never maintained. The reality is back in the day, they were well maintained. Sailing ships had carpenters as part of the regular crew, who maintained all the woodwork. To do a realistic period render these items need like new textures. I commend the skills of the artists who made these textures. Unfortunately, they take away for the realism of the final render.

Another example is https://www.daz3d.com/wild-west-town it looks like it was build 100 years ago and not maintained. In the day the timber would look magnificent and the paintwork a little worn if it was getting to the stage of needing to be re-painted

I have these sets and have never regreted buying them. They are magnificent and I use them. I am only trying to give some constructive support.

FirstBastion

You do have a valid point, if it was just built,  it would all be rough sawn new timber. 

But other users might complain that it all looks too clean and new.   It all comes down to tastes.

Offering both options,  of new and old wood, would be more work and cost more. 

Everything in 3D is tradeoffs,  and decision s get made to appeal to what customer may want most.

It only takes about 5 years for untreated rough sawn wood to start looking aged and discolored.

 

there are pleanty of wood shaders that aloow you to change the surfaces to your tastes. https://www.daz3d.com/catalogsearch/result?q=wood+shader

 

 

druc

FirstBastion you are correct.Every thing is a trade off. Every thing is also what the end user wants or is willing to accept. I just happen to be one of those people no one likes because I want realism. I don't make things myself even though I can use modeling progams like Hexagon and UV mapper pro. Because I am never satisfied with my results for example, I would model a pipe that was actually hollow with an interior and exterior surface even though the interior was never seen, so I pay money to get what I want.

I am, as they say, giving my two bobs worth. And I hope in a respectful way as I greatly respect the venders who make products for sale and I hope my purchase history supports that.

FSMCDesigns

One thing I have learned over my years here at DAZ, you can spend all the money you want, but no product will ever be perfect unless you have complete control over the design instead of relying on a PA..Luckily, textures are some of the easiest things to fix if not to my liking.. I think I have edited (either textures or mesh) nearly 60% of what I have purchased for Daz Studio.

druc

Youare correct FSMCDesigns, I buy what I think I will use in renders. And I have not rendered all I have bought. Even characters I keep the face but not always the bodies without some sort of modification. It does push me to learn more as I have discovered my use of Daz Studio is about pre school level.

memcneil70

@druc you may have seen his shaders already but if not, check out https://www.daz3d.com/digital-delirium who has a line of shaders with progressive worn off painted woods and metals. There is also one for timber floors. The PA gives you a lot of control over the effect you will have.

There are other PAs who have similar shaders but right now my brain hasn't woken up enough to remember their names, but use that search that First Bastion posted above to help you track them down easily.

And I agree with your premise, I have walked through preserved Western towns in the desert, all grey and worn; but where the buildings are still active today, they are maintained and full of color and life. Northern California and the small towns in the Rocky Mountains have active western buildings from mining/ranching days. It would be lovely to have presets for those old buildings reflecting the continued usage.

Mary

PerttiA

Don't know about the pirates, but back in the day when we had wooden row boats, we painted them with tar inside and out every spring before putting them in water. The tar protected the wood from decay.

Untreated wood turns gray in about 5-6 years up here in santa land (Finland) and the type of paint used in the Wild West Town, starts chipping in 20-30 years. I would imagine a desert environment to be somewhat more demanding, so I would consider the Wild West Town to be 15-20 years old.

FirstBastion

We used to coat any wood that came in contact with the ground with Creosote, a tar based penetrating wood preservative.

Speaking of gray wood,  some people like leaving cedar boards to age naturally in the elements. Cedar can cost 2-3x times as much as pine or spruce but it has natural oils in the wood that help preservative it.

FirstBastion

Here is an example of an old version as well as a new version in the same package.  It includes morphable aging. Which is a brilliant concept. 

https://www.daz3d.com/the-old-barn