What is a Displacement map?
A displacement map is similar to a bump map in that is a monochrome texture - however rather than simulating a surface effect on the target object, it will actually distort the 3d mesh. Just like the bump map, in Poser, the black represents depressions on the surface of your object, and grey to white, peaks.
Here you can see the effects of a displacement rather than a 'bump'. The sphere has actually distorted where the white spots on the map are. Again, the default setting of 1.000 is usually far too high for most effects, and will result in ugly distortion. 0.2 and below is generally sufficient.
The advantage of a displacement map instead of a bump map is that it will look far more realistic, and a detailed displacement map can make anything from circuitry on metal to splinters in wood, jut out. The downside is that your scenes will use far more processing power to render, as instead of simulating shadows by altering colour, your application will have to calculate shadows based on the light sources.
Converting Poser Displacement Settings to DS Settings
Well, here's the thing. MAT poses do not seem to save displacement info. (Please note that this is based on what I have been able to discover and may not be categorically correct!) In Poser 5, you can save displacement info if you save the material settings as a P5 *.mt5 file.
There are currently, as far as I know, no Daz Studio scripts that correctly import Poser material settings, so if you plan on a displacement map for your product and want Daz Studio users to benefit, this is just another reason to make seperate DS files.
I'll do my best to try and explain how to add a displacement map and adjust it in Studio so that it looks like it would render in Poser. The results will never look exactly the same because of Poser's odd default lighting, that if removed leaves you in total darkness, but I will do my best to guide you through it and have your model look as good in Studio as it will in Poser! (Or better, with shaders, but that's another tutorial.)
First of all, a deplacement map designed for Poser can work just as effectively in DS, so no need to make another one. Same old rules apply as a bump map - want dimples in your surface, you want darker than mid grey, ridges, then lighter. As you can see, a Poser displacement map applied in DS with a strength of 100% and a min/max of -0.1/0.1 works just fine.
Remember - the size in pixels of your displacement map determines how smooth the edges of any displacement will look! Now we're ready to save your material settings for re-use or sale. On to the next page!
