Janusz Biela wrote:
Well, I do not use gradients - only fresnel, all materials has it. Also I watch many renders from Maxwell because this render engine is very accurate (of course is too much overrated with physic - is not necessary use that strong physic in renders!...and too slow to do something with sense)
SO I try keep diffuse connected with reflection, no specular, no OCC, no bump map (only normal maps from nodes transformed from grey scale map), no exponential in tone map, no extra lights from ceilings - if it is possible, no strong lights from outside in interiors, best quality textures, perfect GI, perfect AA, good post process, perfect DoF.
I very important to observe surfaces and light in real World.
From my experience doesn`t exist ready solution for surfaces - all, the best artist has it`s own system of surfacing and system that you will not find in web (this what you can find or buy are just basic stuff)
Also I do not believe magic software with fast renders - doesn`t exist. If you want ultra quality it`s must take long time render and a lot work + huge experience.
Thank you Janusz, you are always really helpful.
Actually I'm really experienced with the default GI lightwave engine, I've got the Kray demo to try if (and how) it fits in my workflow.
I know about spec 0%, ies lights and various basic tips to get the right material, I'm trying to understand if the materal with the default lightwave engine behave in the same way as in Kray engine.
What I find interesting about your settings is how you get the correct physical data (or better, the correct approximation): do you use some raw data or is always about observation?
In example, when I use the fresnel node, or the dp_fresnel, since they are based on IOR, I'm using a real world value for the material, and play with the right amount of blur and other tweaks to recreate a sort of custom fresnel curve (if it looks good to me is 'ok'). Sometimes the fresnel alone needs some improvements, so I use some modificators to control how fresnel behaves.
The point is, continuing my example, if I compare the lightwave material editor with Maxwell render editor, I can't really use the IOR in the same way, because I need to relate Nd and K, and I can't do that without a complete 'maxwell like' editor (or can I?).
So, how do you manage to tweak fresnel to get this physical accuracy? Ok, fresnel is just an example, but I'm really curious, because I saw in November a thread in which you talked about fresnel 20 for metals, 3-5 for shiny surface and under 3 for wood etc. So I suppose the fresnel node in lightwave doesn't work with real world values? I mean, I don't ask you a node graph, I understand that is your strictly personal work, just some more specific tips

Thanks!