House

[charleyc]

Here is one of many houses we did recently. This is a test to migrate from a standard lights setup to a full GI. So far this (GI) method is comming in at twice the render times when irradiance maps are calc'ed and about half the render time after that.
The pass settings are lower then usual here, but I thought I would post anyway.

Linderoth Associates Inc.
Charley Carlat

[Dynedain]

not bad...if you dont mind sharing, what was your methodology on those roof tiles?

[charleyc]

Thanks

The rooftile is all geometry.



A guy that used to work here and myself wrote a series of scripts that applies this in anywhere from 1-10 min depending on the complexity of the roof and whether or not it is Flat tile or S tile. It then has a 3 part Multisub mat that is randomly assigned to the tiles. This material will actually have to be revamped with the GI as it takes some tweaking to look right and even then it is failing at high res.

[cocolas]

the vegetation looks "pasted" in......the shadows for that need to be more dense/dark to ground the plants in the picture.....right now they feel like floating a bit.....

general lighting is pretty good...like the stucco on the main walls and the limestone...same w/ the tiles.

nice work



paul.

[RErender]

Looks nice I love all the displacement, maybe the sun could be a bit stronger

[Matt_3D]

Very nice render

Everything fits nicely together, just one thing that pops out is the windows. They are too reflective. It would be awesome to see inside a little.

-Matt

[charleyc]

Thanks for the comments.
I cannot take all the credit as I have a couple other guys here doing this with me...although I guess I did do everything on this particular house (model, texture, light). But I can take all the credit for the mistakes as I am supposed to be the one in charge
My biggest problem right now is getting the covered (entry way) areas light enough without blowing out the direct light areas. We have all the materials set for the other lighting setup. I will no doubt have to change it all again so that I can increase the sun and still have the light fill in the darker areas. Since all the plants (most all anyway) have LOTS of opacity mapping, the render times die if I get more then 10 or so bounces. Right now it is taking about 30 min to calc a 1024x512 irradiance map and then 7 or so min to render at twice that res. Speed is essential here (as it is in all prodution) since we have to produce about 15 or so of these types of images in about 2 weeks each time we get one of these jobs.

Increasing the global light (skylight) is what is washing out the plant shadows but it gets too dark in places otherwise. Fill lights are an option, but they take more tweaking and if done improperly will detract from the image.
As I mentioned this is a test. I will most likely have to alter our mats for GI. We have several hundred stucco color maps and almost as many stone, roof, and wood maps that will need adjusted (thank God for maxscript).

The windows on most higher end houses here in Phoenix have a reflective tint on them to lower the heat. Which is good because there is nothing inside to see. But they could always use some tweaking. I am working on a script that will populate the windows with curtains and blinds though.
sometimes we do interiors as well, and we want to put together an evening/night exterior shot with VRay then.

And about the displacement. We need to make adjustments to that as well (stone maps) but I LOVE it. I want it on everything. I usually put it everywhere (rocks, roof, street, concrete...) until the renders start to crash and then pull back. Well done displacement seems the best way to increase quality in a high res render.

Here are a couple other images that we recently did as well. Not the best, but getting there.
Disclaimer...time is an enemy when incorporating new production methods

Even put displacement on curbs, asphault and paint stripe (hard to see at this res, but looks great at high res)

Image the property of Linderoth Associates Inc.

This was an early GI render that will probably (hopefully) be tweaked before it is sent off

Image the property of Linderoth Associates Inc.

[cmejia]

great images! the vegetation looks so real where did you get tose from is it bionatic or xfrog?

[Dynedain]

you're doing a good job at getting that RPC stuff in cleanly

you wouldn't by any chance be willing to make that tile script publicly available would you?

[charleyc]

The company wont allow the scripts to be posted...sorry. Dynedain, I can send you privatly a detailed explination of how it works. It is fairly simple in concept. If you are not currently using Maxscript, I strongly encourage you to. It is faily easy to grasp and the power can make the differnce in making money on a job or not.

Actually the plants are all full 3d models in the scenes. I modelled them myself. They are due for an overhaul as most of them were created using the R4 particles and I can get more realistic branching and leave structures with PFlow.

[Dman3d]

How is your glass setup, reflections look nice, great work! Really love to
see that script too, been looking for something to make roofs easier.
Could you send me info on how it works? I would like to learn more
about MAXScript, if you can, dman3d@thinkingpost.com

[TRGraphics]

Sorry , double post

[TRGraphics]

charleyc

If you don't mind, I would love to see a description of the script as well. I'm just starting to learn maxscript and this would be a great help. Thanks!

Tony

trgraphics@direcway.com

[__Leo__]

Hey Charley...

Nice images..

Is it possible to see more images??

Thanx ..

Leo

[shytigercp]

re

How long did it take you to do that top image?...or on the average how long does it take you to do residetial models like that. The reason I'm asking is that I use to do images like this awhile back for a company over the net (I was desperate at the time). I didn't use GI though because he wanted his images to look like max default SL images. I guess that's why he paid lower "India" type rates. Anderson Promotions or anderson renderings is the name...just one of the companies that exploits folks like us.