http://forums.cgsociety.org CGTalk, the CGSociety's official forum for digital artists 120 en-us http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=1112396 Posted By: Fallenlegend
Post Time: 06-19-2013 at 08:01 AM
Text:

Hello everyone!

It's me trying to learn about shading (it's my bane, even more than perspective !)

I am having trouble understanding how to shade cubes. I know each side represents a value:
http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/...zps20f43713.png


But I am having trouble understanding the gradation of each plane of the side of the cube relative to a light source.

For example this image looks "right" but seems to be contradicting the light source:

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/...zpsb2969d89.png

it seems that the light is hitting directly the top vertex and logic would tell me that each side (left and right) would be lit from the top and darker from the bottom

You can see what I mean with my confusion here:
http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/...zps511b8365.png

Shouldn't all the corners touching the green dot be either "light" or "dark"?

I would love some help undersating this concept of shading flat surfaces. Becuase I am super confused.

Thanks!]]> Wed, 19 Jun 2013 03:01:21 +0000 http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=1112245 Posted By: Xetil
Post Time: 06-18-2013 at 11:16 AM
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Has annyone encountered these errors in Maya?

warn 302032:while defining light "sunlightshape": spotlight has bad spread (cause of cone angle)

error 081016:shadow map: spread of spotlight "sunlightshape" is too small


What i dont get is why i get this error when sunlight shape is an directional light.

But the big issue is that my sunlight shadow is too unaccurate (i assume it has something to do with the messages)

Until recently i worked in maya software with dmap shadows, but i shanged to mental ray (still dmap), but the same problem is when i try raytrace)....its when i changed that the problem started..



Can annyone help me out with this one?]]> Tue, 18 Jun 2013 06:16:04 +0000 http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=1112157 Posted By: Rofil
Post Time: 06-17-2013 at 09:44 PM
Text:

Hi guys, so I have this small project in which I need to render an animation of a building from outside and inside. The building have some furniture inside and I want to render a camera animation for a walkthrought around and inside the building. My problem now is for lighting. I want to make some lighting setup, I don't want to make it look as realistic but just to show of the design. at the same time I'm limited with the time I can spend on the rendering process. I don't want to use final gather or global illumination as it will take time to render. We are looking for a 5 minutes of animation here. Please if someone have any suggestion and advice, I will be glad if you shared it.]]> Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:44:49 +0000 http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=1112020 Posted By: hazmondo
Post Time: 06-17-2013 at 12:13 AM
Text:

Hello,

I just created my first MAXScript tool which allows artists to quickly create Matte render elements very quickly. The tool basically is an interface for the Render Elements section of the Render Setup dialog window and works by controlling the Object ID channels of selected objects.



The first section of the tool allows you to choose whether you want your selection of objects to be contained in one Matte pass or if you want to create one matte pass for each individual object in your selection.

The next section allows you to set all the basic parameters for the Matte pass as you would do if you were to set it up normally.

The third section gives you two options for setting the Object ID's of your selected objects; "Assign Unique ID" will look at all the objects in the scene, find the highest Object ID number and create a Matte with an ID of one more than the highest in the scene and also set your objects to have that ID too. When "Assign User-Specifed ID" is selected the "Object ID" spinner is enabled and this will allow you to set your own ID.

When the "Create Matte Render Element(s)" button is pressed all the information is put together and a Matte pass is created. Note that the file path for the Matte pass is assigned AFTER the pass is created, so you have to click on the pass to refresh it.

The "Set Selection's ID" spinner allows you to changed the ID of selected objects which can be useful if you want to add certain obejcts into a Matte pass which has already been created.

The "Select Objects With ID" spinner allows you to select objects which a specifed ID which can be helpful when checking which objects are in a specific Matte pass.

-----

Note that the naming of the render elements doesn't work well when you have the "One Per Object In Selection" option chosen because it gives all the Matte passes the same filename meaning that they save over each other and so only the last pass is saved.

This tool works with the Scanline and mental ray renderers and in 3ds Max 2008 and above. I don't have a license for VRay but I understand that VRay works with their own VRayObjectID pass.

The MacroScript will create a new category in the Customize User Interface window called "Harry's" which you might not like if you've got your own cetegory. If you do, then edit the script.

-----

Hope you enjoy it and get some use out of it, I made it in two days for a university project I'm working on over Summer, which also means that I won't be able to develop it much further, but it didn't seem to throw any errors when I was using it.

Thanks,
-Harry

-----]]> Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:13:32 +0000 http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=1111997 Posted By: mennalur
Post Time: 06-16-2013 at 08:29 PM
Text:

I'm working on a skin shader but I can't seem to get rid of the edges around the face. I'm using a SSS shader together with a normal vray material to create the specular. I believe it's the specular creating these outlines. Does anyone know what can solve this?

Also some tips or crits on the project are always welcome.

]]> Sun, 16 Jun 2013 15:29:08 +0000 http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=1111579 Posted By: gimong910
Post Time: 06-14-2013 at 01:09 AM
Text:

I wonder how maya shader can produce the attached image's render.
Inner part is transparent and outter edge getting glow look.
Mostly it would be good for anatomy modleing]]> Thu, 13 Jun 2013 20:09:23 +0000 http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=1111292 Posted By: mobkon
Post Time: 06-12-2013 at 01:14 AM
Text:

Hey all, just a few questions I've been thinking about. I've been studying Maya to be a 3D Generalist for a bit now...I'd say I'm an intermediate user. After some consideration, I'm interested in possibly focusing on lighting to become a Lighting Artist to work in games.

I guess I'm just looking for some advice on where to start making the transition over. Any books to read? Any courses I should take? Lighting is not really a point I've focused on. I know basic lighting in Maya using Mental Ray, but that's about it. What do studios look for in Lighting Artists and at what point should I start applying for jobs? What should my portfolio feature? Is it ok if I use scenes modeled by other people to show off lighting in my portfolio, or is it better for me to create the scenes myself?

I know that's a lot of questions, but any help would be appreciated.

Thanks a bunch]]> Tue, 11 Jun 2013 20:14:09 +0000 http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=1111007 Posted By: brendanfagan
Post Time: 06-10-2013 at 09:48 AM
Text:

How can I get rid of a shadow between a ground plane and an camera image plane sequence?

I don't have the render stat options]]> Mon, 10 Jun 2013 04:48:38 +0000 http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=1111005 Posted By: brendanfagan
Post Time: 06-10-2013 at 09:45 AM
Text:

Lighting and image plane issues Hey Peeps

I have an issue with my lighting setup. I have a ground plane that uses the background color and my matchmove is the camera background. Between the these two I get a harsh shadow line. How can I get rid of it?



I have the GIjoe and three directional lights in the scene.One of the Directional lights cast a shadow, the others dont.







]]> Mon, 10 Jun 2013 04:45:56 +0000 http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=1110964 Posted By: brendanfagan
Post Time: 06-09-2013 at 09:23 PM
Text:

Hey Peeps

I have an issue with my lighting setup. I have a ground plane that uses the background color and my matchmove is the camera background. Betweens the these two I get a harsh shadow line. How can I get rid of it?



I have the GIjoe and three directional lights in the scene.One of the Directional lights cast a shadow, the others dont.

[img=http://imageupload.co.uk/files/zwy5j4tersva1b6d2ma0_thumb.jpg]





[img=http://imageupload.co.uk/files/ajwrgj8gehkqznolcv2x_thumb.jpg]]]> Sun, 09 Jun 2013 16:23:46 +0000 http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=1110882 Posted By: jdtranetzki
Post Time: 06-09-2013 at 11:22 AM
Text:

I have a question for those who have used sIBL and Maya. sIBL works great with exterior shots but since it is an all inclusive solution (and does do a better job handling indirect light), the FG is disabled, and so I'm having trouble incorporating the sIBL solution into the interior. I have a setup that involves a glass building in the foreground. We see through both sides of the bldg to the background. The problem area is the interior; it's is full of noise and is rendering too dark, due to the fact I can't use FG with the sIBL. Is there a work around? Or do I have to set up separate scenes for the int/ext?


I just started getting into lighting in Maya using sIBL and MentalRay. There are a few good tutorials available and one upcoming from Jon Tojek (fxphd mya215) that really gets into the new techniques, specifically using unified sampling. I realize Vray is the standard now, but I haven't gotten around to getting a trial version yet.]]> Sun, 09 Jun 2013 06:22:31 +0000 http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=1110712 Posted By: emlu
Post Time: 06-08-2013 at 12:10 AM
Text:

Hello,
first of all, I doubt this is the appropriate category for my issue - excuse my mistake if this isn't!

I have tried out several rendering softwares with automobiles in search of a satisfying, intuitive solution for photorealitic output. At university, we have been taught to use Autodesk Showcase - but I strongly doubt this is the best solution... that is why I have been testing similar packages (e.g. Bunkspeed Pro, KeyShot, VRED).

Are these softwares even comparable to plug-ins like Vray, which still seems one of the best as far as I understood?

Of course I know the result mostly depends on the user. However, I would like to know how these softwares have developed and which solution is best for satisfying results in a reasonable working time.

Thank You!]]> Fri, 07 Jun 2013 19:10:58 +0000 http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=1110640 Posted By: lincr
Post Time: 06-07-2013 at 11:24 AM
Text:

Hey guys, i am pretty new to Maxwell and was wondering how this poster managed to created this phone camera flash effect.

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthr...60&page=1&pp=15

]]> Fri, 07 Jun 2013 06:24:33 +0000 http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=1110459 Posted By: SoulVFX
Post Time: 06-06-2013 at 09:48 AM
Text:

Hey guys,

I am working on a short film at the moment and there are some scenes where the hole scene should have some of these light beams shining through the trees. And I'm wondering now how to do it. But notice, it has to be in 3D because there are also tracking shots in the scene. So can't be solved with light rays in after effects.



I thought of doing this in Maya. Remodel the important parts of the scene and than using a volumetric light to generate the light rays.

Is this a way to do it? Or have you other suggestions to create this effect?
Please help me out!

Thank you,
Marcel]]> Thu, 06 Jun 2013 04:48:29 +0000 http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=1110402 Posted By: Bhaal
Post Time: 06-05-2013 at 10:24 PM
Text:

Hi

First of all I want to point out that my knowledge in rendering is poor and this could be some basic question for many of You


So the thing is. I want to render out AO and bake it to texture onto second UV channel. I found a tutorial where someone show that I must right click on my model chose Bake -> Assign New Bake and change options to Occlusion etc. After that I need to chose Batch Bake (mental ray) from the RENDERING menu. I understand all of this.

But I found another tutorial where I can assign a Surface Shader to my model , chose mib_amb_occlusion texture and set the settings.

So my question is: what is the difference in these two methodes? Are those the same ? Can I use both or should I use only one of them to bake my AO to texture? Are there any disadvantages /advantages in any of them ?

I would be glad if someone could tell me what is the Bake Set is for if I can use a shader instead.

Cheers,
Lucas]]> Wed, 05 Jun 2013 17:24:27 +0000