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SSS and opacity

blazblaz Posts: 261
edited April 2021 in Technical Help (nuts n bolts)

Hi,

Did subsurface scattering ever work if you lowered opacity?

I know there are some issues with opacity in the latest version of DAZ, but even before the update, I could never make it work. As soon as I lowered opacity or used a map all the effects of SSS disappeared.

The reason I ask is because I see some accomplished PAs use SSS and opacity maps.

Post edited by blaz on

Comments

  • SevrinSevrin Posts: 6,306

    What are you trying to accomplish?  

  • blazblaz Posts: 261
    edited April 2021

    Sevrin said:

    What are you trying to accomplish?  

    At the moment, wet clothes. Specifically the effect of wet clothes sticking to the skin. Imagine a wet T-shirt contest cheeky

    In the image bellow the clothes have SSS enabled. But if I use an opacity map, the effect is disabled. (Even if I use a pure white map with a single black dot)

    If someone knows of a better way to do this it would be greatly appreciated.

     

    And I still would like to know if SSS ever worked with opacity maps.

    Wet.Sailor.jpg
    1920 x 1536 - 460K
    Post edited by blaz on
  • felisfelis Posts: 4,300

    If I should make a wet cloth look, I would increase translucency and probable also gloss, as wet clothes would reflect more.

  • blazblaz Posts: 261

    felis said:

    If I should make a wet cloth look, I would increase translucency and probable also gloss, as wet clothes would reflect more.

    I tried with only translucency, but never got good results. Especially with darker clothes.

  • SevrinSevrin Posts: 6,306

    I've noticed that some vendors use Refraction for this type of thing, as well.  Might be worth fiddling with.

  • chris-2599934chris-2599934 Posts: 1,804
    edited April 2021

    I would use either Translucency or Refraction (making sure the gloss color is white or something light) or some combination of the two. Cutout Opacity is definitely NOT the setting to use for wet clothes, and I don't think SSS is either.

    PS: Try using the same image/color for Translucency/Refraction Color as you are using in the Diffuse channel. 

    Post edited by chris-2599934 on
  • SpaciousSpacious Posts: 481

    When you activate the cutout opacity with a map, or any value below 100, it automatically changes the surface setting  to THIN WALLED.  All of the volumetric surface settings are disabled or function drastically differently on an object that does not have volume.

    Refraction is definitelly best for this sort of thing.

  • blazblaz Posts: 261

    Thank you all. I was mostly interested in the interaction between SSS and opacity.

    For the wet clothes, I tried just about everything. I just don't know enough about shaders and light to get what I want.

  • SpaciousSpacious Posts: 481

    I'm sorry to repeat myself, but it's not getting across.    REFRACTION !  You want to use refraction.  Cutout opacity is really for when you want part of an object to effectively not be there at all.  Like The holes in a mesh shirt, ot between strands of hair on transmapped hair.  It really isn't for glass windows or a wet shirt.  It's quite a bit mopre complicated than cutout opacity, but it's totally worth learning about.

    There is no interaction between SSS and Cutout Opacity.  All volumetric surface settings (Sub Surface Scattering, Translucencyare disabled when you activate cutout opacity. 

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