3Dlight vs. IRay
Hi all, so a quick question. I allways use 3DLight to render my images for my comics and whatnot, just because the quality is alright, and i can pump out more content faster that way, but today i decided to give IRay a shot again, but encountered a strange problem. I can render the image out in 3DLight and it comes out fine, but when I switch over to IRAY all i get is a black square...
Its funny. I been useing DAZ sense 2009, and still am nowhere near being an expert. XD
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Iray lights are different from 3DL. For example, if you have a skydome in your 3DL render, it wioll block out all the lights.
Can you post a setup of your lights in the scene, and the Iray render settings you are using?
As well make sure to switch your surfaces to Iray. Most new products have an Iray material set provided, if that is not the case there is the Iray base shader to use.
Ok, sorry it took me so long to respond. I wasn't ignore yuns, I just been busy working on some paying render work... And that's kinda the issue for me really...
i deleated the Skydome from the scene but it's still pretty dark despit there ding a spotlight just over my characters heads(off set to the right). The real problems are that
1. light works so different in IRay. I get that I need to experiment and do some test renders to get a feel for IRay like the kind of feel I have for 3DLight, but that leads us into problem #2.
2. It's been over an hour and my IRay render is still at 71%. I make comics and sell them. The sooner I'm able to pump out the next chapter the sooner I start getting paid. Spending hours just to test the scene and realize I need to add more lights or something... That kills me.. ????
There wouldnt happen to some way I can see how the image will look once it's rendered without wasting 2-3 hours would there?
A way other than a time machine I mean.. ????
Mostly lights. I've ALWAYS had complications when it comes to lights and shadows and whatnot, even with 3DLight. Is there a way I can see what the lights and shadows will do without the 2 hour wait?
I'm struggling with Iray lighting too (I'm a fairly new user as well) and find that doing preview renders in Iray helps. You can find out in minutes if the lighting is going to work rather than spending forever waiting for something to finish. You can either put the scene viewer in Nvidia Preview mode (too laggy on my meager system) or just render it and cancel as soon as the image pops up and you see how the lighting looks. There are some tutorials in the DAZ store and on Youtube about Iray lighting that might help. I haven't had the time to go watch them yet.
And maybe it's my lack of knowledge, but I find I like what I can do with 3Delight lighting and the shadows it casts a lot more so far than Iray. I love the renders I see other people getting in it, but haven't been able to produce that kind of quality yet. I guess practice makes perfect!
Check the light settings in the environment tab of the render settings, and also your spotlight settings. If you want a lot more light, it's worth experimenting with the sun&sky option rather than dome&scene; this gives fast, good light. Other than that, are you working with the default HDRI?
I made some experiments with lights a while ago, and maybe you will find them useful (scroll down in that thread): http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/59766/lights-gloss-and-shine-on-skin-iray
As for pre-viewing, just start the render and let it run for five or six iterations. That should give you a very good idea how the light is.
I'm not sure what else I can do here. My IRay Renders were too dark for me to see if i was making any headway on the smooth skin problem, so I added another spot light. problem is, this sopt(even though all its setting are exactly the same as the existing spot) just isnt showing up. The room is nice and bright, then i click render and the only light saurce is just the one spot....
I'm starting to think IRay is just broken...
Are you sure the spot is inside the room, and not inside an object? The standard previwe won't show shadows, so it can be misleading in that respect.
I'll try sliding it down a little. It downs look like its in the cealing light fixtures globe, but its worth a shot...
Don't forget that with spotlights, you can use the spotlight as a viewport, allowing you to see exactly what surfaces that light will illuminate.