Wet sand quite unimpressive

Started by N-drju, February 05, 2019, 03:52:03 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

N-drju

Guys, could you give me some tips on how to make this nasty "water-wet sand" transition smoother? The reflective shader seems to be a culprit here, looking bland as hell...

Please give me a hand. This is an urgent, Valentine-day thing. :)

[attach=1]
"This year - a factory of semiconductors. Next year - a factory of whole conductors!"

N-drju

I made a second attempt by adding a teeny-weeny displacement to the wet sand surface to diversify the reflection angles. Better now. ;) But share your ideas if you come up with better solutions (or wet sand RGB, because I too am colorblind!).

[attach=1]
"This year - a factory of semiconductors. Next year - a factory of whole conductors!"

Dune

I often use just a color adjust at 0.8 or so, but if your sand is very yellow, the darker sand will maybe be too yellow. Or cover the sand by a degree of black (surface shader). And the sand, where the water comes, is usually very smooth, so I would smooth out (or not make) almost all displacement. Perhaps add some warped small ripples.
Then reflection. On higher wet sand usually no-RT, default will do, on very wet sand I set it to RT, but restrict it to above water level (no shiners on sand under water). Distinction between wet and dry sand can be very smooth or very hard, depending on circumstances. When high tide is coming in, distinction is often hard.
And sand grains. Two 0.005 full density fake stones, no color, taken through a transform shader set to world will do nicely.

René

A bluish reflection of the wet sand may also help depending on the color of the sky of course. Be careful that the color does not turn green due to the yellow sand.

N-drju

Quote from: René on February 06, 2019, 03:19:11 AM
A bluish reflection of the wet sand may also help depending on the color of the sky of course. Be careful that the color does not turn green due to the yellow sand.

Ahh, yes. That would suck. But... what is that wet sand RGB then? ;)

@Dune - I figure you are right when saying the sand should be flat near the water. It's just that I wanted it to be "mushier" than in the first picture. Maybe the FS as sand grains could help, but I just don't like it in the default form.
"This year - a factory of semiconductors. Next year - a factory of whole conductors!"

René

QuoteBut... what is that wet sand RGB then?

It usually only happens if you use too much blue under certain light conditions. In the end it comes down to looking closely at reference photos and experimenting with the reflection settings such as highlight intensity and specular roughness. The position of the sun also plays a role. Personally I don't find it easy to get good results quickly and the process is anything but automatic.  ???

N-drju

Looks better now alright.

[attach=1]
"This year - a factory of semiconductors. Next year - a factory of whole conductors!"

bobbystahr

something borrowed,
something Blue.
Ring out the Old.
Bring in the New
Bobby Stahr, Paracosmologist