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Black windows! Please Help!


kyeric
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Hello all,

I am still messing around trying to get some better renders with vray, but I am finding it really tough to get accurate window glass---they always render out as black! I have searched the forum and found other people had this problem, but I still can't get it to work.

 

Could anyone be kind enough to help me through this process, and remember, I don't know very much at all about vray, so I apologize in advance.

 

My latest, yet not greatest render is attached.

 

Thank you for any guidance!

 

-e

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Hi Eric

Go to [F10] Then [renderer] then [environment] then open use map and choose vray hdri . then copy it instance to the material then load some of hdri maps to - and see the differance .

if it didn't work I'll try to send u some files contain hdri . just ask ..

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Thanks for the responses! I am still struggling with this! I have now loaded a hdri image for the environment slot and am overiding max's, but it is extremely difficult to get the lighting not to burn out my materials...:(

 

This is the best I could do with a hdri, and it seems I am getting SOME reflection in my windows, but they are still very, very dark.:confused:

 

Is there any more advice someone could help me out with...Is it the hdri map, or is it the window materials?

 

Thanks again everyone!

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Glass and other things Vray:

 

http://www.aversis.be/extra_tutorials/00.htm

http://www.freewebs.com/adriantiba2/glass.htm

http://www.alzhem.com/

 

If you can work through some of the glass tutorials and tips, then you can apply it to the house you are working on. Try just a simple box with one Glass window. When you get the Glass like it should be, go back to the house and use it.

 

Probably a more direct answer can be obtained if you post your Glass material settings. And there are other Max/Vray settings that will prevent reflections from showing...

 

Ismael

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Thanks for the insight, I am still trying diligently to get these windows to look like real windows!!!

 

Here is my glass material (one of many) that I have been trying to get to work. I have a HDRI background as a material as an instance in the Vray environment to override max's. I thought this would be the background that would reflect, but also have the glass actually look like it has some opacity to show light passing through to the inside of the house...

 

After reading into this further, I have more questions...

 

My windows are made up of single planes. Does the glass material have to have a thickness? And if so, do you just use the Shell command? :confused:

 

Does anyone else have a window glass that they use that I could disect? I don't want to take someone else's work, but I am getting frustrated doing windows 30 different ways, just to have them look terrible...

 

Thank you again for any advice and guidance.

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No, no single planes. Use the Shell mod if you have to and give it a real value like 1/4". I'll assume you are using Vray free? The glass you show should work. Make sure you are using Vray shadows with your lights. I still think you will arrive at a solution quicker if you use just a box with window openings (simple geometry) until you solve the glass riddle.

 

Try that and see.

 

Ismael

 

Edit: Have no idea what the Falloff map is doing in the Filter Color. Maybe try some Glass as shown in the links.

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I really appreciate all the help and advice people have given me, but I am still having problems...

 

Would anyone be interested in helping me out if I could email the max scene and setup to them? I am guessing that I am doing something terribly wrong and an expert in max/vray could diagnose it in a minute I would bet.

 

Anyone who is interested, please send me a private message!

 

Thanks for the help,

e

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First off, sometimes glass is black, so the first thing is always to put aside what you have in your minds eye and if some of the stuff is black ( in the proper way) than roll with it.

 

a quick search yields:

 

http://porto-vecchio.net-corse.com/images/photos/Pict0042_b.jpg

http://www.frenchentree.com/fe-property-hunting/images/Lilac_view-FE.jpg

 

That said if it isn't in the proper way, as everyone else has pointed out, you in fact need something to reflect and HDRI is the best in that it gives you a greater range of tones. If you want to avoid burning out your materials just leave it in the reflection background slot, and leave it out of the skylight/GI slot. This (I think- though I plead ignorance having never done it) theoretically will give you the environment to reflect but not the released light.

 

As far as one sided - you can do it, however two things need to be done- you need to orient the normals of the face out to the camera, and you need to put your refraction value as close to 1 as possible 1.001 is good (1.0 for some reason doesn't work). This is because you don't have the back face to reorient the ray and straighten it out again.

 

I believe however that your major problem is just the normals of the glass and if you reorient them to face out you should be closer to waht you want.

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Just wanted to say that I am slowly, slowly getting the process. I would like to thank everyone that has had advice, and especially sawyer for getting me on board. This forum is a grat place and I hope I can help out other newbs in the future...

 

Thanks again,

e:D

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