Before applying a shader preset, select the object, prop, or figure from the Scene tab and then open the Surfaces tab, if it isn't already in a viewport.
Select the material areas where you want to apply the shader preset. You can select one area or all, depending on your needs and the diversity of material areas available on the object mesh.
Apply any default preset you'd like (example from Bump-O-Matic):
Effects and textures will not be visible, or may not look exactly like the example thumbnail, until you render the scene.
With the object and material area selected in the Scene and Surface tabs, navigate to the shader color folder(s) and select from the available choices. Double click to apply the new color style.
If for some reason you want to keep the diffuse map, use the CTRL - DBL CLICK as explained below.
With the object and material area(s) selected in the Scene and Surface tabs, navigate to the Bump+Displacement folder. In order to change the setting for displacement, there must first be an existing displacement setting, so you'll need to have already applied one of the Bump+Displacement default presets.
To change the bump setting, you must hold down the Control Key and Double-Click. A pop-up screen will prompt you for options. In order to preserve the bump maps, select the options as shown below:
If you've done this step correctly, you'll see the bump values change from 50% to 100% (or whatever you've selected.)
To change the displacement values, select a new setting, repeat Control+Double-Click, and choose the same options from the pop-up screen:
Again, if you've done this step correctly, you'll see the displacement values change from 10% to whatever you selected.
You can then view your changes when you click on the Render icon.
Of course, you can also change values manually in the Surfaces tab to whatever you'd like. The utility presets are offered to make things easier, especially for those newer to DAZ Studio and working with the Surfaces tab.
You can use the transparency effect "as is" or as an overlay to the same object. This involves loading the object or piece of clothing twice, then making the second a little larger than the first. It's not too difficult, although it can be tricky depending on the object or clothing. It's a good idea to practice with a primitive first, to get the hang of things. So, create a primitive sphere:
And then create the second one -- even though it doesn't look like it's there, you can see that it is when you check the Scene tab:
With Sphere 2 selected, increase the Scale dial to 102%:
Now, select the first sphere from the Scene tab:
And then open up your Surfaces tab, if it already isn't docked in a viewport:
Keeping the first Sphere selected in the Scene tab, now click on the material area(s) of the object where you'll apply the shader preset:
Click on a color surface shader preset (example preset from the Bump-O-Matic):
You won't be able to see the color because Sphere 2 is covering the first Sphere. So now go to the Scene tab and select Sphere 2 and then open the Surfaces tab and click on the material zone to which you'll apply the transparency effect:
Select a lace, mesh, or net preset from the menu thumbs and apply it:
This is what it will look like rendered:
If you'd like a tighter fit, readjust the settings to something like the one shown below. You might have to fiddle around with this, though, depending on the object or clothing:
With your object selected in the Scene tab and all desired material areas selected in the Surface tab, navigate to the Utility folder and click on the desired opacity preset. In this example, I applied opacity to the first Sphere:
And this is how it renders:
Again, you can adjust all this manually in the Surfaces tab. The utility presets are included as a convenience and a starting point.
The shader sets work great on double-sided meshes like DAZ's Hooded Cloak (all figures) and the V4 Fantasy Wrap. Select the object in the Scene tab and the material zone, in this case the inner lining of the V4 Cloak:
Then apply your shader preset of choice (example from Transmap-O-Matic):
Repeat step for the cloak trim:
And, finally, apply a preset (example from Sparke Shaders) to the outer cloak:
If desired, you can make the outer cloak transparent by using one of the presets from Transmap-O-Matic OR by adding the same diffuse map (in this example, spark01.png) to the Opacity surface settings at 100% opacity:
In order for this to work properly, the image map must have solid areas of black, as that is what makes transparent areas.
You can make the inner lining semi-transparent as well by clicking one of the transparency presets included:
(Or manually adjust the Opacity settings to suit your needs.)
The 100% transparent effects look best with the Metallic Lighting Mode preset applied. It makes the surface less shiny, which makes the colors darker and more visible in the final render. Select the outer cloak again and then click on the Metallic Lighting Mode preset (or manually change the settings in the Surfaces tab.)
And this is what the cloak looks like in an example render with a background applied. The transparent sparkle map now shows against the semi-transparent inner lining and also along the outer edges.
1. When using Bump-O-Matic's bump/displacement effects, it's best to first apply them in the default (black) setting and then do a quick render to see how everything looks. Make any necessary changes, and then add colors as the final step. If you select a new bump/displacemet preset after changing the color, the color will revert to the default black and you'll have to add the color preset again.
2. Adding displacement can increase render time. The same goes for reflective values without a reflection map. If you're running on a slower computer, you may want to manually adjust the reflection value for the hi-gloss and metallic shaders.
3. Although the Bump-O-Matic and Transmap-O-Matic don't use diffuse texture maps, you can manually apply any of the bump/displacement maps to an existing object texture.
4. You can apply a color shader preset to an existing diffuse map, but you'll need to do the CTRL + DBL CLICK step, as outlined above, or else the diffuse map will be removed.
5. You can mix bump and displacement textures: apply one texture to the bump setting and manually add another one to the displacement setting.
6. You can apply transparency effects to surfaces that have presets from the Bump-O-Matic applied to bump/displacement values.
7. You can also Mix-N-Match surface/material shaders with existing diffuse texture maps.
8. It's not necessary to use reflection maps, but doing so will brighten colors and add shine to contours or folds, especially with the darker Decadence shaders. Some of the reflection maps are intended to give a moire or watered silk appearance to fabircs.
9. If you want a less glossy lace/mesh/net, click on the LtOption/Select for Metallic Light Model preset in the Utility folder, which will apply the Metallic lighting model in place of the Plastic lighting model.
10. No guarantees this will work perfectly with every prop, object, or character. End results depend on the size and layout of the mesh object.
11. There are two sizes for most of the textures in the set (except for the Sparkle Shader diffuse maps.) There are a couple reasons for why I did this. First, people might want to mix sizes on an object, prop, or figure. Secondly, having several options helps get around the problem of meshes of varying sizes. On one object, the large version may be just right but look awful on another, in which case the smaller version might work better (and vice versa.)
12. If the surface "glows" too much, dial down the ambient value to 15% or below.
13. If you're going to composite the final render in Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro, save the render in PNG format, then open it in PS/PSP and remove the white or black matte fringe around the transparent edges. Not all image editors can easily do this, though. In Paint Shop Pro 7, I use the Layers --> Matting --> Remove White/Black Matte procedure. In later versions of PSP, Corel hid this utility and you'll have to manually add it to the side tool bar. Click on View --> Customize --> Unused Commands. When the menu box pops up, scroll down to where you see the Remove White Matte and Remove Black Matte icons and drag the one you want to use over to the side bar. In PSP X, you'll then have to select the whole image in order to apply the Remove Matte or Defringe utility to the png image. Although I don't have Photoshop, I assume it has a similar utility to remove the background matte.