Layering tattoo's on Genesis

[SparkieShock]

Hey .. it's really not clear to me how one layers additional images (alpha channelled or otherwise) on top of the main texture .. evertyime I've tried it just ends up a nightmare of crap .. looking terrible. Is it possible to layer up images like with the LIE in DAZ? .. If so .. how? Cuz so far all I got was just a big ol' load of awful where a texture should have been.

If someone can tell me how one layers things .. what order nodes need to be in .. and what determines what goes on top of another that would be appreciated.
That's the trouble with the node editor .. there's not sense of up and down (in terms of layers) with this .. this is another reason I gave up trying to do any kind of Sub surface scattering of textures .. because no matter what I do I can only ever affect one layer and never see any of the others (assuming they're even working).

Thanks

[SparkieShock]

So? .. is there no way to layer an alpha channel textured? .. Seriously can it NOT be done?

Everytime I try to do this I either end up wtih a black and white overlay ... or an overlay that looks like it's at 50% opacity. Does this not work proprly?

[rajib]

Hi SparkieShock,

You can easily use alpha channel to mix textures. All you need is 2 textures and an alpha mask.

If you are using just JPG mask, then there will be 3 texture images - Base Texture Image, Alpha Mask (in Black/white, grayscale), and the texture to apply on top based on the alpha texture.
If you are using PNG mask, then there will be 2 texture images - Base Texture Image and the PNG texture image assuming the PNG is the mask as well as the actual color to apply on top of the base.

Here is an example of how I add Makeup to my characters face texture using a PNG makeup image. I have a JPG face texture and a PNG makeup that has has the alpha channel.

Face Texture.

Face Texture

To use the PNG as alpha channel I set the texture as RGBA. That will give you the alpha channel of the PNG. If you are using a JPG grayscale / black/white mask, just use it as RGB Image.

PNG needs to be set as RGBA to get the Alpha channel. For JPG Mask, it will be RGB.

Then I use the same PNG as RGB Image (that I has used as RGBA for the alpha mask) to get the color channel. In the case of JPG mask, you would use the actual colored texture image you want to mix.

Actual PNG as RGA to get the color channels

When I mix the 2 textures - Face and Makeup using the Makeup PNG as the alpha channel using a Mix Texture node. And the end result is the 2 textures mixed properly.

Final result

So whether you are using Mix Texture nodes or Mix Materials nodes, it is the same. You can add a alpha mask image to the Amount pin and you will get the composite image based on the mask. Same as LIE in DAZ.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Rajib

[rajib]

Hi SparkieShock,

Here's how I add tattoos on my character Miho when there are no alpha masks available .

1. I search and select the Tattoo product I want to use

Search for a Tattoo

2. I then open and select a tattoo I like and then right click and select Browse To File Location.... You can actually do this at the previous step too.

Select a Tattoo and right click to select Browse To File Location.

3. Switch to the corresponding Runtime \ Textures folder

Switch to runtime \ texture folder

SwitchToTheRuntimeTextureFolder.jpg (24.47 KiB) Viewed 5535 times

4. Select a tattoo texture to use

Select a tattoo to use

5. Drag and drop to the NGE (NGE should already have the corresponding body part texture opened.

Tattoo image

6. Add a Multiply Texture Node and pluign the skin texture as Texture 1 and the Tattoo image as Texture 2.

Final mixed texture

7. Plug the output of the Mix Material to the Diffuse / Glossy etc of the skin material which will basically place the previous pin that was plugged to just the skin texture. And you will see the final effect.

Tattoo on my character Miho

If you wanted to add multiple tattoos on the same body part :
Add as may Tattoos you want. Do a Multiply Texture for 2 tattoo texture and then you can take the output of that and plugin that into another Multiply Texture (Texture 2) and add a new Tattoo to the new Multiply Texture node (Texture 1). And on and on....

Multiple tattoos

Here's the example output of 2 tattoo textures on my character Miho

Multiple tattoos on my character Miho.

Hope this helps. Btw. you can play with the Tattoo Gamma too and also plug the tattoo to a Color Correction node to e.g. make it brighter, change the color hue etc. before plugging the output of that into the Multiply Texture.

Regards,
Rajib

PS : I actually have created a separate Texture folder where I copy all the tattoo textures from the Daz runtime to that single folder. It helps to select the tattoo faster.

[SparkieShock]

Ah much appreciated .. MANY thanks for the very detailed reply.

I had managed to get an alpha channel texture on but didn't understand why it was coming out black and white .. it's been driving me nuts .. so thanks for this.

[SparkieShock]

I'm trying to follow this and what I end up with is the right look in the 'mix texture' box .. but then if I try to then hook this into a material node .. 'Diffuse' .. all I get is a blank material. It looks right on the mix texture before it but not after. What the hell is going on?

What material node is this supposed to go to after?

Hi SparkieShock,

You can easily use alpha channel to mix textures. All you need is 2 textures and an alpha mask.

If you are using just JPG mask, then there will be 3 texture images - Base Texture Image, Alpha Mask (in Black/white, grayscale), and the texture to apply on top based on the alpha texture.
If you are using PNG mask, then there will be 2 texture images - Base Texture Image and the PNG texture image assuming the PNG is the mask as well as the actual color to apply on top of the base.

Here is an example of how I add Makeup to my characters face texture using a PNG makeup image. I have a JPG face texture and a PNG makeup that has has the alpha channel.

Face Texture.

FaceTexture.jpg

To use the PNG as alpha channel I set the texture as RGBA. That will give you the alpha channel of the PNG. If you are using a JPG grayscale / black/white mask, just use it as RGB Image.

AlphaTexture.jpg

Then I use the same PNG as RGB Image (that I has used as RGBA for the alpha mask) to get the color channel. In the case of JPG mask, you would use the actual colored texture image you want to mix.

PNGMakeUpwithTranparency.jpg

When I mix the 2 textures - Face and Makeup using the Makeup PNG as the alpha channel using a Mix Texture node. And the end result is the 2 textures mixed properly.

MixingWithAlphaTexture.jpg

So whether you are using Mix Texture nodes or Mix Materials nodes, it is the same. You can add a alpha mask image to the Amount pin and you will get the composite image based on the mask. Same as LIE in DAZ.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Rajib

[SparkieShock]

Here's a video of what I see.

Img 7457-1.m4v

(45.13 MiB) Downloaded 4592 times

As you can see I have my RGBA alpha .. I have my JPG ... they can be seen just fine in the mix texture ... but then click on the diffuse node and it's just blank?!?
Can someone please tell me what's going wrong. I'm getting real tired of trying to add layers only to have them not work at all. Why does this have to be so sodding complicated?!?

[sudisk]

Nothing is going wrong IMHO. Maybe your tattoo just shows on the other side of the sphere. Have you tried rendering the sphere to see how it looks from the other side ?