A Basic Guide to Photon Maps in VRay

"This tutorial explains the basic concept and usage of photon mapping in VRay. The tutorial is designed for VRay 1.09.02e and Max 3.1"
However, it should be applicable to the general concept of Vray photon mapping. to find out more...

Passage and Image from http://www.chaosgroup.com/stuff/PMapTutorial/

Design studio press

Some useful stuff from design studio press and the gnomon workshop. I had been going into the detail of rendering this few weeks. Learning to render a scene. Three point lighting- key light, fill light, back light. Vray settings~using irradiance map with light cache GI settings. Hoping to reveal some refined work soon. The technique~enjoy your work. It had been so easy now for the global illumination setting. Just adding up some bounces of light will lit up the entire scene.

Image loaded is without photoshop adjustment except the watermark. Image rendered through max with one plane light, with irradiance & light cache GI.

Need to add an ambient to lit further more at lower portion, to add some reflective mapping on the glass and some adjustment to floor tiles, the cladding and some photoshop trees and shopfronts. With the dynamic GI provided from Vray we now only need a key light for the sharper shadow and an ambient for the overall color.

With scanline rendering we need so much artificial lights, the key light, the sky light, the fill light, the back light, some additional light to lit up the slab and window glaze. Back light to enhance the building outline.

The time saving technique sharing here~render through passes and there are color passes, highlight passes, reflection passes, shadow passes, lighting passes, effects passes and depth maps.

Renderings

I had been continously rendering the same scene for 3days. 14 results with numerous try outs and the conclusion is ~ photoshop is the best tool resolving most problems, creating your intentions. The technique is~ you need to understand a drawing. The composition of colors, angle selection, layout, materials and do not go into the details. The final rendering is really expansive, this time. Takes more time and effort at self learning.

Vray Splotchiness

I was battling for the splotchiness rendered through Vray in 3dmax, through some facts finding and finally, I caught the bug~!! It is not the global illumination setting~! It is the Global Switches~!!!
Yes, I am involved in the building design, cad documentation and 3d renderings, hoping to get more and more... It is quite some improvement after the sketchup process, I am modeling in 3dmax now and trying to render it through Vray, dealing with the avant-garde rendering engine here~@@

Visualization Insider

"3DAS- 3D Architectural Solutions, presents 26 weeks of insider secrets delving into the world of professional architectural visualization. Authors of the recent title: Foundation 3ds Max 8 Architectural Visualization, Brian Smith and Brian Zajac bring you a weekly fix of tips and tricks published every Friday!" to find out more...

Passage from http://www.cgarchitect.com/upclose/VI/default.asp

MIMOA

"In 2007 Rotterdam will be architectural-capital of Europe, London regards the Creative Industry to be the largest growth factor in its economy and the city-council of Berlin considers Culture as the only source of development for the next fifty to hundred years. Trendy neighbourhoods in Barcelona draw inhabitants (and entrepreneurs!) from far across the Spanish border, in all of Europe, old cities sprout and draw attention with new marvelous designs by the latest Superstar-Architect. For European cities the Architectural Energy has become the foremost monitor for cultural and economic prosperity.

Therefore we have dedicated ourselves to bring this Modern Architecture closer to YOU. Your Modern Architecture, assembled, compiled and completed, synoptic, swift and always up-to-date. Architecture to be added, searched, visited and re-viewed, MY Modern Architecture: MIMOA." to find out more...

Passage from http://www.mimoa.eu/about.php

Image from http://www.mimoa.eu/projects/Denmark/Copenhagen/VM_Housing

Maxwell render from Sketchup

A decent guide from pushpullbar of maxwell rendering, a simple program that requires short learning curve and produces high quality rendering image. Intend to download a maxwell rendering engine for a trial? Just got to the maxwell site to find out more...
and more tutorials of maxwell from http://www.asip.be/form/index.php/topic,205.msg1112.html#msg1112

The Episcopal Academy Newtown Square campus

The Episcopal Academy Newtown Square campus will be designed by four leading architectural firms :
Venturi, Scott, Brown and Associates
Hillier Architecture
Gund Partnership
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson

June of 1998, as part of its strategic plan, the Episcopal Academy Board of Trustees directed the "active pursuit of a large tract of land in the western suburbs to serve as a long-term asset and a means of preserving future options."
With this charge, a small group of dedicated visionaries contributed close to $20 million in 2000, enabling us to acquire 123 acres of rolling pasture and mature trees unlike any other on the Main Line. The natural setting is beyond compare and provides a fitting environment for our educational mission. " to find out more...
Passage from http://www.ea1785.org/newcampus/aboutthemove/index.html

fake HDR photos in Photoshop

Fake Hdr? You can try the technique from http://www.nill.cz/index.php?set=tu1
Some HDRI flickr from valpopando

Making High Dynamic Range Images

Feeling expansive getting HDRI from the internet? Make one yourself~! to find out more...
Some more tutorials from Talking Tree and Popphoto...
"Step 1. Set your tripod up (in or out of vehicle)
Step 2. Look at the subject and in your mind slice it in 1/3's. Each 1/3 will be a series of bracketed shots, just like making any HDR image.
Step 3. Take your shots and remember when turning your tripod to make sure there is some over laping in the picture so that when you stitch it together later it will line up correctly.
Step 4. Load your HDR software and make your hdr images. I took nine. 3 for each section.
Step 5. Step four upload your photos into your panoramic software, photoshop elements and photoshop include this feature.
Step 6. Stitch your 3 or more images together.
Step 7. Crop if need, I had to crop out the truck mirror and window and door frame. Thats it."
Passage from http://waterfallhunter.blogspot.com/2007/04/making-hdr-panoramic-photograph.html by Sam

Taxi Stand

After 3days' struggling with modeling in 3dmax. I learned modeling with patch modeling, spline modeling and nurb modeling in 3dmax now. Just a matter of practice. 2 more days in 3dmax tutorials and the sky is the limit. More to learn, fun learning~ encouraging results.

Okumo

Nice rendering, great architectural concept, nice work. Can't miss Okumo. to find out more...
Image from http://www.okumo.com/ architecture / 2007 / Bezalel Academy

AutoCad 2008

I had been trying out the autocad 2008 and I found some tutorials of the new feature from autocad. to find out more...






Image from http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=2704278

Combarel Marrec

Some interesting projects from Combarel Marrec. to find out more...

Image from http://www.combarel-marrec.com/projets.html# Mulhouse-Zac du nouveau bassin ilot B6

archiblog

One for all, all for one. "Archiblog collects articles from architecture blogs and includes them in its daily digest." to find out more...