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List of Shader Mixer Tutorials and Recipes WIP please be patient as I update the list...thanks!

PendraiaPendraia Posts: 3,598
edited April 2018 in Daz Studio Discussion

Hi Everyone,

Mephoria has just started a great thread explaining some of the basics using mdl (Iray) blocks you can find it here. It's really great to see someone having a go at this. If there are any other tutorials out there that I have missed please post here and let me know.

Hi everyone,
I've not been visiting the DS forums as frequently these days but have recently noticed that many of the links are no longer available as the forum archive seems to have disappeared. I'm currently using the wayback machine to see if I can relocate any of this info. My apologies in the mean time if you click on a link and it doesn't take you where you need to go.
If you find the information using the wayback machine or some other method...please let me know so I can update this original thread. Also if you find any other information anywhere.


This list has been through a few incarnations now and has travelled far on the Karmic Wheel. It's back in my hands again....Yay! So hopefully it will be updated more frequently. I'm hoping that if people find a broken link or have a problem with any of the listed links that they will contact me via pm. I check fairly regularly so hopefully we can keep the list in good order.

The full original thread is no longer available except through the wayback machine : List of Shader Mixer Tutorials and Recipes

and the list BFurner ran can be found here: http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/42/

Some important info for those who are using these links. Some of the older recipes are in the old forum which is now archived. Links have been updated courtesy of bringho. Many thanks to bringho for doing that job!

Seeing the images requires you to:

ReDave said:

Click on any link, then on the browser bar add "archive" after "forum" so that it reads "forumarchive.daz3d", this will display the thread. To view images copy the "postimages/origimage_whatever.jpg" part of a picture link and add it after forumarchive.daz3d.com/ on your browser bar
Thanks ReDave for posting this useful piece of information.

 

I will work my way through the links as I get chance to see if they need updating if in the meantime if you find any broken links please let me know.

I currently have permission from Age of Armour and Yacomo to write tutorials for recipes they have posted in the past. If anyone else who has posted a tutorial is happy for me to do this could you please pm me and let me know.

I have started to write some simple tutorials for the Mix Brick and will be adding those to the list. If you find any recipes you think are useful please let me know.

The official Shader Mixer Documents are found here

Some info on what the abbreviations mean Thanks ReDave

Important Information
There have been some updates to Shadermixer. Sorry the detailed list of what updates were made is no longer available.
Please noteShader Mixer and Shader Builder are now consistent (by default) in that the brick/block network flows from left to right, like a[n English] book is read. From start (the input - either user or programmatic) to finish (the final output or the "root"). If you prefer the flow of the network to be in the opposite direction, where the roots/outputs are on the left and all of the inputs flow in from the right, you can change the default for any new shaders in Edit > General Preferences. Each shader can be changed separately in Edit > Shader Preferences.

For those who need to check when certain changes were made to Shader Mixer they are listed in the Change Log for DS.

 

Recipes for those who know the basics:

Root Bricks: Basic Recipes
Baker http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/interface/panes/shader_mixer/bricks/dzbakebrick/start

Displacement http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/interface/panes/shader_mixer/bricks/dzdisplacebrick/start

Imagerhttp://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/interface/panes/shader_mixer/bricks/dzsimpleimagerbrick/start

Lights

Area Lighthttp://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/interface/panes/shader_mixer/bricks/dzarealightbrick/start

Base Lighthttp://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/interface/panes/shader_mixer/bricks/dzbaselightbrick/start

Caustic Light (Camera)http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/interface/panes/shader_mixer/bricks/dzcausticbrick/start

Distant Lighthttp://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/interface/panes/shader_mixer/bricks/dzdistancelightbrick/start

Gel Lighthttp://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/interface/panes/shader_mixer/bricks/dzgellightbrick/start

Indirect Light (Camera)http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/interface/panes/shader_mixer/bricks/dzindirectlightbrick/start

Point Lighthttp://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/interface/panes/shader_mixer/bricks/dzpointlightbrick/start
JustTheBast's recipe with falloff exponent exposed Point lights
Spot Lighthttp://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/interface/panes/shader_mixer/bricks/dzspotlightbrick/start


Surfacehttp://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/interface/panes/shader_mixer/bricks/dzsimplesurfacebrick/start
Mix Brick Recipeshttp://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/interface/panes/shader_mixer/bricks/dzmixbrick/start

Layered Materials using a Mix Brick http://www.sharecg.com/v/70265/view/3/PDF-Tutorial/Creating-a-simple-mix-network-layered-materials

Two Coloured Patterns using a Mix Brick http://www.sharecg.com/v/70329/view/3/PDF-Tutorial/Two-coloured-patterns-in-Shadermixer-Tutorial
Kerya's Basic Velvet Recipe http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/25560/

Rotate Brick courtesy of HPhoenix https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/2324361/#Comment_2324361

Volumehttp://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/interface/panes/shader_mixer/bricks/dzsimplevolumebrick/start

 

More Complex Networks


These threads are no longer available if anyone has them on their computer and can reshare the information someway that would be terrific...this is such a loss as there was so much information in these threads.
Global illumination thread contains many different recipes (In my opinion the best thread I have found so far.)

 

 

Shadow catcher


recipe to add AO to a surface that uses DS standard shaders:


Gel lights


Caustics/global illumination


Using Elite Textures with DS3A Ubersurface

Tiling fix in Shader Mixer


Stonemason's version of default ds shader + ao recipe


'When AO strength is less than 1, the whole object turns grey :?'
This is not a bug please see ketthrove's explanation and alternative recipe down below on this page.


Worldspace direction of a surface normal

Venetian Blinds


Justthebast Depth Cue recipe


Akhbour's Mood master fix using a depth cue cam

Rust WIP

Esque's recipe to fill an area of a surface with a color based on UV coordinates with ShaderMixer. (WIP but some interesting info)

Baking with procedurals

Fantastic ideas for doing plaid, argyles and checks by Age of Armor

Animating shaders by Ketthrove

Decoupling ambient from diffuse Nice mini-tutorial by ReDave for Shaderbuilder but it includes a recipe for approximating the effect in shader mixer.

A recipe for using with dirty rounds from ReDave

Fisty's exploration in specular and tie dye recipes

Leather by Saganami

Using Blur


New ambient occlusion network by KaribousBoutique
This thread provides some info on creating the above network


Point Light info and an example from Richard

Another thread on point lights with a recipe from adamr001

Volumetric Lighting(Creating fog) answer by Just the Bast

Volume Functions(Creating Fog)Recipes from Just the Bast and ReDave


3D delight and Renderman documentation:
http://www.3delight.com/en/uploads/docs/3delight/3delight_12.html#SEC17

http://www.vga.hr/resources/tutorials/3d/rsl/index.htm

http://accad.osu.edu/~smay/RManNotes/rmannotes.html

http://www.renderman.org/RMR/index.html

http://www.fundza.com/


Some theory from lakeworks forum on shaders:
https://www.lakeworks.com/forums/colour-filtering-in-diffuse-ambient-channel-the-theory-t209.html
For those who find Shadermixer a bit overwhelming and for those who want to play with some of the recipes the easy way I have set up a thread for links to Shadermixer presets that have been released. You can find the thread here

If you find any links that I may have missed please either post here or pm me so that I can include them.

Hope this is useful

Pen
Edit to correct links and add additional links

 

Post edited by Pendraia on
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Comments

  • PendraiaPendraia Posts: 3,598
    edited June 2015

    Iray


    Iray bricks in Shader Mixer are the ones that have MDL at the bottom. 3delight are the ones with RSL at the bottom.

    There isn't much available on them yet but here are the links to what I've found.

    Skin shader

    My other suggestion is to apply the shaders provided and import them into Shader Mixer so you can view how they connect.


    Info that may be useful

    http://www.nvidia.com/object/material-definition-language.html

    http://www.nvidia-arc.com/products/iray/technical-documentation.html

    http://www.nvidia-arc.com/products/iray/mdl.html

    Post edited by Pendraia on
  • PendraiaPendraia Posts: 3,598
    edited June 2015

    3Delight Renderman Recipes


    Beginners Tutorials:
    Beginners Tutorial by Carnite

    Shadermixer Intro Part 2 by Carnite

    Shadowcatcher Part 1 by Carnite(Video)

    Shadowcatcher Part 2 by Carnite(Video)

    Shader Mixer (Daz Wiki)

    YouTube Video DAZ 3D - Shader Mixer Part 1

    YouTube VideoDAZ 3D - Shader Mixer Part 2

    Please note: Most of these were done using DS3...there have been some changes since but it is still possible to follow them. When I get chance I will try and update them and upload a pdf file.

    Post edited by Pendraia on
  • PendraiaPendraia Posts: 3,598
    edited December 1969

    Just a quick note: I'm going to reorganise the Recipes to help make it easier to find information.

    I was thinking of organising by Root Blocks and then for some of the simpler recipes by the main brick in use. For example my recent tutorials were based around the mix brick. It may take some time to update everything and make it easier to find.

    What do you think? Do you have a preference?

    cheers

    Pen

  • patience55patience55 Posts: 7,006
    edited December 1969

    Well at the moment the list is all viewable but it may be a good thing to start.
    My suggestion would be for "Beginner" "Intermediate" and "Expert" sections.

  • PendraiaPendraia Posts: 3,598
    edited December 1969

    Patience55 said:
    Well at the moment the list is all viewable but it may be a good thing to start.
    My suggestion would be for "Beginner" "Intermediate" and "Expert" sections.

    Good idea Patience! I'm still editing the beginning post to try and make it easier to read.

    Maybe:

    Begin Here:
    Followed by some basic tutorials

    and then have the recipes listed under the Root types with the recipes starting with the easier recipes and progressing the more complicated networks.

    What do you think?

    cheers

    Pen

  • patience55patience55 Posts: 7,006
    edited December 1969

    Sounds good to me. And thank you for this list and tutorials as well ;-)

  • PendraiaPendraia Posts: 3,598
    edited December 1969

    Patience55 said:
    Sounds good to me. And thank you for this list and tutorials as well ;-)

    My pleasure...I've been wanting to get my greedy mitts on this thread again for a while. It was sad to see it becoming out of date and not having some of the newer recipes and tutorials included.

    If you can't tell I'm very excited to be able to work on it again...lol...it's even distracted me from my latest modelling project.

  • Eustace ScrubbEustace Scrubb Posts: 2,698
    edited December 1969

    Here's the links for the Metal Plate recipe: linking to the old thread.

    Stage 1
    Stage 2
    Stage 3
    Stage 4
    Stage 5

    Steel_Plate_1.jpg
    810 x 537 - 300K
    Steel_Plate_2.jpg
    813 x 534 - 329K
    Steel_Plate_3.jpg
    816 x 538 - 328K
    Steel_Plate_4.jpg
    814 x 539 - 271K
    Steel_Plate_5.jpg
    812 x 534 - 366K
  • PendraiaPendraia Posts: 3,598
    edited December 1969

    Eustace Scrubb said:
    Here's the links for the Metal Plate recipe: linking to the old thread.

    Stage 1
    Stage 2
    Stage 3
    Stage 4
    Stage 5

    Thank you and thanks again for the tip on linking directly to a post.

  • atticanneatticanne Posts: 3,009
    edited December 1969

    Thanks for stepping up and taking on this job.

  • PendraiaPendraia Posts: 3,598
    edited December 1969

    AtticAnne said:
    Thanks for stepping up and taking on this job.

    Hi Anne,
    I originally started this list back in the old forums. When they transferred it across to the new forum they meant well but unfortunately it meant I had no access to the original post to update it.

    In a recent conversation with Cho in another thread she suggested that I could copy and paste it into a new thread and she would organise to change them over. Well...I jumped at the chance lol, I'm not sure she expected me to be so keen. Shader Mixer is something that I'm very passionate about. ; )

    I'm not a mathematician and I don't understand how everything functions but I can generally experiment in Shader Mixer and come up with something reasonable. It would be quicker though to have somewhere that there are Networks to refer to and that was how this thread first began as a way for me to keep track of all the different networks being posted.

    Of course it has the side benefit of being available for everyone else also. This suits me right down to the ground as the more people pool their knowledge the more our recipe base grows.

    So I can't claim to be altruistic in doing this as I do have a selfish motive...lol

    But thanks anyway for your comment and also for your comments on ShareCG.

    cheers

    Pen

  • Eustace ScrubbEustace Scrubb Posts: 2,698
    edited December 1969

    If you notice that the images above are all out of order, that's why I opted to break it up between posts in the first place. Not even my toddler counts 1-5-4-3-2 and she can't count to ten!

  • PendraiaPendraia Posts: 3,598
    edited December 1969

    Eustace Scrubb said:
    If you notice that the images above are all out of order, that's why I opted to break it up between posts in the first place. Not even my toddler counts 1-5-4-3-2 and she can't count to ten!

    lol...it's hard with the way the image attachments are set up...it tends to drive me crazy.

  • patience55patience55 Posts: 7,006
    edited December 1969

    Generally speaking, except when it might really matter of course, images tend to load correctly IF they are all about the same size and one starts with 001, 002, 003, etc. If one adds text to the numbers that will likely throw it off too.

  • PendraiaPendraia Posts: 3,598
    edited December 1969

    Patience55 said:
    except when it might really matter of course
    lol...yeah! I have got to agree with this part in particular. Whenever it really matters is when I tend to have problems. Maybe I just overthink it then...
  • ReDaveReDave Posts: 815
    edited July 2013

    Feel free to use the networks I posted on the forums.
    I can't post or even check the forums much these days, as there seems to be a problem with Opera under Win8, in that I get the Cloudflare screen each time I try to open a topic, and I usually don't feel like opening a virtual machine just to browse the DAZ3D forums.

    Post edited by ReDave on
  • PendraiaPendraia Posts: 3,598
    edited July 2013

    ReDave said:
    Feel free to use the networks I posted on the forums.
    I can't post or even check the forums much these days, as there seems to be a problem with Opera under Win8, in that I get the Cloudflare screen each time I try to open a topic, and I usually don't feel like opening a virtual machine just to browse the DAZ3D forums.

    Thanks for that...

    Sorry to hear about your problems with Win8. My daughter got a new laptop recently and we went and saw our computer guy who was able to get us one with Win7 on. Not really looking forward to Win8 at all.

    Edited to add went hunting last night through google and I located some tutorials that aren't on the list. Hopefully will get some time later today to start adding them.

    Post edited by Pendraia on
  • KeryaKerya Posts: 10,943
    edited December 1969

    I've uploaded my Velvet for Shader Mixer ...
    http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/25560/

  • PendraiaPendraia Posts: 3,598
    edited December 1969

    Kerya said:
    I've uploaded my Velvet for Shader Mixer ...
    http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/25560/

    Thanks Kerya...

  • RarethRareth Posts: 1,462
    edited December 1969

    working on tree bark.

    treebark2.jpg
    1024 x 768 - 329K
  • SzarkSzark Posts: 10,634
    edited December 1969

    Thanks Pen for picking this back up again and thanks for the extra recipes folks are posting. Shader Mixer has always intrigued me and for ages I have said I want to learn more about it. I have a basic knowledge but I want to go beyond the basic eventually. As soon as I get a new PC I will be upping my education is all things Daz Studio this is on top of that long list.

    Seeing AOA SSS Shader base gave me hope too that Shader Mixer will get used a lot more.

  • PendraiaPendraia Posts: 3,598
    edited December 1969

    Rareth said:
    working on tree bark.

    Hi Rareth,

    That looks like a good start...can I suggest softening the yellow on the image on the right?


    Thanks Pen for picking this back up again and thanks for the extra recipes folks are posting. Shader Mixer has always intrigued me and for ages I have said I want to learn more about it. I have a basic knowledge but I want to go beyond the basic eventually. As soon as I get a new PC I will be upping my education is all things Daz Studio this is on top of that long list.

    Seeing AOA SSS Shader base gave me hope too that Shader Mixer will get used a lot more.

    Hi Szark,

    I'm really glad to be able to pick it up again. It was sad to see it languish...I also hope to see it used more frequently. I love AoA's shaders, he is just so clever and creative.

    I didn't get chance to work on this today as I was busy trying to create a satin network using Shader Mixer...I'll try and post some images tomorrow.

    Cheers

    Pen

  • SzarkSzark Posts: 10,634
    edited December 1969

    Yeah I saw your examples on Rendo and seems like you are heading in the right direction.

  • PendraiaPendraia Posts: 3,598
    edited December 1969

    Szark said:
    Yeah I saw your examples on Rendo and seems like you are heading in the right direction.

    Still have some fine tuning to do...it's surprising how many people are following threads but not posting. I'm not just talking about the one I posted the shaders in either. ; )

    Off to bed...so goodnight all!

  • SzarkSzark Posts: 10,634
    edited July 2013

    I watch a lot of posts without posting. If I don't have naything constructive to say then I am not one for small talk much. :- )

    I have posted in that thread at Rendo but I go by another name and I think I started all the bickering when I mentioned something about Red legs. Oh I am a bad boy.

    Sleep well

    Post edited by Szark on
  • RarethRareth Posts: 1,462
    edited December 1969

    Pendraia said:

    Rareth said:
    working on tree bark.

    Hi Rareth,

    That looks like a good start...can I suggest softening the yellow on the image on the right?


    Thanks Pen for picking this back up again and thanks for the extra recipes folks are posting. Shader Mixer has always intrigued me and for ages I have said I want to learn more about it. I have a basic knowledge but I want to go beyond the basic eventually. As soon as I get a new PC I will be upping my education is all things Daz Studio this is on top of that long list.

    Seeing AOA SSS Shader base gave me hope too that Shader Mixer will get used a lot more.

    Hi Szark,

    I'm really glad to be able to pick it up again. It was sad to see it languish...I also hope to see it used more frequently. I love AoA's shaders, he is just so clever and creative.

    I didn't get chance to work on this today as I was busy trying to create a satin network using Shader Mixer...I'll try and post some images tomorrow.

    Cheers

    Pen

    the Colors are definitely a work in progress, right now I'm concentrating on getting the Bump/displacement right, while I am no Math Wiz, I can follow enough of the Renderman shader scripts out on the web to get pointers in the right direction.

  • PendraiaPendraia Posts: 3,598
    edited December 1969

    Szark said:
    I watch a lot of posts without posting. If I don't have naything constructive to say then I am not one for small talk much. :- )

    I have posted in that thread at Rendo but I go by another name and I think I started all the bickering when I mentioned something about Red legs. Oh I am a bad boy.

    Sleep well

    now you have me intrigued...I'll have to go back and see if I can work out what you are called over there.
  • PendraiaPendraia Posts: 3,598
    edited December 1969

    Rareth said:
    Pendraia said:

    Rareth said:
    working on tree bark.

    Hi Rareth,

    That looks like a good start...can I suggest softening the yellow on the image on the right?


    Thanks Pen for picking this back up again and thanks for the extra recipes folks are posting. Shader Mixer has always intrigued me and for ages I have said I want to learn more about it. I have a basic knowledge but I want to go beyond the basic eventually. As soon as I get a new PC I will be upping my education is all things Daz Studio this is on top of that long list.

    Seeing AOA SSS Shader base gave me hope too that Shader Mixer will get used a lot more.

    Hi Szark,

    I'm really glad to be able to pick it up again. It was sad to see it languish...I also hope to see it used more frequently. I love AoA's shaders, he is just so clever and creative.

    I didn't get chance to work on this today as I was busy trying to create a satin network using Shader Mixer...I'll try and post some images tomorrow.

    Cheers

    Pen

    the Colors are definitely a work in progress, right now I'm concentrating on getting the Bump/displacement right, while I am no Math Wiz, I can follow enough of the Renderman shader scripts out on the web to get pointers in the right direction.

    The bump/displacement looks fairly good to me...might need some slight fine tuning though.

  • KeryaKerya Posts: 10,943
    edited December 1969

    Szark said:
    I watch a lot of posts without posting. If I don't have naything constructive to say then I am not one for small talk much. :- )

    I have posted in that thread at Rendo but I go by another name and I think I started all the bickering when I mentioned something about Red legs. Oh I am a bad boy.

    Sleep well

    I mentioned the sunburn too ... you are not alone. ;)

  • SzarkSzark Posts: 10,634
    edited December 1969

    LOL yeah I spotted that Kerya.

    Pen - RicDan is my handle over there. The only place that I don't use Szark.

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