Over the years I developed a shader system for Sasha which works very well for me. It uses SubSurfaceScattering (SSS) which can give a very realistic look to the skin.
All you need for the system to work is the diffuse map (the actual coloured texture image!). Since so many bump and specular maps out there are just b/w versions of the diffuse map, I decided to save some memory and to derive the bump and specular maps from the loaded diffuse map procedurally (meaning they are processed to b/w images during rendertime and then applied. This can save you a lot of RAM space!)
If you have a really good bump or specular map, you can still disconnect the procedural nodes and connect your better maps instead.
What looks best with this system are photorealistic skin maps (the old "painted" ones don't really look realistic). You'll quickly get a feeling for which textures do look realistic and which don't. *1
I also created shaders for the eyes and the eyelashes which can eliminate many of the tell-tale signs of a 3D figure.
However, since SASHA's eye shaders have real reflections built in, any iris texture with "burnt-in" highlights only looks second best - and looks really awful in animations. So choose your iris maps carefully!
To change the eyelashes colour, all you have to do is to change the colour swatch of the SSS node in the Material Room. By default they are dark brown.
Of course you can use any shader you wish, anytime, just like you ever did before SASHA!
Only you'll then lose the SASHA shader system because it is overwritten with the new shaders.
Footnote 1:
The texture maps of the "Metropolitan Collection" by artist "Danae" are currently (summer 2017) among the best texture maps ever made for Poser:
Google for Danae Metropolitan Collection.
Here's how you can change textures AND retain the SASHA shader system.
The hardest part is to find a texture that
- fits your prospected character
- has good enough quality to look good in a render
HINT:
If you've already begun with character creation, save a temporary copy of your figure to the library (just in case...).
Now start loading textures which look promising, and check how they look on your character. You'll notice that hardly a single texture will look like in the Library thumbnail(s). That's because they were made for a different character with different face and body shape, so your hunt for a good texture is a bit like trying raffle tickets.
Finally you have found one which you'ld like to check more closely. Now you must find out where they are located in the Textures folder of your runtime. Here's how to:
Now go to the "Materials" library, "SASHA-16" folder, and reload "S-16 Standard Shaders".
To actually changing the SASHA shader to the new texture, you need the "Change Body Texture" script from "Karina's Tool Box". It's in the "Python Scripts" folder. Start it with a double-click.
A small window will appear; on top you'll see the currently selected figure. Make sure it's SASHA, otherwise abort, select her and start the script again.
Some of the scripts' options aren’t available yet: Only "Texture Map", but that's all we need anyway.
Copy the full paths of the respective texture files from the "listFiles" window (it has now changed it's title) into the input fields of the Texture Changer Tool, then "Make It So".
NOTE: You probably haven't an eye texture yet, so leave this field blank. Fields left blank will just do nothing and retain the actual map(s).
Now you can do a few test renders to see how the new maps look.
If it's OK, congratulations! Otherwise, you can always look for alternatives by repeating this procedure from the start, until you've found the texture of your dreams.
The advantage of using the "Change Body Texture" script is that you keep all the other settings and extras of SASHA's shader setup.
None of them are overwritten. Just the texture maps for Face, Body, Limbs and Eyes are replaced.
This tool also comes in handy when you want to load an alternative texture map, e.g. a different makeup for the face.
I've added some extras to the shaders. Some are just for fun or tutorial purposes, some are of good use. To use them, you need to go into the Material Room (advanced tab). Here you'll find the "extras", and you can switch most of them on/off by a "Blender" node (set to 0.0 or 1.0).
Just a short preview of what you can do: *1
NOTE: These only work if you keep the original SASHA shaders; once you load a different texture, all will be overwritten.
Footnote *1:
For a more detailed description and more options, please read the separate manual (link opens in a new tab/window)
Once you've created a shader for a specific character, you should save it for future use. Why? Well, you change the eyelashes colour, adapt the eyes textures, change bump/hsv values, or whatever. In the end you have a very individual shader for an individual character.
Creating this again from scratch (e.g. when an update of SASHA comes out and you want to migrate the figure) can be a p.i.t.a.
With a saved texture it's just one click.
Proceed as follows:
If you're not so sure whether you did everything right: (this can be skipped if you're an advanced "Poserist"):
Create a duplicate of SASHA (Poser Menu "→Edit →Duplicate...") and move your initial SASHA figure one metre backwards (by the BODY zTranslate dial, please!). Apply the "805 Body No Maps" pose from "Karina's Tool Box" to strip all textures from the duplicate. Now load the texture you've just saved
If both copies of SASHA look identical, then you've done it right.