Project Feasability: Universal Feather Addons

[ockham]

True iridescence shaders are possible...this is from 3Delight in Shadermixer and the colour changes with the light
I was attempting to make an iridescent silk taffeta at the time. I never quite got it where I wanted but then I don't really understand the math I just play in ShaderMixer...but I believe that someone who does understand it more fully could do an iridescent shader with no problems.
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That's beautiful!

 

[Pendraia]

thanks...I really should get around to finishing and releasing it but I would need to fine tune it as they've changed some of the bricks since I did it.

 

[NapalmArsenal]

Sorry late to the party! Busy with RL things.

I have these vignettes in my Regalia set for Mada's Flower fairy and also I did these 2D wings would LOVE if someone could make them 3D or make a prop to trans map them out.

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These are 2D and I will have them at a different store or they will be at a different store not sure if anyone is interested in having them be 2D here?

 

[NapalmArsenal]

Oh yeah and Him! Mind that this is a prototype I just haven't gotten around to fledging it out.

 

[NapalmArsenal]

A while back someone mentioned that they had need of 'feathers they could add anywhere'. I'm presuming they mean bird type feathers of course. So I sat down to think of what one could need feather props for, and what they would need to do.

The longest feathers in the world from a wild bird are from the Great Argus Pheasant at about four and a half feet, to which the male Peacock display feathers come close, ranging from one to three feet long. However the longest feathers of all are from the Japanese domestic chicken species Onagadori which has tail feathers up to twenty-seven feet long due to a mutation. The smallest feathers are probably from the Bee hummingbird, which is itself about two inches long, so the feathers are itsy bitsy.

There are natural bird feathers in pretty much every colour possible - sometimes all on the same bird. Some species have an iridescent or rainbow sheen. Peacocks are well known for the metallic sheen to the blue green feathers as well as that distinctive purple and gold eye pattern at the tips. Feathers have a variety of patterns, dots, lines, dashes, and fades.

Use 1 - the simplest. Feathers to add to hats, jewelry, masks, pen nibs, and what have you.

Use 2 - Feathers to parent to a figure to add feathered tails, wings, ankles, crests and whatnot

So for use one what would I want a feather addon to do? well feathers for hats range in types from softer down and plume feathers, to longer pheasant and peacock feathers, and even trimmed feathers for those 1950's hats.

So that would need a good range of textures, and a number of shaping and movement morphs. A second identically mapped and morphed feather with rigging + easy pose would also be nice for more exact control and those fancy curled feathers.

On to use 2!
I've looked at a variety of feathered humanoids, dragons, pegasae, felids, canines and other fantastical creatures. I am ignoring the fully feathered wing for bipeds or quadrupeds as those have already been made several times over.

The artist Tachit at Deviantart has some excellent feathered critters with a variety of plumage types and locations.
Selenic Stargazer Quillix
Cardinal Feonix
Highland Guard

Looking at these three examples I can see the following seven structures
1) the single feather as for use 1
2) the rigged single feather as use 1
3) a rigged single fan to use mainly on tail feathers (with shaping morphs)
4) a rigged half fan suitable for the end feathers on a wing, the primaries mainly (with shaping morphs)
5) a long thin row of single feathers suitable to be used as a tuft along legs and arms (with morphs)
6) a double layered row of feathers which can be used for the main flight surfaces (with morphs to taper ends and arch as needed)
7) a small sheet of feathers say 6x6 in layered rows which can be settled along a back or chest area

Of course the underlying creature itself would need matching textures with some flatter feathers on them, but I'm concerning myself mainly with the actual mesh objects here.

Looking at this list I would say that one product, with possible additional textures, would be feasible with a bit of work. The rigging is simple enough in poser and since I know it can be managed with poser4 era rigging, I'm fairly confident it would work in DS as well.

Considering the range of patterns and colours in bird feathers, there could be a number of expansion textures as well as character skin + feather expansions for various feathered creatures. (I'm sure someone wants a feathered dragon, right?)

Audience Participation Section:

Have I covered all the needs for a feather addon set? Are there additional structure types I have not considered?

Is there more than one person interested in a set like this? Would there be interest in a Merchant Resource licensed version so the feathers can be included in clothing and character sets?

LM

Yap those would be awesome!! For the cat and Harry! These are all mixed 2d and 3d images all the feathers are 2D

All custom textures on this one it's the Lilirthai Strigoia wings and tail set just parented to Harry

 

[NapalmArsenal]

Feathered Dragon why not?

 

[Minyassa]

I do a ton of characters with feathered wings, so I end up doing a lot of feather iridescence with specularity. ( Akashakitteh , The Cockatrice )You can combine specular nodes to alter the amount of colored sheen and white specular together, you can layer them, all sorts of things if you play with the nodes. I am seeing possibilities for more shader packs here.. I would be very interested in feathers as a MR. One thing I did not see you list (unless I missed it, I did just wake up) is a puff of down that can be tucked in here and there to fill gaps. Usually I have to postwork stuff in like that, and I loathe doing postwork! You can see in this one where I would have benefitted from a patch of smoothing/cover feathers such as what you covered above: http://orig06.deviantart.net/31cc/f/2014/001/6/3/zetarris__life_aspect_by_minyassa-d70b5t3.png

 

[Wildlyfe]

I have actually been looking for morph-able feathers, especially merchant resource ones. So far I haven't found more than a couple feathers in general that I like, and none that are merchant resources.