under water surface , how to set it up properly?

[len_xie]

the camera is moving from underwater to above the water surface, I have to use 2 exact same water surface with different normal direction(reverse node), one slightly offset upward to another, using 2 different water material, one set ior to 1.333, the other one set refraction ior to 0.75 but reflection ior to something above 1, kind of working, but is there a more accurate and straight forward way to do this?

[viktor_angelov]

Hello len_xie

V-Ray 6 allows you to create and render an amazing Ocean texture with optimized Ocean Spectra workflow. More about it you could learn here: https://docs.chaos.com/display/VRAYH.../Ocean+Spectra

You could also download the scenes and explore them yourself.

Additionally we have V-Ray Water texture to improve the surface of your Ocean: https://docs.chaos.com/display/VRAYHOUDINI/V-Ray+Water

Finally, I would advise to improve the lighting in your scene. Currently it's a bit dark and a lot of the great details are lost.

[len_xie]

viktor_angelov thanks for the advice, could you share some info about under water setup, I could not get the IOR right when camera is moving from under water to above water, I have to use 2 seperate water surface with 2 different material and I don't think this is the right way to do it.

[viktor_angelov]

Hi len_xie

I do not fully understand what I could advise on. Could you be more specific on whether you need assistance on the texture, or the displacement or a specific frame perhaps? A screenshot pointing out the issue and a reference image with the result you aim for would be helpful.

[len_xie]

viktor_angelov , sorry for the confusion, my question is about how to make the water surface refract correctly, both when viewed under it and above it, the attached pictures are what I think is correct, I can't achive it using a single water surface and one material, the "under_water_surface_simple" scene contains 4 different setup, with a camera viewed form above and below water surface, but all of them have some down side, some look right above some look right below, but not at the same time.

[ronald_a]

Why not render it with a mask and render two setups and comp them together? Besides the additional rendertime this seems to be the most straight forward way.

[viktor_angelov]

Hi len_xie

What I would suggest first is focusing on the Displacement as the reference photos you have provided have long distinguished waves. You can achieve that by using V-Ray Water as suggested above: https://docs.chaos.com/display/VRAYHOUDINI/V-Ray+Water

Secondly, I would make sure the lighting is correct so it reflects under the right angle underlining the depth of the waves.

Having the set-up you have come up with gives you more control over the outcome so there is no issue keeping it. Once the shapes are done, you can easily adjust the colors to make it as close to the reference images as possible.