Ambient Occlusion Baking..

Well this might not be the best way to demonstrate the workflow for baking occlusion or GI details on the geometry but will certainly get the point across.

As I mentioned in the earlier update of the Crater Project, I was trying to bake my Ambient Occlusion details onto the geometry.

Well I had finished a quick test for the same and thought of putting it up online.

Out of what I have been able to infer and conclude is probably pretty primitive..gotta look

up few other ways as well.

The workflow is pretty straight forward (only once you know how to go about it :) )

Make sure that you have UV attribute on geometry.

Create a light template and use a VEX Global Illumination as its light shader.

However the trickiest part is using the Mantra Command feature on the Mantra ROP.

The Mantra command for this is:

mantra -u /obj/name of object -b Float

This will render out just the baked Ambient Occlusion on the texture map which can then be used to fake Ambient Occlusion at almost real time.

The quality of baked Ambient Occlusion will depend upon the UVs. Make sure UVs are laid out properly. well you will see what would happen otherwise! Look at my baked image :(

Crater Project update #14--->Old Ghosts haunting newer efforts

Its been quite some time since the last update.

I had decided to take a break and experiment with some other stuffs like volumes and dynamics etc.

But what I had not thought of were my college assignments, which kinda sneaked in on me.

Anyways, here's the update for the crater project.

The contact shadows are still elusive. But I have not actually devoted much

time to those anyways. Most of my time has gone in trying to make shaders and texture the geometry appropriately. The crater feels like its been cut with a knife (or whatever manages to cut through the roads like butter).

Solution for this is? Well I have thought of using displacement maps to displace the geometry and make it look pretty uneven. I have even tried that out but somehow results have been far from what I had calculated. So I'm trying to understand the shader network for displacements by dissecting the built in ones.

Another solution to the same could be using a mountain SOP and trying to actually distort the model of the crater.

As for contact shadows, I want to bake the textures into the geometry (sans shaders) and then use a light template with a GI light shader to get an occlusion pass, which I could then use for the contact shadows. I also tried using takes to over-ride the materials or shaders applied to the geometry but there are around 10-12 shaders in the scene and I realised its really a cumbersome process to keep everything in one take (the concept is very comforting but cant say the same about the process)

So I tried baking the textures into the geometry using mantra command feature in the Mantra ROP and my machine FROZE....yea I it hung up my laptop. I have decided to give it more tries (probably after doing a bit more extensive RnD on the subject).

I'm pretty content with the lighting though..and believe whatever issues I feel are coming up due to lighting are actually because of *not up to the mark shading* done by me :)

Okie Dokie..enough for now.

Crater Project update #13----> A bit more of Occlusion details

I have managed to get few breakthroughs as far as getting the debris more 'Organic' feel is concerned.

Few tricks have come to my mind and I believe they will work better.

Here's a low res test render of the scene.

(I'm happy with functioning of Nuke now)

I have prepared and applied a texture on the debris..but I'm looking for enhancing it

further. (right now its just not 'sooooo' good)

Lighting is still left a bit.

Though I have taken an Ambient Occlusion pass and put it up with the lighting's

pass, I cant still feel right as far as the look and feel is concerned.

I think a bit of nice occlusion detail at the areas of contact of debris and road would

be great. Here's a Low Res pic for now.

And yea..a tinge of evil green in the image for now..

Crater Project Update #9

This day has been like a mixture of struggle, success and a THUD!!

I have been working on creating more organic and randomised debris for the project and just for the record "I have had better results than before"

BUT

Again its not that photo realistic as yet..

I guess its back to some RnD then..eh??

Here's an occlusion pass comped over a BG image..

this is looking still better but a test render with the lights and materials on is real BAD!!

I hope its gonna be better after comping it with Occlusion pass and few additional lighting amends.

Also gotta increase the number of debris. (but this is all procedural so i have the control over these. just rendered fewer geometries to save time)

And yea..don't mind the sphere in here....its just for some testing purposes.

Alrighty then..lets get bit nerdy..Eh??