[Forester]

I swear, I'll never bother with studio lighting ever again!

The above is lit with HDR image "Little Paris Eiffel Tower 4K" from Polyhaven. Still a WIP - four more boats under development, and one more background building.




Here is another shot of the bigger cargo boat being unloaded. HDR image is " Acoustical_Shell" 4K, also from Polyhaven. Here I needed a more diffuse light so that I could check the details of the models.

[Mark Bell]

Hi Forester,

Thanks for posting the renders. Like you, I've also found using IBL's create a better image. The other things to experiment with, which I've noticed add more realism, is the f-stop and camera settings (determined on whether it is an interior, exterior and bright or dull day etc.), and the type of photographic film used (results will vary depending on the IBL used). I like your attention to the details and the mountain range in the background looks really good. The water in the bottom image looks a bit choppy

[Forester]

Hello Mark! Very good tips about the camera settings. I'll experiment with those. Thanks for adding that information. And,yes, thanks for pointing out the choppiness of the water. These are still just preliminary renders. Still a heavy load of model-building to complete for this set.

[Forester]

Playing with the focal distances and the film types, as you suggested, Mark.

[Andreas Hopf]

For most product photography, classic 3-point photo studio light emitter set-ups (or other typical set-ups) have the great advantage that you can adjust each emitter in Multilight later, sparing you from re-rendering, which you cannot do with the IBL lighting method, where only one light-source, the HDR image, can be adjusted. Even outdoor product photography (lawnmower, cargo bike, outdoor apparel, etc.) in a more dramatic morning or evening setting benefits from one or two emitters as fill lights in addition to IBL. Just look at how things are set up in real product photography, still the best guide for good lighting - for any render engine.

[Mark Bell]

Hi Forester,

Thanks for posting more of your WIP. I sense there's a story going on here - a lot of detail in your modelling in recreating historic settings. I like the way the scene composition in the top image is coming together. Most of my time is in design not rendering so when I do get back onto Maxwell I have to remind myself to use it like a camera for best results. You might have a look at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao example project in the File/Library/Scenes folder in Studio as it includes the model, textures, lighting and camera settings for an overcast and a sunny day so you can play around to experiment and see how the changes affect the render. That scene helped me to better understand how f-stop and EV/exposure value can be used to improve a render in either low light or one with strong sunlight in combination with the right ISO and shutter speed. Another realisation I've noticed in my own renders is much of the subtle detail and lighting comes out once the SL gets up around 17-18 or higher for architectural scenes. I use Resume Render and have the render set at slow allowing me to continue to use the computer for other work whilst it renders in the background, a feature I think is unique to Maxwell?
....looks like you're having some fun with this project~!

[Forester]

UPDATED: Another one from the same project. This is an older, smaller boat - a short distance cargo ship, the last of six for the project. Here, I was simply running a test to check on the sails. Finally got the sails geometry correct. Still the same HDRI image. No change at all to the basic lighting setup. Right Click on the render to open it up in another tab.

[Mark Bell]

Hi Forester,

It's looking good. The water looks great - did you use Maxwell Sea or another method?

[Forester]

Thanks , Mark. Another method. Two planes. One underneath with the simple diffuse color that I wanted. A second plane on top with plain glass material, but with a normal map I created myself to create the ripple and scattered light-catching curves. Nothing fancy.

Here's the normal map if you would like a copy for yourself. Is useful for a lot of water effects as you can stretch it out or multiply it easily.

cgate0309.jpg

[Mark Bell]

Thanks Forester. Your method works well and looks good too.

[Forester]

Here's the setup. Pretty simple, isn't it.

[Mark Bell]

Hi Forester,

That's great how you've set it up. I like how you've done the mountains. You make it all look so simple. Look forward to seeing more ready.