3D Total Lighting La Salle 3DSMax + Mental Ray

+ mental ray
This five part series will focus on the topic of setting up a variety of
lighting rigs that reflect natural lighting at different times of the day and
manmade interior lighting. Each of the chapters will use the same base
scene as a starting point, and will show a step by step guide to finding
a lighting and rendering solution that best reflects the desired lighting
Chapter 1 | This Issue
situation.
Sunset / Sunrise
Chapter 2 | Next Issue

The tutorials will explain the type of lights used and how to set up the
Broad Daylight
parameters along with talking about the different methods of tackling
Chapter 3 | August Issue 060
the subject. The manipulation of textures may also be covered in order

to turn a daylight scene into night scene for example, as well as a look
at some useful post production techniques in Photoshop in order to
enhance a final still.
Artificial Light - Bright over head light at night
Chapter 4 | September Issue 061

Artificial Light (Night-Time) - Mood Lighting (Low-Level - Romantic)
Chapter 5 | October Issue 062

TV-Lit (Night-Time) with Low-Level Lighting
Environment Lighting Indoor Scene - Chapter 1: Sunset

Chapter 1 - Sunset/
Sunrise
Software Used: 3ds Max + Mental Ray
Some distinct characteristics of a Sunset
condition are the very long and soft shadows,
with burnt yellow colors on directly lit areas.
Most objects affected by the sun rays at this
time of the day appear to have a rim of burnt
yellow color that propagates towards brighter
hues of yellow.
Also, due to its low intensity, the overall
environment is somewhat darker.
This phenomenon occurs mainly due to the
earths position at that particular time of the day.
Mental ray is equipped with all the necessary
tools to emulate the above mentioned effects.
Lets start by opening the Max file.
The camera position is also set and locked.
Next, open the render setup dialog box (press
F10).
The daylight system creation dialog box should

be prompted. Accept it, followed by left clicking
Next, we are going to create the daylight
and dragging the cursor to start the creation.
system, to set the shadow directions.

In the common parameters rollout, pan down
On releasing the mouse to complete the
to the assign renderer rollout and click on
Make sure you have all four of the viewports
compass creation, the mental ray sky dialog
the production toggle to load the mental ray
available so you can have full control of the
should be prompted. Accept it to continue the
renderer. Choose it and close the dialog box.
daylight system creation.
creation.
Create the daylight system by first clicking on
Continue the creation by moving the cursor up
the create main tool bar.
or down to set the distance of the daylight object
(Fig.01)
Note that the systems unit setup is already
set to meters, and the rendering output size to
from the compass helper.
500x234 pixels. With the image and pixel aspect
On the dropdown list, choose lights, followed by
locked.
daylight system.
Once satisfied, simply left click to finish the

creation. Click the select and move tool from
the toolbar to complete and exit the creation.
(Fig.02a and Fig.02b)
Note that, the mr exposure and mr sky
dialogs will not appear if both of these toggles
are not empty.
Now we have the daylight system created we
can begin setting the shadow directions.
Indoor Scene - Chapter 1: Sunset Environment Lighting
Prior to that, we are going to disable the final

gather, for quick rendering results, and enable
the hardware shadings function.
Convert the camera viewport from box visual
style to smooth + highlights mode.
Click on its icon; on the dropdown list, choose
the lighting and shadows function, followed by
enable hardware shading. (Fig.03)
Next, select the daylight system object and open
the modify command parameters.
By default its position is set to date, time and
location. Change it to manual, and begin
moving around the daylight system object.
If you are experiencing difficulties with your
The shadow position seems ok now. The next
The sun shadows should be considerably long
graphics card, simply disable the hardware
step is to use a basic material override color to
and of burnt yellow colour, to resemble a
shadings function, and click render (Shift + Q),
further tweak the daylight systems color and
sunset. (Fig.04a and Fig.04b)
to see the results.
intensity.
Enable the final gather and open the material
editor (M).
Select the basic wall (pearl finish) material slot,
from the material editor.
This shader has the ambient/reflective
occlusion (3dsmax) applied to its diffuse toggle.
On the render setup dialog, open the
processing rollout and enable the material
override function.
Back on the material editor, drag and drop the
wall (pearl finish) onto the material override
toggle. Choose the instance copy method, on
the instance (copy) material dialog. (Fig.5)

Click render (Shift + Q) to assess the changes.
Accept to continue in the missing map
coordinates dialog.
The render seems a bit dark still. In the indirect
illumination rollout; Increase the Final Gather
diffuse bounces to 1.0.
Open the environment and effects dialog (8),
choose the physically based lighting, indoor
daylight preset, from the mr photographic
exposure control list.
Enable the photographic exposure function,
and set the shutter speed to about 90.0.
Increase the shadows function to about 1.0.
This will invigorate the shadows.
In the image control group, increase the
whitepoint value to about 9500.0. Note that
this value worked best to capture the white
points in the scene.
In the Physical scale group, enable the unitless
function, and set it to about 120000.0.
Values between 90000.0 and 120000.0 work
best.
While the daylight object is still selected, open
the modifier command and increase the mr
sun basic parameter multiplier to about 4.0.
The suns color at sunset is yellowish; to
reddish colour). Also Increase its saturation.
The next stage is to add portal lights and a fill
emulate this, disable the inherit from mr sky
To about 1.5 then test render it. (Fig.06)
light in the foreground, to help improve further

the overall illumination in the scene.
function first.
The next step is to decrease the sky horizon
In the nonphysical tuning group, increase the
height and change its color to a stronger blue
Select the top viewport. On the create
red/blue tint value to 0.4(equal to a yellowish/
(next to the windows).
command, open the photometric light set.
Pan down to the mr sky advanced parameters
Click and drag the target light from the object
rollout; and bring down the horizon line by
type group to the front viewport, to create it.
decreasing its height to -1.5.
(Fig.08)
To change the skys colour to a stronger blue,
The principle is to create a nice diffused light to
in the non-physical tuning group, decrease its
emulate light bounces around the designated
red/blue tint value to -0.32. Then test render it
area.
again. (Fig.07)

The first step is to change some of its default
settings.
Now that the light direction is set, disable the
targeted function, in the general parameters.
This will provide more flexibility when moving/
placing lights in the scene.
Change the shadows type to ray traced
shadows, in the shadows group dropdown list.
Ray traced shadows work best with mental ray.
In the light distribution type group, change it
from spotlight to uniform spherical; to spread
out the distribution of light.
In the intensity type, change it to dimming.
This function will help control the light intensity.
Select and move up the light, near the cameras
height (i.e. 1.186m).
Also, open the mental ray message window, to
monitor the rendering process.
Finally, change the emit light from function
The next phase is to add portal lights close to
Increase its width/length dimensions to fit the
from point to rectangle type. Rectangle type
the windows, to emulate diffused shadows from
windows size.
is highly recommended to control the softness
the skylight.
Since this mr sky portal is being created mainly
of the shadows (i.e. higher values of length/

width= softer shadows). Test render. (Fig.09
Select the front viewport. On the create
to emulate the diffused shadows, decrease its
and Fig.10)
command, open the photometric light set.
multiplier value to about 0.5.
The scene is still a bit dark; increase its
Click and drag the mr sky portal from the
Also, change its filter color to match the skylight.
dimming resulting intensity values to about
object type group to the front viewport, to create
1700.0. Then test render.
it. (Fig.11)
The scene now looks much brighter and
The next step is to place this mr sky portal light
balanced. Also, the burnt yellow rims around
close to one of the windows (move+ rotate)and
Change the shadow samples to 32, to reduce
the sunlights highlights are more apparent
change some of its core parameters.
the noise/speckles caused by its shadows in the
Enable the use existing skylight function to

closely match the skylight color.
scene (note that the value of 32 will increase
now. This phenomenon occurs mainly when the

sunlight position is very low.
If desired, one can Increase the photometric
Prior to start selecting and moving lights, its
the rendering time slightly however, since the
worth enabling the lights selection filter from
sky portal multiplier value is low, it may balance
the main toolbar, to facilitate light selections.
things).
Move/rotate and place the mr sky portal close
Copy instance the mr sky portal from the left
to the left window.
window, to the right window.
lights length/width rectangle values, to diffuse

the shadows further.

Finally, just copy and move the third and last mr
sky portal. Place it behind the front window and
match its dimensions. The renders should now
look much better. (Fig.12a and Fig.12b)
With most lights added it is now the appropriate
time to add a nice environment image to the
background.
A bitmap will be used in conjunction with the
current environments mr physical sky shader.
This shader is very good in capturing the true
essence of the daylight position.
For example, if the daylight position is low, the
mr physical sky will add the burnt yellow rim
light around the bitmap pixels...which is a very
distinctive of the sunset lighting condition.
Open the material editor (M) and the
environment and effects dialog(8).
scale. For better control of most parameters,
To quickly tile and centre the environment
Drag and drop the mr physical sky toggle onto
one has to disable it, by first selecting the
bitmap correctly behind the windows, we are
a slot in the material editor dialog.
texture mapping type and disabling the use
going to first select and isolate parts of the
real-world scale function.
window area in the scene.
Next, change the mapping environment type.
Select and isolate the selected areas around
(Fig.15)
the window area then test render to assess the
Accept the instance copy method. (Fig.13)

Its parameters should load up.
Next, we are going to insert a bitmap in its
haze toggle.
Disable the inherit from mr sky function. Its
enabled by default, to link its parameters with
mr sky object in the scene. Disabling it will
break this connection.
To add a bitmap to the sky click on the haze
toggle.
In the material/map browser dialog choose the
bitmap option from the list, and ok to close it.
Pick the outside Big_brighter.jpeg bitmap.
The bitmap and its parameters should load up.
Its default parameters are set to use real-world
bitmaps position in the environment.

The bitmap doesnt seem to be visible yet; also,
the horizon line is not matching with the mr sky
object (i.e. -1.5).
In the material editor, pan down to the output
rollout and increase the RGB level value
to 10.0 then test render it again. One can
also disable the FG process to speed up the
rendering times, if desired. (Fig.16 and Fig.17)
To change the horizon line position; click on the
go to parent button first, to go back to the main
mr sky parameters.
In the mr sky parameters, increase the
multiplier value to about 1.5, to brighten up
further the environment map.
In the horizon and ground group, match the
horizon height to mr sky object (i.e. -1.5). This
function will subsequently reveal more areas of
the bitmap.
Finally, to add a bit of a yellowish/reddish tint
to the sky, go to the non-physical tuning group
and increase the red/blue tint value to 0.3 then
test render the results.
Back in the haze bitmaps coordinates
rollout. Change the mapping from spherical
environment to screen type.
Moreover, through quick test renderings
increase the V offset value from 0 to 0.63;
the U tiling to 2.0 and V to 0.3. The
environment bitmap should be more visible and
centralized now.
Next, we are going to fine-tune its appearance
in the environment with the ouput curves.
Pan down to the output rollout and check the
enable color map function.
Click on the add point point button, to add
curve points. Tweak and add more points whilst
test rendering, to assess the changes. (Fig.19)
Note how the areas of the environment bitmap
With the FG saved, mental ray will bypass
Moreover, when network rendering, its vital to
close to the sun disk have a rim of reddish/
the FG process and concentrate mainly on
have this pre-saved FG file in a location where
yellowish color around its pixels. To help
rendering. This will subsequently reduce
other computers can see it and reuse it.
accentuate this effect, go back to the main
the rendering times dramatically. It is highly
mr physical sky parameters. In the sun disk
commended to use one computer only, when
With the camera view, image and pixel aspect
appearance group, increase the disk and glow
executing this task.
output size locked, we can now begin setting up
intensity values to about 25.0.
the final FG parameters.

Once saved, one can then use multiple
Next, we are going to test render without the
computers to reuse the pre-saved FG file to
On render setup dialog, under indirect
material override, and set up for the final
render the image.
illumination rollout, increase the initial FG point
render.
density value to about 0.7.

Mental ray is very powerful and efficient in
Disable the material override function, in the
enabling users to save the FG file at a small
This parameter is very useful to add depth to the
render setup processing rollout.
output resolution (i.e. 320x240), and later reuse
scene and help correct most lighting artifacts.
it for your final high resolution (i.e. 5000x3750),

Enable the FG process and test render. (Fig.20)
without artifacts.
The render is looking reasonably ok now. The
Note that, the camera view, image and
next stage is to save up the final gather files and
pixel aspect output size need to be locked
send the final high resolution render.
beforehand.
The value of 0.7 seemed sufficient for the

results desired however; one may tweak these
values as desired.
Note that, higher values will result in higher FG
processing time. Default 0.1.

Increse the rays per FG point to 150. The
value of 150 is often the minimum required
to achieve a nice and smooth interior lighting
however, one may tweak these values as
desired.
This parameter helps to improve FG accuracy
by shooting rays in the scene. Higher values
equate to better results however the FG
processing time will increase. Default 30.0.
The interpolate over num. FG points is very
useful to correct most FG artifacts however;
very high values will result in less depth in the
scene.
Increase the value to 80.Note that, although
very useful and effective, this parameter has
little or no impact in the rendering time.
lock it when all geometry changes had been

addressed.
The value of 0 enables the mental ray brute

force rendering ; which essentially renders the
To delete any previously cached files, simply
scene without the FG pre process (i.e. raw); this
click the clear geometry cached button, and
will subsequently increase the rendering times
unlock it.
dramatically.
Default 50.0 (Fig.21a and Fig.21b)
On the processing rollout, enable the
geometry caching function. When enabled, this
With the above parameters set, its now time to
Change the final gather map type to
function caches the scenes geometry every time
set mental ray to cache the FG maps.
incrementally add FG points to map files. This

function will calculate and save all the final
a render occurs.
Back on the indirect illumination rollout, pan
For faster render translations; simply lock
down to the reuse (FG and GI disk caching)
it to bypass this process. One should only
rollout.
gather points.
Click on the file toggle to set the name and
destination of the saved FG file. Save it in the
network preferably...as mentioned earlier. The
adjacent button(X) enables the user to delete
any existing file in the written destination.
Since we know the overall result of the render,
its wise to enable the calculate FG/GI and skip
final rendering function, if desired. This function
forces mental ray to compute the Fg process
only, skipping the rendering. Some users prefer
to see the final result.
Finally, click the generate final gather map file
now, to render. Or alternatively press shift + Q.

Once the rendering process is finished; change
the final gather map type from incrementally
add FG points to map files to read FG points
only on existing map files. This will freeze and
reuse the FG map.
Also, lock/freeze the cashed geometry from
geometry caching function. (Fig.23)
Mental ray is quite powerful in producing glare;
camera depth of field and chromatic aberration
effects straight from the renderer however, in
this exercise we will use 3Ds Maxs rendered
elements to facilitate adding some these effects
in Photoshop.
The first element to setup is the Z depth. This
element will help to add the camera depth of
field in Photoshop, if required.
It is prudent to setup its parameters prior to
sending the final render:
In the render elements rollout, click the add
button to open the render elements dialog.
Choose the Z depth element from the list
(Fig.24).
The enable function needs to be checked.
By default, its file destination path is the same
as the render output file.
The min and max Z values are set from 100 to
300 by default. Tweak and test render with its
settings to see what suits best.
It is worth mentioning that one can increase the
original Z Depth contrast in Photoshop (i.e. with
Once satisfied with most parameters, one can
I personally use Targa Image file formats,
curves/levels) to expand darker/brighter areas.
begin to prepare the scene for final rendering.
since all the extra rendered elements are being

saved however, a growing number of users are
(Fig.25)
On common rollout set the final output size to
choosing ILMs OpenEXR image file format.
Material and objects Ids elements are equally
3500x1638 pixels. Note that there was no need
crucial when sending out the final renders;
to render higher resolution, as the render is
Note that, when opening these files in
especially when one is required to address
looking very sharp and without noise.
Photoshop, one will be required to turn its

default 32bits/channel mode to 16bits or lower
changes quickly. (Fig.26)

On render output group, click on the files
in order to utilize some of the Photoshops filters
One should start tagging the objects and
toggle to choose the file location and format.
and layer adjustments. (Fig.27a and Fig.27b)
materials from the start of the project; as
This new location will subsequently alter the
objects and materials can quickly grow to
original rendered elements location.
unmanageable numbers.
On the renderer rollout, increase the soft

shadows precision (multiplier) to 4.0.This

function will correct any soft shadows artifacts
caused by the sun position; at cost of some
additional rendering time. Note that this
parameter works globally. Otherwise the
sunlights shadow samples would have been
more adequate.
Increase the glossy reflections precision
(multiplier) value to 4.5. This function will
correct any glossy artifacts, at the cost of some
additional rendering time.
Also, change the sampling quality to 1/16
samples per pixel and the filter type to Mitchell,
to increase the rendering quality.
It is recommended not go higher (i.e. 1/64)
,especially when the final output size is already
big.
With everything set, one can finally click render
to see the final high resolution render, from your
Open the render set up, on processing
Also, the net render toggle needs to be
machine. (Fig.28a and Fig.28b)
rollout, under distributed bucket rendering
checked, and click render. The network Job
parameters, check the distributed render
assignment dialog box should be prompted.
Alternatively, distributed bucket rendering (i.e.
function.
Ensure that the include maps function is
DBR) or net render rendering techniques

could be used for those fortunate enough to
Click the add toggle to add the IP address. The
enabled; in case there are any bitmaps or
have additional computers.
add/edit DBR host dialog box should appear.
mapping coordinates missing.
Distributed Bucket Rendering:
Type the IP address number followed by ok to
Click connect, to see all the available
Ensure to use one method or the other, not both
close the dialog box.
machines in the server. Select the desired

machines from the server field name.
at the same time.

Keep adding as many as available and allowed.
On the server usage group, choose use
Also, one should not use this rendering method

for animations. It works best with still images.
To edit, simply select one machine at time and
selected to enable only the selected machines
All files should be (i.e. FG; bitmaps; file output
click edit.
to be used.
To monitor the rendering process, simply open
On the options group, choose the split scan
the mental ray message window.
lines option, followed by clicking on the define
path etc) in a shared drive (not local drives i.e.

C drive, etc).
toggle. The strips setup dialog box should be

Check all its options (i.e. information, progress,
prompted: set it to pixels; the overlap value to
debug (output to file), open on error etc).
2; the number of strips to 10 and strip height to
(Fig.29a)
48; and click o.k. to close the dialog box. Click

submit to render. (Fig.29b)
Net Render:
Ensure that all your files (FG; bitmaps; file
Disable the use map function and its color
output path etc) are in a shared drive (not local
swatch to white. This is to make the background
drives i.e. C etc).
color white.

Keep the image sampling quality as before
1/16 samples per pixel and Mitchell filter.
Finally, turn off the exposure controls and click
render.
Ambient Occlusion (AO):
It is common practise to save out the AO
as a separate pass, for compositing. This
methodology enables users to have full control
of its appearance without having to re-render.
Open the material editor and choose a
completely new material slot by dragging and
dropping from one editor slot to another.
Rename it, and load a new mental shader from
the material/map browser list. See (Fig.30a
and Fig.30b)
With the mental ray shader loaded, click on
its surface toggle to load up the ambient/
reflective occlusion shader, from the material/
map browser list.
Its parameters should load up; change
samples value to 60; the spread value to 7.0
and max distance to 0.3.
Note that these values worked best for the effect
intended however; one may try different values,
if desired. (Fig.31a and Fig.31b)
Next, open the render setup dialog and select
the processing rollout.
Keep the image sampling quality as before
Enable the material override again, and drag
1/16 samples per pixel ; Mitchell filter and the
and drop the AO material slot to the material
soft shadows precision (multiplier) to 1.0 .
override toggle. Choose instance method.

(Fig.32).
Finally, turn off the exposure controls and click

render. (Fig.33a and Fig.33b)
Disable the FG and open the environment and

effects dialog.
Photoshop
Photoshop is very powerful and useful when
Disable the use map function and its colour
incorporating quick changes and/or effects
swatch to white. This is to make the background
that would otherwise be time consuming to
color white.
address in Max alone. Having said that, it is also

important to have relatively decent renders from

Max. This work process will later prove very
fruitful for ones final piece.
In this final part of the tutorial, we will bring in
the main rendered image, along with the pre
rendered AO element.
Although we had rendered numerous elements,
we will be using the AO pass only, for the
purpose of this exercise. Open the main render
along with the above mentioned element.
Select the rendered image document; on its
layer rollout duplicate it, by right clicking and
selecting the duplicate layer option from the
popup list.
choosing the save selection option, from the
Name it render
dropdown list.
Also, change its original white color to red, by
Name it bloom, on the save selection dialog,
right clicking on the layer and selecting the
name field.
layer properties option from the list. This will

help differentiate layers. (Fig.34)
This new selection should now be automatically

added onto the channels list. (Fig.35)
For future reference, it is always commendable

to rename the layer according to the filter
The next step is to emulate the bloom camera

effect. Note that this effect could have been
Next, while the selection is still on, select the
applied, plus its values (i.e. Gaussian blur
easily achieved with mental ray however, we
render layer, followed by copying (Ctrl + C)
11.5). This will make it easier to remember the
had decided to do it in Photoshop, as it gives
and pasting (Ctrl + V) to create a new layer from
original filter applied. (Fig.36)
us the flexibility to quickly edit/choose the areas
the selection.
The reflection of the environment on the mirror
affected by this effect.

Open the channels dialog and press Ctrl + left
Change its layer properties colour to blue, and
is not as intense as the front areas of the
name the new layer bloom.
window. This is probably accurate however;

brighter reflections would look better for the
click on the alpha layer, to select its pixels.

Next we are going to apply a nice Gaussian
Note that, the alpha channel came integrated
sake of the composition.
blur filter to emulate the bloom effect.

Select the dodge tool (O) and the bloom layer.
with the TGA rendered file.

Duplicate the layer to keep the original copy.
Set the range to midtones, click and brush
Now that the alpha channels are selected,

Inverse the selection (Shift + Ctrl + I), to select
It is prudent and common practice to retain the
around the relevant areas, until satisfied with the
the desired areas.
original layers prior to editing it.
brightness. (Fig.37)
Use the polygonal lasso tool (L) to subtract
Click on the filters rollout from the main toolbar
Next, we are going to use the curves
(Alt) and/or add (Shift) selection areas for the
and choose the Gaussian blur filter from the
adjustment layer to brighten up the scene a bit.
bloom effect. These areas should be white,
dropdown list.
Add the curves adjustment layer by clicking on
preferably.
The value of 11.1 seemed to have worked best
While the selection is still on, save it by clicking
however; you may want to try different values,
the select rollout from the main toolbar and
if desired.
the create new fill or adjustment layer button.

Choose the curves from the popup list.
Add and move points so the brighter areas of
The mask layer works best with black and white
To capture the true essence of this particular
the image are increased considerable; and the
colors(X). Black= to omit pixels(X); White= to
time of the day, we will first add a mix of red and
darker areas slightly.
bring pixels to prominence(X). (Fig.38)
green tones to the image.
Use the brush (B) tool, to mask out over
Next, we are going to colour grade the
Add the color balance adjustment layer.
overexposed areas such as the directly lit and
image with the Color balance and hue and
Increase the red midtone to about +29; and the
overblown areas by the bed side.
saturation adjustment layers.
green to about +12. You may change these

values, if desired. (Fig.39)
The hue and saturation adjustment layer will

help balance the overall tone of the image.
Add the hue and saturation adjustment
layer. Decrease the overall colour (i.e. master)
saturation to about -33.
The next stage is to tweak with specific colors.
The first color to concentrate on is red.
Choose the red colour from the palette list.
Increase its saturation to about +35. This
parameter will only affect the red colors/tones of
Now is the time to add the AO pass for
The next step is to blend the AO layer and edit
the image.
additional depth.
its appearance.
Increase the yellows saturation to about +49,
Select the AO document and duplicate it.
Set the AO layer blending mode to multiply
to accentuate the yellow tones/colors.
type. Create a mask for the AO layer, by clicking

In the duplicate layer dialog; under the
on the add vector mask button. This will help
Finally, increase the blues to about +56 and its
destination group, choose the relevant
edit this layer with the brush tool (B).
brightness to +100.
document (i.e. Final render.sunset.tga)

destination, and name the layer as AO.
Note that these values can be changed,
While the AO layer mask is selected, enable

the brush tool (B) and begin brushing around
if desired. (Fig.40a, Fig.40b, Fig.40c and
This will paste this duplicated layer in the
the areas of the image that you desire to omit
Fig.40d)
chosen document, with the appropriate name.
or have less prominence. The mask layer works

best with black and white colors(X). Black=
The sunset feel of the overall image is now
In the Final render.sunset.tga document, move
to omit pixels(X); White= to bring pixels to
more prominent because it had been color
down the AO layer to be placed on top of the
prominence(X).
graded.
render layer.
Moreover, the opacity function on the main
The window on the right hand side was chosen,
Once satisfied with the image, save it as TIFF,
toolbar helps to set the visibility of the brush
because it matches with the original position of
if desired.
strokes.
the sunlights position in the Max scene.

Tiff file formats are highly recommended by
Finally, one can duplicate the AO layer to
Ensure that, its on top of all layers of the
the reprographics, as these file types retain the
accentuate its appearance. (Fig.41)
document.
original quality of the render. JPEGs should only

be used for email and web purposes. (Fig.42)
Sun glare is often associated with the sunsets.
Use the linear dodge (add) blending mode to
When used appropriately, it can add a lot to an
help blend it; and edit transform it to occupy a
image.
small portion of the window.
Open the PSD file under the name of Sun
The final result should be a nice sun glare
Glare.psd and drop it at a lower/mid level of the
bursting through the window.
window, on right hand side of the image.
Tutorial by:
Jamie cardoso
For more from this artist visit:
http://jamiecardoso-mentalray.blogspot.com/
Or contact them:
jamiecardo@hotmail.com
+ mental ray
Scene Created by: Viktor Fretyn | Tutorial Written by Jamie cardoso
Chapter 1 | June Issue 058
situation.
Sunset / Sunrise

Broad Daylight



Environment Lighting Indoor Scene - Chapter 2: Broad Daylight

Chapter 2 - Broad
Daylight
Software Used: 3ds Max + mental ray
Coherent plan
Preliminary steps
Expectations, time and budget:
It is very important to have a clear
understanding and vision of the scope of work,
content and the final product expected by the
artist and/or client.
This often involves notes, sketches and/or
animatics of the entire project.
Choosing the most efficient and least
compromising approach to working is very
important when evaluating the time required
to deliver the final product. This process also
involves choosing the most appropriate and
adequate software for the project or creating
proprietary ones, if required!
All the above mentioned will ultimately
organic shaped objects, organic elements such
whether or not an image is realistic, based on
as plants, humans etc)!
how the camera is positioned and/or setup.
If it is inevitable that you will use some
It is common practice to have the camera
determine the total cost of the final product.
Composition
symmetrical models, so you should make the
positioned (i.e. eye level or another realistic
It is always important to search for references
effort to add so small modelling details and
position) and set up in a realistic way (Fig.02)
(photos, movies etc) when deciding on the final
subtle irregularities (i.e. subtle scratches, bump,
composition of your 3D scene.
chips etc) to make it more realistic (Fig.01).
Camera parameters and/or irregularities such

as depth of field (DOF), vignetting, exposure
Prior to beginning in Max, ensure that the
At this early stage of the process one should
controls, chromatic aberration etc., will also help
systems unit scale is set up! This approach will
start to block the scene by first placing every
to improve the quality of the final image.
prove vital for the integrity of your entire project.
draft replica of the final 3D models to quickly
The 3D contents of your scene will ultimately

determine whether or not your final image is
assess their integration in the scene with the
Similarly the cameras field of view (FOV) should
camera.
reflect the values commonly used with real

cameras, coupled with the appropriate render
and attention to detail are one of the most
Camera & Image output

size
important aspects of the final image! The rule
The camera position and its settings play a
final result should be based upon how well the
of thumb is to choose models that are attractive
crucial role in producing the final render.
camera, scene and its contents complement
appealing and/or realistic. The design, colors
width and height output size to help capture

the scenes essence (portrait/landscape). The
each other... in a dramatic and effective way,
and appealing, and that also complement other

objects in the scene. In addition, one should
It is very important at this early stage to decide
avoid having too many symmetrical 3D models.
how one wants the final image to be interpreted
preferably (Fig.03)!
through the camera lens (i.e. in an artistic,
Mental ray and Max are equipped with the
Asymmetrical 3D models are perceived to be
cinematic or standard photography manner)!
necessary tools to accurately achieve all the
more attractive, appealing and realistic (i.e.
Even untrained eyes can quickly assess
above mentioned!
Indoor Scene - Chapter 2: Broad Daylight Environment Lighting
Detail Modelling:
The use of references is very important when
selecting and/or modelling realistic objects.
Firstly, one should concentrate mainly on
detailing objects that are closer to the camera.
Objects in the distance will often look
acceptable with a simple nice texture and
bump/displacement applied to their respective
shaders. Its also vital to model/scale 3D objects
realistically. As mentioned earlier, setting up the
units scale is a good starting point.
Moreover, it is vital to look for references of
scale relationships between items in drawings
and photos and around you. The human eye
can inexplicably spot inaccuracies in scale
settings may require changing). The internal
By default some of its default parameters are
relationships, when apparent!
fatal bugs may manifest themselves in a form of
either too high or too low, and others need to be
black splotches, ridiculously slow render times
enabled or disabled, occasionally.
Finally, when creating and adding detailed
etc. These bugs are often created accidently
geometry to the scene it is worth finding an
in the process of converting scenes across
Shaders and textures are the second most
efficient way of navigating in the viewport
platforms, across rendering engines or simply
important aspects of a render.
by occasionally displaying some/many less
a deliberate malicious act! In some extreme
relevant objects as boxes. This speeds up Maxs
circumstances, users may find themselves
Before starting, its important to have all the
performance whilst navigating and opening the
having to individually render hundreds of objects
relevant photo references at ones disposal and
Max scene. Although not necessary for this
in order to detect the rogue object/s.
to set the Gamma LUT/Correction correctly in
scene, creating mental ray proxies is another
your Max scene.
method of working and rendering efficiently
These precautionary measures will later prove
(Fig.04).
crucial in the process of finalising your project in
The shaders and textures should reflect the
an efficient and professional manner.
physical properties depicted on the photo
Importing/merging
3DModels
references. One should focus mainly on
When sourcing or/and using 3D models from a
Proprietary Shaders
and Textures
third party, it is worth stress testing them in a
Technical approach: Over the years mental
displacement values and how they react to light.
separate file, looking for missing bitmaps, core
ray has created settings and developed shaders
Glossy highlights, reflective objects and
crucial parameter changes, internal fatal bugs,
to emulate almost anything... realistically or
displacement maps are the usual contributors in
or renderer conversion errors (i.e. some vital
unrealistically!
making an image appealing!
physical properties such as glossiness (i.e.

shine), reflectivity, transparency, color, bump/
The surface textures are equally important as

there appearance needs to be accurate (i.e.
correct color, tiling; sharpness etc). Mental ray
is equipped with all the necessary tools and
settings to control these parameters (Fig.05).
It is common practice to initially apply the basic
shader parameters and textures, followed
by test rendering them without any FG pre-

calculations or lights, for quick results (Fig.06).
These parameters are later tweaked when the
lighting and most mental ray global parameters
are being refined.
There will be further final refinements to the
shader and textures at full resolution (i.e. crop/
region renders), to accurately assess their
physical properties.
Finally, one should continuously name the
shaders/materials according to their original
shader creation and/or object name. Also,
add material ID numbers whilst the shaders/
materials are being created, to be later rendered
as material ID elements (Fig.07).
Arranging objects in
the scene
To help improve the scene composition further,
one should place some 3D objects randomly in
a subtle way.
For instance, having too many neatly and
symmetrically placed objects may give away
the CG scene. Essentially, in a fraction of a
second our eyes can assess that it is not a
natural occurrence, as in real life it would be
a mammoth and almost impossible task to
achieve such symmetry and neatness. So the
rule of thumb is to place objects in a natural and
realistic manner (i.e. cloth naturally draping on a
chair, subtle untidiness etc) (Fig.08).
Starting with Shaders

and Textures
01 - Lets start by first opening up the Max file.
02 - With the file opened, it is important to check
It is worth mentioning that although the Gamma
two main parameters: The Units Setup and
LUT/Correction is the appropriate method of
the Gamma LUT/Correction. The correct
working, numerous companies choose not to
units setup will prove vital when
enable it on the basis that it slows Maxs display
adding values to displacement maps,
performance heavily (textures etc) and it also
shader corner radiuses etc. Enable it and
tends to add a whitish hue to the rendering, at
set it to Meters, as most practices work in
times.
meters (Fig.09 11).

04 - The next step is to load the mental ray
03 - The Gamma LUT/Correction values are
equally important as its essential to work in
renderer and begin creating the shaders

and textures.
the correct color space. Enable it and set it

as in Fig.10 (Fig.12 13).
Open the Render Setup dialog box, by

clicking on its icon on the main tool bar.
On the Render Setup, scroll down to the

Assign Renderer rollout, assign the mental
ray renderer by clicking on its toggle and
picking it from the Choose Renderer dialog
(Fig.14)!
05 - We can now begin creating shaders and
textures. The first material to start with is
the lamps pedestal:
- Open the Material Editor (m).
- Select the lamp pedestal object in the
scene. You may first need to open the
group. The name should be object 4447.
- Back in the Material Editor, select an
empty material slot and load the Arch &
Design (mi) (Fig.15).
06 - When looking at our original photo
references, the lamp pedestal we are trying
to emulate is of a copper appearance.
Copper materials have very distinctive
shine, colors and surface appearance.
Mental ray has a specific shader that meets
these physical properties.
- Load up the copper material from the
templates list, and assign it.
- Name it according to its template name

and the name of the object it was originally
applied to. This methodology work is to
07 - For quick results, isolate the pedestal
help keep track of the core source of each
object by right clicking and choosing the
shader, after major changes to its original
Isolate Selection function from the pop up
parameters (Fig.16 17).
list (Fig.18).

08 - Since we are only concentrating on shaders
and textures at this stage of the process,
it is wise to disable the FG process and
keep the render Sampling Quality low. Click
render, (Shift + Q), to assess the shader
applied.
If the selected object is in the distance,
simply change the camera view to
Perspective (P) and Zoom Extent (Z),
for a close up render. Perspective and
camera views are accurate when rendering;
however orthographic view renders are
not (i.e. renders with artifacts at times)
(Fig.19 21).
09 - It is not wise to make major changes to the
shaders parameters at this stage, as there
will be further tweaks once the lights have
been applied. However, there are certain
fundamental changes that need to be
looked at.
As mentioned earlier, there are some
mental ray parameters that are set to draft
and/or are disabled by default. The first that
one has to pay attention to is the glossy
samples.
Scroll down to the Fast Glossy Interpolation
parameters, and change the Reflectivity
Interpolation from ( half resolution) to
accentuate unnoticeable details and glossy
1(same as rendering). This new value will
highlights, which often adds extra realism
prevent glossy artifacts from occurring in
to the render. Its results are only visible in
the final renders (Fig.22).
the render.
10 - The next function is Round Corners.
Moreover, if these values are used
This function is very powerful and
inappropriately (i.e. too high or too low), it
amazingly useful, as it bevels/chamfers
may generate artifacts, or have no affect on
the edges of objects according to the Fillet
the object.
Radius values. These edges often help to
The rule of thumb is to create a Tape

Helper next to the relevant object and check
the appropriate fillet value.
12 - From all the listed parameters, one should

concentrate mainly on the first five values:
As this scene is set in meters and with

correct scale, the above values worked well.
However, one may try different values if not
Another way of finding out the correct value
- Samples: This value determine the
is to create an extended primitive chamfer
visual accuracy of the AO (i.e. 1=very draft;
box object (i.e. not renderable), of similar
60=very smooth). Set it to 45.
size to the relevant object, and fiddle with
- Bright: It is often used to override the diffuse
its Fillet Radius to preview the results in the
color; its toggle replaces the diffuse bitmap,
viewport.
when used.
The value of 0.003m worked best, however

you can try different values (Fig.23 25).
attention to is the Ambient Occlusion (AO).

Although we had set out from the start to
use it as an extra element, its global values
may not affect very minute object details in
the distance. On occasions such as this,
simply apply the AO to the Diffuse toggle:
- Pan up to the Diffuse color swatch; right
click and copy its color (Fig.26).
- Enter its toggle and pick the Ambient/
Reflective Occlusion (3dsmax) shader,
from the Material/Map browser dialog box
(Fig.27).
- Its basic parameters should load up. Paste
the previously copied color onto its Bright
color swatch (Fig.28).
Assign this shader to all metallic

components of the lamp.
13 - The next object to work on is the lamp
- Dark: Sets the color of the occluded objects.
shade.
- Spread: Sets the radius of the occluded
Select another empty material slot from the
areas. Set the spread value to 3.0.

- Max Distance: Sets the gradient of the
11 - Another very important shader to pay
satisfied (Fig.29).
spread values (i.e. 0.01=small gradient;

1=big gradient). Set it to 0.2.
Material Editor, and choose the Pearl Finish

shader template, from the list. As previously
mentioned, name this material according to

the objects name it was assigned to and
the shader template chosen, or vice verse
(Fig.30).
14 - Its parameters should load up.
As some of mental ray parameters are set
to draft, the first parameter to disable is
the Fast (interpolate) function. It is enabled
by default for fast turnarounds when
processing the glossy reflections. As a
result some artifacts may occur; to prevent
such, one should disable it (Fig.31 32).
15 - Most lamp shades are not reflective
however, as mentioned earlier, glossy
reflections often make an image more
appealing.
- In the reflection group, increase the
Reflectivity value to about 1.0 (i.e. 0.1 = low
reflection; 1.0 = high reflection).
- Also, increase the Glossiness value to
about 0.68, for semi-sharp glossy effects
(i.e. 0.1= diffused/blurry glossiness; 1.0 =
sharp glossiness).
- Since we are mainly interested in the glossy
effects, we are going to enable the
Highlights + FG only function. This function
essentially disables the reflections and
retains the glossy effects, which will

subsequently improve the rendering times
greatly.
Moreover, when this function is enabled,
the glossy sample values are automatically
disabled (greyed out), as it works mainly in
conjunction with the reflectivity values (i.e.
0.1 = draft/artifact glossy reflections; 16 =
high glossy reflections).
- Another very useful function to use is
the Metal material. When enabled it
accentuates the Diffuse color or its toggle

components. It is very useful to capture
the true color of a material especially when
its reflective (i.e. reflections often mix the
Diffuse Color with environment) (Fig.33).
16 - In this instance we will use it in conjunction
with the Composite shader to capture the
true white color of the lamp shade.
- Apply the Ambient/Reflective occlusion
(3dsmax) shader to the Diffuse toggle.
- Open the Bright toggle, and assign the
Composite shader to it (Fig.34).
- To open its parameters click on the color
correct this texture button. Its parameters
should be opened.

- Click on its Color toggle to source the
bitmap from the Material/Map Browser.
It is worth mentioning that the composite
parameters work best with bitmaps/textures,
as opposed to plain colors swatches from
Max (Fig.35 36).
- Choose the lamp shade texture (Fig.37).
17 - Once loaded, set its Blur value to 0.01 to
sharpen the bitmap and uncheck the Use
Real-World Scale function (Fig.38).
- Go back to the main Composite
parameters by clicking on Go To Parent
button.
The next step is to brighten up the white
texture color. The brightness and contrast
values work well more often than not,
but one usually has better results with its
Advanced functionalities.
- Enable the Advanced option and set the
Gamma/Contrast RGB value to about 10.0.
Go back to the main parameters by clicking
on the go to parent several times (Fig.39).
18 - On the main parameters, there are two
more functions to control the glossiness
appearance and highlights.
- Pan down to the BRDF parameters. By
default, its IOR (i.e. index of reflection) is
set to By IOR (fresnel reflections), which is
accurate. But there are occasions when one
may want to control these values manually.
Enable the Custom Reflectivity Function,
and tweak the 0 deg. refl. values (i.e. 0.01
= less reflection = wider glossy highlights;
effect on the glossy appearance, as oppose
1.0 = more reflection = smaller glossy
to reflectivity and glossy appearance
highlights). Set it to about 0.26. Note that,
(Fig.40).
since the Highlights + FG only option is
- Next we are going to invigorate the glossy
enabled, the BRDF values will only take
highlights by increasing Relative Intensity
of Highlights to about 2.0. Note that when

the lights are added one may be required
to increase or decrease the values. Assign
it to the lamp shade and do a test render
(Fig.41).
19 - Curtains are the next material to look at.
Looking at photo references, one can
conclude that most curtains are somewhat
transparent. Moreover, translucent surfaces
dont often absorb shadows a great deal.
Finally, a nice satin texture may make it
more appealing.
20 - Assign a Pearl Finish shader template to all
the curtains in the scene. On the Reflection
group, decrease the Reflectivity and
Glossiness values to 0.0 to make the
To emulate a nice satin surface we are
(i.e. higher values will result in a more
surface non reflective/glossy.
going to apply the Falloff shader.
transparent surface!)
- Set the falloff type to Fresnel, to make
If desired, one may decrease the Refraction
the falloff between the two colors more
Glossiness values to Blur (i.e. translucent)
apparent! Then test render it (Fig.42 43).
however, it may increase the rendering

times. The Fast (interpolate) option from the
21 - The Falloff Direction doesnt seem to be

as apparent as expected. Change its value
to World Y-Axis. Test render again (Fig.44).
Refraction group prevents such increases of

render time, with possible artifacts (Fig.45).
23 - As previously mentioned, transparent white
curtains dont absorb
22 - The falloff seems more apparent now. The

next stage is to make it slightly transparent.
On the Refraction group, increase the
Transparency value from 0.0 to 0.5
much shadow. Making the curtain brighter

may help accentuate this.
- Pan down to the Advanced Rendering Options rollout.

- Increase the FG /GI Multiplier value to about 2.0 (this will
subsequently increase the brightness of the indirectly lit areas
(shadow areas). Low values will produce opposite results.
Note that most of these values may be changed slightly when the
lights are applied. Also, since this material is not fully transparent,
enabling the Transparency propagates Alpha channel function will
help capture refractions and other elements through the alpha channel
(very useful for post effects in Photoshop etc) (Fig.46).
24 - Back in the Falloff parameters, one can apply a texture to the
curtain by clicking on its toggle and choosing the relevant texture.
To match the base Front/Side color swatches, simply increase or
decrease the bitmap values in output amount or RGB level functions.
Finally, apply the UVW Map modifier to its surface (Fig.47 49).
25 - The frame material resembles the copper shader. Select the picture
frame object in the scene (i.e. object 4431_opened group) and apply
the copper shader to it, with a few variations:
- The Diffuse Level value of the copper shader is very low by default
(i.e. almost black). Increase it to about 0.7 to brighten it. Also, apply
the AO shader to its Diffuse toggle, followed by copying and pasting
its Diffuse Color swatch onto the AO bright color swatch!

- Its default reflectivity color is set to light orange. Change it to a much
darker tone (Fig.50).
- Increase its Relative Intensity of Highlight value to about 5.0.
- In the Fast Glossy Interpolation, change it to 1(same as rendering).
- In the Special Purpose Maps rollout, apply a nice bump texture to
its toggle. Set the Bump value to about 0.7 and apply the UVW Map
modifier. Then test render it!
Note that, once the lights are added some of these values may
require changing slightly (Fig 51 53).
26 - The next material to focus on is the carpet.

From photo references one can see that,
its surface is commonly of a non-reflective,
thick and heavy wool fabric.
The next task is to bring out all these
physical properties in mental ray and Max.
Since the carpet makes up a big part of
the scene composition, it will be equally
important to choose a color and/or texture
pattern that makes the scene more
appealing.
The common practice is to source from
photo references of colors/texture patterns
that work best together!
27 - After thorough research, and mix/matching
colors/textures, the following texture was
chosen (Fig.54).
28 - A black and white version of the same
chosen texture and AO applied to its Diffuse
30 - Apply the black and white texture to its
texture was created for the Bump and/
toggle as previously done.
Displacement toggle and the UVW Map
or Displacement toggles, with help of
Assign it to the object in the scene (named
modifier to the object.
Hue/Saturation and Levels in Photoshop
object 2847).
(Fig.55).
29 - To begin addressing its physical properties,
we are going to do the following:
- Apply a basic Pearl Finish shader with the
In its bitmap Coordinates, disable the Use

- Disable the Fast (interpolate) function.
Real-World Scale function, and set the
- Set its entire Reflection group values
Tiling to about 2.0. As mentioned earlier the
to 0.0 to eliminate any reflections and/or
correct texture tiling often contributes to the
glossiness (Fig.56).
realism of the image (Fig.57).
31 - In the Special Purpose Maps rollout, the

Displacement value is usually set to 1.0 by
default.
With the current unit scale (i.e. meters), this
value will be equivalent to about one meter,
which is a bit too high. Change it 0.01 and
test render it! The value of 0.01 seems too
high still, however, it will be tweaked further
when the lights are applied.
Select an empty material editor slot and
To change its greenish base color simply
apply the ProMaterials:Mirror shader from
click on its Tint Color (Reflectance) swatch
Mirrors are often very simple to replicate,
the Material/Map Browser dialog box
and change it (Fig.58 60).
especially in mental ray. To apply this
list. Assign it to the relevant object. Its
shader, simply select the object named
parameters are self explanatory.
32 - The next material to work on is the mirror.
object 4455 in the scene (open the group).
33 - The next material to work on is the

wooden floor. Most wooden floor materials
are perceived to have a satin glossy finish
to it, with rectangular floor tiles. Its basic
texture is highly recognizable.
Mental ray has a selection of shaders
dedicated to these types of surfaces: Arch
& Design Satin/glossy varnished wood and
the hardwood, masonry/CMU promaterial
shaders.
But for this specific exercise, we are
going to use the Pearl Finish shader, with
a specific texture. The approach will be
similar to the ones used earlier:
- Select the object named object 4544 in
the scene.
are going to increase the 0 deg. refl:
tweaked with some of its FG/GI multiplier
and load up the Pearl Finish material
value to about 0.55 in the BRDF rollout, to
values etc.
template shader. Then assign it to the
spread out the glossy highlights.
- Select an empty slot in the Material Editor
relevant object.
- Create another black and white version of
35 - For the handle of the chest of drawers,
the main diffuse bitmap to be used as
we are going to apply a nice brushed metal
color that will complement the carpet.
bump; and apply it to the Bump toggle. Note
surface shader to it.
Assign it to its Diffuse Color and also use
that most of these values will be tweaked
the AO.
later (Fig.61 62).
- Next, we are going to choose the texture/
- On the main material parameters
Choose the Brushed Metal from the Arch &

Design shader template list.
- Add the Composite shader on top of it

34 - A similar principal was applied to most of
reduce the reflectivity and glossiness values
the wooden surfaces in the scene, with
Its default parameters are usually ok,
to about 0.3, to emulate the satin effect.
slight changes to their diffuse textures;
however, if you want to add the AO to its
glossiness/reflective values; bump texture
Diffuse toggle, its toggle need enabling.
- Disable the Fast (interpolate) function

and change the Fast Glossy Interpolation to
source and values; different BRDF values;
1(same as rendering).
increased/decreased relative intensity
To do so, simply pan down to the General
values; varied round corners values;
Maps rollout, and enable the Diffuse Color
- To control the glossiness appearance, we
from the Main Maps group (Fig.63 64).

36 - When using this shader, its very important
to apply a mapping modifier to the relevant
object, as one may encounter missing
mapping coordinates errors, when
rendering.
This is mainly to do with the brushed metal
grain procedural material, applied to its
Reflection Color toggle, by default.
The next step is to make the material visible
in the viewport and apply the UVW Map
modifier.
- Enter the brushed metal grain parameters
by clicking in the Reflection Color toggle.
- Its parameters should open up. Click the

Show Standard Material button to make it
visible in the viewport (Fig.65).
37 - Add the UVW Map modifier to it. Choose
the Cylindrical Mapping method and flip the
U tile direction (Fig.66).
38 - Back in the main parameters, increase the
Relative Intensity of Highlights to about
10.0.
39 - For the candle material, we are only
applying a simple Translucent Plastic Film
shader template from the list, to emulate the
wax surface.
scene, with different textures and bumps
basic diffuse toggle textures of the two main
applied.
chairs in scene.
To make it more opaque, decrease
In addition, some of the previous settings/
its transparency values, as previously
functions discussed were used differently
The wall was made up of a basic white
described! (See Fig.67 68).
according to each object.
Pearl Finish shader (Fig.69).
40 - The Pearl Finish was used as the basic

shader for the remaining objects in the
For example, the Falloff shader was used
Lighting
again with two different textures, for the
As previously mentioned, lighting plays a unique

and important role in bringing the scene to life.
Therefore it is vital to take the necessary steps
to plan and create the type of lighting that will
appeal and complement your scene.
First, choose the appropriate lighting situation
through photo references (i.e. interior; exterior;
day; sunset; night etc).
The next step is to source more photo
references of the chosen lighting situation that

resemble your 3D composition somehow. (Use
One should do a test render every time a light
a photo reference).
is added and/or any of its parameters are

changed. It is very important for the final image
The majority of artists often go for contrasting
to have a clear contrast between bright and dark
scenes with long shadows (i.e. prominent bright
areas. This methodology will help one control
and dark areas).
the scenes overall depth, contrast and colors.
The color of the lights is also crucial when
Once reasonably satisfied, disable the Material
setting up the mood of the scene. For instance,
Override function and begin refining the lights,
professional artists tend to work mainly with blue
camera parameters (i.e. exposure etc), shaders,
and yellow hues as they are more appealing and
materials, etc.
complementary to each other.

Most camera parameters and shaders
For this scene, a cold blue color can be applied
can be tweaked at a later stage once FG
around the window areas to emulate the
parameters have been saved, however, it is
Finally, ensure to enable all its functions
ambient light generated by the sky.
highly recommendable to have most of these
(i.e. information, progress, debug and open
parameters reasonably acceptable before
on error) (Fig.70 71).
And a warm yellow color can be applied to the
saving the final gather parameters.

42 - The first step is to create the Sun light and
directly lit areas by the sunlight.

The final stage is to save up the Final Gather
set its shadow direction, whilst keeping the
Moreover, in some cases one would also apply
files, reuse them and finalize refining shaders,
rendering times to a minimum.
a very warm yellow light to the lamp shades to
textures and the camera parameters.

- Maximize the viewport display (Alt + W) to
accentuate further the contrast between the two

colors (i.e. blue and yellow).
In this exercise, we will be emulating broad

daylight and as such, we will try to bring most
have better control over daylight creation.

- Create the daylight system by first clicking
on the Create main tool bar.
Technical approach: It is common practice to
elements that depict this time of the day.
first open the mental ray message window and
However, it may be necessary to exaggerate
set the direction of the Sun light, if existing in
a few of these elements in order to make the
your scene.
most of the 3D scene. Some of these elements
- You should be prompted by the Daylight
are the shadow length and/or directions, colors,
System Creation dialog box. Accept it,
The most quick and efficient approach to this
brightness, contrast, etc. The final objective
followed by left clicking and dragging the
is to enable the Hardware Shading tool first,
is to use any means necessary to positively
and finally select and move around the daylight
maximize the impact of the final piece.
object in the viewport as desired.
With all that said, open the Max scene, named
compass creation, the mental ray Sky
Alternatively, to view the shadow directions in
finished textures. It is worth noting that Render
dialog should appear. Accept it to continue
render, one can also switch off the Final Gather
Sampling quality is set to draft at this stage.
the creation.
- On the dropdown list, choose Lights,

followed by Daylight System.
cursor to start the creation.

- On releasing the mouse to complete the
- Continue the creation by moving the cursor
settings for a quick and draft rendering process,

coupled with using a basic non-reflective/non-
Since all shaders and textures have been
up or down to set the distance of the
glossy mr shader, preferably of white color.
worked at, we will be concentrating mainly on
daylight object from the compass helper.
the lights and the overall final refinements.

Finally set the Sampling quality to draft! The
final quick test render should be a black and
41 - Open the mental ray Messages dialog
white image: black depicting the indirectly lit
first, by selecting it from the Rendering
areas and white the directly lit areas.
dropdown list of the main tool bar. This

dialog will help monitor the rendering
The next step is to enable Final Gather. Set its

parameters to Draft and begin adding lights as
required.
progress, for any possible errors.

Once satisfied, simply left click to finish the
creation. Click the Select and Move tool
from the toolbar to complete and exit the
creation (Fig.72 74).
Note that, the mr exposure and mr sky
dialogs will not be prompted if both of these
toggles are not empty.
43 - With the daylight system created, it is now
time to set the shadow directions.
While the daylight object is selected, open
the Modify command to ensure that the mr
sun and mr sky are loaded in the daylight
parameters.
By default, the daylight systems position
is automatically set by the date, time
and location function, which is accurate.
However, for the purpose of this exercise
we are going to change it to Manual type
(Fig.75).
44 - Next we are going to enable the Hardware
Shading by first right clicking on the
viewport visual style tab. Then in the
dropdown list, choose Lighting and
Shadows, followed by the Enable Hardware
Shading option. Alternatively you can press
Shift + F3.
- Also, turn the viewport visual style to
Smooth + Highlights mode (Fig.76 77).
45 - Right click on the viewport visual style
again to configure the Lighting and Shadows
settings.
- In its parameters, under Illuminate Scene
With, enable the Scene Lights function. This
function will allow us to see the shadow
46 - The viewport display should change
directions in the viewport, in real-time. One
somewhat. The Enable Shadows function
can enable other functions, if desired. Close
should also be checked.
it by clicking OK (Fig.78 79).

If any of the objects receiving shadows are
being displayed as boxes in the viewport,
the shadows may not show correctly.
To prevent this, simply select the relevant
objects, right click and choose the object
Properties option from the list. Disable the
Display as Box function, in the Display
Properties group (Fig.80 81).
47 - Now is the time to select and move around
the daylight system object, to choose the
appropriate shadow direction.
Long shadows often help to add drama to
the scene. Also, having bright Sun
spots will help bring the scene to life. Its
commendable to move the Sun to a position
where one can maximize the number of
objects casting shadows in the scene.
Shadows coming from the right-hand side
of the room seem to cause more impact in
this scene.
If you are experiencing difficulties with your
graphics card when displaying shadows
in the viewport, just disable it and turn to
Wireframe visual style. One would have
to rely on the quick test renders instead
(Fig.82).
48 - For quick turnarounds, we are going to
disable the Final Gather parameters since
we are only interested in the shadow
directions at this stage.
- Open the Render Setup dialog, by clicking
on its icon toolbar, or by pressing F10.
- In the Indirect Illumination parameters
rollout, disable the basic FG parameters.
- In the Common parameters rollout, lock
shader as the Material Override.

- Open the processing rollout and enable the
Material Override.
both image and pixel aspect; and set the
- Next, open the Material Editor dialog (m);
output size to 500x234 (small). Also, lock
and select the basic Wall (Pearl Finish)
the camera view (Fig.83 84).
(mi)_material from the slot.

- Drag and drop it onto the Material Override
49 - Moreover, we are going to set a nonreflective or glossy basic Pearl Finish
toggle, and choose Instance Copy, then

click render (Shift + Q) to view the results.
Click OK to any missing bitmap dialogs to

continue (Fig.85 86).
50 - The shadows are looking ok, but they could
much better.
Change the compass and daylight object
position so it looks similar to the following
image (Fig.87 88).
51 - Now that the shadows are looking nice, its
time to concentrate on the Sky Light
parameters.
As mentioned earlier, the usage of blue
colors around the window areas would add
a really nice feel to the scene.
In real life this phenomenon is associated
line needs moving down slightly; on the
to 1.0. Note that higher values will result in
with diffused shadows generated by the sky
mr sky advanced parameters, decrease
a considerable increase in rendering time.
color. As such, in Max the FG needs to be
the Horizon Height to about -3.8. Then test
enabled in order to help emulate the color
render it again (Fig.89).

52 - Although slightly brighter with stronger blue
tones, the image is still fairly dark.
- Select the Daylight object and open the
its Multiplier to about 3.0. Also, its horizon
blue color could be accentuated further.
Increasing the diffuse bounces should do
Tint values to about -0.4 (i.e. values of
the trick; coupled with increasing the mr
0 and upwards are hues towards strong
sky multiplier.
red; values of 0 and downwards are hues

towards strong blue) and test render it.
Modify command.
- In the mr sky parameters group, increase
- Although much brighter now, the mr sky

To do this simply decrease the Red/Blue
enabled. Although it is brighter, its still

pretty dark at this stage.
increase its Multiplier to about 5.0. Then

test render it again.
dispersion.
Then test render the scene with FG
- Back in the Daylight mr sky parameters,
- In the Render Setup, under Indirect

Illumination, increase the Diffuse Bounces
- The blue looks much better now.
Areas brightly lit by the Sun often make an

image more appealing (i.e. more contrast),
as previously discussed. So it makes sense
to increase the Suns multiplier to about 4.0.
Also, the direct sun is currently inheriting
the mr sky color (i.e. strong blue); disable
the inherit from mr sky function. The Direct
Suns color is now 0.0 (i.e. 0.0=yellowish).
Then test render it (Fig.90).
53 - The brightness and colors have improved
substantially, however, the foreground
seems a bit too dark still. The next phase is
to tweak with mr photographic exposure
controls to correct the darkness in the
foreground.
- Press 8 to open the Environment and
Effects dialog.
increase the Whitepoint value. The value
disable the Targeted function, in the
white points of the scene much better. Test
general parameters. This is to provide more
render again.
flexibility when moving the lights.

- Next, change the Shadows type to Ray
- Enable the Process Background and

Environment Maps function, to integrate
- Now that the light direction has been set,
of 9500.0 seems to have captured the
55 - The Daylight system; FG and the mr
Traced Shadows, in the shadows group
everything with the exposure controls.
exposure controls have helped improve the
dropdown list. Ray traced shadows work
- Next, enable the Photographic Exposure
brightness a great deal, however it is clear
best with mental ray.
function and choose the Physically Based
that more lights are needed to brighten the
Lighting, Indoor Daylight preset (Fig.91).
scene further.
- In the Light Distribution (Type) group,

change it from Spotlight to Uniform Diffuse
for better distribution of light.
- Change the Physical Scale type to
- In the Intensity type, change it to Dimming.
Unitless, and change its default value
First, we are going to add a Photometric
to about 1200.0. This function helps to
light in the foreground to help balance the
integrate backgrounds/shaders more
scene.
seemingly. Values of 90.000 and above
Select the top viewport. In the Create
Emit light from (Shape) function from Point
are recommendable to help integrate
command, open the Photometric light set.
to Rectangle. Rectangle type is best to
This will help control the light intensity.

- Lastly, and most importantly, change the
control the softness of the shadows (i.e.
background/environment components
Click and drag the target light from the
Click on the render preview button, to see
object type group to the front viewport, to
the results.
create it (Fig.93).
higher values of length/width = softer

shadows.
- Select and move the light up, near the
cameras height (i.e. 1.186m). Test render
- It seems a bit too bright now, so change the

shutter speed to about 90.0 (Fig.92).
56 - The idea is to create a nice diffused light to

designated area. The first step is to change
54 - The brightness seems much better now. To

bring out the white areas of the scene,
(Fig.94).
emulate light bounces around the

some its default settings.
57 - The scene seems a bit dark still so increase

its Dimming > Resulting Intensity values to
about 1700.0 and test render (Fig.95).

58 - The scene is much brighter and balanced
now. Increase the lights Length/Width
Rectangle values, to diffuse the shadows
further, if desired.
The next phase is to add Portal lights
close to the windows, to emulate diffused
shadows from the skylight.
Select the front viewport. In the Create
command, open the Photometric light set.
Click and drag the mr sky portal from the
object type group to the front viewport, to
create it (Fig.96).
59 - The next step is to place this second mr
sky portal light close to one of the windows
(move+ rotate) and change some of its core
parameters. Before you start selecting and
moving lights, its worth enabling the lights
Selection Filter from the main toolbar, to
facilitate light selections.
- Move/rotate and place the mr sky portal
close to the left window.
- Increase its Width/Length dimensions to fit
the windows size.
- Since this mr sky portal is being created to
emulate the shadows, decrease its
Multiplier value to about 0.5.
- Also, change its Filter color to match the
skylight.
- Enable the Use Existing Skylight function,
to closely match the skylight color.
- Change the shadow samples to 32, to
reduce the noise/speckles caused by its
shadows in the scene (note that the value of
32 will increase the rendering time slightly
however, since the sky portal multiplier
value is low, it may balance things).
- Copy Instance the mr sky portal from the
left window, to the right window.
- Finally, just copy and move the third and
last mr sky portal. Place it behind the
front window and match its dimensions.
The renders should now look much better
(Fig.97 98).

60 - After test rendering the latest changes, we
can now begin fine-tuning the shaders/
textures etc.
Prior to that, we are going to try our first
rendering using FG, without the Material
Override (Fig.99)!
61 - The render seems to be coming together
quite well, however, the image sampling
quality is causing the render to look a bit
speckled. This issue will be addressed later.
Next, we are going to add a nice
background image to the environment
and utilize its pixels to contribute to the
Global Illumination, with the Environment/
Background Switcher (mi).
- Open the Material Editor dialog (M) and the
Environment and Effects dialog (8).
- Open the Environment Map toggle and
choose the Environment/Background
Switcher (mi) shader from the Material/Map
Browser list.
- To view its parameters, drag and drop it
onto the Material Editor slot, by choosing
the Instance method.
- This shader comprises of two toggles,
Background and Environment/Reflections:
The Background toggle component will
be used mainly for image display
purposes. This toggle accepts most

image extensions (i.e. Tiff,TGA;IBL;HDRI;
JPEG;BMP; etc) and some shaders.
chosen. Photoshop was also used to help
The Environment/Reflections toggle, in
conjunction with Environment Probe/
integrate the image (i.e. with Levels/curves,

etc).
Chrome Ball (mi), will be used mainly for

reflections. This toggle supports most
63 - For fast rendering results, we are going to
image extensions (i.e. Tiff,TGA;IBL;HDRI;
enable again the Material Override function,
JPEG;BMP; etc) and some shaders
and isolate the front window frame areas, to
(Fig.100 102).
help centralise the background map.
62 - After a thorough search to find the

appropriate image to suit this camera
view and lighting situation, an image was
- Select and isolate some of the key front

window areas.
- In the Environment/Background Switcher

(mi) parameters click and load the relevant
image in the Background toggle (Fig.103).
64 - Its bitmap parameters should load up with
default coordinates set to Environment type.
Do a test render.
The horizon line of the background image
seems to be lower than the window, and the
bitmap scale doesnt seem to match.
- First, decrease the Blur value to 0.01, to
sharpen the image.
- Change the Coordinates from
Environment to Texture type, in order to be
able to uncheck the Use Real-World Scale
function, for better control of the tiling.
- With the Use Real-World Scale function
unchecked, change the coordinates back to
Environment type.
- Tweak its width/height offset position to
have the horizon line in the centre of the
window. Also, correct its size values to

match the window areas and test render it
(Fig.104 105).
65 - The bitmap scale and its position seem to
be better now. The next step is to brighten
up the background image to emulate the
exposure often generated by the camera.
Note that, this effect could alternatively
been achieved in Photoshop however, we
are just highlighting the method of achieving
similar results in Max/mental ray.
- To start the process of brightening up the
bitmap, pan down to the Output rollout,
increase the RGB level to about 3.0 and
test render it.
- Its much brighter now, however, its
66 - The overall brightness looks much better
brightness is slightly evened. The next step
now. Exit Isolation mode and test render the
is to brighten up the upper areas of the
results.
image with the curve points, whilst retaining

the existing brightness of the lower areas.
Next, we are going to use the Environment/
First, check the Enable Color Map function.
Reflections toggle, in conjunction with
- Next, click the Add Point button and begin

adding and moving points as appropriate.
While the points are being added, it is worth
Environment Probe/Chrome Ball (mi) for

reflections (Fig.108).
67 - Back in the Material Editor, click on
keeping an eye out for the subtle changes
the Environment/Reflections toggle and
taking effect on the relevant Material Editor
choose the Environment Probe/Chrome
slot (Fig.106 107).
Ball (mi) from the Material/Map Browser

dialog list. Its parameters should load up.
One should concentrate on the following
parameters mainly:
Chrome/Mirror toggle; it enables users
to load up the appropriate file formats (i.e.
IBL; HDRI;JPEG;TIFF;BMP; etc). The
image pixels are automatically used with
FG solution.
Its FG functionalities are more visible with
high dynamic range images (i.e.HDRI; IBL;
mr physical sky; etc) and when the skylight
head of the Daylight system is disabled.
In addition, a separate skylight object
needs to be created with the Use Scene
Environment function enabled.
(i.e. similar to the environment). These
Alternatively, if the user is interested in

the reflections mainly, then the original
Multiplier; it sets the intensity (i.e.
mr physical sky map of the environment
brightness of the reflections and FG
toggle could be used in conjunction with an
contribution of the image/shader. Default
image file.
1.0. Note that higher values may result
Also one can use the Use Custom
changes will be more apparent with the

Material Override disabled (Fig.111 112).
69 - We are now at the stage where we should
in artifact reflections, depending on the
begin considering tweaking the shaders and
image being used.
textures.
Background function from the mr physical

sky map parameters, for background
image display purposes only.
Mental ray provides users with multiple
Reverse gamma correction; it enables
As previously seen, when rendering,
users to set the correct gamma values of
the process of computing the final
the image being used. The default is 1.0,
gather, shaders and textures is often
set it to 2.2 (Fig.109 110).
time consuming, even with the fastest

computers.
choices.
68 - The next step is to apply the appropriate file
to the Chrome/Mirror toggle.
So far, we have been successful in reducing

most of this rendering time by using a basic
For best results one should use high
Material Override shader, to quickly set up
dynamic range images etc, however for the
the lights and other parameters.
purpose of this exercise we will be using the

same JPEG as previously used.
As one is gearing up towards rendering the

full scene with shaders/textures, we need to
- Click on the adjacent toggle to source the

relevant file.
- Choose the bitmap type, from the Material/
pre-save the Final Gather solution without

the Material Override function, to help
reduce the rendering times.
Map Browser list, followed by selecting the

image.
- Disable the Use Real-World Scale function
To do that, there is one vital element that

requires finalising first: Lights
and set the mapping type to spherical; as

previously done.
- Finally, change the V offset value to 0.92
- Disable the Material Override function and

render the scene.

- The overall lighting seems to be reacting
- Increase the Rays per FG point to 150. The
well with shaders and textures, although
value of 150 is often the minimum required
one may tweak it further, if desired.
to achieve a nice and smooth interior

lighting however, one may tweak these
70 - The next phase is to save the Final Gather
values as desired.
file and reuse it to render only.

This parameter helps to improve FG
With the FG saved, mental ray will bypass
accuracy by shooting rays in the scene.
the FG process and concentrate mainly on
Higher values equate to better results
rendering. This will subsequently reduce
however, the FG processing time will
the rendering times dramatically. It is highly

commended to use one computer only,
when executing this task.
increase. Default 30.

- The Interpolate Over Num. FG points
is very useful to correct most FG artifacts.
However; very high values will result in
Once saved, one can then use multiple
less depth in the scene. Increase the value
computers to reuse the pre-saved FG file to
to 80. Note that, although very useful and
render the image.
effective, this parameter has little or no

impact in the rendering time.
Mental ray is very powerful and efficient

in enabling users to save the FG file at a
The value of 0 enables the mental ray
small output resolution (i.e. 320x240), and
Brute Force rendering essentially renders
later reuse for your final high resolution (i.e.
the scene without the FG pre process (i.e.
5000x3750), without artifacts.
raw). This will subsequently increase the

rendering times dramatically.
Note that the camera view, image and

pixel aspect output size need to be locked
On the Processing rollout, enable the
beforehand.
Geometry Caching function. When enabled,

this function caches the scenes geometry
Moreover, when network rendering, its vital
every time a render occurs.
to have this pre-saved FG file in a location

where other computers can see it and
For faster render translations; simply lock
Incrementally Add FG Points to Map Files.
reuse it.
it to bypass this process. One should only
This function will calculate and save all the
lock it when all geometry changes have
final gather points.
71 - With the camera view, image and pixel
been addressed.
the name and destination of the saved FG
aspect output size locked, we can now

begin setting up the final FG parameters.
- On Render Setup dialog, under the Indirect
Illumination rollout, increase the Initial
To delete any previously cached files,
file. Save it in the network, preferably as
simply click the clear geometry cached
mentioned earlier. The adjacent button (X)
button, and unlock it. Default 50.0 (Fig.113
enables the user to delete any existing file
114).
in the written destination.

- Since we know the overall result of the
FG Point Density value to about 0.7. This

parameter is very useful to add depth to
- Click on the File toggle (i.e. ...), to set
72 - With the above parameters set, its now
render, its wise to enable the Calculate
the scene and help correct most lighting
time to set mental ray to cache the FG
FG/GI and Skip Final Rendering function, if
artifacts. A value of 0.7 seemed sufficient,
maps.
desired. This function forces mental ray to

compute the FG process only, skipping the
however one may tweak these values if

desired.
- Back on the Indirect Illumination rollout,

pan down to the Reuse (FG and GI Disk
Note that, higher values will result in higher

FG processing time. Default 0.1.
Caching) rollout.
- Change the Final Gather Map type to
rendering.
- Finally, click the Generate Final Gather Map
File Now, to render. Or alternatively pres
Shift + Q (Fig.115 and 116).

73 - Once the rendering process is finished,
change the Final Gather Map type to Read
FG Points Only From Existing Map Files.
This will freeze and reuse the FG map.
- Also, lock/freeze the cashed geometry
from Geometry Caching function (Fig.117).
74 - The next phase is the final stage, which
consists of fine-tuning the existing shaders
to react to the lights, as desired, and
adjusting the overall parameters (except FG
and lights).
- On the last rendered frame window, click on
the toggle UI to open it.
- Click on the Region selection window.
Reduce its size and move it close to the
bed side; between the carpet and wooden
floor.
- Next, open the Render Setup dialog and
change the output size to about 1000x468
pixels (Fig.118).
- Select the carpet object in the scene. In the

Material Editor dialog, select an empty slot.
- Open the Material/Map Browser dialog
by clicking on the Get Material button, to
75 - The displacement of the carpet seems a bit

too much. Moreover, the base of the bed
seems to lack brightness and glossiness.
select and load it in Material Editor.

- Once loaded, decrease the Displacement
value to about 0.008.
- Load up the base of the bed material, in the

Material Editor, as previously done.
- Pan down to the Advanced Rendering
Options rollout. In the Advanced Reflectivity
Options group, increase the Relative
Intensity of Highlights to 3.0. This function
will boost up the existing glossiness
highlights.
- To increase the brightness of the indirectly
lit areas of the bed, increase the FG/GI
Multiplier values to 2.0 (Fig.119 120).
76 - To have an accurate representation of the
glossiness and the final quality of the
render, we need to increase the Global
Tuning parameters and the Sampling
Quality.
- In the Render setup dialog, open the
Renderer rollout.
- In the Global Tuning parameters increase
the Glossy Reflections Precision (Multiplier)
to 4.5. This function increases the

global accuracy representation of glossy
reflections.
- In the Sampling Quality rollout set the
minimum samples per pixel to 1 and the
maximum to 16. This final value reduces
the amount of noise and jagged edges in
the render (i.e. better quality); however, it
will increase the rendering times slightly.
It is not recommended to use maximum
values higher than 16, especially when the
final rendering size is 3000 pixels or higher.
Higher values will increase the rendering
times dramatically.
- Test render the scene (Fig.121).
77 - The next step is to fine-tune and test
render the parameter values of other
objects in the scene, using small region
render buffer, and an object/s in the scene
renders and the Subset Pixel Rendering.
is selected for subsequent renders to effect.
The Subset Pixel Rendering works best,
Its worth remembering to deselect it before
only when a full/region render is in the
sending out the full renders (Fig.122).

- Select the chest of drawers handle object,
in the scene. Increase its Relative Intensity
of Highlights value to about 200.0, for
greater glossiness highlights.
- On the lamp pedestal, increase its Relative
Intensity of Highlights value to about 20.0.
- On the lamp shade, increase its FG/
Multiplier to about 3.0, to make its base
color lighter. Also, reduce its Relative
Intensity of Highlights to 1.0.
- Increase the FG/GI Multiplier of the bed
linen, to make it whiter.
The wall ambient occlusion parameters
seem too prominent:
- In the AO parameters, change the
Samples value to 65, for better smoothness.
Change its Bright color to cream, to give it
some color. Colors often help bring renders
to life.
- Increase the Spread value to 15.0; and the
Max Distance to 0.7m to spread out the AO.
The environment reflected on objects
doesnt seem to match the intensity of the
background image:

- Increase the multiplier value of the
Environment Probe/Chrome Ball (mi), with
caution, to prevent artifacts.
- The bump values of the wooden floor seem
a bit much; decrease it slightly.
- Finally, to give the image an artistic feel
and depth, increase the mr photographic
exposure Shadows to 1.0; and the
Vignetting value to 10.0.
Its best to test render the mr photographic
exposure values at lower output resolution
and draft sampling quality, for fast
turnarounds. Also, ensure you test render
full resolutions without the Subset Pixel
Rendering selected.
- Finally, its worth mentioning that although
the above tweaks were made, it is the
users choice to ultimately decide what
looks best. Then test render the results
(Fig.123 124).
78 - Mental ray is quite powerful in producing
glare; camera depth of field and chromatic
aberration effects straight from the renderer
however, in this exercise we will use 3Ds
Maxs rendered elements to facilitate
adding some these effects in Photoshop.
The first element to setup is the Z depth.
This element will help to add the camera
depth of field in Photoshop, if required.
It is prudent to setup its parameters prior to
sending the final render:
- In the Render Setup, change the Sampling
Quality and Global Tuning Parameters to
Draft and enable the Material Override.

- Also, reduce the render output size to
to 300 by default. Tweak and test the render

with its settings to see what suits best.
500x234 and turn off the FG parameters,

for quick results.
It is worth mentioning that one can increase
- In the Render Elements rollout, click the
the original Z Depth contrast in Photoshop
Add button to open the render elements
(i.e. with curves/levels) to expand darker/
dialog. Choose the Z Depth element from
brighter areas (Fig.126).
the list (Fig.125).

81 - The ID elements of materials and objects
79 - The Enable function needs to be checked.
are equally crucial when sending out
By default, its file destination is setup is the
the final renders; especially when one
same as the render output file.
is required to address quick changes
80 - The min and max Z values are set from 100
(Fig.127).

One should start tagging the objects and
materials from the start of the project, as
objects and materials can quickly grow to
unmanageable numbers.
82 - Once satisfied with most parameters,
one can begin to prepare the scene for final
rendering.
- In the Common rollout set the final output
size to 3500x1638 pixels. Note that theres
no need to render higher resolution, as the
render is looking sharp and without noise.
- In the Render output group, click on the
Files toggle to choose the file location and
format. This new location will subsequently
alter the original rendered elements
location.
- I personally use Targa Image file formats,
since all the extra rendered elements are
being saved, however, a growing number of
Photoshops filters and layer adjustments
1/16 samples per pixel and the filter type to
users are choosing ILMs OpenEXR image
(Fig.128 129).
Mitchell.
file format.
83 - On the Renderer rollout, increase the
84 - With everything set, one can finally click
Note that when opening these files in
Glossy Reflections Precision (Multiplier)
Render to see the final high resolution
Photoshop, one will be required to turn
value to 4.5, as before.
render (Fig.130 131).
its default 32bits/channel mode to 16bits

or lower in order to utilize some of the
- Change back the Sampling Quality to

85 - Alternatively, Distributed Bucket Rendering
(i.e. DBR) or Net Render rendering
techniques could be used for those
fortunate enough to have additional
computers:
- Distributed Bucket Rendering:
Ensure to use one method or the other, not

both at the same time. Also, one should not
use this rendering method for animations. It
works best with still images.
All files should be (i.e. FG; bitmaps; file
output path etc) in a shared drive (not local
drives i.e. C drive, etc).
Open the Render Setup. On the
Processing rollout, under the Distributed
Bucket Rendering parameters, check the
Distributed Render function.
Click the Add toggle to add the IP address.
The Add/Edit DBR Host dialog box should
appear. Type the IP address number
followed by OK to close the dialog box.
Keep adding as many as available and
allowed.
To edit, simply select one machine at time
and click edit.
Ensure that the Include Maps function is
- Open the Material Editor and choose a
enabled, in case there are any bitmaps or
new material slot by dragging and dropping
To monitor the rendering process, simply
mapping coordinates missing.
from one editor slot to another.
open the mental ray message window.
Click Connect, to see all the available
Check all its options (i.e. information,
- Rename it, and load a new mental shader
machines in the server. Select the desired
from the Material/Map Browser list (Fig.134
machines from the server field name.
135).
progress, debug (output to file), open on

error etc) (Fig.132).
- Net Render:
On the Server Usage group, choose Use
87 - With the mental ray shader loaded,
Selected to enable only the selected
click on its Surface toggle to load up the
machines to be used.
Ambient/Reflective Occlusion shader from

the Material/Map Browser list.
Ensure that all your files (FG; bitmaps; file

output path etc) are in a shared drive (not
In the Options group, choose the Split Scan
local drives i.e. C etc).
Lines option, followed by clicking on the
Its parameters should load up; change
Define toggle. The Strips Setup dialog box
Samples Value to 60; the Spread value to
The Net Render toggle needs to be
should be prompted: set it to pixels; the
7.0 and Max Distance to 0.3.
checked, then click render. The Network
overlap value to 2; the number of strips to
Job Assignment dialog box should be
10 and strip height to 48; and click OK to
Note that these values worked best for
prompted.
close the dialog box. Click on Submit to
the effect intended, however, one may try
render (Fig.133).
different values, if desired (Fig.136 137).
86 - Ambient Occlusion (AO):

It is common practise to save out the AO
88 - Next, open the Render Setup dialog and

select the Processing rollout.
as a separate pass, for compositing. This

methodology enables users to have full
Enable the Material Override again, and
control of its appearance without having to
drag and drop the AO material slot to the
re-render.
Material Override toggle. Choose Instance

method (Fig.138).

89 - Disable the FG and open the Environment
and Effects dialog.
- Disable the Use Map function and its
color swatch to white. This is to make the
background color white.
- Keep the image Sampling Quality as before
1/16 samples per pixel and Mitchell filter.
- Finally, turn off the exposure controls and
click render (Fig.139 140).
90 - Photoshop
Photoshop is very powerful and useful when
incorporating quick changes and/or effects
that would otherwise be time consuming to
address in Max alone.
Having said that is equally important to
have relatively decent renders from Max,
at ones disposal for Photoshop. This work
process will ultimately prove very fruitful for
ones final piece.
In this final part of the tutorial, we will bring
in the main rendered image, along with its
pre rendered elements.
- Although we had rendered numerous
- Select the rendered image. On its Layer
rollout duplicate it by right clicking and
selecting the Duplicate Layer option.
- Name it Render.
- Change its original white color to red by
elements, we will be using the Z Depth
right clicking on the layer and selecting the
and AO pass only, for the purpose of this
Layer Properties option from the list. This will
exercise. Open the main render along the
help differentiate between the layers (Fig.141
above mentioned elements.
143).
91 - The next step is to emulate the Bloom
camera effect. Note that this effect could
have been easily achieved with mental
ray however, we have decided to do it in
Photoshop, as it gives us the flexibility to
quickly edit/choose the areas affected by
this effect.
- Open the Channels dialog and press Ctrl
+ left click on the Alpha layer to select its
pixels. Note that, the alpha channel came
integrated with the TGA rendered file.

- Use the Polygonal Lasso tool (L) to
subtract (Alt) and/or add (Shift) selection
areas for the bloom effect. These areas
should be white, preferably.
- While the selection is still on, save it by
clicking Select from the main toolbar and
choosing the Save Selection option, from
the dropdown list. Name it Bloom on the
Save Selection dialog name field.
This new selection should now be added to
the channels list (Fig.144 147).
92 - Next, while the selection is still on, select
the Render layer, followed by copying (Ctrl
practice to keep the original layers prior
to editing it. Click on the Filters rollout and
choose the Gaussian Blur filter from the
dropdown list.
- The value of 11.1 seemed to have worked
best, however, you may want to try different
values.
- For future reference, it is always
recommendable to rename the layer
+ C) and pasting (Ctrl + V) to create a new
according to the filter applied, plus its
layer.
values (i.e. Gaussian blur 11.5). This will
- Change its layer properties color to blue,

and name the new layer bloom.
make it easier to remember the original filter

applied (Fig.148 150).
- Next we are going to apply a nice

Gaussian Blur filter to emulate the bloom
effect. Duplicate the layer to keep the
original copy. It is prudent and common
93 - The next stage is to tweak its brightness

levels.
- Click on the Create New Fill or Adjustment

Layer button; on its pop up list, choose the
Curves adjustment layer.
- Its parameters should load up. Tweak
- Choose red and deep blue tones.

- Create another Color Balance adjustment
layer. This time, use cyan and yellow tones
Decrease the overall (i.e. master) color

saturation to about -6.
(Fig.153 154).
its values by adding and moving points, until

satisfied (Fig.151 152).
- Add the Hue/Saturation Adjustment layer.
The next stage is to tweak with specific

95 - The next step is to balance these colors
with the Hue/Saturation Adjustment layer.
colors. The first color to concentrate on is

red.
94 - The next phase is to color grade it with the

Color Balance adjustment layer.
- Choose the red color from the palette list.

- Increase its Saturation to about +40. This
parameter will only affect the red tones of
the image. Also, decrease its Lightness
parameters to about -9.
- Increase the yellows Saturation to about
+6; the greens to about +5 and the blues
to +73
Note that these values can be changed, if
desired (Fig.155 156).

96 - Now it is time to add the AO pass for
additional depth.
- Select the AO document and duplicate it.
- In the Duplicate layer dialog; under the
Destination group, choose the relevant
document (i.e. Room final.tga) destination,
and name the layer as AO. This will
paste this duplicated layer in the chosen
document, with the appropriate name.
- In the Room final.tga document, move
down the AO layer to be placed on top of
the Render layer (Fig.157 158).
97 - The next step is to blend the AO layer and
edit its appearance.
- Set the AO layer blending mode to Multiply
type.
- Create a mask for the AO layer by clicking
on the Add Vector Mask button. This will
help edit this layer with the brush tool (B).
- While the AO layer mask is selected, enable
the brush tool (B) and begin brushing
around the areas of the image that you
desire to omit or have less prominence. The
mask layer works best with black and white
colors(X). Black = to omit pixels(X); White =
to bring pixels to prominence(X).
Moreover, the opacity function on the main
toolbar helps to set the visibility of the brush
strokes.
- Finally, one can duplicate the AO layer to
accentuate its appearance (Fig.159 161).
98 - Once satisfied with the image, save it as
TIFF, if desired. Also, one can color grade
the final image further, if desired. In fact,
there is a PSD file called Room final_
composition, with additional color grading.
Tiff file formats are highly recommended by
the reprographics, as these file types retain
the original quality of the render. JPEGs
should only be used for email and web
purposes (Fig.162).
99 - Artists often use camera effects such as
additional realism to the image. These
Depth of Field (DOF) and Chromatic
effects work best when they are subtle,
Aberration for finishing touches and
especially in the visualisation industry.
As previously mentioned, mental ray can

easily achieve these effects however,
one is advised to emulate them in postproduction, for quick turnarounds and
feedback, especially when youre dealing
with impatient clients who want work quickly
and are determine to give you a run for their
money.
100 - Chromatic Aberration
- Open the flattened TIFF file in Photoshop.
- Open the Channels dialog in Photoshop.
- Select the red channel layer and move it
once to the left and upwards, using the
move tool (V) (Fig.163 164).
101 - Select the green channel layer and move
it down once. And finally move the blue
channel layer to the right once. Note that
and/or use the layer opacity to fade out the
- Select the Z Depth document.
one can move these channel layers in a
irrelevant areas (Fig.165).
- Add the Levels adjustment layer

- Tweak with its settings until there is a clear
different direction and/or not all of them, if

desired.
101 - Depth of Field
contrast between colors (Fig.166 167).
To add the Depth of Field, we are simply

Also, it is common practise to use two
going to use the Z Depth render element
different image layers (i.e. one with and
in conjunction with Curves, to save out the
another without the Chromatic Aberration
appropriate mask for DOF camera effect
effect) to mask out with Vector Mask tool
from Photoshop.
102 - Once satisfied, duplicate the original.

- Select both the duplicated layer and the
Levels adjustment layer.
- While both layers are still selected, merge

them by right clicking and selecting the
Merge Layers option, from the pop up list
(Fig.168).
103 - With enough contrast in the image, its
much easier to select the desired areas.
- While the relevant layer is selected, go
to the Select tool rollout and choose the
Color Range option from the list.
- In the Color Range dialog, choose the
selection range desired, with the slider.
Click OK to close it, once satisfied
(Fig.169 170).
104 - While the selection range is on, in the
document, go to the Select rollout toolbar,
and choose the Save Selection option
from the dropdown menu list.
- In the Save Selection dialog, choose the
destination of your document (i.e. the presaved TIFF image), and name it DOF. The
selection is now part of the pre-saved TIFF
document, as an alpha channel.
105 - With everything in place, it is now time to
add the DOF effect.
- Select and duplicate the main layer.
- Click on the Filter main toolbar. Choose
Blur from the dropdown list, followed by
Lens Blur.
- Its parameters are self explanatory. Load
the pre-saved DOF selection channel from the Depth Map group
option.
- Check the Invert function to invert the
areas being affected by the DOF.
- Tweak with its parameters to see what
works best for you.
final colour grade was achieved using colour adjustment layer
techniques, as discussed earlier.
Scene Created by:
Viktor Fretyn
Textures Supplied by:
3DTotal Total Textures

Tutorial by:
Jamie cardoso
Or contact them:
+ mental ray
Scene Created by: Viktor Fretyn | Tutorial Written by Jamie cardoso
situation.
Sunset / Sunrise
Chapter 2 | July Issue 059

Broad Daylight



Environment Lighting Indoor Scene - Chapter 3: Artificial Light

Chapter 3 - Artificial
Light
In this tutorial we will be concentrating mainly
on illuminating the scene with artificial overhead
light (i.e. chandelier). Having previously worked
on the textures and shaders, this scene will be
fairly simple compared to its predecessors.
The focus will be on the parameters of the
light source, and how the existing shaders
should react to it. The main objective of this
exercise is to have the scene with the correct
shadows, enough luminance and depth; to be
composited later in Photoshop. Although mental
ray is powerful enough to have the final image
looking as good as a photograph, its often
recommendable to add final changes, such as
brightness and overall color, etc, in Photoshop.
01 - Open the Render Setup dialog (F10).
This method of working is vital in delivering

projects within a certain time frame and budget.
- In the Common parameters rollout, pan
As mentioned earlier, its absolutely essential
down to the Assign Renderer rollout, and
to have photo references of similar lighting
click on its Production toggle to load up the
conditions, to cross-reference.
mental ray renderer (Fig.01).
the creation of the light in all four viewports.

- Open the Lights set, and choose the Target
Without further do, lets open the Max file under
02 - Next, we are going to create a photometric
the name of Start_Artificial Light_Night-Time_
light to serve as the light source for the
- The mr Photometric Exposure control dialog
Bright Overhead_ Lighting.max
chandelier.
should the prompted. Click Yes.
Light type by clicking on its button.
- In the front viewport, click and drag the

First, we are going to load the mental ray
renderer in the scene.
- Maximize the viewport (Alt + W) and open

the Create command. This is to fully monitor
cursor down, to create the light. Click on the

Select and Move tool bar to exit creation
(Fig.02 - 03).
03 - Now that the light has been created, open
the Modify panel.
- Select the 4ft Pendant Fluorescent (web)
from the template rollout.
- With the lights target now set, disable the
Targeted function on the General
Parameters rollout. This is to provide better
flexibility when moving the light source.
- In the Shadows group, change it to Ray
Traced Shadows type. Mental ray works
best with ray traced shadows.
- By default, the light distribution is set to
Indoor Scene - Chapter 3: Artificial Light Environment Lighting
Photometric Web, and its distribution type is

Linear_pendant (Fig.04 05).
- Move it to the top of the chandelier (i.e. X=

-0.002; Y=-3.995; Z=83.031).
- Next, open the Environment and Effects
04 - Prior to test rendering, we are going to
dialog and change the exposure preset to
enable the Material Override, for quick test
Physically based lighting, indoor daylight.
renders.
- Also, change the shutter speed to about

40 to reduce the brightness, and enable
- Open the Material Editor dialog and select

the wall (pearl finish) (mi)_15 material slot.
- On the Processing parameters rollout of
Process background and environment maps.

- Increase the Shadows value to 1.0 as this
adds more depth to the scene.
the Render Setup dialog, check the Enable
- As done previously, change the
Material Override function.
Whitepoint to 9500.0, and the Vignetting to
- Back in the Material Editor dialog, drag the

wall (pearl finish) (mi)_15 and drop it on the
Material Override toggle.
- Accept the Instance copy method. Open
the mental ray message window and test
10.0.
- Finally, change the Physical scale to
Unitless, and set it to 120000.0. Note that,
the gamma settings are already set to 2.2.
Modify parameters, change the Dimming
Then test render again (Fig.07).
Resulting Intensity to about 8000.0.
render.
Accept any missing map coordinates (Fig.06).
- In the Shape/area Shadows group, change

06 - The render seems a bit too dark with sharp
the Emit light from (shape) to Disc, from the
shadows. Next, we are going to change the
list. This was chosen to help emulate the
intensity of the light and its emitting shape.
light source in question.
05 - The light seems to be a bit far away from

the chandelier.
- Increase its shadow Radius to about 1.0.

- While the light is still selected, in the
Higher values equal softer shadows (and

increases rendering times) (Fig.08 09).
07 - The render is now looking bright and
balanced. The next step is to apply an
environment map to the background.
- Click on the Environment Map toggle, and
choose the environment/background
switcher (mi) from the Material/map
Browser dialog list.
- Once loaded, drag and drop it onto the
Material Editor. Choose the Instance copy
method (Fig.10 11).
08 - Its parameters should load up. In the
background toggle, apply the bitmap named
outside Big_darker2.jpeg. This bitmap is a
night version of the original environment map
applied earlier (Fig.12 13).
tile its current coordinates to fit the viewport

proportions.
09 - The bitmap parameters should load up.

Its display in the Material Editor slot seems
- First, enable the Texture type mapping in
tiled. As previously done, we are going to
order to disable the Use Real-World scale
disable the Use Real-World scale function and
function.
- Once disabled change it back to
Environment type and select Screen from
list.
Increase the V offset value to 0.93 and the
10 - It fits quite well in the environment, but the

bitmap seems a bit too dark. Pan down to the
tiling value to 0.2 (Fig.14). Then test render
Output rollout and increase its RGB level to 2.0
to see the results.
and test render it again (Fig.15).

11 - Back in the Environment/background
switcher (mi) parameters, apply the Environment
probe/chrome ball (mi) to the Environment/
reflections toggle. Next, we are going to copy
and paste the background bitmap onto the
Chrome/mirr toggle (Fig.16 17).
12 - For the purpose of this exercise, we are
simply going to copy and paste the background
bitmap onto the Chrome/mirr toggle.
- Click on Go To Parent to return to the main
Environment/background switcher (mi)
parameters.
- Right-click on the Background toggle and
choose Copy from the pop up list.
- Enter the Environment/reflections toggle
and paste it onto the Chrome/mirr toggle.
The choice of pasting the bitmap onto the
toggle was made because it retains the
original coordinate parameters and because
these parameters are editable.
- Finally, change the Reverse Gamma
Correction value to 2.2 (Fig.18 20).
13 - One would normally increase the multiplier
values in order to add brightness to the
reflections, however due to the bitmap being
dark; we are going to fiddle with its RGB level
value instead.
- Enter the Environment/Reflections bitmap
coordinates.
- Pan down to the Output rollout and
increase the RGB level value to about 30.
- Before test rendering, we are going to
disable the Material Override function and
increase the FG Diffuse Bounces to 1
14 - The render is looking nice and bright,
(Fig.21 22).
however the chandelier seems slightly over lit.

Also, the mirror reflection doesnt seem to have
the same intensity of brightness as the outside
environment. Finally, one can change the lights
current color to a warmer yellow, if desired.
- Back in the Chrome/mirr bitmap Output
parameters, increase the RGB level value to
about 180.
- In the scene select the parts of the
chandelier that are over lit (i.e. object 4203).
- In the material slot, select the slot named

copper (mi)_19.
- Since the same material had been applied
to a number of other objects in the scene,
we are going to create a new one, by
dragging it to a new slot and renaming it (i.e.
copper chandelier (mi)_19).
- The main cause of its brightness is the light
source being too close to the chandelier and
the original Relative Intensity of Highlights
value being 20.0. Change it to about 3.0 and
assign the new material (Fig.23).
15 - Next, change the lights Filter color to a
warm yellow, and darken the copper chandelier
(mi)_19 diffuse and reflection color (Fig.24 26).
16 - The overall render is looking much better
now. One can later increase the brightness in
Photoshop if you like. The final step is to save
the final gather solution and send the final
render.
- In the Indirect Illumination rollout, increase
the Initial FG Point Density to about 0.7, to
add more depth and clean up any artifacts.
- In the Rays per FG Point, increase it to 150,
for better FG precision.
- In the Interpolate over num. FG Points,
increase it to about 80, to smooth out FG
Blotches etc.
- Pan down to the Reuse (FG and GI disk
caching) rollout.
Since we have an idea of the overall look of the
image, we are going to skip the final render by

enabling the Calculate FG/GI and Skip Final
Rendering function.
- In the Final Gather Map group, change the
current preset to Incrementally add FG point
to the map files. This function will cache all
the final gather map points.
- In the Browse toggle (i.e. ...), set the file
location and name, followed by pressing
Generate Final Gather Map File Now, to
generate the FG map. Ensure to do this in
one machine only.
- In the Processing rollout, check the
Enable Geometry Caching function.
This function will later help speed up the
geometry translation process (Fig.27 29).
17 - Once the FG process is finished, Lock
the geometry caching function. Disable the
Calculate FG/GI and skip final rendering
function. Also, change the final gather map from
Incrementally add FG point to map files, to Read
FG points only from existing map files (Fig.30).
18 - Next we are going to add a volumetric affect
coming from the light source. This effect will add
extra depth to the scene.
To emulate this, we are going to use the beam
(lume) shader, from the camera shaders group.
- Open the Renderer parameters rollout.
- Pan down to the Camera Shaders group
and click on the Volume toggle.
- Select the beam (lume) shader from the
Material/Map Browser dialog list. Note that
this shader doesnt contribute much to the
rendering time (Fig.31).

19 - To view and edit its parameters, drag and
drop it onto the Material Editor dialog.
- The Color function sets the volumetric
color. Change it to match the photometric
light source in the scene (i.e. copy and paste
it).
- The Density function sets the visibility of
the Beam effect. The default value of 5.0
is too big. The rule of thumb is to start with
smaller values such as 0.001, and gradually
increase it as desired.
- When enabled, the Lights function allows
the user to pick the lights which the effect
will be applied to. To add lights to the name
field, simply click on the Add button and
pick the light/s in the scene. To Replace or
Delete, simply click the appropriate button
and test render it.
- Add tphotometriclight01 to its name
field (Fig.32).
20 - With everything set; we can now adjust the
final output size and other general parameters,
prior to sending the final render.
- In the Common parameters rollout, lock the
image and pixel aspect ratio.
In the Output Size, set the width and height
to 3500x1638. This render size is big enough
for high resolution prints however; you may try
bigger sizes if desired.
- In the Renderer parameters rollout, change
the samples per pixel to 1/16 and the filter
type to Mitchell. These settings will ensure
that the final render is very sharp.
- Try a few Region renders to ensure most
material/shaders parameters are rendering
without artifacts (Fig.33 34).
21 - Once satisfied change back the Area to
Render to View type.
Enable the Save File in the Render Output
group, and click render (Fig.35 36).
Compositing in
Photoshop
Photoshop will be used mainly to increase the
brightness of the image and to color grade it.
22 - Open the Final Render_Bright_overhead_
lighting.tga in Photoshop.
23 - First, duplicate the Background layer and
name it render. Also, change its color to
red. It is common practice not to work on the
original layer. Changing the layer color will help

differentiate between layers at a later stage.
- In the RGB color palette, choose Blue

from the list. Add a curve point in the centre
of the curve, and move it down towards
24 - To increase brightness; simply add the

Curves Adjustment Layer, by clicking on its
button and choosing it, from the pop up list
(Fig.37).
yellow. The image should now have a nice

yellowish tint to it.
- Next we are going add a red hue to the
image by selecting the red color palette and
adding a point in the centre, Then move it up
25 - In the adjustment layer, add curve points
slightly to add a touch of red (Fig39 40).
with the cursor. The dark graph to the left

represents the darker areas of the image, and
27 - To emphasize the light intensity coming
the rest are the brighter areas. Add and move
from the chandelier, we are going to add a bit of
the curve points to a position where the image
a glow layer to it.
is substantially brighter. Note how the Beam

effect has become more apparent in the render
(Fig.38).
- Open a file under the name of glare_

chandelier.psd.
- This file consists of one simple blurred out
26 - Next, we are going to color grade the
layer. Drag and drop it onto the main
image. Interior artificial lighting in households
working document.
are often perceived to have a warm yellowish

tint to them. Most photo references reflect that.
- Move it to the top of the chandelier and use

the Soft Light blending mode to integrate it
with the image. Note that one can choose a
Saturation to about -8.
different blending mode, if desired (Fig.41
- In the Cyan palette, increase it to about +48.
42).
- Finally, in the Master color palette,

decrease the saturation to about -25 (Fig.43
28 - To help accentuate and desaturate certain
44).
colours, we are going to add the Hue/Saturation

adjustment layer.
29 - To add extra depth to the image use the

Ambient Occlusion (i.e. AO) pre-rendered layer
- To boost up the red tones, simply select the
from the previous exercise.
Red color palette and increase its Saturation

to about +32. Also, decrease its Lightness to
Add it to the top of the Hue/Saturation layer and
about -12. Note that although these values
use the Multiply blending mode to integrate it.
worked well, one may try different values if
Finally, use the Add Vector Mask in conjunction
desired.
with the brush (B) tool to slightly omit the AO on
- In the Yellow color palette, decrease its
undesired areas (Fig.45).
30 - To increase the overall brightness of the

image; simply add another Curves adjustment
layer on top. Ensure that its beneath the Glare
layer, to avoid over blowing the image (Fig.46
- 47).
Mental ray is capable of achieving all the
post effects added in Photoshop however, its
prudent to use Photoshop for color grading,
brightness, etc, as these effects are often under
greater scrutiny for quick feedback by clients.
Scene created by:
Viktor Fretyn
Textures supplied by:

Tutorial by:
Jamie cardoso
Or contact them:
+ mental ray
Scene Created by: Viktor Fretyn | Tutorial Written by Jamie Cardoso
situation.
Sunset / Sunrise

Broad Daylight




Chapter 4 - Artificial Light
Mood lighting scenes often consist mainly of a nice balance between
bright and dark areas, coupled with beautiful warm and light colors.
Moreover, the luminance and the appearance of the lampshades should
also help convey the mood of the image.
Finally, its common practice to source for photo references of similar
lighting conditions, to help visualize the final piece.
Having set up the previous interior night scene (i.e. Artificial Light (NightTime) _Bright Overhead Lighting), this exercise will be focusing mainly on
creating a nice mood lighting effect and fine-tuning some of the existing
shaders, to react harmoniously towards the light.
To create the mood lighting effect, we are going to light up the lamp
shades in the scene, and keep their intensity to a minimum.
Throughout the exercise we will tweak and test render each added light to
help control the overall brightness of the scene.
Open the Max file under the name of start_artificial_Nightime_mood
lighting_lowLevel_romantic.max. Note that the scene has the mental
ray renderer loaded, overhead light is in the scene, FG is enabled with
exposure controls; etc.
Open the Render Setup dialog. Under the Processing parameters rollout,
enable the Material Override and test render the scene. Ignore the Missing
Map Coordinates dialog by clicking continue and the dont display this
message function.
Note that this message is only appearing because the Material Override
is enabled. Once disabled for the final test renders, it will no longer be
prompted (Fig.01).
The scene is currently brightly lit by the overhead light from the previous
exercise. As mentioned earlier, when adding numerous lights it is crucial
to test render the effect of each new light added in the scene.
Maximize the viewport (Alt + W) to have full control of all viewports. Open
Select the overhead light. Open the Modify command and decrease
the Create command and select the Lights set. Zoom in close to the lamp
Resulting Intensity to about 1.0. In the Shape/Area Shadows parameters
shade area in the front viewport; choose the Target Light type, followed by
rollout, decrease its disc radius to 0.23. Do a test render to see the
clicking and dragging it to create it (Fig.03).
changes (Fig.02).
Now that its target is set (i.e. downwards), disable it to facilitate moving
The render is very dark now. To begin brightening up the scene, we are
the light around the scene. In the Shadows group, change it to Ray
going to add an artificial light to the bedside lamp shades.
Traced Shadows, as it works best with mental ray. Change the Selection
filter type to Lights, to avoid selecting anything

else in the scene. In the top viewport, move
the light closer to the centre of the lamp shade
and change the visual style to wireframe if
necessary. Then test render the changes
(Fig.04).
The scene is now slightly brighter; however, it
could benefit from more brightness. Also, the
shadows could be softer and the light color a bit
warmer.
While the light is still selected, open the
Intensity/Color/Attenuation parameter rollout
and change the Filter Color to a yellowish tone.
This will add some warmth to the scene. In the
Dimming group, increase Resulting Intensity
to about 9000.0, to make the scene slightly
brighter. In the Shape/Area/Shadows group,
increase the disc Radius to about 0.1. This will
soften the shadows a bit (i.e. high disc values =
softer shadows). Test render again (Fig.05).
The render has a much warmer feel to it now.
Next, we are going to copy instance this light
to the other lamp shade. Test render again.
Note that we are systematically test rendering to
monitor the brightness of the scene as more
hand side. This time, we are going to randomize
lights are added.
its parameters.
So far, the brighter and darker areas of the
Change its Filter Color to a lighter tone of
scene are still defined (i.e. depth) (Fig.06).
yellow. Increase its Resulting Intensity to about
Next, we are going to create a light source for
15000.0. Finally, decrease its radius to about
the standing lamp, by first selecting the light
0.03. This will make its shadows somewhat
TPhotometricLight03, copying and moving it
sharper. Test render the changes (Fig.07a
to the standing lamp by the window, on the right
07b).
The next light source to create is the desk

lamp close to the window. Simply select the
light TPhotometricLight04, copy and move it
to the desk lamp, close to the window. Again,
randomize its parameters. Change its Filter
Color to a different tone of yellow. Decrease its
Intensity to about 3000.0; and its disc Radius to
about 0.13 (Fig.08a 08b)
Finally, create the light source for the small
table lamp, using the same approach discussed
earlier (Fig.09a 09b).
The overall brightness and depth are looking
nice and balanced. Next, we are going to try
our first render without the Material Override
function.
Open the Render Setup dialog (i.e. F.10.). In
the Processing parameters rollout, un-check the
Material Override function, and test render (i.e.
Shift+ Q) (Fig.10).
The render now has a nice contrasting look;
however, if desired, one can increase the
contrast even further by increasing the Shutter
Speed value after the FG parameters have been
cached.
Next, we shall assign a nice dimly lit texture
to the lamp shade, coupled with tweaking the
Transparency and Glossiness values of the
Refraction group shader.
Apply a new texture to its Diffuse Color toggle.
To saturate and brighten the color, we are
Open the Material Editor dialog (M) and select
Pick the texture under the name of lit lamp
going to apply the composite shader. Click on
the lamp shade (pearl Finish) (mi)_13 material
shade.jpeg. Once its Bitmap Coordinates
the Bitmap toggle and choose the composite
from the slot. Drag and drop it onto a new slot,
are loaded, disable the Use Real-World Scale
shader from the Material/Map Browser dialog
to create a new material. Rename it lamp
function, and decrease the Blur value to about
list. Choose to Keep old map as sub-map?, in
shade 2 (Pearl Finish). Discard the content of
0.01. This will sharpen the texture (Fig.12a
the Replace Map dialog. The composite layers
its current Diffuse Color toggle (Fig.11).
12b).
parameters should load up. Click on the Color

Correct This Texture toggle, to enter and tweak
with its parameters (Fig13a 13c).
Inside the Color Correction parameters, pan
down to the Color parameters rollout and
increase the Saturation to about 8.97. Next, pan
further down to the Lightness parameters rollout
and enable the Advanced function.
To maximize the impact of its appearance, first
reduce the Gamma/Contrast value to about
0.7. This will add some contrast to the texture.
Finally, increase its RGB value to about 200.0.
This will increase the textures brightness whilst
retaining its depth (Fig.14).
Click on the Go To Parent button, to return to
the main arch+design parameters. Lit lamp
shades often have a matte translucent look to
them.
Do the following to emulate this effect:
1 - Decrease the Reflectivity, Glossiness and
Glossy Samples to 0.0. This is to eliminate the
effects of any possible glossy reflections.
2 - To add a bit of transparency, increase the
Transparency value to about 0.1 or lower.
Higher values will increase transparency.
3 -To emulate translucency without massive
the Glossiness value to about 0.5; in the
Note that lower values will further increase the
increases in rendering times, simply decrease
Refraction group.
blurriness of objects behind the lamp shade, and

subsequently increase the rendering times.
Moreover, decreasing the Glossiness to values
lower than 0.5 will implicate increasing the
Glossy Samples values, to prevent artifacts
(Fig.15).
Assign this material to all lamp shades with
photometric lights inside. Also, to add more
realism, create a new material deriving from this
shader (i.e. drag and drop it onto a new slot,
and rename it), and randomize its composite
RGB values.
Note that, for this scene values higher than
300.0 may result in an overexposed texture
(Fig.16a).

The scene now has a wonderful romantic feel
to it. If still not satisfied, increase the Shutter
Speed values, to darken the scene.
After the latest test render, some lighting
artifacts have become apparent around the
bed sheets and walls. This is mainly due to the
energy being emitted by the photometric lights
of the bed struggling to escape through the
blurry transparency of the lamp shades.
There are two methods of tackling this issue:
Increasing drastically most Final Gather values
or setting the lamp shade objects to prevent
the FG from passing through its transparency.
The most efficient and less time consuming
approach is the second option. Select the lamp
shade object by the bed and open its physical
properties by right clicking and selecting
Properties from the popup menu list. Its object
properties dialog should open. In the mental
ray parameters rollout, enable the Return Black
function from the Final Gather group. This will
prevent the light energy from escaping through
the blurry transparency, whilst presenting itself
as translucent somehow (Fig.16b - 16c).
Next, we are going to instruct mental ray to
cache the FG parameters and send out the final
render.
Open the Indirect Illumination parameters
rollout. In the Final Gather parameters, increase
Initial FG Point Density to about 0.7. This will
add more depth to the scene and correct some
of the final artifacts gathered. The value of 0.7 is
usually okay for interior scenes. Higher values
will substantially increase the rendering times.
Increase the Rays per FG Point to about 150.
Increasing this value shoots more rays and
defines the scene, especially in darker areas.
The value of 150 is often sufficient for interior
scenes. Higher values will drastically increase
the rendering times.
Due to most lights being emitted through semi
transparent lamp shades, we are going to
increase the Interpolate Over Num FG points
value to about 100. This will help correct any
Since we have an idea of the overall look of the
possible artifacts that may occur, as result
render, we should now enable the Calculate
of that, with little or no extra rendering time
FG/GI and Skip Final Rendering function.
(Fig.17).
In the Final Gather Map group, change it to

Incrementally Add FG Points to Map Files. This
Pan down to the Reuse (FG and GI Disk
function will incrementally cache the FG points
Caching) parameters rollout.
whilst the Final Gather process is taking place.
Click on the Browse toggle to set the location

and the name of the FG map file to be saved.
Finally, click on Generate Final Gather Map File
Now to calculate and save the FG map (Fig.18).
Once the Final Gather process is completed,
disable Calculate FG/GI and Skip Final
Rendering function and set the Final Gather
Prior to sending the final render, Region render
map to Read FG Points Only from Existing Map
crucial areas of the scene to assess the final
Files (Fig.19).
quality. Region render the scene (Shift + Q).

(Fig.21).
With everything set, it is now time to increase

the final render size and adjust the general
The glossy reflections are not accurate,
renderer parameters.
in certain areas. To correct this, open the

Renderer parameters rollout, and increase the
In the Common parameters rollout, increase
Glossy Reflections Precision (multiplier) to 4.0.
the Output Size to 3500x1638 in width and
Back in the Common parameters rollout, change
height. Note that this size works well for printing
the Area to Render back to View. Finally, enable
however, at times, one may be required to go
Save File and send the final render (Fig.22a
higher (i.e. 5000x2340 or higher). Also, set the
22b).
Render Output file name, and location. In the

the Minimum Samples per Pixel to 1, and the
Compositing in
Photoshop
Maximum to 16. Finally, change the filter type to
In this exercise, Photoshop will be used
Mitchell (Fig.20a 20b).
essentially to color grade and to adjust the
Sampling Quality parameters rollout, increase
levels of the image.

Open the Light_Night-Time_Mood Lighting_
Low_Level_Romantic.tga in Photoshop.
Duplicate the Background layer and name it
render. In addition, change its color to red. It
is recommendable not to work on the original
layer. Changing the color of the layer often
helps to distinguish layers at a later stage. To
adjust the brightness simply add the Curves
Adjustment Layer by clicking on its button
and choosing it, from the pop up list. In the
To boost up the red tones, simply select the Red
of blue with the Curves Adjustment Layer. Add
Adjustment Layer, add curve points with the
color palette and increase its Saturation to about
a point to the centre of its curve and move it
cursor. The dark graph to the left depicts the
+4. Also, decrease its Lightness to about -12.
up slightly to bring out more hues of blue. The
darker areas of the image, and the rest are the
Note that although these values work well, one
overall image now has a nice mix of blue and
brighter areas.
may try different values, if desired.
yellow tones to it (Fig.26).
Add and move curve points to slightly adjust the
In the Yellows color palette, decrease its
To add extra depth to the image, bring in the
images bright and dark areas. Note the subtle
Saturation to about -10. In the Cyans, increase
pre-rendered layer of Ambient Occlusion (i.e.
changes on the balance of the image. Also, use
it to about +48. In the Blues, increase it to
AO), from the previous exercise.
Add Vector Mask to omit areas of the image
about +27. Finally, in the Master color palette,
(Fig.23a).
decrease the saturation to about -4. (Fig.24).
Add it to the top of the Curves layer and use

the Multiply blending mode to integrate it.
The next step is to color grade the image. Its
Evenings often have tones of blue to them,
Finally, use Add Vector Mask in conjunction
common to have a tinge of yellow in artificially
although it may not be apparent with the naked
with the Brush (B) tool to slightly omit the AO on
lit interior images. In the RGB color palette,
eye. Also, the blue tone will help to accentuate
undesired areas (Fig.27).
choose blue from the list. Add a curve point in
the romantic mood of the image. Create the
the centre of the curve and move it slightly down
Color Balance Adjustment Layer by clicking on
It is worth noting that one could have easily had
towards yellow. The image should now have a
its button. Increase its blue Midtones to about
emulated these Photoshop effects in mental ray
touch of yellow tint to it (Fig.23b).
+40. Note how dramatic the image has become
however, its prudent to use Photoshop for color
(Fig.25).
grading, brightness, etc, as these effects are

often under greater scrutiny for quick feedback
To help accentuate and desaturate certain

colors, we are going to add the Hue/Saturation
Although the image is already very appealing
Adjustment Layer.
and romantic, one can still add an extra tone
by clients (Fig.28).
Scene created by:
Viktor Fretyn

Tutorial by:
Jamie cardoso
Or contact them:
- Free Artist Final Scene
+ mental ray
Scene Created by: Viktor Fretyn | Tutorial Written by Jamie Cardoso
situation.
Sunset / Sunrise

Broad Daylight



Environment Lighting Indoor Scene - Chapter 5: TV-Lit (Night-Time)

Chapter 5 - TV-Lit
(Night-Time)
Software used: 3ds Max + mental ray
This chapter is focused mainly on creating
a different lighting mood from the previous
exercise. We will essentially have a lit TV as the
main lighting source of the scene.
Open the Max file under the name of Start_
Chapter 5 TV_Lit_NightTime_with Low_Level
Lighting_
Note that the lights from previous exercise are
still in the scene. Since the main emphasis of
this tutorial is the TV and the two bed lights, we
are going to first turn off the irrelevant lights.
Go to the main tool bar and click on Tools. On
the dropdown list, choose Light Lister (Fig.01).
Its dialogue should open. Select and disable
each unnecessary light from the Light Lister
dialog box (Fig.02).
To test render the current results, open the
Render Setup dialog (F10). In the Processing
parameters rollout, enable the Material Override
function and test render (Shift + Q) (Fig.03). The
scene is looking nicely balanced. Next, we are
going to add a light source to emulate the TV
light.
Maximize the viewport (Alt + W) to fully control
the creation of the new light source. Open the
Create command and in the Lights set, choose
the Target Light type. Click and drag it in the top
viewport to create it. To exit the creation, click
the Select and Move tool (Fig.04).
Next we are going to select and move the new
light close to the TV and change some of its
parameters. Open the Modify command and
disable the Targeted function. As the lights
target direction has been set, its easier to move
it around the scene without its target. Move the
light close to the TV screen (i.e. X=3.468; Y=4.026; Z=2.159).
Indoor Scene - Chapter 5: TV-Lit (Night-Time) Environment Lighting

Next we are going to match its dimensions with
the TV screen. In the Shape/Area Shadows
parameters, change the light emitting type
to Rectangle. This shape will make it easier
to match the TV dimensions. Set its length
to 0.615, and the width to 1.056. These
dimensions should match the TV screen size
closely. In the Intensity/Color/Attenuation
parameters change the Filter Color to blue (i.e.
red= 81; green=137; blue= 251).
In the dimming group set Resulting Intensity to
about 1000. Note that these values and settings
can be changed if desired. Do a test render
(Fig.05). Also, disable the Material Override
function to start test rendering the textures and
shaders.
Next we are going to apply a nice TV texture
to the TV screen object in the scene (i.e.
TVlit). Open the Material Editor and assign
the basic lamp shade normal (Pearl Finish)
(mi)_13 material, to all the lamp shade objects
Back in the main parameters copy the Diffuse
in the scene, with the lights turned off. Next,
bitmap from its toggle. Pan down to the Self
create a new empty material slot and name
Illumination (glow) parameter and enable it.
it Frontscreen_Pearl finish_ (mi)_11. Set its
Paste the bitmap onto the Filter toggle and
Reflectivity and Glossiness to 0.0. Also, enable
set its Luminance to Physical Units: (cd/m2).
the Metal Material function. Apply the wideshot.
Increase the Physical Units: (cd/m2) value to
jpeg bitmap to its diffuse toggle. Assign it to the
about 15000.0 in order for it to be noticeable in
Frontscreen object in the scene (Fig.06).
the render (Fig.07).
mantelpiece to cast shadows from this light,
overall look of the final render we are going
whilst not being affected by its illumination
to enable the Calculate FG/GI and Skip Final
(Fig.8c).
Rendering function. In the Final Gather Map

group, change it to Incrementally Add FG Points
With most parameters tweaked, the next stage
to Map File. This function will incrementally
is to set mental ray to cache the FG parameters
cache the FG points whilst the Final Gather is
The render is looking good, however it could
and send the final render. Open the Indirect
being processed. Click on the Browse toggle to
be improved further by slightly decreasing the
Illumination parameters rollout. In the final
set the location and the name of the FG map file
bitmap intensity on the lamp shades. Select the
gather parameters increase the Initial FG Point
to be saved. Finally, click on the Generate Final
material under the name of lamp shade (Pearl
Density to about 0.7. This will add more depth
Gather Map File Now to calculate and save the
Finish) (mi)_13 and decrease its RGB value to
to the scene and correct some of final gather
FG map (Fig.10).
about 115.0 (Fig.8a 8b).
artefacts. A value of 0.7 is usually ok for interior
The test render is looking good. However
scenes. Higher values will drastically increase
Once the Final Gather process is completed,
the rendering times.
disable the Calculate FG/GI and Skip Final

Rendering function, and set the Final Gather
the light generated by the TV seems to be

affecting the front facade of the mantelpiece.
Increase the Rays Per FG Point to about
map to Read FG Points Only From Existing Map
This may be accurate but it looks rather
150. Increasing this value shoots more rays
Files (Fig.11).
strange. To correct this, simply select the TV
and defines the scene, especially in darker
light (i.e. TPhotometricLight04), and click on its
areas. A value of 150 is often sufficient for
With everything set, its now time to increase the
Exclude toggle to open its dialog box. Select
interior scenes. Higher values will increase the
final render size and adjust the general renderer
the mantelpiece object (i.e. object 4404) from
rendering times substantially.
parameters. In the Common parameters rollout,

increase the Output Size to 3500x1638 in
the Scene Objects name field and add it to

the adjacent name field by clicking on the add
Set the Interpolate Over Num FG Points value
width and height. Note that this size worked
button.
to about 80. This will help correct any possible
well for printing, however one may be required
artefacts that may occur. A value of 80 will have
to go higher at times (i.e. 5000x2340). Also,
little or no effect on the rendering times (Fig.09).
set its Render Output file name and location.
Next we are going to enable the Illumination
In the Sampling Quality parameters rollout,
and Exclude function to prevent the mantelpiece

object from being affected by the illumination.
Pan down to the Reuse (FG and GI Disk
increase the minimum samples per pixel to 1,
This set of parameters will allow the
Caching) parameters rollout. Since we know the
and the maximum to 16. Also, in the Global
Indoor Scene - Chapter 5: TV-Lit (Night-Time) Environment Lighting

Tuning Parameters rollout, increase the Glossy
Reflections Precision (Multiplier), and the
Glossy Refractions Precision (Multiplier) to
4.0. Finally, change the filter type to Mitchell
(Fig.12a 12b).
Prior to sending the final render, Region render
crucial areas of the scene to assess the final
quality. Once the test renders are finalized
go back to the Common parameters rollout.
Change the Area to Render back to View.
Finally, enable Save File and send the final
render (Fig13a 13b).
Compositing in
Photoshop
In the following exercise, Photoshop will be
mainly utilized to color grade and to adjust the
levels.
Open Light_Night-Time_tvlit_ Low_Level in
Photoshop. Duplicate the Background layer and
name it Render. In addition, change its color
to red. It is recommended not to work on the
original layer. Changing the color of the layer
often helps to distinguish layers at a later stage.
To adjust the brightness simply add the Curves
Adjustment Layer by clicking on its button
cursor. The dark graph in Fig.14 depicts the
Add and move curve points to slightly adjust the
and choosing it from the pop up list. In the
darker areas of the image, and the rest are the
images bright and dark areas. Note the subtle
adjustment layer, add curve points with the
brighter areas.
changes in the balance of the image. Also, use
the Add Vector Mask to omit areas of the curve
It is worth noting that one could have easily
effect (Fig.14).
emulated these Photoshop effects in mental ray,

however its prudent to use Photoshop for colour
The next step is to color grade the image.
grading, brightness, etc, as these effects are
The main focus should be on the color being
often under greater scrutiny for quick feedback
generated by the TV. In the RGB color palette,
by clients.
choose blue from the list. Add a curve point in

the centre of the curve and move it up towards
Scene created by:
blue. The image should now have a nice blue
Viktor Fretyn
tint to it, whilst the yellow hues from the lamp

shade are still apparent (Fig15a 15b).
To add extra depth to the image bring in the

Ambient Occlusion (i.e. AO) pre-rendered layer
Tutorial by:
from the previous exercise. Add it to the top of
Jamie cardoso
the Curves layer and use the Multiply blending
mode to integrate it. Finally, use the Add Vector
Mask in conjunction with the Brush (B) tool to
Or contact them:
slightly omit the AO on undesired areas of the
image (Fig.16).
- Free Artist Final Scene

3D Total Lighting La Salle 3DSMax + Mental Ray

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Chapter 1 | This Issue

Chapter 2 | Next Issue

parameters along with talking about the different methods of tackling

Chapter 3 | August Issue 060

the subject. The manipulation of textures may also be covered in order

Artificial Light - Bright over head light at night

Chapter 4 | September Issue 061

Chapter 5 | October Issue 062

Environment Lighting Indoor Scene - Chapter 1: Sunset

The daylight system creation dialog box should

Next, we are going to create the daylight

and dragging the cursor to start the creation.

system, to set the shadow directions.

On releasing the mouse to complete the

to the assign renderer rollout and click on

Make sure you have all four of the viewports

compass creation, the mental ray sky dialog

the production toggle to load the mental ray

available so you can have full control of the

should be prompted. Accept it to continue the

renderer. Choose it and close the dialog box.

daylight system creation.

Create the daylight system by first clicking on

Continue the creation by moving the cursor up

the create main tool bar.

or down to set the distance of the daylight object

from the compass helper.

500x234 pixels. With the image and pixel aspect

On the dropdown list, choose lights, followed by

Once satisfied, simply left click to finish the

Indoor Scene - Chapter 1: Sunset Environment Lighting

Prior to that, we are going to disable the final

The shadow position seems ok now. The next

The sun shadows should be considerably long

graphics card, simply disable the hardware

step is to use a basic material override color to

and of burnt yellow colour, to resemble a

shadings function, and click render (Shift + Q),

further tweak the daylight systems color and

sunset. (Fig.04a and Fig.04b)

to see the results.

Environment Lighting Indoor Scene - Chapter 1: Sunset

reddish colour). Also Increase its saturation.

The next stage is to add portal lights and a fill

emulate this, disable the inherit from mr sky

To about 1.5 then test render it. (Fig.06)

light in the foreground, to help improve further

height and change its color to a stronger blue

Select the top viewport. On the create

red/blue tint value to 0.4(equal to a yellowish/

(next to the windows).

command, open the photometric light set.

Pan down to the mr sky advanced parameters

Click and drag the target light from the object

rollout; and bring down the horizon line by

type group to the front viewport, to create it.

decreasing its height to -1.5.

To change the skys colour to a stronger blue,

The principle is to create a nice diffused light to

in the non-physical tuning group, decrease its

emulate light bounces around the designated

red/blue tint value to -0.32. Then test render it

Indoor Scene - Chapter 1: Sunset Environment Lighting