Maya: Stencil Shader question

Hi...
Do you guys use the stencil shader type at all?

Do you mean a layered shader ?
Or texture
I dont know a stencilShader

Well, I'm just trying to add something similar to a decal... but to multiple objects (think about adding the numbers to buttons on a calculator)
I'm having trouble with the "decal" part right now with the layered shader
I have an image, that has an alpha map... but it's not showing up at all.
That image is the Color of input[3] of the layered shader, and the image's alpha channel is assigned to Color[R,G,B]

The image alpha has to be assigned to the corresponding alphaValue
For each Color(RGB) there is one singleAttribute for alpha

So ButtonTextShader.outTransparency linked to input[3].transparency won't cut it?

So you work with the layered shader ?
Not the layered texture

Yes, I'm trying that...

I never use that, mr had problems with it, i don't know if it works now

I'm using > Layered Shader <
Oh, it might be a MR problem then. =P

I always use layered textures

Its definetly a mr problem :)
Layered shaders seldom work
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Poly Guru

That's pretty shitty
Because I really liked Layered Shaders in Max
I was hoping node-based layered shaders would be even more hoss, but if MR can't do it... then... Fuck MentalImages

Just try a mayaSoftware rendering to be sure

Its not mr's fault :P
Its the shaders written by alias for it
By layered shader in max, do you mean mix or composite or what?
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Poly Guru

Man... that's pretty sadening.

Get used to it, you will get alot of that with mr
You can layer ur shaders in other ways to
Since you can use the outColor in for example a layered texture
I mean the outColor of a shader
And plug that into the incandescence slot

Uhmm.... Composite... it was basically "mix" but with Alpha channels and supported numerous shaders
Vertox: yah, I'm sure. It just seems like not using Layered Shader would reduce the modularity of shaders
Hm... not showing up in MayaSoft either. =P

So you have a transparency problem probably ?

Vertox: yah... that connection list could get hairy though.

Maya shadingNetworks are great
Probably the best thing about maya, besides the ui

Yah
I agree, and I do need to learn them better.... baby steps so far

Setting up lightmaps for sss still confuses me :P
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Poly Guru

Hm... MayaSoft isn't rendering it either...
Tried a few different things. =P

PolyGru: its easy
But that script that usually does it connects not the defaultResolution attributes
That leads to problems for me always
Thats why i have to do it on my own always

Oh, I have no problem doing it. but I dont understand why you'd have to :P
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Poly Guru

If I assign the input[3] texture (the one with the decals) to something, it shows up just fine, proper color, transparency, etc...

PolyGru: you just have to do it two times
:)
Yeah ok, thats an important question :)
Because actually what never worked for me is to reused them
But mr has alot of quite uncomfortable stuff
Like building networks for bumps

Definetly
But its extremly flexible if you know how to work it
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Poly Guru

I mean shadingNetwork bumps, not just from a file
I actually never saw a good tutorial on that

Maybe you should write one :)
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Poly Guru

That would be a problem
Because i only can set it up for filebumpmaps
;)
But even that involves sum nodes

Ah, hehe
Francesca or someone wrote a layered bump shader for mental ray
Never tried it
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Poly Guru

FrancescaLuce is great
But its actually really sad people have to make it possible the hardway to make it available for us

What do you mean?
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Poly Guru

Like for example the ctrl_buffers
She wrote
I dont know, i suppose she is a female
Because francesca sound like that

Yea, I figured so aswell, but no real way to know :P
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Poly Guru

Unless you touch her ;)

Well, yea :P
Her avatar on cgtalk looks girly too, hehe
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Poly Guru

Okay what the fuck... The ORDER for the layered shader is odd... the one to the left is on "top" I guess, and the ones to the right are lower...
So you add the top first, and then all the ones below it... not the bottom first

yes
You can drag them with MMB

Ahah
I just did that =P
Okay, now it works... something that stupid

But my layeredTextures always act strange because everytime i go into it in the AE it creates a black new layer on top of all
And they have the same problem like i guess all maya Array stuff, if you delete one the numbers arent contignous
Which especially leads to alot of problems with uvSets

Trying MR now....
And it works with MR

:)
Still layeredShader ?
Or layeredTexture ?

Yup
LayeredShader
I'm hooked on the concept =]

If you would use francescaLuces mrMix8Texture you would even be able to use blendingModes :)

Got a URL for francescaLuces?