UPDATE 05Feb2016:mhSkin2:
- Removed IOR In/Out, replaced with standard Facing/Fresnel. People hated it. I hated it. Let’s keep things simple.
- Added support for B&W bump maps.
- Added option to isolate reflections for easier/faster shader tweaks.
- Corrected scatter radii.
- Better color distribution per layer to more accurately reflect measured color at depth.
- Better energy conservation with glossy layers.
- Corrected default values when appended to external .blend.
mhSoGSkin:
- Added support for B&W bump maps.
- Added option to isolate reflections for easier/faster shader tweaks.
- Corrected scatter radii.
- Better energy conservation with glossy layers.
- Corrected default values when appended to external .blend.
Okay, so, I suppose I’ll start this post with an apology and an explanation.
First things first, the apology:
I know it’s been all quiet on the Western front as far as this skin shader is concerned for quite some time now. I apologize for the prolonged silence/missed promises of a release, I know a lot of people have been waiting for this for a long time. So, to all of you, feel free to call me all manner of names. I deserve it.
Now for the why:
As many of you may know, I’ve been working on three different skin shaders in tandem to release to the community. A few months back I was approached by the good people at CGCookie about an opportunity to be a launch vendor for the new Blender Market. It was suggested that I produce some kind of production skin shader to sell at launch. Around this same time, some hefty medical bills cropped up, and after a lot of thinking and discussing with friends and family, I made the tough decision to finish all three shaders, and offer two of them for sale on the Market. In order to keep things tidy, I decided that all three would launch on the same day. While the Market was in development, I figured I shouldn’t talk much about what was being planned lest I spoil the reveal/features/whatever being planned for the website itself. So, here we are on June 10th, on the cusp of the launch of the Blender Market, and it’s time to release my work to the community.
What is being released today:
- A completely overhauled, Arnold-based skin shader, released under a CC license (that means do whatever you want with it, go to town!), absolutely free, to the Blender Artists community. Full color PDF docs will follow shortly.
- A comprehensive, amazingly accurate, and INCREDIBLY simple-to-use Sum of Gaussians skin shader based on the in-house shader at Sony Pictures Imageworks, for sale at launch on the Blender Market.
- A personal creation that I’m very proud of that I’m calling mhSkin2. It takes all of the bonuses and ease of use of the SoG shader, sacrifices a bit of physical accuracy, but renders almost identically to the naked eye up to 70% faster. It is also for sale at launch on the Blender Market.
The latter two creations are the result of MONTHS of research, tweaking, testing, and headaches to deliver the best possible balance of control, ease-of-use, and render times, and I’m very happy with the results. Both are available individually on the market, OR as a bundle for 25% off. Additionally, 10% of all purchases from my Market page go to the Blender Development Fund. Blender has given me a lot, and although I contribute to the fund already, I feel a chunk of any good fortune I experience from the Market should go there as well.
I struggled with the pricing for a while, but eventually settled on something that all of the beta testers and I feel is fair for the amount of work and love that went into the final result, and for the amount of time saved by the artist. They were constantly telling me to raise it, and are still telling me that I’m selling myself short I will say that I’ve been told by several testers that either shader pays for itself in a single project.
Speaking of my testers, these final products could NOT be made available today without the strenuous testing of some great artists. I’d like to thank Jonathan Williamson (Thanks a TON for the 3DArtist shout out!), Kent Trammell, Joseph Harford, and Greg Zaal in particular for their motivation, rigorous testing, and valuable feedback to get everything to where it is today. Thanks, guys. You all rock.
So, without delaying any further, here’s the bread-n-butter of the post. Below are links to all three shaders (or there will be, as soon as the store officially launches). For the time being, you can go ahead and grab the free shader and play around with it. If you like it, I implore you to check out the other two shaders. The quality is substantially higher, and everything is stupid-simple to set up. I really don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Finally, I’d like to give an additional thanks to the Blender community as a whole. Thanks for the patience with this. You’re all awesome, without a doubt the BEST 3D community on the web. I appreciate all of the support I’ve gotten over the years, and these shaders are my way of giving back. So cheers, enjoy, and for those who make the leap and buy the premium shaders: You’re the best, and you have my deep personal thanks for believing in my product enough to invest in it, and for helping to keep food on this artist’s table!
Cheers,
Matt Heimlich
mhSkin - https://www.dropbox.com/s/hizfze5y5mpgw0b/mhSkin.7z
mhSkin2 - http://cgcookiemarkets.com/blender/all-products/cycles-skin-shader-mhskin2/
mhSoGSkin - http://cgcookiemarkets.com/blender/all-products/cycles-skin-shader-mhsogskin/
Skin Shader Double Pack - http://cgcookiemarkets.com/blender/all-products/cycles-skin-shader-double-pack/