Mental Ray exterior night sky Yellow???

[TomD_Arch]

I am using a night scene image of a cloudy Chicago skyline with it's dark salmon pink illumination, however when I set my mr Physical sky up the image comes in like a black and yellow background. I'm hoping this is a simple fix like "Oh, you just need to bump your blah-blah up!" So I am only attaching a screen shot.

 

[RyderSK]

"I'm hoping this is a simple fix"

 

Everything on that picture is wrong, like every single thing.

 

1)You have skylight in your scene as physical light with custom color. This overrides Environment map settings, otherwise you have to check "Use Environment" IF you do that then:

 

2)The "Haze" parameter only adjusts the saturation of the map between "clear sky" and "dusty/overcast/dark/etc..", the map/shader slot enables to drive it with texture.

 

3)MentalRay Sky model doesn't feature night rendering. Actually almost no renderer do (I think apart from Indigo's precomputated Sky model, and maybe..slightly Maxwell)

 

4)You can't just use random post-processed jpeg with mood you like and expect the program to read your mind and extract that weather/lighting&post-production? into your scene.

 

5)Have you seen this ? Everything is there, and you could have had your answer in 2 minutes.

 

http://docs.autodesk.com/3DSMAX/16/ENU/3ds-Max-Help/index.html?url=files/GUID-B032AA9C-6271-4286-9934-1B19F29C0CCB.htm,topicNumber=d30e452337

 

6)This absurdity doesn't belong to General Discussion, although lately, sadly, there isn't anything else.

 

To do this correctly:

 

1) Get nightsky/dusky spherical HDRi image in 32bit .exr/.hdr format

2) You can color-correct it into your desirable color mood directly using Photoshop Extended or HDR Light studio or any editor that can edit linear images.

You can skip this and do the final color grading in post-production of final render, just like your source photography. This is the preferable, accurate way.

3) MentalRay isn't friendly with Image based lighting, but there is plugin for that I think ?

[blank...]

MentalRay isn't friendly with Image based lighting, but there is plugin for that I think ?

 

Sure it is, just dump a skylight into the scene, and in it's options select HDRI you want. That's it.

Also, use Thorstens Render Optimizer, i don't know if this is a bug with Max 2014 or just my installation, but sometimes when i start a new scene samples for IBL are set to 64! Which, with unified sampling, is a major overkill. Samples for IBL are not exposed in UI and by default should be set to 2.

[RyderSK]

Sure it is, just dump a skylight into the scene, and in it's options select HDRI you want. That's it.

Also, use Thorstens Render Optimizer, i don't know if this is a bug with Max 2014 or just my installation, but sometimes when i start a new scene samples for IBL are set to 64! Which, with unified sampling, is a major overkill. Samples for IBL are not exposed in UI and by default should be set to 2.

 

Isn't this something new though ? 2013+ ?

I remember when I used Mental Ray I could not yet use HDRi for complete scene lighting.

[Scott Schroeder]

I think MR 2014 is the only version to really support IBL, considering this was a sneak peak as of March 2013; http://area.autodesk.com/blogs/frank/3ds-max-sneak-peak---image-based-lighting

 

When going for a moody image like you want to, sometimes the physical sky often isn't the best way to go as you really can't control some things or you are doing so many overrides that you've lost the physicality of the system. You are better off using HDR, or just standard lights to where you can really dial in the color the way you want it and remove all of the "smartness" of the physical system.

 

Plus, the MR physical sun goes bananas when it gets too close to the horizon.

Edited January 22, 2014 by VelvetElvis

[TomD_Arch]

Everything on that picture is wrong, like every single thing.

 

I laughed a little when I read this part first. I know sometimes those of us that are not as experienced deserve a ribbing in funny jest for some of our ridiculous posts. But as I got further down...

 

6)This absurdity doesn't belong to General Discussion, although lately, sadly, there isn't anything else.

 

...You seem just mad. So I apologize for posting in the wrong place. You are right, I guess this should have gone in the Mental Ray forum.

 

Sometimes, as I start to tweak settings that I am using for the first time and still struggling to understand I get lost in trying to arrive at the result I am looking for. It's frustrating for me, because the more experienced people here make it look very easy, but is just that experience. Occasionally my quest for experience takes me way off target, and I credit the people here with usually being able to get me back on target quickly and easily.

[RyderSK]

I gave you sound advice anyway :- ) So don't get offended, I am more open than americans can be used though, and I spend a lot of time in USA. And occassionaly, I truly do get mad, but this is far from it, I assure you.

With that said, it really doesn't belong into General discussion, so you deserve some scoffing. Not everyone is overly kind, but being helpful is more important.

 

but is just that experience. Occasionally my quest for experience takes me way off target, and I credit the people here with usually being able to get me back on target quickly and easily.

 

I disagree slightly, it's not all about experience.. lot of it is about approach. If people weren't lazy they wouldn't jump in into endless experimentation without learning the basics first. There is manual and resource for almost anything. Why not search a learn it first ?

 

One could go from "zero to hero" in archviz, concerning technical level only of course, in month maybe. Experience isn't everything.

 

I credit the people here with usually being able to get me back on target quickly and easily.

 

I see but I don't see this as positive trend. People mostly answer here very obvious things that could take very little effort from the question giver to figure out. There is incredibly increasing laziness and people are starting to ask absurd things instead of discussing things a bit further once they truly are learning.

 

The forum should be a "helping hand" but not "I don't know what I am doing, can you do it for me plz" ? (this is not aimed at you... there are some truly, truly senseless requests)

Edited January 22, 2014 by RyderSK

[blank...]

Isn't this something new though ? 2013+ ?

I remember when I used Mental Ray I could not yet use HDRi for complete scene lighting.

 

That's why i said Thorstens Render optimizer should be used. IBL is exposed only in Max 2014, but it was there since... 2012, maybe? 2013 definitely.