So now that I've looked into shader forge extensively enough to (kind of) know what I'm looking at, i guess what I'm hung up on now is semantics between code and node. I know I must seem really dense here, but I can't seem to put the right node connections to achieve a basic diffuse/toon shade (i.e. telling SF what parts…
Did you check out Unity Chan toon shader 2.0? it's a pretty great shader implementation for Anime style, and you can see the full source code. (it was created using shader forge, with a bit of manual coding)
I tried to play around with something alike the GGXRD way of modulating the tendency to get lit with one of my toon shader projects for Maya. Skip to 29:14 if video doesn't already. https://youtu.be/FCyRJlSYXXc?t=29m14s
Thanks @RN and @somedoggy for the technical input on that -- it makes a lot of sense. I'd prefer to use step in this case since the ramp, in my case, doesnt seem necessary, especially after looking at the shader @bitinn suggested. Great advice man! -- I sure did, and it supports all the toon-lighting I could ever want --…