CGTalk - Help with flouro/neon signs

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Demkaio

07-24-2007, 09:14 AM

Hey all, my first post yay ^^
currently i am working on my final project of my animation course im doing and i have built a scene based on this photo i took http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/370/wadekorea143fj5.jpg

And well there are neon signs and flouro signs thats im trying to make materials for, and i would like some help to achieve these effects

I am using 3DS max

1st. i havent built any neon tubes as i have just built planes for all signs (including the neon ones), how will i make the materials so the neon parts of the signs glow and not the back boards for them? achieving an effect like in the photo

2nd is with the flouro signs do i just put the materials at 100% self illumination? how do i make it have that "glow" thats seen in the photo

thanks all for any help

softdistortion

07-25-2007, 02:46 AM

Have you considered using an image map with alpha/clipmap ,render out a seperate pass for the neon, then add the glow in the composite stage?

Demkaio

07-25-2007, 07:19 AM

Hmm no i havent considered that, ill have to study up on redering multiple passes

thanks...

Oh today i was trying something with the Advance lighting override and it was decent for what i was looking for, except its not compatable with mental ray rendering =/ which is want i want to render out as.

Demkaio

07-27-2007, 07:16 AM

I ended up using Achitectural Maps with luminosity up high and indirect lighting, final gather turned on and it seems to be working enough for me ^^

krembo99

07-30-2007, 08:44 AM

well.. it depends a lot on which render engine you are using ..
To achive this effect in a photorealistic and correct way , you will have to use some kind of GI engine, or radiosity.

In 3dsMax you can achive it by using radiosity calculation on the Scanline, and use the Advanced Lighting Override Material inside a mask to achive this neon feature . Of course it will work well on long shot alone, on a close up you will see the lack of tubular structure.

If you are using V-ray Brazil, fR or such - you could just use the light material they all supply, again with some kind of a clipping mask.

Demkaio

07-30-2007, 09:16 AM

Thanks for that

So far i have achieved a look that would work well enough for my project, the back ground is ment to be secondary to the animation, so it will not be so sharp and not in focus to much.

so i am using mental ray engine, and using the architectual material, and played with the luminosity settings and turned on final gather and it seems to light up well and give of "light/glow"

it could be less expensive with time using scanline, but i like the look mental ray gives thus far, and ill be using mental ray materials on characters etc

SmallPoly

07-31-2007, 06:33 PM

I think what you're looking for is Max's "Lens Effects Glow Filter" like in this max tutorial:

http://www.3d-resources.com/3d_studio_max_tutorials/lightsaber_tutorial.html

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