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Can metallicity be added using LIE?

Eva1Eva1 Posts: 1,249
in Technical Help (nuts n bolts)

I wanted to create a mettalic effect using LIE but it doesn't appear to work. For example if I have a character or object that by default does not have the metallic channel on in Iray surfaces, is there a way to add to the channel? I've tried a few times but layers added in LIE don't show. I suspect it's because the objects didn't have metallic on in the first place, but I'd like to be sure....

Comments

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 102,841

    LIE just adds image lkayers to existing images, it doesn't have anything to do with the way those maps are used. You would need a Shader (or Materials) preset to enable or disable channels.

  • mindsongmindsong Posts: 1,715
    edited September 2017
    Eva1 said:

    I wanted to create a mettalic effect using LIE but it doesn't appear to work. For example if I have a character or object that by default does not have the metallic channel on in Iray surfaces, is there a way to add to the channel? I've tried a few times but layers added in LIE don't show. I suspect it's because the objects didn't have metallic on in the first place, but I'd like to be sure....

    If the metallic behavior you're looking for can be accomplished with a static image map of any kind, I would say yes.

    I believe if a surface setting (in any renderer) can choose/use a map (e.g. diffuse, specular, opacity, etc.) to drive the result, that LIE can be used to generate that map.

    Note that much like skin settings, with diffuse, bump, spec, etc., good metallic settings may also use more than one map (gloss, spec, reflect, etc.), and you may have to coordinate all of them (with or without LIE) to get the effect you want. The LIE-baker tool at DAZ may be handy to generate a base map, and then Gimp or photoshop to derive/generate the complimentary maps that align/sync correctly for the effect you're after.

    If the particular effect cannot be 'driven' by an image map... LIE probably can't be relevant to that setting, I would assume.

    hope this helps,

    --ms

    Post edited by mindsong on
  • vwranglervwrangler Posts: 4,903
    edited September 2017
    Eva1 said:

    I wanted to create a mettalic effect using LIE but it doesn't appear to work. For example if I have a character or object that by default does not have the metallic channel on in Iray surfaces, is there a way to add to the channel? I've tried a few times but layers added in LIE don't show. I suspect it's because the objects didn't have metallic on in the first place, but I'd like to be sure....

    Just out of curiosity, what happens to the look of the object when you flip it to one of the options that activates the specific Metallicity slot/slider? You can put maps into that slot; it's how the lines on the Pix-Cypher and Pix-Synx characters work. Does the look of the item change enough that it can't work that way?

    If you can't change the overall shader model, would it work to simply Show HIdden, then activate the Metallicity slot that way?

    Post edited by vwrangler on
  • Eva1Eva1 Posts: 1,249
    Richard Haseltine said:

    LIE just adds image lkayers to existing images, it doesn't have anything to do with the way those maps are used. You would need a Shader (or Materials) preset to enable or disable channels.

    I suspected that might be the case - so basically if no map is in there on the original item, then LIE won't work in overlaying anything. Ok...back to the drawing board:)

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