mental ray Workflows in Maya 8: Caustics
Learn creative practices for caustics, reflecting and refracting light rays, and time-saving rendering techniques that can be used in an array of scenarios that require caustic effects. Software required: Maya 8 and up (Maya 2008 required for project files).
What you'll learn
Learn creative practices for caustics, reflecting and refracting light rays, and time-saving rendering techniques that can be used in an array of scenarios that require caustic effects. Contains over 2 hours of project-based training. Perfect for intermediate artists. Popular highlights include: Understanding Caustic Photons; Emitting Photons from Various Light Sources; Controlling Photon Energy and Decay Rates; Altering Photon Color Attributes; Separating Caustics from Direct Lighting; Tuning Caustic Scale, Radius, and Accuracy; Photon Tracing with Transparent Surfaces; Saving and Re-using Caustic Photons Maps; Dielectric Material Properties; Troubleshooting Rendering Errors; Using the Map Visualizer; Photon Interactions with Maya Materials; Photon Interactions with mental ray Materials. Software required: Maya 8 and up (Maya 2008 required for project files).
Table of contents
- Controlling Caustic Photon Emission and Photon Energy Properties 11m
- Altering Caustic Color Attributes 6m
- Separating Caustic Effects from Direct Illumination 5m
- Raytracing Attributes to Correctly Calculate Refractive Surfaces 8m
- Fine-tuning Caustic Attributes in the Render Settings 10m
- Controlling How Photons Interact with Maya Materials 9m
- Controlling How Photons Interact with Mental Ray Materials 8m
- Adding Complex Color Variation to Caustic Patterns 6m
- Creating Caustic Effects with Mental Ray's Architectural Materials 9m
- Overview of Mental Ray's Dielectric Material 8m
- Creating an Accurate Glass-liquid Interaction with Dielectric Materials 13m
- Saving and Re-using Caustic Photon Maps 9m
- Using the Map Visualizer to View Photons in a Scene 9m
- Using Photon Tracing to Control How Caustics Interact with Transparent Surfaces 6m
- Caustic Lighting Exercise - Geometry and Material Preparation 14m
- Caustic Lighting Exercise - Setting up Direct Lights and Caustic Emitters 12m
- Caustic Lighting Exercise - Increasing Caustic Quality 12m
About the author
Kyle was one of the first authors for Digital-Tutors, now a Pluralsight company. and has been a part of the team for over 10 years. Kyle began his career in computer graphics education as a college instructor and worked as a Digital-Tutors rendering tutor and curriculum manager since 2002. Kyle has contributed to many of the most popular projects and helped the Digital-Tutors team win awards throughout the company's history. Kyle has had the honor of having his art exhibited at the New York ... more