Does Anyone know how to import mi(mentalray shader) to render with Houdini?
Thanks.

sisqosnew
Does Anyone know how to import mi(mentalray shader) to render with Houdini?
Thanks.

Look at the “mids” command. It will generate .ds (dialog script) file or an OTL that can then be used as a SHOP.



–Mark

Your information was very helpful.
Thanks, Mark.
I'm going to try it.

Hello
I have tried it, but I got an error massege to me.

My mids command wasin Houdini Shell)
c:\mids -d c:\temp\ base.mi
it showed me syntax error.

the official example was:
mids -g 8 -d $HOME/houdini8/shop *.mi

Which part did I make in a wrong way?

Confused…

First of all, add “Houdini Installation Path / bin” directory to your PATH:
String similar to this:
“C:\Program Files\Side Effects Software\Houdini 9.0.682\bin”
should be placed here:
My Computer -> RMB -> Properties -> Advanced -> Environmental Variables -> double click on PATH variable from a list (both user specific and system are valid).

This lets you use any Houdini tool and Houdini its self in a shell.

If you change mids directory you most probably brake it. mids uses libraries from Houdini installation path and never should be moved nor any other Houdini tool. And there are many of them…

Now, what do you mean by Houdini Shell? If you use Houdini's short cut: Command Line Tools, you're navigated to Houdini install path so tools will work without PATH variable changed (but this is recommended). If you mean hscript (or Houdini batch) this is not a place to go. These are Houdinis's non graphical instances and “mids” is not a valid command for them (unless you use “unix” statement but this is another story)

hope this help,
sy.

Thanks, SYmek.

I have done what you said, and
I run “mids” in window cmd, like:
“c:\mids -d $HOME/houdini8.2/shop toonshader.mi”.

Finally, I still get the same message
“syntax error
mids error toonshader.mi: Error parsing the file.”

Maybe, I guess the mi shader couldn't be identified by mids command,
because the toonshader is for Max and Maya MR.

sisqosnew
Hello
I have tried it, but I got an error massege to me.

My mids command wasin Houdini Shell)
c:\mids -d c:\temp\ base.mi
it showed me syntax error.

the official example was:
mids -g 8 -d $HOME/houdini8/shop *.mi

Which part did I make in a wrong way?

Confused…

Hello,

There's a few things you're missing, it's been about a year since I rendered in MR with Houdini but it's pretty easy once you learn where Houdini expects things to be located.

First off, if you are using Houdini's “Command Line Tools” (a command shell) that came with Houdini, it's path environment variables are all set up for you so you should be able to run “mids”; no need to modify the systems env variables yourself.

Second, you don't want to use base.mi as input for mids, that's mental ray's “base” .mi file. What you should use is the shader .mi file. Then mids will create the proper shader interface for you so when you render in mental ray, the correct shader strings are inserted into the .mi file generated for your scene.

Third, I would recommend using the “-l” option with the “mids” command, this will output an OTL file for your shader and is easier to use and distribute. If you haven't used OTL's before, you can install your OTL into Houdini's current session or hip file by choosing “Install Operator Library ..” from the File menu. Or you can add the OTL to the OPlibraries file so it's available every time you launch Houdini. Read the docs for more information on OTLs.

I hope that helps clear up any confusion. Mental Ray is a great renderer, would be nice to see more use with Houdini. Especially now that there's mental mill and the efx composer ….

mental ray VOPs anyone? :-)


–Mark

sorry, that means I misunderstood your notation: “c:\mids” meant that you run mids from c:\. I thought that it means you placed mids in C:\ and tried to run it. As to parsing error, hard to say anything more. Maybe someone else could help.


sy.

sisqosnew
Thanks, SYmek.
Maybe, I guess the mi shader couldn't be identified by mids command,
because the toonshader is for Max and Maya MR.

If it's a mental ray shader it should work, I can't think of anything that would be tied to the Max/Maya environment that wouldn't allow you to use the shader as stand alone or in Houdini. mr doesn't care, as long as the .mi file being fed to it is correct.

sisqosnew
Hello
My mids command wasin Houdini Shell)
c:\mids -d c:\temp\ base.mi

Forgot to mention these (base.mi) are already in Houdini's SHOP list.

Have you been able to render using any of the included MR shaders?

xionmark
Have you been able to render using any of the included MR shaders?

BTW, is there any additional step between mental mill and mental ray shaders? Does currently mental ray handle meta-shaders or they have to be translated first?

does anybody played with this topic?
thanks,
sy.

SYmek

xionmark
Have you been able to render using any of the included MR shaders?

BTW, is there any additional step between mental mill and mental ray shaders? Does currently mental ray handle meta-shaders or they have to be translated first?

does anybody played with this topic?
thanks,
sy.

Jan Walter has done much work with this (he works for mental images), I'll see him today and will ask.

Thanks your information.(You both really makes me learn a lot!!)

But…
I ask a simple and stupid question, again.
As Mark mentioned,the base.mi could be modified by mids, right!?
Who can show me what you type in the Houdini Shell(command line) with mids command ?
In fact, mids didn't work for me.
or the *.dll must be considered into the process!?
Until now, I haven't used any *.dll. :?:

I download MR shaders from this site:
http://dl3d.free.fr/download_shaders.php [dl3d.free.fr]

Thanks, Mark and SYmek again.

sisqosnew
Thanks your information.(You both really makes me learn a lot!!)

But…
I ask a simple and stupid question, again.
As Mark mentioned,the base.mi could be modified by mids, right!?
Who can show me what you type in the Houdini Shell(command line) with mids command ?
In fact, mids didn't work for me.
or the *.dll must be considered into the process!?
Until now, I haven't used any *.dll. :?:

I download MR shaders from this site:
http://dl3d.free.fr/download_shaders.php [dl3d.free.fr]

Thanks, Mark and SYmek again.

mids was re-written for H9. You might want to try that one, since it supports the mi3.6 syntax (which the mids shipped with H8 didn't).

As Mark said, mids command wouldn't identify what the sytax of new MR shader is.
My computer cant run H9, so I think I should figure out the problem, and find some old version of MR shaders to get a try.
Maybe I would take a good result.

Thanks everyone who helps me.

cheers.

I've tested mids on physics.mi found in standard distribution and it works fine.
Houdini's mental ray shops are based on this file also as one of OTL claims.
sy.