AccuRender Studio

[Roy Hirshkowitz]

Starting a new thread...

Latest version of AccuRender Studio is here.  Among other changes:

1. ArStudio command automatically loads the model and begins interactive rendering in addition to bringing up the Control Panel palette.
2. Decal interface has been redone to include multiple decals and cylindrical projections.
3. Legacy data is being handled a little better.

[Peter Milner]

Here's a direct comparison between nXt Path Tracer and AR Studio.

Both ran for just under 2 hours.

[Peter Milner]

ARDECAL doesn't seem to work.

[Roy Hirshkowitz]

I'll get a new one out today-- I think I know how to fix this.  Which image is which?

[Peter Milner]

Top one is nXt.

[Roy Hirshkowitz]

Here is the link to the new one-- untested but hopefully ArDecal works.  When you get a chance try running the top image for a short time, say 10 minutes, and see what you get.

[Peter Milner]

ARDECAL now works.

Here's the image after 10 minutes of rendering.

I do have a slight concern that reflective surfaces seem rather dull.

This is particularly evident on the end frame of the desk and the base of the chair.

[Roy Hirshkowitz]

It's interesting-- overall the quality of this interior is very high for the short amount of processing, and may be acceptable for certain scenes.  In this one, however, there are some reflective caustics that are taking longer to resolve.   You can see them clearly on the back wall, including the bright patch behind the chair and some more subtle ones.  They're much better resolved in the 2 hr. version. This is direct sunlight that's bouncing off of the metallic surfaces.  The spots are pretty bright so they're affecting the tone operator as well which has the net effect of "livening" up the metallic surfaces themselves.  These kind of effects are accurate, but may be annoying depending on your goals.

All of this, BTW, is missing in the nXt version.

[Peter Milner]

You can see from these two images that there is definitely something wrong with reflective surfaces.

It appears the light is being reflected, but not objects or textures.

In the nXt version (top image), the carpet texture is being reflected in the drawer handles. This is missing from the Studio version (bottom image).

[Peter Milner]

Placing a mirror on the back wall (reflections = 1.0, noise = 0.0), you can see the difference more clearly (top image is nXt).

[Roy Hirshkowitz]

Ah-- so that's a function of the material type.  The standard material won't give you a mirror anymore.  You need to change the material to metallic and you should get something more familiar.  Use the Type popdown on the material editor to change this.

[Peter Milner]

Here's the latest render using metallic materials.

The chrome now looks a lot better.

I do feel though that the reflected light on the back wall is too bright.

[Roy Hirshkowitz]

Yeah-- like I mentioned the caustics are accurate but could be annoying.  Things that might alter it include changing the sun angle so it's not striking the chair's metal surfaces so directly, changing the roughness of the chair surfaces, or turning down the sun a little or adding a window covering.

On another note-- the glass should be a Refractive material with the Thin box checked.  (It probably is already, just mentioning it because the Standard material is not appropriate for glass-- Standard materials with transparency will work for things like curtains.)