How to use Linear Workflow in Vray ?? Advantages of Liner Workflow in 3D Rendering

This has been the subject of discussions on many forums over recent years. I realized that there were all sorts of tutorials offering often conflicting information regarding the process. This is not the only way, just my way. I would like to thank my mates Ben Cowell and Phil Shoebottom for offering some clarity on a few points.

What is "Linear Workflow"?

Look at Fig.01. What is the difference between the image on the left and the image on the right? The truth is; nothing at all, except the way your monitor is showing you the image.

Fig. 01

V-Ray and 3ds Max process the data in which to make an image in "linear space", also known as Gamma 1.0, but by default all monitors show you the image with a Gamma of 2.2 (sRGB), which basically makes the image look dark, although it actually isn't dark at all. The program just assumes that you are viewing the image with Gamma set to 1.0, instead of 2.2, until you tell it otherwise.

Unfortunately this has always been the case with 3D rendering, which means that many artists who don't know about linear workflow learn to light scenes by using a handful of tricks to try and get results you'd expect in real life. Things like adding more lights, boosting the Environment/GI levels to incredibly high values, adding some ambient lights with shadows turned off, etc. This all adds to the amount of calculations being made by the renderer for no real reason, as all of the data is in fact already there, providing you tell the program to show it to you correctly.

Process of making Interior Scene

Hi all! Today I would like to present how to setup an interior scene. As usual, before we begin, we change units to cm as shown on the screens below.

I always use centimeters as my main units so I can easier control objects proportions. I also change Gamma value to 2.2 (you can find this setting in Customize / preferences dialog). This value ensures that we will work with linear workflow, so the renders will be physically precise and colors will be accurate.

Studio Rendering with 3ds Max and Vray

Where 3d product visualization is concerned, one of the most important techniques for achieving realistic high quality images, is your ability to create studio renders. In this detailed 4 part tutorial you will learn every step necessary to create your own high quality studio renders with Vray and 3ds Max.

This tutorial is divided in 4 parts: Scene setup, materials, lighting, and rendering. In the first part, we will set up the scene, create a base, and import our models, in the second part, we will be assigning materials and using Vray lights to light our scene, and in the last part, we will adjust the Vray settings for the final render.

Note: This is a lighting and rendering tutorial. You will need to supply your own model in order to follow along.

Click on Image to Open a High Rez Version

Linear Workflow in V-Ray for 3ds Max for Interior Design

HDRI Exterior lighting with Vray

An outline of the techniques used for rendering an exterior scene using Autodesk 3ds Max and Chaos Group Vray. A HDR image will be used to light and reflect the environment and VraySun as the direct light source for a typical sunny day scene.

HDRI stands for high-dynamic-range imaging, which is a 32bit float image format that allows a greater dynamic range of luminance between the lightest and darkest areas of an image.

A HDR image holds enough information to light a scene, where as images such as JPEGs do not hold enough information to light a scene successfully. HDR images can produce good results, but the intensity is still not enough to give realistic hard shadows that would come from the sun. By adding in VraySun as a direct light source, the two methods combined will allow for easy control over time of day and various types of weather conditions.

Before I start, I would like to point out that I will be using a linear workflow with a gamma 2.2 setup within 3ds Max and Vray. I strongly recommend setting this up as it will improve many areas within your workflow. You can find an easy to follow, step by step guide here. This tutorial will not go through the Vray render settings, but you can find a detailed explanation of how to set up the Vray renderer here.

Finding the right HDR image

The choice for time of day and weather conditions will determine what HDR image is required. Within this tutorial it will be a sunny midday HDR image with minimal cloud which you can purchase and download yourself from here. There are various shapes and sizes of HDR images out there on the web. You will need to make sure that the HDR image is a 360 degree spherical image and the higher the resolution the better. When a spherical HDR image has been applied as an environment, Autodesk 3ds Max wraps the HDR image around a sphere. None spherical HDR images will not wrap around the sphere correctly and produce incorrect results. Resolution matters only if you are planning to use the HDR image as a back plate. If the HDR image is only to be used to light a scene, you can get away with a much smaller resolution.

You would want a HDR image that has maximum sky and a hint of a horizon. Typically a HDR image is pure black under the horizon and therefore will not cast any light. In theory it will also be covered up by geometry.

Hot to Fix Light Leaks & Color Bleeding with Vray ?

In this Tutorial “Mr. Alex” for V-Ray Guide shows How to use VRayOverrideMtl  while rendering in V-Ray. It can fix reflections, refraction, shadows and GI of your original object. For more information & latest Tutorial visit V-Ray Guide.

Making a jQuery Countdown Timer

When building a coming soon or event page, you find yourself in search for a good way to display the remaining time. A countdown gives the feel of urgency, and combined with an email field will yield more signups for your newsletter.

Today we are going to build a neat jQuery plugin for displaying a countdown timer. It will show the remaining days, hours, minutes and seconds to your event, as well as an animated updates on every second. Note: the plugin is also available on Github.