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Photoworks material help

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eRallyMan

Mechanical
Apr 15, 2005
24
Ok, I am doing a rendering, and I am using stainless steel as the material. But it's just not coming out the way real stainless steel comes out. I'd like to get it as close as possible. Anyone have good techniques, or selection of another material?
 
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Use indirect lighting (Google Brian Hill for some great pointers in that regard).

Start with a single direction light within the indirect light environment you create.

For the material, you'll need to play with the settings available for reflectance, texture, and all that stuff to dial it in. But the top two suggestions are the most important place to start, and work from there to tweak the material to where it should be.

What version are you using?



Jeff Mowry
A people who value security over freedom will soon find they have neither.
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm currently using SW 06. This is what I've done so far. I'm still not very happy with it. I need to make the stainless steel, appear more like the real thing. I'd like to add more light, but with out blowing some of the highlights. I'll take a look at the site you guys suggested.
 
 http://files.engineering.com/getfile.aspx?folder=2330508f-6887-48b8-aae0-42a924387d02&file=ER36G_RENDER_800x600.jpg
On the right side of your screen are icons. Select the part then the real view gold ball to change the appearance. There are material to make it look like the material you want.

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 08
ctopher's home (updated Aug 5, 2008)
ctopher's blog
SolidWorks Legion
 
Yeah, that default studio is using more lights than I'd want, not using indirect lighting, and you'll also want to add softer, transparent shadows.

In 2006, you could also create a camera to lend some perspective to your scene, which I'd highly recommend to break up all those parallel lines. 50mm camera is a realistic view to start with. I recommend using a camera over using the perspective view option since it will provide finer adjustment to your view and remain more consistent.



Jeff Mowry
A people who value security over freedom will soon find they have neither.
 
You need to make some modifications to your material settings. You'll also need to use your own environment image for reflections and lighting to make your image look good. All possible in 2006 but much easier in 2008 and 2009

Rob Rodriguez CSWP
Eastern Region SWUGN Representative SW 2007 SP 2.0
 
Hey, that's looking a lot better already! Maybe tweak the shadows in your scene for softer edges and perhaps transparency settings (takes a lot longer to render) and you'll get even more gusto. The range top's looking good.



Jeff Mowry
A people who value security over freedom will soon find they have neither.
 
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