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So here is part of a product I am trying to render using SSS. As you can see, it's at nearly SL 28 and has MUCH noise still. I'm going to just let it continue to render to see if it ever clears up (even though i know this CAN'T be correct). I do have an emitter layer on the material to help give it that internal bounced lighting glow which plastics like this get. I just was not able to get this effect using only SSS no matter how much i fiddled with it. So that may be the problem. Is is possible to create this effect using only sss?

here is a link to the thread I created earlier asking about the "internal glow" i am talking about.
http://maxwellrender.com/forum/viewtopi ... 49&t=34172

itsallgoode9 wrote:I do have an emitter layer on the material to help give it that internal bounced lighting glow which plastics like this get.

I think you have proved that this doesn't work.

I responded in your linked/ original thread.

Bubbaloo wrote:

itsallgoode9 wrote:I do have an emitter layer on the material to help give it that internal bounced lighting glow which plastics like this get.

I think you have proved that this doesn't work.

haha yep, i think so to. On the positive side, i have a render that has now reached SL 30 haha. sigh

Tora: I checked out your material in the original thread. Thanks so much for taking time to test this!

Hopefully I will soon be able to give some updates where this material is working. Thanks again guys.

Maybe the SSS problem is because the SSS surface intersects with the transparent surface it's attatched to, it's caustics generated by the other transparent surface that illuminates the inside of the bottlecap and that generates a tremendous amount of noise and practically never renders clean. I don't know.. just guessing out loud here.

/ Max

Another tip for SSS use:
If at all possible, use IBL for your scene illumination. Emitters cause noise in SSS.

I double check the intersections, but everything is clean...no intersections.


as far as using IBL, does that mean I would need to render an HDR image of the entire lighting setup and light my scene using that mapped for the environment? Or does that mean, on my light planes i'm using, i need to use an image to light the emitter, rather than just a standard emitter using wattage?

thanks for all this help an input guys!

no.. it would mean to use IBL exclusively.. if you introduce any emitter, especially tiny ones, you will get noise hard to clear.
i think it is the homogenic distribution of light comming from IBL .. would be interesting if a "white spot hdr" would create the same noise.. i guess..

I would need to render an HDR image of the entire lighting setup and light my scene using that mapped for the environment?

^Correct^

To get better render times using SSS materials.

Or use one of these http://www.hdri-studio.com/cgi-bin/cgiw ... age.pl?l=1, they work really great. I usually clone-stamp/ blur/ edit them in PS to accommodate for different scenes so you dont have to buy a whole of them.

BB

I'm having an SSS problem, too. Maybe I should start a new thread, but it seemed like a good idea to keep the conversation in one place.

I'm trying to get light from a candle flame down into a candle. When I work with the object large in frame it seems to basically work, but when I frame them as I want them (small) they look so dark and opaque.

I've tried systematically changing all kinds of parameters, but I can't seem to get it.

There is no reflectivity 0 or 90 on the candles, but the distant ones (more in the spotlight) seem 'whiter' (they are supposed to be warm white candles)

There is a tall thin wax wall around the rim of the candle, but even when the SSS works I get the same amount of light through the thin-ish wall as I do through the thick solid candle.

It's weird. When I make a candle alone in a scene the glow looks pretty good. When I try it in this scene the SSS is hard to control.

The objects are the same. The scales are the same. The global attenuation and scales are the same. The SSS object is not embedded in the floor (in fact it's clearly floating right now)

Very odd.

4000 watt candle flame.

:/

Near as I can tell with my issue it seems to have to do with lighting ratios.

When the candle is the only emitter it gets more attention, but when there is a brighter light in the room it seems to dominate.

You can try rendering two versions and an object id channel, then composite. BTW, a 4000 watt candle is not too realistic.

Also, try rendering the full scene, but make it a small region render around the candle and see if it clears up correctly.