OctaneLive DB materials

[LuvMultimedia]

Hey guys--is there an area where we can add more materials, like say hair, or human skin, to the Live DB database? If so how can I access said materials?

[sikotik13]

If you're asking about uploading them to the liveDb, I think that's through either this site, or possibly the standalone has an option for it. If you just mean for you to reuse as needed, you can just right click the material as it sits in the OcDS tab, on the left side, and select save as a preset from the context menu. Name it, and voila!

[LuvMultimedia]

If you're asking about uploading them to the liveDb, I think that's through either this site, or possibly the standalone has an option for it. If you just mean for you to reuse as needed, you can just right click the material as it sits in the OcDS tab, on the left side, and select save as a preset from the context menu. Name it, and voila!

So you can upload materials for use--like hair...? How so?

[sikotik13]

I'm still seeking clarification on the usage you are going for. Are you trying to upload some material preset for the world to use, or are you trying to have something for you to reuse? They are two entirely different needs. I understand your self-described issues with grasping things sometimes, but you have a habit of repeating questions without offering any clarification of what your actual need is. We need to know very specifically why you want what you want to give you proper answers and guidance. You are asking two questions that are not entirely comprehensive, and I am trying to figure out which you actually need answered. To answer exactly as presented again:
!.) Yes, you can upload for (anyone) to use, but it is entirely unnecessary for your own re-use, as I stated above.
2.) To actually do this uploading (which you don't need to do unless you specifically need/want to make it so anyone other than you can use the exact same material), you need to submit the material through this website, in your account above, or possibly through the standalone. Both of these options are outside the scope of OcDS (this particular sub-forum), because it cannot be done through OcDS.

3.) Possible option, in case the dyslexia thing is at work here: If you are asking about downloading, you just drag the material from the liveDb tab/pane (in OcDS or the standalone), and drop it on a surface.

[LuvMultimedia]

I'm still seeking clarification on the usage you are going for. Are you trying to upload some material preset for the world to use, or are you trying to have something for you to reuse? They are two entirely different needs. I understand your self-described issues with grasping things sometimes, but you have a habit of repeating questions without offering any clarification of what your actual need is. We need to know very specifically why you want what you want to give you proper answers and guidance. You are asking two questions that are not entirely comprehensive, and I am trying to figure out which you actually need answered. To answer exactly as presented again:
!.) Yes, you can upload for (anyone) to use, but it is entirely unnecessary for your own re-use, as I stated above.
2.) To actually do this uploading (which you don't need to do unless you specifically need/want to make it so anyone other than you can use the exact same material), you need to submit the material through this website, in your account above, or possibly through the standalone. Both of these options are outside the scope of OcDS (this particular sub-forum), because it cannot be done through OcDS.

3.) Possible option, in case the dyslexia thing is at work here: If you are asking about downloading, you just drag the material from the liveDb tab/pane (in OcDS or the standalone), and drop it on a surface.

Oh I apologize. I am looking for materials for my own use--I can't create usable textures--I don't know how. For instance, Indigo renderer has a database that is similar to the DB that people add materials to. It's online and can also be accessed via the Indigo render database. Just wondering if Octane has a similar set up, where you can go to an online area and get more materials for the DB for personal use.

[sikotik13]

I don't have Octane on my laptop, but if you were in Daz Studio, in the Octane render Pane, on the Materials Tab, with a material selected, then the right half of the pane should be the material settings.

At the top of that, all the way to the right (basically, right edge of the pane, about 2-3" down), there should be a tab that says liveDB.

You can filter the list there by typing what you're looking for (though not all are properly named, it often makes the list more manageable).

Likewise, each and every one of those materials loads at the very bottom of the list of materials on the left side of the Materials pane (forget the name of the sub-list at the moment, but it's under your current scene materials, and under the presets, if you have any saved.

Once you set up any material that you think you'll reuse the basic look of again, just save it as a preset using the method i mentioned in my first response, and it'll be right there, needing only minor tweaking in the future.

If your liveDb is empty, or having issues, try re-downloading the cache. I forget the specific label, but it's on the Preferences Tab (should be the first tab of the Octane Render Pane, regardless), and about 2/3 of the way down, with it's own button saying "Redownload liveDb now!" or something very similar, plus it's the only button in that particular region, and next to an option about liveDb cache updates of some kind. Genuinely can't miss it, if you need it.

I also split this up in hopes that makes it seem less "wall of text" -ish/.

Also, note that the entirety of the liveDb is available for use, and is entirely available at all times through the liveDb. As long as you are connected to the internet, and Octane can connect to the liveDb, you are directly accessing the Octane equivalent of the Indigo library all the time. Unless my memory is also severly flawed, the liveDb is significantly larger than the Indigo library, with a much wider variety of useful bases. Could be incorrect/outdated, but i vividly remember a very sharp lack of options for Indigo when testing the two renderers side by side earlier this year.

*Fifth re-edit: Hair shaders are a bit hit and miss depending on the hair model you are using. There is a specific hair shader that works well with polygon-dense hair, but I find it less than appealing on trans-map hair (which is the majority of what Daz Studio uses). The easiest halfway decent shader base to start from is something along the lines of changing the material from diffuse to glossy (assuming it didn't auto-convert that way), and playing with the bump, roughness, and specular values a bit (one of those few times I'II go way higher than .1 on bump, because it matters for hair, if you want it to look like it has depth). Not perfect, but a quick and easy, repeatable change that often produces at least "okay" results.

[LuvMultimedia]

I don't have Octane on my laptop, but if you were in Daz Studio, in the Octane render Pane, on the Materials Tab, with a material selected, then the right half of the pane should be the material settings.

At the top of that, all the way to the right (basically, right edge of the pane, about 2-3" down), there should be a tab that says liveDB.

You can filter the list there by typing what you're looking for (though not all are properly named, it often makes the list more manageable).

Likewise, each and every one of those materials loads at the very bottom of the list of materials on the left side of the Materials pane (forget the name of the sub-list at the moment, but it's under your current scene materials, and under the presets, if you have any saved.

Once you set up any material that you think you'll reuse the basic look of again, just save it as a preset using the method i mentioned in my first response, and it'll be right there, needing only minor tweaking in the future.

If your liveDb is empty, or having issues, try re-downloading the cache. I forget the specific label, but it's on the Preferences Tab (should be the first tab of the Octane Render Pane, regardless), and about 2/3 of the way down, with it's own button saying "Redownload liveDb now!" or something very similar, plus it's the only button in that particular region, and next to an option about liveDb cache updates of some kind. Genuinely can't miss it, if you need it.

I also split this up in hopes that makes it seem less "wall of text" -ish/.

Thank you for the help. So essentially when new material is added to the DB it is automatically updated. Very cool. Yeah I've been using the DB and I love it but wish there were more materials--like parquet floor or tiles for bathrooms and that kind of thing. Was hoping to find a stash of other materials somewhere, DAZ has great shaders too--sometimes they translate weird in octane or the specular is reduced...

Also, note that the entirety of the liveDb is available for use, and is entirely available at all times through the liveDb. As long as you are connected to the internet, and Octane can connect to the liveDb, you are directly accessing the Octane equivalent of the Indigo library all the time. Unless my memory is also severly flawed, the liveDb is significantly larger than the Indigo library, with a much wider variety of useful bases. Could be incorrect/outdated, but i vividly remember a very sharp lack of options for Indigo when testing the two renderers side by side earlier this year.

*Fifth re-edit: Hair shaders are a bit hit and miss depending on the hair model you are using. There is a specific hair shader that works well with polygon-dense hair, but I find it less than appealing on trans-map hair (which is the majority of what Daz Studio uses). The easiest halfway decent shader base to start from is something along the lines of changing the material from diffuse to glossy (assuming it didn't auto-convert that way), and playing with the bump, roughness, and specular values a bit (one of those few times I'II go way higher than .1 on bump, because it matters for hair, if you want it to look like it has depth). Not perfect, but a quick and easy, repeatable change that often produces at least "okay" results.

[sikotik13]

You should probably edit longer quotes, and try to not nest your response inside it. Makes it hard to find, lol. Glad that cleared it up for you. Also there are at least two parquet floors, and multiple tiles that are usable for bathrooms, under Wood and Stone categories, respectively. There were over 600 materials in the liveDb, last time I looked. Again, some of them are very poorly- or not even labelled, but there is an incredibly wide variety of bases, and odds are pretty good, if you need a base, there's one that's close enough.

Octane is not set up like Daz. They don't make money off of repackaging the same materials over and over, they just let users upload the base shader parameters so you can use your own image maps with them to start with, and modify as you need, for free (aside from time invested). It's geared more towards professionals and customizers, unlike Daz's required spoon-feeding of products to a market. OcDS is even pretty well set up to make templates of frequently used shader presets (like a skin shader setting you really like, or hair if you find or make one that works for you). There are a few threads on the subject in this forum (I contributed to a few).

Your only real other alternative is secondary vendors like TRRazor, who is selling shaders optimized for Daz. I am not saying there's anything wrong with going that route, and there is clearly a market for it, and they are high quality. I personally prefer not to pay for things I can do myself for free, but that is always an option you can look into if you want.

[LuvMultimedia]

LOL--doh-I am on a roll am I not --got kids running around and operating on coffee and 4 hours of sleep as I try to get this VR project done and locate work arounds to problems--I am generally not this half baked and ditzy--except when frustrated of course. LOL. Me, I don't mind paying for something if it saves time, especially when it comes to animation. If you have to do every little piece yourself, you'd produce a movie every two years. The community works as a team so it allows me to do what I need to fast--but I can appreciate someone who likes dabbling in the nuances.