Loading...
> >

Iray midrender 'Above the Fog' looks like snow?

mmitchell_houstonmmitchell_houston Posts: 2,484
in Technical Help (nuts n bolts)

This question may be premature, but I can't help wondering... I'm using Marshian's Above the Fog prop for the first time, and I'm wondering if I've got it configured correctly. Here's the details.

  • Win 7 Premium, DS 4.8 (latest build)
  • This is a scene I had set up previously and have added the fog prop to it around the characters' feet -- about 2 feet from the ground.
  • The density is set at medium.
  • The camera is outside the prop.
  • The scene started to render as I expected -- the lights looked normal and I could see some white shapes at the bottom -- the fog prop was visible and mostly transparent.
  • But after a few hours (and reaching 6% completion), the entire bottom of the image is pure white, like they are standing in snow.

And I apologize, but I cannot provide a screenshot at this time -- the project is rendering on a different PC and I don't want to slow it down trying to get a screenshot and then send it over to this computer.  Should I just leave this rendering longer to see what happens? Or is this normal -- it will look super white right now and then gain transparency later on? Is this normal, or is something wrong?

Thanks in advance to any help anyone can provide to me while I'm being this vague.

 

 

 

Comments

  • mmitchell_houstonmmitchell_houston Posts: 2,484

    11 hours into the render, and it has definitely turned into a solid white mass.

    Here's a quickie photo of my screen to show what it looks like.

     

    iraySnow.jpg
    3003 x 1752 - 964K
  • mmitchell_houstonmmitchell_houston Posts: 2,484
    • I deleted the old fog prop and brought in a new one.
    • I repositioned the fog prop so that the edge is starting just outside the camera's range.
    • I used one of the presets to set the fog density to light (I think that's small puffs, or something like that).
    • After 6 hours, there is still some transparency left.
    • Here's hoping that it will look better when I get home this evening.

    As before, I've attached screenshots taken with my camera phone. I didn't want to interrupt the render.

    20160108_060819.jpg
    3087 x 1803 - 1M
    20160108_060931.jpg
    2970 x 1646 - 994K
  • mmitchell_houstonmmitchell_houston Posts: 2,484
    edited January 2016

    BTW: Don't know if this is a factor, but this is a large image with multiple mesh light emitters. Since this is for print, the image is 4,000 pixels wide.

    This is how it is supposed to look when finished (this earlier version doesn't have fog, which I think could add a real element of creepiness to the cover): 

    CCN Cover

    Also, as you might be able to tell, I had to flip the render to better position the characters for the cover. When I originally created the piece, I hadn't though of making it a cover, so their positions didn't matter that much. Now that it's a cover, though, the lead character should be on the front and the sidekick on the back.

    Post edited by mmitchell_houston on
  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462

    Hi mmitchell. My best guess at this point is the lights are too many and/or bright and/or the density is too heavy. When I encounter these situations I find it best to experiment with a very simple scene in order to troubleshoot. Could you create a new scene, create a large plane, a few human sized cylinders, set the Iray render settings/environment (intensity and map) to .20, load a photometric spotlight (pointed at the cylinders), and most of all make sure you only use the Iray prop and materials. I say watch prop/materials because there arent any puff size settings for Iray, it does have density settings.

    Are you using the Aux Viewport tab? This is a great tool for experimenting and you wont have to wait hours to see some fairly quick and decent results.

    Here are some other sources for info:

    http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/65141/above-the-fog-for-iray-and-3delight-now-available-commercial/p1

    http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/read_me/index/23201/start ;

    I'm monitoring this thread now/today and can answer quickly. It's a great image you're working on there, I hope to get you back on track very soon.

     

  • mmitchell_houstonmmitchell_houston Posts: 2,484

    Thanks so much for the response. I suspect you're probably right about the lights being too bright. 

    I'll try creating the simpler scene as suggested. I figured that was probably the route I needed to go (simple then to complex), but you know how us artsy types are -- Always Impatient.

    I'm at work today, so I won't be able to run these tests until tonight. I'll post results when I have them.

     

Sign In or Register to comment.