Photographic Rendering with VRay for SketchUp

328 Pages·2014·20.57 MB·English

by  Brian Bradley

Photographic Rendering
with V-Ray for SketchUp
An all-inclusive guide to creating a photo quality
V-Ray render for SketchUp
Brian Bradley
BIRMINGHAM - MUMBAI
Photographic Rendering with V-Ray for SketchUp
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First published: March 2014
Production Reference: 1100314
Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.
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Birmingham B3 2PB, UK.
ISBN 978-1-84969-322-6
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Cover Image by Brian Bradley ([email protected])
Credits
Author Copy Editors
Brian Bradley Roshni Banerjee
Sarang Chari
Reviewers Adithi Shetty
Matthew Bohne
Joel Bradley
Proofreaders
Ross Cantrell Simran Bhogal
Mathieu Godet Maria Gould
Tom Hankins Ameesha Green
Paul Hindle
Acquisition Editors
Martin Bell
Indexer
Rebecca Pedley Mehreen Deshmukh
Content Development Editor Graphics
Arvind Koul Yuvraj Mannari
Abhinash Sahu
Technical Editors
Pragnesh Bilimoria
Production Coordinator
Pooja Nair Manu Joseph
Nikhil Potdukhe
Cover Work
Manu Joseph
Project Coordinator
Wendell Palmer
About the Author
Brian Bradley is a self-taught 3D artist and Training Author who started
experimenting with creative software and 3D applications back in 1993. By the
mid 90s, he was running his own small multimedia business working on projects
as diverse as corporate logos, graphic design for clothing and vehicles, as well as
developing full product and architectural visualization projects.
In 2007, he turned the attention of his family-run studio toward full-time production
of CG Training, focusing initially on 3ds Max along with the mental ray and V-Ray
render engines. In 2012, he joined the ranks of Training Authors producing course
for the lynda.com online training library, producing (among others) V-Ray-based
courses for 3ds Max, Maya, and of course, SketchUp.
Recently, Brian and his team have completed a revamp of the vrayelite.com
website that they run and they plan to work at slowly but surely expanding both
the level and quality of training and content that it houses.
Acknowledgement
While there are a lot of people that I could sincerely acknowledge as having
played a part in my being able to ultimately write this book, many of them of
course coming from the world wide CG community, I am going to keep things
simple and say a huge and heartfelt thank you to anyone and everyone that has
had a positive influence on my life.
At the top of that list would of course come my wife Karen and son Joel who have
borne the brunt of many frustrating days and nights spent trying to get computer
hardware and software to work in perfect harmony in the pursuit of art and creativity.
Not only have they themselves been an inspiration as regards perseverance, but also
in terms of creativity, providing a never ending flow of observations, suggestions,
and where ever beneficial, even criticisms. To you, I say, "Drinks all round".
There is also one honorable mention that I would like to make with regards to our
own inspiration in becoming trainers and educators in the CG world. Many years
ago we stumbled across, what was at the time a brand new site, giving away high
quality computer graphics training to anyone who would write and ask for it. The
site was 3dbuzz.com and in the years that followed, the inspiration from that team,
especially Jason Busby and Zak Parrish, is something for which I will always be
grateful and remember fondly.
Thank you all for reading; this is Brian Bradley saying take care, and bye for now.
About the Reviewers
Matthew Bohne is currently a fourth year architecture student at the Rhode
Island School of Design. His interests include interdisciplinary methods of working,
including conceptual architectural drawing, as a vehicle to subvert and expand upon
architectural discourse and ideas of imagination, ritual, and narration. He recently
was a finalist in the international Ken Roberts Memorial Delineation Competition.
Joel Bradley is a self-taught 3D generalist and training instructor, who has been
using 3D, image editing, and graphic design applications since the age of nine.
Spending 10 years working as a partner in his family-run multimedia and training
business has given him the opportunity to develop skills and insight into the way
people and production processes work, as well as affording the opportunity to
work in a diverse number of industry areas including the production of content
for the web, print, video, and interactive applications to name just a few.
In recent years, he has been enjoying the focus and challenge of helping others get
to grips with the software tools and design principles that he loves as a full-time
Training Author producing 3ds Max and Blender titles for both lynda.com and
infiniteskills.com.
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Ross Cantrell graduated from SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) in
2012 with his BFA in Animation. He is a 3D digital artist with a focus on lighting,
compositing, modeling, and rigging. Since his graduation from SCAD, he has
worked as a 3D artist and compositor within the television industry on shows and
commercials for Cartoon Network, TNT, TBS, and Sprout. He has also worked
within the film industry producing 3D stereoscopic animation for National
Geographic. Ross currently works for TRICK 3D producing photorealistic images
and animations for Delta depicting commercial airline interiors for marketing and
advertising use.
Mathieu Godet is a French 3D artist specialized in modeling, texturing, and
shading. He graduated from the ESIAJ in Namur, Belgium, in 2012 and has been
working in the industry for about two years.
Tom Hankins developed an interest in drawing, animation, and creation at
a very young age. Film and animations have always been a big part of his life.
At the age of 18, he had his first 3D lessons at the Utrecht School of Arts, shortly
after which he changed courses and enrolled into the 3D Computer Animation
and Visual Effects program.
In his third year, he was an intern at Rosto A.D. in Amsterdam, working on the
film The Monster of Nix, character designing, and developing one of the leading
characters of the film, voiced by Terry Gilliam.
In his fourth and final year at the academy, Tom and three of his fellow students
created the successful animated short Mac 'n' Cheese as his graduation film.
He graduated with honors as a bachelor of Art and Technology.
He is now running a small Holland-based CG company called Colorbleed along
with Roy Nieterau and Gijs van Kooten.
Their production and creative experience ranges from animated shorts to commercials
and visual effects for films. Tom works as their Creative Director.
Table of Contents
Preface 1
Chapter 1: Diving Straight into Photographic Rendering 7
What this chapter is all about 7
Good composition is the foundation of photographic rendering 8
Improving our opening scene 10
Working with six new views 12
Matching viewport and render aspect ratios 16
Lighting that sets the mood! 19
Stepping through the render process 21
Using V-Ray's physical camera model 21
Global illumination controls 24
Materials that make us believe! 25
Creating the floor material 27
Adding surface properties 31
Final setting tweaks! 33
Render settings for final output 35
Summary 38
Chapter 2: Lighting an Interior Daytime Scene 39
Looking at our SketchUp scene 39
Defining our goals 40
Methods for defining our vision 42
Writing a definition 43
Painting a definition 43
Compiling a definition 43
Artistic exercise 44
My definition for the gallery interior 44
The lighting workflow 45
Sunlight is our key light 46
SketchUp shadow settings – positioning the V-Ray Sun 47
Using a V-Ray spotlight as the key light 50