3D Max Beginner

[EOD]

Hello Everybody

 

I have had the 3D Max 2010 programme for over a year and i haven't had the time required to use the software until i managed to fracture the 5th metatarsal in my left foot.

 

Now that i have the time available i decided the only way figure out how to use this software was to jump in head first and attempt to model my on-suite bathroom; with the aid of online tutorials and a Architectural Visualisation Book i managed to complete.

 

The problem that i have now have is with certain aspects of the modelling and post production:

 

On the images i have attached the sink edges seem to sharp even though i chamfered.

 

There is a concentration of light at the bottom right of the window (daylight system).

 

The floor tiles are very pale.

 

I'm sure there are numerous faults with these images that a more seasoned pro could point out but for a 1st attempt i can be too critical of myself. If the members of this forum could offer any advice on how to improve on this I would be well received.

 

Many Thanks

[Darawork]

Looks pretty good already imo.

Regarding the sun-burn, perhaps try to change a parameter in the 'Environment and Effects' dialogue box (keyboard 8) under 'Image Control' called 'Highlights (burn)'. At the default level you can see the ramp peaks too early at the upper level, it is squashed flat against the ceiling of the graph. By lowering this spinner a bit you can increase the dynamic range of light levels.

If that doesn't work as well as you'd like, you could also try to reduce the transparency of the frosted window glass either by pushing up the diffuse level a tad or decreasing the glossiness or increasing the translucency.... it all depends on the type of material (shader) you are using.

Also if you are using mental ray to render, and are using Arch&Design materials... try utilising the ambient occlusion section of the shader in order to make the objects to appear less 'floating' in the scene by introducing more natural looking shaded areas. This can also be obtained by pushing up the final gather slider at the bottom of the render window, although this will dramatically increase the rendering time per frame.

Regarding the sharp edges on the sink top, I would tackle this problem by editing at a sub-object level or playing around with the round edges parameter in the Arch&Design material shader roll-out; http://www.mrbluesummers.com/3875/3d-tutorials/mental-ray-arch-design-overview

 

Although, if in fact you are using Vray and not MR you can probably disregard all of the above. I have no real experience with Vray.

[EOD]

Hi Dara

 

Thanks for your comments I have implemented these changes into my model and re-rendered as you can see from the attached image (3D Bathroom Render20-08-13a)there has been an improvement but not as dramatic as i wanted. I thought i should also attach a screenshot of the top view of my model to give you an idea of where i positioned the daylight system (Daylight System_1).

 

The next thing i tried was to move the daylight system to the bottom left of the model (Daylight System_2) and adjusted the settings as you suggested and the final rendered images have improved; the glare on the window is more realistic, increasing the final gather has made the toilet, shower and sink appear less "floaty". Increasing the round edges setting in the Arch&Design material shader roll-out has taken the sharp edges off the sink & shower basin.

 

I would like to offer my sincere thanks for your input if you could offer any more feedback on the changes made it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Many Thanks

[Chris MacDonald]

The sink looking "floaty" is because it lacks contact shadows. One or both of the following would help:

 

1) Turn on ambient occlusion - this is a good and very popular way of "cheating" contact shadows.

2) Use higher GI settings (final gather), this will cause the pc to evaluate small/dark areas a lot better and result in a more believable lighting scenario.

[Darawork]

A lot of people complain that this is not the proper (true to real life solution) way to get Ambient Occlusion, but I like using the technique:

http://www.characterink.com/2010/09/09/fast-ambient-occlusion-in-3ds-max-mr/

 

It's very quick (a lot quicker than upping the FG slider to max in Max) and does the job quite well. Just make sure to turn off your transparent scene objects first, e.g. glass.

 

I hope you have photoshop, or else you can use Gimp (just don't ask me how to set layers to multiply in Gimp, I haven't a clue... hehe)

 

 

P.s. I tend to up the max distance in the A/O shader to 500mm. I also execute 'Auto-tone' in photoshop and apply a Gaussian blur to the AO layer before comping it and setting it to multiply.

Edited September 5, 2013 by daragrehan

[EOD]

Hi Chris

 

I switched on AO for the Arch&Design materials that make up the Walls,Ceiling and managed to figure out how to apply AO to the bitmap floor tiles. Attached are some images showing the end results; they not 100% spot on but your tips have put me on the right track.

 

Many Thanks