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Atmocam - How do you use it?

statistx_42556c1853statistx_42556c1853 Posts: 89
in Technical Help (nuts n bolts)

Hi, I was wondering about the Atmocam item.

How exactly is it used? Couldn't find any youtube videos and the documentation doesn't really say anything about how to use it. Is the included photometric distant light the source? If so, for what do you even need the camera?

I am just interested in Godrays, cause even though I watched different tutorials and threads, i still have no clue how to make some godrays shine through a small window. I am not even dependent on it being a lightsource for the rest of the scene, i just want those godrays to accent the scene itself.

Comments

  • ImagineThatCGIImagineThatCGI Posts: 33

    Having the same problem. The "documentation" does not say how to setup and use it.

  • ImagineThatCGIImagineThatCGI Posts: 33

    I found an excellent short tutorial by Marshian ... over here -->   https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/1940171/#Comment_1940171

     

     

  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
    edited June 2017

    I'd start off with a very simple scene- Start off with a night Iray scene (no other lights), load the deco room, put a spotlight outside pointing in, and position the Atmocam facing that window. Dont worry about material settings for right now. Do a test render in the AuxViewport. 

    Basically:

    1. You need a dark environment to start
    2. A spotlight or distant light with Lumens (luminous flux) set to 200000.0 or so and set to pointlight (which is default)
    3. The atmocam
    4. Place your object between the light and atmocam    Light —> Object —> Atmocam (render through the Atmocam camera)

    Switching to drawstyle wireframe will help you see the Armocam Sphere prop thats parented to the camera.

    The material setting are applied to the atmocam sphere prop not the camera. 

     

    AtmoCam Deco.png
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    Atmocam Working View.png
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    Post edited by Marshian on
  • bobby77bobby77 Posts: 21
    edited June 2017

    Marshian --  thanks again for all your time on this!    I probably have one simple option erroneously clicked on or off.  

    Here are three screen shots that show

    (1)  I did get some rays in the atmosphere but not articulate like yours (I increased the flux to 500000)

    (2)  my light POV

    (3)  camera placed outside the sphere

    When you say "set to point light" how does that relate to a spotlight or distant light? 

     

    THANKS!!

     

     

     

    some rays.png
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    light POV.png
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    cam outside sphere.png
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    Post edited by bobby77 on
  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
    edited June 2017

    I think you're there given a bit more render time. The brightness of the light looks good. You could try scaling the Atmocam camera down to about 25% so that the parented sphere is just larger than the room. This simple set up will give you a good idea how to move forward in other scenes. Make sure in render settings that Environment map and intensity are set to 0.

    Where your camera is now the rays are pointing in almost the same direction- moving the camera to the right would give you a view looking across the rays rather than into them. It might be easier to see them in a quick AuxViewport render. From here I might use the spot render tool around the top of the window so the you can get an idea of how clear/sharp they will be in a final render.

    In parameters tab for the light you'll see Light Geometry where you can pick sphere, disk, rectangle, etc. By default it is PointLight which gives you the sharpest rays- think of shadows from a small halogen (very sharp) VS a frosted incandescent bulb (soft diffused). Those sharp shadows are creating the rays.

     

    standing by....

    Post edited by Marshian on
  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 15,009

    Keep in mind that if you want other lighting, I find it's great to do multiple passes: one pass with nothing but the atmospheric effect and a distant light/spotlight, then another pass with the atmosphere hidden and other lights on, then composite and adjust to taste.

    90% of the time, this is going to be way easier/better than trying to do everything at once.

     

  • bobby77bobby77 Posts: 21

    Marshian,

    Okay, I think I'm on my way here.  A very low rez variation is below.  (Thanks, William -- good point about multiple passes.)

    Three questions:

    (1)  If I try different AtmoCam materials in a scene, do I need to RESET between them each time or will the newest material erase the old?   If I do need to reset, how exactly?

    (2)  I noticed you created a FOG app as well!   Is there a way to animate the fog in a scene?

    (3)  Would you be open to sending me your Deco Room .duh file?   All the settings in that file may be helpful.  [email protected]

    THANKS!

    Bob

    daylight.png
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  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462

    Looks like you got it. Yep

    1. Dont need to reset the surface before applying adjustments, think of it like loading different textures for clothing or a figure.
    2. The fog doesn't have textures so you cannot animate by adjusting tiling but you could by moving and scaling the prop.
    3. Putting together the pieces from earlier today the only piece really missing from the exact recipe is the parameters for the light (attached below) 

     

    Screen Shot 2017-06-30 at 5.30.51 PM.png
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  • bobby77bobby77 Posts: 21

    Thanks a million!   Hey, just one thing, that image for light parameters is quite small... can you upload it one more time much larger?  THX

     

  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462

    Sure! have Fun.

    The screencap is full size at 450x480. Yeah the thumbnail is tiny, It should open larger if you click and zoom in on it.

  • RenderDictatorRenderDictator Posts: 167

    I am currently using it without any primitive: I just thraw the camera in and it worked pretty well for my scene. Still, is there any way now for me to control the density?

  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
    edited September 2020

    There are presets that control density

    RenderDictator said:

    I am currently using it without any primitive: I just thraw the camera in and it worked pretty well for my scene. Still, is there any way now for me to control the density?

     

    Atmocam Density Settings Marshian daz3d.jpg
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    Post edited by Marshian on
  • RenderDictatorRenderDictator Posts: 167
    Marshian said:

    There are presets that control density

    RenderDictator said:

    I am currently using it without any primitive: I just thraw the camera in and it worked pretty well for my scene. Still, is there any way now for me to control the density?

     

    Thanks for the reply, I tried those already. Applying the density in my case seems to have no effect. Do I have to have something special selected in the scene for this to work?

  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462

    yes, you need to have the atmocam prop selected in the scene pane

    RenderDictator said:
    Marshian said:

    There are presets that control density

    RenderDictator said:

    I am currently using it without any primitive: I just thraw the camera in and it worked pretty well for my scene. Still, is there any way now for me to control the density?

     

    Thanks for the reply, I tried those already. Applying the density in my case seems to have no effect. Do I have to have something special selected in the scene for this to work?

     

  • tjamesnewtontjamesnewton Posts: 2

    I am getting into using the AtmoCam more. I wanted to point out you don't need to render through the AtmoCam itself to get the effect -- all you need is to set your camera outside of the volumetric sphere. You'll get the haze. Not sure if the AtmoCam offers any benefit except its cool wide viewing angle and pro settings.

    Also seconding what Oso3D said about layering scenes -- I am working on a piece and I think it will be possible to show HDRI outside of the window and still get the haze / light streaming effect. 

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