149
votes
Accepted
Render with a wider dynamic range in cycles to produce photorealistic looking images
Update as of June 23, 2019
Plenty has changed since the original posting. I figured it was worth updating this post to highlight two excellent videos provided by two of the celebrities in the ...
- 12.1k
81
votes
Accepted
How to assign a new material to an object in the scene from Python?
Here you go, code with some safety checks:
...
78
votes
How do I create repeating patterns with cycles' procedural textures
You can use the math Modulo node on mapping vectors to create tilling for procedural textures:
To tile them seamlessly you need to flip tiles in X and Y axis:
For the Tilling X and Y nodes use ...
72
votes
Accepted
Control Cycles/Eevee material nodes and material properties using python?
Here is how to change material properties, you can see all of them here or see the python path when you hover over in the UI on some material attribute:
...
69
votes
Accepted
How to create a mirror shader?
1. Mirror shader as material with mirror reflection (roughness = 0):
To setup a physically correct material we need to base it on real measured values and setup the nodes so it follows the equations ...
67
votes
Creating Inky-looking characters in Blender
If I understand correctly, your question is essentially asking how to emit smoke from a rigged and animated character.
This should work just fine, as long as the smoke modifier is after the armature ...
- 154k
57
votes
Accepted
How to make a "reflective tape" material in cycles?
Such a material works by reflecting the incoming light back towards the direction it originated - since your car headlights are very close to your own line of sight, you see a strong reflection of ...
- 43.1k
55
votes
How do I emit light from inside a object?
Cycles is a physically based render, and often the best approach is physical recreation.
Components:
Light source
Light cover
Light Source:
This would simply be an emission shader since it is ...
- 18.3k
48
votes
Accepted
How to make a holographic reticle shader in cycles
Pure Shader Solution!
Hey look, high-school maths does have a purpose......
From what I could understand with a little research, holographic/reticle sights display a holograph that appears (when ...
- 18.3k
47
votes
Accepted
How to Construct a Diamond or Other Gemstone Material in Cycles
You need dispersion
Dispersion is the phenomenon of multicolored highlights you see in most transparent substances, resulting from different colors (light frequencies) refracting at different angles (...
- 18.2k
45
votes
Accepted
Stars background in cycles
First you need to jump over the the Node Editor view, then select Shader Nodes and World. Also make sure Use Nodes is checked.
Then add a Noise Texture node and a Color Ramp node. Plug the Fac of ...
- 24.5k
44
votes
Accepted
How to change hair color along length of strand?
You can accomplish this in multiple ways, the easiest way is to use a Hair Info node, and use the Intercept value to drive a Converter > Color Ramp node. Use this to drive the Factor on your mix or ...
- 18.9k
44
votes
How do I create a reflective white material?
The floor is actually more reflective near the horizon. This effect is called Fresnel and it adds a lot of realism into the scene.
Your shader should look like this:
Instead of controlling the ...
44
votes
What does the simplify AO bounces value do?
TL;DR:
To put it simply, after n light bounces, Cycles switches the material shader to a simplified diffuse material (i.e. AO), instead of evaluating the full material node tree.
This Simplify to AO ...
- 11.9k
43
votes
How to pixelate a texture in Cycles?
This is done with rounding the mapping vectors.
The resolution for X and Y can be set with value nodes.
It will work for any texture (for 3D texture just copy the rounding nodes into the Z channel) ...
42
votes
Accepted
How is the vector transform node used?
Overview
To effectively make use of the Vector Transform node, you first need to appreciate the differences between the various coordinate spaces - World Space, Object Space, and Camera Space.
You ...
- 43.1k
42
votes
Accepted
How to create clear plastic? (Cycles)
This is very similar to the thin glass problem.
It can be fixed by giving it a thickness, (i.e. Solidify Modifier, as already sugested), which in some cases raises some topology problems, besides the ...
- 3,456
41
votes
Accepted
What is Dot Product?
Let's start with some definitions:
Vector: A list of values that are all contained under the same "roof" so to speak. For instance, the location of an object in 3D space is a vector of 3 values (the $...
- 15.7k
41
votes
How to get accurate colors with Filmic Blender
Cegaton has wisely hinted at the root of the discussion, which is that the framing and definition as to what is an accurate colour is a cause for much confusion and much misunderstanding. This is an ...
- 12.1k
39
votes
Accepted
How to create Bokeh circles?
Lamps are not visible to the camera directly, and hence cannot directly make pretty bokeh shapes. To make a directly visible light source, you'll want to use a mesh light.
To do this, add an emission ...
- 154k
39
votes
Accepted
how are the math node operations in cycles calculated?
Here is a list of the mathematical equivalents of each operation.
Add: Out = Value1 + Value2.
Subtract: Out = Value1 - Value2.
...
- 24.5k
38
votes
Accepted
Is there really a way to make a true toon shader material in Cycles?
OSL + Solidify (Irie's Technique)
Results:
Pros:
The toon shader has seven customizable parameters for creating many different looks
Edge strokes taper off with a natural look, like hand-drawn ...
- 18.2k
38
votes
Accepted
How to create a procedural chevron like texture/material?
Start with Wave procedural texture and create tiling in X axis with Repeating patterns on procedural textures. After that clamp the values into stripes with a ColorRamp node set to constant:
(^click ...
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible