How to convert a plane into an emissive light?

PA_ThePhilosopherPA_ThePhilosopher Posts: 1,039
edited December 1969 in The Commons

Hey guys,
So I am trying to follow this tutorial;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QURC4WYQ2SE

But when I create my plane, then go to surfaces > presets > shaders, the iRay shaders do not show up in the list. I've attached an image of what I am referring to.

Any ideas what the issue may be?

Thanks,

Davide

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Comments

  • BeeMKayBeeMKay Posts: 7,019
    edited June 2015

    EDIT: Sorry, I didn't realize that the image you posted was from the video, rather than your own system. My post is obsolete. :-)

    Post edited by BeeMKay on
  • JimmyC_2009JimmyC_2009 Posts: 8,891
    edited December 1969

    Did you install 'Default Lights and Shaders for DAZ Studio 4.8+' from your Product Library?

    They are a separate install, and you can find them in DIM or in your Product Library. These are only for DS4.8 or course, not earlier versions.

  • PA_ThePhilosopherPA_ThePhilosopher Posts: 1,039
    edited December 1969

    Yes, when I check my DIM, it says the Default lights and shaders are installed.

    Here is a screenshot of my screen, so you can see that the iRay shaders are not listed.

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  • JimmyC_2009JimmyC_2009 Posts: 8,891
    edited December 1969

    In my DIM, if I right click on the Default Lights and Shaders, it lists a whole load of them some shown below:

    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/!Iray Uber Base.duf
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/!Iray Uber Base.png
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/!Iray Uber Base.tip.png
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Car Paint - Chameleon.duf
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Car Paint - Chameleon.png
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Car Paint - Chameleon.tip.png
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Car Paint - Cranberry.duf
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Car Paint - Cranberry.png
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Car Paint - Cranberry.tip.png
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Car Paint - Midnight Blue.duf
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Car Paint - Midnight Blue.png
    //Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Fabric - Velvet - Red.duf
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Fabric - Velvet - Red.png
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Fabric - Velvet - Red.tip.png


    You may need to uninstall that version of the Shaders, and download and install the latest one for DS4.8.

    The shaders were recently added to this bundle I believe, so make sure that you get the latest one.
  • mjc1016mjc1016 Posts: 15,001
    edited December 1969

    Can you show a screenshot of Help > About DAZ Studio...

  • PA_ThePhilosopherPA_ThePhilosopher Posts: 1,039
    edited December 1969

    In my DIM, if I right click on the Default Lights and Shaders, it lists a whole load of them some shown below:

    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/!Iray Uber Base.duf
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/!Iray Uber Base.png
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/!Iray Uber Base.tip.png
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Car Paint - Chameleon.duf
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Car Paint - Chameleon.png
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Car Paint - Chameleon.tip.png
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Car Paint - Cranberry.duf
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Car Paint - Cranberry.png
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Car Paint - Cranberry.tip.png
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Car Paint - Midnight Blue.duf
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Car Paint - Midnight Blue.png
    //Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Fabric - Velvet - Red.duf
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Fabric - Velvet - Red.png
    /Shader Presets/Iray/DAZ Uber/Fabric - Velvet - Red.tip.png


    You may need to uninstall that version of the Shaders, and download and install the latest one for DS4.8.

    The shaders were recently added to this bundle I believe, so make sure that you get the latest one.

    Mine also lists the same contents. I will try re-installing the package and see if that helps...

    Here is a screenshot of the about;

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  • PA_ThePhilosopherPA_ThePhilosopher Posts: 1,039
    edited June 2015

    Strange. Now I lost everything. I uninstalled the "default lights and shaders" in DIM, then clicked to install it again. And now all the shader presets are gone (see image below). Plus all my content is gone now too.

    Any ideas what the issue may be?

    Untitled-3.jpg
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    Post edited by PA_ThePhilosopher on
  • PA_ThePhilosopherPA_ThePhilosopher Posts: 1,039
    edited December 1969

    Ok, nevermind. I had to click to "enable CMS" on the tiny button in the bottom left corner of the screen. And now the iRay shaders are listed.

    Wow, the smallest thing can become the biggest headache. lol.

  • mjc1016mjc1016 Posts: 15,001
    edited December 1969

    Did you happen to have Studio open when you uninstalled/reinstalled the lights?

  • PA_ThePhilosopherPA_ThePhilosopher Posts: 1,039
    edited December 1969

    Out of curiosity, does anyone know if it is possible to hide the planes once they are set as emissive lights?

    If I try setting the "cutout opacity" to 0, the plane disappears, but so too does the light.

  • ScavengerScavenger Posts: 2,664
    edited December 1969

    Out of curiosity, does anyone know if it is possible to hide the planes once they are set as emissive lights?

    If I try setting the "cutout opacity" to 0, the plane disappears, but so too does the light.


    There's a setting "show emitter" I think that I'd think does that (not at the right computer to check on that)
  • SzarkSzark Posts: 10,634
    edited December 1969

    no you cannot hide mesh lights whilst emitting light in Iray.

  • kenmokenmo Posts: 908

    Default lights and shaders - I checked my DIM and Product Library. I do not have these. I checked the store here and they are not listed. Have they been renamed to something else?

    Cheers

    Ken

  • NorthOf45NorthOf45 Posts: 5,480

    Now part of "Default Resources for DAZ Studio 4.9+"

  • kenmokenmo Posts: 908

    Thank you ever so much. I did not have this installed so downloaded & installed via DIM. Merry Christ and many thanks...

  • jardinejardine Posts: 1,201

    Out of curiosity, does anyone know if it is possible to hide the planes once they are set as emissive lights?

    If I try setting the "cutout opacity" to 0, the plane disappears, but so too does the light.

    try setting the cutout opacity to a really low value.  almost zero, but not quite.  something like .0000012.

    that's a guess, and may be a little high or a little low.  if you have one of kindredarts ghost light kits, you can load up a ghost light prop and check the values there. 

    j

  • IvyIvy Posts: 7,165
    edited December 2018

    I donno if this help you or not, So I made couple of untextured floor and wall panes in carrara and made the wall emissive  and took a screen shot of the settings . So I donno if this is what you are looking for.  but this is how i make emissive panes and I can hide the panes visablility under the display tab setting under perimeters tab .  But still keep the  "visible in render" clicked on.. then the emissive of the light source/pane will still show through in the render if your using darks scenes or for back lighting.  that is how i do it anyway

     

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    Post edited by Ivy on
  • IvyIvy Posts: 7,165
    edited December 2018

    This is to help show how I make my light panes visible $ invisible

     pane display turned on

    Th pane Display turned off,  but keeping the light,  IMO I think it makes it appear to be a light source more than backgound lighting

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    Post edited by Ivy on
  • Canary3dCanary3d Posts: 2,032
    Szark said:

    no you cannot hide mesh lights whilst emitting light in Iray.

    I think you can, actually, but I’m not sure how—KindredArts Iray ghost light is an invisible emitter. 

  • SzarkSzark Posts: 10,634

    yeah that was before someone figured out that setting Cutout (Iray Opacity) to 0.000001 or something like that worked. :)

  • Silent WinterSilent Winter Posts: 3,720
    edited December 2018
    Ivy said:

    This is to help show how I make my light panes visible $ invisible

     pane display turned on

     

    Is this a new feature? I always thought making the pane invisible that way turned its light off - I'm gonna have to try this as it's easier than mucking about with opacity (which is what I usually do).

    Edit: Definitely not working for me - are you using a normal plane or is it from a product? Which version of DS?

    Post edited by Silent Winter on
  • IvyIvy Posts: 7,165
    edited December 2018

    Don't ask me the hard questions..lol  I learned how t do this at HDRi lab.com forum and as  I showed you above step by step that is how i have always worked with emissive panes & made my back lights since daz 4.9  I do this a lot with my fantasy renders like this one where i need back light

     

    what I am using?  Daz Version 4.10

    Flat Panes I am using?    I made the flat panes in Carrara Pro so I can add any type texture i want.  I work with flat panes a lot for rendering animations it helps speed up my render times using flat panes with the rendered scenes images instead of actual using all the content to create the scene.  other wise it be impossiable for me anyway to render animation in iray. plus i can add things like animated textures etc.

    I converted the pane I made to iray using Uber Iray shader setting that come with the daz essentials  ,then  changed the diffused color to black under the surface tab and then change or use a back ground image in the emissive tab setting & change the emissive color from black to white.  Adjust lumens setting where your happy with the lighting..   then when I shut off the visibility as i showed in my screen shot to the pane it acts or becomes like a emissive light source like a tube or liner point of emssive iray light would.  I don't understand the logistics or the technology of why it works  . its the way I have been working with panes for the last couple year or so creating animation.  I also use panes to create fog  and atmosphere effects as well .  they are very handy

     

    Post edited by Ivy on
  • Ivy said:

    Don't ask me the hard questions..lol  I learned how t do this at HDRi lab.com forum and as  I showed you above step by step that is how i have always worked with emissive panes & made my back lights since daz 4.9  I do this a lot with my fantasy renders like this one where i need back light

     

     

    what I am using?  Daz Version 4.10

    Flat Panes I am using?    I made the flat panes in Carrara Pro so I can add any type texture i want.  I work with flat panes a lot for rendering animations it helps speed up my render times using flat panes with the rendered scenes images instead of actual using all the content to create the scene.  other wise it be impossiable for me anyway to render animation in iray. plus i can add things like animated textures etc.

    I converted the pane I made to iray using Uber Iray shader setting that come with the daz essentials  ,then  changed the diffused color to black under the surface tab and then change or use a back ground image in the emissive tab setting & change the emissive color from black to white.  Adjust lumens setting where your happy with the lighting..   then when I shut off the visibility as i showed in my screen shot to the pane it acts or becomes like a emissive light source like a tube or liner point of emssive iray light would.  I don't understand the logistics or the technology of why it works  . its the way I have been working with panes for the last couple year or so creating animation.  I also use panes to create fog  and atmosphere effects as well .  they are very handy

     

    Ok - thats' weird - I do exactly the same (except the shortcut - Daz comes with an 'Emissive' option under its uber-shader folder - that sets it to white emission and black diffuse (though you still need to adjust the temperature to default from whatever low number it comes out as and make the lumens much higher)) and I use a DS plane primitive (which also takes textures just fine) and yet my plane-lights turn off when I make it visible-off.

    I'm gonna have to mess with it a bit more.

    Thanks for the explanation :)

  • IvyIvy Posts: 7,165
    edited December 2018

    Hi SW , when i was checking through how i set it up.  I forgot one thing.

    you want to add a black texture to the cut out this will fix the issue .  Sorry I forgot to mention that

    Give me a few days to get the holidays by us & I'll package up these panes i have,  so you can download them. I'l make them a freebies y'all can play with & see how i have it set up

     

     

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    Post edited by Ivy on
  • Awesome - thanks.

  • When using Daz primitives for this, you can set the plane to 2 divisions (minimum) so it has minimal impact on resources.

    Also, you have to actually select it in the Editor tab of the Surfaces pane, even if the item is already selected in the scene window, or the scene pane. I have no idea why the surface is not auto-selected when manually clicked in the preview window or the scene pane, but it's really annoying.

  • NorthOf45NorthOf45 Posts: 5,480

    If you use the Surface Selection Tool in the viewport, the surface will be automatically selected in the Surfaces tab pane.

  • IvyIvy Posts: 7,165

    As promised  here are my pane props  you can download them on sharecg.com for free. enjoy

    Ivy's Magic Pane prop  Download lick: https://sharecg.com/v/92902/view/21/DAZ-Studio/Ivys-Magic-Pane-prop

  • Ivy said:

    As promised  here are my pane props  you can download them on sharecg.com for free. enjoy

    Ivy's Magic Pane prop  Download lick: https://sharecg.com/v/92902/view/21/DAZ-Studio/Ivys-Magic-Pane-prop

    Thank you @Ivy!

    Trish

  • Ivy said:

    This is to help show how I make my light panes visible $ invisible

     pane display turned on

    Th pane Display turned off,  but keeping the light,  IMO I think it makes it appear to be a light source more than backgound lighting

    Thank you, I'm glad I seen this, I didn't know that. I'm just now learning Iray lighting and this thread is full of neat tips.

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