Working in Non-Linear Space

[flipside]

That's the same complaint people have when using it on interiors too. Normally if you adjust your colors and lighting properly, it should look ok.

[ene.xis]

well...hope my exteriors aren t so crappy then....
hehehe...yeah!...since the switch to LWF, i use it in all work here, no exception....just have to tweak....tweak-tweak-tweak....usual workflow

[BBullo]

Nice work Craig, thanks for sharing.

Yea, its a shame tha all your stuff is under non-disclosure. Its really excellent work. Could you post "portions" of your renderings showing examples each workflow?

You need to talk to Scott about that whole NDA thing......

[3ddesign]

Could you post "portions" of your renderings showing examples each workflow?

Bret,

Thanks for backing me up. When i was writing that long winded tut, I knew people would ask for examples.

Actually I've gotten permission (I think) to post a project that's already been constructed and photos published. While not done entirely with the methods I've outlined above, it is as close as I can come up with at the moment. I'll post it later today after running it by Bill.

Craig

[jow]

@flipside,CCS
im afraid so! For interiors i use LWF and it works a treat, but exteriors just cant get it to look right The main thing is like DaForce said, all washed out and the shadows are too light (no contrast).

The thing is id like to get it to work, its a great method. Maybe i need to trawl over the 15 odd pages on the subject again....

Spanner in the works time!!!,ive tried this method that 3ddesign describes here, and i must say it works rather well for exteriors....

[flipside]

Have you tried adjusting your sun/sky ratio? For more contrast I would say brighten up your sun and lower the skylight multiplier a lot. Since the 2.2 gamma brightens up the mid grey a lot, you can get away with a lot less strong skylight.

I'll do some tests too, as I haven't really used it for strictly arch viz stuff.

[jujubee]

I'm not trying to attack anyone so I hope you didn't get that impression. I'm just trying to determine why you had such 'bad' results and looking to reproduce potential inaccuracy/accuracy. I'm very curious as to your method. If it's better - hell, I'll switch over...

[ene.xis]

i really can t figure out what s the prob with exteriors and LWF
and i m not attackin no one or tryin to make any statment here...i just get satisfactory results with the same workflow in both ext and int works...

no PS:

[jujubee]

It's pretty hard to tell from that image.

[3ddesign]

The images below show the lighting accuracy I achieve with my workflow. The first image is the 3D rendering right out of Viz with only a minor softening blend in PhotoShop. The second image is the photo our photographer took of the built space. He had my image to match viewpoint (almost, my camera was actually inside a wall). He said that the rendering matched the lighting and mood of the space almost exactly. This renering was done before I figured out how to calibrate my scanner so the materials aren't as accurate as I am getting now. I'll try to post some more recent images.

Craig

[TRGraphics]

I tried setting up MAX with 2.2 gamma and man is it blown out. I followed you quide for monitor calibration and set up PS as suggested.

If I don't change the gamma in MAX the results are very close to what I see in PS when I bring in the render and apply the RGB1998 color settings.

What am I doing wrong here. I didn't get into the whole LWF so I'm new at all this, unfortunetly. I need to be able to send files that our new printer vendor can print from without making a lot of changes to the image. He is complaing about an oversaturation of reds so I need to do something. Since changing PS settings, I was using srgb, I can see the reds tints as he suggests.

What do I need to know from him about the way he has PS set up?

[3ddesign]

If you change your gamma settings on an existing project, you'll get blown out renderings. This is because you've increased your lighting levels to match your old monitor and output configuration. I wouldn't make these changes on any important projects until you've done some experimenting and feel comfortable with the workflow.

As for printing, you need to know what printer he is using and the application he is printing from. You need to know if he needs RGB or CMYK files and if he has any printer profiles that he uses.

Hope this helps.

Craig

[TRGraphics]

Thanks Craig. This thread is a big help.

I assume that I will need to rework all my textures for the new 2.2 gamma in MAX. I need to change them anyway for the PS settings but I guess I also need to take into acount the new setting in MAX.

I tested on a new furniture piece with textures I had redone for the PS change but it still looks blown out. I guess I need to also rethink my light setups as well.

Thanks again.

Tony

[dibbers]

When I alter the gamma to 2.2, everything (existing models and maps) looks washed out, so presumably you have to start a new approch to compensate by altering your lighting and maps.

[dapeter]

Just as an FYI, currently there's a linear workflow discussion going on on the Fusion mailing list. The AIM-DTP website is evidentally full of misinformation and the way they calibrate the monitor isn't entirely correct.

I think the only trusted and repeatable way to set up is hardware calibration.