Tropical village

[Pibuz]

Hi guys..
I try to post here a wip of mine, modeled entirely in Sketchy and rendered through SkIndigo. I'm sad to report that i was very excited about the 1.1.12 version of SkIndigo, but after an afternoon of trials i had to give up. It seems like all the features are supported, but few of them are actually working..
This isn't absolutely supposed to be a critic to Whaat's work, which is actually fantastic (..i think it's really hard to follow the real time implementations of Ono ) and i thank him a lot for his sacrifices. I just wanted to report some bugs, that's all. Then we can work together to fix them.

First of all, I think the fact we can import an external texture without having to insert it into Sketch is actually a very important feature. I counted a lot on it, but it seems like i couldn't get it to work.. I tried to link basicallyexternal exponent and bump maps: in the preview they just looked great, but in the render their effects disappeared. It was just a plain texture with an exponent value..

I really have to say that i was in a hurry, so i didn't spent so much time on that: i preferred to switch back to the stable version wich works perfectly (though my sketch file is something about 46MB now ).
I mean, perhaps (and that's not so improbable) SkIndigo 1.1.12 works perfectly and i simply misunderstood how to use external mapping.. Could be! ..I think i really have to save some time to practice well..

So, for now i post my wip.
It's a wip, it means i want to improve it. Go with the tips!!!

[OnoSendai]

Hi Pibuz,
nice render.
It looks a little blocky in parts though. What splat filter did you use? What supersample factor? And what downsize filter?

[Pibuz]

...ehm...
..Ono, you're speaking chinese to me...
In SkIndigo we don't set ANY of the parameters you mention...

..perhaps i can explain something if i tell you i photoshopped it all a little, using also the sharpen filter...

..sorry ono! I'm so ignorant..

[OnoSendai]

Ah, no worries, it just means Whaat has done a good job hiding the rough edges of Indigo
Sharp filter would cause the boxy look in some places, I think.

[CTZn]

I agree that at this stage of the wip, some surfaces look flat, and some angles very sharp. I hope you will bevel or texture edges in the foreground; the left wall could have variations in shading, either by blocking or bouncing some light onto it. Generally I would avoid the even lighting on flat surfaces.

Great potential, eager to see more !

[eulgrand]

That's a fantastic model, Pibuz.

You could break the main (largest) and most visible angles with a bit of bevel, or make them a little less straight with displacement. That could make the render a little less "blocky" as Ono said.

I'd also add some tiny waves on the water on the right (SU's sandbox) - (it's water, isn't it ?!).

Nevertheless, great render already !

[Pibuz]

..ok guys..
thanks for your observations, i promise i'll take care or those ASAP!

Quick but important question for you: i'm trying to render an evening shot of the scene. So i have to put in some emitters.
BIG problem: if i set emitters' properties in order to see some light and glowing, the rest of the image suddenly burns out!

I tried a 50W efficiency 34 just to begin. I couldn't see any light. I stopped and raised the value, then it was too much. Then i tried lowering it down and okay i could see the light, but the stone and plaster actually burn out!
I first modeled a square inside the light component, and i thought it was this what caused the problem But, even if i take the emitting square out of the component, the problem shows up again..

Is there any reason? Whaat? Any ideas?

[CTZn]

You mean:

A: indoor lights are ok, but
B: when you add outdoor lights, everything goes wrong ?

If yes:

1 - don't use reinhard tonemapping !
2 - find the right setting for the indoor lights alone with camera or linear tm
3 - turn the indoor lights off, light outdoor, and with the same value of tm than 2, tune the outdoor lights.
4 - When the outdoor lights are tuned up, light the indoor lights on
5 - I think that at this stage you will need to divide tm value per 2, or reduce it somewhat at least. But at least lights will match.

I hope I get your trouble right, if not then maybe tell us in spanish Pibuz ^^

[Pibuz]

...uhm..
first of all thank you CTZn for your quick answer!

..and, to get back to my problem, i think the images can sometimes speak for themselves better than i can do.. So i'll attach the two of them.

[CTZn]

I'd pump their power even higher, and lower camera iso/ev... I'm referring to point 5, where in cam/linear tm, the power of lights sums up, therefore it claims for a less sensible film. I think sun is still too strong for an evening scene (pump lights up, lower iso).

If I'm wrong here I'll stop bothering you

[eulgrand]

Are you using an HDR probe (env. map) ?

[Whaat]

I tried to link basicallyexternal exponent and bump maps: in the preview they just looked great, but in the render their effects disappeared. It was just a plain texture with an exponent value..

Did you have a texture applied to the SketchUp material? If not, no UVs will be exported and the effects of the external texture will probably not be seen.

I appreciate the bug reports but it would help if you could post a sample SKP file or IGS file that shows the problem.

[Pibuz]

Hi Whaat! Yes, i had a diffuse texture applied, same original size as the bump and exponent textures. I know it sholud be useful to post a sample scene, but as i said i'm a little in a hurry, at the moment.. When i'll get to breathe again, i'll try with a VERY simple scene, so i can find if it was my problem or not. If not, i'll post it to you for sure..

Other thing: you have probably read the whole post. I have to report that the overexposure issue (only when using sun/sky and emitters at the same time) is present from the 1.0.9 version of SkIndigo. The following image has been rendered on a quad core machine Q6600 overnight using SkIndigo 1.0.8 and Indigo 1.0.9_3 (official release).
The workflow with emitters has been simple: i adjusted the overall exposure WITHOUT emitters, and then i made several attempts to pump their power so i could see them. No burnt out area at all.
Perhaps you've been forced to change something in the coding, i don't know..

So, here's a slightly postproduced image. Still WIP.

Eulgrand: no environment map. Just sun/sky!

[BbB]

This is a pretty spectacular image. Well done. In general, I would avoid the sharpen filter like the plague. Nothing brings out the grain so much.

[Pinko5]

Well done Pibuz!!!
Great work!
Luca.