Hello SW -community,
Can anyone recommend what setting should I tweak in order to make that image more photo-realistic?
I would like to achieve a smoother finish without that graininess. In the images shown i have used the MATTE ALUMNIUM APPEARANCE.
Thank you in advance!
Hi PetKo. That's a good-looking image. I'm not an expert, but I can suggest a couple of things that might give the aluminum a more realistic appearance.
1) edit the appearance and reduce the scale of the sample a little.
2) edit the appearance, go to the surafce finish tab, enable displacement (have to have photoview loaded for this to show up) and set the height to a low value
3)Instead of Matte aluminum, try using aluminum powdercoat (that's in Painted appearances).
4) add a low brightness dark-blue directional light to the scene. (This will cool the shadows a bit so that the finish doesn't pop so much against the surrounding materials and background)
Hi John,
Thank you very much for your suggestions: 2) and 4) improved the look of the image; 3) wasn't any different; 1) - I didn't understand what you mean? Where would I find the sample scale? (I am relatively new to SW 2012 and photo view 360 rendering - I used to use vray and max)
Hi Petko,
I think what John means with 1) is when you go edit appearance you can select mapping under the basic tab and select a smaller mapping size. Standard the middle button is selected. This is what John calles a sample. You can see the corresponding size also when you click advanced and then mapping. If you want you can change the sizes (H+W) there too.
Hi Jan,
I have applied the standard SW appearance - Matte Aluminium at a part level and when I go to mapping that's what I get - no sample sizes. Maybe I should apply the appearance at FACE or SURFACE level? (I am using SW 2012 Professional SP2)
There will be a window in the graphics area that you drag to adjust the material mapping.
See these two captures.
Dear Dan and Jan,
Thanks for your help! It turns out that I am trying to use one of the SW appearances that haven't got sample mapping. Brushed steel and satin finish aluminium have it but matte aluminium doesn't have it !
I played with the settings in the ILLUMINATION tab and by reducing the specular spread from the default 0.90 to 0.30 the grainy texture disappeared!
Once again many thanks to all for your advices!
Hi PetKo. That's a good-looking image. I'm not an expert, but I can suggest a couple of things that might give the aluminum a more realistic appearance.
1) edit the appearance and reduce the scale of the sample a little.
2) edit the appearance, go to the surafce finish tab, enable displacement (have to have photoview loaded for this to show up) and set the height to a low value
3)Instead of Matte aluminum, try using aluminum powdercoat (that's in Painted appearances).
4) add a low brightness dark-blue directional light to the scene. (This will cool the shadows a bit so that the finish doesn't pop so much against the surrounding materials and background)