Requesting Tips on Lights Inside an Object

#1

Hey Guys! Just registered today!

So I’m caught in quite a bind. I’m attempting to light up a chef’s hat from the inside, so you can see the outlines and glow of the bulb, while the hat still retains some of its definition. I’ve been working on this for about a week now, and I’m still having tons or troubles trying to get this quite right. I’ve posted an image of what the reference hat ought to look like (it’s 2D), along with what I have thus far. I’m not so concerned with the lighting of the actual hat just yet, but if there are other tips anybody could give me, that would be splendid!

In terms of scene information, the hat is a simple Lambert with just a dash of transparency, so one may see through the hat to the light bulb. The light bulb is a phongE with some slight Incandescence and glow. Inside the bulb there is another small sphere with another phongE, only white on its glow. The scene consists of a backdrop, three area lights, and a directional for just a touch of light. I am rendering in Menal Ray with FG(128 Accuracy). Anything else I left out?

#2

I think it’s looking pretty good!

The biggest difference I can see apart from the post work, is that the original hat has more of a satin finish rather than just a plain cloth/diffuse look. Given that you are using area lights which aren’t going to give you nice shiny highlights too easily, you might consider using a spotlight or two with ‘emit diffuse’ turned off to just add highlights. You are using PhongE though so you will need make sure the spec highlights are on for the shader.

The approach I’m describing is considered less desirable these days because it’s not very physically accurate but for this case I don’t see why not. You will find most people around here use the Mia materials for 99% of their work (me included) because they are more realistically set up. But given you are so close, it’s fine to stick to your approach.

The blue logo in your render has become quite washed out, are you using a lens shader or the ‘colour management’ system to add a gamma correction? It looks like you may need to un-gamma your hat shader. Or maybe you’ll just add the logo on in post anyway. :wink:

#3

Off to a good start. One thing I’d recommend is using translucency instead of as much transparency and possibly even using an misss material (Sub surface scattering). Translucency simulates light scattering through an object but it is not as accurate as sub surface scattering.

There’s lots of information on the forums or a google search on translucency or sub-surface scattering, so a simple search should be able to help you out now that you know what you’re looking for.

Cheers!

#4

Thanks guys! I most certainly blanked out on the Gamma Correct for the logo…after just watching a series on linear work flow! I’ll give these suggestions a shot the next time I get to sit down with the silly ole hat!

#5

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.