This is part 2 of the Making Skin Pop with the Daz Studio Iray Uber Shader tutorial. Here, we address tweaking a chromatic skin. Part 1 provides an introduction to Daz Studio Iray skin shaders as well as how to convert monochromatic to chromatic skin. Visit Part 1 here.

Tweaking a Chromatic Skin

1. Open up a figure of your choice (I’m using Babina 8 for my example) in Daz Studio.
2. Open up the Surfaces tab.
3. You’ll notice that the SSS map slotted into the Translucency Color looks different this time – it would normally either be an exact copy of the Base Color map, or a lightened version of the Base Color map. (It is important to note that some skins might have a more in-depth SSS map that incorporates things like veins and vessels, but the vast majority are simple lightened versions of the Base Color map.) In the case of Babina 8, you will see the latter, a lightened version of the Base Color map.
4. (Optional) If the skin you are working with uses a copy of the Base Color map slotted into the Translucency Color, I would recommend lightening it slightly in Photoshop. For a generalized process, start with the color map and add a Hue/Saturation Adjustment layer with the following settings – Hue -5, Saturation -15, Lightness +20. This might need to be tweaked depending on the skin. Once you have a lightened version of the color map, load this new SSS map into the Translucency Color slot and move to the next step.
5. Change the Translucency Weight to .90 (you might need to play with this depending on the character).
6. Change the Base Color Effect to Scatter & Transmit Intensity.
7. Change the SSS Reflectance Tint to 0.79, 1.00, 1.00. (you might need to play with this depending on the character, but I like this color almost all the time).
8. Scroll down on the Surfaces pane.
9. Change the Transmitted Measurement Distance to .15 (you might need to play with this depending on the character).
10. Change the Transmitted Color to 0.95, 0.20, 0.10 (you can definitely play with this depending on the character and skin tone you’re going for).
11. Change the Scattering Measurement Distance to .015 (you can play with this setting too).
12. Change the SSS Color to 0.95, 0.45, 0.55 (you can play with this setting too. In fact, you will have to depending on the character and look you’re going for).
13. Change the SSS Direction to -.25 (I typically don’t mess with this and leave it set to 0, but using small negative values, such as -.1 to -.25, can be helpful if there is too much scattering effect. This can vary greatly on lighting).
14. Repeat these steps for the Lips and Ears (I often do them at the same time as the Face since they use the same maps).
15. Repeat these steps for the rest of the skin surfaces – Arms, Body, Legs, Fingernails, Toenails, EyeSocket, etc.

Again, play around with the settings! That’s how you’ll learn what you like and dislike and what different colors and numbers do. This is where you might think about tweaking the settings for Bump, Top Coat, and/or Gloss/Specularity. They all add up to the skin’s final results! And if you’re comfortable with Photoshop, you can even build upon the SSS map for more detail (blending tattoos into this layer can help immensely in making them look more realistic and less stickerific). Also note that I do not adjust eyes…you can easily slot in eyes from another character.

It looks like a lot of steps, but it’s really not when you get in the groove. It also really helps to save your go-to colors to the quick select in Daz. Please see the below comparison for Babina 8.

Middle face skin was made following the steps above. Far right face skin has changes to Transmitted Color and SSS Color to create a lighter skin tone.

And just like with above, these steps work with darker skin tones, as shown below with Millawa 8, who has gorgeous skin out the box to begin with. My first tweaks are very subtle, but upon close inspection you can see that changing the Base Color Effect to Scatter & Transmit Intensity enhances the toning of the skin (in this case I used a color of 0.37, 0.99, 1.00 which seems really bright but it’s subtle with Millawa’s skin maps).

Comparison of out-of-the-box Millawa 8 skin with multiple tweaked Millawa 8 skins.

And lastly, we have Celani 8, another character with gorgeous skin out of the box. I changed the Base Color Effect and altered the Transmitted Color and SSS Color slightly, and the effect is very subtle. I also included a shot with her under different lighting so you can see how lighting itself has a huge effect on the same skin and settings.

Comparison of out-of-the-box Celani 8 skin with tweaked Celani 8 skin in normal and altered lighting.

In conclusion, the best advice I can give is to not rely on using things out of the box. Don’t be afraid to roll up your sleeves and dig around in the surfaces panel. Play around with stuff to see what it does. What’s the worst that could happen if you end up with something you don’t like…just undo or reload! I hope this guide and these steps help get you started on achieving the results you want when it comes to the way skin looks, whether you’re a beginner or a grizzled veteran trying to get used to Iray for the first time. In time my goal is to write more tutorials in the future that take these steps even further and build upon them. Happy Rendering!

Have you ever been frustrated with skin that looks flat in Daz Studio? Dull and lifeless? Rubbery with a distinct likeness to that of Gumby? (Google it if you’re too young to remember Gumby.) Or maybe it just needs a little bit of pop? Most of the time, any of these issues can be attributed to SSS, or subsurface scattering, and there are a couple easy tweaks that can be made to drastically improve the look of skin in Daz.

[Visit Part 2 of the tutorial which deals with Tweaking a Chromatic Skin.]

PBR Skin Shader vs Iray User Shader

Before we get started, I wanted to make a quick note regarding the new skin shader that was introduced with Genesis 8.1, the PBR Skin Shader (it can also be used on Genesis 8). ‘PBR’ is actually a technical term.

Physically Based Rendering, according to Wikipedia, is ‘a computer graphics approach that seeks to render images in a way that models the flow of light in the real world.’

Okay, well that was kinda vague. Both the PBR Skin Shader and the Uber Shader do this, so they are both technically PBR shaders. They use almost all of the same maps. So please don’t let Daz’s play at words lead you to believe that the Uber Shader is somehow lesser. It’s just different. While the PBR Shader has added a couple neat new tricks, it is also missing some neat tricks that will be made use of in this guide. Essentially, the PBR Skin Shader is a trade-off, and it’s up to the user to decide which they prefer. Please see the below comparison with Victoria 8.1.

Victoria 8.1 comparison of Daz Studio’s PBR Iray Skin Shader and the Iray Uber Shader.

It is so very much personal preference. Personally, I stick with the Uber Shader because it allows me to better control SSS. Now, if Daz were to update the PBR Shader to bring back the SSS capabilities that the Uber Shader gave us, then it would be the best of both worlds. But for the sake of this article, I will be sticking with the Uber Shader. (Another article may come at a later date that works specifically with the new Iray PBR Skin Shader.)

Spectral Rendering

One other item of note is Spectral Rendering. A lot of folks don’t know what it is and a lot of folks don’t use it. Personally, I do, and I don’t. It depends on the scene and the skin I’m working with. It is supposed to be more actuate in terms of how it bounces light around the objects in the scene, some scenes more than others. The downside is that it has a particular tendency to make skin out of the box look like muddy, green, flat…blech. The tweaks I will be going over won’t work with Spectral Rendering. Well, they will…but they require different SSS settings to not look like muddy, green, flat…blech. It also can add exponentially to your render times, even with the same exact lighting.

Is it really worth it? That’s up to you to decide. Like I said, I’ve noticed that Spectral rendering works better with some skins than others. For the purposes of this article, due to length, I will be sticking with basic rendering. If folks enjoy this article, I will do a write-up of my tweaks translated to Spectral Rendering at a later date. For comparison, here is an example with Vicky 8.1 with my Iray Uber settings.

Comparison of Iray Uber Shader with and without spectral rendering.

Okay! Ready to get started? Oh! I forgot to mention that if you want to follow along in Daz, I’m using this HDRI and no other lighting and default tone mapping.

My lighting setup – Just HDRI and no other lighting or default tone mapping.

Monochromatic vs Chromatic Iray Uber Skin

The first step is understanding what type of skin you are starting with, and that really boils down to SSS (subsurface scattering). To put it simply, think of subsurface scattering as the way light shines through the skin. Skin is translucent, so it’s only natural that we’d see things like veins and, well, meat beneath it. Older Iray Uber skins, such as those found on G3 and a very small amount of G2 characters, use a type of SSS called Monochromatic. Newer Iray Uber skins, such as those found on G8 (and G8.1) characters, use a type of SSS called Chromatic.

Now, what is the difference between the two? Well, I honestly couldn’t tell you, other than the fact that they behave completely differently, and that Chromatic SSS, when set up correctly, appears to behave more naturally in terms of light reflection than Monochromatic SSS. So how do you tell which is which? It’s really easy, but you’ll need to roll up your sleeves a bit and open up the surfaces tab (If you’re never looked at the surfaces tab, or are unfamiliar with it, you’ll be digging into it here!):

Monochromatic

You will see a greyscale map slotted into the translucency color. You’ll also see a rather tomato-inspired red set for the color itself (in most cases). And if you scroll down on the surfaces panel, you’ll see the word ‘Mono’ listed under SSS Mode.

Monochromatic skin typically uses a lower translucency weight (.3 to .5) and the general rule of thumb is that it can be lightened or darkened by adjusting that slider (lower for lighter, higher for darker, etc). Monochromatic skin can be converted to Chromatic skin with some work, and that work does involve Photoshop (or another photo editing program that can use layers, such as Gimp). I will be showing you how to convert a Monochromatic skin, such as Vicky 7, over to Chromatic SSS and apply my tweaks. (I’ll try to stick with the super popular base figures that pretty much everybody has so you can follow along exactly.)

Chromatic

You will likely see either an exact duplicate of the base color map slotted into the translucency color, or a slightly lightened version of the base color map. The translucency color itself should (in most cases) be white (this isn’t always the case for spectral rendering, but again, this article will only cover basic rendering). And if you scroll down on the surfaces panel, you’ll see the word ‘Chromatic’ listed under SSS Mode.

Chromatic skin typically uses a much higher translucency weight (.75 or higher) and it is harder to lighten or darken simply by adjusting. This can be tweaked slightly, but if you need to lighten or darken a skin drastically, I would recommend finding a different skin that starts out where you want it in terms of tone, or go the direct route of editing the maps manually in Photoshop (advanced users). The reason for this is that Chromatic skin relies on the translucency color map, or the ‘meat map’ as I call it, to shine through from beneath the outer base color layer. If you try to lighten the skin by dropping the translucency weight, you’ll lose that ‘meat’ and the skin will end up looking flat. Chromatic skins out of the box are the easiest to tweak because they already have the necessary SSS map (though advanced users can go even further and build a new SSS map or tweak the existing one for even more detail, something I will cover in another tutorial).

Converting Monochromatic SSS to Chromatic SSS

(Beginner Level in Photoshop Required)

1. Open up a figure of your choice (I’m using Victoria 7 for my example) in Daz Studio.
2. Open up the Surfaces tab.
3. Starting with the Face, open up the translucency map in Photoshop (or photo editing program of your choice that supports layers). In the case of Vicky 7, this map is here on my system – DAZ 3D\My 3D Library\Runtime\Textures\DAZ\Characters\Genesis3\Victoria7\V7FaceMapSSS_1001.jpg. There are other SSS maps for Vicky 7 that are dependent upon any makeup you choose, but for our purposes, we’re only concerned with the base skin that loads with the character. You can always convert the makeup skins if you’d like later (I usually just use third-party makeup anyways).
4. Once you have the Face SSS map open in Photoshop (it should be greyscale with blue squigglies), take a look at the vein detail. It’s great! I really wish Daz kept these details on their newer figures but c’est la vie. Now open up the base color map, in this case V7FaceMapD_1001.jpg. We’re going to need both to create a proper Chromatic SSS map.
5. Next take the SSS map and copy/paste it onto a new layer over the base color map. You should now have two layers…one with the SSS map, and one with the base color map. The SSS map should be on top, currently blocking the color map from showing.
6. Change the opacity of the SSS map to 25%.
7. Now create a new solid color adjustment layer and pick a nice fleshy pink tone (205,165,165).
8. Change the opacity of the solid color adjustment layer to 20%. The pink layer will bring back some nice color to the map we’re building.
9. Go ahead and save this working file as a .psd if you want to come back to it later and play around (I would highly advise playing around…that’s how I learned!). Flatten the image or stamp visible if that’s you’re thing and save this new SSS map as a .jpg (the highest quality setting). You can save it in Vicky 7’s folder, or anywhere you’d like to save it if you want to set aside a special folder for your custom maps. I’ve saved mine as V7FaceMpaD_1001 – CUSTOM SSS.jpg.
10. Back in Daz, change the Translucency Color map to the one you just created. You do this by clicking on the map in the Surfaces tap and then going to Browse when the menu pops up.
11. Change the Translucency Color to white (you can absolutely play with this if you’re going for fantasy skin colors)
12. Change the Translucency Weight to .85 (you might need to play with this depending on the character).
13. Change the Base Color Effect to Scatter & Transmit Intensity (Vicky 7 is already set up that way, but if the character you’re working on doesn’t have it, go ahead and change it).
14. Change the SSS Reflectance Tint to 0.56, 0.98, 1.00. (you might need to play with this depending on the character, I usually start with 0.79, 1.00, 1.00 and adjust from there).
15. Scroll down on the Surfaces pane.
16. Change the SSS Mode to Chromatic.
17. Change the Transmitted Measurement Distance to .15 (you might need to play with this depending on the character).
18. Change the Transmitted Color to 0.95, 0.20, 0.10 (you can definitely play with this depending on the character and skin tone you’re going for…unlike with Monochromatic SSS, this is where you can go to fine tune the ultimate lightness/darkness and tone…to an extent).
19. Change the Scattering Measurement Distance to .015 (you can play with this setting too).
20. Change the SSS Color to 0.95, 0.45, 0.55 (you can play with this setting too…in fact, you will have to depending on the character and look you’re going for).
21. Change the SSS Direction to -.15 (I typically don’t mess with this and leave it set to 0, but using small negative values, such as -.1 to -.25, can be helpful if there is too much scattering effect…this can vary greatly on lighting).
22. Repeat these steps for the Lips and Ears (I often do them at the same time as the Face since they use the same maps).
23. Repeat these steps for the rest of the skin surfaces…Arms, Body, Legs, Fingernails, Toenails, EyeSocket, etc. All of these maps are located in the same folder where we found the Face map (in example, the body would be V7TorsoMapD_1002.jpg for Victoria 7).

Again, play around with the settings! That’s how you’ll learn what you like and dislike and what different colors and numbers do. This is where you might think about tweaking the settings for Bump, Top Coat, and/or Gloss/Specularity. They all add up to the skin’s final results! And if you’re comfortable with Photoshop, you can even build upon the SSS map we created above for more detail (blending tattoos into this layer can help immensely in making them look more realistic and less stickerific). Also note that I do not adjust eyes…you can easily slot in eyes from another character.

I know it looks like a lot of steps but it’s really not so bad, and it goes quickly once you get the hang of it!

Please see the below comparison.

Comparison of out-of-the-box Victoria 7 skin with tweaked Victoria 7 skin.

The above steps can also be followed with darker monochromatic skin tones, as seen below with Monique 7 …the only thing I did different was bump the Translucency Strength up to .90 and change the SSS Reflectance Tint a smidge to give a more golden undertone rather than blue.

Comparison of out-of-the-box Monique 7 skin with tweaked Monique 7 skin.

Visit Part 2 of the tutorial which deals with Tweaking a Chromatic Skin.

This tutorial is the first in a series designed to highlight and showcase the powerful abilities of the the Nik Collection, which is a suite of 7 plug-ins that provide an impressive array of photo editing capabilities: from color correction, retouching and creative effects to image sharpening and a wide range of special effects.

While they used to retail for $500 (and worth every penny) the good folks at Google are making it available to everyone free of charge because that’s their way.

Grab a copy here and let’s get started!

How to Transform Your 3D Art into a Charcoal Sketch

1. Using Silver Efex Pro 2 (Nik Collection)

In this installment, we will be using Silver Efex Pro 2 to turn this render of Antfarm’s Walker HD (see below) into a fine art charcoal study. For the duration of this tutorial, Silver Efex Pro 2 will be referred to as SEP2. Brace yourselves; technique is coming…

Basic Daz Studio 3Delight render without any additional lights.

I’ve taken a basic 3DL render without any additional lights, but obviously you can do this with any image (even a photograph) that has the proper value range into the SEP2 suite and run Antique Plate II (preset 36) with the default settings. Since you want it to look like a sketch, you mostly want a high contrast image without much midtones (those values will be lost).

Therefore, if your results aren’t looking like the example, just undo the SEP2 filter and adjust the levels until you get a good balance of lights and darks (in Photoshop). Then restore the filter with Ctrl+F. Rinse, wash, repeat until you get the desired results. Alternatively, you may also adjust contrast and brightness from within the SEP2 interface.

Once you are happy with the results, Right click > Flatten Image.

Image after applying Antique Plate II (preset 36) from the SEP2 suite in Nik Collection tools.

2. Warming Filter and Increasing Contrast

Once you have a solid base, the edges are already fading out just like an unfinished sketch. Notice how the clouds have become abstracted, almost like a doodle and they’re getting lost in all the background noise which is starting to look like paper grain. You could almost stop here, but why not push it a bit further?

Warming layer filter settings in Photoshop.

Create an adjustment layer/photo filter (in Photoshop) and select the Warming Filter(85). Ensure that Preserve Luminosity is ticked, then run the density up to around 88% or so.

Image result after applying the warming adjustment layer described above.

This is way too orange, but have no fear, we’re going to fix that now.

Photoshop layer stack after these operations.

• Copy the SEP2 (background layer) via Ctrl+J.
• Desaturate with Ctrl+shift+U.
• Invert with Ctrl+I.

The end result is shown below. This will be your layer mask, so hit Ctrl+A to select all and then cut it with Ctrl+X

Our image mask after desaturating and inverting our background (original) image.

• Duplicate the Silver Efex Pro 2 (background layer) twice.
• Apply a layer mask to the first one (Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All).
• Go to the channels tab and then paste the layer mask in the alpha channel with Ctrl+V. Note that visibility of the layer must be on before pasting, then turn it off after.
• Set the layer to Multiply to punch up the shadows.

That’s nice but I want some more color in there, so

Photoshop layer stack after operations to punch up our shadows and add in more color.

• Merge the photo filter onto the other background layer copy. (Right click > Merge Down).
• Set the layer to Linear Light.
• Then Right click > Create Clipping Mask. See how rich those dark values just got?

Our Photoshop layer tab after performing the operations described here.

Still looks a little drab, so let’s duplicate the photo filter layer and reset the mode to Normal, but drop the opacity down to 40%.

Our 3D-art image after adding in a warming filter and punching up the shadows in Photoshop.

3. Add Hatching

To make it look more like a sketch, let’s introduce some hatching. Save what you have so far and then flatten everything (Right click > Flatten Image). Launch SEP2 and use Wet Rocks (preset 23) to get this grainy looking result.

Image result after applying the Wet Rocks (preset 23) from SEP2, in the Nik Collection tool.

Photoshop layer stack after adding Angled Strokes operations.

• Ctrl+L and enter 15/.75/255 to adjust the value range.
• Set the layer to Overlay at 40% opacity.
• Do Filter > Brush Strokes > Angled Strokes. I used 50/15/3 but if you’re doing your own image, just try for something like the image below.

Adjust Filter > Gallery > Angled Strokes until we get something that looks like this. Settings will be different depending on your image.

If you want to add some color, now would be a good time to try Hue/Saturation or even just Alt+Ctrl+L. You can keep messing around with it, but I’m done…

Final result of transforming our 3D-art render into a charcoal sketch using Photoshop and the Nik Collection tools.

Summary

While the Nik Collection was developed for photographers, any Photoshop user can tell you that Photoshop isn’t just for photographs and neither is the Nik Collection In fact, since 3D-art renders are really just simulated photographs, we will enjoy a much higher degree of overlap with the intended purpose than someone using the Nik Collection on colored line-art, for example.

I’ve began this series with a technique of turning a render into a charcoal sketch to underscore the concept that the Nik Collection has a much wider gamut of applications than mere photo editing, so you need not restrict yourself to using these filters only in the ways in which they were intended.

There are applications for the Nik Collection that the developers never even dreamed of!

In future installments, we will be exploring many different uses for the Nik Collection; some will cover the features much like a manual, while others will take it to a completely different level. Please look forward to it!

This article and all of the images within were created by the very talented Alex Ledante. Copyright © Alex Ledante. Check out his gallery here.

One great place to hook up with other fellow artists is Deviant Art. Deviant Art is huge! There are 3d-artists, traditional artists, digital painters, photographers, photo manipulators, and much much more. There are beginners, hobbyists, students, writers, and professional artists.

If you like a large social setting for art with a lot of diversity, then definitely check out Deviant Art. To get us all started, we did a great Q&A session with Becarra, a popular 3D-artist on DA and a wonderful friend.

Mando Creed Fan Art by Becarra.

This article and all of the images within were created by the very talented Becarra. Copyright © Becarra.

Q: How do I get to know people?

I have a simple philosophy for this. ‘I have never met a stranger’

Simple as that!

Well okay, it’s not really as simple as that but I hope you see my point.

I’m a bit of a chatterbox, I like getting to know people. In my replies, responses and comments on other’s work, or to notes I receive, I do try to leave more than just a passing comment. Sure I get lazy sometimes and it’s all too easy to just say ‘Outstanding’, ‘Well done’ or something similar.

(I do find myself doing it quite a bit at times if I’m honest, and I kick myself each time!).

When I do manage to say a little more, I try not to make it about the art directly by commenting on the lighting or some other technical aspect. I try to make it a personal comment and inject a little humour, or even leave an open comment which may garner a response from the artist themselves. This opens the door to a two way dialogue and if you just treat other’s as people then they are more likely to chat with you.

Never be afraid to ask questions, but do stay away from the personal one’s. I never ask for personal details such as ASL (age, sex, location), Skype or messenger details. No, no no! Just don’t do it!

You won’t win any friends that way, plus you never know who you’re talking too!

In essence, play it cool, play it safe.

Disney Princesses – Frozen Fan Art by Becarra

Q: How do I get watchers (followers)?

Hmm… It sure beats me!

Seriously though, getting followers is something that I don’t actively try to do, I never say ‘watch for watch’ or offer incentives to people. I don’t see anything wrong with that but I think my work speaks for itself, and if other’s like it enough then they may consider adding me to their watch.

Many artists old and new often doubt themselves and their work, myself included, even to this day!

While other’s may see our work and either like or dislike it based on personal tastes, us artists will always see our work in a different light. Even on completed pieces we still see flaws and omissions, which is why I am always open to any feedback whether positive or negative. If something is pointed out about an image I’ve made and I think it needs fixing, I’ll do my best to do so. People often appreciate the fact that you’ve taken their views into account.

One thing I learned early on is to leave ego out of the equation. If you can’t or are unwilling to accept other’s views of your work, then maybe a public forum isn’t the place to showcase said work. You could always disable comments I guess, but where’s the fun in that!

Feedback is always welcome, and I think potential followers appreciate this openness, and feel as if they can be a part of your creative process.

Another way of attracting followers is to get yourself out there by joining groups, submitting your work and becoming an active deviant. Lol that sounds wrong but I’m sure you know what I mean!

More on groups later!

900 Watchers by Becarra

Q: How do I get views?

Views in my opinion are something that we have very little control over. It’s entirely up to the individual if they want to ‘view’ any given deviation. If they choose to move on, then so be it.

Our followers are more likely to view our work, and even then they may not comment on it. They don’t have to of course, many people are here just to look at the pretty pictures, some are here for very specific reasons and I say it’s each to their own. I’m not here to judge anyone’s tastes, besides, it would be a boring old world if we all liked the same thing anyway!

Now this is just me, but I cannot limit myself to just one style of art. Some like to focus on portraits, nudes, pin-up’s, scenery, animals, vehicles… the list is endless.

I like colours, the more bright and vibrant the better, I like sci-fi, fantasy, horror, pin-up’s, nudes, humour… I think my work reflects this in some ways (this is me being modest here!), and I think that if your personal gallery has more to offer than just one focus, then it may attract more views, and hence, more followers!

50k Pageviews – Another Life! by Becarra

Q: Should I join some groups?

Yes. Definitely. Without a doubt! Didn’t I say we’d get back to this!

Groups are another way of gaining a broader community presence, and allow you to see art you may not have stumbled upon in your travels through DA.

There are many types of groups. Some like to focus on a particular art style, photography, writing, poetry, even tips and tricks, Photoshop, stock images and more…

If you can think of it, there is probably a group for it out there.

Individual groups themselves will always have their own guidelines and rules, which is to be expected, but they can offer so much more than just an outlet for your artistic talent. They are micro communities of like minded individuals who can share tips and tricks, jokes, stories and above all, friendship if you are brave enough to delve into their world. Many groups have affiliations with other groups and this just widens your exposure to both other artists work and yourself for others to view.

If you feel so inclined you can offer to become a contributor to your group or even ask if it’s possible to become a group admin! You may have to have been a member for a while or be vouched for before it becomes official, but it can show that you’re serious about both the group and your community presence.

You don’t have to limit yourself to just one group either! It can easy to find your way into many groups, so remember to take your time, and only join those that you think you have something to offer!

Groups can offer a place to belong, a reason to do what you do and above all they can offer the support you may be looking for.

So what have you got to lose?

When Darkness Falls… by Becarra

Should I do NSFW art or not?

Let’s be clear, not everyone knows what this means. I sure didn’t when I first heard it. The following is the simplest explanation I could find via the internet:

NSFW. (Not Safe For Work).

Used to describe internet content generally inappropriate for the typical workplace, i.e., would not be acceptable in the presence of your boss and colleagues (as opposed to SFW, Safe For Work).

Now let’s be honest, this is generally referring to anything that contains the following:

Nudity, gore, vore, violence, peril, racially or religiously orientated subjects, and of course, things of a pornographic nature.

In reality (i.e., the workplace), it can mean just about everything. I have never worked in a place that allows anything other than what they need to run their business. Even using a simple inoffensive wallpaper of kittens gets taken down!

But should you make NSFW art?

Only you can answer this. Try asking yourself the following questions.

1. Do you feel that you need to do so in order to gain recognition or followers?
2. Do you feel comfortable drawing/creating such things?
3. Where would you draw the line?
4. Are you ready to accept sometimes hurtful or perverted comments and/or requests because of this?
5. Sometimes it can open a door to a whole new world of weird and wonderful follower’s. Are you ready?

If you can answer yes to all of the above then what are you waiting for? Show me what you can do!!!
If you answered no to any of the questions then take your time to think about it before deciding.

Just because you may see a lot of this kind of work on Deviant Art, does not mean you have to do the same, unless you want to of course! Just remember that making your art should be fun and guilt free!

Note – DA has their own policies regarding Nudity and what they consider pornographic content:

• Nudity FAQ
• Pornography FAQ

Will being on DA make me any money?

This is a tricky one for me to address as I’ve never tried selling anything on DA or offered to do commissions. I can only comment based on what I’ve heard so I apologize if any of this is misleading.

While I have not sold anything on DA, or even tried, I have bought a print, just a single print hehe. It was priced under £5 or would have cost 400 points. So far so good. The checkout process, with shipping and handling more than doubled that, then I had to buy a frame for it…

I did look into selling some of my work as prints a while ago. Unless you have a Core Membership you have to use the prices set by DA, otherwise you can set your own. While this may sound appealing you have to remember that DA still takes their cut, they are the ones that actually print the print, pack and ship it after all. I recall at the time I looked into this, I didn’t feel it worth my while to go ahead with offering prints for sale as I’d have to sell a lot of them to see any kind of real profit.

Commissions are another way of making money or DA points.

Many artists offer their services to other members by producing customized works for them. Generally you would discuss in private via note what you want the artist to make. They, in turn, would then discuss fees based upon the type/style/quantity of work requested. This would go back and forth until both parties are satisfied, with the completed work only being given after payment has been received. Most artists use Paypal for these transactions.

Above all you have to respect what an artist will and will not do, for more info, see more NSFW above and not pester them for inappropriate details and/or content. This is all of course looking at things in the short term.

Can you make a living from your work?

Many artists on DA do, either through constant or regular commissions, or even doing some professional work. There is always somebody out there that will be willing to pay for your work, no matter the style or skill level of the artist, you just have to find them!

Revenge of the Fifth 2016 by Becarra.

This article and all of the images within were created by the very talented Becarra. Copyright © Becarra.

In my final tutorial of this series, I will cover the postwork steps I generally use in Photoshop when working with skin.  As with using Octane, this isn’t a recipe, and some tweaking is required depending on the render I am working on.  That being said, I do routinely use these steps as a starting place with nearly all my renders.

They are also quite rudimentary – I only started learning Photoshop shortly after learning Daz Studio – so less than a year.  Therefore, this will be a tutorial mainly aimed at beginners.

Daz Studio Octane Postwork Tutorial for Beginners

Step by Step Photoshop Postwork Process

To start off with – you can download the original 4k render here.

You can also download the .duf file for the Daz scene. You will need to own Olympia 7 and Olympia 7 HD Add-On (if you don’t, go buy her, she’s fantastic).  I tweak my skin textures on almost every new render, so this scene includes a newer skin texture from the one included with the previous Octane skin tutorial.

Go ahead and open the original render file in Photoshop (if you use Gimp, almost all of the following can still be applied)

1. Duplicate the Background layer – right click layer > duplicate layer > OK

Duplicate the ‘background’ layer – right click layer > duplicate layer > OK
2. From the main menus select image > auto tone. Then repeat with image > auto colour.  Select Edit from the main menu and fade auto colour to 80%

After applying Image > Auto Tone and Image > Auto Color in Step 2.
3. Create a new fill/adjustment layer using the circular icon underneath the layers, and select colour balance. With the new window that opens choose the shadows tone and adjust the yellow/blue slider towards the blue by no more than 10.  Repeat by setting the midtones towards cyan by 10, and the hightlights towards yellow by 10.

In step 3, create a new Color Balance adjustment layer. Then set Color Balance adjustments according to the image on the right.
4. Create a new merged layer (shift+ctrl+alt+e) – this will copy all of the layers and merge them into a new layer, thus preserving the original layers if you need to return to them (this is called a non-destructive workflow). Your layers tab should now look like this:
   

   Our layer stack after creating a new merged layer (shift+ctrl+alt+e).

   With the newly created layer selected, select image > adjustments > brightness/contrast.  Set the brightness to -70 and the contrast to +70, then OK.  Now select image > adjustments > hue/saturation and set the saturation to -40.

   Select filter > blur > gaussian blur, and set the radius to 8.

   Finally select the blending mode (drop down menu at top of layer window) to screen, and set its opacity to 50%.


Setting the Blending Mode (drop down menu at top of layer window) to screen.
5. Create a new fill/adjustment layer like in step 3 but this time select a photo filter layer. Set the filter to cooling filter (lbb) and adjust the density to 10%

Our new Photo Filter adjustment layer settings.
6. The final step is to create a new merged layer (shift+ctrl+alt+e) like in step 4.  Perform a final auto-tone like in step 2.

Final result of our Photoshop postwork process to the right compared to our original Octane rendered image to the left.

Summary

I hope you have found this series of Octane tutorials useful, and they have encouraged you to try the octane demo.  Octane is a very different beast compared with iRay, and it can be a daunting prospect when you first open it up and see the node based system. 

However, you can get pretty good results by using the auto-convert texture tool or using pre-built shaders from the library. To get the most out of it though, you really need to overcome your fears and dive into the nodes – where with time you will be rewarded with a plethora of ways to enhance your renders.  And did I say, it is really, really fast!

This article and all of the images within were created by the very talented Brian Sains. Copyright © Brian Sains. Check out his gallery here.

Sub-surface scattering (SSS)

In the introduction to this series I explained how Physically Based Render engines work – simulated light bouncing around interacting with surfaces.

SSS is the process that defines –

• How light passes through a translucent object,
• How it interacts with the properties of that object, and
• How it exits the object (at a different point – hence scattered).

In practical terms, particularly with skin, it is the effect where you see light pass through extremities like the ear, producing a reddening glow.

Showing Sub-surface scattering (SSS) effects as it passes through the ear, producing a reddening glow.

That is about as far as I can take the science, so let’s look at how SSS is controlled within Octane.  SSS is applied to a material node using a scattering node, which can be applied to both diffuse and specular materials (but not glossy ones).  If you look at the skin shader material in our previous skin tutorial, you will see there is a scattering node attached to all four material nodes (3 scattering nodes, as one is shared between two specular nodes).

Node-graph diagram of our skin shader showing the a scattering node attached to a material node.

The diagram below shows the three scattering nodes controlling (from left to right) the skin’s deep/mid layer, the mid-layer and the surface layer.

Settings for three scattering nodes controlling (from left to right) the skin’s deep/mid layer, the mid-layer and the surface layer.

Octane Scattering Node Settings

1. Density

Density controls how fast light travels through an object, the higher the value the faster it travels (a value of 0 would result in no scattering).  My interpretation of this is that the higher the value, the deeper light can penetrate a surface.  When using other materials, particularly those from the online database, I have found this setting to be very low.  It is very dependent on the size of the model, and therefore the scale used within Daz.  Normally these materials have been developed for use within other 3d applications with a different scaling system, which is why they tend to be set lower.

2. Absorption

The scattered light will be the opposite of the absorption colour.

This setting defines which light is absorbed faster, in the case of the 3^rd node it’s a green/blue.  It took me a while to get my head round this, but essentially the effect is the scattered light will be the opposite of this colour (from a wavelength perspective).  The image shown here is from the colour picker within octane – a colour set to absorb blue will scatter as red.

3. Scattering

Scattering is similar to absorption, but defines the speed at which light will be scattered when it passes through an object.

4. Phase/direction

This controls the direction the light is scattered:

• 0 – light scattered the same amount in any direction
• 1.0 – more light continues to travel in the direction it was originally traveling
• -1.0 – light backscatters in the direction it came from

5. Adjusting the scattering nodes

Sadly there is no one definitive setting that will work across all objects. It very much depends on scale, lighting, position, kernel settings and so on.  It is very much a case of trial and error, and an area I still need to work on.

Practically, you may not need to worry about this setting too much, for example if the object is distant or if the ears are covered.  But if you do need to, it’s a juggling act between getting the right amount of scattering across all skin materials. 

Light wouldn’t scatter like that through a hand.

Note – any changes you make to one material (e.g. ears) will have to be adjusted in other skin materials (e.g. arms), otherwise the change will be visible in the UV seams.  Consider the girl with the red ear above – she was one of my first attempts at SSS.  Now look at her hand …

Light wouldn’t scatter like that through a hand.  As a result I tend to pose a model with the hand next to the ear, and then adjust the density (starting with the deep scatter node).  Density (from left to right) 1, 250, 500.

I tend to pose a model with the hand next to the ear, and then adjust the density. Density (from left to right) 1, 250, 500.

Glossiness

The last area I would like to cover regarding the skin material is gloss/reflection.  This is for subtle gloss effect, so you wouldn’t use this for a wet skin look, but more for areas like the lips, nails, lacrimals, or eye socket. 

Gloss is controlled in Octane using the Roughness setting in both specular and glossy nodes, but is not available in diffuse nodes.  The scale between 0 and 1 determines the level – the lower the roughness, the more glossy/reflective the surface.

The lower the roughness, the more glossy/reflective the surface.

Let’s consider a practical example using the lips.  The lips are currently sharing a material with the face and the ears, which is no good as we don’t want a shiny face! 

• Return to the Material tab and select the Lips surface.
• Select the material assigned to the lips and copy as a new material.
• Now apply this new copied material to the lips. It now has its own material that we can edit.

Select the material assigned to the lips and copy as a new material.

You can get away with this with the lips as they have a clearly defined line between the surrounding face surface, so the seam is less obvious.

With the newly assigned lip material selected, open the node viewport.  I have found, surprisingly, that the best place to adjust the roughness for the lips is in the uppermost scattering node (the one for the deep scatter), which to me, sounds counter-intuitive.  The image below shows the lips with roughness set to 500,250 & 0 (top to bottom).

Lips with roughness set to 500,250 & 0 (top to bottom).

Finishing up in Daz

Octane comes with a free online material database containing 100s of organic and non-organic materials.  I used the auto-material function in Octane for the eye-lashes. This feature takes the surface settings from within Daz and tries to convert them into Octane. The results vary, and it struggles with iRay materials (though it is getting better). Within the Material tab, right-click the item and select Create new material > Auto Material.

I used the auto-material function in Octane for the eye-lashes.

The other materials I used in the Mei portrait are:

1. Cornea and Eye Reflection – Clear cornea shader  (Octane database)
2. Eyelashes – Auto-material
3. Iris – RedSpec
4. Pupils – RedSpec
5. Sclera – TonySculptor Sclera (Octane database)
6. Hair (Actual Hair 2) – RedSpec Hair Shader

The RedSpec materials are part of a set purchased from a 3^rd Party.

I used the iRay OOT Hair Shaders for colour and transparency maps.  I sometimes increase the smoothing value within Daz for hair as well.

Mei portrait

I have always had a real dislike of the Tear object around the eye, which is now part of the eye moisture object in Genesis 3 characters.  I remove it in Daz by using the geometry tool.

• Click anywhere on the tear.
• Right-click and do Geometry selection > Select connected.
• With the tear now selected (see image below), you can right click Geometry assignment > Create surface from selected.
• Name it, and then repeat with the other eye.
• I then apply a null-shader (diffuse node with no settings, and opacity set to 0) to the tears, and there you have it, no more tears!

Selecting the tear area on our figure’s eyes.

Summary

So that’s it for Daz Studio, Octane, and skin.  I still have some work to do, in particular on skin reflection, index of refraction, Fresnel effect, falloff textures and more.  I also want to break down the material a bit more and make it more processor efficient.

Having spent so much time on the skin, I also need to work on bringing the standard of my other materials up to scratch. You will notice many of my models don’t smile, simply because I am yet to develop a material I am happy with. Same goes for clothes.

Thank you for visiting my Daz Studio Octane tutorials. Hope you enjoyed them.

This article and all of the images within were created by the very talented Brian Sains. Copyright © Brian Sains. Check out his gallery here.

What I want to achieve here is to give you the ability to set up a simple light rig and basic camera within Octane. I also describe how to add in displacement maps for increased realism.

In this tutorial, I will continue to use the Mei portrait image below as an example. For more on how I created a realistic skin shader, please refer to this tutorial. If you are new to Daz Studio Octane, there is an introduction article here.

How to Set-Up Camera, Lights, & Displacement in Daz Studio Octane

1. Daz Studio Octane Lights

Lighting in Octane can be achieved from the Environment Tab (Octane daylight environment or HDR Texture environment) and through emissive textures.  For my image, I used a single emissive key light and an HDR image (Playa Sunrise) from the fantastic sIBL archive.

Open the Environment Tab, set the image to the Playa Sunrise HDRi and adjust the settings as shown below (making sure the Gamma is set to 1).  That’s all you need to do to set up the environment light.  You can rotate the image using the Translation X setting. This is best done with the render window open and all objects hidden (from within Daz).  I will leave it as it is, because I want the sun in the image as the back light for my subject.

How to set-up HDRi lighting in Daz Studio Octane

Now let’s set up a simple emissive light in the scene.  Most people tend to use a plane primitive for emissive lighting, but I prefer to use a flattened sphere as a key light (I prefer the reflection you get in the eye).  I place the primitive as illustrated below.

Front view of where I place my emissive light.

Top view of where I place my emissive light.

To create the emissive material you need to return to the Octane material tab.  Right click the Sphere primitive and select Create new light source > Simple.

To create the emissive material you need to return to the Octane material tab.

Open the newly created material in the Node editor, right click on the diffuse node and select Smart Unfold.  This breaks down a node into its constituent parts so you can see how it is built.  As you can see, an emissive texture is simply a Blackbody Emission node plugged into a Diffuse node (you cannot have an emissive glossy or specular material).

How our newly created emissive light material looks in the Node Editor after selecting Smart Unfold.

Select the Blackbody node and update the settings as is shown in the left image below. The orange texture colour is from the horizon of the Playa HDR image, selected using the colour picker tool that is available when you edit the colour.  If you like, repeat the process and create a second primitive to the left side of the character as a fill light. This time select the blue colour from the sky in the HDRi (below right).

Set the colour of our key emissive light to the orange from the horizon of the Playa HDR image. Repeat the process and create a second light (fill light) to the left side of the character. Set the colour to the blue from the sky of our HDRi.

Test render after our initial light set-up.

Now, we can fine tune our lights from within the render viewport itself, even when the image is rendering.  Let’s start with the Camera Imager and Post Processing tabs. The following are the settings I used in my Mei portrait:

Camera Imager and Post Processing settings I used in my Mei portrait.

Test render after our new Camera Imager and Post Processing settings.

Choice of settings in the Camera Imager comes down to personal preference.  As I have said previously, I’m a big fan of the Agfachrome, Ektachrome and Kodachrome filters.  I also find adding bloom improves the natural lighting and softens the image.

2. Daz Studio Octane Camera Settings

• Create a camera in Daz and make sure that it’s selected within the Daz viewport.
• Position it so the face is in full portrait view.
• Now open the Octane viewport again.  Use the ‘Autofocus’ tool to select an area of focus (I tend to use the eye or nose as my focal point). This gives us a nice quick DOF effect.

Open the Octane viewport, and use the Autofocus tool to select an area of focus.

Using the eye as my focal point.
• To adjust the degree of focus, you need to select the camera within Daz and open the Cameras pane.  Use the Aperture Diameter setting in that pane. I usually set it between 5-15mm (the f-stop is altered automatically).
   
  I am sure this will probably cause photographers to scream “that’s not how to do it!” – but it works for me 🙂

Setting the Aperture Diameter in the Cameras pane.

3. Daz Studio Octane Displacement Maps

Some of you may have noticed that in the skin tutorial, we only used a diffuse map – no bump, normal or displacement maps.  The reason I leave it to now is that I prefer to use displacement maps, which can slow down render time. Therefore, I wait until I am happy with the scene, then add displacement and tweak as necessary.

I used a displacement map in the Mei portrait.  It needs to be a greyscale image and ideally 4k and above.  In this case I used the standard bump map that came with Mei 7, but in the past have used dedicated displacement maps (though rarely supplied) or have made my own from the diffuse map ( tutorial on making displacement maps ). 

The important thing here is that the black parts of the map are the parts that depress into the object (like pores) and the white bits extrude (like spots or eyebrows).  Ultimately, I find a displacement map produces a much better result as it physically alters the shape of the object, thus giving you subtle shades and shadows.

To add a map to the displacement node, return to the Material pane in Octane and open the face material in the node editor.

Note that there is already a greyscale image node waiting to be filled, which is attached to the displacement node.

You will notice there is already a greyscale image node waiting to be filled. This is attached to the displacement node, which in turn drives the displacement for the combined nodes before being applied to the surface.  If you have a bump map that has white eyebrows and black pores then you should be able to use it here.  Use the grayscale image node to load the bump map.

Next, select the Displacement node and check the level of detail corresponds to the image you have used (normally 4k).  The only other adjustment required is the height.  This is very sensitive, and you wouldn’t want to go beyond a height of 0.12cm. 

The height is very sensitive, and you would not want to go beyond a height of 0.12cm.

The image below shows (from left to right) no displacement, 0.06cm and 0.12cm.

From left to right – no displacement, 0.06cm and 0.12cm.

You will need to go back and update all of your skin materials for torso and arms accordingly, and make sure they are set to the same mid-level and height (but with different image maps). Otherwise, the seams between the UV areas will become visible.

You will need to go back and update all of your skin materials for torso and arms accordingly, otherwise the seams between the UV areas will become visible.

I have found that adding bump or normal maps alongside a displacement map adds very little if anything.  However, displacement maps can be very fiddly and more render intensive.  If you wish to use a bump map then create a new image node (greyscale with a gamma setting below 0.1) or normal map (RGB image node) and attach it to the appropriate connecter on the 3 specular and 1 diffuse nodes.

In the next tutorial I will cover a couple of other node adjustments you may find useful, and then cover briefly the other materials I used in the Mei render.

We will need a working version of the Daz Octane plugin installed (full or demo).  This can be downloaded at www.otoy.com.  Please note – if you are using the demo version then image size is restricted and will be watermarked, and you will not be able to access the material database. If you are not familiar with Daz Studio Octane, this introduction article will give you an overview.

In this tutorial, I will use the Mei portrait image below as an example.

Daz Studio Octane Skin Shader Tutorial

1. Start by downloading this .duf file.
2. Open Daz Studio.  If the plugin is installed correctly, you should have the following icons in your toolbar
3. Make sure the icon on the right is set to ‘Duf’ (click on it to cycle through the options) – this setting will make sure that all Octane settings and materials from the Duf file are loaded (Manual loads no Octane settings, Auto will try and build materials based on the settings within Daz).
    
   The left icon is for the Main Octane Settings, the middle opens the render viewport.
4. Unzip and open the SkinShader.duf file you just downloaded.  You should find a simple scene with a Sphere primitive.  If you open the render viewport the sphere will be rendered, but will be quite dark and not look very much like skin at the moment.
5. Now import a model – I have used Genesis 3 model (Mei Lin 7) in this example but you can use any model you have. Note that the available surfaces will be different for earlier generation models, but the same principles will apply – e.g. Torso in Gen 3 is Head, neck, hips etc. in Gen2.  For best results try and use a model that has a diffuse map that is photo-referenced, and not hand painted – Mei Lin 7, Olympia 7, Michael 7 and Michael 6 are good examples.
6. With your chosen model loaded, open the Octane Settings window, and select the materials tab.

The Materials Tab of the Octane Settings window.

The left part lists all available/used materials, the middle part lists current scene models with their available surfaces. When you select a surface a yellow dot will show you which material is attached.

7. Now apply the skin material to the model – click and drag SkinShader from the left and drop it on the Face surface.  Apply the same material to the Lips and Ears.  You can now delete the sphere from within Daz Studio.  It should now look like this:

After applying the SkinShader material from the left to the Face, Lips, and Ears surfaces.

Now you have the material applied open the render viewport.  It will still look a little dark and not skin like yet.  We need to add a few more  things to the material using the Nodegraph Editor (highlighted with a red rectangle in the image above).

Exploring Our Octane Skin Material

When rendering an object using a PBR (physically based renderer) like Octane, the material needs to replicate its real world equivalent.  With skin this involves creating layers for the deep scatter (blood vessels), hypodermis & dermis (fatty tissue), and epidermis (the outermost layer).  At the very least I feel you need the first and last if you want that lovely red translucency (scattering) in the ears. 

One way is to generate independent layers on the model (each with its own material), but this is cumbersome and from my experience does not add anything.  I prefer to generate all the layers within one material.

I do this by combining different nodes.  Octane has four primary nodes – Diffuse (solid matt surface), Glossy (solid shiny surface) and Specular (clear or transparent surface).  The fourth is a Mix Node where you can combine two or more of these surface nodes.

Node structure of the skin material I used in the Mei portrait.

The above is the node structure of the skin material I used in the Mei portrait.   Nodes 2 & 3 are adapted from the amazing skin material developed by TonySculptor (freely available in the Octane library) . I have added the other nodes around it, and they loosely represent the layers of skin as follows:

1. Specular Material (blood vessels, or deep scatter)
2. Specular Material (skin mid-layer)
3. Specular Material (skin mid-layer)
4. Diffuse Material (skin surface)
5. Displacement map (add texture and definition to the surface)

In isolation, each of the five nodes will look like the following (Figure 6 is all combined):


The five skin layers I am using in my Mei portrait skin. Figure 6 shows all of the layers combined.

The additional nodes in the skin material are:

6. Output node – the item/s that the material is applied to
7. Mix material node – used to combine two material nodes
8. Image node – used to place an image within a marterial
9. Colour node – used to set an RGB/Greyscale setting to a node
10. Scattering node – used to set the scattering parameters for specular or diffuse nodes

Note however, that our current skin material does not contain any texture maps. We will need to put in appropriate texture maps according to the nodes described above.

In particular, there is a Diffuse map in the 4^th picture – let’s go ahead and put that into the skin material.  Select the RGB Image node connected to the Diffuse node. The following settings should appear on the right of the editor:

Settings for the RGB Image node.

It’s all set to receive the diffuse map – simply select the drop down list and either Browse to the diffuse map location, or (if loaded) from the map list that is generated (in this example, the maps available for Mei are offered).  I want the MeiLin7FaceD_1001.jpg image.

Browse to the diffuse map location, or (if loaded) from the map list that is generated .

Now let’s return to the Material tab and generate two more skin materials – one for the torso, and one for the arms.  Right click on the SkinShader material and Copy as new material.

Generate two more skin materials – one for the torso, and one for the arms.

A copy will be created in the unused section (blue – not assigned).  Now drag this material over to the torso surface to assign it.  With the torso selected, open the Nodegraph editor and change the diffuse map we set before to the appropriate Torso diffuse map image.  The RGB node should now look something like this.

RGB image node after applying the appropriate Torso diffuse map image.

Repeat this again for the arms. We can ignore the legs and nails as they will not be visible. Your completed skin material list should look like this:

Completed skin material list.

You can right click each material and rename it if you wish, always useful when scenes get more complicated.  You can also save them as pre-sets so they are available in other projects.

We Are Done!

Congratulations! You have just created a Daz Studio Octane skin material. Open the render viewport again, and the image should start to look more like skin now.

How our Octane skin material looks in the render viewport.

To transform this image to a finished portrait, we will need to work on setting up displacement, lighting the scene and then setting up the camera. We will discuss how to do this in our next Octane tutorial.

Our finished Mei portrait with appropriate camera, scene lighting, and post-work.

This article and all of the images within were created by the very talented Brian Sains. Copyright © Brian Sains. Check out his gallery here.

Why Octane?

Why Octane?

I started using Daz just under a year ago now, with no background in art or design.  I run my own business (along with my wife) that specialises in developing communication skills for people with Autism and Learning Disabilities.  It was through my work that I discovered Daz Studio, and was interested in its educational potential for developing avatars that could represent different emotions, expressions and social situations.  I got to grips with the basics and soon developed some resources that were well received, but they were very plastiky and I wanted a little more realism.

I spent a couple of months working with 3Delight, iRay, Reality (Lux), Indigo (via iClone) and Arnold (via a Cinema4d demo), before discovering Octane. While the render engine does play a role in determining the quality of the render produced – I would place lighting, camera settings, more lighting, shader quality and perhaps even post-work above it in significance. 

Rendered with Daz Studio Octane, with minimal postwork.

However, as far as render engines go, Octane appealed to me – it allowed me to stay within Daz, use all of the assets I had accumulated, and most importantly the node based shader/material interface made complete sense to me.  It is also fast – very fast.  I started tweaking and twiddling skin materials about six months ago, and haven’t really stopped since!

In this article, I will introduce you to using Octane from within Daz Studio, along with the tools and settings you will need.

An Introduction to Daz Studio Octane

Octane Renderer

Octane is, like iRay, a Physically Based Renderer (PBR).  My understanding of this is that the engine accurately simulates the characteristics of light and it’s interaction with a variety of surfaces. In particular, simulated light bounces around a simulated environment hitting simulated surfaces until it hits the lens of a simulated camara.  This article does a great job at explaining the Basic Theory of Physically-Based Rendering.

There are two ways of using Octane with Daz Studio – through the standalone Octane Render Software or the Daz Integrated Plugin.  There is very little to separate them regarding the tools available or the quality of what is produced, but the Daz plugin is infinitely easier to use. You make an adjustment in Daz, it is updated in the render preview in close to real-time.  If you do not have a licence of Octane, a trial version is available for standalone and plugin versions (www.otoy.com).  I use the 3.0.6 beta version, but the tutorial will work just as well with the stable 2.24 version.  In terms of hardware I am using an 8 core i7 5960x, 32gb ram, and dual Titan X GPUs, though it will work quite happily on more modest machines (I started on an old Macbook pro).

Once installed, you can access the plugin from within Daz via the OctaneRender Main link in the Render menu, or use the toolbar icon (see below).

Once installed, you can access the plugin from within Daz via the OctaneRender Main link in the Render menu, or use the toolbar icon.

To get started, you need to be familiar with the Rendersettings, Environment, and Materials tabs.

Octane Render Settings

Dimensions

Set the dimension (in pixels) of the render image.  A number of commonly used ratios are available, and will be familiar to iRay and Reality users.

Set the dimension (in pixels) of the render image.

Kernel Settings

Octane has 4 different Kernel types for processing renders. I tend to always use PMC, though path-tracing is sufficient.  PMC is the most processor intensive, and would normally only be used when things like caustics are involved, but I prefer the result.  I rarely touch the kernel settings except when there is a seam visible between the forehead and scalp – then reducing the value for Ray Epsilon can help.

Max-sample allows you to set the maximum number of samples that will be calculated before the render pauses.

Octane has 4 different Kernel types for processing renders, but I usually use PMC.

Imager settings

A selection of filters that simulate the colour and tone of common cameras.  By default this is set to Linear.  I tend to use linear when I am setting up the scene and then Kodachrome or Agfachrome curves. The contrast they provide helps lift some of the finer details in the skin, such as pores and blemishes.

A selection of filters that simulate the colour and tone of common cameras.

Octane Environment

Here you can choose between the Octane generated daytime environment (left) or HDR texture environment (right).  You can also select to have a greyscale or RGB environment. 

Here you can choose between the Octane generated daytime environment (left) or HDR texture environment (right).

To set up a HDR image make sure RGB image is selected in the dropdown box on the right and then use the browse bar in the middle to locate the desired image.  Do make sure the Gamma is set to one.  Once in place you can transform the image using 2d or 3d controllers.  I will cover this in greater detail in the next tutorial.

Spheres showing the Octane generated daytime environment (left) and the HDR texture environment (right).

Octane Materials

This is where you assign materials (shaders) to your model within Daz.

1. Available materials (Used in this file, saved as presets, or from live database)
2. Selected model and available surfaces (blue – no material, white – material assigned)
3. Selected material properties
4. Nodegraph editor – opens the material editor in node view
5. Open viewport – opens the render window

This is where you assign materials (shaders) to your model within Daz Studio.

To create a new material either:

• Drag it from the used or preset area to the desired surface (you can use the same material on multiple surfaces)
• Right-click the material and copy as new material. The new material will be an instance of the original but can be edited. Then drag the new instance across.  This is very useful when setting materials for skin.
• Search the Live Database (not available in demo) – then drag that over to desired surface. This material will then be downloaded from the internet and applied. Materials from the database can be edited/saved as presets once downloaded
• Right click a surface window (2 in diagram), and select either:
  • Generate as new material > blank – will create a new blank diffuse material.
  • Generate as new material > auto – will take the existing material settings applied within Daz and try to create a suitable material. You will normally need to tweak these auto materials, particularly if they are based on iRay shaders in Daz (though this is improving with newer releases).
  • Generate as new light source – will create a new blank diffuse material set up as a simple, textured, or IES profile light emitter.

To edit a material either;

• Adjust settings in the right hand window (3 in diagram). This is suitable for minor tweaks.
• Select the node-graph editor (4 in diagram).

Below, I show the nodegraph editor (or NGE) with a simple diffuse material.

The nodegraph editor (or NGE) with a simple diffuse material

Next, is the node-graph of a more complex skin material. 

The node-graph of a more complex skin material.

Octane has four primary nodes:

1. Diffuse – solid material surface,
2. Glossy – solid shiny surface,
3. Specular – clear or transparent surface, and
4. Mix node – combines two or more of the previous surface nodes.

Nodes are available from the pull-out list on the left, can be dragged into the main viewport, and then edited on a node-by-node basis on the right.  It may seem a little daunting for anyone unfamiliar with node based systems, but this is by far the easiest way to manipulate materials in Octane (and in my opinion within Daz also). 

Once you become familiar it is very versatile and can lead to a multitude of new ways for generating materials; for example generating a greyscale image using a noise generator, mixing it with a turbulence generator and using the result instead of a bump map for variation on a the skin surface.

Other nodes are available for setting colour, placing images, generating procedurals (like noise), manipulating uv projections, setting displacement, setting emitters and so on.

Once nodes are placed they can be connected using the colour-coded terminals.  This is very useful when new to the NGE, as you can’t plug something in where it can’t be used.

It may also be worth referring to the online manual  for more information.

A finished render of my Daz Studio Octane skin using Olympia 7.

Octane Render Viewport

The final part of the plug-in we will explore is the viewport.  This is where you render the scene, as well as fine-tune some of the settings.  For example, you can:

• Set manual or autofocus
• Limit render to a selected region
• Adjust kernel settings
• Adjust camera settings
• Set post-processing (like bloom)
• Adjust environment settings
• Generate additional render-passes
• Save final image

Again, I will go into a lot more detail with using the viewport in the next tutorial.

I will go into a lot more detail with using the viewport in the next tutorial.

Summary

Now that you are familiar with the core functions and tools within the Octane Plugin, we can move onto setting up a scene based on my Mei image.  In the next tutorial I will set up the scene within Daz Studio and cover lighting, camera, and setting materials.

Check out the wonderful art of Brian Sains.

In the next tutorial I will set up this scene within Daz Studio and cover lighting, camera, and setting materials.