How do I match manufacturer's materials?

[dylan86.exe]

Just wondering what some people's pipelines are for getting the correct textures/shaders for a client when they have a certain brick material in mind (or any material for that matter!) considering the manufacturer themselves don't give anything good enough to use. Bricks are use a lot where I'm from so I'm trying to really nail getting it right.
Some of the bigger studios say that they can match manufacturer materials with 100% certainty (I've asked)... I'm wondering how!?
As a freelance user / hobbiest, I'm wondering how this subject should be approached when the time comes where a client will ask for a particular material. What can I do?

[MANUEL_MOUSIOL]

What do you get as a sample?

[dylan86.exe]

What do you get as a sample?

No Sample. I'm just asking in general.

[dgruwier]

The process of matching materials materials covers the entire gamut from just matching it by eye using downloaded textures, to sending it to VRay to have it scanned as a VRscan material. You probably need to be more specific about exactly what you have and what you're trying to do if you want better answers.

If it really needs to be specific, but you can't quite fit a brick wall in a parcel for VRay, you could try scanning the wall with photogrammetry, then matching the result by eye.

[dylan86.exe]

The process of matching materials materials covers the entire gamut from just matching it by eye using downloaded textures, to sending it to VRay to have it scanned as a VRscan material. You probably need to be more specific about exactly what you have and what you're trying to do if you want better answers.

If it really needs to be specific, but you can't quite fit a brick wall in a parcel for VRay, you could try scanning the wall with photogrammetry, then matching the result by eye.

Well we'll use the bricks I mentioned as an example.
I obviously can't send 30 different bricks to chaosgroup to be scanned, so what are my options? Do I take a photo of a single brick with correct lighting? do I take a photo of an entire brick wall? Do I scan it? ... But my question isn't limited to bricks. Say a client wants to match a type of tile... what do I do if I don't have supplier images?
It might seem like a noobish question, but my experience hasn't extended to matching supplier materials thus far.

[glorybound]

In my contract, they need to supply high-resolution images for very custom materials. Same goes for things like site photos and aerials.

[dylan86.exe]

In my contract, they need to supply high-resolution images for very custom materials. Same goes for things like site photos and aerials.

See! This is the other thing I wanted to ask because it's something I want to learn. I don't know how to take a photo and put a building in it as if it were new. You know? I mean as if someone wanted a render of their new building on an empty lot, but showing the neighbor buildings around it.. I can't find anything online that teaches you this stuff and it's something I really want to learn. I have a basic idea (using masks and maybe the perspective tool in Max) but that's about as far as my knowledge goes...

[JezUK]

Some of the bigger studios say that they can match manufacturer materials with 100% certainty (I've asked)...

At the risk of getting egg on my face...... I don't believe that claim. They might get close, but not 100%. As that's the challenge we all face in this profession and most of the time we achieve an illusion ("the whole is greater than the sum of its parts".....)

Somehow you have to get their (client) texture onto your computer and into your scene. How ? Scanner, photograph(s), make it from scratch (in Photoshop, Substance Designer etc), or they to provide, etc etc.

I'd start by asking them to provide whatever it is they have.

[MANUEL_MOUSIOL]

100% match. What does that even mean? CGI is a representation of the real world. Even if they photo scan the model and use Vrscans, it is just as close as a representation can get.
Doesnt matter.
It all depends on what sample you have.
If you have the real brick, as JezUK suggested, you can photoscan it, use Dabarti Capture to get normal and glossiness maps and then match by eye, using different (calibrated) HDRis (from HDRIhaven e.g.) to test in different lighting conditions, and also vray lights, which are neutral.
If you only have a picture then you can only eyeball everything while using textures you can make yourself in substance&co. or from the net.
I would talk to the client to see what you can get so you can get your "100% match"

[dylan86.exe]

100% match. What does that even mean? CGI is a representation of the real world. Even if they photo scan the model and use Vrscans, it is just as close as a representation can get.
Doesnt matter.
It all depends on what sample you have.
If you have the real brick, as JezUK suggested, you can photoscan it, use Dabarti Capture to get normal and glossiness maps and then match by eye, using different (calibrated) HDRis (from HDRIhaven e.g.) to test in different lighting conditions, and also vray lights, which are neutral.
If you only have a picture then you can only eyeball everything while using textures you can make yourself in substance&co. or from the net.
I would talk to the client to see what you can get so you can get your "100% match"

I dunno. It's probably marketing talk to win a sale.
By the way, how accurate is photogrammetry? Is it something that can be used for close ups of client products as a replacement to modelling?? If so, I can see a huge benefit for this type of work where something can just be scanned rather than having to be modeled as accurately as possible to match the product..