The Retro

[DanCBradbury]

Dan, thanks for the ligth setup post. What intensity does the light for the rig have? Since the rig is so large compared to the model, the intensity must be pretty high? When I first import the light, the default is 7% for me.

I use an 8% intensity light. When the dome is scaled the intensities are scaled as well.

[DanCBradbury]

Well, the tires are now white walled. It makes the car seem even more retro-y-er I also reshaped the doors and door frams so that the curves matched the back and front weal wells.

[Eric2575]

Dan,

 

are there any other light sources in your chor? Are the default fill, rim and key lights on? The reason I ask is because when I set up my chor with just a skylight rig(25) with an intensity of 8% at the height and scale you have, I get a result that's so dark you can just barely see the outline of the model. I had to crank up the skylights intensity to 200% in order to get a decent render.

[DanCBradbury]

Dan,

 

are there any other light sources in your chor? Are the default fill, rim and key lights on? The reason I ask is because when I set up my chor with just a skylight rig(25) with an intensity of 8% at the height and scale you have, I get a result that's so dark you can just barely see the outline of the model. I had to crank up the skylights intensity to 200% in order to get a decent render.

lol. I delete those annoying lights the second i start a choreography. I wish there was a way to make them not part of a default choreography setup.

 

Here's my basic c1-ico-f2(25) properties: @yves... what's all that mean by the way? lol

 

width 500cm

fall-off 75000cm

color 255,255,255

intensity 10%

Attenuation 0%

Rays Cast 2

Bias .05cm

Darkness 100%

 

There's nothing that specifies that the car has to be 8cm high, or the rig 1300% scaled. I just set mine up that way. So adjust your light intensity untill you have everything lit the way you want it. I adjusted my intensities untill the furthest piece of ground had just barely reached pure white. One thing though, make sure none of the bulbs' width touch any part of your model. This could result in supershadows, artifacts, and a ruined render.

[oakchas]

Dang!

 

Is this a two seater or a two + two (very small rear seat)... or is it a 4-5 seater?

 

Here's why:

 

Door too small to allow anyone in the back seat probably. Rear side window leads me to expect a rear seat. 2 door cars have looongggg doors... Even little coupes like Saturns with long doors are adding a short 3rd door (backwards opening) to allow more room for getting in and out of rear seat.

 

Stretching the door (and the rest of the body in that area only) will make more sense... the wheel base appears very short once you look at the wireframe. The car exudes the feeling of looongg... The wheelbase says shorty?

 

Wide White sidewalls show virtually no black on the sidewall ~1/2" around the rim... the white goes allaway to the tread... if you want narrower WSWs, the white is usually a bit closer to the wheel.

 

This is all technical BS... the car still looks very cool.... reference pix:

 

Wide Whites...... normal WSW......... low pros

[attachmentid=13536] [attachmentid=13537] [attachmentid=13538]

[Eric2575]

Dan,

 

I just started with a new chor and applied the settings you gave. Hurray, it works now! I think my falloff was too low. Not sure and don't care, just glad to have the rig working again.

 

Thanks again...

 

Eric

[luckbat]

I delete those annoying lights the second i start a choreography. I wish there was a way to make them not part of a default choreography setup.

Oh but there is.

[DanCBradbury]

Dan,

 

I just started with a new chor and applied the settings you gave. Hurray, it works now! I think my falloff was too low. Not sure and don't care, just glad to have the rig working again.

 

Thanks again...

 

Eric

Good to hear it. NOW WHEN CAN WE SEE THE SALEEN!!

 

I delete those annoying lights the second i start a choreography. I wish there was a way to make them not part of a default choreography setup.

Oh but there is.

YAY!! i always hated those stupid lights. Well... the only problem i had with them was that they didnt start with 100% darkness shadows. Is there anyway to change the values of the default light?

[Zaryin]

I would think the if you change the light properties then save out the Cho it would save the light data as well...

[Eric2575]

Ok, Dan, just calm down and relax

 

I've been really busy with the TWO project, doing some video work for my Uncle and trying to put some high-res images together for Hash. The Saleen is actually one of them. I'm not going to post anymore picks of it until I get it all detailed out and submitted to Hash for the image request. Hope you can wait till then.

 

Burnin the midnight oil...

 

Eric

[DanCBradbury]

Here's the new retro. The doors are now elongated, and the car sides and door are bowed out to match the curve of the car.

[oakchas]

Now we're talkin'!

 

All that's left is getting those doors open, and opening the hood to see a monster v10 or 12 (or a turbine!). Turn on the headlights, put it on the turntable at the car show with one or two of John Bigbootes (ahem) "spokesbabes" and you'll sell several thousand of 'em.

 

Dan, it's really lookin' great! Looks like it's got Wide White Lo Pros!

 

Sexy, sinuous speed

from a

Red, racy Retro!

[DanCBradbury]

I don't know about making an inside. That seems like it would take almost as long as the outside did. I keep thinking about door handles. Anyone got any good suggestions or ideas on what kind i should use? The ones i have now are sort of plain.

[oakchas]

I've seen some for trucks that are chrome flames.... how about moving them to the FRONT of the door.... Suicide doors (they open backwards)!

 

Yes, the insides would be alot of work too... but it would be so much hotter! Add a WOW engine compartment... and WOW!

[DanCBradbury]

lol... this is getting scary oakchas. Do you know the designer by any chance? everything you've suggested he has aswell. freaky

 

well, here's the door handels we're going with. He had suggested the new mustang touch pad handels, but i think this looks much better.

[oakchas]

Nah, I don't know John... I'm a medium and I'm channeling some dude-calls himself Tucker... And I'm only listening to half what he says.... something about a pancake motor in the trunk, headlights that turn, other weird stuff.... go figure?

 

That's a joke, son!

 

BTW I dunno, these could look pretty hot....

[attachmentid=13751]

 

 

[DanCBradbury]

i dont know... those look kinda gawdy... and would take a real long time to make

[oakchas]

Gaudy indeed... for such a staid automobile!

 

you could try these... [attachmentid=13825]

 

a little less gaudy... but still as unconventional as the car...

[Dhar]

As custom as this automobile is, I'd want nothing less than keyless/touchless entry. Either voice activated door openers or a remote control for mine please

[DanCBradbury]

Hm... i think i may go with that. NO HANDLES!! lol. The designer had wanted a no handels look. Keyless, open remote, and easier than heck for me to make. lol sorry oakchas... those are some pretty neat looking door handels though.

[oakchas]

Wow, Dan! This is getting somewhat eerie.... I was just thinking how good it might look "shaved" no door handles at all... kicker solenoids open by remote.... but then there's always the ring opener.... a chip placed under a signet ring (same type of chip used in "wave-to-enter cards) activates the kicker solenoid.

 

Now, ask John what he'd think of some supercharger exhaust tubes ala Cord auto. Like this:

[attachmentid=13827]

[DanCBradbury]

that chipset thing is exactly what we were looking for. in fact... he's been asking for them for quite some time. I guess i should just go with it now.

 

[oakchas]

I'll just bet that Sedan Delivery has an interior! Wonder what the insides of a Retro look like?

[DanCBradbury]

I'll just bet that Sedan Delivery has an interior! Wonder what the insides of a Retro look like?

you keep on trying to add many many hours to my retro building arent you. Well, i dont even know what the inside looks like, as the designer has not even made any drawings of it at all. Probably the hardest part would be the dash.

[oakchas]

yeah well, go wake him up! It ain't finished til it's done!

 

You don't have to do it to please me... but it certainly would make a nice entry for mechanicals sometime next quarter!

 

It would be nice to see the effect of a radiosity render on a close up of the interior from the pov of the driver, lookiing through the windshield... and then of course there's the AO render... Just how are we gonna get those doors open anyway???

 

goad goad poke poke, push lighting buttons... whatever it takes!

[DanCBradbury]

No more handels. it's the best way to deal with a problem... rub it out. MUHAHAHA!!!

[DanCBradbury]

Wow... after taking my retro into v13 and rendering with AO, what had normaly taken four and a half hours... it rendered in 12 minutes

[MattWBradbury]

--

[DanCBradbury]

Here's an update on the Retro! First step, making the windows transparent (O_O);

 

The designer's drawn up the dash and seats. We're gunna have the logo stiched into the head rests of all the seats. Overal, it's a very modern interior... except his drawing has dice hanging from the rear view mirror.

SpinRed003hdr.mov

[oakchas]

Lookin' forward to it, Dan!

 

Keep it up...Submit it to Chrysler... They'd build it! John or you or both might just get a great job!

[nixie]

Mean Paint job! Meaty looking car.

 

I like!

 

Nixie

[Dhar]

Hey! It's illegal to have smoked screen windshields in California

 

You're top notch Dan

[DanCBradbury]

Lookin' forward to it, Dan!

 

Keep it up...Submit it to Chrysler... They'd build it! John or you or both might just get a great job!

 

Chrysler builds cars you say? lol, i dont know if i'd like having to come up with a car every 2 weeks... i think i'd go insane.

 

Mean Paint job! Meaty looking car.

 

I like!

 

Nixie

 

thanks nixie. hopefully the inside wont take very long. The designer still hanst given me the drawings yet so i havent been able to start work yet.

 

Hey! It's illegal to have smoked screen windshields in California

 

You're top notch Dan

 

smoke screened... i wish i could have one way mirrors. lol. that'd be sweet

[Ed Doyle]

Whose going to build the real thing? I keep watching Boyd Coddington.

 

Great car.

 

Ed

[DanCBradbury]

we go to school together, the desinger and i, so we've been real busy lately. i might make an interier, but probably not

[DanCBradbury]

Hm... >_> february 7th, quite a while ago

 

Ever since I made my reflection tests with hdr textures, I found that i could easily make a simple environment for a more controlable model reflection. I no longer use materials or environment maps so the reflections now have a depth to them wich could never have been achieved with environment maps. I also no longer use specularity in any of my surface properties; instead, I use Roughness and Roughness Scale to diffuse and scramble reflections and Reflection Filter to make reflected colors closer to the surface color.

 

For the newest Retro render, the designer asked if I could replicate a candy type paint for the car. For that to work I had to figure out a way to combine two separate reflection layers into one. To do this I first created a simple tga render of only the candy paint base coat reflecting.

 

[attachmentid=19105]

 

After that was done rendering, I turned on all other reflections on, and I made the paint surface have no Roughness, Roughness Scale, or Reflective Filter. I rendered this image using a light buffer exr file.

 

[attachmentid=19107]

 

Once the exr file was done, I imported both the tga and the exr into animation master, made a new composite, and then added a Mix Post Effect to the new composite. I opened up the tga and dragged the color alpha onto the Mix Post Effect. Next, I added the exr's Reflection layer to the Mix.

 

[attachmentid=19109]

 

Once the two layers were now together, I saved the new composite as a new jpg.

 

[attachmentid=19110]

 

After all of that testing, I went ahead and decided to make a blue one too

 

[attachmentid=19111]

[ypoissant]

Nice results. Very cool!

[John Bigboote]

Yes, WOW!

Great design...GREATER PAINT!

 

Two questions...

 

1- Can I learn the process of what you did by reading the 10 pages of this thread?

 

and B- Do you think your process would lend itself to animation, or is it too render intensive?

 

Great work, Dan!

[Roger]

I have to say, this is a sharp-ass car. Looks really slick.

 

The top view looks awesome, but that hood still looks funky from the side. I think that if this was a production car you would have problems with wind resistance, as others mentioned earlier.

 

If you modified the hood so that it flowed, or was a monolithic curve sorta....(does that make sense?) I'd buy one....if I had a gazillion dollars for the custom fabrication.

 

Look up the thread of the guy that is doing the Mercury model. I bet this car would look awesome with a more Mercury type hood. Keep the chrome grills, just curve it instead of leaving it flat like that.

[DanCBradbury]

thanks guys

 

1- Can I learn the process of what you did by reading the 10 pages of this thread?

Well, I completely changed how I worked with the surface properties and materials, so re-reading the thread probably wont help at all, but I can give you the values i used for the paint. For the candy paint scattered reflection I used 20% Roughness, .01% Roughness Scale, 100% Reflectivity, and 80% Reflective Filter. For the basic wax paint cover i used 0% Roughness, 0% Roughness Scale, 37.5% Reflectivity, and 0% Reflective Filter.

 

and B- Do you think your process would lend itself to animation, or is it too render intensive?

each one of the renders took about 20-25 minutes to render, so number 1 it would take a great deal of time to animate, 2 there would have to be two renders for each frame, 3 you would have to by hand put the reflectivity layer and color alpha together into a new composite, and 4 the space to hold all the files would be enormous. So, I would say animation would be out of the question... though i would love to see this thing in action

[Zaryin]

Holy Crap! Great use of Composite!

[DanCBradbury]

Forgot to add this: here is the project file that i'm using for the environment.

Environment.zip

[Eric2575]

Dan,

 

Could you explain "light buffer exr file?"

[DanCBradbury]

oh, that does sound a little confusing.

 

[attachmentid=19119]

 

I just meant i rendered out an exr file that would create all the layers, reflectivity being the one i needed. Though, I had to place one light in my scene to make it render out correctly :\

[DanCBradbury]

Strange how i keep coming back to this model. I was surprised to find out that I never added a picture of the retro to the A:M stills, so I started looking though all the renders I had, but nothing looked good. So I was going to change some of the settings, get a new angel and then render. Anyways, when I was adjusting the exr brightness so that the chrome's reflection wasn't so bright as to not cause pixilization -- which was a lot of guessing and checking by the way -- I inadvertantly got carried away and added some wings and engines to the car

 

Warning: The Retro Jett cannot fly. Individual results may vary

[Dhar]

-- I inadvertantly got carried...........

 

Inadvertantly - yeah right

 

That car most definitely should be in the A:M stills. Submit it already.

[DanCBradbury]

it took about 5 minutes to construct the wings and engines, but the propeler blades didn't come untill after I showed the designer. He was kinda flabergasted on how fast i was able to make them, when the whole car took several several tens of hours to build

[HomeSlice]

Hi Dan,

 

This is several months after your last post.... oops. When you say you are not using specularity, do you mean that you are leaving specular intensity at "not set" or are you setting specular intensity to "0".?

 

Thanks.

[MattWBradbury]

He used the default values for specular meaning both intensity and size are not set. The highlights you see are from the reflections of the exr decals.

[Eric2575]

EXR decals?