Interesting post from AnswerHub on how to setup a Layer Car Paint shader

[Stimpanzee]

Alright, the tutorial will be out tomorrow! The plan was to finish it tonight, but I found a few areas where the system needed a little more attention.

For now, here is a small example of the versatility of the shader. With a little experimentation using instances, it is possible to simulate most types of car paint surfaces.
This link is to a small gallery of the shader in use on a motorcycle asset, with more advanced lighting.
http://imgur.com/a/f8tnM

[DotCam]

That sounds awesome! Thanks a lot for all of this Vince!

[Stimpanzee]

Sorry it's been so long since I was last here, guys. I've had a crazy summer - just started teaching a college course as well, but... I'm working on a detailed tutorial which will be finished in the next few days! Didn't mean to keep everyone hanging on this one for so long. Once it's finished, any developer will be able to construct my shader system. =)

-Vince

[Karton]

Yeah, can't wait to have your most recent setup to play with !

[Daerst]

Wow, that looks really nice. Good job, Stimpanzee! Hope marriage is going well and you'll be able to knock out a tutorial soon Thanks!

[hobbitjack]

Ill second that request please, it looks really good!

[VisualAudio]

This looks immense. Would love a tutorial!!

[MC Stryker]

Hello all!

I have had some more time to improve the shader. It has been rebuilt, utilizing a single material, which allows for instancing. I wish did this a lot earlier. It makes iterations and fine-tuning a piece of cake. I recommend to everyone working with complex shaders - start instancing your materials early in development. It will save you a lot of time compiling when experimenting!

In the future, my game will allow users to modify the parameters themselves. Attributes like: base color, flake color, flake size/density.
I would also like to integrate a damage system (dents, rust, and dirt)


Current issues:

- Reflections are still not affected by the normal map. I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve, but I still need to implement them.

- The capture actor has no function to affect a minimum render distance. In UDK, it was possible to set a minimum distance in the capture actor. This would be handy, because currently the inner geometry of the bike (where the capture actor is placed) is being captured by the actor and rendered in the reflections.




I will have a lot more free time soon. I am getting married! Preparations and side projects for my wedding had consumed nearly all of my free time, but after June 28th I will have a considerable amount of time for production work. After my wedding, I will put together a written and video tutorial for the UE4 community. =)


Here is a sneak peak of the shader:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]4368[/ATTACH]

Amazing job Stimpanzee and congrats on getting married! I remember spending quite a bit of time back for a project doing this in UE3 and remember getting caught up on the custom lighting model and implementing 2 different types of Specular highlights, ahh good times and probably tore out some hair in the process

But looks like you are doing a stellar job on the material. Really looking forward to seeing this finalized and also the texture/normal maps used. Congrats, and enjoy your wedding!!!

[KnightTechDev]

Nice one man!

[khazande]

If just did a tutorial was great!

[Jacky]

Looking pretty awesome!

And congrats with the marriage.

[BrUnO XaVIeR]

Crazy stuff. The results are incredible.

[Tim Hobson]

Hi Stimpanzee,

Nice looking shader!

Thank you for keeping this going with updates! I'll be very interested in seeing your tutorial and work with materials!

Thank you!

Tim

[Stimpanzee]

Hello all!

I have had some more time to improve the shader. It has been rebuilt, utilizing a single material, which allows for instancing. I wish did this a lot earlier. It makes iterations and fine-tuning a piece of cake. I recommend to everyone working with complex shaders - start instancing your materials early in development. It will save you a lot of time compiling when experimenting!

In the future, my game will allow users to modify the parameters themselves. Attributes like: base color, flake color, flake size/density.
I would also like to integrate a damage system (dents, rust, and dirt)


Current issues:

- Reflections are still not affected by the normal map. I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve, but I still need to implement them.

- The capture actor has no function to affect a minimum render distance. In UDK, it was possible to set a minimum distance in the capture actor. This would be handy, because currently the inner geometry of the bike (where the capture actor is placed) is being captured by the actor and rendered in the reflections.




I will have a lot more free time soon. I am getting married! Preparations and side projects for my wedding had consumed nearly all of my free time, but after June 28th I will have a considerable amount of time for production work. After my wedding, I will put together a written and video tutorial for the UE4 community. =)


Here is a sneak peak of the shader:

[Stimpanzee]

I have made some improvements to how the shader handles the clear coat. Light reflects at full value now, whereas before it was dimmed. I achieved this by using the capture texture to help drive the alpha blend.

I have also integrated LPV lighting to my scene. It does improve the flake reflection brightness in dimly lit scenes.

Have a look:

In the video, my test model is being lit by the scene directional light, and a street light. With the light reflecting at full value, effects like bloom and camera flare help accentuate the shader's affect.

This image displays how LPV can improve the lighting in dimly lit scenes.