Sorority House Renovation

[camby]

I would like to get some suggestions for a renovation project I am working on. I am using Max 3.1 with Renderdrive. The bricks were done using Acme's program (thanks for the suggestion in my earlier posts). The tree is from Onyx and the bushes out front are a image mapped to a plane. This was shown for a general fund raising drive and in a few weeks we will meet and discuss the plans in detail. A final image will be produced after this, so of course I would like to improve the look of the final image.I have included an image showing what things will look like after the renovation and what things look like currently.

Thanks!

 

Existing Image

 

[ August 26, 2003, 03:04 PM: Message edited by: camby ]

[Sawyer]

What lighting are you using with max 3? Looks like you could use another look at fake iosity.

Also look at you roofs they need facias and overhangs. Personally I would loose the tree or create 2 images 1 with the trees 1 without.

[camby]

Thanks for the comments Sawyer. Lighting is my biggest hurdle. I am using renderpipe omni lights around the house for subtle shadows and a sun source for illumination. I have played around with the settings, but obviously it's not showing. The tree is something the client wanted to show, since they will be keeping it.

[Sawyer]

This is what I do:

 

Create you light dome or rings or whatever use no color yet. Color can come later turn off your sun and just focus on the ambient light. The image should work without direct sun just a very overcast look.

 

 

I hope that helps somewhat.

[Jennifer]

Hi,

 

With the RenderDrive, you can place a RenderMan light in your scene and specify the Skylight.sl shader. It creates the sky dome mentioned earlier. Place the light above your scene in the center, and point it downward. Stay away from omnis if you can, as they tend to render quite slowly. Keep the illumination from the Skylight low, as a General Illumination effect.

 

Have fun!

 

Jenni

http://render.4dartists.com

[xgarcia]

Yes, but not everyone has a renderdrive PURE card or renderman (expensive solution?) The ring omni technique works great - just leave the shadows off. I would leave only my sunlight with raytrace shadows.

[RezMAN]

Wow this is turning into quite a debate...

 

Well, I personally like to start out with a 3 point lighting technique (Key light, Fill light, and a Back light) ambiance set to Zero. Once I established a basic look then I start moving and adjusting the lights one at a time to achieve the exact look I’m looking for.

[Jennifer]

Hi!

 

No debate, just the free flow of information.

 

Yes, everyone does not have RenderDrive, but his question was specific to that product and a comment about a skydome was made. You can certainly get away without that, but he does own a RenderDrive, so why not use it?

 

A ring of omnis will certainly create a GI effect, and adding fill and backlighting is certainly helpful, and often essential, especially if you don't have radiosity. A ring of Spotlights will probably render faster than omnis, though, since it doesn't have to consider every direction during rendering. A skylight may be faster, too; I'll have to do some tests one of these days.

 

A skylight will probably give more even lighting, since the omnis or spotlights would certainly overlap. A little variation doesn't hurt, though.

 

Have fun!

 

Jennifer

http://render.4dartists.com

[camby]

Jenni,

Thanks for the idea. I am using a RD3000 and we stopped the update service a few months back, so needless to say I don't have any shaders. Do you put in additional lighting in your scenes typicall or does this shader give you the desired look?

[xgarcia]

Jenni,

 

Opps..I didn't see that he mentioned renderdrive. Sorry about that.

[Jennifer]

Hi!

 

No problem, Xavier.

 

The RenderMan light object should have been included when you installed the max plugins. The Skylight.sl file should have came with your initial CDs. Since it's a RenderMan product, I would hope that the max r3 version has the same RenderMan lights, camera and shader capabilities. If you can't find it, let me know.

 

Adding selective fill lights, and another light below the scene, is pretty typical. If you are looking for realism, then you don't want too many lights that aren't really there (if it will be too dark, they may want to know that), and only need to give the Skylight and other "Fakiosity" lighting effects, with your main (Key) light.

 

The book "Digital Lighting and Rendering" is wonderful if you are looking for a resource.

 

Have you looked into upgrading to max r5/r6?

 

[ August 27, 2003, 12:31 PM: Message edited by: Jennifer ]

[camby]

Jenni-I have the renderman light, but I don't have the shader you mentioned. I have looked at the cd in the past and no luck. I believe this shader was released right around the time our update service expired.

 

I will take a look at the reference you mentioned. Thanks!

 

I have looked at upgrading to Max5/6 but right now the cash flow isn't exactly cooperating! Hopefully here real soon that will become an option.

[Jennifer]

The shader is available at the RenderMan repository:

 

Link

 

[camby]

jenni-

Sorry for the delay in response. I have been out of the office on a little trip. it was a blast..too bad I had to come home. Anyways, thanks for the shader link and the info. I am about to start a new project and I will experiment with the shader. Thanks again.