Problems getting a clean white look

[hannesneumann]

hey there,

 

i am a student for communication-design in germany and just started working with 3dsmax and vray. I already made some good and realistic results, but at the moment i have really problems getting the look i need.

 

The work is for a client. He wants some really clean visuals. The main color should be white, only glas, metals and some objects should have color. I attached a short test rendering (with to much AO). The scene is lit by a vray sun and a vray light which acts as a light portal.

 

It looks "ok" - but nothing more - clarity and contrast is missing. I think it has to do with my materials - maybe they should have more reflection ?

 

The model is not finished yet. My client is changing a lot to the layout floor plan and i have to wait till everything is set. Then i can start with adding more details.

 

What could i change (models, lights, mats) to get better results ?

 

Please help me ,

 

Thank you,

Hannes

[Chris MacDonald]

I think it looks quite good - I would focus on reducing noise, and picking a better camera angle if possible. I totally understand the pain of clients/architects wanting to place a camera in the corner with the widest angle lens possible.

 

Try adding items to tables, coats on hangars, etc. Are there no lights in this building? Some more detail on the partition frames such as tiny little chamfers on edges to pick up highlights.

[Zdravko Barisic]

White clean enterior look much more better with no direct light, but just with diffuse skylight.

Try that.

[braddewald]

^ This

 

You're next best tool is going to be Photoshop.

[hannesneumann]

Thanks for your help all !

 

I will start tomorrow with adding details, more chamfering and insert a simple ceiling. The architects are working on the ceiling and the lights at the moment. The job is about the different floor variations from a new building. Actually there are four different layouts - each of them will be visualized from above and two or three pictures "within" the building. Therefore a wide angle shot is required by the architects. The final version will have the freedom for narrower shots. For now i have to deal with the wishes from the architects. But changing the position to a better one is a good idea.

 

@Zdravko Barisic and Bradley DeWald

What exactly do you mean with a diffused skylight ? Turning on the GI environment in the Vray/environment tab ?

[RyderSK]

There are so many things that contribute to "white-washed" look.

 

What really screams from image to me is the ugly AO. I would never under any condition use that for interior now in any ray-traced imagery. AO is fine as mask for material with tear/grit/etc.. but not as direct overlay to communicate contrast. It's fake, crude, and extremely ugly.

Focus on clean GI, since this is Vray, unless you have computation power for BF+LC, which can be taxing in interiors with glossy mats, use IR+LC both with decently high subdivs.

 

Bright materials need correct brightness. Whitest point ever you should go is in 220 RGB range. And that's quite brutally white. The rest is compensated by correct lighting and exposure.

 

Some effects can't be yet effectively computed, which contribute to the look in real life, namely most GI reflected caustics. No renderer can compute that in feasible time (we're not talking direct photon caustics here) and in real life, that illumminates the space a lot. To compensate for that, you can use slightly artificially brighter material. I.e where white paint would in fact hold RGB of 150-180, you can go higher if it's really dominant material and you want 'white-washed' space.

 

Lot of people suggest outfitting the scene. This is where I disagree. While it can positively affect the illusion, pure clean white room without single dirt or object, can look just as real. So instead going directly to use any help possible, try to nail the look with as minimum decorum as possible. It should look correct and visually good just with ceiling and floor and windows. THEN, add things. Otherwise you'll be fighting too many conditions.

 

Photoshop is good and crucial too. Neither option of tonemapping directly in Vray looks good or realistic. Linear gives you the ability to set your own tonemapping in post using curves, and Reinhard gives you shitty flat look directly. If you opt for linear color mapping, 'white-washed' look with enough contrast is achieved by strong mid-tones boosting color, and slight shoulder/toe (at highlights and shadows) to keep contrast.

If you opt for Reinhard (with low burn like 0.1) then S-curve with more prominent midtones bulge will set it straight.

 

But, mostly, lot of trying. There are many variables, and no A-Z guide.

[Corey Beaulieu]

As usual, I very much agree with what Juraj is saying here... I will add, but 2 thoughts:

 

- If you render a Global Illumination Element, you can use this over the beauty pass in PS on one of the brightenning modes like Screen or Color Dodge. This is obviously a fake effect, but represents a kind of uniform boost in Saturation and Brightening, by Diffuse Color.

 

- Don't be afraid to use off camera lights. Photographers use these all of the time to smooth out light issues and highlight different areas of their image. This is mostly for interiors, but can add a lot of perceived realism. Perceived because we all look at high-end photography in ads and magazines and this begins to filter the way we see renderings. They are, after all, photographs of un-built spaces.

[hannesneumann]

Thanks - your tips helped me a lot. I changed the lighting to a GI skylight and chamfered all the edges from the panels. That does look so much better. I attached s fast test rendering.

 

Currently i am working on an improvised ceiling with lights and better mats. I hope the light then spreads more evenly (now its to dark on the floor) and i can decrease the power of the skylight.