[mxwl_fjg]

good question - forgot to add that part!

ztool has 6 subd levels,
Displacement Settings (Multi-map Exporter):
subDiv Level: 3
adaptive: on
smoothUV: on
Mid: 0
32Bit: on
DpSubPix: 1

I think the remaining export settings are for 16bit maps... according to the docs for Multi-map exporter


EDIT: I should note that I ran into a strange scale issue with zb>xsi but it seems resolved in the Mental ray render.
since I built base bust (original renders at start of thread) in xsi, then did detailing in zb. THEN added body with retopo,
and projected the head details on the new full body mesh in zb... phew.
ANYWAY - the scale is noticeable when switching ztools that are the same size in xsi - they change size in the
view port in zb. make sense? Not sure what causes that, or if its significant.

[Half Life]

Try creating the map with 16-bit instead and:

Set mid for 0.5
enable the 16-bit scale and click the "Get Scale" button.

Best,
Jason.

[mxwl_fjg]

After clicking the get scale button (w/out exporting), the scale reads as 11.2, and the intensity as .25.
Which number do use for Maxwell- I'm guessing the .25 for height, but just what to make sure

thanks

[Half Life]

Try 1.12 or .112 -- I can't remember how many decimal places it is offhand.

Best,
Jason.

[mxwl_fjg]

Ok, looks like 16bit is working right. I think your right about the scale (instead of intensity), but based
on different lighting, I'm using a value slightly higher than .112.

I didn't save the grey render, but I'll post another soon. tweaking the hair.

thanks for the help, half life!

[Mihai]

Some smaller details like the wrinkles on the neck could also be due to lighting, it looks softer in Maxwell, while in Mental Ray you're also using a sharp spot/infinite light?

Btw, I would switch off adaptive, it will take a lot longer to render using a 4K map. Are you subdiving the head once in XSI before rendering in both MW/MR?

[mxwl_fjg]

Mihai - your right - infinite light in MR, so it really isn't a fair comparison, but I think the
maps are behaving a bit differently between 32 and 16 bit... not sure how to make a more
direct comparison.

Here is another test. This is a slightly different, using just the physical sun and a reflector to his right.
He's is in a grey box with a couple holes cut out at the top to let in light from sun. Took about 2.5 hours to render.
I also changed the material - the previous renders used a single sided SSS on a different
layer, this is weighted BSDF on same layer. Not sure if that helped or hurt the render time or look of the
image (not enough experience yet).

EDIT: made the changes (adaptive off, etc.). The ZB file is exported at level 3 (~97kpolys) out of 6, so I've
subdiv'd him in MW 3 times for the following test... I'm guessing subdivs are the same.

I like this image and should have let it render longer, but I need to fix the eyebrows and touch up the hair.


Are there any .mxs files around that have good demonstration of material/lighting combinations used for skin? It
would be great if there were some scenes on think.maxwellrender.com.

[Bubbaloo]

Looking good!

You'll get better render times (and more realistic lighting) with a good HDR environment.

[mxwl_fjg]

Hmmm seems like Environment lighting options have stopped working - at least when exporting from Softimage to fire/studio. This was working the other day... 2.62?

[mxwl_fjg]

thanks for the advice bubbaloo - much faster. ~30mins.