CGTalk - SSS in max? How?

Wildfire

03-01-2003, 10:03 AM

Hi

I am converting from XSI, (change of jobs) to max. Admitedly I was a bit apprehensive at first, but after playing with it for a few days, I now see that it aint half bad!! Maybe the workflow is a little different, but that said I'm starting to get the hang of it. But I was just wondering if anybody could tell me how to set up sub surface scattering for skin etc?

I know how to do it in XSI, (Incidence into Translucency in use, followed up by a map to control the weight). But how to do it in max, with this new fangled material editior thing?

P.S I did "cheat" and reset all my max hot keys to the same as XSI.

gnarlycranium

03-01-2003, 10:45 AM

If you've got 4.2 or lower, you'll need a rendering plugin like Brazil, or you can try to fake it with translucency. If you've got version 5... um..... I don't know. I still don't have it. :cry:

Wildfire

03-01-2003, 12:14 PM

Ok, I have max 5 and Brazil, I don't mind cheating, cause that's what you do in XSI. How do I cheat?

P.S Gnarly, Love your EVA, I am a big Neon Genisis Fan

mouj

03-01-2003, 01:02 PM

Howdy !

There is Translucency in Max5, though i've never used it yet, so i won't be of any help here, i do remember of a scripted Translucency plug by Mr.Grants
http://members.optushome.com.au/ghra/tutorials/tutoriaOne.htm

else, if you got Brazil i believe it has a true SSS shader and rendering capacity, you'd have to get help from someone who has it : )

mouj

Wildfire

03-01-2003, 01:26 PM

Ok, I'm having a few issues with max rendering at the mment as it is not like Mental Ray in XSI

pluMmet

03-01-2003, 03:49 PM

if you have Brazil just use the wax shader...it's fairly automatic from there.

snot_nose

03-01-2003, 03:54 PM

i never tried the trasluecency mapping in the raytrace material
but isn't it sufficient

ivo D

05-28-2003, 09:04 PM

oke..with wax shade ris all wrong.. ther is some education on neilblevins.com

but i have the translucency now.. just use a raytraced shader.. and ad a raysclae map ther.. it works for mee..but now my shadows are all just black

Khepri

05-28-2003, 10:27 PM

oke..with wax shade ris all wrong.. ther is some education on neilblevins.com

what exactly is wrong about the wax shader?

ivo D

05-28-2003, 10:35 PM

grants shader

WAX

It assumes the substance is homogenous (ie, the same material all the way through), which means skin which has many layers of different materials doesn't work well.
It doesn't do back scattering, ie, light beams coming back towards the light source. As seen in the skin diagram above, a lot of light goes through the skin, say to the flesh layer, then gets sent back out the skin towards the light, but at a slightly different angle and position than it went in.
It's view-independent. Real translucency changes its look depending on where the camera is viewing the object from (view-dependance). This technique, since it's baking in the light into the surface, is view-independent, no matter where you look at it from, you'll be seeing the translucency "frozen in time" if you will.

www.neilblevins.com

CGTalk Moderation

01-14-2006, 01:00 PM

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.