randymcbrayer

Studio/Institution: Pizza Hut Genre: Retail Exterior Software: 3ds Max 2014 w/ Mental Ray Description: Hello all! I've followed much advice I've received from the forum over the past few weeks and believe my renders + compositing is really turning around. I have attached a rendering I just completed of a Pizza Hut job we are doing. I'm rendering it out at 4 different angles and then a night scene with interior shot to go with it. Cars/trees/plants are Evermotion, People are AXYZ, concrete material is Arroway Any tips or advice you have to increase the realism or stylize the scene would be great. Thanks!! Lighting was done with a daylight system (no HDRI). All materials (except cars) are A&D using corrected IOR.

Thank you all. Each of you make great points. My work is exactly like Matt's. Retail rollout of restaurants and slight tweaks on design from one project to another. I will be training two team members here shortly and want to make sure I am not taking them down a road they shouldn't be on. Numerobis - I stumbled upon that tutorial a few months ago and have been using it for my work presently. I do think that he lost me at one point where he spoke about his original lighting setup vs his cloudy setup and night set up. I am currently using a MR Daylight System. The tutorial mentions mapping a background image to a skylight but you don't have that option with the Daylight system. Am I supposed to add a sky light in addition and then decrease the multiplier on the sun the image isn't blown out?? Just curious. Justin - Background is never really a big deal in what I've done. I think I'll stick with the Daylight system and then just photoshop in the background as needed. Francisco - You've introduced a term I haven't heard before. Being that I've rendered for about 8 years now that might be bad. EXR vs JPG. What is EXR? Matt - I like the terminology - "My Way". I have about 3 my way's going on right now and really need to nail down which one I move forward with. Thanks again all for taking the time!!

Okay, I've been toying with Mental Ray in 3ds max for years now and have seen many people post different render techniques and styles but haven't seen a definitive (here it is rendered this way and here it is rendered the other) comparison that would solidify once workflow as THE answer for realistic renders at a decent render time. I render restaurants (exterior and interior). In either case, my camera will always pick up some of the exterior. That said, I'll always have a sky in a render and will always need an exterior lighting setup. So, MR sun/sky vs HDRI vs anything else. What will produce the best result? I realize I could probably set up the same scene two ways myself but am wondering if someone above my pay grade has ever done so and could easily explain it. Thanks!!!!!

Thank you both for the advice! I went online and did some searching for better lighting setups than what I was using and came across this: http://www.ronenbekerman.com/louis-kahns-esherick-house-3d/ I tried the setup but the render time ended up being about 6.5 hrs. I went back in and reduced the glossy samples, reduces the GI photos and samples min / max, took ambient occlusion off the materials as well as displacement maps. This brought the render time down to 2 hrs at 2700ppix1400ppi. Still, much too long for the amount of shots I need to get. Any further help or tips would be great. The image attached does have an AO pass applied in photoshop. I also darkened the floor and added beer bottles.

Studio/Institution: Undisclosed Famous Pizza Chain Genre: Commercial Interior Software: 3ds Max 2014 w/ Mental Ray Description: I've recently taken on a role doing many more renderings than I used to and now I'm able to really focus on improving on my quality. However, with so many options I'm not sure where to start. My renderings are coming out too saturated and just don't look realistic. I have an entire model of the building built for other purposes and have glass windows which allow exterior light in the scene. I have a skylight with an HDRI map, am using a target spot for higher intensity sun and photometric light on the interior. Most materials I have used are Arch&Design (mental ray renders). Any suggestions? I'm an architect by trade and am basically self taught in max so please don't be shy in your responses as all feedback will help me grow. Thanks!!

Hello World! New guy here looking to improve my knowledge base when rendering in 3ds max with mental ray to obtain realistic renders in exterior and interior commercial restaurant projects. My workflow is Revit or Sketchup into 3ds Max then composite in Photoshop.