3D render light problem :(

[Millad]

Look at this render, if I make something simple the shadows of the object and its light does not match most 3D models without textures.

Im using Maya 8 rendering with mental ray and playing with the lights and render quality option on it but still dont get it

now this guy here uses the same program but look at his rendering...
http://features.cgsociety.org/gallerycrits/26627/26627_1165273098_large.jpg
and this http://www.highend3d.com/articles/features/screenlarge.php?id=25&file=lg_29.jpg

and mine is this

[MTsoul]

Looks like as if you have a spotlight or something.

With 830 posts, wouldn't you know better not to post in Random? :P

[danulf]

I suck at rendering... I'm also not that great on modeling or anything else in 3d, but it seems like he has more lightsources and softer. You have one with hard shadows. Try more lights and softer shadows.

[Millad]

yeah how to make softer shadows in maya? No I did not use a spotlight. and I was going to place it in the 3d section but you wont get much help

[mlk]

EDIT: aah I just re-read your post. You want a soft, natural shadow ? You might want to look into image-based lighting (lighting your scene with HDR maps)


Nice model !

Are you talking about the white fringe you get around your model ? You're probably rendering in passes and forgot to de-multiply your alpha. (or vice-versa, I never get it :beam: )

[danulf]

his model is below the big one (-:

[Millad]

Mlk can you please explain more ! you like my bed model? thanks :love: :|

[CriTiCeRz]

darkmotion shud be able to help you with this.

[Anogar]

He's using global illumination. You don't seem to be. That's the difference. :)

[ya3]

*fanfare of trumpets*

*ya3 flies in through window*

Okie dokies... What you're trying to do here is your standard 'clay render'. What you need is some Global Illumination. That is, light bouncing around to give those lovely fuzzy shadows. My memory of Maya is very hazy, but I'll give it a go:

- Delete all your lights
- Make the materials on everything WHITE
- Go into the Mental Ray options
- Find the 'Indirect Illumination' section and enable Final Gather
- That should be it

Also make sure the Environment/Background/whatever (can't remember the name... I'm thinking of 3dsmax) is set to white because I think it affects the Final Gather colour.

[Pasquale]

*fanfare of trumpets*

*ya3 flies in through window*

Okie dokies... What you're trying to do here is your standard 'clay render'. What you need is some Global Illumination. That is, light bouncing around to give those lovely fuzzy shadows. My memory of Maya is very hazy, but I'll give it a go:

- Delete all your lights
- Make the materials on everything WHITE
- Go into the Mental Ray options
- Find the 'Indirect Illumination' section and enable Final Gather
- That should be it

Also make sure the Environment/Background/whatever (can't remember the name... I'm thinking of 3dsmax) is set to white because I think it affects the Final Gather colour.

Yeah I think instead of "faking" global illumination - you can use the mental ray illumination setting. Bump the final gather rays up too. You can make the bg coloured by using a "background shader" - don't use any reflectivity.

If you want to try and speed up the render time, I think you can use the default "occlusion" render template, and just change the background of it.

*edit*
Give this a go: http://www.intric8.com/memo/?p=12
http://alexmunn.com/html/class_levels_shaders.htm
I haven't played around with occulsion renders for a while, but I might pop open maya now and give it a go. Pop your .mb. or .ma file up and I will try and have a go.

[ar]

Try Final Gather, it should do the trick.

[Pasquale]

Hmm with the occlusion render, I am not tooo sure how to set the bg as a different colour- well at least using the preset.

[nobody]

yeah how to make softer shadows in maya? No I did not use a spotlight. and I was going to place it in the 3d section but you wont get much help

Yes you will. Don't deliberately break the rules. :cop:

[Pasquale]

Still haven't cracked it- how to get a different coloured bg in the same render.. :S
The attached thing is the default occlusion setting applied to some prims.

[ya3]

I think that ^ pure white render looks better, imho.

[Pasquale]

Woot I figured it out.

Turn off the default light in the render settings.

Set the renderer to mental ray and in teh render globals, set the preset to production mode.

Click the final gather tickbox, and bump it up to about 500 rays or more (the more the better)

chuck a plane underneath and make it a bg shader (that way it only captures shadows).

Change the environment settings to a colour of your choice (of course the render will tinge the colour of the bg).

Insert some lighting of your choice- I rekon an ambient light of about .5 works pretty sweet - and make it cast shadows. Drop the shadow colour down a bit as well.


This is what I popped out:
http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/8254/testvo1.jpg
(note the cube on the right is a little darker cause it is not in the secondary light.

You can alternatively use a surface shader on an object as a light. If things are too bright or too dark, play with the " irradiance " setting on each shader.


I still cant get the "fuzzy shadow" you would get on an occlusion render though. But it is the best match I coudl come up with.

and ideas ar?

I have a feeling it could be a prebaked occlusion map- but I have no idea how that all works. Hahah - I'm still kidna n00bish with maya.

Hope that helped. hah

[ya3]

Hmmm... You shouldn't have to use any physical lights.

Do you have VRay, Millad? It's 21432342394x easier in VRay :)

[Pasquale]

Well if you WANT to add a light source that is.

Still works with none :)

[Millad]

thanks man but still dont get the same thing !

no how to install or get Vray in Maya 8 on a Powerbook G4 !

[ya3]

VRay in Maya would be hard to find. VRay in Maya on Mac OS X would be even harder :sigh:

[Millad]

okay should i stick to lightwave 9 on mac then would it be easier to render like this? or should I switch to 3dsmax 9 on windows?:hair: I got a school project and I want to make a monster model. add it to a movie we are making. first I want to learn the basics with lightning like this I have showed at first. tell me a good program. Everybody is riding on 3dsmax but what about lightwave is its not that friendly as maya. Maybe im getting this wrong because I did not try lightwave many times.

[Pasquale]

(its using mental ray.. :P)

As I said- feel free to post the file up here and I can give it a shot :D

[ar]

Just try MentalRay in any suits that you use. Try starting a completely new scene, importing your models, and open up the render dialog box. Just plop open the indirect illumination panel, and turn on the settings to a fairly good amount, and you may use global illumination to spruce the colours up a bit. I could help you if you were using 3ds 9, but other than that, it's all about trial and error.

Concerning your concern, I've been using 3ds for a few years now, and it is truly a very powerful tool. The rendering in it is just phenominal, and it's not that hard of a program to get used to. It's all a matter on what program you think fits right with your workflow and style.

[Millad]

thanks for the reply. It seems like every where i go everywhere i see, you get 3dsmax. and I have windows pc here beside me. i cud install it on the pc.

But maya is great, i have never tried max yet. What bothers me is why isent it for macs also. I though maybe because its a dos based program?.

This guy uses maya and i cannot get the same result as him. there gotta be a simple trick to it? does he use many low lights in every corner to add shadows everywhere i mean come on people no tutorial on that.

Every 3d guy got this effect going

[mlk]

http://toi.bk.tudelft.nl/toi-pedia/index.php?title=Rendering_Mental_Ray_Final_Gather

http://www.deathfall.com/tutorials.php?op=showcontent&id=2
http://zj.deathfall.com/depthbasedOcc.htm\
http://myweb.hinet.net/home4/chshlin/tutorials/cheap_HDRI/cheap_HDRI(e).htm

i dunno, google man

[ya3]

Yeah. Do a search for 'clay render' ;) That's what the technique is commonly called.

[Pasquale]

or occlusion

[Millad]

okay after i check out mlks links I tried them and this workt a bit for me here but not 100% like the images i have posted from other artist but this is a simple rocket thing. and I used this

http://toi.bk.tudelft.nl/toi-pedia/index.php?title=Rendering_Mental_Ray_Global_Illumi nation

and rendered with mental ray after the tutorial there.
rendering had a bit time for it to be done for this simple object.

[Pasquale]

Do it with final gather. It will look a lot nicer.

[Millad]

I did with final gather, 10 000 final gather it tok time to load on my powerbook :S
but the edges of the object is not smooth, I will use smooth tool on it soon but check this update and its more final gather on. But the problem is even if I use textures the color will still be the same with textures on it. :jail:

[Pasquale]

Its waaaaaayyy tooo blue. What colour is the texture?

Just remember in the render globals - delete the default light (turn off default light)

set it to mental ray

Make it production quality

Set the final gather to 500

Apply a white lambert to it

add a groundplane - set it to use background- turn down reflectivity and stuff


on the rendering camera- make it a darker blue - grey works fine.

And pop out a render.


Send me the model I'll fix up the lighting if you can't get it to work! :P

[mlk]

post your test .mb =)

[Pasquale]

Yeah I wanna fix it- I'm boored.

[Millad]

no its okay now its getting better. I added a bit to much light. Now look at this point here. Im trying something simple. So I tried to model a "cannon"

[Millad]

hehe here is the rocket

[Millad]

some new update added here

[Pasquale]

Well you don't want to apply a metallic material if you are doing a clay render ;)

[CriTiCeRz]

I wonder how long it took you to model that because I think it's pretty well made. :)

[Pasquale]

I just did an occlusion render of yours and the bottom comes out really strange-quite dark.

[Millad]

thats strange, why did you get that?

Nah the modeling of this "cannon" was simple because it is based on a cylinder and a cube basic thing. Im a noob in this program :krazy:

[Pasquale]

it seems you have a lot of geometry near the bottom. I'll re render something tomorrow and show ya :D

[Millad]

aw yes I forgot. I think I used the "Smooth" Tool to smooth the main stand launch pad a bit. Maybe thats why:mu: aigghhht m8 :hitman:

[Millad]

yaya Its my birthday today. Im 18 right now haha :D !! :beer:

[Pasquale]

Congraaatz :)

[nrirureta]

congratulations !!!

:)

[ar]

Happy Birthday!

[Millad]

Thanks guys ! :D Merry christmas to all & Happy new Year :hugegrin: :hitman: