Topics

31

[Max] I need help! / A couple questions about reflection color

« on: 2020-12-10, 00:43:01 »

Aside from metals such as gold and other metallic surfaces, is it correct to say that most materials should be set to have a white reflection color?

And if the reflection color is set to white, how is it supposed to behave when a non-white light is reflected off the surface?

32

Hardware / What is your CPU temp while rendering?

« on: 2020-11-17, 22:04:46 »

I'm curious what the temperatures are of other users' CPU while they render. This thread can also discuss cooling as well.

I have a 3900x, and it sits between 73–74 celsius while rendering. When it denoises, it shoots up to the low 80's. Is that normal?

It's being cooled with an Noctua NH-D15. I know the difference between AIO coolers and and air coolers for gaming is minimal. Does anyone know if the same goes for rendering where the CPU is at a high utilization rate for hours at a time?

33

Gallery / Feedback - A courtyard in Nashville, Tennessee

« on: 2020-11-09, 17:28:10 »

I feel as though I'm struggling in the post production phase of my rendering work, and I would appreciate any feedback you may have in regard to ways I may be able to improve based on how you see my renderings and what you believe would look better.

Right now, I do most post production in Camera Raw. In this series, I used the Modern 02 preset with some minor tweaks.

This is a space between two building that is being converted into an enclosed courtyard with a firepit area and dining area.

34

[Max] I need help! / UVW Randomizer unit question

« on: 2020-10-29, 17:08:30 »

In the past, I read that when using the UVW Randomizer with textures that are set to a real world scale, the units in the UVW Randomizer should be whatever your model is set to instead of UV coordinates. so if you had a texture that was 48 inches by 48 inches, the UVW randomizer would be set a range of 0 to 48 instead of 0 to 1.

With the new UVW randomizer, is this still the case?

I'm testing it out now, and it looks like no matter the texture setting (real world scale or not), it uses 0 to 1 as the references to provide randomization.

35

[Max] General Discussion / The new 3000 series graphics cards from Nvidia and GPU rendering

« on: 2020-09-05, 23:09:12 »

As the release date for the new 3000 series GPU's from Nvidia draws near, I wanted to see what the general thoughts are from the Corona community about the future of GPU rendering. Is it known if Corona plans on implementing GPU-based rendering into it's capabilities in the future? Or do you think CPU rendering is here to stay?

I've seen some impressive arch viz from The Boundary that was done in Unreal, so I think that would mean it was GPU based. If real time rendering gains popularity and is able to deliver at a quality comparable to what is achievable in Corona today, then I would say it's future is promising.

I'm curious because I could see investing in a 3000 series card a wise decision if GPU rendering picks up... especially if engines like Corona can take advantage of the RTX capabilities of the cards.

36

[Max] I need help! / Clouds in the Corona Renderer 6 New Sky Model

« on: 2020-09-01, 18:29:09 »

At the :25 mark in the promotional video below for the new sky model, it shows a sky with Corona sun that has some clouds in it. Is that a feature as part of the Corona Sun environment map, or is that a sun that is being used in conjunction with an HDRI?

37

[Max] I need help! / Clamp values of displacement map from Mixer or Bridge

« on: 2020-06-15, 16:55:07 »

I have an issue with displacement maps from Mixer or Bridge where the white/black values of the map are quite close together. This causes the displacement to be quite weak, and I'll have to increase the distance in order to get the desired effect. Ideally, if I could clamp the values such that the darkest pixel was black and lightest pixel white, I could then dial-in the displacement distance more accurately.

Has anyone here noticed this with displacement maps from Mixer/Bridge as well? Perhaps I'm just dealing with them the wrong way. I posted a similar question on the Mixer forums, but I didn't get much help.

38

Gallery / CMU House interiors

« on: 2020-05-20, 23:28:56 »

I want to share interior shots I've been working on. Any criticism is welcome.

39

[Max] I need help! / Getting a shear effect on curtains

« on: 2020-05-14, 06:20:22 »

When trying to get curtains to have the semi-transparent shear appearance, I know you can set the opacity to be slightly below 1, but I’m wondering if there’s a better way to achieve the fuzzy look through the fabric. It’s almost like it needs to look like frosted glass, but I know it wouldn’t be right to adjust the refraction level on it. Adjusting the opacity usually doesn’t look right to me because objects appear too clearly through the fabric.

40

Gallery / Samsung Galaxy Beam

« on: 2020-04-07, 19:32:37 »

Samsung Galaxy Beam
Tools: 3dsMax, Corona, Photoshop

The Samsung Galaxy Beam is a device I designed as part of a competition. It acts as a companion device to aid you in a full 360 degree range around it (similar to an Apple Homepod or Echo Show). It does this by using various motion sensors in conjunction with a wrap-around display. A hemispherical camera at the top also adds the ability to perform multi-person video calling where the device can recognize and record multiple subjects sitting or standing around it. It can also track subjects as they move so you no longer have to worry about being constrained to a 2d frame. The principle concept of the ability to beam data to and from the device regardless of orientation to it can be expounded upon via development to find new ways of using the technology as well.

These are 'hero' shots of the device. I'm more familiar with architectural renderings, so there may be some flaws/broken rules in the images and the way they're composed.

Cheers,
John McWaters

41

[Max] I need help! / CoronaMix vs CoronaComposite & explanation of blend types

« on: 2020-01-30, 16:54:30 »

When is it appropriate to use CoronaMix and when is it appropriate to use CoronaComposite? The only difference I know of now is Mix lets you blend two layers and Composite lets you blend several, but I'm sure it's not that straightforward.

Also, is there anywhere that explains how the Mix Operations work? Are they the same as blending modes? I know some are the same as what you see in Photoshop , and I would assume those work in the same manner, but there are a few others that are unique to Corona.

I appreciate any help!

42

[Max] I need help! / General guidelines to rendering an animation

« on: 2020-01-24, 23:04:47 »

I've rendered only single frame shots, but now I would like to begin rendering animations from Corona.

All I know so far is that the UHD Cache should be set to 'Animation' and you need to set the frames you'd like to render in the 'Common' tab. I'm curious on common strategies in regard to render passes and noise levels. Is one limit (noise level, render passes, render time) used more often than others for animations? What noise levels are generally acceptable for videos?

I'm also in the dark in terms of best formats to output. From my understanding, jpeg is okay for lower quality videos, but what formats are best for high quality videos?

If I want to edit the look of the video, is that best done in the VFB as it saves frames or in software such as After Effects once it's been composed into a video?

I know I'm throwing a lot out there, but I really appreciate any input!

43

[Max] Resolved Bugs / Corona for 3dsMax 2020 - no Corona materials or maps in editor?

« on: 2019-11-11, 15:30:16 »

I recently upgraded to 3dsMax 2020, and I installed Corona for 2020 as well. When I go into the Slate Editor, it doesn't appear that there are any materials or maps related to Corona. I cannot create a Corona material or use any Corona maps because they simply aren't an option.

Should I just re-install, or is there a easier, quicker fix?'

EDIT: They're showing up now...no idea what was going on.

44

Gallery / CMU House

« on: 2019-10-14, 19:42:21 »

I started this project wanting to create some visualizations of the construction phase because the building material (CMU) is important to the design. I was inspired by D-Render's shots of WOJR's House of the Woodland(http://www.d-render.com/wojr-house-of-the-woodland).

This is the first view which is an aerial shot straight down. The setting of the house is within a birch forest. I hope to post more shots from this going forward. This was done in Corona 4.0.

45

[Max] I need help! / I have an idea for the Slate editor...maybe is already exists

« on: 2019-10-01, 18:10:05 »

I do a lot of work in Grasshopper, and I cannot help but think about how similar the GUI is in Grasshopper to that of the Slate material editor. But one thing that has bothered me with the Slate editor is the moment I need to do the same repetitive operation for several maps—whether that be a output adjustment, color correction, etc.

I wish there were a component that you could plug a map and an operation into. Say you have a color correction that you want to apply to several maps. With this component, you could plug one color correction component into several of these components that would also have the corresponding map plugged in as well. I have attached a rough sketch to illustrate this idea.

My hope is that something like this already exists, and I'm just missing it. Is there a good way to apply the same adjustment to several maps?