Ambient Occl and animation

[Wokka]

I'm trying to put together an animation with the usual problems.

Too many trees, radiosity too slow (waiting on Vray) etc etc

I'd like to use AO to add some depth to the building but this also slows down the render significantly.

I've read of people using it in a seperate pass but can't understand how this helps with the speed or the best way to implement it. Can anyone shed any light on it?(pardon the pun)

I'd also like to use AO just in the whole scene and not with individual materials if possible.

ps I've got lots of trees (billboards) in front of the building during the flypast that are not seen by AO

[AJLynn]

If you set up AO in the render options it's on te whole scene. Also, have you tried fakeiosity instead of GI? It can be very effective and much faster for exterior animation.

[Wokka]

Thanks for the reply.

By fakosity do you mean a dome of lights/soft shadows to add depth then one light source for the sun? That's what I'm trying but can't seem to get the depth in the shadows I need, hence adding the AO.

Are there any specific parameters I should look at for the light dome light sources that would increase the shadows at the junctions (ie under the eaves)?

Would applying AO only to the wall, eaves,floor,ground materials speed up the rendering instead of using global AO?

 

Thanks in advance

[AJLynn]

AO only where it's needed would be faster, especially where there are going to be open areas that won't be occluded anyway, and pay attention to the ray distance limits. As far as getting your shadows right, your balance of light levels might be off e.g. low light that are too bright, and since there's no clear cut "correct" way of balancing them, experiment to find something that looks good for the scene.

[Wokka]

Thanks Andrew,

Yeah I had a deeper look into my fakosity settings and finally got a reasonable result, though the soft shadow parameters still confuse me

Whilst I'm here, just wondering what you (or anyone looking) use for mass low planting like small hedges and bushes etc. Anything I've found is either too many polygons or looks too CG.

 

Thanks again

[AJLynn]

Can't help you there, my plants always suck, but have you read the Visualization Insider article on it?

[Wokka]

Yeah the article was good but deals with large trees and forest. I'll use a simialr technique for my trees but the landscaping calls for lots of 1-1.5m high shrubs and bushes. I suppose I can try using the same ideas but I get up a bit too close on some of the shots.

Thanks anyhow.