Light Rig.

[xC4RN4G3x]

ok, i've been reading some set ups for light rigs...and i tried a couple out. the sad thing is that either i didnt set it up right or the light rig just doesnt look good for me. i was wondering what light rigs u guys use. I kinda want that 3d realistic render with the shadows and everything. any help would be awesome.

 

[crackhead]

get xsi

 

[xC4RN4G3x]

lol thats not very helpful
EDIT: i was also wondering if u guys render with a set up using planes as the background. i saw some renders with just the enviroment color changed and i was wondering if its possible to get shadows without using planes.

 

[crackhead]

in xsi i render with a grid behind my model. i dont know if thats the same as a plane. and lots of final gathering wuahhahahahahaaa

 

[Psycho[BE]]

if u use 3ds max, i always put 3 planes behind my model and add a omniLight liek this:

and when you render just use the Light Trace light plugin with standard setting you should get something like this:

 

[mindless_moder]

yeah i use the 3 plane concept but i think what you are refering to is more like environment ligthing in which case you really should look into some hdri lighting tutorials

 

[Shinobi]

final gather and all those fancy lighting features anen't XSI features, they're mental ray features. Maya, Max, and XSI all hve mental ray, thus all can render the same..

which program are you using? ways to get a fancy render aer slightly different with each program but you're changing the same values for the most part..


on general terms what you need to do for the cheapest fastest quick render is to simply turn final gather on (in render settings).. To make it nicer you need to use global illumination and maybe a nice illuminated dome for a backdrop..

which program are you using?

 

[xC4RN4G3x]

i'm using max6. where are the global illumination settings, because i read a lot of tutorials that try to mimic global illumination because the plugins for it are too damn expensive. i'm not sure if max6 comes with GI. what is a illuminated dome? the only good render i can put out is the clay render (which takes me a loooong time to render). basically a skylight + shadows on with a "clay" material.

 

[JudasKing]

as shinobi said, GI is part of mental ray, not 3ds. and yes, 3ds has mental ray - the default scanline renderer doesn't. someone else will have to tell you exactly where to go to switch it bcus 3ds doesn't work for me (finally gave up and started learning xsi )

 

[xC4RN4G3x]

why would u learn xsi if u cant model in 3dsm? there isnt much difference besides hl2's preference with xsi. i mean u can still get models from 3dsm into hl2 (although it may be a bit harder). i find that whatever works for me is best. i might try xsi one day though. perhaps maya too.
EDIT: shinobi perhaps u can help me tweak my settings so i can get some good renders.

 

[JudasKing]

again, bcus 3dsm doesn't work. it would fix itself w/ new releases, but i'm sick of having to take a week to find out wth's wrong w/ it -_- but don't get me wrong, i'm still a 3ds whore at heart lol

 

[FictiousWill]

Just use a plane and a skylight. Turn the skylight's shadows on and set raytraces to 15 or so. That will produce renders like this:

 

[xC4RN4G3x]

i know..that was the clay render i was talking about...which is about the only decent render i can put out. the problem is that it takes me a loooong time to put those renders out. i was looking for something different. plus i've seen renders that arnt clay but they are waaaay better. they have like the long shadows and the ground actually looks like its a ground...not a plane (the model looks like its sitting on the plane). i've already clay renders of some of my works.
here are some examples below...
EDIT: i want to make renders that have the realisic shadows and where it looks like my model is actually laying on a solid surface. i hate making the planes and just putting my model in the middle of the air. i've tried to lay the gun down on the plane but...it didnt look good. need some tips
DOUBLEEDIT: by the way, this is my latest model (yeah...took me a while to refresh my memory on how to model). i need to get a professional lightrig so i can do all my models with the same lightrig for new renders. i need to have a consistant look on my models so i can post em on my site (or for a mod). i might just stick with clay renders...but...they seem to have no shadows...
TRIPLEEDIT: i guess u guys just died....spontaneous combustion or something. watch out for those natural gases.

 

[Shinobi]

sorry I was out of town for a day


what you need to do is get into your render setting tab and move all the way down to the bottom where it says assigned renderer. Change it to mental ray.

next you have to go into the mental ray settings tab and enable global illumination and final gather. Then you have to go to the properties for all the lights in your scenes and make sure global illumination is on, also make sure the lights are emitting photons. For now dont adjust any numerical values, just try to get it working.

if this is still to vague tell me and I'll make a more in depth post, I just cant use max right now cause I'm working on something else and my computer is dying.

 

[xC4RN4G3x]

ahh i see. i'll try that once i get back. too much hw and crap. i hate school...ugh. do u guys have any other light rig secrets?

 

[xC4RN4G3x]

ok well i did a render with one omni light at .5 and one skylight (shadows couldnt be turned on) at .6. i turned on the mental ray renderer with global illumination and final gather. the result is below. i wasnt too impressed...perhaps there is something i'm doing wrong.

 

[Shinobi]

turn on shadow rayttracing

 

[Shinobi]

????

CRAP, I just wrote a whole post on what to do and it didnt go through

EDIT: CRAP I did it again! %#$%#$@%ing same page editing function


ok really quick now


1)Delete skylight, doesnt work with mental ray

2)Make a mental ray spotlight with falloff, decay on, mental ray raytraced shadows on, GI on (under indirect illumination tab), High overall angle (160-170), and a brightness of about 100-200

3) make a few non-shadowcasting omni lights to keep the light level of the scene up enough so that your model is never fully dark (mine has 3 all set ro about .15 brightness)

4) assign mental ray as your renderer, turn on GI and FG then go for it

 

[Pesmerga]

wacha gonnza do what gonnza do when me and foxtrot go wild on you

 

[xC4RN4G3x]

what is falloff?

 

[JudasKing]

falloff = area of light that gradually decays from the hotspot to the end of the falloff area. i'm pretty sure only directed lights have that option . that render u posted does bring out the details pretty nicely tho i like the "folds" where the butt connects to the recieve above handle

 

[xC4RN4G3x]

i dont see the setting for falloff. god damnit...can someone give me the instructions in really descriptive steps (act like i've never used 3dsm or act like im a retard (whichever one u like)). i turned all the stuff on that u told me to turn on but the render still looked like shit. i'm guessing i turned the wrong ones on or in the wrong areas or i didnt use the right light (i used a target spot light...didnt know if i was supposed to use free). theres tons of other crap i coulda done wrong. i dont really have that much time on the computer so i had to rush it. mom's a bit paranoid about me using the comp. some quick exact instructions would be awesome. SHINOBI IS GOD thanks for everything so far ...although i didnt get it to work.

 

[xC4RN4G3x]

bump...

 

[Shinobi]

sorry man, I forgot, in 3dsmax falloff is called decay,

in the spotlights properties it's one of the first 2 tabs..


it's a pull down menu called decay, choose inverse

 

[xC4RN4G3x]

ok i got a question...for the target spotlight do i want the radius to cover the entire model or just part of it? i mean...i made it really big so that the whole scene was covered. is that right? i also rendered the model and it kinda looked like shit so i redid it with various intensities. what light intesities should i use? what color light and what material should be on my model? i keep getting bad renders....:|