I can't wrap my head around this.
I've always wanted to create realistic materials in 3D. My approach is simple: if I reproduce every real-world value—light intensity, camera settings, and material colors—as accurately as possible using measured data instead of "eyeballing," then theoretically, the render should look as realistic as possible.
I can manually tweak values to make something look good—that’s not the issue. The real problem arises when working with clients. I want to establish a workflow where I can rely on measured, objective data instead of subjective adjustments.
If I’m not mistaken, not every Pantone or RAL color fits within the sRGB color space. This would mean that some real-world colors cannot be accurately represented in 3D since the base color input for most physically based rendering (PBR) workflows assumes an sRGB format. Additionally, there are many websites that claim to convert RAL to rgb (what i assume is gamma corrected srgb, even though it doesnt say ANYWHERE?) but they dont list how this is measured at all. Is this done scientifically by the makers of ral or pantone? or is it a kid in his bedroom guessing the rgb values by eye on a decently calibrated monitor? I guess we'll never know.... Please give me reliable sources someone...
This leads to my main question:
How do you accurately measure and input real-world colors into a 3D material?
If I have a plastic sample or a painted surface with a specific color, can I use a color meter to measure its sRGB value? And if the measured color falls outside the sRGB gamut, does it simply get clipped? If so, how do professionals handle this issue?
I'm not overly concerned about color clipping itself. My bigger frustration is the lack of reliable, standardized guidance on achieving accurate, repeatable results. I want to build materials using real-world values and then control my renders in the same way a photographer would—by adjusting lighting, exposure, and composition.
I do have an X-Rite ColorChecker at work, but it seems to correct colors relative to white balance rather than providing absolute brightness measurements. What I really need is a way to measure a real-world color, input it into a shader, and trust 100% that the result is scientifically correct. If the render looks bad, it should be because of poor lighting, exposure, or composition—not because the material itself was guessed.
I’m tired of pulling values randomly until someone arbitrarily decides "this looks good." That’s not accuracy—that’s just subjective tweaking.
Are there any experts in this field? Where can I find proper guidance on this?
