Question about Age of Armours Volume Camera
I like this product a alot. It makes light cones so good!
What I haven't figured out yet though is: if I use the volume camera to get light cones, is there a way to add lights that is NOT affected by the Volume Camera?
For instance; if I add a spotlight to get more light on a face and NOT want the cone effect for that particular light.
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There should be a couple of ways.
There is, if memory serves, a pair of min/max distance settings on the camera which dictate in what range lights should be considred for the effects. You may be able to adjust those and the highlighting light to have it outside of the effect.
Next, again from memory, the effect is only active when the lights are using ray-traced shadows, so you could set the light to use Deep Shadow Maps (if the light supports them - i.e., NOT the standard point lights), or have shadow casting set off for the light in question.
Thank you SimonJM!
The first alternative is not an option since the face (in this case) is within the volume I am using the effect on.
The second (turning off shadows) is not possible (as far as I know) since I am using Age of Armours Advanced Spotlight you simply haven't the choice of "shadow type". (Guess it is all ray traced). The simple solution is of course to switch to "normal" spotlight. I will try that immediately.
My more general question remains (a bit rephrased). Is there a way add Age of Armours Advanced Spotlight and NOT have it affected in the Volume Camera?
No, I think this is not possible. The Volume Camera affects all lights in a scene.
But what I ususally do (as a workaround) is this:
I first I render the normal scene. Then I add the Volume Cam and render the scene again with just the light(s) that should be affected. Then I combine the 2 renders in postwork. Works pretty well.
Thanks a lot XoechZ.
I will try that.
If I remember the shadow casting oprion on AoA's advanced lighting is a 'do not tocuh' option, so the possibility of using that method to avoid the effects is not there. Apat from that it would just be the distance option - which again, for you, seems to be not a possibility (unless, maybe, move the spot a loooong way off and have a very narrow beam?). Using a normal spot would be, of course, an option (but bear in mind they do not have falloff I don't think) used in non-ray trace mode.
Apart from that, it would be as Xoechz suggests using compositing of two differently lit images in psotwork.
@SimonJM
Just out of curiosity. You are obiously famliar with Age of Armours "SHARE M
Atmospheric Effects Cameras for DAZ Studio" but I get the impression you are not using it (anymore).
If I am right; what are you using instead?
I am not SimonJM, but let me add my 2 cents here too :-)
I have used the Volume Camera for a while, but I also do not use it anymore.
Why? Because it is very time cunsuming to set it up correctly and it adds a lot of render time if you go for a good quality.
Nowadays I add such smoke and fog effects in postwork. Either I paint them for myself in Painter, or if I am lazy I use some Photoshop brushes like these ones:
http://www.daz3d.com/rons-fog-ii
http://www.daz3d.com/rons-steam-and-smoke
This method is much easier and faster than using the Volume Cam in DAZ Studio. And the results are even more dramatic :-)
But what I use very frequently is the Depth Cam from the same package to split up my image in layers for easier postwork.
@XoechZ
I appreciate your input.
Yes, setting up Volume Camera takes a bit of time but so far I haven't found a better way to make light cones/godrays. Yes, deviney's products are great. I don't have those you use, but they look good. I have to get them.
Do you use them for light cones (if so it would be nice if you could post a link to show what it looks like) or was it just an example of things you use instead of the whole "atmosperic effects" thing?
Oh, I still use them, it's just that when I was replying above I was sitting in a cafe, supping coffee and browsing on my little net book which is not really man enough to drive DAZ (though I did have DAZ 3 on it for a while) so it was all from memory, hence the various caveats! In fact, one of my recent uploads to the gallery here was using them!
You could try using UberVolume instead of the Atmospheric Effects Cameras. I like the effect of the Cameras a bit better but UberVolume has the advantage that you can decide exactly where you want the effect to appear. There's a good tutorial on it here.
Or try SickleYield's Simple Godrays product...that might work, too.
@SimonJM
Oh, I see. :) I can also see that your using Octane. I have considered buying it since I have seen some amazingly soft renders in Octane. I know to little about it though. What's your opinion about Octane?
@Scott-Livingston
Thanks for your valuable input. I have actually never even tried UberVolume. I will do that. I will also check out Sickle Yields Simple Godrays.
Octane, just like LuxRender (via Reality or Luxus) is but another tool in the arsenal. There are times when I think a scene would benefit from being done in Octane, just as I might consider LuxRender. I still tend to use 3Delight more than either.
Where Octane, for me, really scores is with in it's very rapid initial render details and handling of sun or hdri lighting which allows you to make changes and quickly see the results. Each change does make the render restart, but as it takes a matter of seconds (literally) to see how the shadows are falling and how the light will be you can easily get just the light you want.
Just like Reality and Luxus, Octane allows you to set up mesh lights. In addition if the sun would be visible in the sky it gets shown, whci allows some nice effects. A couple of examples ... of the sun and mesh lights as well as Octanes built-in 'postwork options' for adding flare to lights.
Interesting, SimonJM, Thank you.