Let's first see how the true Subsurface Scattering node works in Cycles, and an example is given in the following screenshot:
To see how the true Subsurface Scattering node works, let's first use it as the only component of the shader, and later mix it with a basic diffuse-glossy shader.
Let's start by setting the Plane under Suzanne as a light emitter to enhance the backlight effect of the SSS effect:
9931OS_07_start.blend
file, where there is an unwrapped Suzanne mesh leaning on a Plane, with two mesh-light emitters and the Camera as shown in the following screenshot:Plane
.5.000
.Now let's begin creating the SSS material using the following steps:
As you can see, the scattering effect is clearly visible in the Rendered preview, but actually, it's so strong that all the facial features of poor Suzanne are confused and result in a jelly-like, muddish material.
By default, the Scale value of the Subsurface Scattering node is set to 1.000
, evidently a bit too high for an object that is supposed to be 2 meters tall (remember that by default, one Blender unit is supposed to be equal to 1 real world meter).
0.100
to 0.200
. In my case, I arrived at 0.150
. Now some of Suzanne's facial features are clearly discernible, as shown in the following screenshot:4.000
, G to 2.000
, and B to 1.000
as shown in the following screenshot:0.070
; set the Sharpness value to 1.000
; and click on the Color box to set values of R to 1.000
, G to 0.500
, and B to 0.250
.SSS_01
and save the file as SSS_material
, as shown in the following screenshot:SSS_02
. Enable the fake user for this material as well.0.800
.1.000
, G to 0.500
, and B to 0.250
as shown in the following screenshot:Let's try now a slightly different setting, with two sliders for the mixture of SSS and basic shaders. We will also give distinct colors to the Diffuse BSDF, Glossy BSDF, and SSS components of the shader to highlight their distribution on the mesh.
SSS_03
. Then enable the fake user for this material as well.0.031
, G to 0.800
, and B to 0.000
(bright green); and the Glossy BSDF node's Color values for R to 0.646
, G to 0.800
, and B to 0.267
(yellow). Set the Glossy BSDF node's Roughness value to 0.200
and Distribution to Beckmann. Set the Subsurface Scattering shader node's Color values for R to 0.800
, G to 0.086
, and B to 0.317
(a vivid pink). Change Falloff from Cubic to Gaussian.Mix Shader1
, press Shift + D to duplicate it, and label the duplicate as Mix Shader2
. Paste it between the Add Shader and Material Output nodes.Mix Shader3
, and paste it between the Mix Shader2 and the Material Output nodes.SSS_material_02.blend
.The scattering amount for the three RGB color channels is set in the Radius item on the node interface, while Scale is to set the dimensions the object would have in the real world. Starting with a default value of 1.000
, the Scale value must usually be proportionally inverse lowered. The bigger the object desired in the real world, the lower the Scale value in the node. Otherwise, the scattering effect may become too strong.
The best way to mix the Subsurface Scattering node with the rest of any shader is by using the Add Shader node. However, with this node, it's not possible to establish the amount of influence of the SSS on the shader, so a trick must be performed. The Diffuse-Glossy component of the shader is again mixed with the output of the Add Shader node, through a Mix Shader node.
In the previously explained SSS_03
material, there are two Mix Shader nodes that can be used to tweak the influence of the effect. By raising their Fac values, it's also possible to switch from total absence to full scattering effect, as shown in the following compilation of screenshots:
18.117.145.11