Cineversity

What is the practical difference between adding a color in Layer Color versus the Layer Mask in the Reflectance Channel? In some quick test that I am doing they seem to produce the same render result. I have tried to access the help system in C4D but can’t find the explanation I am looking for.

Hi Pablum Picasso,

The Color Mask serves only for the Layer in question, so one can tint the reflection of that layer.

The layer Mask works like a alpha channel, and allows a reflectance layer that is below the one with the Layer Mask to be visible according to the Mask.

If you have only one layer, the difference with a black and white information be similar!

In the ‘90s those effects started to be used for aged and rough materials, these days, it is fun to explore this, as computers and applications are so much faster.

If you have an object, and use perhaps the Ambient Occlusion shader as mask, the top Reflectance layer shows the part of the object that came more often into contact (polished) with other objects (hands) and the one below would be dull and darker (dirty). With enough finesse and perhaps more than two layers you can create incredible materials that way! [The Ambient Occlusion for each layer beneath must smaller, so you have a huge influence on an very fine defined material.

All the best

P.S.: a little example. I used the displacement map from a sculpted object as mask. The top reflectance layer is shiny and the lower one is dull, bumpy and kind of darker.

The other one uses just the bump/displacement information.

In the early days of the DV Garage [~2002] and later in the PixelCorps [2004], ex-ILM Alex Lindsay trained everyone to observe the object when they got in contact with the world, based on his work on StarWars Ep.3.

Just to give credits. These are artistic basics and more anchored in good observation than in tech. With the great Reflectance option in R16+ this is now a breeze to set up. Yes, scratches and more dirt are missing, I know ;o)

Thanks for the followup Doc,
BTW, part 5 & 6 of the tutorial on the Reflectance Channel is making things more clear. Especially with working along side with the same scene file.

Yes, the series is nicely structured.

The problem with ANY educational material is certainly given in the fact that an upcoming questions will provide an unwanted feeling of a gap. As everyone has a different background and target, those questions will be always in a colorful variety.
I have not found an answer for this, other than to offer answers in a forum besides: why hands on classes or the 1on1 is faster.

One main core concern during courses that I took to improve my educational base (yes, even after six degrees I like to learn…), the material needs to be applied and that in a playful and experimental way.

After around two decades using C4D, one thing can be said with 100% certainty, the real power is in the combination of all available tools and functions. No one has ever used all of these or is even aware of all. Good training material tries to provide a good base, but the real value comes into the game when it is applied and [!] when a quick question/answer thread in the forum eliminates eventual roadblocks.

My suggestion, ask always if something is not clear, only bullies are arrogant and useless, good people try to support based on well researched material (avoid the wannabes). Anything that is not clear will stop any progress in the future like a tiny little black-hole. It will not heal itself magically, perhaps some vanish accidentally.

Going a second time through any material is certainly advised, independent of the source.

ENJOY!