What's the best way to add trees etc to exterior 3Dstudio max renderings? For the eye level shots I figure I'll just photoshop them. But the bird's eye, any suggestions on that?
Have any of you worked with cards for trees directly in max? Are they expensive, are there places to download lower quality ones for free? Where's the best place to purchase them? Do they work for bird's eye views? Do they cast shadows like Revit RPC people?
I thought I heard of a software package to add photorealistic looking landscaping post production, but I can't remember the name of it, anyone remember off hand?
One thing to look up is point proxies (I don't know if that is the exact name).
Basically a proxy-- my knowledge is limited to vray-- lets you assign complex objects to points that only show up in renders.
This saves you GPU and lagging power and if you render out to an .vrimg, the .vrimg format uses less processing and memory which means you wont have to wait 10 years to render out 10 3d high poly trees.
for more sketch-like trees you can use the AEC content (if I remember the name correctly) to add trees. You can choose their display quality, type etcetera. They are butt-ugly if photorealistic, but their sketch-style is kinda ok. Other than thay, they may also serve as placeholders for photoshop, so you can get the idea what the correct perspective of the tree actually is.
the best way, imo, to do this is to simply import trees from the google warehouse into your rhino or 3ds model (meshing them first). there's some good looking ones. (i would only ever render them as white or 'clay' though)
You need the Onyx plug in, there are several others but you can get good results here for a small investment. I'm sure you could find it on the internet if you are a student without a budget for plug-ins.
Google Warehouse trees as pointed out are acceptable for sketch renders and clay models, not for final renders. They are also extremely high poly and will weigh down your scene.
2D photoshop trees can really hurt a render, pay attention to lighting inconsistencies and resolution issues.
You can perform proxy objects in Mental Ray as well... don't need to unless you are rendering many trees that have the same geometry, as in a forest.
I just photoshop trees in...but if you don't mess with the color/lighting/etc... they can stand out like a sore thumb. It takes a bit of finesse to make photoshop trees look right but saves time in rendering.
I've never heard of post-pro vegetation tools other than photo-shopping content onto renders. Dosch has a few packages for different view points, i.e. background, foreground, birdseye, (http://www.dosch3d.com/products/vizimages/Birds_Eye_Trees.html) that will work entirely well. If cost is an issue, consider using vegetation from existing photographs with similar conditions or buy content from the aforementioned provider. If cost isn't an issue, or if you already use VRay in your workflow, it is in my opinion the best way to truly integrate plants into a render. Viewpoint, light source, shadows and reflections will be perfect.
Just as an FYI, vray proxies are not a magical solution for everyone. They are still RAM intensive, and work best with 64bit systems, 6-8+ gigs of ram, and multi-thread processors. In some, maybe most cases, it makes sense to render in passes. This means to render from the same camera angle the building, grass, and trees separately, (one at a time) and then reassemble in photoshop.
achensch, if you are asking how to use tree images shot in elevation for birdseye, it can be done, but difficult and not the best practice. If possible, cut trees out of photos that use a similar viewpoint. With skill and patience, nearly anything is possible with photoshop though.
Another option is to render a tree by itself, and shop it into the final render. For those interested, this is how you do it in 3DSMax.
Hide all geometry except tree(s) that will be used in renders. (Once tree is rendered, you can of course use it for any other renders in the future).
Ensure camera angle, lighting and tree position are ready, render, save as .tga with alpha.
Open file in PS, go to channels tab, select alpha, and click "load channel as selection" just below, (the dotted circle).
Go back to layers tab and click "add layer mask". (the circle in the rectangle at the bottom of the tab).
Add now the tree can be placed in your scene where you can adjust color balance, contrast etc. If there is a white halo around the tree, you can use the defringe tool, under Layer>Matting>Defringe in PS. Google for explanation. Sorry if this was too much info.
Aug 9, 10 10:34 pm ·
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How to add trees etc to 3ds max renderings esp a birdseye view? Pshop or cards? Special software just to add plants?
Hi,
What's the best way to add trees etc to exterior 3Dstudio max renderings? For the eye level shots I figure I'll just photoshop them. But the bird's eye, any suggestions on that?
Have any of you worked with cards for trees directly in max? Are they expensive, are there places to download lower quality ones for free? Where's the best place to purchase them? Do they work for bird's eye views? Do they cast shadows like Revit RPC people?
I thought I heard of a software package to add photorealistic looking landscaping post production, but I can't remember the name of it, anyone remember off hand?
THanks!
You can get them for free.
One thing to look up is point proxies (I don't know if that is the exact name).
Basically a proxy-- my knowledge is limited to vray-- lets you assign complex objects to points that only show up in renders.
This saves you GPU and lagging power and if you render out to an .vrimg, the .vrimg format uses less processing and memory which means you wont have to wait 10 years to render out 10 3d high poly trees.
for more sketch-like trees you can use the AEC content (if I remember the name correctly) to add trees. You can choose their display quality, type etcetera. They are butt-ugly if photorealistic, but their sketch-style is kinda ok. Other than thay, they may also serve as placeholders for photoshop, so you can get the idea what the correct perspective of the tree actually is.
the best way, imo, to do this is to simply import trees from the google warehouse into your rhino or 3ds model (meshing them first). there's some good looking ones. (i would only ever render them as white or 'clay' though)
You need the Onyx plug in, there are several others but you can get good results here for a small investment. I'm sure you could find it on the internet if you are a student without a budget for plug-ins.
Google Warehouse trees as pointed out are acceptable for sketch renders and clay models, not for final renders. They are also extremely high poly and will weigh down your scene.
2D photoshop trees can really hurt a render, pay attention to lighting inconsistencies and resolution issues.
You can perform proxy objects in Mental Ray as well... don't need to unless you are rendering many trees that have the same geometry, as in a forest.
I just photoshop trees in...but if you don't mess with the color/lighting/etc... they can stand out like a sore thumb. It takes a bit of finesse to make photoshop trees look right but saves time in rendering.
I've never heard of post-pro vegetation tools other than photo-shopping content onto renders. Dosch has a few packages for different view points, i.e. background, foreground, birdseye, (http://www.dosch3d.com/products/vizimages/Birds_Eye_Trees.html) that will work entirely well. If cost is an issue, consider using vegetation from existing photographs with similar conditions or buy content from the aforementioned provider. If cost isn't an issue, or if you already use VRay in your workflow, it is in my opinion the best way to truly integrate plants into a render. Viewpoint, light source, shadows and reflections will be perfect.
Just as an FYI, vray proxies are not a magical solution for everyone. They are still RAM intensive, and work best with 64bit systems, 6-8+ gigs of ram, and multi-thread processors. In some, maybe most cases, it makes sense to render in passes. This means to render from the same camera angle the building, grass, and trees separately, (one at a time) and then reassemble in photoshop.
any tips for photoshopping the 2D stuff into "birdseye" scenes though? skew and perspective adjustment? seems like it would look odd...
achensch, if you are asking how to use tree images shot in elevation for birdseye, it can be done, but difficult and not the best practice. If possible, cut trees out of photos that use a similar viewpoint. With skill and patience, nearly anything is possible with photoshop though.
Another option is to render a tree by itself, and shop it into the final render. For those interested, this is how you do it in 3DSMax.
Hide all geometry except tree(s) that will be used in renders. (Once tree is rendered, you can of course use it for any other renders in the future).
Ensure camera angle, lighting and tree position are ready, render, save as .tga with alpha.
Open file in PS, go to channels tab, select alpha, and click "load channel as selection" just below, (the dotted circle).
Go back to layers tab and click "add layer mask". (the circle in the rectangle at the bottom of the tab).
Add now the tree can be placed in your scene where you can adjust color balance, contrast etc. If there is a white halo around the tree, you can use the defringe tool, under Layer>Matting>Defringe in PS. Google for explanation. Sorry if this was too much info.
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