I was offline for much of the day today, due to an experiment.  Rather, as many of you know, I use Windows for only two main purposes: one is to run artistic software such as Poser; the other is for playing some computer games, when the mood hits me.  For security reasons, I don't permit Windows to touch the internet.  So when I boot up Windows, I am offline.

Today, I was trying an experiment to try to create a little more realistic skin texture than what I have so far accomplished.  I would try changing the texture a little then set the program to render the results while I walked of to do some chores.  Then when it was finished, I would adjust it some more and start another render ....

Comparing the textures used on Virgina to the newer version that I have used on Jezebel, you can get an idea of what I was trying.  With the creation of the texture for Jezebel from that of Virgina, I have added an effect to provide the slight color variations that skin often has.

That was done with a series of Poser 5 procedural nodes, while most of Jezebel's texture maps are the same as those of Virgina.  The effect I was try to add this time or the minor blemishes both flat and raised that skin often has.  However, I failed to get the natural looking effect that I was seeking.  The best looking flat blemishes that I achieved made the model look like she has the measles.

As for the elevated ones, using a procedural driven bump map, interfered with the current bump map the creates the skin's pores.  I tried using a displacement rather than a bump map drivien by the same procedural nodes as I had tried with the bump mapping.  Now with the same strength setting, she looked like she had small boils all over her.  A slight modification of the setting made her look pox marked all over.

When it was clear that I was not making any progress, I scraped the experiment and left Windows.  Oh the fun of trial and error!

Pangor

Quote:

 For security reasons, I don't permit Windows to touch the internet. So when I boot up Windows, I am offline.

 

Use a private IP subnet with a cheap router for your internet.
You will never have a problem....

That is pretty much how I have it configured.  An old PC setup as a router, the external connections is via a PPP link, ethernet internal using a private IP's on the LAN.  The router has a nice packet filtering firewall that blocks unauthorized traffic from outside and also block undesired traffic inside from visiting the net.  The router box also runs my caching server for external DNS resolutions.  No compilers or editors and onty limited scripting support, on the router box.

It is the suprises that come in from email, newsgroups articles, and the web, that concern me.  I don't want to have to run each of them though virus detectors and scrubers, so Linux with binaries configured and compiled by me seem safer for the internet.

Pangor

About your experiment: Personally I try to modify already made materials because in that Poser section I'm a noob   . I found what I think it's a good material for skin, I'll send it to you, maybe tomorrow whe I'll find the way to export a material      

pangor";p="23594 wrote: 

That is pretty much how I have it configured.  An old PC setup as a router, the external connections is via a PPP link, ethernet internal using a private IP's on the LAN.  The router has a nice packet filtering firewall that blocks unauthorized traffic from outside and also block undesired traffic inside from visiting the net.  The router box also runs my caching server for external DNS resolutions.  No compilers or editors and onty limited scripting support, on the router box.

It is the suprises that come in from email, newsgroups articles, and the web, that concern me.  I don't want to have to run each of them though virus detectors and scrubers, so Linux with binaries configured and compiled by me seem safer for the internet.

Pangor

Well, I am not trying to offend you but it sounds like your a little paranoid. I run a cheap netgear router on a cable internet connection 24/7 and I have never had an issue. I am sure there have been port scans on the wan side of my router but whatever I am on a non routable subnet on the lan side. only requested trafic comes through. Recently, for the sake of my electric bill I set my XP machine to hibernate after a couple hours. If you're worried about a virus, disable your macros in any office program, word, excel, access etc. And don't bother with any unknown attachments and you should be good to go. If you want to take it one step further. Download the "microsoft windows malicious software removal tool" off the windows site and have it run a batch file in the startup directory on every boot. the only downside is it is updated monthly. (second tues of every month). It is a known list of every "Windows Killer" virus thats out there. You would have to write the batch file monthly.

No insult intended pangor. I know your pretty smart when it comes to this stuff, I just was trying to help. If what you have there is working for you then by all means, if it isn't broke, don't fix it.  

Thanks.

With Poser 4 it was mostly a matter of how to paint the texture map.  When I first upgraded to Poser 5, I looked for tutorials for taking advantage of the more powerful textureing engine of Poser 5 for skin and hair texturing.  I found nothing at the time, so I started to work at it by trial and error.  Latter when I saw a listing of three such tutorials, I reviewed them and found that each of the three addressed only parts of what I had already developed.

But I am always opend to try a new method, if it is better to use it, otherwise to blend in the benefits of the new method into what I am currently using.  Once I have perfected it a little more, I have been intending to offer in teh free stuff a version of what I have been using redone and simplified to support standard Posette and Dork textures.  The reason for simplifying the node tree, is because what I have been using uses more texture maps than are most often used with the P4 people.

For Virgina's and Jezebel's textures, I am using at last count 17 texture maps.  Regina has a few less.  They remapped Posettes.  The remap works but still has it problems.  I am thinking of tweaking the remap for some of the problem parts latter on.  ANother thing I need to add is an open node link where second skin items like painted on clothing can be added to the texture, since that regular way of doing that will not work with these textures.

Pangor

No problems Landman, I know I am a little paranoid about system security.  

I know some people have had to fight their systems to remove malicious code introduced through visiting websites that were altered after being cracked into.  Most such code presumes the use of IE and Windows, making that an invalid presumption is helpful.

Besides I use Linux and sometimes BSD for almost everything already anyway.  If it were not for software like bryce and Poser, and some games, I would not have a need for Windows at all.

Thanks

Pangor

This is Posy's texture in the material room (sorry for the little censorship, but Posy doesn't want to show her texture   )

    

Thanks Tormie,

I don't mind the censorship, the lady's wishes come first, afterall it is her texture.

Is that the Poser 6 material room?  Nice.

Some of the wiring is very similar to what I have worked out, some of it has some interesting connections and elements that I will need to look into.  The items leading into teh Blinn node is very interesting.  Thank you.

Pangor

It's only a modified material, It's not made from scratch, but it wokrs very well   . I'll send you the whole data later in the afternoon  

  Thanks.

Pangor

Hi guys, sorry to be late in this topic...
A rainy day I desided to make peace with P5 material room (that I hated and now I love) and did some tests in the skin shading issue, I'll look for some test renders I did and show them to see what do you think.

I'm sorry but I'm not really able to make a good texture from scratch. My technique is basically to rearrange an already made and professionals texture for my needs, so I can use it only for myself and can't share it ...

rayera, no problem, I am looking forward to seeing the kinds of skins that you have been able to render.  Of my works, Jezebel's portrait is the last one that I posted with a texture that I created completly.  That image used an older version of the shader.  Each image since that time up to "I Dream of better times"  the pictue that I am working on now, have used newer and newer version of my shader combined with stock or free downloaded texture maps.  Virgina's is still using an older version of the shader, to update her shader would change her looks too much.  I like the way she looks too much to change or damage her basic look.  The two images "Ready in Twenty" and "Ready Now" used the P4 texture of Betty.

Pangor