Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 26, 2017. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The Arnold Dust Shader is available for Arnold 4.2.12.2 for Windows and for Arnold 4.2.13.4 for iOS. The source code can be downloaded here on GitHub.
Shader Effect
The two renders in direct comparison show the difference between the standard Maya snow node and the Maya snow node in combination with Dusty. This effect differs from simply multiplying an ambient occlusion shader because it takes into account the hemisphere around the Y-axis instead of the normal shading point.
You can find all further information on Zeno Pelgrims’s website.
Dusty is a nice improvement in the way a layer of powder covers the right extremities of objects.
For lighter dusting effects these can be painted bitmaps applied as in this example:
https://community.renderman.pixar.com/article/777/dustypot.html