light layers

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Tyler
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Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2018 12:03 pm

light layers

Post by Tyler » Thu Oct 18, 2018 12:19 pm

Hi everybody,

i'm new to indigo (i just give it a try) and i'm very impressed, i would love to have a nice plugin for maya but that's ok, i'm trying it with c4d.

my issue is i struggle to have the light layers working, i've tried different workflows ( material with emitter, light tag, etc), the lights are on the correct layers in the render window but the cursor only allow me to have the light on or off, no nice and smooth intensity light setting.

it's been now more thant 3 hours that i'm looking everywhere i can on the web and i cannot find any tutorial or explanation of the exact steps to make it work and i'm going to get mad, i have to say the manual for indigo and c4d is very short also.

could someone explain what setting i have to apply or a workflow to finally test this very cool feature?

and btw, this indigo, besides i already love this engine (i was using maxwell before) is damn FAST!!!

Tyler

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thesquirell
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Re: light layers

Post by thesquirell » Fri Oct 19, 2018 3:52 am

Welcome, Tyler! Few years ago I also made a leap from Maxwell to Indigo, and the love grows stronger with every new project! Also, congrats on the choice, C4D has the best plug-in so far.

Now, if you are into light tweaking, for starters, please make sure that you are NOT using Reinhard tonemapping method. We can then take it from there.

Tyler
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Re: light layers

Post by Tyler » Fri Oct 19, 2018 4:04 am

hey! thank you!
finally someone who doesn't ignore my post;) thank you for your answer.
ok, no Reinhard, but, there's no explicit tutorial about how lights and light layers works with indigo?? i have to dig for a small tip here and a small info there (plus often totally opposite advices..) nothing to cover this really, everybody knows light is crucial with a rendering engine no??

and yes, me too so far i like indigo a lot, but i really would go further and buy it but for sure i have to try lights first and deeply.

Tyler
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Re: light layers

Post by Tyler » Fri Oct 19, 2018 4:13 am

ok squirell, why no Reinhard? as soon i don't use Reinhard my render turns completely black, any idea why?

Tyler
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Re: light layers

Post by Tyler » Fri Oct 19, 2018 4:28 am

and, just an idea, could this forum be more responsive, what is the point to have each message validated by a moderator? it takes a while the to get a reply for any tiny question..

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thesquirell
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Re: light layers

Post by thesquirell » Fri Oct 19, 2018 10:34 am

Well, the thing is, most of us who use Indigo are very busy with our own projects, and work, and have little time to visit the threads, as much as we used to. As for the Reinhard, your render is completely black because: 1) Your lights are too weak; 2) Your camera settings need to be adjusted (eV, exposure time, f-stop etc.). Indigo works on a physical scale, so you have to pay attention to your lights and their power (Use emission scale, it will help you navigate through numbers more easily).

Tyler
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Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2018 12:03 pm

Re: light layers

Post by Tyler » Fri Oct 19, 2018 11:44 am

ok, i understand, i just tought this was a more active community.
my bad about the tonemapping, you were right, Reinhard do something strange as it always try to balance the lights and linear or camera tonemapping just do the trick.
it is a good thing you used to use maxwell cause i'm trying to figure out several things:

1. is there a difference in using a plane and assign an emitive material on it, and if so, which node you use to put a light map file such as a lee or another light studio? and also, as i understood you don't need to add a light tag right?

2. if i put the same plane but lighting inderictly with a reflector, how can i tell this plane (light) to emit but same time to be transparent? by removing the colour node and choosing another one such as specular or so or is there another option?

3. if i use a c4d light and add a light tag, how can i put a light map studio in the c4d light? and same question if it emits indirect, how can i set it up to emit but be transparent?

4. something i never did in other engines but looks like indigo can swallow it, would you use an object, a light, and a diffuser in between? i mean as you would do in real world.

sorry to have so much questions, again, i just can't find some detailed manual. btw, is there a complete manual when you buy indigo?

many thanks btw ;)
Last edited by Tyler on Fri Oct 19, 2018 12:04 pm, edited 3 times in total.

Tyler
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Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2018 12:03 pm

Re: light layers

Post by Tyler » Fri Oct 19, 2018 11:46 am

oh!! message posted instantly!! great!! many thanks to the mod who did that! this forum is not that not reactive in the end;) many thanks!

Tyler
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Re: light layers

Post by Tyler » Fri Oct 19, 2018 12:31 pm

oh, just forgot to ask, is there a round corner node in indigo?

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Oscar J
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Re: light layers

Post by Oscar J » Fri Oct 19, 2018 8:28 pm

For good render times, it's best to use as simple light sources as possible, without diffuse transmitters in between. You can do it, for sure, but it'll take a bit longer to render

Regarding round corners, no - there's not, unfortunately.

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fused
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Re: light layers

Post by fused » Sat Oct 20, 2018 12:34 am

Tyler wrote:
Fri Oct 19, 2018 11:46 am
oh!! message posted instantly!! great!! many thanks to the mod who did that! this forum is not that not reactive in the end;) many thanks!
Hi Tyler,

it's only the first two posts that need approval, we have this because of spam bots that occasionally try to post.

Tyler
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Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2018 12:03 pm

Re: light layers

Post by Tyler » Sat Oct 20, 2018 1:15 am

hi fused,
ok, i understand, cool.

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thesquirell
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Re: light layers

Post by thesquirell » Sun Oct 21, 2018 12:26 am

Tyler,

You can simulate real life conditions, as much as you like, it will turn out to be sort of a simulation, actually. The results will look amazing, but the time for rendering such scenarios is a bit longer then the usual methods. So, I would suggest you to try it out, you will be amazed. For instance, I once modeled a neon light in a casing, and the diffuser looked really good, really life like. But, the same effect can be achieved if you use an emission texture map, imitating the same effect, and it will render much faster, without any fireflies. This leads me to the texture maps, themselves. You can use them in your Emission channel, there is a texture slot, just click on it and select your texture. If you would like to make your emitter invisible, you can use a Null material, with emission on it. Make sure your object has a Indigo Compositing Tag, with invisible to camera checked. As for the C4D lights, try to avoid using them. If you put a light tag on them, you can control ligth layers, IES profiles, Emission scale, etc., but you can not use texture maps that way. For that, you would have to use a material. Hope it helps, best of luck!

Tyler
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Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2018 12:03 pm

Re: light layers

Post by Tyler » Sun Oct 21, 2018 12:59 am

Hi squirrell,
many thank, i'm gonna give it a try right away!
is there a graph node editor as with octane for materials? i was looking for it but didn't find it.
thanks

Tyler
Posts: 55
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2018 12:03 pm

Re: light layers

Post by Tyler » Sun Oct 21, 2018 1:03 am

thesquirell wrote:
Sun Oct 21, 2018 12:26 am
If you would like to make your emitter invisible, you can use a Null material, with emission on it.
yes!! works!! thank you very much!!!!

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