Better Area Lights

[fused]

I'd make the gradient in photoshop and apply it in the transparency channel of a material.

 

[Innerdreamrecords]

I'd make the gradient in photoshop and apply it in the transparency channel of a material.

Hey, it's the long way around but if it works I'm in!

Thanks for all the help. Max is sooo expensive but I'll have to get it someday if I continue doing Arch viz.

 

[fused]

I trained on 3D Studio for six years, it's an excellent app but I have to say dollar for dollar Cheetah is amazing. If you can find creative solutions to so problems Cheetah really is worth using.

 

[Innerdreamrecords]

I trained on 3D Studio for six years, it's an excellent app but I have to say dollar for dollar Cheetah is amazing. If you can find creative solutions to so problems Cheetah really is worth using.

I really do like Cheetah I just wish it had a little more here and there. The first program I learned was C4D then Max. What I really like about Max is the drawing tools and align tools for making Architectural elements. Though importing from SU has worked okay. I'll be curious to get a file from an Architect in another format and see what happens when I bring it into Cheetah.

 

[luke Bocchinelli]

I take it you mean having an object (e.g. the light bulb) appear to be where the light comes from? The radiosity method (for which I would recommend using a high-intensity SolidColor material rather than the emission property) definitely gives the most realistic effect, since the surface is actually giving off light.

But if you don't want to use radiosity, there's a much simpler option. Put a light inside the bulb object. Now, add a Render tag to the bulb object and set it so it does not cast or receive shadows (or caustics or radiosity, for good measure). Now the rays of the light inside will pass right through the bulb. Since light's not actually interacting with the surface of the bulb, you'll want to make it bright with either a SolidColor, or with a Material with full emission.

Here's a quick example, hope it helps:

Spot on

I get the same results

Regards

Luke

 

[luke Bocchinelli]

I really do like Cheetah I just wish it had a little more here and there. The first program I learned was C4D then Max. What I really like about Max is the drawing tools and align tools for making Architectural elements. Though importing from SU has worked okay. I'll be curious to get a file from an Architect in another format and see what happens when I bring it into Cheetah.

It works fine if the original model has been properly prepared in their program.

The basic fact is that Architects don't think like 3D artists and prepare their models in a diferent fashion, so there is a lot of work in adjusting the original model.

And, building models for 3D rendering is completly different to building models for 2d / 3d CAD Architecture.

Trial an error is key here to getting a good result and once you find a solution that works for you, you expliot it.

Like this image could not have been translated directly by an Architect's program as it has been manipilated in Cheetah to have gaps and glass thickness etc.

So to answer your question, you pretty much have to build it from scracth.

Regards

luke



Regards

Luke

 

[Innerdreamrecords]

Cool rendering/shot there Luke. I'll have to do some more research as to what I should ask for in terms of a file from the Architect. Thanks for the info.

 

[Martin]

I NEED area lights that cast highlights and reflections like real area lights, not like a point light. Right now, area lights in C3D are largely useless to me.

I tend to use area lights to cast gradients of light across surfaces. I'm a photographer, and I am used to that effect from real-life softboxes. Until this is added in C3D I will continue using Blender/YafRay/indigo for this purpose, unfortunately.

Such area lights will be in v4.2. They will also generate much better results in comparable time.

1st image: Cheetah3D 4.1
2nd image: Cheetah3D 4.2
3rd image: Cheetah3D 4.2 + Gamma correction
4th image: Scene in OpenGL preview

Both scenes took 13sec to render.


Bye,
Martin

 

[fused]

Oh my lord, that is so sweet.

Andrew

 

[TimD]

Nnnnnniiice....

Any word on shadow maps for other types of light sources?

 

[squareitround]

True area lights and Space Navigator support. I'm looking forward to 4.2! :smile:

 

[DaVinci]

True area lights and Space Navigator support. I'm looking forward to 4.2! :smile:

Oh yeah! My SN is already on the way!

 

[Martin]

Any word on shadow maps for other types of light sources?

Cheetah3D doesn't support shadow maps at all. In Cheetah3D 1.x I had shadow maps but I removed them since they caused more problems than they solved. Shadow maps are neither physically correct nor very robust. They are also useless if you have many overlapping transparent objects.

But v4.2 will offer raytraced soft shadows for point lights.:wink:

Bye,
Martin