To Shade or not to Shade ......!

[Mauritius]

There was a thread on this topic (http://groups.google.de/groups?hl=de&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=aeqlub%2472k%241%40venus.btinternet.com&rnum=1&prev=/groups%3Fhl%3Dde%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26selm%3Daeqlub%252472k%25241%2540venus.btinternet.com) a while back on c.g.r.r.

Read Thad Beier's and my (Moritz Moeller's) replies and you get the idea what to use when.

.mm

[kpalazov]

Hi Mauritius ,
Thankyou for you efforts in producing this information, indeed it was very helpful in guiding the answer to this question. Thankyou.

I recieved the feeling that RSL or any other syntax for surface shading have almost no point in 90 percent of CG. Simply a tool used for extrmely specialised and abstract cases?

My question still stands , asking, if possible, for particular examples of where and how Shading has been used. I trully do not belive that shading is such a dead end corridor.

Other wise what would make it so attractive to movie makers and artists for the last 10 years?

Lastly I wanted to add that I think a mix between the two, in one shader is prbably the best way to go, I would'nt give up Rman displacment for the world:)

thankyou again for you time Mauritius

take care

Kiril

[Mauritius]

I trully do not belive that shading is such a dead end corridor.

Not at all. I write shaders often, but as the other poster in the thread said, it's seldomly shaders producting procedural patterns (which was the topic of this thread, basically). Typical examples are specialized lightsource shaders or fake BRDFs to get a sudden look.

Procedural patterns most often get used if you have something complex that is moving and changing shape. Could be a billowing ash cloud or the skin of alien lifeform that transforms itself from a soft tissue to solid hull with spikes.

What will really enlighten you is reading the SIGGRAPH RMan coursenotes (http://www.renderman.org/RMR/Books/index.html#Sig), in particular those on Stuart Little I + II, Final Fantasy, Dinosaurs, SW: Episode I. etc.

They contain example shaders (sometimes directly from the resp. productions) and a lot of text to read on this subject ... ;)

.mm

[Fex]

hi Kiril,
in my opinion theirs no limitation of using different kinds
of shadertyps. Displacement shaders are widely used and
might be individually written or tweaked from object to object
for light and volume sh. you have some different for mostly any use; for special cases they might be expanded or changed.
Cause light and volume use harder math to be described
they might cost much more research, time and money.
Take a look at Siggraph Papers to have a idea what the
industry does. http://www.renderman.org/RMR/Books/index.html

Think procedurals are most powerful if you mix up with
textures. For exempel tex get anti-aliased automaticlly.

I tried this scratch thing too, with rmanotes bombing
technique but theirs a lot of ugly aliasing:hmm: .

hope you have more luck:)

[kpalazov]

Thanks very much guys its very useful to people such as my self , starting our in the field to have in hand the wisdom you have shared.
I will be spending more time now on developing shading models and special effects tchniques and spend less time of pattern generation:)

thanks once again for you time and efforts

take care

Kiril

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