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Hiya! I'm new to the forum. I'm a jewellery designer from Australia. Nice to meet you all


I've been playing around with Maxwell for a while now but I can't seem to get the hang of it. Ideally I would like the scene setup so that the reflections on metal are perfect and simple yet have enough colour to make the diamonds look realistic. I've run out of idea =( Anyone got and suggestions on how to setup the scene?

Currently I've created light objects with Hdri tex mapped on to them to create a "softlight" (softboxes in photo studios.) I found if I used complex HDRI enviroments, I get very very messy reflections. But as you can see from the picture below, the diamonds are horrible.




I've attached another test image where the diamonds look much better but the scene is too dark and the reflections are /sigh.

First one is a very nice design!

Yes, realy nice design!

the first one is very nice indeed!

Raph

I agree, the first one is a very nice design.
And I agee with you, if it was my ring, I would be sick about how poorly the diamonds render. They look like bluish glass. No fire, sickly hue, just totally *off* for a diamond.
I wish I had some solutions to offer. Maxwell is about lighting. Check the Kelvin of your emitters. 5500+ is helpful. If you're using HDRI's they could be the problem. Try making your own mxi soft box lights and applying them to your emitters.
Did you do a boolean diff between your stones and metal material? That is essential to getting the gem material to render in any kind of reasonable way.
Good luck!

Welcome...

Sharp design ...

Did you do a boolean diff between your stones and metal material? That is essential to getting the gem material to render in any kind of reasonable way.

Hey Larry, ... could you elaborate on this idea?

Thanks guys for your advice and complements. Here is a follow up render. I found this obsure link that curiously was trying to sell an "all-in-one" Jewelery Photography Rig for $1400USD, I copied a lighting setup example and to my suprise it actually turned out okay. The diamond, although still lacks the brilliance has a bit of depth to it. THANK GOD for Multi-Light. Cheers

pretty cool ring...

The last one is lovely !
About brilliance ... you would need some small-sized emitters.
Just as large emitter produce blurry shadows, large emitters also produce blurry dispersion (its a geometry thing).

Wow, the first one makes me wanna propose to my girlfriend, and give her that one. I think its the most beautiful ring I have ever seen. I really like it.

nice pictures, and the last one is top notch !

keep it up. I like the design too

And so do i, powerful yet not too heavy.

ioiooi wrote:....... The diamond, although still lacks the brilliance has a bit of depth to it.

Do you have the dispersion turned on for your diamond material?

You should also make sure that the diamonds do not intersect the metal, that kills the diamons also.

One thing that's important, the fire comes from contrast in light. The dispersion effect is more clearly visible on sharp light/dark edges.

Ricardo

ivox3 wrote:Welcome...

Sharp design ...

Did you do a boolean diff between your stones and metal material? That is essential to getting the gem material to render in any kind of reasonable way.

Hey Larry, ... could you elaborate on this idea?

Hi Chris,
Just as Ricardo pointed out, the gem material and metal should not intersect. A bool diff prevents that from happening. And actually imitates how a gem is set.
Thanks for the tip about small emitters Thomas. Hadn't thought of that one.
Back to my Friday afternoon cartoons......