Material Spanning All Clones

[Dr. Sassi]

Hi Greg,

I would set up a dirt material and have a Maxon Noise run the Opacity Channel. This is then placed on the right side of the clone material.

The key is to set the Noise to Global.

CV_2024_drs_24_RSdi_01.c4d

I have used strong colors here to demo it.

Noise is a major player in this, as it has been used for decades to create those effects.

An absolute master of this work is here (Part 1 and Part 2.)
I'm sure you have seen it, but just in case:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1QAN4Ewe_Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVDxUtt-B4Q

The Connect is a wonderful generator, but remember, it has to generate everything, which might be OK or just too much. Besides, it has no idea about Render or Multi Instances.

All the best

[GregBollella]

@Dr-Sassi Thank You! Yes, I see how it works. Also, I discovered that any inputs to the other characteristics, color, roughness, etc., of a material have to be world-based noises (not textures) as well. Which is ok, however, I cannot seem to get either bump or displacement to go across clones. I understand displacement since that's a direct input to the Output node but I thought bump should work.

Ideally, I would like some workflow to allow displacement to occur across the clones. E.g., to add a slight depression on a brick sidewalk where foot traffic has sunken the bricks slightly. Any ideas for this?

Thanks,
Greg

[Dr. Sassi]

Hi Greg,

Let's have a look at the additional requests

Perhaps try this one:
CV_2024_drs_24_RSdi_11.c4d

I have set up a single Material, and the projection is flat.

Render in Clay to see the displacement; if they do not have to go over everything, add several clones with different displacement settings.
CV_2024_drs_24_RSdi_12.c4d

Colors and noises are chosen for demo purposes, not based on taste.

Is that working for you?

All the best

[GregBollella]

@Dr-Sassi Wow! Thank You! I have learned/understood a lot about cloners in the last few hours!

I believe I have enough knowledge/skill now to finish my project!!

Thanks again for all your help!!

Greg

[Dr. Sassi]

Thanks for the feedback, Greg.

Each project might have something new to develop, and the combination of all options is vast. In other words, I'm happy to answer any questions so we can fill the forum with more variations based on practical projects.

Thank you, and you are very welcome.

My best wishes for your project.

[GregBollella]

@Dr-Sassi Continuing on this theme suppose I have a grayscale texture and set the tag for a flat projection over a group of clones, similar to what you showed in RSdi_01 above, but with two differences.

1. The texture instead of the noise.

2. Have the 0 - 1 values of the texture change a parameter of the 'color' of the underlying clones, say the saturation. Black in the texture should then cause a saturation of 0 and white of 1.

Thanks,
Greg

[Dr. Sassi]

Hi Greg,

For new questions, please always use a new thread; otherwise, it is longwinded and hard to read while a reader focused on one problem. Thank you.
.

v1
Typically, the color of the Clones is given via Shader Effector/Field to the whole Clone. This happens for a single point of the Clone.
Your question could also be seen as that each gray pixel drives the Saturation, creating a different result.

If the grayscale texture is pixel-based
https://projectfiles.maxon.net/Cineversity_Forum_Support/2024_PROJECTS_DRS/20240316_CV4_2024_drs_24_RSgs_01.zip
.

v2
It becomes a little bit more difficult when a single value should affect the whole Clone. This means we need two colors of information for the Clone, which we do not have.
The workaround would be to colorize the clones in the Material
https://projectfiles.maxon.net/Cineversity_Forum_Support/2024_PROJECTS_DRS/20240316_CV4_2024_drs_24_RSgs_11.zip
.

v3
Finally, the version that I would use, but it is not super simple. I'm sure you will like it.
The idea is to give two Objects user data with the same name (do it once, copy); this User Data is called Saturation (any name works, but they must match for the "twins".
This goes under a cloner with a single clone as output. The key and the mode are set to Blend.

The blend is driven by a Shader Effector, while only set to "Modify Clone" No PSR, or anything else, just the texture drives the Modify clone influence to that Cloner with the single Clone.
I used Standard Material here to have a simple flow to the Shader Effector.

In the Material we need two User Data, One is set to Mograph Color the other one is set to Saturation.
The Mograph Color drives the Color.
The other User Data drives the Saturation from the Color Corrector node. The blend is driven by the "Modify Clone" data each time for a single Clone, then the next.

The next Cloner sets all Clones in the scene, each a copy of the Cloner set to Blend. In this way, each produces a differnt User Data result.

That is all. I hope that helps.
https://projectfiles.maxon.net/Cineversity_Forum_Support/2024_PROJECTS_DRS/20240316_CV4_2024_drs_24_RSgs_21.zip

Tip, to see the effect in an easier way, set one of the cubes smaller.

Enjoy your weekend

[GregBollella]

@Dr-Sassi Thanks Dr. Sassi!

In the second option if I wanted to use the texture in a Redshift Node Material what would that workflow look like?
Greg

[Dr. Sassi]

Hi Greg,

The Texture could go into it, but then it would be v1, with a different result, the result of v1.

That was the idea to demo the problem and options sharing v1 to v3. Otherwise, I would have shared it from the start.

The critical concept to acknowledge here is that the Shader Effector (or Shader Field) picks a single color for the position of each Clone based on a single RGB value from the image, nothing more. Not* an default option in the Node material.

This process is not a default in the Material. It would require more than (AFAIK) the Mnodes offer. To get the UVW data from the clones, mix it with the UV(W) data from the Texture, while evaluating the projection in space to match the two systems.

*Thinkable, perhaps with a few work days while being an excellent coder…
However, as shown in v3, your target can be easily achieved.

Enjoy your weekend

[GregBollella]

@Dr-Sassi I don't really understand v3. I would appreciate a bit more explanation, iydm.

Greg

[Dr. Sassi]

Hi Greg,

Of course, no problem. My hope is always that exploration leads to a better long-term memory of the findings But I'm happy to share whatever is needed and wanted.

The main problem is that clones have a single channel for colors, not two or more.
Your request is a two-channel effect. Hence, we need a way to share the two independent pieces of information with the Material.

Image information can be used to blend between two Cloner child objects. That works on an object level but not on the attached node-based Material.
The process is simple. The Cloner child objects (Clones) can blend where they have matching parameters, which can be UserData (e.g., a single channel, e.g., Color is not blended).
This means an Effector or field can share information (Modify Clone). The example file below shows a plain Effector. Parameter> Others: Modify Clone. Use the slider to see the effect.
CV4_2024_drs_24_MGbc_01.c4d

Since the second channel is gray-values 0-1, that can be done with a single User Data entry.

This can also be done with User Data. Compare the file from above (v3). One User Data is 0%, and the other is 100%. The Modify Clone results in a 0-100% value, which is equal to the value of the Modify Clone.

The Modify Clone can be driven by a Texture (e.g., Shader Effector or Shader Field in an Effector [like Plain Effector])

So we can move the information along, and the user data Node can read it. The key here is that both User Data entries need to be the same, name-wise.

Are you familiar with creating User Data?
https://help.maxon.net/c4d/2024/en-us/Default.htm#html/5826.html

Inside the Material, the single channel for gray values from the UserData can be requested via Scalar user Data. Click on the node, and the parameter tab will allow you to enter the user Data's name.

The other Colordata (RGB) is done similarly, with a User Data node set to MoGraph> Color.

The two are connected in a Color Correction Node, and the Gravalues "run" the Saturation values.

As mentioned above, the Shader Effector and Shader Field provide a single RGB value to each Clone. A common misconception is that the Shader Effector would texture "Images" to the clones. In fact, just one Color is given for the whole.

Please let me know if that works for you. Yes, it is a wild mix of many little techniques, so please ask if something is not clear.

All the best