Rendering flat stainless steel

[ior=0]

Learn everything Neil has to say in his tuts...they are very well observed and explained.
http://www.neilblevins.com/cg_educat..._education.htm

also follow and learn from another forum member that does a great job of sharing his experience:
http://www.peterguthrie.net/blog/

and don't forget to sign up to Grant Warwicks material madness and read the longest thread on the forum (I think!?!)
http://forums.chaosgroup.com/showthr...l-Ideas-Needed
http://www.grantwarwick.net/mastering-vraynew-page/

another yet another member of the forum you can learn a lot from is Bertrand:
http://www.bbb3viz.com/

there are plenty more of equal merit and skill on this forum but these should keep you busy for a while and really help with materials and all things Vray ...

[Drachen]

there are plenty more of equal merit and skill on this forum but these should keep you busy for a while and really help with materials and all things Vray ...

Simon, thanks, I actually have ready Grants "Ideas Needed" thread from start to finish. There were so many GREAT nuggets in there! That thread had already pointed me to Peter Guthrie's blog. I'd seen Bertrand's website, but hadn't had a chance to read it all yet.

[Drachen]

Hey everyone, got some time away from poster graphics for my clients convention, and tweaked a few things in my render scene and material settings.

[Drachen]

Well I had to dust off this thread with some updates as well as new questions. I made some excellent progress on creating a layered shader with Vray Blend. I used Grant Warwicks method of building the shader layers and advice from Neil for the distortion in the reflection. You can see rendered example here. You can also download the shader from this blog post

With the release of 3.10.02 I wanted to experiment with the new GGX BRDF model for my stainless steel. It looks beautiful, but there were some drawbacks. I took one of the layers from my Vray BLend Material and changed the Refl Glossines to 0.6 and changed the BRDF to GGX. The highlights look great, but there is TONS of black, and yes "Fix Dark Glossy Edges" is checked. I was able to eliminate the black from the reflection, but I had to reduce the amount of bump used for distortion. I still think it’s a big improvement, but I’d really like to get the wobbly distortion back.


I’d love to hear feedback on the shader itself, and/or suggestions about the new GGX shader.
Regards,
Lee

[fraggle]

That's a good move but keep in mind that there is no true shader like there is no true photography. ALl depends on what you want to highlight. You can emphases the technical aspect or the poetical one, all depends what you want to achieve.
http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-1538...tVo2CmdWw-2-33
This one is out of reality for example, but the stainless steel is enhanced on photoshop. It's a pure packshot.
http://blog.toyokitchen.co.jp/en/new...3Dsink_02.html
This one, bring life to a boring technical domestic product.
So just bear in mind, the only true shader is the one that fit your goal!

[fraggle]

The black hole on GGX BRDF is a bug and vlado said that it will take some time to fix it.

Well I had to dust off this thread with some updates as well as new questions. I made some excellent progress on creating a layered shader with Vray Blend. I used Grant Warwicks method of building the shader layers and advice from Neil for the distortion in the reflection. You can see rendered example here. [ATTACH=CONFIG]22187[/ATTACH] You can also download the shader from this blog post

With the release of 3.10.02 I wanted to experiment with the new GGX BRDF model for my stainless steel. It looks beautiful, but there were some drawbacks. I took one of the layers from my Vray BLend Material and changed the Refl Glossines to 0.6 and changed the BRDF to GGX. The highlights look great, but there is TONS of black, and yes "Fix Dark Glossy Edges" is checked. I was able to eliminate the black from the reflection, but I had to reduce the amount of bump used for distortion. I still think it’s a big improvement, but I’d really like to get the wobbly distortion back.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]22188[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]22189[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]22190[/ATTACH]

I’d love to hear feedback on the shader itself, and/or suggestions about the new GGX shader.
Regards,
Lee