AtmoCam for Iray [Commercial]

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  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 15,011

    You might want to try experimenting with adjusting transmitted distance and SSS measure distance. MMm.

     

  • KA1KA1 Posts: 1,012

    Both my October enteries used Atmocam - one thick atmosphere and one with a more subtle settings both equally effective at creating teh required atmosphere in the scenes (at least I think so!!)

  • Marshian said:

    Hi EmotionalOutlet-

     

    Let me know if you have anymore questions, I should be able to answer quickly.

    Hi Marshian,

    It may not work for the particular scene I have in mind as it is an indoor scene though a large prop.  I rendered last night with the figure in the prop and it didn't turn out the way I wanted.  I did try DOF but that didn't work on the first try - I give it another try later.  Or maybe try without colour.  It will be awhile before I get back to it as I'm currently playing with Alessandro's Wolf 2.0.  :)  So many new DS toys and so little time ...

  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462

    I sometimes get notices when a product is used in the gallery. Check this out: https://www.daz3d.com/gallery/images/96388/

  • FishtalesFishtales Posts: 6,119
    edited December 2015

    Playing with AtmoCam again.

    Guardians of Winterhall

    Click on image for full size.

    winterhall-001.jpg
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    Post edited by Fishtales on
  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462

    Thanks for postin a render Fishtales. That model and the style/shape of those windows is an excellent way to show off the atmospheric effect, the rays. Really nice job with how you've angled the light and layered the scene elements to show depth. Alternating (from foreground to background): rays, column, rays, figures, rays, back wall.

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,057

    ...@Fishtales, that's really nice. 

    I have yet to play with this as I've been messing around to see what I can do with G3F and Iray skin settings.

  • FishtalesFishtales Posts: 6,119

    That one came out better than expected :)

    There is a big learning curve but all I did was set it up and then change one setting at a time to see what would happen, Ctrl/z is my friend :) I was trying to get a layer of heavy mist across the floor but with the volume being a sphere it wasn't working but I will be going back to it and try the settings on a cube :)

  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
    edited December 2015

    My product Above The Fog is another option for the effect you described.

    Post edited by Chohole on
  • FishtalesFishtales Posts: 6,119

    Yes, I've seen that. I have also done it with clouds from another product, Winterland I think, and a fog effect from another one which I can't remember the name of :)

    I tend to go through products and look for things that I can use elsewhere and the experiment with AtmoCam was just another thing to try.

  • Marshian said:
    RCTSpanky said:

    I like the promo picture with the lightrays through the cathedral windows. Did this work with coloured windows too (stained glass) and have the rays then different colors?

    Hi RCTSpanky- I wasn't able to figure this out at the time I did the promo. I wanted the effect to be dramatic so I think I just reduced the glass opacity to 0%. I know how to create that effect with 3Delight and it's apparently pretty easy with Reality but with Iray it's going to take a little more tinkering. 

    would One way to do it would be to make a glass plate of Iray glass material out of a plane with the color map of the window and put it on the out side and keep the actual window glass settings  set to zero, it should then work like a gobo in a theatre light? 

  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462

    The gobo route does work. I've experimented with this quite a bit lately. Just need to hide it from the camera.

  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 15,011
    Also, if you want more control over what does or does not use volume, consider doing multiple passes and layer. Like, one pass with one light and volume, then a second pass with other lights and volume hidden.
  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 15,011
    (You can do that more elegantly with canvasses and nodes, but it might be overkill)
  • KA1 said:

     

    Somebody looks a bit upset about something...

  • posecastposecast Posts: 386

    Regarding the grain...have you guys ever tried using a noise reduction plugin in photoshop for iray renders? It would seem to reduce the rendering time somewhat. I use neat video in after effects and it works well up to 4k images.

  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462

    Its a good idea and I have found some success with it. I have an action saved for this that works pretty well. It can reduce some detail so I use the history brush to bring some of that back in.

  • I apologize for the newb question, but would one be able to use this utility to create a depth map via Iray?

  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
    Yes. It helps create depth in the way that fog or Haze does where objects that recede in space become lighter and have less detail, more like silhouettes. Let me know if you have anymore questions

    I apologize for the newb question, but would one be able to use this utility to create a depth map via Iray?

  • I just grabbed it and found that I could create beautiful depth maps by setting the size of the atmosphere prop properly, setting all of the scene surfaces to black and turning all of the lights off, and giving the environment a pure white map to work with.  It's a little bit on the grainy side, but I am going to try the tips and tricks mentioned in this thread next. :)  This has already done so much to save my sanity, thank you so much!!!!

  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
    edited July 2016
    So good to hear! For grain... look to your default Iray render settings. You might want to lower the render time.

    I just grabbed it and found that I could create beautiful depth maps by setting the size of the atmosphere prop properly, setting all of the scene surfaces to black and turning all of the lights off, and giving the environment a pure white map to work with.  It's a little bit on the grainy side, but I am going to try the tips and tricks mentioned in this thread next. :)  This has already done so much to save my sanity, thank you so much!!!!

    Post edited by Marshian on
  • isidornisidorn Posts: 1,601

    Seeing this thread still alive and kicking I might as well drop by to give some renewed praise for the AtmoCam. I've used it in several renders lately and I've found myself thinking "why don't I use this more often?"

    I know you vendors get notifications when credited in the gallery so you'll find them there sooner or later, and you've already given me a comment on one of them, but I'll still share the two I'm most pleased with.

    A funny thing is, that while the sunny render took over 3½ days to render, the moonshine one was finished in 3 hours. So that renders are taking time is definitely not only AtmoCam's fault, if anyone was thinking that.

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,057

    ...you must be rendering on the CPU.

    Indoor shots with light from outside soruces can take a while.

  • TimmothTimmoth Posts: 108
    Marshian said:

    Here are some additional instructions for a basic set up:

    • Load the camera first and it will have the AtmoVolume prop parented to it.
    • Settings like color and density are applied to the prop and not the camera.
    • If you already have a camera loaded in the scene you can copy it and paste the AtmoCam camera to it's location and (other settings will copy as well). This will put the AtmoVolume prop in a good starting place, or it may be exactly right. Use AuxViewport to test it.

    From there….

    • Viewing the AtmoCam and the AtmoVolume prop from a distance using DrawStyle “Hidden Line” is the ideal way to set the atmosphere so it starts where you want it in the scene. You can control where the effect starts and stops by transitioning the prop and/or by scaling it’s node (the gizmo with the three arrows). The gray scale slider in Parameters tab will also scale the prop. I have adjusted the center node so that the prop scales away from the camera instead of from the center of the sphere.
    • Using the camera that loads with the prop is not required for the effect to work but whichever camera or perspective view you use - it needs to be outside the AtmoVolume sphere to see the fog, haze, etc..

    In the AtmoCam for Iray folder/smart tab you’ll find and an HDR environment and a photometric light. These are not needed for the camera to work. They provide a quick set up by applying a gray background render setting and a light that can be used to create “God Rays”.

    You may find it helpful to simply use a collection of primitives in a test scene to get a feel for how the camera works. Place the primitives at different distances from the camera to play with depth.

    Okay, I've set things up as close as I can to this quote.

    The pillars are primitive cylinders 10m high and 5m apart, but no ground plane - and M7 for scale reference.

    I've set the fog to medium, and the Atmo Volume colour to Golden, plus applied the HDR and loaded the Photometric light in it's default position (pointing up from below...)

    What's next to get some God Rays happening? :)

    I've been playing around with the Photometric light's position, and adding other lights, ground plane, etc, but no luck so far.

    depth test2.png
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  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462

    Thank you isidorn! I'm still using it and expriementing. Its interesting that its really working well when you dont notice it, just for normal atmosphere/haze on light settings. It just creates a nice subtle realism. 

    ....and kyoto kid- I've noticed this too especially when you have light bouncing around inside a room. Its the bounce light that needs longer renders to reduce grain.

    I found this default render setting very helpful even if you reduce the time back down to two hours (the attached screenshot below will show you where it is). 

    Iray Advanced Render Settings.png
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  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 15,011

    Going to remind people that for god rays it can be INCREDIBLY useful to do at least two renders/canvasses, one with direct light and fog, one with other light and no fog, then layer.

    Otherwise it can be hard to prevent the ambient light from turning everything to soup AND have distinct rays.

     

  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462

    Yes Will! Lately I've been experimenting with the size of the atmo prop to reduce this burnout- only making it as big as it needs to be.

  • TimmothTimmoth Posts: 108
    edited July 2016

    Here's one I made, but, aside from god-rays, I'm also wondering how to get that watery light ripple effect on the ground and hills, as seen in the atmo-cam promo...?

    Underwater3.png
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    Post edited by Timmoth on
  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
    Will, there is a plane parented with a spotlight included with Ultruemarine Ocean that has the ripple map. Its what I used.
  • Well I feel kinda dumb as try as I might all I've come up with this is:

    I've tried my best to follow the instructions poeple have laid out here but is there a youtube demo I can follow along with click by click? Thanks

     

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