Just peaking through the posted Keyshot 8 Manual. Looks like some great new features.... One feature I was hoping for was an improved pattern tool or scatter/instances to more accurately scatter things like grass and scatter them on other objects. Will there be a feature like this or did I miss it?
Paul
Not this go-round, I was hoping for something like that too, file that under the wish list forum, and see what happens! For now I'm still working in Cinema 4d and the MopGraph cloner toolset which gets the job done nicely.
:) Unfortunately, as Matt mention, not in this version. They did add a primitive type of scattering that allows for simple geometry, flat squares (flakes) and spheres (bubbles) within a part. It's actually pretty powerful, but as you can imagine, still limited compared to full modeling suites.
I have had success scattering blades of grass in Blender3D, exporting that geometry and bringing it into Keyshot for rendering in the past. See this thread and scroll down for my example.
https://www.keyshot.com/forum/index.php?topic=21717.msg92551#msg92551
Too bad, instancing is much more efficient than importing a large poly file from another app. I too am using blender to import things like grass but Keyshot struggles with that much geometry. Regarding the new flakes volume, why is it restricted to just circles and squares, why not allow for other shapes/pieces of geometry like grass/fur and many more etc. Attached screen grabs from the keyshot 8 video. It's cool but can only see it being useful if you could asign your own shapes. Keyshot already has a pattern too, just tweak it a little to allow a bit more shattering control and the ability to attach the scattering to other objects. All other standalone renders have this now and is way more useful then making objects look like there made of circles or squares.
Perhaps I'm jumping he gun little and will have to wait until Keyshot 8 comes out and see.
Paul
We will certainly improve the scattering tools in the future. The bubbles and flakes geometry were added to address specific material needs for our users. We can certainly look into making the scattering tools more general. Feedback is appreciated.
There are all kinds of crazy things we could do with the Geometry Nodes that are introduced in KeyShot 8.
It's safe to say Flakes and Bubbles are just the beginning.
As Matt says, if you have specific requests, then please do post them with some motivation (why you need certain features) in the Wish List (https://www.keyshot.com/forum/index.php?board=8.0) section of the forum. We do read and file those requests. :)
Dries
Thanks, appreciate the response and I am interested to see what the new geometry node can do however I do believe being limited to just circles and squares is pretty restricting. The request for an improved pattern tool or instancing tool has been posted to the wish list several times and to be honest a good instancing tool can do exactly what is displayed in the attachments above from your keyshot 8 video and much more. A few tweaks to your existing pattern tool would give you the ability to add grass, foliage, hair, fur, particle systems and more to any object/geometry or independent volume, the uses are endless. Perhaps the geometry node can function like this by allowing to asign any shape/geometry instead of just circles and squares. As mentioned, instancing is much more efficient then importing existing geometry from other 3d programs, poly count/file size being the biggest issue. Keyshot has the ability to render exterior scenes but doesn't like the file sizes of imported mass geometry like grass/trees/particles etc. Updated pattern/instancing tool would solve that.
Paul
Hello,
Where may I find the posted Keyshot 8 Manual? Is there a link so I can download?
Looking to learn more about the new Cutaway feature in KeyShot 8.
Neil
https://luxion.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/K8M/overview
THANK YOU!!!!!
Well for us the Flakes feature is a killer. For the first time in ANY render app we have used we can properly visualise clear plastic with metallic flakes INSIDE the plastic (as opposed to on the surface). Like this.
Thanks to the great man Dries for showing me the way on this :D
It'll probably be a few weeks yet before KS8 is deployed at my place of work. Can anyone who's had a chance to play with it let me know whether there's support for a secondary UV channel?
Not that I can tell. There is triplaner mapping and UV based labels which might work for you depending on what you are trying to accomplish. I personally think the name "labels" isnt' the right term anymore, lots of people are using them to layer materials, and that is easier to grasp how it works. Now if they added transfer modes between layers (labels and materials) that would be pretty cool.
Quote from: aptyler on October 02, 2018, 11:36:52 AM
It'll probably be a few weeks yet before KS8 is deployed at my place of work. Can anyone who's had a chance to play with it let me know whether there's support for a secondary UV channel?
As Matt mentioned you can access different uv mappings through labels (and as Matt mentioned you can think of these as layers of materials). We could add support for multiple uv channels (the engine already supports it). Out of curiousity; how you would get the secondary uv channel onto the model?
Quote from: quigley on October 02, 2018, 10:28:24 AM
Well for us the Flakes feature is a killer. For the first time in ANY render app we have used we can properly visualise clear plastic with metallic flakes INSIDE the plastic (as opposed to on the surface). Like this.
Thanks to the great man Dries for showing me the way on this :D
Awesome! And we are going to make this even better in coming releases :-)
Quote from: KeyShot on October 02, 2018, 06:37:13 PM
Quote from: aptyler on October 02, 2018, 11:36:52 AM
It'll probably be a few weeks yet before KS8 is deployed at my place of work. Can anyone who's had a chance to play with it let me know whether there's support for a secondary UV channel?
As Matt mentioned you can access different uv mappings through labels (and as Matt mentioned you can think of these as layers of materials). We could add support for multiple uv channels (the engine already supports it). Out of curiousity; how you would get the secondary uv channel onto the model?
FBX meshes include support a secondary UV channel. From what I've gleaned, the use multiple UV channels is more common with game models. Typically they'll map diffuse color, specular, and "metalness" textures onto UV channel 1, and then map the normal texture to UV channel 2 of the same mesh. This way the normal texture can leverage mesh symmetry (different areas of the mesh use the same texture data L/R reversed) and ignore dead space (something you can't do with diffuse color, etc.) They can then bake their normal textures more efficiently, thereby reducing texture size and preserving the fidelity of the normal data.
Quote from: KeyShot on October 02, 2018, 06:37:13 PM
Quote from: aptyler on October 02, 2018, 11:36:52 AM
It'll probably be a few weeks yet before KS8 is deployed at my place of work. Can anyone who's had a chance to play with it let me know whether there's support for a secondary UV channel?
As Matt mentioned you can access different uv mappings through labels (and as Matt mentioned you can think of these as layers of materials). We could add support for multiple uv channels (the engine already supports it). Out of curiousity; how you would get the secondary uv channel onto the model?
In Blender, if you have several UV channels for the same geometry, you have a UV mapping node, which allows you to specify which set of UVs you want to associate with the texture you'd like to map.
I'm not sure how that would translate in KS, but if what aptyler said is true about .FBX having multiple UV support, that information must be stored somewhere in the file for accessing?
Hello Guys ,
I am very excited about all the Keyshot8 new features.
I have a question about the vbd import for volumetric effects. Is it possible to import vdb sequence to have animated smoke/ explosions?
If yes , perfect.
If not , there is someone working on a script to load the VDB sequence ?
Quote from: Livingstone on October 02, 2018, 07:41:19 PM
Is it possible to import vdb sequence to have animated smoke/ explosions?
If yes , perfect.
If not , there is someone working on a script to load the VDB sequence ?
VDB Sequences are not available at the moment, but I think I've seen someone mention this would be a feature they work on for a future patch/release. It's obvious that all of these new features will just wet the palette for the artists in us and we'll soon want more and more. Thankfully, the dev team is always listening, so the more we ask for it, the more likely it will be a priority.
Give an inch, want a mile, eh? I hate it when I do that to developers! Has to be really frustrating to come up with some killer features to listen to people talk about why it can't also do x y or z :)
Either way, I'm guessing vdb seq will take the same route alembic seq did in 7. started with single frames then someone wrote a script, then they built it in for one of the point releases.
Will the Keyshot for ZBrush PRO 8 be able to import Open VDB?
Quote from: jlgroff on October 04, 2018, 11:16:15 AM
Will the Keyshot for ZBrush PRO 8 be able to import Open VDB?
Yes, via the volume map texture, you can use open VDB files.
You'll also find an example in the material library.
Cheers
Marco