Us ing Y afray in

profe s s ional
e nvironm e nt.

Le arn h ow to us e
S unfl ow re nde ring
s y s te m .

Y afray caus tics

e xplaine d.

Le arn m ore about

Y afray G I.

D PI de m y s tifie d

Re nde ring
optim iz ation.
 CO NTENTS

EDITO R
Gaurav Naw ani

M ANAGING EDITO R
Sandra Gil
be rt
6 19

W RITERS
Sandra Gil be rt
Cl aas Eick e K uh ne n
Danie lLaBarge
Ch ris toph e r K ull
a
Z s ol
tSte fan

DESIGN & GRAPH ICS

Gaurav Naw ani

W EBSITE DESIGN
Nam Ph am
13
CO PYRIGH T© ‘Bl e nde rartM agaz ine ’, 25
‘ble nde rart’ and bl e nde rartl ogo are
copyrigh tGaurav Naw ani. ‘As k Bl e ntuu’
and ‘bl e ntuu l ogo’ are copyrigh tSandra
Gil be rt. Al lproducts and com pany nam e s
fe ature d in th e publ ication are trade m ark
or re gis te re d trade m ark ofth e ir re s pe ctive
ow ne rs .

w w w .bl
e nde rart.org
ED ITO RIA L 3

You’ve s tudie d al lth e tutorial s , you buil tth e pe rfe ctm ode l , adde d th e pe rfe ctm ate rial , now its
tim e to re nde r your w ork ofart. You h itth e big “Re nde r” button, w aitfor w h ats e e m s l ik e fore ve r
. . . and w h e n itfinal ly finis h e s . . . w e l
lto be h one s t, th e e nd re s ul
tlook s noth ing l ik e w h atyou
h ad im agine d. W h atw e ntw rong?

M os tl ik e l
y, q uite a bitw e ntw rong. Re nde ring is th e re s ultofe ve ryth ing th atcam e be fore and
as s uch th e re are a l otoffactors th atcan m ak e or bre ak you finalim age . Is your l igh ting jus t
righ t, are your s e ttings corre ct, did you accountfor al lth e s pe ciale ffe cts you adde d. Eve n ifyou
ge tal lth e above righ t, you m igh ts pe nd h ours or days w aiting for th e finalre nde r to finis h , onl y
to dis cove r you ne e d to tw e ak s om e th ing jus ta l
ittl
e.

Wel com e to Is s ue #3 “Re nde ring”. In th is is s ue w e w il

lbe cove ring s om e ofth e is s ue s th at
affe ctyour finalre nde r, bringing cl arity and be tte r unde rs tanding to ach ie ve th e be s tre nde r
pos s ibl
e.

In addition to l ook ing into th ings th atcan im prove your re nde rs , w e w illal
sol ook atw ays to
de cre as e your re nde r tim e s as w e l
las tak e a l ook ats om e ofth e Re nde r e ngine s availabl
e for
Ble nde r. O fw h ich q uite a fe w h ave be e n de ve lope d re ce ntl
y and w arranta look s e e .

W e al
s o h ave 3 s e parate articl
e s on h ow to us e Yafray, w ith e ach s h ow ing a diffe re ntte ch niq ue
and m e th od ofus e .

Ch e e rs !
Sandra
s andra@ bl e nde rart.org
Bl
e ntuu s ay s 4

Re nde ring is an ofte n To s e tone up is e as y: Add>M e s h >Icos ph e re , s ubdivis ion 2

m is unde rs tood proce s s and until
w e ge tth e “m ak e re nde r be autiful
button” ;) code d, w e h ave to do it
th e h ard w ay. And th atw oul d be by
unde rs tanding w h atgoe s into a
re nde r and w h ataffe cts th e
re nde ring proce s s .
De l e te th e bottom h al fofth e Icos ph e re
Add a s potl igh t, and pare ntitto th e Icos ph e re
H itF7, (O bje ctSe ttings w indow ) W ith th e Icos ph e re s e l
e cte d,
pre s s th e dupl ive rtbutton.
Se l e ctth e s potl igh tand adjus tth e Ene rgy w ay dow n (around
.01)
Adjus tth e re s tofyour s e ttings as ne e de d to ge tth e am ountof
ligh tand s h adow you are l ook ing for.

Th e s h ortans w e r is th atEVERYTH ING affe cts th e re nde ring O th e r th ings th atcan l ow e r re nde r tim e s : Ge ne rall
y us e z -buffe r
proce s s . Th atw oul d include m ate rials,l igh ting, s pe ciale ffe cts l
am ps ove r raytrace d one s . Se tth e s am pl e s and s h adow buffe r
and th e s ce ne its e l f. And w h il
e dis cus s ing re nde ring coul d filla as l ow as pos s ibl e for th e q ual ity you look ing for.
w h ol e book , for th is articl
e w e are going to tak e a l ook attips and
trick s th atcan incre as e or de cre as e your re nde r tim e s and Sim ilarly, turn th e s am pl e s dow n on e ve ryth ing as l ow as you
q ual ity. can ge taw ay w ith th atpe opl e probabl y w il
lnotnotice (l igh ts ,
s ubs urf, rayde pth , e tc.).Re nde r in pas s e s w h e n pos s ibl
e , you
W h e n itcom e s to re nde ring, s om e th ings jus ttak e l onge r. Ifyou can re -com pos ite th e pas s e s in GIM P or Ph otos h op, notonl y w il
l
jus th ave to h ave th atce rtain e ffe ct, by al lm e ans go for it, but itlow e r re nde r tim e s , you w il
lh ave m ore controlove r h ow e ach
e xpe ctto w aita w h il e for your re nde r to com pl e te . H e re is a l
is t laye r goe s toge th e r w ith th e oth e rs .
ofs om e th ings th atare l iabl e to incre as e your re nde r tim e :
Raytracing, Am bie ntO ccl us ion Ligh ting Se tups O nly m ode lth os e de tails th atare ne e de d, UVm apping and
H e avy us e ofparticl es prope r us e ofte xture s can s ave on your pol ygon count. W h e n it
Extre m e ly de tail
e d s ce ne s is al
ls aid and done , us e onl y th os e options and te ch niq ue s th at
you actual l
y ne e d to m ak e your im age or
O n th e oth e r h and, CG artis ful loftrick s and anim ation l ook good. Ifyou can ch e ator fak e it,
w ork -a rounds to l ow e r re nde r tim e s , s uch as th e n do s o, itw ills ave on your re nde r tim e s . If
th e us e ofth e fak e GI dom e . Long us e d in you jus th ave to us e it, th e n be pre pare d for th e
bl e nde r be fore AO w as code d into bl e nde r. It w ait. W h ile w aiting I s ugge s tre l
axing w ith a
is s im ple to s e tup, e as y to adjus tand notas nice cup ofcoffe e and a good book .
com putation h e avy as th e AO option.
NEW S Fl
as h 5

day in M onte vide o (K e iz e rs grach t264, ble nde r. In addition to YafRay, PO V-Ray,
Am s te rdam ) for furth e r vie w ing and M e gaPO V, th e re are now e xports cripts
dis cus s ion ofth e proje ct. For m ore availabl e for th e fol
low ing ne w e ngine s :
Th e bigge s te ve ntin th e Bl e nde r w orl d is inform ation on th e pre m ie r and th e
jus taround th e corne r. Proje ctO range is follow ing pre s e ntations ofth e m ovie K e rk yth e a
ne ar com pl e tion and th e pre m ie r of ch e ck h ttp://orange .ble nde r.org/. Site :
“El e ph ants Dre am ” h as be e n s ch e dul ed h ttp://w w w .s oftlab.e ce .ntua.gr/~ jpanta/Gra
for M arch 24, 2006. Cine m a K e te l h uis , a Bl e nde r h as be com e an e ve r ch anging ph ics /K e rk yth e a/
wel lk now n cine m a for docum e ntarie s and program , w ith ne w fe ature s cons tantl y
art-h ous e m ovie s in Am s te rdam , h as be e n w ritte n and re vis e d for be tte r and Sunfl ow
be e n ch os e n as th e l
ocation for th e l ong cl e ane r functional ity. O ve r th e l as ttw o Site : h ttp://s unfl
ow .s ource forge .ne t/
aw aite d pre m ie r. m onth s , m ajor coding e fforth as be e n
focus e d into th e “Noodl e s ” s ys te m (node Indigo
Th e cine m a ope ns at17:30 and th e e ditor) and th e re nde r e ngine . Th e Site :
s h ow ing w ills tartat18:00. In addition to Noodl e s s ys te m al low s for th e cre ation of h ttp://h om e page s .paradis e .ne t.nz /nick am y
th e s cre e ning of“El e ph ants Dre am ”, th e re h igh ly advance d m ate rial s and /indigo.h tm l
w illal s o be a pre vie w ofth e “M ak ing of” com pos iting e ffe cts . Th e re nde r e ngine is
docum e ntary. Ifyou m is s th e firs t be ing s tre am l ine d and m odifie d to w ork 3De l igh t
s h ow ing, th e re w il
lbe anoth e r at18:45. cl e ane r and m ore e fficie ntl y, al low ing for Site : h ttp://w w w .3de l
igh t.com /
fas te r and m ore e rror fre e re nde ring.
Afte r th e pre m ie r, th e re is a ce l
e bration To ch e ck a te s tbuil d w ith th e s e ne w M e tropol igh t
planne d atone ofth e h ippe s tnigh tcl ubs , fe ature s , drop by th e te s tbuil d forum at Site : h ttp://w w w .3dvirtual
igh t.com /m l
t/
ironical ly nam e d “Bl e nde r”. W h il
e th e w w w .bl e nde r.org.
pre m ie r is fre e ofch arge , th e re is an
e ntrance fe e to th e “afte r party”. Since th is is s ue is focus ing on re nde ring,
Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 M arch , th e th is is a good tim e to e xpl ore allth e
Proje ctO range te am w il lbe on h and al l re nde r e ngine s avail able for us e w ith
W O RK SH O P3D - Profe s s ionalD igitalStudio Re nde ring w ith H D RI IBLand G I 6

th e conce pts and troubl

e s h ootpos s ibl
e
probl ems.

prim itive s h ape s . And th os e are ve ry e as y to In O rth ograph ic Vie w , s cre e ns h ots can be
m ode lin bl e nde r. tak e n ofth e w ire fram e and com pos e d
Th e re ce ntaddition to cal culate th e le ngth toge th e r. Afte r printing on pape r th e y can be
and angl e e dge s furth e rs m y ability to account cutoutand gl ue d onto th e s ilve r s h e e t, to aid
Introduction for corre ctm e as ure m e nts and dim e ns ions . as guide s for th e s h ape s I s aw in th e m e tal .
A good im age is w orth a th ous and w ords in Th is is one ofth e m os tim portantadvantage s W ork ing in l aye rs aids a l otin th is proce s s
Indus trialde s ign indus try. Bl e nde r h as 3D m ode l ing can provide you, be caus e you be caus e e l e m e nts can be dis tribute d th rough
be com e an e s s e ntialtoolfor m y w ork , h ave th e pos s ibil ity to w ork in corre ct th e m and th e n s e le ctive l
y s h ow n to cre ate
be caus e ital l
ow s m e to vis ual iz e an ide a w ith proportions and dim e ns ions . Sm al lch ange s cl e ar and us e fuls cre e ns h ots . (Scre e ns h ots :
gre ate r fl e xibility th an any h and s k e tch , and w ith in th e de s ign or a ch ange ofth e pointof O utl ine s )
th us vis ual ly com m unicate s m y de s ign and vie w can be ach ie ve d w ith a fe w m ous e cl ick s
conce pt. W h il e Bl e nde r is notm ade for and do notre q uire th e h and s k e tch to be
CAD/CAM and l ack s m any fe ature s th os e com pl e te ly re draw n. (Scre e ns h ot:
pack age s fre q ue ntl y incl ude , itis s til
lpos s ible M e as ure m e nts )
to us e itnotonl y for productre nde ring, but
al s o, to s om e de gre e , th e w h ol e de s ign
proce s s .

Part1: M ode l ing

As an obje ctde s igne r w ith a re ce ntfocus on
m e tals m ith ing, Bl e nde r provide s m e w ith al l
th e ne ce s s ary m ode l ing tool s to de s ign,
e xpl ore , and cons tructm y obje cts . Th e
Pol ygon tool s , toge th e r w ith Subdivide d
Surface s , al low m e to m ode lal ls h ape s , w h ich
I w oul dl ate r be abl e to cons tructin m e talw ith
m y h ands . In s il ve r s m ith ing, m os ts h ape s are
cons tructe d outofs h e e ts , w ire , and tubing.
El e m e nts can be be ntby h and or forge d ove r In addition, notonl y doe s Bl e nde r allow to
s h ape s and th e n s ol de re d toge th e r. Th is m ode lm e ch anicale le m e nts , itals o m ak e s it
m e ans th atI m ainl y de alw ith ge om e tric pos s ibl
e to anim ate th e m , al l
ow ing m e to proof
W O RK SH O P3D - Profe s s ionalD igitalStudio Re nde ring w ith H D RI IBLand G I 7

Part2: Te xturing th e ae s th e tics ofs tudio s h ots , th e s e

Th e curre ntve rs ion ofBl e nde r and Yafray fe ature s are e s s e ntialin com m unicating
s upportm os tte xture s and s urface l igh t w h atm y w ork is about. H DRi IBLcan
m ode l s th atan artis tne e ds to cre ate pre - provide th e prope r naturall igh tdiffus ion
conce ive d m ate rials im ul ations . H ow e ve r and col oriz ation, w h ich are s ough tin obje ct
s pe cific m ate rial s lik e brus h e d m e talor s tudio ph otograph y. In m y cas e , I us e an
trans l uce ntm ate rial s are s til le ith e r notye t H DRi fil e w h ich contains onl y tw o ligh t
pos s ibl e or onl y pos s ibl e w ith additionaltrick s are as , s im ul ating th e diffus e d l igh tw al l
s.
and tim e . Spe cifical ly in m y cas e , I am unabl e Al s o, a s m al lcol or tintfor th e re fl
e ctions and Th is w il lproduce e xtre m e l y s ofts h adow s and
to acq uire th os e anis otropic re fl e ctions and h igh ligh ts w il
lre duce th e s te rile look of re duce th e am ountofburning h igh l igh ts .
s pe cul ar h igh l
igh ts , w h ich are re q uire d to raytrace d re fl e ctions a l otand atth e s am e Th is l igh tprobe s uppl ie s th e de s ire d
accurate l y s im ulate th e fine -brus h e d s urface s tim e give th e re nde ring a fe e l ing w h ich I am am ountofl igh tfrom th e prope r dire ction in th e
w ith w h ich I w ork . Butto s om e de gre e th is us e d to ge tting from us ing re als tudio l am ps . s ce ne , w h il e elim inating any unw ante d
fe e lcan be ach ie ve d by us ing a proce dural Th os e l am ps do notproduce w h ite l igh t. Th e re fl e ctions (or h ots pots ) on th e w ork . Th e
nois e m ap or a painte d bum p m ap. ligh tis al w ays a bitye l l
ow . Itw as al so H DRi l igh tm ap (be l ow ) w il lfurth e rm ore not
im portantto give th e ground pl ane a diffe re nt onl y illum inate th e frontvie w ofth e obje ct, but
Th e probl e m is th atyou can onl y re ach a col or th an pl ain bl ack . Th os e h ue val ue s w e re al s o e m ite nough l ow k e y l igh tto il lum inate
ce rtain am ountofde tailbe fore you w il lrun into ve ry m inim al ly diffe re ntfrom pure bl ack but th e m e talw ork from al loth e r dire ctions . Th is
m oir patte rns during re nde rings . H ow e ve r e nough to cre ate a naturall ook . el im inate s any ne e d for s m al ll igh tarrays to
e ve n a s om e w h atcoars e bum p m ap al re ady brigh te n up s pe cific are as , l ik e th e traditional
provide s e nough de tailto s im ul ate a brus h e d Part3: Re nde ring th re e -k e y l igh ts e tup.
s urface . Th e te xture ne e ds to be s tre tch e d For m y re nde rings , I h ave th e e xpe ctation th at
al ong one axis and ne e ds to h ave th e righ t th e finalre s ul ts h ould be as re al is tic as
s cale . (Scre e ns h ots : Prode cural pos s ible . I us e Yafray as th e prim ary re nde r
te xture 1+ Te xture 2) e ngine , be caus e its uppl ie s m e w ith H DRi
ligh ting, Gl obalIl l
um ination, Col or Bl e e ding,
Caus tics , and
true De pth of
Fie l d.
Spe cifical l
y for
m y type of
w ork
re nde rings ,
w h ich m im ic
W O RK SH O P3D - Profe s s ionalD igitalStudio Re nde ring w ith H D RI IBLand G I 8

Furth e rm ore , th e GI option notonl y accounts

for a prope r s h adow cal culation and
ill
um ination ofth e w h ol e ge om e try, but al so
incre as e s th e re alis m ofth e re nde ring w ith
cal cul ating col or bl e e ding and caus tics . M any
productre nde rings l ack th os e fine de tail s
ne e de d. O fte n, itis th os e fine de tails th atw ill
h ave a s ignificantim pacton th e vie w e r w ith
th e re alis m fe l
tw h ile vie w ing th e re nde rings .

Butjus ts e l e cting an H DRi l igh tm ap is not

al w ays e ve ryth ing you can do. In m y s ituation,
I onl y ge tl igh tfrom one s ide . Be caus e of
Sce ne : s e tup3D
ae s th e tic re as ons , you w antto e l im inate or Re nde ring: ch rom e bal
l_ te s t
ligh te n th e dark are as s o as to incre as e th e
Anoth e r ve ry im portanttoolfor products h ots
ove ral ldynam ic range ofth e re nde ring. To
is th e De pth ofFie l d. Th is fe ature s is ve ry
brigh te n up s h adow s and dark are as , w h ite
us e fulin attracting atte ntion to th e s pe cific
ligh tre fl e ctors are us e d in re all ife
el e m e nts ofm y w ork , w h il e oth e r e le m e nts
ph otograph y. Sam e trick appl ie s to digital
are bl urre d. Yafray s upports true DoF, w h ich
re nde ring w ith GI.
w ith h igh e r s am pl e val ue s w illproduce ve ry
s m ooth re s ul ts . Th e re nde r tim e w il lobvious l y
Th e fol l
ow ing tw o s cre e ns h ots cle arl
y s h ow
incre as e w ith th e am ountofs am pl e s , butth e
th e diffe re nce . Th e GI cal cul ate s notonl y th e
e nd re s ul tis m ore th an w orth it. Th e DoF
ligh tcom ing from th e H DRi m ap, butal so
s e ttings can be acce s s e d from w ith in Bl e nde r.
cal cul ate s th e l
igh tbounce d back by th e l igh t
An ape rture val ue of0.1 to 0.5 is s ufficie nt. To
re fle ctors and th is brigh te ning up ofth e
gain a s m ooth DoF re nde ring, in th e re nde r
s h adow s on th e cigare tte s al s o adds m ore
s e ttings you ne e d to dis abl e auto AA.
de tailto th e m e talre fl e ctions . As you al s o can
De pe nding on th e s ce ne you h ave to adjus t
s e e , I us e a ch rom e bal lto find outw h e re th e
th e AA s e ttings , in m y s ce ne I us e d 15 * 15 for
ligh tis com ing from , th atinform ation e nabl e
AA Pas s e s and AA Sam pl es.
m e to pos ition th e m e talw ork corre ctl y in th e
s ce ne .
Scre e ns h ots ne xtpage : AA
Se ttings + DoF_ s e tup
Sce ne : Topvie w
W O RK SH O P3D - Profe s s ionalD igitalStudio Re nde ring w ith H D RI IBLand G I 9

re s ul
t.

Dirty one , Bl e nde r inte rnal :

Th e re fle ction can be diffus e d w ith a fine
nois e m ap in th e norm alch anne l . Th is is a
q uick w ay to cre ate bl urre d re fle ctions , th ough
th e y are notph ys ical l
y corre ct. In th is cas e ,
be caus e th e re fle ction s h ould notge ttoo
m uch atte ntion, th is probl e m is notofany
m ajor s ignificance .

Re nde ring: true _ bl

urre d_ re fl
_ nobum p

Yafray doe s nots h ow s bl urre d re fl

e ctions in
oth e r re fl
e ctions , w h ich m igh tbe in s om e
s ituations a l im itation.

For je w e l ry re nde rings , I pre fe r a te xture d To e xportth e s ce ne into an XM Lfil e , al

lyou
ground. O ne ofm y re ce ntw ork is s h oton a ne e d to do is to e nabl e th e XM Le xport, s tart
bl ack , s e m i-re fl
e ctive s urface , w h ich h as a fine to re nde r, and s top Yafray th e m om e ntitis
grain te xture . A com m on m is tak e m ade in finis h e d w ith l
oading th e s ce ne and s tarting to
s im ulating th is e ffe ctis to s e l e cta too s trong re nde r(ch e ck th e te rm inalw indow for th is
re fl
e ctive val ue . Th e re fl
e ction on th e picture during re nde ring). O pe n th e XM Lfil e in any
ground s h oul d onl y be s ligh tly vis ibl
e , s o it Cl e an one , Yafray
te xte ditor and e nte r th e fol l
ow ing s h ade r
accom panie s th e m ain obje ctand pre ve nts Yafray its e l fs upports th e bas ic fe ature s of
inform ation into your XM Lfil e.
from appe aring as a fl oating obje ct. bl urre d re fl
e ctions . Unfortunate l y, th is fe ature
Additional ly, too s h arp re fle ctions w illonl y is notacce s s ibl e from w ith in Ble nde r inte rface .
dis tractth e vie w e r and s te alatte ntion aw ay You ne e d to m anual l
y e ditth e e xporte d XM L
from th e w ork . fil
e and th e n re nde r from Yafray. Furth e rm ore

Th e re are tw o pos s ibl

e w ays to ach ie ve th is
W O RK SH O P3D - Profe s s ionalD igitalStudio Re nde ring w ith H D RI IBLand G I 10

Firs tinclude th e cone trace s h ade r atth e <shader type="blendershader" onl y s h ow ing th e re fl
e ction butnots tructure .
be ginning ofyour xm ldocum e ntafte r th e name="MAMaterial.002" > Se e re nde ring: true bl urre d re fl
e ction on
<s ce ne > tag. <attributes> pre vious page .
<color r="0.800000" g="0.800000"
b="0.800000" /> In m y finalre nde r I l e tYafray re nde r th e
<shader type="conetrace" name="env" <specular_color
reflect="on" angle="10"
bl urre d re fle ctions butI al s o adde d a ve ry fine
r="1.000000" g="1.000000" b="1.000000"
samples="16" > /> s tucci bum p m ap to th e norm alch anne lofm y
<attributes> <mirror_color r="1.000000" g="1.000000" ground pl ane . Th is w il lre s ul
tin firs ta ve ry
<color r="0.5" g="0.5" b="0.5" /> b="1.000000" /> nice bl urre d re fle ction re nde re d by Yafray and
</attributes> th e s tucci bum p m ap w il lgive th e ground
</shader> <diffuse_reflect value="0.800000" /> pl ane th e de s ire d s urface s tructure . Th is w ill
<specular_amount value="0.500000" />
<alpha value="1.000000"
incre as e th e re nde r tim e a l ot. In cas e you
Th e s am pl e val ue w il lde fine h ow fine th e /> h ave a w e l lw ork ing bum p m ap for th e ground
bl urre d re fl
e ction is . H igh e r val
ue s above 10 <emit value="0.000000" /> pl ane , itm igh tnotbe ne ce s s ary to us e th e
produce th e de s ire d s m ooth re s ul tin m y <matmodes true bl urre d re fle ction w ith in Yafray
s ce ne . value="traceable shadow" /> s cre e ns h ots ofs tucci bum p m ate rial .
<diffuse_brdf
value="lambert" />
Butth is al s o de pe nds on th e dis tance be tw e e n <specular_brdf
your cam e ra and th e obje ct. In cl os e -ups value="blender_cooktorr" />
h igh e r val
ue s are ne e de d. <hard value="50" />

W h e n you us e th e cone trace s h ade r, you can <environment value="env" />

</attributes>
dis abl e th e re fl
e ction prope rtie s ins ide bl
e nde r.
In th e ne xts te p you add "<e nvironm e nt
val ue ="e nv" />" ins ide th e m ate rials h ade r Butth is w illre s ul tin tw o probl ems:
block you w antto be re fl e ctive . Se e code box Firs tw ith us ing a nois e m ap you w il le nd up
on righ t. w ith h aving th e nois e patte rn e ve ryw h e re on
th e ground pl ane . And th e nois e m ap doe s not
Afte r th is s te p, and s aving th e fil
e , al
lyou ne e d cre ate th e de s ire d s urface te xture I am l ook ing
to do is to l e tYafray re nde r th e xm lfile . For for. Se e re nde ring: fak e bum p re fl e ction on
m y conve nie nce I cre ate d a s h ortcutto pre vious page .
Yafray.e xe . I onl y drag and drop th e xm lfil e on
th e s h ortcuticon and th e re nde r proce s s s tarts Se cond, w h e n you only us e bl
urre d re fle ctions
autom atical ly. re nde re d by Yafray you e nd up w ith a s urface
W O RK SH O P3D - Profe s s ionalD igitalStudio Re nde ring w ith H D RI IBLand G I 11

You h ave to pl ay a bitw ith th e re fl

e ction s e tofm ode l ing, anim ation, and re nde ring Bl e nde r is ge tting a ne w node -bas e d m ate rial
val ue s and th e m ate rialprope rtie s be caus e tool s for th e vis ual
iz ation. Be caus e al
lm y s ys te m and Yafray continue s to im prove th e
e ve ry ch ange for th e re fl e ctions w il
lal s o al
te r s h ape s are h and crafte d, I do notne e d any ph ys icalaccuracy in re nde ring. As an artis t, I
th e re nde re d col or for th e ground pl ane . At toolw h ich is re q uire d for rapid prototyping. h ope th atfe ature s al re ady pre s e ntin Yafray
firs tth e re fl
e ction and s tucci m ap w as too Al s o, com pl e x m ode ls can be im porte d from (s uch as bl urre d re fl
e ctions ) w il
lbe furth e r
s trong and dis tracting. oth e r appl ications to be te xture d in Bl
e nde r inte grate d and m ore acce s s ibl e from Bl e nde r.
and th e n re nde re d in Yafray. Th os e m ate rialand re nde r options notonl y
In th e l
as tre nde ring I low e re re d th e re fl
e ction incre as e th e pote ntialofth is s oftw are
val ue as th is al
sol ow e re d th e e ffe ctofth e In te rm s ofph otore al is tic output, Yafray com bination, butcontinue to cl os e th e gap
s tucci bum p m ap. al re ady outpe rform s s om e ofth e indus try be tw e e n O pe n-Source and com m e rcial
s ol utions avail abl e as l ong as you us e itrigh t. s oftw are .
Concl us ion Th is can be s e e n as a proofofconce ptth at
W h ile Bl e nde r lack s m any im portantm ode l ing O pe n-Source s oftw are can re al is tical
ly
tool s for CAD/CAM , th is proje ctcl e arly s h ow s com pe te w ith com m e rcials oftw are s ol utions .
th e s tre ngth ofBl e nde r as a m ode l ing and W h il e th e re are ofcours e re nde r and m ate rial
de s ign tooland Yafray as a ph otore al is tic fe ature s Bl e nde r and Yafray cannots upportat
re nde r e ngine . Both are pow e rfule nough to be th e m om e nt, itis im portantto k e e p in m ind
tak e n s e rious l y by artis ts w h o w ork in a s e m i th atboth program s are curre ntl y unde rgoing a
CAD/CAM -l ik e e nvironm e nts im il ar to th e one s e rious re cons truction.
th atI w ork in and w h o ne e d a w e l lbal ance d
W O RK SH O P3D - Profe s s ionalD igitalStudio Re nde ring w ith H D RI IBLand G I 12

Th e re alfork m ode l(ph otograph )

W O RK SH O P3D - Sunfl
ow Re nde ring Sy s te m Tutorial 13

th e Fil
e ->Exportm e nu as fol
low s :

You are now re ady to re nde r your firs tim age !

e ve ryth ing is s e tup corre ctl
y.

Ne xt, ge tth e binary re l e as e from th e

Introduction Sunfl ow w e bs ite (v0.05.5 atth e tim e of
In th is tutorial
, I w il
lpre s e nts om e ofth e bas ic th is w riting) and unz ip itto a dire ctory
fe ature s ofSunfl ow and h ow to us e itfrom ofyour ch oice . Go to th atdire ctory in
Bl e nde r. com m and l ine m ode and type th e
com m and l ine de s cribe d in th e
Sunfl ow is m y ope n s ource re nde ring s ys te m . READM E fil e incl
ude d in th e
Itis buil taround a s m al lbutve ry fl e xible core dis tribution. You s h oul d s e e th e
w h ich allow s itto be com pl e te l
y cus tom iz e d. It fol low ing w indow appe ar:
contains s e ve ralm ode rn al gorith m s th atm ak e
Firs tRe nde r: A m bie ntO ccl us ion
ita good candidate for ge ne rating re al is tic
I h ave pre pare d a ve ry s im pl e s ce ne h e re for
im age s . Ith as be e n re ce ntly conne cte d to
ill
us tration purpos e s . Fe e lfre e to fol low al ong
Bl e nde r via a s im pl
e e xports criptw h ich I w il l
w ith your ow n favorite m ode l . H e re is w h atm y
be de s cribing.
s ce ne look s l
ik e in th e 3D vie w :
Ins tal lation
Sunfl ow is w ritte n in Java. Th is m e ans you w il l
ne e d to dow nl oad and ins tal lth e Sun JRE (or
JDK ) ifyou don'th ave ital re ady. Go to
h ttp://java.s un.com /and fol low th e ins tructions
for your particul ar ope rating s ys te m (O S X
us e rs w illne e d to go to th e Appl e w e bs ite ).
Sunfl ow re q uire s Java ve rs ion 5 (s om e tim e s
cal le d 1.5) or h igh e r.
Final ly, ge tth e ble nde r e xporte r s criptfrom th e
O nce you are s e tup, go to a com m and prom pt Sunfl ow w e bs ite and ins tal litinto to your
and type : java -ve rs ion ble nde rs (Ins ide your bl e nde r ins tal
lation
folde r) s cripts fol
de r. Ne xtw h e n you s tart
Ifth e corre ctve rs ion num be r appe ars Ble nde r you s h oul d s e e an option appe ar in
W O RK SH O P3D - Sunfl
ow Re nde ring Sy s te m Tutorial 14

Go to th e Fil
e -> Exportand pick th e Sunfl ow your s ce ne . Th e de faul
tofz e ro corre s ponds to s e conds you s h oul
d s e e s om e th ing l
ik e th e
Exporte r you jus tins tal l
e d. Itw il
lbring up th e infinite l
ylong rays . s ce ne be l
ow .
fol
low ing UI in th e s criptw indow :
Now h itth e Exportbutton and Congratul ations ! You jus tre nde re d your firs t
pick a l ocation to putth e im age w ith Sunfl ow .
e xporte d s ce ne file . You can
look atBl e nde r's output
w indow to s e e th e s te ps th e
e xporte r is tak ing. Itm ay tak e
a fe w s e conds to w al k
th rough your s ce ne ifyou
h ave m any obje cts . W h e n th e
file is e xporte d you w il lbe
s e ntback to th e e xporte r
options .

W e are jus tgoing to ch ange a fe w s e ttings th e Now go to th e Sunfl ow w indow you l aunch e d
firs ttim e around. O ur goalis to do a s im pl e e arl
ie r and ope n th e s ce ne file you jus tw rote
am bie ntoccl us ion re nde r to ge ta fe e lfor th e out. Ifl oading s ucce e ds w ith oute rrors , th e
proce s s . Don'tw orry aboutth e m any diffe re nt Re nde r m e nu option w il lnow be e nabl e d.
s e ttings you s e e , w e w il
lcove r m os tofth e m Your im age w il lprobabl y be nois y and h ave
s oon. Se l e ctRe nde r -> IPR firs t. Th e im age w il ls tart m any s m al lartifacts . Don'tw orry. W e w ill
re nde ring in a ve ry bl ock y form and le arn h ow to e nh ance th e q uality ofth e im age
In th e AO O ve rride tab, cl ick th e 'Am b O cc' progre s s ive l
y re fine its e lf. Afte r jus ta fe w s oon.
toggl e . Th is is s im pl
y te l
ling th e e xporte r th at s e conds , you s h oul d al re ady s e e w h atth e
w e w antto ove rride al ls h ading in th e s ce ne finalim age is going to be l ik e . You m ay cance l Now , l e t's m ak e our s ce ne a bitm ore
w ith th e pre s cribe d am bie ntoccl us ion s h ade r. th e re nde r atanytim e . In m os tcas e s , l ess inte re s ting by adding s om e l igh ts and
th an 10% ofth e im age is ne e de d be fore you m ate rial s to it!
Th e m os tim portantoptions are s am pl es are re ady to l aunch th e ful lre s olution re nde r.
(num be r ofrays trace d to cal cul ate th e
occl us ion) and th e dis tance s e tting (h ow far to Now s e l e ctRe nde r -> Re nde r. Th e im age w il l
look for oth e r obje cts ). re nde r in s m allbuck e ts th is tim e . Ifyou h ave a
For now , l e ave th e num be r ofs am pl e s as itis , m ulti-proce s s or m ach ine you w il ls e e s e ve ral
and s e tth e dis tance to a re as onabl e val ue for buck e ts re nde ring atonce . Afte r a fe w
W O RK SH O P3D - Sunfl
ow Re nde ring Sy s te m Tutorial 15

Ligh ts and M ate rial s val ue s of-2 and 0 m e an th atth e re nde re r w il l th e be s tch oice .
Go back to bl e nde r and as s ign s om e uniq ue s tartby cal cul ating e ve ry 4th pixe l , and
m ate rial
s to e ach s urface . K e e p in m ind th at adaptive l y cal cul ate dow n to th e s ingl e pixe l You can e xpe rim e ntw ith diffe re ntacce l e rator
th e e xporte r doe s notye ts upportth e ful l le ve lw h e re itis ne e de d. Th is tim e , try s e tting type s and s e e w h ich one provide s th e fas te s t
range ofBl e nde r s h ade rs and te xture s . your AA val ue s to 0 and 2. Each pixe lw il lnow re s ul
ts for your s ce ne . You can al s o adjus tth e
be s h ade d atl e as tonce , and up to 16 tim e s buck e torde r in th is tab. Sw itch to s piralth is
For now , w e w il ljus tbe cre ating re gul ar (le ve l2). tim e to h ave th e im age com pute d from th e
diffus e m ate rials . For e ach m ate rial, s im pl
y ce nte r out.
as s ign a uniq ue col or. Th is is th e only attribute Ifw e cal cul ate m ore th an one val ue pe r pixe l
,
th atis re ad by de faul t, al
loth e r options are w e w il lne e d to ave rage th e m toge th e r. Th e
ignore d. Th e re are a fe w e xce ptions to th is w ay th is is done is control le d by th e
rule to ge ne rate oth e r Sunfl ow s h ade rs , but im age fil te r s e tting. Le t's pick th e
w e w illcove r th e m late r on. 'M itch e ll' fil
te r as itprovide s a nice
s h arpe ning ofth e im age . Th is particul ar
Ne xt, w e ne e d s om e l igh ts . Th e e xporte r filte r h as a fixe d w idth and h e igh t, s o
curre ntl y onl y s upports l am ps and s q uare are a th os e s e ttings w il ldis appe ar from th e
ligh ts . Are a ligh ts w il
lgive you nice s oft dial og w h e n itis s e l e cte d.
s h adow s atth e e xpe ns e ofadditionalre nde r
tim e . M y s ce ne w ith bas ic s h ade rs and l igh ts Ligh ts e rve r s e ttings l
e tyou controlh ow
now l ook s lik e on th e im age atrigh t. m any rays are us e d pe r l igh t. Th e
de faultof16 is a bith igh butus ual l
y
O nce you are h appy w ith your s ce ne , tim e to give s good q ual ity.
e xportagain! Th is tim e , l
e t's try to unde rs tand
th e various s e ttings and h ow th e y affe ctim age Th e GI tab control s gl obalil l
um ination.
q uality. Th is is an advance d topic w e w il l
e xplore in th e ne xts e ction. Le ave al l
Th e m os tim portantare probabl y th e AA th e controls atth e ir de faultval ue s for
s e ttings . Th e m in and m ax val ue s controlh ow now .
m uch com putation goe s into e ach pixe l .
Ne gative val ue s m e an com putations w il lbe Th e Acce l e rator tab contains s e ttings
inte rpol ate d acros s s e ve ralpixe l s , pos itive w h ich h ave no im pacton im age q ual ity
val ue s m e an m ore cal culations w il lbe done butcan m ak e dras tic diffe re nce s in
pe r pixe l . Z e ro m e ans a s ingl e com putation is im age cal cul ation tim e . Th e de fault
done pe r pixe l . For e xam pl e : th e de faul t acce l e rator is th e k dtre e and is us uall
y
W O RK SH O P3D - Sunfl
ow Re nde ring Sy s te m Tutorial 16

Unde r th e l igh ttab, w e h ave th e option of Us e th e IPR fe ature again to s e e w h atyour

adjus ting th e s tre ngth ofal ll igh ts in th e s ce ne . s ce ne l ook s lik e q uick ly. You w il lprobabl y Le ave th e val ue s atth e ir de faul ts for now to
Since Sunfl ow us e s m ore ph ys ical ly bas e d ne e d a coupl e ofe xportcycl e s be fore you ge t s e e th e ir e ffe ct. Since th is al gorith m w il
l
cal culations th an Bl e nde r, th e l igh tpow e rs w il l th e ligh tinte ns itie s jus trigh t. H e re is m y re s ul
t produce ve ry nois y re s ul ts , go to th e AA tab
notus ual l
y m atch . Th is globals cal e factor can (Im age l e ftbottom ). and s e tboth th e m in and m ax to 0. Th is w il l
hel p you com pe ns ate for th is . I s e tm ine to 5, force onl y one s am pl e to be tak e n pe r pixe l,
butth is w illvary from s ce ne to s ce ne . Note De s pite th e s ofts h adow s , th is im age is n'tve ry w h ich avoids th e anti-al ias ing from be ing
th atth e s cal e factor onl y affe cts are a l igh ts . re al is tic ye t. I w il
ls h ow you h ow to addre s s force d to s upe r s am pl e e ve ry s ingl e pixe l
th is in th e ne xts e ction. be caus e ofth e nois e .
Final l
y, re m e m be r to de s e l
e ctth e 'Am b O cc'
button from th e AO O ve rride tab ifitw as s til l Gl obalIl l
um ination Te ch niq ue s You m ay al s o w antto s e tth e filte r back to box
sele cte d from th e pre vious e xport. As I m e ntione d in th e introduction, Sunfl ow is (w idth and h e igh t1) to avoid introducing
a ve ry cus tom iz abl e re nde re r. Itis th e re fore artifacts by filte ring th e nois e .
W e can now e xportand re nde r again. Ifyou abl e to incorporate m any diffe re ntGI
e xportto th e s am e location as be fore algorith m s into one coh e re ntfram e w ork . Th is Exportand re nde r again. I adde d s om e w al l
s
(ove rw riting th e ol
d fil
e ), you can s im pl
y us e give s th e artis ts diffe re ntw ays to ach ie ve th e ir be h ind m y s ce ne to s e e th e e ffe ctofth e
th e Fil
e -> Re -ope n m e nu option in th e goal s and m ak e s itpos s ibl e for de ve l ope rs to bounce s . Com pare th e s e tw o re nde rs w ith
Sunfl ow GUI to q uick l y re load your s ce ne . introduce ne w al gorith m s , w ith outbre ak ing and w ith outgl obalillum ination:
olde r s ce ne s .

I w il
lnow brie fl y de s cribe one ofth e
m e th ods ofcal cul ating gl obal
illum ination: path tracing. Th is is th e
m os taccurate and e as ie s tm e th od to
le arn. Th e catch is th atitcan tak e q uite
long to ach ie ve h igh q ual ity re s ults . Gl
obalil
lum ination re fe rs to m e th ods
In th e e xporte r, go to th e GI tab and
e nabl e th e path button. Th e al gorith m is w h ich are bas e d on ph ys icalcom putation
control le d by tw o param e te rs : s am pl es ofl
igh ting in a s ce ne by tak ing into
and bounce s . Th e firs tde faul tto 32 and
control s th e q uality ofth e re s ul t. Th e accountth e e ffe cts ofl
igh tbounce s on
s e cond de faul tto 1 and control s h ow and offth e 3d s urface s . Itprovide s th e
m any bounce s th e l igh tis al low e d to
m ak e . m os tre al
is tic l
igh ting s im ul
ation ofin CG.
W O RK SH O P3D -
Sce ne w ith GI
Sce ne w ith no GI
Notice h ow th e s h adow e d
re gions are no l onge r
com pl e te ly dark and h ow
w e obtaine d s om e s ubtl e
col or ble e ding on th e fl
oor
Sunfl
ow Re nde ring Sy s te m Tutorial 17
and be tw e e n th e obje cts . Go ah e ad and h ide al lth e l igh ts you w e re
You m ay find ith ard to ge trid ofth e nois e in us ing be fore (th e e xporte r re s pe cts Bl e nde r
th e im age in a re as onabl e am ountoftim e , laye rs ), and m ak e s ure your s ce ne is 'ope n'.
e ve n ifyou m ak e th e num be r ofs am pl e s q uite Th is type ofl igh ting as s um e s th e l igh tis
h igh . Th is is a th e ore ticallim itation ofth e path com ing from infinite l y far aw ay, s o its be s t
tracing al gorith m . Ph oton m aps and irradiance s uite d to outdoor re nde rings . Indoor s ce ne s
cach ing are tw o al gorith m s th atw h e n w il
lpe rform ve ry poorl y w ith th is te ch niq ue .
com bine d can yie l d a m uch m ore e fficie nt
s ol ution;h ow e ve r th e y are m uch trick ie r to Sunfl ow approxim ate s th e e nvironm e ntm ap
s e tup, e ve n for e xpe rie nce d us e rs . w ith a fixe d num be r ofdire ctionall igh ts . Th is
is control l
e d by th e 'Dire cts am pl e s ' s e tting in
Rath e r th an go into th e de tail s ofth e s e th e e xporte r. Us ing th e de faul tof16 you w il l
advance d m e th ods , itm igh tbe be tte r to k now probabl y s e e s om e s h arp e dge s to th e
th ats im ple r and m ore e fficie ntalgorith m s e xis t s h adow s from th e individuall igh ts us e d.
th atw illve ry lik e l
y appe ar in Sunfl ow s oon. Sim pl y incre as e th e num be r ofl igh ts am pl es
untilth e s h arp s h adow boundarie s are
Im age bas e d l igh ting de cre as e d to an acce ptabl e l
e ve l.
In th is s e ction w e w il lcove r th e us e ofH DRI
e nvironm e ntm aps for l igh ting. Back in your Exporting and re nde ring again, you s h oul
d
ble nde r s ce ne , l oad in a l ongitude -l atitude e nd up w ith s om e th ing l
ik e th is :
H DRI e nvironm e ntm ap as a te xture atth e
w orl dl e ve l. Be s ure to unch e ck 're l ative path s '
wh enl oading th e m ap. Re nam e th e te xture
obje ctto 'ibl l
igh t' as s h ow n. Th is l
e ts th e
e xporte r k now you w antto tre atth is m ap as
an e nvironm e ntl igh ts ource .
W O RK SH O P3D - Sunfl
ow Re nde ring Sy s te m Tutorial 18

Th is im age is q uite re alis tic, e ve n th ough

w e h ave notus e d any gl obal
ill
um ination. O fcours e you m ay e nabl e
path tracing as w e did be fore to s im ul ate
th e e xtra bounce s ofl igh t.

Gl os s y m ate rial s
Final ly, l
e t's m ak e our s h ade rs a l ittl
e
m ore inte re s ting. Up untilnow w e h ave
us e d com pl e te l
y diffus e s h ade rs .

Le t's s tartw ith th e s h iny s h ade r. Its im ply

adds a th in re fl e ction coaton top ofth e
diffus e col or. Re nam e one ofyour
obje cts m ate rial s s o th atits nam e s tarts
w ith 's fs h iny'. Th e e xporte r w illnow re ad
th e 'RayM irr' attribute to de te rm ine th e am ount H e re is th e finalre s ult, re nde re d w ith th e
ofre fl e ction to appl y. im age bas e d l igh ting from th e pre vious s e ction:

Ne xtis th e ph ong s h ade r w h ich provide s

bl urry re fle ctions . Re nam e th e m ate rialyou Concl us ion
w is h to e dits o th atits tarts w ith 's fph ong'. Th e I h ope you've e njoye d th is q uick tour ofs om e
s pe cul ar col or now control s th e am ountof th e fe ature s ofth e Sunfl
ow re nde ring s ys te m . Ch ris toph e r K ul l
a is th e prim ary
re fle ction w h il e th e 'h ard' value control s th e de ve l ope r ofth e Sunfl ow Re nde ring
bl urrine s s . H igh e r h ardne s s val ue s re s ultin O ne tutorialis note nough to cove r e ve ryth ing s ys te m . In h is day job h e w ork s as
s h arpe r re fl e ctions . For m y s ce ne I us e d th atis pos s ibl e w ith th is s oftw are . M any m ore
val ue s ranging from 5 to 50. a s oftw are de ve l ope r for Re e lFX
th ings are s upporte d, l ik e te xture s , re fractions ,
de pth offie l d, caus tics , and e ve n proce dural Cre ative Studios in Dal las , Te xas ,
Now th atw e h ave adde d s e ve rall aye rs of s h ading. Pl e as e vis itth e Sunfl ow h om e page w ork ing on com m e rcial s , dire ct-to-
re fl
e ctions , w e ne e d to pay atte ntion to th e (h ttp://s unflow .s ource forge .ne t) and th e DVD and anim ate d fe ature fil m
'M ax De pth ' s e tting in th e e xporte r dialog. Th is El ys iun forum s (h ttp://w w w .e l ys iun.com /) to proje cts .
control s h ow m any l e ve l
s ofre fl
e ctions are le arn m ore . H appy re nde ring!
al l
ow e d. Th e de faul tof9 is rath e r h igh s o w e
w illre duce itto 3 th is tim e . h ttp://s unfl
ow .s ource forge .ne t
W O RK SH O P3D - G I and H D RI l
igh ting in Y afray 19

Firs tw e 'l
llook atth e GI s e ttings for Yafray,
and th e n I'l
lde s cribe a typicall igh ting s e tup
th atI us e for productvis ual iz ation.
by h and. Itth e re fore s ave s tim e (and
tim e =m one y). Itbas ical l
y give s you a bas e fill Gl obalil l
um ination is diffe re ntfrom raytracing.
Introduction ligh t, w ith an e ve n l igh tdis tribution, and a nice In th e latte r a ray is trace d from th e cam e ra to
Th e re are a m ul titude ofw ays to l igh ta s ce ne , naturall ook . Th is can (and s h oul d) be an obje ct, th is can be re fl e cte d/re fracte d, and
from a fe w s im pl e s potl igh ts , th rough com pl e m e nte d w ith traditionall igh ts . th e n trace d to al lligh ts th atare vis ibl e . Th is
are al igh ts and com pl exl igh trigs upto diffe re nt give s you re fl e ction, re fraction and (h ard)
form s ofgl obalil lum ination. H e re I w il lbe Be s ide s th e l igh ting, th e GI re nde ring s h adow s . GI, on th e oth e r h and trace s th e
dis cus s ing th is l
atte r option us ing Yafray for al gorith m is al s o re s pons ible for col our path ofth e ph otons th e m s e l ve s from th e
re nde ring, from ins ide Bl e nde r. Firs tI'd l ik e to bl e e ding be tw e e n obje cts (h ard to fak e w ith out lam ps to th e obje cts , bouncing be tw e e n
addre s s th e com m on m is conce ption th atGI is GI), and caus tics (ne ar im pos s ibl e to fak e ). obje cts in th e s ce ne . Th is give s you re fl e ction,
s om e m agic 'm ak e re al is tic re nde ring' button. H ow e ve r, GI is s l ow e r th an raytracing and re fraction AND col our bl e e ding, s ofts h adow s ,
Itis s im pl y a type ofl igh ting m ode lth atis m uch s l ow e r th an s canl ine re nde ring, and is caus tics (im pos s ibl e w ith raytracing) and
m ore advance d th an th e good ol d s potl am ps , th e re fore onl y for finalre nde ring for s til ls . It ge ne ral l
y a nice r l ook . Th e origin ofth e l igh tin
and m ore ph ys ical l
y accurate . Itw il lnot can'tre al l
y be us e d for anim ations (ye t), not GI can be a l am p, or any obje ct. For outs ide
autom atical ly m ak e a nice im age for you, itw il l onl y be caus e ofre nde ring tim e , butbe caus e s ce ne s , th e w h ole back drop (w orl d) can e m it
s im ply give you a h e ad s tartby be ing a ligh t/dark s pots are random l y re nde re d ligh t. Since Bl e nde r doe s nots upportGI ye t, I
s ubs titution for a ve ry com pl exl igh ting rig w ith (s am pl e d) and th e y jum p around from fram e to us e Yafray.
doz e ns ofl am ps th atw oul d ne e d to be pl ace d fram e .
W O RK SH O P3D - G I and H D RI l
igh ting in Y afray 20

GIs e ttings Ph otons buttons in th e Yafray GI pane l . Th e w il

le m itfrom al ldire ctions e ve nl y, s im il
ar to
Firs t, m ak e s ure th atyou h ave Yafray ph oton cach e w il ls pe e d up th e re nde r ove r an ove rcas tday outs ide . You can al sol oad a
ins tal l
e d, and its l ocation adde d to your O S's te n tim e s ! H ow e ve r, itw il
lle ad to s om e H DR l igh tprobe , w h ich de te rm ine s w h at
'path ' variabl e (s e e th e Yafray re adm e !). In brigh t/dark s pots on th e finalre nde r. Incre as e coloure d l igh tcom e s from w h ich dire ction.
Bl e nde r, go to th e re nde r buttons , and in th e th e Qual ity to ge trid ofth e s e , or ch ange th e
drop-dow n l is tunde r th e l arge RENDER "Re f" button. Ifyou s e tth e "Re f" (re fine m e nt) Now , l e ts try s om e l
igh ting! I w illus e a s ce ne I
button, s e l e ctYafray. Th is s h oul d ope n up tw o to anyth ing oth e r th an 1 (I us e 0.1), itw il l did nottoo l ong ago, itis a de s ign for a fol d-up
e xtra s e ttings pane l s : "Yafray" and "Yafray cal cul ate th e ph oton m ap tw o tim e s be fore th e w ine h ol de r. You can s e e th e finalim age h e re ,
GI". In th e Yafray pane l , th e XM Lbutton finalre nde r. Th e s e cond pas s doe s m ore itis for productvis ual iz ation. Th e re fore th e
s h oul d be turne d off, th is al l
ow s you to s e e th e cal cul ations in th e parts ofth e picture th at m os tim portantpartofth e im age is th e
re nde r in progre s s . h ave m ore de tail , and th e finalre s ul tw il
l productits e l f, and noth ing e ls e s h ould be
th e re fore be be tte r. pre s e ntto draw th e vie w e rs ' atte ntion aw ay,
Th e tw o buttons be l ow al low you to s pe cify th e note ve n a back ground s ce ne .
antialias ing. O th e r buttons be l ow th e s e are n't Th e oth e r im portants e ttings are : "Em itPw r"
im portantnow , th e y don'tne e d to be ch ange d. and "GI Pw r". Th e e m itpow e r de te rm ine s h ow
Th e oth e r pane l , "Yafray GI" is m ore brigh te m itting obje cts , are al igh ts and th e ProductVis ual
iz ation I - "W h ite Space "
im portant. Th e "M e th od" drop-dow n l is tallow s back ground are . GI pow e r
you to s e le cte ith e r None for no GI, Sk yDom e de te rm ine s h ow m uch "e ne rgy"
for a m e th od s im ilar to Bl e nde r's Am bie nt (ligh t) th e s e e m itte rs w il
le m it. It
O cclus ion, and Ful lfor th e prope r gl obal is us ual ly e nough to ch ange th e
il
lum ination re nde ring. Se l e cting Ful lw illope n GI Pow e r s e tting to m ak e your
up ne w buttons on th e bottom . s ce ne dark e r or brigh te r.

Th e Qual ity s e tting w illde te rm ine th e (gue s s Em itte rs

w h at!) q ual ity as w e l las s pe e d ofth e re nde r, a To us e GI, you ne e d to h ave
s e tting ofm e dium /h igh s h oul d be e nough for s om e l igh te m itte rs in your
m os ts ituations . Ifth e re are s m al lface s , s ce ne . Ligh te m itte rs in
de tail e d m ode l s , or s urface s ve ry cl os e to Bl e nde r/Yafray can be th e
e ach oth e r, you m igh tne e d to s e tth e q ual ity fol l
ow ing: are al igh ts , obje cts
h igh e r to ge trid ofre nde r artifacts . w ith a m ate rialEm itval ue m ore
th an 0, and th e back ground.
A com pl e te GI s olution can be painful l
ysl ow to Th e s im pl e s tth ing to do is s e t
re nde r (h ours ), s o s om e trick s can be us e d to th e back ground to any col our
s pe e d itup. Turn on both th e Cach e and th e th atis n'tbl ack . Th e back ground
W O RK SH O P3D - G I and H D RI l
igh ting in Y afray 21

Th is is one ofm y favorite s e tups , for l ack ofa Th e s ce ne , be s ide s th e productits e lf, is s im pl
y l
am p w ith Raytrace d s h adow s turne d on. Itis
be tte r te rm I calle d it"w h ite s pace ", th e a w h ite plane , and a s un l am p, noth ing m ore , sl
igh tl
y ye l
low is h in col
our, w ith a pow e r of0.6.
productis on a com pl e te ly w h ite ground, w ith ve ry s im pl
e.
a w h ite back ground, ye titdoe s n'tjus tfl oatin
s pace , ith as s h adow s . Itl ook s ve ry good Th e ground. Th e W orl
d
printe d on pape r, as w e l las in any
docum e ntor oth e r w h ite back ground
(a w e bpage for e xam pl e ), cre ating th e
im pre s s ion th atth e obje ctits e l fis
s itting th e re on th e pape r.

Ifyou l ook clos e r, you can s e e th e re

are tw o type s ofs h adow h e re . Th e
h ard s h adow com e s from a s un l igh t,
butyou can us e any oth e r type ofl igh tth at Th e w h ite pl ane doe s n'te xte nd too far, jus tfar Ve ry s im ple again, th e w orl d is one col
oure d,
cas ts s h adow s . NO TE: e xce ptare al igh ts ! e nough to catch al lth e s h adow s ofth e a ve ry s l
igh tl
y bl
ue is h w h ite .
Are aligh ts actas ph oton e m itte rs w h e n GI obje cts . Itis com pl e te l y w h ite , and th e
re nde ring in Yafray, and notas norm all igh ts ! Re fle ctivity is 1.0. Note th atth e option "O nl y Re nde r s e ttings
Th e nice s ofts h adow s are th e re s ul tofGI. s h adow " doe s n'tw ork w ith Yafray. Th is m e ans
Th e s ce ne th e e dge s ofth e pl ane w oul d be vis ibl e in th e
finalre nde r, w h ich is notgood! Th is can be
fixe d in th e re nde r s e ttings , s e e be l
ow .

Th e l igh t
Th e re is onl
y one l
igh tin th e s ce ne , a s un
W O RK SH O P3D - G I and H D RI l
igh ting in Y afray 22

IM PO RTANT! Itis re al lylam e , and I h ave q ual ity/s pe e d trade off. And s e e h ow m uch e ach pixe l . Ligh tprobe m e ans th e im age is a
s e e n bad e xam pl e s ofitm any tim e s , w h e n a q ual ity w e h ave ach ie ve d w ith a ve ry s im pl
e com pl e te 360-de gre e panoram ic picture ofth e
productis s h ow cas e d on a gre y pl ane , fl
oating s e tup! e nvironm e nt. Th e proce s s ofm ak ing H DR
in s pace , or atl e as ton s om e s ortof ligh tprobe s is outs ide th e s cope ofth is
back ground. Th is gre y pl ane s h outs CGI. It's ProductVis ual iz ation II - H DR Ligh ting tutorial , s o I w il
ljus ts ay e ith e r dow nload one
im portantth atyou can'ts e e th is bas e pl ane , it Ins te ad ofa plain w h ite -is h w orl
d col our, you ofth e s e ve ralH DR probe s avail able on th e
s h oul d ble nd into th e back ground. In th is can s e ta H igh Dynam ic Range l igh tprobe for ne t(s e e h ttp://w w w .de be ve c.org for s om e
e xam pl e I us e d a w h ite plane , bute ve n a th e back ground. Th is w il lvary th e ligh tcolour s tarte rs ), or m ak e your ow n. M ak e s ure itis in
w h ite pl ane s om e tim e s is re nde re d gre y atth e th e ligh tprobe form at(ak a. angul ar m ap), as
e dge s . Th e back ground its e l fis s ligh tl
y bl ue oppos e d to: ve rticalcros s , l atitude /longitude ,
and notw h ite . So th e trick to h ave th is "W h ite or s om e oth e r panoram ic form at.
Space " e ffe ctis to s e tth e Em itPw r in th e
Yafray GI s e ttings above 1. Th is ne xts te p can be s k ippe d, butI h igh l y
re com m e nd it. Th e probl e m w ith GI
Ittak e s s om e e xpe rim e ntation for th e righ t ill
um ination w ith Yafray is th atfor a a fas t
s e ttings , s o th atyou can'ts e e th e e dge ofth e re nde ring, itus e s s om e random s am pl e s of
bas e pl ane , butitdoe s n'tgl ow in an unnatural th e e nvironm e nt. A nice and s h arp H DR
w ay e ith e r. A s e tting of1.20 s e e m s to w ork im age can h ave diffe ring l igh tval ue s in a s h ort
wel l
. GI pow e r is 0.80. Ifyou m ak e th e s un inte rval , ie : too m uch contras t.
lam p brigh te r, th e n de cre as e th e s e s e ttings , if W ith jus ta fe w s am pl e s , s om e s am pl e s w ill
its dark e r th e n incre as e th e s e . fal lonto a ve ry brigh tpixe l , and s om e w il lfall
onto a ne arby dark e r pixe l , and th is w illre s ult
M ak e s om e l ow re s olution te s tre nde rs . Cl ick in a "s potty" re nde r. I s ol ve th is probl e m by
and h ol d th e l e ftm ous e button on th e re nde r, bl urring th e originalH DR m ap. From
th is w ills h ow th e col our ofth e give n pixe lin h ttp://w w w .h drs h op.org, you can dow nl oad
th e bottom l e ftcorne r. Drag th e m ous e H DRSh op v1 for fre e . O pe n your l igh tprobe ,
around, and m ak e s ure th atboth th e and in th e Fil te rs m e nu, s e le ctGaus s ian bl ur,
back ground, and th e bas e pl ane is R: 255, G: and inte ns ity acros s th e virtuals k y, m ak ing a and bl ur th e im age , us ing a val ue of4-5 for
255, B: 255. Th e n you're re ady for th e h igh re s m ore natural , s m ooth look . To cl arify th e tw o s m al l
e r m aps : 512*512, to 12-15 for h igh e r
finalre nde r! M ak e s ure to s e tth e q ual ity to te rm s , H DR m e ans h igh -dynam ic range re s olution m aps , l ik e 1512*1512. Re s ave it
M e dium or H igh , th e Re fval ue to s om e th ing im age , w h e re ins te ad ofRGB val ue s from 0 to w ith a diffe re ntnam e .
oth e r th an 1, and turn on Antial ias ing, in th is 255, fl oating pointnum be rs w ith be tte r
e xam pl e I us e d 2 pas s e s w ith 4 s am pl e s e ach , pre cis ion, and a h igh e r "dynam ic range " are
th is is th e s e tting I us ually us e , itis a good us e d to s tore th e l um inos ity (l
igh te m is s ion) of
W O RK SH O P3D - G I and H D RI l
igh ting in Y afray 23

Loading th e H DR probe s h adow coul d be pl ace d anyw h e re .

Go to th e te xture buttons , and s e l e ctth e gre e n
"W orl d" button. Se tte xture type to Im age , and
load th e *.h dr file lik e any oth e r im age . Go to
th e w orl d button, and in th e M ap To pane l ,set
m apping to Angul ar m ap, and th e outputto
H ori, Z e nUp and Z e nDow n. Yafray w il l pos ition th e s un l am p accordingl
autom atical ly s e e th atyou h ave a H DR w orl d You m igh tne e d s e ve ralte s tre nde rs
te xture , and w h e n GI is turne d on, it
autom atical ly us e s th atim age for l igh ting.
Sce ne s e tup
Sim il ar to th e pre vious e xam pl e . Th e bas e
pl ane is note nough h ow e ve r, as you w il ls e e
its e dge in th e re nde r. To fix th is , m ak e th e
farth e r e nd ofth e pl ane curve up into th e air,
h igh e nough to bl ock allofth e cam e ra's fil ed
ofvie w . M ak e s ure th is curve s tarts farth e r
th an th e s h adow s ofth e obje ct, oth e rw is e you
w ills e e th e s h adow curve up unnatural l
y into
th e air. Se e top righ tim age .
H ow e ve r, m os tH DR probe s h ave one
or m ore conce ntrate d l igh ts ource s .
Firs tre nde r th e s ce ne w ith onl y th e GI
ligh ting and no l am ps . Se e w h ich w ay
th e s ofts h adow s are cas t, and th e n
y.
to ge tth e h ard s h adow pointing th e
righ tw ay. I us ual ly us e ve ry s ubtl e,
w e ak ligh t(s ) w ith H DR
m aps , th e e ne rgy s h oul d be
around 0.2-0.4, notm ore .
m os tH DR probe s are too l ow -re s to provide a
nice back ground im age . Ins te ad, itis
Re nde r s e ttings
pre fe rable to us e a ph oto ofth e original
Th e y s h oul d be s im il
ar to th e firs t
location for a back ground. Th is te s tim age
m e th od, e xce ptfor th e GI Pow e r
s h ow s one ofm y ow n probe s in action, al ong
s e tting. Th is can vary a l otw ith th e
w ith a ph oto back ground tak e n atth e s am e
give n H DR m ap you are us ing,
location. Note th atins te ad ofa gre y pl ane
de pe nding on h ow brigh titis . Do s om e l ow
w h ich s cre am s CGI, I us e d a s tone pe de s tal,
re s q uick re nde rs to find th e righ tbrigh tne s s .
m ak ing itbl e nd in be tte r.
Som e dark e r m aps ne e d 1-1.5 atth e m os t,
w h ile th e brigh te r one s m igh tonl y ne e d a GI
Pow e r of0.2. And th e n com e s th e finalre nde r!
H e re is m y te s ts ce ne w ith a s uns e tH DR
probe m ade w ith Te rrage n. Th is s am e q ual ity
w ith outGI w oul d ne e d a fe w doz e n l am ps , al l
s e tup prope rl y, s o w e cl
e arly s e e th e
advantage s .

Ligh ts Notonl y do H DR m aps provide th e bas e

Th e "W h ite Space " m e th od above h ad a
com pl e te l
y uniform w h ite l igh t, w h ich m e ans
th e s un l am p us e d for th e additionalh ard
ligh ting ofa s ce ne , butth e y als o provide a
re alis tic e nvironm e ntth e obje cts can re fl
e ct.
Th e y can al s o be th e back ground, h ow e ve r
W O RK SH O P3D - G I and H D RI l
igh ting in Y afray 24

Th is w as jus tone s m al lportion ofw h atyou can do w ith

gl obalillum ination, you can al s o us e itfor indoor s ce ne s .
Try pl acing e m itting plane s or are a l am ps in your s ce ne .
For caus tics , add "ph oton l am ps ", w h ich are avail abl e in
th e Lam p s e ttings in Ble nde r.

Expe rim e nt. H ave fun!

Ilive in H ungary, and am curre ntl y s tudying

indus trialde s ign e ngine e ring atth e Budape s t
Unive rs ity ofTe ch nol ogy and Econom ics .

Som e ofm y h obbie s are : 3D graph ics ofcours e

:), conce ptde s ign/productde s ign, pl us w atch ing
good m ovie s , going outw ith frie nds , h anging out
on e lys iun and oth e r forum s , draw ing.

h ttp://yafray.org
W O RK SH O P3D - Y afray caus tics s am pl
e r tutorial 25

Yafray fe ature s . W e w il lbe m ak ing a cl e ar

gl as s us ing de faul ts e ttings for glas s in
m ate rialpane l . Se l
e ct'Cl e ar Glas s ' from th e
ins tal
le d, you w il
lbe re ady to be gin re nde ring drop dow n m e nu. Se tth e re m ainde r ofyour
your Firs tCaus tics s ce ne ! m ate rials e ttings to Fig. 1. You m igh tw antto
be ve lth e e dge s ofth e m e s h . For th is obje ctI
Us ing Caus tics us e d Subdivide M ul ti 3X and th e n adde d a
Th e s e tup ofth e s ce ne is ve ry s im pl
e . W e w il
l 0.100 Be ve l2X and th e n appl ie d Se tSm ooth .
be us ing th e de faul ts ce ne w ith s om e l am p A bas ic be ve lw oul d w ork jus tas w e l l. W atch
place m e ntch ange s . th e im age atbottom .

Ste p1. Launch Bl e nde r. Ste p4. In th e 3D W indow s w itch to Top Vie w
Ste p2. Go to th e Re nde r Buttons [F10] and [Num 7] and Add [Space Bar] a Pl ane
s w itch th e Re nde re r from Bl
e nde r Inte rnalto [Add>>M e s h >>Pl ane ] to th e s ce ne , th is is
th e Yafray Re nde re r. going to be th e fl oor in th e s ce ne .. ExitEdit
M ode [Tab]. You w il lne e d to M ove [G] itdow n
Th is w illcre ate s om e ne w pane l
s in th e al ong th e Z -axis [Z ] one grid unit[H ol d Ctrl ]s o
In th is tutorialw e are going to e xpe rim e ntw ith Re nde r Buttons , EditButtons , M ate rial th atitis flus h w ith bottom ofth e Cube . O pe n
Yafray and Bl e nde r and le arn h ow th e y Buttons , and th e Lam p Buttons . W e w il lge tto th e Trans form Prope rtie s Pane l[Nk e y] and
inte racttoge th e r. W e w il
lcre ate a s im pl e th e s e ne w pane l s s h ortl
y. s cale th e Pl ane to 50 units or s im pl y pre s s [S]
caus tic e ffe ctus ing de faul ts e ttings . Furth e r and s cal e itto s pre ad up to th e cam e ra vie w .
e xpe rim e ntation can be us e d to cre ate bre ath Ste p3. In th e 3D W indow Se l e ct[RM B] th e Go to th e M ate rialButtons [F8] and Add a
tak ing im age ry! de faul
tcube . Go to th e M ate rialButtons [F8]. Ne w M ate rial .
Th e Raytracing Pane lintroduce s th e avail abl
e
Ge tting Starte d
Firs t, w e w illne e d to h ave
th e late s tve rs ions of
Bl e nde r [Bl e nde r 2.41] and
Yafray [Yafray 0.7] both
ins talle d on your com pute r.
You can ge tth e s e from
w w w .bl e nde r.org and
w w w .yafray.org
re s pe ctive l
y. O nce
W O RK SH O P3D - Y afray caus tics s am pl
e r tutorial 26

M ak e s ure to h ave th e Trace Sh adow fe ature [N]. Se tth e Location XYZ coordinate s to 0,4,2 to Ph oton Lam p. In Bl e nde r onl y w ay to
e nabl e d in th is m ate rial . You can e ve n applya re s pe ctful
ly in th e trans form pane l. Se tth e ge ne rate s caus tics in th e s ce ne is us ing th is
te xture ifyou l ik e . I us e d a l
igh tbl
ue s olid col
or Rotation XYZ coordinate s to 65,0,180 lam p. Ch ange th e Ph oton s e ttings as in Fig. 2.
for th is m ate rial . re s pe ctful
ly. In th e M ate rial
/Lam p Buttons s e t
th e pow e r to 0.250. Give itth e s h ape ofa Ste p7. Now s w itch ove r to Re nde r Buttons
Ste p5. In th e 3D w indow s w itch to Top Vie w Sq uare 3.0. Se tth e 'Sh adow Sam pl e s ' at10 [F10] and ch ange th e s e s e ttings as in Fig. 3.
[Num 7] and s e l e ct[RM B] th e de faul tlam p and or gre ate r.
de l e te [De l
] it. Now pl ace your 3D Curs or at Ste p8. Re nde r [F12] th e s ce ne ! Your re s ul ts
approxim ate l y 0,4,2 XYZ Gl obalcoordinate s . Ste p6. Dupl icate [Sh ift+ D] th e Are a Ligh tth e n s h ould be s im il ar to firs tim age in pre vious
Pre s s [Space Bar] to add an Are a Lam p Cance l[RM B] th e Auto-Grab function. Th is w il l page . Ifyour re nde r doe s n'tm atch ittry to
Add>>Lam p>>Are a. Th e l am p s h ould be place th e duplicate d are a ligh tatth e e xact m atch cl os e l y th e s e ttings as give n e arl
ie r in
autom atical lysel e cte d, butifnots e le ctitand l
ocation ofth e originalare a l igh t. In th e th e figure s . You can al sol ook atth e e xam pl e
th e n bring up th e Trans form Prope rtie s Pane l M ate rial
/Lam p buttons ch ange th e l am p type caus tics .bl e nd fil e ifyou can'tfigure itout!
W O RK SH O P3D - Y afray caus tics s am pl
e r tutorial 27

W h atJus tH appe ne d? Ph otons . Th e y th e n are e m itte d from al lofth e Try adding a te xture or a col
or to th e Cube
Now th atw e h ave ge ne rate d a good e xam pl e l
igh ts in th e s ce ne . Th e m ore ph otons (w e and giving its om e Nor or Dis pl
ace m e nt.
ofCaus tics , now w e are going to l ook ath ow us e d 100,000) be tte r th e re s ul ts , butth is w il
l
th e Caus tics w ork e d in th is s ce ne and w h at als o e xpone ntial l
y incre as e th e re nde ring tim e . Re pl ace th e Cube w ith a Sph e re or anoth e r
el s e options are avail abl e in th e ble nde r m e s h . Us e s e ve ralPh oton Lam ps . H ave your
inte rface . Th e re are th re e pane l s in ble nde r Th e l as tpane lis th e Lam p Pane l [F5]. Th is is s upe r cl us te r h andy! Us e an H DR Gl obal
inte rface th atcontain s e ttings for Caus tics : locate d in th e M ate rial /Lam p buttons . You w il l Te xture .
ne e d to s e l e ctth e ph oton l am p in th e s ce ne to
Th e firs tone is th e Yafray Pane lits e l f. Th is s e e th e Yafray Sh adow and Ph oton tab. By Em ailm e your e xpe rim e nts ! I'd l
ove to tak e a
pane lal low s you to controlth e Yafray e nabl ing Ph oton Lam p w e e nabl e th e us e of l
ook atth e m !
Re nde re r s e ttings . Norm al ly it's good e nough ph otons for th e caus tics from a dire cts ource .
to jus tdis abl e XM Ls o th atyou can s e e th e H e re th e Pow e r s e tting is l ik e any oth e r l igh t
inte ractive re nde ring. Al s o you can l e ave Auto- and te l ls h ow "brigh t" th e caus tics w il lbe . Th is
AA e nabl e d to le tYafray autom atical ly control ph oton l am p al l
ow s us to dire ctth e dire ction of
th e anti al ias ing option. For de tail e d controlof caus tic and optim iz e th e caus tics re s ul ts
Caus tics you w il lh ave to s w itch to m anualanti nice l y. W e us e d about100,000 ph otons h e re .
al ias ing s e tting th ough . For s om e com pl e x s ce ne itcan go al lth e w ay
up to a m il lion! Itjus tde pe nds on h ow m uch
Th e s e cond pane lis th e Yafray GI Pane l . GI com putation you w antto do! You can
s tands for Gl obalIl l
um ination. Gl obal e xpe rim e ntw ith th e oth e r s e ttings as th e y
Illum ination is th e e ffe ctproduce d by th e l igh t us ual ly re q uire s om e te s ting butde faul t
be ing e m itte d from a Gl oball igh ts ource . For s e ttings w il lus ual ly ach ie ve good re s ul ts
th is e xpe rim e ntw e us e d th e Ful lType GI and re gardl ess.
s e tth e q uality to H igh for be tte r re s ul ts . O th e r
s e ttings are De pth and CDe pth . De pth is th e Exte nding Caus tics
dis tance th atYafray cal cul ate s a s ingl e ray Caus tics are notre s tricte d to Trans pare nt
during raytracing. Th e s m al le r th e val ue th e m ate rial s e ith e r! You can us e caus tics for
q uick e r butl e s s accurate th e raytracing w il l m e tal lic m ate rial s too, jus tre m e m be r th attw o I am a 17 ye ar old graph ics artis tand
be . CDe pth is s im il ar butitis for caus tics m e tal lic m ate rial s w il
lals o re fl
e ctth e ph otons program m e r from San Antonio, Te xas .
ph otons in th e s ce ne . Again th e s m al le r th e s o th e y ge ne ral ly w il
lnots h ow up s om e tim e s .
val ue th e q uick e r butl e s s accurate th e A fre e lance s tudio artis tatID Studios
caus tics in th e s ce ne w il lbe . W e al s o e nabl ed To finis h up th is tutorialI'l
lgive you s om e [w w w .inte l
lide s ign.org]
Ph otons in th is pane l . Th is w il le nabl e GI s ugge s tions to pl ay around w ith : and a w e b program m e r atM ons te rW e b
Ph otons w h ich are al s o re fe rre d to as H e l pe r w w w .m ons te rw e b.ne t
W O RK SH O P2D - D PI de m y s tifie d 28

DPIde m ys tifie d s cre e n, butnot

printe d out. In orde r
You did it! You h ave trul y cre ate d a for itto l ook good for
m as te rpie ce . Butw h e n you printe d itout, it print, you h ave to
look e d al lpixilate d and bl ock y. Dang, you re nde r your im age
m us th ave a bad s e tting s om e w h e re . You go bigge r and th e n
back , doubl e ch e ck al lyour s e ttings , h itre nde r re s iz e its m al le r in
again and w ait. Its til llook s th e s am e w h e n your favorite graph ic
you printit. You s tartgl aring s il
e ntth re ats at program . Es s e ntial l
y
your printe r. W e l l, be fore you de cide to m ak e w h atyou w il lbe doing
good on th os e th re ats , you m igh tw antto try is s w apping ph ys ical
one m ore th ing (your printe r w il lth ank you for dim e ns ions for
it). re s ol ution. Tak e a
look atth e fol low ing
You m ay h ave ove rl ook e d th e w h ol e DPI ch art(fig. 1 be l ow ). It
is s ue . W h il
e it’s true th atBl e nde r h as s om e s h ow s s om e com m on
nice pre s e tre nde r s iz e s , ifyou don’t re nde r s iz e s in pixe l s
unde rs tand h ow th atre l ate s to printing, you and th e
w il lbe fore ve r gl aring atyour printe r. corre s ponding ph ys icals iz e s at72dpi (w h ich
Bl e nde r us e s ) and a good printre s ol ution of O nce you h ave re nde re d your im age us ing
300dpi. You can s e e th atth e ph ys icals iz e s th os e s e ttings , you ne e d to go into your
Firs tl e t’s look atw h atDPIactual ly is .
be com e s m al le r as you incre as e th e favorite im age program and re s iz e your
DPI is a printing te rm th atde s cribe s th e
re s ol ution. im age . M os tim age program s w ork s im il arly,
num be r ofdots /pixe l s th atare de fine d in th e
s o figuring itoutin your program s h oul dn’tbe
boundary ofa s q uare inch th atare us e d to
Th is m ay s e e m ove rl y com pl
icate d, butre al
ly difficult. I w il
lbe us ing Ph otos h op to e xplain
cre ate an im age . Th e m ore corre ctte rm is
itis not. Th e re is a ve ry s im ple form ula you th is part, be caus e th atis w h atI h ave .
pixe l s pe r inch , h ow e ve r dots pe r inch is ofte n
us e d ins te ad (Th e im age can be a fontor can us e to ge tth e
graph ic). In ge ne ral , th e m ore dots , th e be tte r prope r s e ttings .
and s h arpe r th e im age . DPI is printe r Bas ical l
y you m ul tipl
y
re s olution. DPI is notim age re s ol ution th e de s ire d re s olution
al th ough fre q ue ntl y us e d th atw ay. by th e de s ire d ph ys ical
O k , now th atw e k now w h atDPI is , l e t’s look at s iz e to ge tth e pixe l
h ow itappl ie s to Ble nde r. Ble nde r re nde rs s e ttings /s iz e you ne e d
im age s outat72dpi, w h ich l ook s ok ay on your for Bl e nde r (fig. 2).
W O RK SH O P2D - D PI de m y s tifie d 29

Ste p 1: O pe n your im age O k ay, s o now you h ave a be tte r unde rs tanding
ofdpi and h ow to ge tth e prope r dpi for
Ste p 2: Go to Im age >Im age Siz e , a dial
og box printing, butw h atdpi re s ol ution is be s tfor
l
ik e fig. 3 s h oul
d ope n. w h atyou ne e d. As a ge ne ralrul e , you s h oul d
ch oos e a re s olution be tw e e n 150-300 dpi.
Ste p 3: Atth e bottom ofth e box, unch e ck Th is re s ol
ution is good for m os tprintproje cts .
“Re s am pl
e Im age ” Ifyou are h aving s om e th ing profe s s ional ly
printe d, itis alw ays a good ide a to ch e ck w ith
Ste p 4: Ne xtl ocate th e “Re s ol ution Box”, your printe r and find outw h atre s ol ution th e ir
e nte r your ne w re s olution. Th e W idth and e q uipm e ntruns at.
H e igh tboxe s s h oul d autom atical l
y update to
re fl
e ctth e ne w s iz e atth atre s ol
ution.

Ste p 5: H itth e “O K ” button and s ave , you are

alldone and now your im age w il lprintl ik e you
e xpe cte d itto.

H i, m y nam e is Sandra Gil be rt, (ak a dre am s gate ). I h ave be e n

us ing bl e nde r for a l
ittl
e ove r five ye ars . I curre ntl
yl ive in
Nam pa, Idah o, USA and w ork as a graph ic de s igne r for a
s m allprints h op.

I’m m arrie d and h ave 2 ch il dre n, w h ich le ave s notne ar

e nough tim e for fe e ding m y grow ing bl e nde r obs e s s ion. Ye t
s om e h ow I al w ays m anage to find th e tim e to e xpl ore ne w
fe ature s , k e e p up on th e l
ate s tne w s and s tartne w bl e nde r
proje cts . Som e ofth e m I actual l
y e ve n m anage to finis h .
Unde r re vie w 30

Book Re vie w affe ctligh ting and re nde ring. In th is s am e

ch apte r h e als o e xpl
ains th e us e s and
DigitalLigh ting and Re nde ring
advantage s ofraytracing and gl obalil lum ination.
Th is is s ue w e are re vie w ing “[digital
] Ligh ting
and Re nde ring” by Je re m y Birn. Th e finalch apte r cove rs com pos iting and
re nde ring in l aye rs , s h ow ing th e us e ofdiffe re nt
By now w e h ave al lfigure d out, or s oon w il
l, th at re nde r pas s e s to ge tjus tth e e ffe ctyou are
l
igh ting is a ve ry l
arge partofany s ucce s s ful look ing for.
proje ct. You can h ave th e be s tm ode l s,
m ate rials and com pos ition, butw ith outprope r Th is book is a de finite “m us tre ad” for be ginne rs
l
igh ting your im age w il lfallfl
at. and ye te ve n an e xpe rie nce d CG artis tw illfind
itw orth a l
ook .
Ente r “[digital ] Ligh ting and Re nde ring”. Je re m y
Birn tak e s you s te p by s te p, w ith l ogicaland --bl
e nde rart
cl e arl
y e xpl aine d e xam pl e s , th rough th e ofte n
com pl e x and confus ing are a ofl igh ting. H e
s tarts you offw ith h ow to s e tup a good l igh t
w ork flow and th e n e xpl ains e ach type ofl igh t
you s h oul d h ave avail abl e.

H e continue s w ith in-de pth dis cus s ions on w h at

ligh ting is and h ow l igh tand s h adow be h ave in
th e re alw orld, th e n progre s s e s th rough col
or
th e ory, q ual
ity ofl igh tand s h adow and
e xpos ure .

No book on l igh ting w oul d be any good w ith out

a th orough dis cus s ion ofl igh ts e tups . And th is
one is an e xce l le ntre s ource for l e arning about
th e various l igh ts e tups and th e ir us e s .
H e goe s on to e xpl ain h ow m ate rial s fitinto th e
re nde ring pipe l ine . Starting w ith s h ading
s urface s , h e w ork s h is w ay th rough de tail ed
e xplanations ofh ow diffe re ntm ate rials e tups
G al
le ria - pg1 31
G al
le ria - pg2 32
G al
le ria - pg3 33
G al
le ria - pg4 34
G al
le ria - pg5 35
G al
le ria - pg6 36
G al
le ria - pg7 37
G al
le ria - pg8 38
G al
le ria - pg9 39
G al
le ria - pg10 40
G al
le ria - pg11 41
G al
le ria - pg12 42
G al
le ria - pg13 43
Ends cape 44

H el
lo! de ar bl
e nde r h e ads . Th is tim e w e gotour w e bs ite h os te d th ank s to
ibibl io.org w h ich gracious l y provide d us w ith
W e h ave be e n bringing forth a bundl e ofgood th e w e b s pace . Nam Ph am did a gre atjob
le arning m ate rialfor you for th e pas ts ix w ith th e ne w w e bs ite de s ign and h e h as al so
m onth s . In e ve ry is s ue , w e tak e on a particul ar provide d th e l ong w ante d s ol ution for
as pe ctofCG re l ate d to Bl e nde r and pre s e nt s ubs cribing to our m ail ing l is t. Now al lth os e
you w ith a pack ofus e full e arning m ate rial . All w h o w ills ubs cribe to itw il lge tnotifie d as s oon
th is is m anage d w ith th e h e l p ofth e as th e ne w is s ue is l aunch e d.
e xpe rie nce d bl e nde r h e ads from w ith in th e
bl e nde r com m unity. Th e y h e l p s pre ad th e W ith th is is s ue outw e are al s o s tarting to
k now l e dge by s h aring conte ntfrom th e ir re s tructure both th e m agaz ine de s ign and th e
re s pe ctive fie l
d ofe xpe rtis e . conte nts s o th atw e can continue to provide
you al lw ith e ve n be tte r l
e arning e xpe rie nce
Back w h e n w e jus ts tarte d th e m agaz ine , it for th e tim e to com e .
w as our aim to provide a good re s ource to
cove r th e diffe re ntas pe cts ofCG w ith th e So untilth e n do k e e p s e nding us your
m ain focus be ing on th e e as e ofl e arning for val
uabl e fe e dback and com m e nts .
th e ne w us e rs . W e h ave be e n ove rw h e l med
by th e cons tantapprais aland fe e dback w e got H appy bl
e nding!
from th e bl e nde r com m unity. Th ats h ow s th at Gaurav
w e h ave atl e as tbe e n s ucce s s fulin th atare a. gaurav@ bl e nde rart.org
I tak e th is opportunity on be h al fofour s m al l
te am atbl e nde rartto th ank you al lfor your
com m e nts and fe e dback and attim e s ,
patie nce . And al s o to th e fol
k s w h o h ave
provide d m uch ne e de d m ate rialfor th e
m agaz ine .
D is cl
aim e r 45