Hi,
i'm back with some updates. I am trying the following process. Split my mesh in 3 parts. The outer shell, the inner core, and the chocolate filling.
That will probably require some different workflow than what you showed before.
I have to say, am very confused. I CAN NOT UNDERSTAND THE RELATION BETWEEN Translucency, Absorption, Scattering and Opacity. And, again, please excuse my caps, but
I SHOULD'N HAVE TO SPENT 2 WEEKS TRYING TO GET THE RIGHT SSS IN THE MIDDLLE OF A DEADLINE.
I can understand your frustration. Honestly the SSS controls are confusing for me too. I requires a lot of trial and error before you understand more or less what happens when.
The help section is quit general. Like use any other color than white. Really ?!?! I did some tests and the relation between Absorption colors and scattering colors is totally random for me. I have no special knowledge in sss, but from my research you need to make special measurements to determine sss colors.
Anyway, let me get back, sorry for the rant.
I think that setting absorption to pure black and changing only its distance value only + setting scattering color to some custom one makes SSS easier. But that is just one possibility.
I am trying to get that fuzziness specific to this kind of objects. I tried endless combinations. The only factor that seems to bring me closer to what i want is OPACITY. But i don't understand. For me opacity is ... .... actually what is opacity? I consider it is transparency. But do pancakes have transparency? I tried adding different noise to the surface, but i don't get there yet.
What is most confusing to me, is that it seems that increment values like 0,001 have a big influence, but big values like 500 for absorption does nothing. Is absorption sensing the real with of the object and stops when it reaches the limit?
My personal explanation would be pretty much like at helpdesk:
Imagine the 3ds max mesh as a "shell" - something that does not have wall thickness, or has close to 0 wall thickness. Like a sculpture made of thin layer of paper, which is empty inside. Then:
Let's forget about absorption and scattering. Let's focus on the material from which the shell of the object is made and let's imagine that it's diffuse level i 0 (it is pure black).
Opacity - reducing it will make more light pass through the shell material. 50% opacity will mean that 50% of light will get through into the inside. The light which gets through continues with the same direction as it entered.
example: stocking - a material with tiny holes in it. The holes are so tiny that they are never visible, but decreasing opacity makes the holes bigger up to the point where there are only holes.
Translucency - increasing the fraction value will "transfer" X amount of light to the other side, where it will be scattered. The light which gets inside is scattered.
example: paper - imagine what happens when you illuminate a sheet of paper with flashlight - observe the sheet from both sides.
Refraction - basically the same thing happens as with opacity, only the light which gets inside is bent by the IOR. And we are not thinking with holes here as you can, for example, enable reflections here.
example: glass. If refraction is not 100% then you can imagine glass with a tiny layer of transparent paint on top.
Absorption:
Now, remembering all of this, imagine you are changing the color of the inside of the object. If it's glass (refraction) you can imagine that you are adding some kind of dye to the glass in the process of making it. If it's paper (translucency) or fabric (opacity) you can imagine pumping some gas inside, which has different color than light.
color: red
distance: 5cm
This means that if white light enters, after 5 cm it will become red, and after that it will start getting darker and darker* until it completely extinguishes.
0cm-white-------------2,5cm-pink-------5cm-RED----------------darker--------darker--------------no light
*actually it is not becoming
darker but it gets divided further and further, so you get something like linear light (?) operation in photoshop.
Scattering:
Now, still remembering all of the above, imagine you are pumping some kind of gas inside of the object, or putting lots of microscopic objects inside, that pass some light through them, and bounce it around.
Color - it is the color of the tiny particles. The brighter the color - the more light the particles will let through and scatter around.
If it's not very close to physical-correctness, or what
really happens in Corona, I think it still helps to imagine what is going on with SSS on.
Do you guys have something like a customer care service or something? Can i pay to have my problem solve or do i have to get back to maxwell?
Sure, go ahead and submit a support ticket:
https://coronarenderer.freshdesk.com/support/tickets/newWe will be happy to take a look at the scene. Too bad you didn't do this earlier. It's partially my fault, I could have suggested it. The problem here was that you did not write how important this is for you. We did not know if it's some commercial project, or if you are just making the doughnut for yourself/test. That's why it's best to contact support. Your message will never be ignored there.
It would be great if someone with higher level than me could check what I wrote and possibly correct some mistakes. ;)
