color management...

[rfellers]

I've been experimenting with trying to get colors matched between 3ds and Photoshop(linear workflow). I've noticed there are color shifts that clients are getting picky about. In some cases I know there are white balance issues, color bleed, etc., but there seems to be more than that. So I experimented a little and after some research I think I have come up with a workflow (since Max doesn't do any color management, all the management needs to be done in Photoshop):

Photoshop -> Max: In Photoshop, convert texture bitmaps from srgb or Adobe RGB to the monitor's color profile.
Max -> Photoshop: Once image is rendered and you are back in Photoshop, apply the monitor profile, then convert it back to srgb or Adobe RGB (Adobe RGB seems to do a better job - wider gamut).

In tests, this seems to work great. The only 'unwieldy' part is converting all the texture bitmaps to the monitor's color space. It probably is only necessary for color critical textures. Still, it would be great if there was a plugin similar to the 'colorcorrection' map that could do the conversion on the fly, non-destructively.

Is anyone else using a workflow like this? Any advice?

Thanks,
Ryan

[Morne]

Noooooooooooooooo!

In max in your VFB just apply your monitor profile in the LUT, Then max and photoshop will look the same (if you open the EXR that was rendered)

Obviously if you then do any profile changes in photoshop to the EXR, like apply Adobe RGB, it will differ from the VFB

Photoshop -> Max: In Photoshop, convert texture bitmaps from srgb or Adobe RGB to the monitor's color profile.

NEVER do this!

[rfellers]

I never use the VFB controls, so I never noticed they added LUT and ICC controls. My monitor has an .icm profile (Dell 30" - u3011.icm). How do I get it in LUT format? Or are you talking about 'ICC Color Correction'? I tried putting various profiles in ICC Color Correction, but that does not appear to change anything in the frame buffer.

[dlparisi]

I never use the VFB controls, so I never noticed they added LUT and ICC controls. My monitor has an .icm profile (Dell 30" - u3011.icm). How do I get it in LUT format? Or are you talking about 'ICC Color Correction'? I tried putting various profiles in ICC Color Correction, but that does not appear to change anything in the frame buffer.

Exactly. I've never noticed any difference either. I gave up trying.

[Morne]

To enable the ICC profiles in the VFB buffer, click and hold on the sRGB button, a flyout will appear and then just select ICC
Then in the correction controls, go and select your actual *.icc file
it will update your frame buffer

[dlparisi]

Thanks Morne! That did it. I had never seen that referenced or noted anywhere which is why I never saw any effect from loading an ICC. Bummer though that it is basically applying an sRGB curve to the image which is not how I normally work. I'll have to experiment a bit to see if it's worth it saving out to exr.

[Morne]

This is just a preview thing, it doesnt actually do anything to your image file, its on screen only. You can select AdobeRGB or any profile you like. But in this case I would recommended to select your monitor profile and save out to EXR. (because max doesnt read the profile from windows, but vray fixed the issue) Then in photoshop (which reads your monitor profile from windows) your opened exr and vfb will look the same. You can then in photoshop apply AdobeRGB or whatever else you want which in turn will obviously make it look different again to the VFB

[rfellers]

THANK YOU!!! Works great! I have photoshop color management set at the default - I think it applies sRGB IEC619667-2.1 to files that are not color managed (working space). So when I open the exr in photoshop, it looks identical to the VFB. I have noticed the bitmaps out of Photoshop should have either no color management or sRGB IEC... If I take a ProPhoto RGB bitmap into max, it will look different in the VFB. But when I open the result exr in Photoshop and apply ProPhoto RGB profile I can make it look like the original bitmap. See attached...



For the record, the workflow I was initially proposing does work as a hack (in a one-man shop, working on one monitor, and you do lose some gamut), but this is MUCH easier. Morne - I understand why you don't like it as a solution.

[Morne]

Just remember, in your 1st image, even though your ps file is in sRGB space, ps still reads the monitor profile from windows