hello

just want to know if it possible now to do layering or mixing in karma XPU

thanks

Yes it it.

Enivob
Yes it it.

hi

i hope you can help me soo
can you tell me how?

can you share a screenshoots or scene to help me?

You can only mix colors, not shaders, so you'll have to adapt your material strategy to leverage that.

Enivob
You can only mix colors, not shaders, so you'll have to adapt your material strategy to leverage that.

thanks for your time and help

I referred mostly to shaders
and because of that there is complex shaders that you can't create it mtlx .
and there is a mix shaders with non-unifrom shape between them that you can't make it without mixing/layering.
and thanks again.


sidefx made greate job BUT why do they call it a BETA? if it missing a feature that is so basic.

mtlx mix can mix shaders,like standard surface.

------

sorry,just found that's only supported by Karma CPU.Pity!

Enivob
You can only mix colors, not shaders, so you'll have to adapt your material strategy to leverage that.

Thanks for posting this. I was about to ask the same question.
Time to dive into MtlX I guess.

Are you accessing the CD attribute by any chance in your network?

MaterialX for Karma XPU now lacks many high-level tools,it's too technical.

OneBigTree

Enivob
You can only mix colors, not shaders, so you'll have to adapt your material strategy to leverage that.

Thanks for posting this. I was about to ask the same question.
Time to dive into MtlX I guess.

Are you accessing the CD attribute by any chance in your network?

Just use Mtlx Geometry Property Value node to bind any attribute,but Cd is a special one,you should call it displayColor in solaris.

wanglifu

OneBigTree

Enivob
You can only mix colors, not shaders, so you'll have to adapt your material strategy to leverage that.

Thanks for posting this. I was about to ask the same question.
Time to dive into MtlX I guess.

Are you accessing the CD attribute by any chance in your network?

Just use Mtlx Geometry Property Value node to bind any attribute,but Cd is a special one,you should call it displayColor in solaris.

I see. I had no luck accessing Cd with the geo property. Now I know why. More special syntax... However there is a node specifically for accessing color which works without any additional conversion.
Thanks for the response.

OneBigTree
More special syntax

Technically, in this special case, it's not SideFX' fault, it's a USD-term. Pixar's to blame.

protozoan

OneBigTree
More special syntax

Technically, in this special case, it's not SideFX' fault, it's a USD-term. Pixar's to blame.

Unfortunately just the balancing act that arises from creating universal terms in the face of DCC’s that invented their own special names for things.

antc

protozoan

OneBigTree
More special syntax

Technically, in this special case, it's not SideFX' fault, it's a USD-term. Pixar's to blame.

Unfortunately just the balancing act that arises from creating universal terms in the face of DCC’s that invented their own special names for things.

Yes, and I do not blame SideFX for the USD language. It's just that there are already several languages to learn in Houdini itself. USD just adds more hurdles for someone who didn't grow up with Houdini and doesn't even know all the "native" syntax for it, and now things are called differently again.

OneBigTree
Yes, and I do not blame SideFX for the USD language. It's just that there are already several languages to learn in Houdini itself. USD just adds more hurdles for someone who didn't grow up with Houdini and doesn't even know all the "native" syntax for it, and now things are called differently again.

Each context in Houdini tends to have its own concepts and associated learning curve. Have you checked out the lops quick start [www.tokeru.com]? Using displayColor is covered on there.

The Usd Guide [www.tokeru.com] is really good as well.

antc

OneBigTree
Yes, and I do not blame SideFX for the USD language. It's just that there are already several languages to learn in Houdini itself. USD just adds more hurdles for someone who didn't grow up with Houdini and doesn't even know all the "native" syntax for it, and now things are called differently again.

Each context in Houdini tends to have its own concepts and associated learning curve. Have you checked out the lops quick start [www.tokeru.com]? Using displayColor is covered on there.

The Usd Guide [www.tokeru.com] is really good as well.

I have seen it.
The point is: it shouldn't be required just to use Karma properly. A third party renderer like Redshift can be mastered in a day. Karma and the associated new additional contexts and modes require studying, practicing, learning new syntax, tutorials etc. all to get the same thing done.
I don't mind things being done differently. I always have a problem with things being done in the most tedious way possible

However I do understand that this is the result of decades of everyone cooking their own soup and believing every artist only uses one single software ever...

I remember putting up a post in the blender forums starting a discussion about industry standard viewport interaction. I got a wave of objections and flaming and it resulted in Ton writing a letter where he stated basically that blender was made for blender users and industry standards can in fact go and stick their head in a bucket of hot water.
Now look what happened eventually in 3.0: Industry standards. But it took 10 years.

I do hope MaterialX is a path to more standardization. Unfortunately SideFX put Solaris between the artist and this new shader format. A single artist doesn't need USD. Ever. But they need a fast renderer - always.
For me Houdini is just a part of my toolset. I do everything in the CG process from start to finish including compositing. So I don't and can't spend all my time in Houdini, doing tutorials and courses and learn by doing 8h a day. And I am sure there are many more like me out there.

OneBigTree
I have seen it.
The point is: it shouldn't be required just to use Karma properly. A third party renderer like Redshift can be mastered in a day. Karma and the associated new additional contexts and modes require studying, practicing, learning new syntax, tutorials etc. all to get the same thing done.
I don't mind things being done differently. I always have a problem with things being done in the most tedious way possible

I hear what you're saying but it seems like the goal of the scene import lop is to offer a simpler path. You can create your materialx stuff in the mat context, bind to geo in either obj or sops, create lights in obj, and then import the whole lot into solaris with a single node.

OneBigTree...I really have to say that I think you are wrong on so many levels, but I understand, learning curves can be tough. I don't think that redshift can be mastered in a day unless you just make simplistic motion graphics. I have been using Redshift since version 0.5. I have spent many years working with renderers, starting with ElectricImage, Mental Ray, and Prman. Currently, I use, Mantra, Redshift, Karma, Unreal, and straight up openGL and, I don't think I have mastered any of them. I have just recently gone down the MaterialX, Karma XPU road and am pretty impressed with the quality, speed, and with what you can do. Whatever Redshift is, it is not a production renderer in the same way as Mantra, Prman, or Karma. But that also means, maybe it is not the renderer for you, and an easier solution is more compatible with the kind of work you do.

To say as an individual artist that you will never need USD, you are ignoring the direction that the industry is headed and don't understand what the benefits are. If you want a fast renderer why not try Nvidia Omniverse and understand the direction that industry is headed, or just open a USD file in Touchdesigner. There is a reason that it is the backbone of Pixar and what every studio is or will be moving to.

3D is getting easier for everybody, and making trivial 3d is now open to those that just a year ago were only using illustrator. As the tools get easier, your job gets more and more replaceable. Ultimately, an artist can make great work with almost any tool, but I have never really met an artist that has mastered anything, let alone in a day. Explore the world around you, there is much that is interesting out there

Whether or not some tool or piece of technology is worth learning for whatever task is never black and white. One layer of tech will never work for everyone. The important thing to remember with lops (and Houdini in general) is that if some workflow or task is too difficult or tedious, it usually indicates it hasn't been wrapped up or streamlined sufficiently out the box. Dops isn't a straightforward context either, but vellum enables artists to create amazing things quite easily and as a result tend to be less concerned about how difficult dops is to master.