How to create a pattern iray shader
Hello,
I would like to create an iray shader, with a pattern, in a wat that allows me to make combinations between textures and pattern. For exemple, let's imagine I want to use this default pattern:
And let's imagine I would like to have this pattern on a sweater, by combining with this defauld fabric shader:
So, I would like to create a new funny sweater by adding this pattern to the sweater texture...
How can I do it ? I can't see any section that would allow me to load several image as a base color...
I tried to replace the sweater by the pattern image in the base color section, but the other settings of the sweater 02 02 shader are not enough to recreate the sweater details on the fabric:
As you can see, by this way, we can distinguish the sweater texture with the pattern, byt the texture is not visible enough, it doensn't looks like a painted sweater...
So I would need to combine the both sweater texture and pattern images, so as it looks like an actual painted sweater.
Could you tell me how to do that, please?
Thank you in advance!
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Please don't post pieces of bare texture - wrap them around an object instead.
Layeredd Iamge Editor would be the way to combine maps, there isn't currently a tool for blending materials like that (though using a Geoemtry Shell would cover some use cases) so it would have to be done manually, though it might be possible - at least for the standard shaders - for a script to read in two presets and then layer them together in specified ways.
Ok, sorry about that! I changed the images, I hope it will be ok.
I'm not sure to understand how to do it. Are Layeredd Iamge Editor and Geoemtry Shell other apps extrenal to DS? Sorry, I'm still a bigginner, so I don't know each Daz feature, yet...
Thank you in advance for your answer!
Layered Image Editor is what I meant, it's an option in the image picker menu in the Editor tab of the Surfaces pane. It allows you to layer images on top of each other, with masks and blend mode options like an image editor.
Geometry Shells are an extra layer of mesh, with an offset, added from the Create menu - they can have their own surface settings so you could aply one material tot he base item, one to the shell, and adjust opacity as desired.
I gess I should misunderstood what you meant: I don't see any "image picker menu" in the surface editor tab; maybe it's not what I thought? I am searching here:
Am I not in the right section?
Thank you in advance!
Click on the nano-thumbnail next to a mapped property (or the triangle if no map is currently aplied) to get the menu.
Ah, ok, thank you very much!
Maybe it's not completly perfect, but I obtain interesting things with the Layered Image Editor:
So, if I understand well, this way creates kind a new image, by combining the two images, doesn't it? I mean, if I save it as a new shader preset, I will obtain only one image, and the information in the Layered Image Editor will be "lost" because the new shader preset will consider it as only one image, and not as a combination of two images, right?
I have another question to be sure to understand how creating shaders works: if I create a material with an external app, like for exemple blender, and if I want to use it as a new shader or shader preset for DS, have I also to use the DS Surface Editor? In this case, have I to create different maps from the material I created on blender, or does a single image of this material in the base color section suffice to "convert" the blender material into a DS shader?
Thank you in advance for your answer!
The layered Images are remembered as a recipe and rebuilt each time they are needed, they don't get baked permanently to a single new image. There is an option for Layered Images in Edit>Preferences>Interface that controls how much the temporary files are compressed - when compression is high building them can be slow, so if there is ebnough space on the temp drive it is better to have that set to the Speed/Size end.
Shaders are not, in general, transferable between applications - you can bake to an image (and thena pply through the Surfaces pane) but that would lose the interaction with the lighting.
Thank you very much!
I have another question: I appreciate the nodal interface of blender material, so I wonder, is also there something like that in DS?
Thank you in advance!
Shader Mixer is nodal, though I have no idea how it compares to Blender.
Ah, thank you, I will try it, then! Could you tell me how to access to it? i saw the shader baker next to the editor tab, but I didn't see the shader mixer.
By the way, I also heard about an app called Material Maker (https://rodzill4.github.io/material-maker/doc/intro.html). Do you know if it could allow to create shaders for DS, better than using blender?
Thank you in advance!
Shader Mixer is under : DS - Windows - Pane (Tabs) - Shader Mixer. If you know shader nodes / procedural material in Blender, you might be disappointed while using Shader Mixer in DS, in terms of user-friendly, functionality, flexibility, etc.
The Material Maker is based on Godot game engine.. you can use it to texturize a 3D model and export texture maps but since it uses different bricks definition, the shader result has to be interpreted as MDL by separate scripts for being used in DS I presume.
And as far as I understand, you just want to create Shader Preset(s) rather than a Shader. If so, you just need Surfaces pane with Iray Uber or PBRSkin Shaders, customize the surface properties there and save as Shader Preset. You don't need to use Shader Mixer.
Thank you very much!
Well, for now, I only tried to create shader presets, but I would like to be able to create actual shaders too. I think about to create my own textures and add my own patterns, (for example, to create printed fabrics or painted stone wall, etc...) but I'm still a bigginner, so I'm not sure what is the best way to do it in DS... For example, I know by using a noise node in blender, one can obtain interesting fabric textures, but I don't know if there is an equivalent in DS... I know it's also possible to create fabric textures with gimp, but since there is no nodal structure (as far as I know) in gimp, I am often disapointed when I use it, because it lacks flexibility...
So, I am searching for the best way to create my own textures for DS before trying to create a new shader...
If you have some advices, I would be glad to know!
If you want to try your hand at creating Shaders (rather than just presets) then you might find this thread useful (I've not read all of it myself, so no idea how useful it will be): The Shader Mixer Deciphered - it's apparently written by someone who tried converting Blender shaders to Iray ones for Daz Studio.
There's also this thread which might give you some ideas about how Iray shaders can be setup: An Iray Shader Mixer Cookbook - it's quite an old thread but presumably still works.
Also this thread points to a Youtube video on Shader Mixer - Discovered an Introduction to Shader Mixer
I hope some or all these might help you.
OK, that sounds great ~ Well, DS is not a material authoring software. You have no way to make fabric patterns / painted stone and texture maps etc. in DS. Since you know Blender, I believe Blender + Gimp should be a good combo for you at this stage. You make procedural materials in Blender, bake them as texture maps and make the maps tileable in Gimp with the function of Tile Seamless. Then the texture maps could be use with Iray Uber shader in DS. Set them up and save Shader Presets. This combo is a free way and you'll get pretty good result. I recommend Ryan King's Blender channen on youtube. You'll learn a lot from him. https://www.youtube.com/@RyanKingArt
Another more Pro way is to use Adobe Substance Designer, you may first of all get to know about it before making any decision. I recommend a series tutorial from Fugazi1968 (Daz PA) from whom I've learnt a lot, in here - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmvWo_ZS_5kOpOOwHeRoyOp1RxYwTpW8j
PS: Personally I don't think it's really necessary for you to mix / custom Shaders in DS. Default Iray Uber / PBRSkin and some Shader products are well enough for the majority of your work. But... if you're really really interested in it, you certainly can learn.
Thank you very much!
I will look at it! 
Hello,
I saw a Blender tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=zudN2dz-AeY) that explaines how to create silk, with the following nodes:
So, I wonder what would be the equivalent with the Shader Mixer. Could you give me your advice, please?
Thank you in advance!
I feel like my question is best suited for this pre-existing thread. If not, I'll make the correction.
Is there a way to create a custom shader from scratch without using other apps? If so, how is it done? I need instructions from square one. To be clear, I'm not trying to layer any existing shaders or materials, but create an entirely new one down to what primitive to use [if applicable]. If there's no way to do this without another app, I use Blender. However, I've never needed to use the Bridge feature, so I have no idea how to do it. I also use GIMP, Inkscape, and Krita because I can't afford Photoshop. I believe those don't have Bridges, so I would need an effective workaround.
I somewhat made my own way to create and apply tattoos in Inkscape, apply them in GIMP, but it's definitely rough. They come across as really extreme quality body paint rather than tattoos. I could finetune the art for that. I imagine I could do it somewhat like I did with the tattoos, but I haven't been successful with actually adding the pattern to an unchanged material because I can't find one in DAZ. There may be clothing items, but it stretches that material over the object.
While I'm at it, has anyone figured out how to center a tattoo over the spine with Bridging into another 3D modeling app? Or would I need to Bridge the character, place the tattoo, then import to DAZ some way? I'm wondering how people creating tattoo content are able to center them over the spine for customers.
If you mean a "custom shader" rather than a "Shader Preset", Shader Mixer is the tool that you need. If you want to make a shader preset, Blender is surely a good tool, for free, with its procedural shader nodes. But for complex patterns, I'm afraid you need to create or find materials separately.
I'm a Ps user but also use GIMP, Krita + AI plugin from time to time, a nice combo to me. And you don't have to use any bridge, manual export / import will be fine enough.
As for placing a tattoo over the figure's back / spine, etc. Blender can quickly make it work with Texture Paint. I recommend a free add-on: ucupaint - https://github.com/ucupumar/ucupaint/releases. With this add-on, you can easily create layers and paint the tattoo image or texture across the seams. Then bake the tattoo texture map for being used in DS with LIE. A simple example is shown as below screenshot.
Thanks, everybody. I need to do a lot of homework for the step-by-step process, and this all helped a ton.