Realistic rendering

larszzz · 3 Oct 2014, 16:20

Hi guys,

I have maybe a vague question, but i'm asking it anyway...
I'm learning more and more in using sketchup en vray, but i have never really a realistic result in my opinion. I'll post here my last render. I'm happy with the result but it's not realistic at all.

Does anyone have tips for more realistic rendering? For example; how do i increase my quality? Is it only my output size?

thanks,

Lars

rspierenburg · 3 Oct 2014, 17:51

I think this is a great start for a rendering. To make it more realistic you need to increase the details. For example, the house, model it like it would be built, so if its brick there will be more than likely a sill under the windows, perhaps some flashing on the top of the terrace wall. The roof wouldn't connect to the walls like that. Take a look at some details online for brick houses and you'll start seeing all the little extras. Secondly the materials, the water looks pretty good and the flowers aren't bad either, but the grass looks unnatural, your glass needs transparency and reflections etc.

Hope this helps,

Rob

JonFar · 3 Oct 2014, 17:59

i think you should work on your modeling skills before thinking about rendering

i dont mean to be rude, but that house looks like it was modeled on Minecraft, so you should work on that first

i think 90% of any great PR render image is on the modeling accuracy and texturing

but good luck and good work, i hope you get there

andybot · 3 Oct 2014, 18:19

take a look at the modeling in this thread:
http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=333%26amp;t=58844
Look at how realistic everything looks BEFORE rendering. You need details in your model. Hope that gives you some inspiration.

JQL · 3 Oct 2014, 18:28

Achieving realistic results is not easy at all.

You have to:

1 - Have models with realistic geometry wich means much geometry!
1.1 - Corners are round or chanfered (everytime). Though only seen in closeups adds a lot difference also in other images because corners get lighter/darker depending on the light.
1.2 - Details everywhere. If you think windows are a boxy frame... think again. Doubleglazing, handles, hinges... you name it! If the eye sees it even faintly it will add to realism.
1.3 - Natural stuff must look natural so stiff flowers don't work, spherical bushes don't work, parallelipipedical edges won't work, flat grass won't work flat stones won't work.
1.4 - So every plant should be rotated scaled and randomized in every way.
1.5 - If you think that is true for architecture and vegetation you should also think on furniture, wood corners are also chanfered or round, pillows, textiles, whatever, should look soft... you know what that means? (1.1)
1.6 - Don't even think of using people in your 3D...
1.7 - Surroundings? There's only grass until you reach the horizon? There's no mountains, trees or buildings? A fence? Surroundings do matter!
1.8 - All of this stuff has imperfections, will you model those?

My advice on 1.4 to 1.8? Start looking at tutorials on photoshop/gimp for adding entourage

2 - Materials
2.1 - High resolution textures... Materials should look real to look real. Every detail counts. If a texture tiles you must not see where. If they tile they must do so seamlessly and if they are going to repeat they should repeat the least they can or you must not see where they do. Look at your materials, Can you see any of this things?
2.2 - Now that tiling is solved really look at a material and you're not seeing stone or wood, you're seeing how the light is reflected there... does it shine? Then you must move past diffuse channel (that's the sketchup texture or color) This is really about much more than color! Is the material really brown or is it white there where it shines, is it white or is it blue from the sky? Learn everything about specularity, reflection, shininess and mix it all with a lot of roughness...
2.3 - Textures are also geometry. Joints in your bricks should be recessed. At first you'll think of bump maps, then normal maps, then displacement, then you'll forget displacement and go back to geometry... trust me... look at the corners of a brick building and look at the corners of a rendered box with a brick material. See any difference?
2.4 - Transparency - Neither glass is transparent neither water neither anything truly is. On this render your window should reflect the whole garden. What happened to them? (Take good care of face normals... in sketchup reverse/orient faces). I'd be surprised if you didn't have a green material on the front face and the glass material on the back. Search for plugins that reverse/orient faces.
2.5 - All of this stuff have imperfections, will you texture those?

3 - Lighting
3.1 - I see a sky there! is it only a background? is it an HDR or EXR? Did you use it only for background or also for ilumination, reflection and refraction? Better stick with physical sky if you never heard of this stuff...
3.2 - I see a sky but I see no sun, neither it's effects wich are even more important... Your façade is all in shadows, therefore there's no vibration, nor depth, nor shininess... it's just flat. Use sketchup to direct your sun! Lie if you need to but make it shine or turn it of and do a night render!
3.3 - Artificial lightning - omni lights (point lights), spotlights, emitters,... IES lights.
3.4 - Caustics effects anyone? That pool is the caustic addicts mantra! Wikipedia on caustics... you'll love it. (that bump on the pool is simply too much, make the pool flat and the grass bumpy and it will get better, with those stiff flowers there can't be wind in this place so no bumps on water...)
3.5 - All of this stuff have imperfections, will you light those?

4 - Camera
4.1 - Don't even know where to start. Where's the drama on your picture? Is it the pool? The house? The sky? Right now it's in the flowers as they are the ones in evidence. Lll around the camera. (and they are the stiff flowers we talked about... not good!). Are you an architect? Where is the roof of your house? Neither in neither out!
4.2 - Do you know that most of the time real cameras focus an object while unfocusing everything else? It's not as your eyes work, but it is how our mind works too. Focus on the subject... Depth of field, DOF, camera lenses.
3.5 - All of this stuff have imperfections, will you focus those?

Realism, nowadays lies in the imperfections, you'll have to adress all the other stuff first as imperfections are the final touch...

Do you want to know why I don't render Photorealistically?

Best regards,

João

valerostudio · 3 Oct 2014, 19:34

Watch this and be blown away -
https://vimeo.com/7809605

Then try to get a copy of this and read it cover to cover
http://thirdseventh-book.com/

This video took 2 whole years working every day to create. Alex is a master modeler, texture maker, photographer, cinematographer, composer, and artist. All these things are need to reproduce this and most of us never will, even after decades of working at this stuff.

Can you paint like Vermeer?

solo · 3 Oct 2014, 20:21

@valerostudio said:

This video took 2 whole years working every day to create. Alex is a master modeler, texture maker, photographer, cinematographer, composer, and artist. All these things are need to reproduce this and most of us never will, even after decades of working at this stuff.

Two years!! how much did he get paid for that? full time, either he is rich and this is a hobby or this is a very expensive job with a ton of time allocated.

larszzz · 3 Oct 2014, 20:53

Thanks for your reactions guys! And João, that is a lot of information...you remind me that i'm a beginner in Vray But thanks for your honesty. I will start focusing on my modeling now. As i am a landscape architect, i'm really interessed in exterior rendering, but i guess it will take some time to become a pro

Greets,
Lars

larszzz · 4 Oct 2014, 08:07

Does anyone know the best way of adding roughness to my wall textures? I am plaing with it in my diffuse tab, but not seeing very much changes...

JQL · 4 Oct 2014, 18:56

Roughness only works after you add specularity... Wich shininess, or glossiness, or reflection or whatever parameter that might be related with those properties. Don't know about Vray, but in Thea it's called reflectance. After you've added a color, value or texture map for reflectance you can add a value or texture for roughness. The value controls the overall roughness of materials, texture consists on a black to white bitmap that controls where the material as more or less roughness.

Take a look at this wich is for Thea but useful for any renderer:

valerostudio · 6 Oct 2014, 17:23

@solo said:

@valerostudio said:

This video took 2 whole years working every day to create. Alex is a master modeler, texture maker, photographer, cinematographer, composer, and artist. All these things are need to reproduce this and most of us never will, even after decades of working at this stuff.

Two years!! how much did he get paid for that? full time, either he is rich and this is a hobby or this is a very expensive job with a ton of time allocated.

He took 2 years off from work to produce this on his own. This is the story he tells in an interview on the web.

valerostudio · 6 Oct 2014, 17:23

Nice tutorials (with no voice, just awful music), but you can learn a lot just watching.

valerostudio · 6 Oct 2014, 19:13

This is the interview with Alex Roman if anyone is interested.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYW_SgiWEoo

Also, take note that this video came out years ago, when computers were slower, V-Ray was older, and this quality was inconceivable up to the point he released this work. His techniques are now considered cliche in the viz industry just because so many people have copied them over and over.