Decal & LIE questions

Wonderland

1. What is the difference between a decal and LIE?

2. In what circumstances are each used

3.  How do I create both of them

Thanks

Richard Haseltine

A decal is Iray only, LIE works in Iray and 3Delight. LIE layers one texture on top of another, with blending mode options and the ability to use a mask, as a result it is bound by the UVs and can't span seams (unless it's a specially made image or images using the same UV set) and adding a LIE effect to multiple channels requires multiple maps: a decal is a nearly complete material (some features, such as displacement, are not supported) which is projected onto the mesh at render time; as a result it can distort if the mesh is not fairly smooth and flat in the area of effect but it isn't affected by UVs or seams. LIE overlays can take a while to generate (though once done you can rescue the composite tiff file from the temp folder and apply it like any other map - there is a LIE Baker product in the store to do this).

Wonderland

Thanks Richard. Where can I find instructions on how to create both LIE and decals?  If I want to add a created tattoo or painted body hair to a body (png images), which way is best for this? 

Richard Haseltine

There's a guide to decals here https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/75203/wtut-decal-will-s-iray-decal-tutorial/p1 Unless the tattoo is in the middle of a UV map I would think the decal is the way to go, though if it's meant to wrap around (an arm, say) that won't work. Body hair is probably better handled via LIE, but you still need to get it to fit the UVs in a plausible manner so it may be just as simple to create an alternative texture in your image editor while doing that.