I have a question for Kai Stavginski regarding creating AOV using bind export and setLayerExport in materials if someone can please help me as I'm in need to understand.

Hi, I'd be happy to answer your question.

@Christopher_R Sorry for barging in your thread, but since posting another thread that will be seen by Kai has much smaller chances of being seen, I'll have to take the opportunity presented here.

@Kai Can you please illuminate me on an issue regarding hair grooming - there are many groom processes that have the option to randomize values, with a min and max. I'd like to skew to those percentiles toward one end or the other, the default being a linear transition, I'm figuring. My intuition tells me a ramp function should be used, but figuring out how to put it into practice, seems like a task I'd like to skip now, if it can be helped. Probably a good candidate for a RFE too?
A .hip example would be most appreciated

Hi Kai thank you so much for getting in touch.

You presented this video; https://youtu.be/e14kHmVSbIc?t=1773; [youtu.be] to roughly from the point which the video begins up to 35 minutes into the video; which I've been trying to create from my material network a Extra Image Plane / AOV for the past week using a bind export and setLayerExport unfortunately in your presentation the setLayerExport vop in Houdini 17 doesn't have the same options as in Houdini 16 but getLayerExport does and so when I try to write out a Extra Image Plane from either getLayerExport or setLayerExport neither works, the extra Image plane is black ?

This is a screen shot of my attempt which doesn't work. As you see as you suggested in the presentation using export_ before using the bind export but that doesn't help either ?
https://i.postimg.cc/T3gZXmS7/houdini-2019-10-17-17-55-38.png [i.postimg.cc]

Correct me if I'm wrong but using this method you could pick anywhere in your material network and create extra image plane from that point in the network ?

Also is it possible to create Extra Image Planes from BSDF within material vop rather then only Color (vector3); I'd like the option to do both if possible ?

@Christopher_R,

all you need to get a basic AOV is the bind export VOP. Set Layer Export is only needed when layering multiple shaders.

Can you get your export_customDiffuse to work at all?

You have to set up a corresponding image plane of the same data type on the Mantra ROP as well, maybe that part is missing in your setup?

@pickled I believe we already have an RFE for that. My main obstacle with adding that sort of functionality is the resulting UI clutter. I may tackle that sort of stuff for the next release (after 18).

@KaiStavginski

When you say, you only need the SetLayerExport when laying multiple shaders, does that include when layering multiple BSDFs ? Also as you shown in the video for Houdini 16, why in Houdini 17 does only the GetLayerExport have the same options as SetLayerExport did in Houdini 16, rather then SetLayerExport; what is the difference ?

I can't get my export_customDiffuse at all that includes using the word export before the name of the extra image plane. I've tried numerous times. I am including my corresponding image plane of the same data type on the Mantra ROP, but it's not working, regardless where I put the bindExport within my material network ?

Also, can one not create a Extra Image Plane from BSDFs ?

I'm hoping Kai can can come around to answer my questions ?

It's early in the year so I am not getting what you want, but maybe you could post a simple example hip?
I am having some great results lately with LPEs, maybe that something worth looking into

@sekow - I posted a screen shot of the situation, also what is explained in the video. I would like to understand, what is being explained and how to do it.

well there is more to it than just a vop network. so a hip file could give a better understanding where things does not work.

but just a shot in the dark, did you set the bind export sop to export always?