TheKitchenAbode

Rene - Just interested in your opinion as to the weight you give to the fact that this was run unbiased versus the impact that using much better 3D models and better defined materials had on the quality of the output. I have done some investigation concerning the pro's and con's of biased versus unbiased computational methods and though it appears that the unbiased approach can ultimately deliver greater photo realism it seems to be less definitive when renderings are not run for considerable lengths of time.

That lens glow effect just makes it look like the light is active(on) when it is not. That is not related to the video card 8 light limit which is about the actual light being emitted by the fixture. I believe I have encountered what you are experiencing before, which seems to be related to rebuilding the 3D model when one makes a change.

It's a limitation of the video card, not CA. No way around it.

In a standard 3D camera view video cards only support a maximum of 8 active lights.

Something to consider in all of this is how you define photo realism. This is somewhat subjective and varies according to ones own personal interpretation of this. For myself, I place a greater emphasis on how something would actually look as it is being viewed by the eye under normal/real lighting conditions. As I have to actually deliver the look that I represent to the client I need to be careful not to over do it, the finished project always needs to be equal to or better than what the clients expectations would be based upon the renderings. I fully appreciate renderings depicting that striking ray of light piercing the room, the overexposed window or that overall soft glow, but to be honest I don't recall ever really seeing this in any of my clients homes. Can CA Ray Trace deliver photo realism? I think it can do a pretty good job, but then it all depends upon how you define photo realism.

As per Mark, I just delete the cabinet kick, set the cabinet bottom height off the floor to be equal to the foot height and then float and position the feet to where I want them.

Here is an example of a current CA gallery Ray Trace as per CAs' settings and the same scene with some lighting and material adjustments. CA Gallery Default Adjusted Version I believe this is a reasonable representation as to what the Ray Trace engine can deliver without getting into some really over the top lighting techniques. Just a note, the adjusted version has some minor sharpening and color saturation adjustments made to it in a simple photo editor.

Unfortunately, if you want to stay with Ray Trace you will have to be willing to accept it's inherent limitations. It can produce better quality output than that demonstrated in the CA galleries but it does not have the level of control and sophistication of a dedicated renderer. As Rene mentions, the model quality and materials are an extremely important aspect in generating a convincing realistic scene and the models in CA are just not at that level. The challenge in determining whether or not to continue with Ray Trace or move to another program is in evaluating the needs of your clientele, the time/effort you can afford to dedicate to this and what you can afford to spend. Is your business to provide publication grade renderings or do you just need decent renderings so clients can reasonably visualize their project. If it is the former then you will need to move on, if the latter then with a bit more effort Ray Trace may suffice.

You can certainly produce significantly better Ray Traces than the CA gallery samples. Over the last couple of months we have been having a number of highly informative discussions concerning this. Check out the threads on "Let's Ray Trace", "Ray Trace/Post Processing Tips" and Render Issues with Lights" for some great examples and tips.

Rene - Really great examples/tutorials on Photoshop post processing techniques. I believe it exemplifies what needs to be done if one really wishes to push the realism to the max. All Professional photography goes through this type of process, even before programs such as Photoshop they did this in their "Dark Room".

Nice example of the effect that can be achieved.

Just a few brief comments related to the Environment control/setting. The primary purpose of this is to provide a means to provide additional control over exterior lighting conditions. With only the sun active the exterior shadows will be highly defined representing the look of a bright sunny day. This however would be incorrect if you wish to create a cloudy day exterior scene or maybe and early morning/late evening scene. Activating the Environment light provides additional light that will soften those shadows. If you shoot an exterior camera view when adjusting the environment lighting you will clearly see this effect. You will also notice that the overall exterior brightness will be the direct sun brightness plus the additional environment light, as you crank up the environment light you can easily create an overly bright exterior, this needs to be countered by reducing the direct sun light intensity to obtain the right shadow depth balance and overall exterior brightness. Once this has been achieved then the interior is what it is as far as exterior light contribution. If the interior ambient needs to be cranked up then other lighting methods or settings need to be used other than the environment and direct sun. Following this strategy in combination with ensuring you have a roof and foundation with a floor in your model will effectively eliminate any light bleed issues related to the direct sun and/or environment light.

Adjusted shelf pucks, adjusted 3D point light, adjusted image properties. Ambient Occlusion min = 0.0, Max = 1.0, Direct sun 2.0, Environment light 1.0. Everything is fine.

In any circumstance where there is an issue or unanticipated effect there are always a variety of techniques one can develop as they attempt to counter or eliminate the undesirable effect. I tend to categorize these techniques as either ones that directly address the root cause and those that only address the negative side effects of the deeper issue. If the root cause can be successfully understood and addressed then it's negative effects can be effectively avoided from then on. Techniques that fail to directly address the root cause means that one will be constantly having to address this time and time again. Light bleed is a good example of an issue that can be fully addressed right from the get go. I will try to provide a more in-depth explanation in the "Let's Ray Trace" thread in the near future.

Looking at the current pick I think JCSpuds suggestion to add some lighting in the room would make a big difference .I believe the highlighting on the cabinets is primarily from the sunlight entering through the window, not light bleed.

Also, looks like those cabinet lights have shadows turned off, if so turn shadows on.

Some more specifics would help. When does the spinning wheel of death occur, what are you doing at that time. A spinning wheel usually indicates that a particular process is taking an extraordinarily long time to complete or that another needed process is unavailable and the system is in a wait state until that process is freed up.

I changed the glass to standard gray, adjusted the reflection & transparency. Lowered the light intensities and changed the floor to a general material versus polished. This was run using your Ray Trace settings.

Have you tried using the wall material region tool to define the tiled portion.

Thanks Mark - Yes, I did notice that slight angle discrepancy when I tried to match them up. That was what actually prompted my question. No big deal though as I really never use this type of cabinet.

Mark - I rarely use angled cabinets but your method struck my curiosity. Just one question, how do you precisely define the front angle?

Just checked out something. In Preferences, Material List, Master List there is a file location. It was set to my old X8 not X9. Just corrected it, will see if that does the job.

I've been getting this every once in a while since the last X9 update. Everything is on my C drive and I only have this drive. I just click out of it and haven't noticed any issues as of yet.

I'm not seeing any refraction but there is a lot of reflectivity on the glass and some strong shadow casts, makes for a lot going on in the shower. Would change the glass to Glass Gray and adjust the reflectivity down. It looks like those wall sconces are possibly too bright. Post your plan and we would be able to take a quick look.

Built using two 6" cabinets angled and snapped together on inside angle corners. Made fronts blank and floated in two doors on the wider outside faces.