Lighting 3ds Max 2010

#1

Hey,

This is my first time posting, but I have been reviewing these forums for several years now. I have been an expo/exhibit designer for 4+ years now and most of my work has been done using various versions of 3ds max.

My question is this, for a long time now, I have wanted to use mental ray as my main rendering engine. The problem I keep facing is one of 2 things, either A. the lighting is to dark…almost as if there is a dark wash in my scene, or B. the lighting itself is inconstant…

I was hoping someone knew of a book I could purchase that would better explain the various lighting techniques while using mental ray. I have 0 formal training when it comes to using 3ds max as I have literally been picking up rendering programs since I started my career, so it would be very helpful if you could provide “beginner, intermediate, expert” progression.

I can create some amazing stuff with scanline…but I don’t want to get stuck here in my career…I would like to progress to the next level and still be able to crank out renderings like I currently do with scanline.

Thanks in advance for your help,
I3lind

#2

Hi :slight_smile:

I found these two books to be very helpful:

“Mastering mental ray” by Jennifer O’Connor
“Realistic Architectural Visualization with 3ds Max and mental ray (2nd Edition)” by Roger Cusson and Jamie Cardoso

Both cover a variety of lighting methods in detail and are easy to follow (step by step descriptions etc.). Since you’re familiar with 3dsmax, I don’t think you would have any trouble following the tutorials in either of them. “Mastering mental ray” seemed to be slightly more up to date as it also covers topics such as importons and irradiance particles.

#3

Thanks this looks like it will help tons! If you have any other suggestions please feel free!

#4

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.