Radeon ProRender Discussion

[jackseas]

Hey,

I am looking for the portable PBR material API that AMD created to assist translating materials supplied to the ProRenderer into formats expected by other render engines and likewise, materials for other render engines translated to be packaged in the AMD portable material API format so that they could be used the the AMD Radeon ProRenderer (in Blender to start off with). I have forgotten the name of the ProRenderer Portable PBR Packaging API.

Although it's been a while since I've actually programmed, I want to start out be trying to make a plugin using that API in a 3rd party app so that I can get that app's models with materials into Blender to render using ProRenderer 

I have built a new desktop with a MSI AMD Radeon RX 570 MK2 8GB OC (received already) and AMD Ryzen 7 2700 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 (not yet ordered as they are both on back order at Amazon) specifically to learn to do basic example programs using the AMD Pro Renderer / ProRenderer PBR Materials packing API.

And then maybe, if the scope isn't too big, to write a plugin so that 3D scenes in a 3rd party program could call the ProRenderer API I've installed.

Pointers to examples or tutorials in programming the ProRenderer PBR Packaging API or the ProRenderer API are welcome too.

My new desktop will be built by mid-January. It only likes the CPU to be complete.

Also, I guess I should ask to be white-listed alike everyone else has been asking.

[dipak]

Thank you for your query. We have a separate community for ProRender  and related software, so I've moved this query there. Also I've whitelisted you for the DevGurus community.

Thanks.

[bsavery]

Hi Andy.  I'm not quite clear on what you're trying to do here.  Maybe you could describe where you have models/materials now and what you'd like to translate them into?  

There is an api for ProRender Radeon ProRender SDK — AMD Radeon ProRender .  As well as a plugin for blender.  Not sure which one you're looking for or what you're trying to do.

[jackseas]

Hey bsavery,

There is a Blender plugin called diffeomorphic that imports DAZ Studio scenes into Blender. It also imports those DAZ Studio scene's materials into the Blender scene in cycles format. 

What I wanted to do is to try to make a plugin that runs in DAZ Studio or a plugin that's integrated into the Diffeomorphic Blender plugin that packages the materials used in a DAZ Studio scene in the portable PBR format for use with the ProRenderer in Blender. I believe I remember reading about such a portable PBR packaging utility in the ProRenderer documentation.

I'm posting now mainly to get pointers to read or watch video of for any good small example code sets using that portable PBR packaging API or the ProRenderer API as well before I finish building my desktop.

Did I remember that correctly?

Thanks.

[bsavery]

Interesting.  
Well I'm not sure what you're referring to in the PBR material code.  We ship with a bunch of shaders, including our Uber shader which could be used as a PBR shader.  

Let me offer a few ways to achieve what you're doing.  

1.  Write a rendering plugin to daz studio (this will be the hardest way!).  I wouldn't recommend this unless you have C++ coding experience.  You can use the free RPR SDK and there are code examples in the doc I outlined above.  

2.  Use this Daz -> Blender converter and render in RPR inside Blender. Personally I would recommend this, of course there are export/import steps involved though.  In terms of work to make the imported data render in RPR it might be little to none.  The hardest part will be what form materials come as after importing?  Many cycles materials we render in RPR Blender plugin.  So it might be as simple as doing the converter then selecting RPR as your renderer in Blender!  Or you might need to do some material cleanup/conversion.

Anyway keep us updated and let me know if you have questions!

Brian

[jackseas]

Hey,

Well I guess I read the documentation wrong. I thought that was a Portable PBR package format that AMD had designed to roundtrip PBR materials in and out of the ProRenderer.

I do have C & C++ experience being that's what they used to make me graduate college (I actually enjoyed programming) but I've not used it in quite a while although I did use it extensively at the beginning of my career after college. So I probably will be back in the forums after enough asking questions if I make decent progress that could be solved with a few questions here and there.

I'm also wanting to have a bit of fun batching some openCL scripts that I would make up to the ProRenderer. Not sure if that level of access is possible but it seems feasible. I will read the documents besides learning more about openCL itself.

Nevertheless like you said that DAZ to Blender plugin that's already written is the easier way to go and then use the ProRenderer instead of Cycles. I was hoping that this portable PBR package format I though I had remembered would make that process even easier though.

I will proceed soon as I get my CPU. In the meantime I will read the docs you linked.

Thanks.

[bsavery]

Well so HOPEFULLY the existing DAZ importer to Blender uses the "Principled" shader for materials.  (This is a PBR material).  We translate that natively to RPR.  If not that would be a nice update for their importer.