Photoreal LEGO Rendering

[Angmarec]

How does one get 12 cores in one computer anyway, unless it's one of those blade-based systems?

http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/precision-t7610-workstation/pd

[Lego Otaku]

Intel socket 1567 CPU has 10 physical cores each and can function like 20 with hyperthreading. Get a motherboard with 4 sockets and you could have one computer with 40 cores or 80 processes. The drawback is the CPU costs over a grand a pop.

For most people, anything over 4 is overkill. Most games don't use all 4 anyhow. LDD isn't optimized for multicores and won't benefit from more cores at all.

[legolijntje]

I just heard that Pixar is going to release a free version (for non-commercial use) of its rendering software Renderman. I never heard of it, but maybe someone here would like to try it out

It's not new software, Pixar was selling it for a couple of years now, but there's a new free version now. more information here.

[lego2lego]

I just heard that Pixar is going to release a free version (for non-commercial use) of its rendering software Renderman. I never heard of it, but maybe someone here would like to try it out

It's not new software, Pixar was selling it for a couple of years now, but there's a new free version now. more information here.

The free version will become available in august, it's pretty high-end stuff, all pixar movies en big budget tent-pole movies use the software. I'm keeping my eyes open for this.

[Sastrei]

virtualrepublic - Does Modo have "baking" capabilities? And if so, is the fake bevel material you're using something that would show up in a bake to a lo-poly object?

-Stefan-

[Renderbricks]

virtualrepublic - Does Modo have "baking" capabilities? And if so, is the fake bevel material you're using something that would show up in a bake to a lo-poly object?

-Stefan-

Yes, MODO has a baking feature and I think the rounded edge effect will be converted to a normal map. But I am not sure, yet.

[raptorscream]

Hi,

Could you do a small/quick tutorial on how to do this? From LDD to Modo to finished render?

Thanks

[Renderbricks]

Hi,

Could you do a small/quick tutorial on how to do this? From LDD to Modo to finished render?

Thanks

Well. The two methods I had actually worked out are not that simple. I still need to write everything down to keep all steps in my mind.

LDRAW

The main way to get models from LDRAW into MODO is using BLENDER. OBJ or 3DS give bad results. There's a python script called LDR-Importer. Usually you can export a LDD model to LDR but this method has some issues. The ldraw.xml file in the LDD folder isn't supporting all parts for LDRAW. And I think that LDRAW lacks of actual LDD pieces. Let's say we have a perfect LDR model. This has to be imported into Blender. Depending on the complexity it might take a while. The Millennium Falcon took over two hours to import if I remember right. For the studs with the LEGO logo you need to replace the files in the LDRAW library. Actually I use a simple version but I realized that I need pre-beveled studs to make it perfect. But this will increase the geometry dramatically.

Save the Blender result first and export it to FBX or COLLADA. I would recommend to use FBX actually because for COLLADA you need another script to rename the pieces first because the COLLADA exporter will cut the names which are part numbers and replace the first number with an underscore what will mess up the naming if you need to identify bricks by numbers later. The COLLADA file will be important when the LDR-Importer will support instances of bricks. What means: if a model is using copies of a brick there should be one master brick and instance copies of them. This would allow MODO to deal with extremely complex models. Actually I am using a 12 core DELL with 32 GB RAM. And the Millennium Falcon isn't easy to handle.

Now you import the FBX file into MODO where you have to scale down the bricks and setup all imported materials. You need to replace the RGB values with the Peeron Color list and additonally you need to do a gamma correction of 0.45. I am using a HDR picture for the lighting. Actually I am working on a LDRAW material library. When I import the models I just replace the imported materials with the library by using the same material tags. But it's not complete yet. The slopes are tricky because I don't see an automatic method for the grainy texturing.

As you see the whole process is more complex. To write it down gives me a headache. The best would be I prepare a simple scene and share it.

LDD

As mentioned you can export to LDR but there are issues depending on the model. Parts will be misplaced or missing what can be fixed with some editing. But this isn't a very efficient way. The other method is to capture the geometry directly from LDD with 3Dvia Printscreen. The result is a format called 3dxml and you need SimLab Composer for this. From there you can export again to FBX and the imported scene has to be aligned and scaled in MODO to the correct LEGO measure. Also here you should habe a material library based on the LDD materials. Otherwise you have to edit everything from scratch everytime you import something new. What I did actually is to create a LDD scene with all bricks using the colors from the LDD color list and imported this into MODO. I made a first setup with 2x2 bricks of all the materials. Unfortunately I need real references of those special metal or glitter materials. Someone gave me a helpful link to a POV-Ray library. I had no time yet to check this out if I can "convert" them to MODO. http://guide.lugnet.com/color/

Sorry that I can't give more helpful details atm. Please be patient. My life is a bit too intense to speed everything up. I'll be back.

Edited June 4, 2014 by virtualrepublic

[raptorscream]

Wow, this is more complex than i thought.

The annoying thing is that i'm only used with 3D max, blender and modo are unknown to me.

Thank you for the reply, i'm sure this will help others also

[JM1971]

The creator of lightwave made a film about painting photo realistic images by researching and piecing together what Johannes Vermeer did in the 17th century long before the invention of cameras.

Tim's Vermeer.

Not strictly on topic but very interesting and in a way the first ray traced images,

[matt_one]

Well. The two methods I had actually worked out are not that simple. I still need to write everything down to keep all steps in my mind.

LDRAW

The main way to get models from LDRAW into MODO is using BLENDER. OBJ or 3DS give bad results. There's a python script called LDR-Importer. Usually you can export a LDD model to LDR but this method has some issues. The ldraw.xml file in the LDD folder isn't supporting all parts for LDRAW. And I think that LDRAW lacks of actual LDD pieces. Let's say we have a perfect LDR model. This has to be imported into Blender. Depending on the complexity it might take a while. The Millennium Falcon took over two hours to import if I remember right. For the studs with the LEGO logo you need to replace the files in the LDRAW library. Actually I use a simple version but I realized that I need pre-beveled studs to make it perfect. But this will increase the geometry dramatically.

Save the Blender result first and export it to FBX or COLLADA. I would recommend to use FBX actually because for COLLADA you need another script to rename the pieces first because the COLLADA exporter will cut the names which are part numbers and replace the first number with an underscore what will mess up the naming if you need to identify bricks by numbers later. The COLLADA file will be important when the LDR-Importer will support instances of bricks. What means: if a model is using copies of a brick there should be one master brick and instance copies of them. This would allow MODO to deal with extremely complex models. Actually I am using a 12 core DELL with 32 GB RAM. And the Millennium Falcon isn't easy to handle.

Now you import the FBX file into MODO where you have to scale down the bricks and setup all imported materials. You need to replace the RGB values with the Peeron Color list and additonally you need to do a gamma correction of 0.45. I am using a HDR picture for the lighting. Actually I am working on a LDRAW material library. When I import the models I just replace the imported materials with the library by using the same material tags. But it's not complete yet. The slopes are tricky because I don't see an automatic method for the grainy texturing.

As you see the whole process is more complex. To write it down gives me a headache. The best would be I prepare a simple scene and share it.

LDD

As mentioned you can export to LDR but there are issues depending on the model. Parts will be misplaced or missing what can be fixed with some editing. But this isn't a very efficient way. The other method is to capture the geometry directly from LDD with 3Dvia Printscreen. The result is a format called 3dxml and you need SimLab Composer for this. From there you can export again to FBX and the imported scene has to be aligned and scaled in MODO to the correct LEGO measure. Also here you should habe a material library based on the LDD materials. Otherwise you have to edit everything from scratch everytime you import something new. What I did actually is to create a LDD scene with all bricks using the colors from the LDD color list and imported this into MODO. I made a first setup with 2x2 bricks of all the materials. Unfortunately I need real references of those special metal or glitter materials. Someone gave me a helpful link to a POV-Ray library. I had no time yet to check this out if I can "convert" them to MODO. http://guide.lugnet.com/color/

Sorry that I can't give more helpful details atm. Please be patient. My life is a bit too intense to speed everything up. I'll be back.

I have a question for you, virtualrepublic.

Why in some of my pictures, expecially those with grey background, there are those concentric circular halos? ( see the attached image from Simlab Composer )

I'd never see them again in my pictures, but I would like to understand why, Tried to do some searches in Google but get no results about that issue.

Thank you in advance!

[DarkKnight7]

I think you are doing excellent work here, I love this and can't wait to see some more renderings of other sets, too! I actually prefer the picture rendering you posted on May 22 better. Taking pictures of LEGOs for a while, I know that when cleaned properly and put in good light, they are actually that reflective. For evidence, look at this picture from Brickmania Toys, taken by someone who's photographed LEGOs in wonderful light for some time: https://www.flickr.com/photos/screamingforvengeance/14170833067/sizes/l/in/photostream/

As you can see, the surfaces are VERY reflective in this light. So, your May 22nd picture is much more reflective of what LEGOs can look like when well lit, which I prefer to the more dull second picture (May 23 post), which almost looks like it was put in a shadow. So, I will have to respectfully disagree with legolijntje on his criticism there. There are some pieces that are less reflective than others (like the wedge pieces, that are more rough), but for the most part, properly cleaned and lit pieces are like glass, and I like that clean look to them. That is my own opinion at least and we are all welcome to share our opinions, just thought I'd share mine. ;)

Keep up the great work and thank you for sharing your wonderfully crafted work here! I will send you a PM shortly.

[Renderbricks]

I have a question for you, virtualrepublic.

Why in some of my pictures, expecially those with grey background, there are those concentric circular halos? ( see the attached image from Simlab Composer )

I'd never see them again in my pictures, but I would like to understand why, Tried to do some searches in Google but get no results about that issue.

Thank you in advance!

Nice render. I never checked out SimLab this way. I guess the background halo (vignette) is created by a lighting falloff what is a nice effect. The concentric circular halos is a typical effect when you have a limited color gradient in 8bit. Especially when you have a ramp from dark grey to black the colors are more limited. You can fix this by adding a noise onto your picture or the software has a feature to compensate this by adding some kind of noise to the ramp. Rendering in 16/32bit (higher color depth) will usually fix this.

Edited June 7, 2014 by virtualrepublic

[matt_one]

Nice render. I never checked out SimLab this way. I guess the background halo (vignette) is created by a lighting falloff what is a nice effect. The concentric circular halos is a typical effect when you have a limited color gradient in 8bit. Especially when you have a ramp from dark grey to black the colors are more limited. You can fix this by adding a noise onto your picture or the software has a feature to compensate this by adding some kind of noise to the ramp. Rendering in 16/32bit (higher color depth) will usually fix this.

Thanks virtualrepublic!

Actually this image has only HDRI ligthing, without any other light source. I'm not so expert with Simlab Composer to manage lights properly.

I noticed that those halos are not visible in other pictures with different background, expecially when enabling environment reflection on the floor.

I will check out if there is some options in Simlab to get 16/32 bit renderings.

Thank you again!

Edited June 7, 2014 by matt_one

[Angmarec]

virtualrepublic, hallo, how is work about materials library going?

[zanna]

Hi everybody! I'm Gabriele (called "zanna") from Italy!

Since months I'm trying to create photorealistic renderings of my creations and today I saw this topic on this forum.

Virtualrepublic: I think your renders are fantastic... o.O

I'm trying to follow your instructions and I hope i will learn!

I actually use LDD, POVRay and LDD2POVray but it take very much time...

matt_one: I just see you are Italian too!

Edited August 6, 2014 by zanna

[matt_one]

Hi everybody! I'm Gabriele (called "zanna") from Italy!

Since months I'm trying to create photorealistic renderings of my creations and today I saw this topic on this forum.

Virtualrepublic: I think your renders are fantastic... o.O

I'm trying to follow your instructions and I hope i will learn!

I actually use LDD, POVRay and LDD2POVray but it take very much time...

matt_one: I just see you are Italian too!

"Ti andrebbe di scambiarci le mail così posso farti qualche domanda? Ho visto che anche i tuoi render sono favolosi!"

Thanks! Edited August 6, 2014 by matt_one

[Calabar]

Guys, please avoid to write here in Italian. This forum only uses English language.

@matt_one: write in clear your email address on the web is not a wise choice, due to spam bots.

PS: you don't need to quote the previous post!

@zanna: you can introduce yourself in the proper section!

Edited August 5, 2014 by Calabar

[matt_one]

Calabar, I'm sorry.

Zanna asked me a question in Italian and it seemed to me rude to answer him in English.

It will not happen anymore.

[zanna]

Excuse me... I couldn't find a way to send a private message...

Within a few days I'll show you my progress, but unfortunately I'm not very able to use software like modo or blender

I continue following this post!

Thanks everybody

[Calabar]

@zanna: your private messages will be enabled when you will reach 10 messages in the forum.

@matt_one: my previous note was a suggestion to remove/modify your email address written in clear!

[matt_one]

Thank you Calabar for your suggestion, I removed my email address.

[TotalyWicked]

VirtualRepublic

I am curious how you created transparent/glass material.

Would you mind sharing you settings?

Some tip?

[___]

I think you are doing excellent work here, I love this and can't wait to see some more renderings of other sets, too! I actually prefer the picture rendering you posted on May 22 better. Taking pictures of LEGOs for a while, I know that when cleaned properly and put in good light, they are actually that reflective. For evidence, look at this picture from Brickmania Toys, taken by someone who's photographed LEGOs in wonderful light for some time: https://www.flickr.c...in/photostream/

As you can see, the surfaces are VERY reflective in this light. So, your May 22nd picture is much more reflective of what LEGOs can look like when well lit, which I prefer to the more dull second picture (May 23 post), which almost looks like it was put in a shadow. So, I will have to respectfully disagree with legolijntje on his criticism there. There are some pieces that are less reflective than others (like the wedge pieces, that are more rough), but for the most part, properly cleaned and lit pieces are like glass, and I like that clean look to them. That is my own opinion at least and we are all welcome to share our opinions, just thought I'd share mine. ;)

Keep up the great work and thank you for sharing your wonderfully crafted work here! I will send you a PM shortly.

And I do not agree with you on this, sorry (I rather prefer what legolijntje said): when I look at render I expect to see it as in "normal" conditions, just like I see it when I work with real LEGO bricks, not that super clean and polished therefore to me it's more natural when it is as you have said "dull and almost like in a shadow"...

[Tupolev]

Would you (virtual republic) share the settings that you use for the rendering? I would love to make a rendering in that quality