Arch interior as HDRI map?

[Arnold Grove]

I am building an interior scene, quite complex with a lot of content, furniture, instruments, etc. I would like to isolate and render some of my interior scenes/objects using HDRI.

 

Obviously, Id like my HDRI maps to reflect the interior on my objects. I got to thinking, why cant I use renders from my interior as my HDRI maps?

 

Has anyone done this? Rather than using maps from libraries that don't quite match my interior lighting. This seems logical to me, use the 3d environment render as a map.

 

So, would I want to render with a fish eye? Or render in stops, and use the HDRI software, which I can never get to work as it is. I cant get it to compile a map from the series of pics I've adjusted. I get a black image.

 

Any thoughts, ideas, methods? thanks a bunch, Arnold

[AJLynn]

I've done this kind of thing using a digital camera with manual exposure and Photoshop CS2's Merge To HDR function, but I'd imagine you could do it with a render. Why not? It would probably save time. I'd start with a spherical (dome, whatever) camera in the same place you want the camera for the real render to go, and render and save a Vray image file then convert that to EXR and bring that back in in 32-bit real pixel mode. Probably best to do that with an inverted sphere, then align the sphere's UVW gizmo to the dome camera's rotation.

[Christopher Nichols]

Just render out and save the image as an HDR file. That will work fine. The images that come out of Vray are full float anyway. You may want to do them out of the Vray VFB and not Max VFB as I think it can clamp.... which is bad. If you want, you can even render out a full spherical image straight out of Vray. Also works great.

[Arnold Grove]

Thanks guys,

 

aj, so you mean just stick a reflective ball inside my interior model and render out right? I'm a newbie so I'm not sure what you mean about EXR and an inverted sphere. I'm doing some of my modeling in LW because I haven't bought my Max and Vray copies yet (next week)

 

Christopher, As I say, I'm awaiting my software, so I thought Id get a jump with the DVD's. I'm on DVD 1 lecture 4. I love the DVD's. A great source and I'm learning. You have made it very interesting. Thanks for the great lessons. So do you mean by saving as an HDRI file, its all ready to go? I wont need the HDRI shop software? I downloaded and installed but I don't think its working the way it should.

 

I think Im doing it right, I open a file, create the exposures, then compile the - and + exposure files, but then it wont make the sphere, it comes up black, or it just quits. Ive done the tutorials and read all I can find to no avail.

 

thanks very much for the help guys. I love this forum! The only one I really hive time for anyway!

[harrowboy]

Just render out and save the image as an HDR file. That will work fine. The images that come out of Vray are full float anyway. You may want to do them out of the Vray VFB and not Max VFB as I think it can clamp.... which is bad. If you want, you can even render out a full spherical image straight out of Vray. Also works great.

 

hi Christopher, I am also trying to do some thing similar here, but I'm not sure how to do a full spherical image straight out of vray. I tried to set the camera to Sperical in render settings, but the image doesn't come out as what I thought it would be.

should I check the override FOV option and play with the value?

[Arnold Grove]

Yeah,,,what he said!!!

[harrowboy]

Yeah,,,what he said!!!

hi Arnold, so play with the FOV value in the spherical camera option is the way to go?

what value should I use? to get an image that would work well for reflection.

 

thx.

[Arnold Grove]

No Tommy, I meant to Christopher, yeah what he said.....I was second-ing your question...

 

But if I had to guess as a photog and not a max/vray guru, Id say the sphere would take care of the the value needed. From alll my reading, you want the distortion from the sphere, not the camera.

 

Or do I not know what the heck Im talking about??