This is where the resolution is set and where I tell V-Ray to save the file. The Material ID is especially helpful to make quick selections of materials. For example, I often select Reflection, Refraction, ZDepth, and Material ID for almost every rendering I do. In other words, you create images that separate out information such as reflections, lighting, and shadows, which can then be used as separate layers in Photoshop. Here, you can set up extra channels to be generated along with the rgb color image. You can find spherical skies online and through Google image searches. I also make sure to choose вЂњUVWGenEnvironmentвЂќ in the drop down next to UVW Type. In the drop down under the preview, I choose вЂњTexBitmapвЂќ, and load a spherical sky image. To add a sky, I choose the вЂњMвЂќ in the вЂњReflection/Refraction(background)вЂќ box. Here, I often add a sky image so that it will be seen in the reflections of my model. The вЂњReflection/Refraction (background)вЂќ controls what you see in the background/sky. For this daytime rendering, I left everything at the default settings. If you have a dusk shot, then you can tweak the sun color or use an HDRI image to generate the light. Therefore, changing the sun angle in Sketchup changes the sun angle here in V-Ray. Again, the default V-Ray settings are tied to the Sketchup sun. The GI (Skylight) box controls the sun specifically. This tab controls the overall lighting of the scene. For interior shots or dusk scenesВ where there is low light, these settings will need to be adjusted accordingly. This slightly darkens the final output so that the white materials donвЂ™t get washed out. I usually leave the default settings the same except for the F-number which I change from вЂњ8вЂќ to вЂњ10вЂќ. This tab controls things like exposure of the rendering similar to how an SLR camera works. This is the box I check when IВ createВ clay model renderings. This will override all materials in theВ model and replace them with a single material color. In this tab, I really only use the вЂњOverride MaterialsвЂќ check box. Next to that is the вЂњLoadвЂќ button which allows you to load past settings which have become a big time saver in our studio. If I have been experimenting with settings and things are getting weird with the outputs, I will often hit this button to start from scratch. This will take everything to the default V-Ray settings when the program was first installed. An important button to be familiar with is the вЂњLoad DefaultsвЂќ button. The V-Ray settings dialogue box uses tabs that expand and contract keeping the settings a little more manageable to navigate. This is especially important if IВ am goingВ to overlay Sketchup image exports on top of the V-Ray renderings or if I need to render the same view later on down the road.

I also save the SketchupВ sceneВ that I plan to renderВ in V-RayВ by going to вЂњView>Animation>Add SceneвЂќ. I typicallyВ adjust the sun angle in Sketchup to get the shadows exactly where I want them before moving to V-Ray. Changing the sun angle in Sketchup will change the sun angle in V-Ray. Things like theВ sun, cameras, and materials all speak to each other between the two programs.

This means the V-Ray interface is running inside of Sketchup. Things like material setup, AO passes, dusk and interior shot setup will come later.Д«efore getting into the settings, there are a few more notes. To keep things manageable, this first post will be an overview of the basic concepts that I use for setting up a daytime rendering scene. Render settings are obviously a big topic to cover and there are many different rendering situations like interior shots, dusk shots, and daytime shots that require different setups. This way of thinking maintains my sanityВ and minimizes the amount of test renderings and setting adjustments that need to be made. I am simply trying to get close to what I want and then refine the lighting and colors in Photoshop. Another very important point that I want to make is that I am not trying to produce the perfect V-Ray rendering each time.

You will notice that I donвЂ™t vear too far from the default settings, but instead use settings that will provide the best ratio of fast rendering times and good outputs. Right out of the box, V-Ray generates nice renderings. The most important of these were simplicity and flexibility. I simply tried out a lot of different programs and found V-Ray wasВ the best at meeting a lotВ of my needs. I have been using V-Ray for over a year now and I am in noВ way paid by V-Ray or affiliated with the company. A lot of you have been asking for V-Ray settings and so I am going to spend a little time going over the settings that I used to create the base rendering of the main streetВ perspective in theВ previous post.

Purcharse vray 3.6