Need Help With Surfaces and Layers

[jhinky1986]

First start off by saying 3D Max User for over 12 years. Was told I need to use lightwave last year, So I have about 6 months using it.

I found a preset surface that matches the fishing reel I am creating (it the green and purple two tone that comes with LW 2018), "Its a carpaint surface/meterail". I need to add decals onto the fishing reel. I have been using standard surfaces on my other reels and UV maps, Alpha, color channle to get what I need, How ever I can't get this flaky two tone carpaint look using standard surface.

-How can you layer surfaces Carpaint bottom, Then alpha channel decals on standard on top. (tried material mixer but that did not work) .
-or how can you add decals to a carpaint surfaces. (I can't just do painted UV map, Cuz I need that two-tone effect as object moves)



Basically think about a race car. They have the cool paint job then have all of them stickers.

Thank you to anyone who can help. I been pulling hairs

[Sensei]

What are you using as Alpha input to Material Mixer?

e.g. you can get Input > World Position... then use it as input to Math > Vector > Distance, with 2nd vector, then use it as input to Gradient.. and that Gradient output as Alpha to Material Mixer..
This way "fog effect" can be achieved".

[MonroePoteet]

What are you using as Alpha input to Material Mixer?

e.g. you can get Input > World Position... then use it as input to Math > Vector > Distance, with 2nd vector, then use it as input to Gradient.. and that Gradient output as Alpha to Material Mixer..
This way "fog effect" can be achieved".

As Sensei indicates, the Alpha input to the Material Mixer is key, and the decal Image itself must have an Alpha channel. So, here is a "car fender" (VERY simple model with CarPaint material applied) with two decals applied. The basic approach is to use a Standard material with a 2D Textures=>Image as its Color input. Then, feed the output Material into a Material Mixer node, and feed the Alpha channel from the Image node to the Alpha of the Material Mixer.



with the node setup:



I then used Automatic Sizing, scaled down the Images, and then moved them to the desired positions on the "fender".

Of course, if you can put all the decals onto a single image with alpha channel, only one Image=>Standard Material would be required.

mTp

[djwaterman]

You can also use png files with transparent backgrounds, but you still need to use the material mixer if you want the decal to have different surface properties to the material it is painted on to. PNGs come with an embedded alpha which can be activated in the image editor on import. I used pngs in this extreme example of paint on paint.



I found some of the maps and shrunk them down, you'll notice that I also had a Black png with transparent BG, used for the material mixer alpha. Not shown are other maps like normal or roughness, with the material mixer you are basically combining two separate materials of any sort of complexity you want, and using an alpha channel to mask which parts of the two materials are revealed.

[jhinky1986]

Thank you. I got it. I was so close it was that dam alpha and how I had it set up.

[Sensei]

and the decal Image itself must have an Alpha channel.

It's not necessary. If image has one color as background and meant to be transparent ("chroma key color"), you can use Compare Color node (from e.g. TrueArt's Node Library), and detect it, and use as Alpha input in Material Mixer.