First interior - help needed

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Studio/Institution: Architectural studio
Genre: Residential Interior
Software: 3Ds Max 2012 / Mental ray / GIMP
Description:

Hello everyone

This is my second project in Max, you can see the first one here http://dariorubilovic.deviantart.com/ (has nothing to do with architecture, i was just testing myself).

 

First a few facts:

- Mental ray used.

- This was done on 3 computers (with bucket rendering), each of those a Pentium dual core @ 2.6GHz. I know... They were bought two years ago for AutoCAD.

- I started doing this with a tutorial, but very quickly continued on my own (tutorial was with iray, and frankly i saw it was below my level of knowledge). You can see it here http://www.rockthe3d.com/creating-an-architectural-scene-in-3ds-max/

Just "borrowed" the idea, everything else did on my own.

 

And now- to the renders!

 

Day scene:

 

 

 

Night scene 01:

 

 

Question 01

What is going on with the ceiling? Material is set to 32 glossy samples, is that to low? Or am i missing something else here?

 

 

Night scene 02:

 

 

Question 02

Where did that rectangular "shape"/"shadow"/"i don't know what" in the lower left area came from!?!? Could this have something to do with bucket rendering?

 

Question 03

In night scene 02 i tested caustics. Rendering this image took 8 hours, 25 minutes and 7 seconds!?!

Could someone please take a look at this file and see did i do something wrong with mental ray for it to last so long (day scene took 2 hours, and night scene without the caustics one hour).

Or is that normal on such a slow system?

 

Here is the file, don't know if uploading files of this size is allowed on forum, so i uploaded it to box:

http://www.box.net/shared/yrvybv6x3m42rh3gtc20

http://www.box.net/shared/juoqhvoxaqkj36rckcn2

http://www.box.net/shared/4bjyvr1nup52fvrjh332

 

 

Finally, question 04

What would you do to make this look more realistic (materials, lightning and rendering, not details in the scene)? I've been looking at it for some time now and probably have lost objectivity, but these renders simply screams CG to me.

 

Long post, hope you managed it :-), thanks in advance for any help or advice!

Edited September 22, 2011 by blank...

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Actually, samples had to go down, way down. Still some strange "glitter" but nothing that post can't fix.

And the rectangular shadow is mysteriously gone

 

 

 

 

 

Still looking for advice on low realism, anyone?

[Tron]

I assume you are using photometric lights with the "light shape shown" box checked. Make sure that is off. U can make an arch and design material that emits light for the actual bulb. maybe increase the reflectivity of the wood on the ceiling and add some ao to that material.

 

your floor's uvws look stretched a bit.

 

maybe throw a more interesting background than pitch black... lots of sunset hdr's look great in the environment slot when mixed with photometric interior lighting.

 

what is your indirect lighting method? gi/fg .. gi .. just fg?

[Tron]

also, increase the size of your renders and the white speckels will disappear.

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I assume you are using photometric lights with the "light shape shown" box checked. Make sure that is off.

 

No, they are photometric but "light shape visible in rendering" is off.

 

maybe throw a more interesting background than pitch black... lots of sunset hdr's look great in the environment slot when mixed with photometric interior lighting.

 

But then i would have different background from the day scene. Right?

 

what is your indirect lighting method? gi/fg .. gi .. just fg?

 

FG and GI.

 

also, increase the size of your renders and the white speckels will disappear.

 

Actually, this article list three different methods for getting rid of "fireflies".

http://www.ronenbekerman.com/making-of-the-house-3d-mental-ray-animation/