SSS road/river example project request?

[reck]

Would someone (Dune, anyone?) mind posting a simple (well simple as possible) project that demonstrates how one might use the simple shape shader for creating rivers and roads. What I'm after is how the same SSS can be used to create the shape of the river\road, a smooth, none abrupt displacement that lowers it into the ground and then how it can be used for the placement for other things relative to the river\road. For instance rocks that follow the river's edge, grass down the centre of an old road or simply to keep populations off the river\road and reasonable distance from it.

I understand the basics and how important the colour adjust shader is but I don't think I have the full picture, especially with regard to twisting the sss in the first place and then creating masks that are relative to it.

I think this would be really useful for a lot of people.

Thanks in advance.

[j meyer]

Take a look at this:
http://www.planetside.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,11859.45.html

[Dune]

Here you go.

[alessandro]

Thanks ulco for sharing this, and meyer for the link too!

[reck]

Top man Ulco, that's exactly what I was after. Thanks.

What's the difference between a warp input and a warp merge node, when do you use one over the other?

Also why can't I just plug a pf into a warp shader, it looks like I need a vector displacement shader to get it to work?

[Dune]

A warp merge you can add in a line of shaders through the input, while using the other 2 inputs for your warp variables. The warp input has to be connected in a line of shaders as child to a surface layer for instance. I think the warp merge is just there to replace the old warp shader. I only use the warp input now.

With a vector displacement you have more control over what you want to warp, that's all. See that I set the amount to 1 and the offset to -0.5, that's just to keep the river/road from moving away from zero too much. You can also warp a river with the fractal warp shader, but that gives a different result.

I forgot to mention that you can also use color adjust shaders to harden the black/white, or soften or inverse them and merge shaders to make combinations of those altered mask colors. Plenty possibilities.

[reck]

As always thanks Ulco. With the warp shaders I couldn't think why you'd you go back and use the warp merge shader now we have a warp input shader.

[choronr]

Thank you Ulco, this is timely for my new project.

[archonforest]

Dune, hope u don;t mind but I downloaded the example file also

[Dune]

That's what it's for.