Hi

I created a shader, specifically for PBR. It's meant for complex and realistic surfaces. And is now ready for Houdini 13!
http://www.orbolt.com/asset/_danylyon::PBR_layered_material [orbolt.com]

It's written in VEX and the code is open for you to use if you buy it.

If you're interested to hear any updates subscribe to my newsletter: http://eepurl.com/G4t9r [eepurl.com]

Features:

• up to 3 individual material layers realistically mixed
  
• energy conserving and view dependent
  
• basic SSS
  
• refraction with basic dispersion and absorption
  
• translucency
  
• emission
  
• support for different uv sets
  
• Mari UDIM support
  
• individual front and back shading
  
• support for Cd and Alpha attribute
  
• bump map (normal and vector)
  
• built in bump noise
  
• built in flakes
  
• anisotropy (with maps)
  
• specular and metal specular
  
• adjustable specular radius and falloff
  
• adjustable specular sharpness at glancing angle
  
• adjustable roundness of the specular peak
  
• tint specular
  
• diffuse roughness and sheen
  
• RGB masks for individual layers
  
• AOVs (reflection, refraction, diffuse, emission, sss, Z, uv, velocity, normal, position, facing)
  
• displacement (along normal, object space or tangent space, compatible with ZBrush)
  
• optimization (override shadow, alpha and turn off features in reflections)
  
• Point based caching (experimental)
  
  Be sure to read the help card! Click the ?

Looks wonderful dandylyon. I will give it a try when I have some time, just bumping in the meantime.

very nice renders.

Looks really nice and handy, and the price is very reasonable !! Will give it a try, indeed !

Nice Work!!!

Very cool

Rob

Looking forward to using this!

Thanks for checking it out!

Be sure to read the installation instructions:

This shader uses it’s own bsdf reflectence function, that needs to be installed manually. To do so, right click on the OTL, choose “Type Properties”. Go to “Extra Files”, select “specular_eval.vex” and click on “Save as File”. Save it to:

C:\Program Files\Side Effects Software\Houdini 13.0.198.21\houdini\vex\CVex

Or for Mac:

/Library/Frameworks/Houdini.framework/Versions/13.0.198.21/Resources/houdini/vex/CVex

and the corresponding folder on Linux. Do the same for “specular_sample.vex”.

Let me know how it's working for you and if you need any improvements.

So if I am using this on a renderfarm, will I have trouble using it since I need to manually install that file?

Hi

I am on OSX mountain Lion and I am having an issue when I try to install the shader.

So when I follow the instructions and go about saving the files I get an error. saying I dont have permission

When I tried to navigate to the Library/Frameworks folder from the Finder I cant find this folder . Even thought I can see it when I navigate from inside the Extra files -> Save File as window pane.

Any ideas?

Can you give me a hint or an example of how to achieve a clip or opacity map with your pbr shader ?
I have a simple polygon and a texture with an alpha and want to use it for instanced leaves on a tree ( the shape should be clipped by the alpha channel )
I always get strange artefacts like in the attached screenshot.

I hope someone can help

Dear Danylyon.
I downloaded the apprentice version of your shader to test it out, but I get no reflections at all.

This shader uses it’s own bsdf reflectence function, that needs to be installed manually. To do so, right click on the OTL, choose “Type Properties”. Go to “Extra Files”, select “specular_eval.vex” and click on “Save as File”.

For what it's worth, there's no specular_eval.vex file in the “Extra Files” section of the OTL. I'm not sure if it's because the asset is closed (apprentice version) or from some other reason.

danylyon
Thanks for checking it out!

Be sure to read the installation instructions:

What installation instructions? They're not on the Orbolt page that I can find. You provide a link to your updates mailing list and path to additional files needed to make the example .hip work but no special installation instructions.

Using the Orbolt browser to a purchase and install the shader never prompts with special instructions. In fact, initial installation seemed to fail and only after re-syncing in the asset browser was I able to use the shader, though this is likely a bug in the H13->Orbolt connection because the same error happened with pretty much everything I installed using the Orbolt browser, until I performed a re-sync.

The same thing happened on a second machine where the first sync resulted in an unusable asset that gave errors, re-syncing (and waiting for all of my Orbolt assets do download and install, again, fixed the issue).

But if I hadn't come here and found this thread I wouldn't have ever known. Perhaps you should make that more clear on the Orbolt page.

That said, very cool shader by the way. Very cool.


edit: also, as above the files specified as needing an additional installation step aren't present in the OTL. Looking at the “Extra Files” tab shows the following:

falloff_s.jpg
Presets

When I try to drag the node to use (to node network's shop), I get the complaint “Invalid node type name”.

Showing details, I get

Traceback (most recent call last):
File “_danylyon:BR_layered_material”, line 2, in <module>
File “CPROGRA~1/SIDEEF~1/HOUDIN~1.547/houdini/python2.7libs\shelfutils.py”, line 259, in installOrboltAsset
exec command
File “<string>”, line 2, in <module>
File “CPROGRA~1/SIDEEF~1/HOUDIN~1.547/houdini/python2.7libs\shoptoolutils.py”, line 8, in genericTool
exact_node_type = exact_node_type)
File “CPROGRA~1/SIDEEF~1/HOUDIN~1.547/houdini/python2.7libs\toolutils.py”, line 960, in new_func
return function(*args, **kwargs)
File “CPROGRA~1/SIDEEF~1/HOUDIN~1.547/houdini/python2.7libs\toolutils.py”, line 1057, in genericTool
exact_node_type)
File “CPROGRA~1/SIDEEF~1/HOUDIN~1.547/houdini/python2.7libs\toolutils.py”, line 941, in createNodeInContainer
exact_type_name = exact_node_type)
File “CPROGRA~1/SIDEEF~1/HOUDIN~1.547/houdini/python2.7libs\hou.py”, line 22595, in createNode
return _hou.Node_createNode(*args, **kwargs)
OperationFailed: The attempted operation failed.
Invalid node type name

Would anyone of you have suggestions as to what to do to get closer to making them work?

I think I had a similar problem.
For me uninstalling all the pbr assets helped.
I looks like I had several versions of the asset installed.
After I removed all of them I just installed the latest and that configuration worked ..

I installed that neat OTL lately, but it seems that I'm having the exact same problem with the specular as user ajz3d described! Does anyone know how to do the custom installation (because “Extra Files” tab does not contain the needed information..) ?

xukca
I installed that neat OTL lately, but it seems that I'm having the exact same problem with the specular as user ajz3d described! Does anyone know how to do the custom installation (because “Extra Files” tab does not contain the needed information..) ?

I shot the author a tweet asking about this and apparently the later, current versions of the asset no longer need this step. It just works without any additional file install. He just never came back to the forum after implementing this change. Reflections work fine, you just have to “unlearn” the old, bad convention of considering “spec” and “reflect” as two different properties.

I also ran into the problem with errors adding this asset to an existing or new .hip file and the only solution that I've found to avoiding any errors is to select the option to “Install OTL Only” from the pop-up menu in the Asset Browser and then add it from the “Digital Assets” sub-menu in the SHOP network. Double clicking in the Asset Browser is broken. “Add Asset to Scene” is broken.

That's not a problem with this asset though, it's a problem with the Asset Browser itself. If I use any other method to add an Orbolt asset to a .hip file other than “Install OTL Only” and then drop the tile from within an appropriate editor it's a sometimes works, often not deal and this behavior is consistent across two separate, fresh installs of Houdini Indie (perhaps its more problematic in Indie/Apprentice installs).

Back before Thanksgiving I informed Orbolt of this problem and one of their guys was able to at least partially replicate the issue on his end but I was given no indication as to what it might be from or any additional solution and haven't heard anything more. I'm just happy that at least one way of using it seems to be reliable.

Thank you for your answer Sean. I'm aware about the specular being a light reflection The problem is… the reflections are also not there. Im attaching a file comparing the chrome presets of both material shader builder and PBR Layered material. As you can see, you barely see the second statue, because the reflectivity is missing, despite being set on I tried reinstalling the OTL, got the newest houdini build and the result is still the same..

Then this is definitely an issue with the install. I just completed a commercial with a CG car and there was never any problem with reflections, reflecting the plate projected onto geometry, a skydome, lights, etc.

I just installed this for the first time and I'm getting the same issue…

mantra: Could not find VEX code.
mantra: Failed to resolve VEX code opdefVop/oplib:_danylyon:hop/PBR_layered_material:hop/specular_eval?_danylyon:hop/PBR_layered_material:hop/specular_eval

Help file is broken as well.

:cry: :cry: :cry: