www.kraytracing.com

hi to all..
I'm getting crazy
I use LW since the amiga-era
I teach lightwave at the university
I use it everyday..

but plase tell me why I'm not able to model and render photorealistic sofas
they always look like a big whipped cream blob..

can someone reveal their secret recipe? (modeling tips, gradients, nodes...)

thanks!..

Alberto

It doesn't seem like you have texture on it and reflectivity + Fresnel.
To make it look real, you have to make it interact with your environment.
1: Shadows, they seem ok
2: Reflectivity (occording to the material's properties)

and you have to give the right texture (map + bump) whatever material it is.
Then you have to check if your properties are enought or too much so it looks real.

I don't think I can help much.

Your problem is your super perfect surface. Your cushions is a patty
Need to apply some displacement or sculpt the mesh.

http://www.geomundos.com/uruguay/sillon ... ukllea.jpg

Check the irregularity to make more natural object

real cloth have:

1/ bump map (You can symulate from bump map texture)
2/ micro fur (this effect is hard becouse micro fur have SSS so photons are trasport accros micro furs) You can`t simulate it.
3/ sometimes reflection depends from cloth material (You can symulate from reflection map texture)

For point 2 You can use FAKE:
- incidental angle reflection alpha chanell + texture reflection map+ high blurr (this is not good idea becouse in shadows we see reflection effect on the cloth)
- incidental angle diffuse alpha chanell + texture reflection map (this is not good idea becouse in shadows we see too bright surfaces area)
- incidental angle specular alpha chanell + texture reflection map (this is good idea: http://www.kraytracing.com/forum/downlo ... &mode=view) Need Area Lights in windows (this is good idea)

Problem is`t with render or Kray. problem is how simulate it.

What kind of material is your sofa supposed to be?

As others said, some kind of subtle bump map might help, but I'm not sure what kind of material you're going for.