direland

Hi Eric, Thanks for taking the time to do these renderings. I have been spending time trying to master the art of rendering using the newest IC rendering tools. I have been relying on the legacy rendering engine in the past for most of my work but I definitely want to tap into the higher potential of the advanced stuff. Of late I have been trying to do some renderings using GI but with mediocre results. In the past day or so I have gotten better, but can't seem to match the examples shown here. Can you provide more info in regards to specific settings on exactly how you achieved this look? Although I am constantly going back to review all of the terms and explanations that IC has provided of how adjusting various parameters affects the look of a rendering, it doesn't mean much unless you go through the trial and error of seeing comparative differences between adjustments. That's why I think a comprehensive tutorial using this approach would be a big help. FYI, I have attached the Silvervein Texture Map that I have been using for this component.

Using the tips that you provided Cary plus additional tips picked up here, and a few trial and error attempts, here is the rendering I finally ended up with (see attachment).

OK, I was able to acquire the 3D background image (the mall hrdi), open the metal catalog and apply the chrome onto the desired parts, I found a silvervein map that I like and applied it, and tried to render it using Global Illumination. There were a number of parameters in the dialog boxes to chose from but I have no idea what to select. It appeared that my scene was rendering (it took about 4 minutes) and then....nothing. In other words, there was no corresponding "thumbnail" image representing the file. Also, when I applied the 3D background it seemed to be highly pixelated in the scene- like it was way too large. In your rendering examples how did you use the mall hdri image and still get a black background? Either the standard IC blue or black background is what I would prefer. When I go to render I select: DPI = 300 Units: Inches Width = 11 Height = 8.5 Enable Realistic Shading / Shadows /Antialising (leaving ray tracing unselected) In the advanced settings Image/supersampling/Global Illumination, I have no clue what to do so I did not do anything. Under Options (Export TIFF) I selected 24 bits (full color) & LZW compression Where do I go from here. Thanks!

OK, I admit it. I am have been struggling to learn how to use the advanced rendering engine. I just don't seem to get it. I have looked through the various IC tutorials and understand the individual explanations of various parameters but when I try to put it all together to render something, it comes out looking less than ideal. The problem is, I need to see examples of how adjustments of the various parameters affect the outcome of the rendering. It would be nice to have IC do a series of tutorials using this approach. In the meantime, I am struggling to get a decent rendering of the attached file- but more importantly to know what parameter settings were used to get it. Can anyone help me? The scene file shows a pull-out metal shelf with a silver vein powdercoat finish. The wire portion of the shelf extends out using two drawer slides (with a bright zinc finish- almost chrome). There is a clear plastic face plate at the front of the shelf. So what I am looking for are the settings I need to achieve a nice rendering with reasonably accurate representations of each of the individual surfaces. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 2010_08_20_Store_Shelf_Rendering_Example.ics