Iray Ghost Light Kit 2: Render and Support Thread [Commercial]

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  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548

                

    fastbike1 said:
    I also think people don't realize that Studio and Iray work a lot more like a camera than an eye. Your eyes give a dynamic range well outside the best cameras/lenses. Active photographers understand this. A typical comment goes like this " My scene is lit by a single 60 watt bulb and the render is really dark. I tried this at home and it's plenty of light for me to see". 

    So totally true.  And, of course, the corallary is that the vast majority of photographs that people see (outside of family snapshopts) have benefited from a lot of careful crafting of light on location or in the studio, and then a good bit of postwork or darkroom magic on the back end, so what most people think of as looking "real" is often anything but.  There's something wonderfully ironic in that so many people using DS and Poser seem to get really frustrated when they can't get something with exactly the look they want just by hitting "render", but act like like postwork is an alien creature they'll do anything to avoid... while at the same time, the goal of most photographers and cinematographers these days has become to try to capture something with a median contrast range and color balance that will allow for the most possibilities in Photoshop/AfterEffects/Color Grading after the fact.     

    Spot on. And can I just say..... I love postwork lol.

  • fastbike1fastbike1 Posts: 4,074

    @Novica  "Iray Ghost Lights 2 Portrait Tutorial In 13 Steps"

    For the Environment Render Setting, are you using "Scene Only"? Is the gray Background a HDRI, Infinity Cove, Backdrop?

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858
    edited May 2017

    I knew I would forget SOMETHING.  wink  Scene only. (I'll go put that in, thanks!)  We have a Backdrops thread over in Art Studio (free ones we make) and it's one of those. If you start at the beginning, you'll see all different colors, and similar to the one I used. I think it's one by @SereneNight. She's a wiz at these!  One was also used here for Cailin a page or two back.

     (Edit- Newbies- to do a backdrop, you go to Environment pane, click on Type and choose Backdrop. Then right click in that area below the word Background (it will be to the left of where the strip is which shows the color) and choose your file.) 

    Post edited by Novica on
  • grinch2901grinch2901 Posts: 1,246

    I already have (and use!) the first Ghost Light set but these looked so useful I had to bite.  Here's my first render, just a ball off to the right (just off camera) and a plane from the original ghost light kit right  behind her lighting up her hair from behind.  So far, liking what these bring to the table!

    LoungingWithGhostLights.png
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  • marblemarble Posts: 7,449
    edited May 2017

    @KindredArts: another request please?

    Would it be possible to add arrows to the debug materials for all Ghost Lights to show the direction? For example, when the inverted dome points inwards (I have to keep looking at the manual to remind myself). Also for when two-sided is switched on because I don't see any indication to tell me whethere it is or not.

    Post edited by marble on
  • RGcincyRGcincy Posts: 2,804
    edited May 2017

    Here is a render using the fluorescent ceiling lights that come with Kit 2. They are being used in The Briefing Room to replace the built in 3DL lights that come with that set. Each of the four lights is set at 200 K. Render time was 50 min 14 sec. Although that seems long, I have found it hard to light this set for Iray renders. I followed the PA's recommendations on lighting it, and after the same length of time, it had only achieved a couple percent conversion and is still quite grainy compared to the one using ghost lights (see attached image; note that it's a different table/chair setup but same room).

    IGLK2 Fluresecent ceiling lights.jpg
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    IGLK2 without ghost lights.jpg
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    Post edited by RGcincy on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858

    @grinch2901 and @rgcincy   I like those! The rim lighting on the gal on the lounger is very nice, and I like the spreading of light throughout the briefing room.

  • scorpioscorpio Posts: 8,296

    Kindred Arts thanks glad you like it.

    Digital Lite Design thankyou also; the environment is the terradome 3Base A and the water, shrunk down a bit, I used the reads and grass from AM's Tropical Pond and a rock from the Rock Collection - Real World Stones

  • KindredArtsKindredArts Posts: 1,217

    I already have (and use!) the first Ghost Light set but these looked so useful I had to bite.  Here's my first render, just a ball off to the right (just off camera) and a plane from the original ghost light kit right  behind her lighting up her hair from behind.  So far, liking what these bring to the table!

    Very Nice Grinch! Great use of contrast here, well done  smiley

     

    marble said:

    @KindredArts: another request please?

    Would it be possible to add arrows to the debug materials for all Ghost Lights to show the direction? For example, when the inverted dome points inwards (I have to keep looking at the manual to remind myself). Also for when two-sided is switched on because I don't see any indication to tell me whethere it is or not.

    Do you mean the thumbnails? I can set you up some custom thumbnails if you'd find them easier to work with. As for feedback on whether the two sided setting is on or not, there's not much i can do about that. As far as i know you have to check whether it's on or not in the surface pane. A two-sided indicator elsewhere would probably require some kind of scripting which i'm not very good at.

  • Aww...thanks for sharing that information.  :) It is very helpful.  I love nature renders and love seeing what others do and use to achieve them.  :)

    scorpio said:

    Kindred Arts thanks glad you like it.

    Digital Lite Design thankyou also; the environment is the terradome 3Base A and the water, shrunk down a bit, I used the reads and grass from AM's Tropical Pond and a rock from the Rock Collection - Real World Stones

     

  • nicsttnicstt Posts: 11,714

    I got this; I forgot i had ghost lights so have made a new start up file with em included

    They really do help

    Being ghostly they are hard to see in one's runtime. :)

  • marblemarble Posts: 7,449
    edited May 2017

    I already have (and use!) the first Ghost Light set but these looked so useful I had to bite.  Here's my first render, just a ball off to the right (just off camera) and a plane from the original ghost light kit right  behind her lighting up her hair from behind.  So far, liking what these bring to the table!

    Very Nice Grinch! Great use of contrast here, well done  smiley

     

    marble said:

    @KindredArts: another request please?

    Would it be possible to add arrows to the debug materials for all Ghost Lights to show the direction? For example, when the inverted dome points inwards (I have to keep looking at the manual to remind myself). Also for when two-sided is switched on because I don't see any indication to tell me whethere it is or not.

    Do you mean the thumbnails? I can set you up some custom thumbnails if you'd find them easier to work with. As for feedback on whether the two sided setting is on or not, there's not much i can do about that. As far as i know you have to check whether it's on or not in the surface pane. A two-sided indicator elsewhere would probably require some kind of scripting which i'm not very good at.

    No, I meant in the viewport when in debug mode. There is an arrow on the panels which show the direction of the light so I just wondered whether you could have an arrow that shows whether the light is pointing out of the dome or into the interior. If not, it is no biggie.

    Post edited by marble on
  • RGcincyRGcincy Posts: 2,804
    edited May 2017

    For this render, I put two of the Ceiling Lights B into Dubious Hallway. Each light has an intensity setting of 50K. Render time was 24 min 13 sec.

    IGLK2 Ceiling Lights B.jpg
    1200 x 960 - 1M
    Post edited by RGcincy on
  • KindredArtsKindredArts Posts: 1,217
    nicstt said:

    I got this; I forgot i had ghost lights so have made a new start up file with em included

    They really do help

    Being ghostly they are hard to see in one's runtime. :)

    Glad to be of service!

    marble said:

    I already have (and use!) the first Ghost Light set but these looked so useful I had to bite.  Here's my first render, just a ball off to the right (just off camera) and a plane from the original ghost light kit right  behind her lighting up her hair from behind.  So far, liking what these bring to the table!

    Very Nice Grinch! Great use of contrast here, well done  smiley

     

    marble said:

    @KindredArts: another request please?

    Would it be possible to add arrows to the debug materials for all Ghost Lights to show the direction? For example, when the inverted dome points inwards (I have to keep looking at the manual to remind myself). Also for when two-sided is switched on because I don't see any indication to tell me whethere it is or not.

    Do you mean the thumbnails? I can set you up some custom thumbnails if you'd find them easier to work with. As for feedback on whether the two sided setting is on or not, there's not much i can do about that. As far as i know you have to check whether it's on or not in the surface pane. A two-sided indicator elsewhere would probably require some kind of scripting which i'm not very good at.

    No, I meant in the viewport when in debug mode. There is an arrow on the panels which show the direction of the light so I just wondered whether you could have an arrow that shows whether the light is pointing out of the dome or into the interior. If not, it is no biggie.

    Oh right, i get you. Hmm, that would be a big overhaul in order to do that, the arrows aren't built into the domes you see, probably an oversight on my part. I tend to work in interactive mode a lot, and i normally have the surfaces panel open anyway, so it didn't really occur to me to have different indicators for the domes.

     

    RGcincy said:

    For this render, I put two of the Ceiling Lights B into Dubious Hallway. Each light has an intensity setting of 50K. Render time was 24 min 13 sec.

    Great render RG yes

  • marblemarble Posts: 7,449
    nicstt said:

     

    Oh right, i get you. Hmm, that would be a big overhaul in order to do that, the arrows aren't built into the domes you see, probably an oversight on my part. I tend to work in interactive mode a lot, and i normally have the surfaces panel open anyway, so it didn't really occur to me to have different indicators for the domes.

     

    No problem. I also work with the surfaces panel a lot but I don't use interactive mode ... too scared of burning out my GPU too quickly (can't afford another for a looong time). I can work with it as is but I just thought it might be an easy fix.

  • KindredArtsKindredArts Posts: 1,217
    marble said:
    nicstt said:

     

    Oh right, i get you. Hmm, that would be a big overhaul in order to do that, the arrows aren't built into the domes you see, probably an oversight on my part. I tend to work in interactive mode a lot, and i normally have the surfaces panel open anyway, so it didn't really occur to me to have different indicators for the domes.

     

    No problem. I also work with the surfaces panel a lot but I don't use interactive mode ... too scared of burning out my GPU too quickly (can't afford another for a looong time). I can work with it as is but I just thought it might be an easy fix.

    I get what you mean about the GPUs. It's really hot here in the UK with summer looming and the fan speeds on my cards are setting off surge protection on my board. I just hope it can survive the summer months.

  • marblemarble Posts: 7,449
    marble said:
    nicstt said:

     

    Oh right, i get you. Hmm, that would be a big overhaul in order to do that, the arrows aren't built into the domes you see, probably an oversight on my part. I tend to work in interactive mode a lot, and i normally have the surfaces panel open anyway, so it didn't really occur to me to have different indicators for the domes.

     

    No problem. I also work with the surfaces panel a lot but I don't use interactive mode ... too scared of burning out my GPU too quickly (can't afford another for a looong time). I can work with it as is but I just thought it might be an easy fix.

    I get what you mean about the GPUs. It's really hot here in the UK with summer looming and the fan speeds on my cards are setting off surge protection on my board. I just hope it can survive the summer months.

    You must be working through the night! 3:00 AM in the UK right now (I'm in New Zealand - emigrated from Dorset last year).

  • KindredArtsKindredArts Posts: 1,217

    It's just turned 4am here. I've got support emails to catch up on, it always happens with a new release. I don't mind though, i can have a cup of tea and watch tv on another monitor. smiley

  • RGcincyRGcincy Posts: 2,804
    edited May 2017

    Looks great that image RGcincy,  but doesn't the light look weird?  it's like lit only on 1 side, and doesn't lit all the way round?

    Seems that the light is on the left,  and the body on the right it lit up ?

    I thought you raised a good point, so I took another look at the scene. The reason the lantern is only lit on the one side is that is the side where the ghost light is located. The ghost light is 2-sided, so it's casting light to both left and right. For this new render, I set the lantern's ghost light to 0K (so it's casting no light) and added in a new light sphere with an intensity of 5000K.The light sphere was scaled-down so it fits within the lantern lamp. I could have upped the intensity of the flame, but since it is turned to face the viewer, it would cast a shadow to the side and onto the man. The render time did go up from 22 to 39 minutes since the sphere is a more complex geometry. I reposted the original render so you can make an easier comparison.

    New:

    Original:

    IGLK2 lantern light ball 2.jpg
    1200 x 960 - 946K
    Post edited by RGcincy on
  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548
    edited May 2017

    This is lit with the light dome. Inside Aslans court (can't remember which one).  No other lights in the scene at all. As you can see it highlights the top of the butterflies perfectly.

    NATURES CHILD.png
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    Post edited by IceDragonArt on
  • KindredArtsKindredArts Posts: 1,217

    This is lit with the light dome. Inside Aslans court (can't remember which one).  No other lights in the scene at all. As you can see it highlights the top of the butterflies perfectly.

    This came out really well dragon, great job! yes

  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548

    This is lit with the light dome. Inside Aslans court (can't remember which one).  No other lights in the scene at all. As you can see it highlights the top of the butterflies perfectly.

    This came out really well dragon, great job! yes

    Thanks!  The dome was the perfect choice for this, nice soft even lighting in exactly the right spot lol.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858
    edited May 2017

    So to give you another example of Iray Ghost LIghts 2, this time I used three of the overhead lights- I chose the fluorescent as it's long and rectangular. We're going to put two on the ceiling, and one as the window. Then I changed the brightness of the light on our right (the "window" light) and dropped it 100 lumens, dropped the other two also. The last one I further decreased the two overhead (note the upturned foot) and increased the window light not only back to the orginal lumens, but 100 lumens more. It's rather fun to open windows and click on each one and see the changes.

    ONLY ghost lights with Dome and Scene, and the default Iray HDRI were used. Here's the scene without any assistance from Ghost Lights:

    I would suggest a few things- keep your ghost light further down the wall, AWAY from the corner, if you want to create a dramatic contrast. Note how her hair bangs stand out because the corner is dark. Second, test tilting the wall/window lights. Don't just put them straight up because a wall is straight.  Third, turn off your roof and use TOP view when you place your ceiling lights. You might think you're overhead, but you might not be. I like to extend the ceiling light past my subject slightly. 

    This is easy, anyone can do it. If you haven't wishlisted or bought this yet, it's very versatile.

    Brightly lit from all three, with the wall/ window light around 290 lumens. 

    Dropped the wall/window by 100 lumens, dropped one of the ceilings by 90, kept the far left one the same.

    The one I liked the best. The wall light went to almost 400, the other two ceiling lights down to 20.

    island house bedroom GHOST 1.png
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    island house bedroom GHOST 2.png
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    island house bedroom GHOST 3.png
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    island house bedroom.png
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    Post edited by Novica on
  • greymouser69greymouser69 Posts: 499

    You all sold me on these to the point I used them as the qualifier on the older content blowout sale.  Worked out great as the average savings for the whole order ended up at 98% even considering these were only 30% off and I mostly finished up my DM collection here plus a few other pieces that I'm sure will autofit nicely.

  • KindredArtsKindredArts Posts: 1,217

    You all sold me on these to the point I used them as the qualifier on the older content blowout sale.  Worked out great as the average savings for the whole order ended up at 98% even considering these were only 30% off and I mostly finished up my DM collection here plus a few other pieces that I'm sure will autofit nicely.

    Thank you for picking it up mouser, i appreciate it yes

  • AJ2112AJ2112 Posts: 1,416

    Impressed with light kit 1, I picked up light kit 2.  Super amazing lighting solution, soon I'll post up before/after.  I love the fact, I can place light props anywhere, not visible in renders, specially adding soft light to base figures, or interior corners, etc......  In the past I was disappointed/frustrated, moving light props all over the scene, so light props not visible in renders.  Another feature I enjoy using is intensity preset, clicking strength illumination in an instant.   Thanks again yes

  • KindredArtsKindredArts Posts: 1,217
    Awesomefb said:

    Impressed with light kit 1, I picked up light kit 2.  Super amazing lighting solution, soon I'll post up before/after.  I love the fact, I can place light props anywhere, not visible in renders, specially adding soft light to base figures, or interior corners, etc......  In the past I was disappointed/frustrated, moving light props all over the scene, so light props not visible in renders.  Another feature I enjoy using is intensity preset, clicking strength illumination in an instant.   Thanks again yes

    Glad you like it FB!, Looking forward to seeing some renders smiley

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,858
    edited May 2017

    Here's another portrait, using Iray Ghost Light Kit 2  setup I just used. Three ceiling lights, with one of those used shooting from an angle from the wall window area. It's larger than the window though. (And remember to put them inside the walls.)  A before- and - after postwork shot is over in my Art Studio thread, as the individual was rather ruddy (not from the lights.)  IT also discusses the products used.

    Post edited by Novica on
  • AJ2112AJ2112 Posts: 1,416
    edited May 2017

    I enjoy creating supernatural scenes, but lighting was always a challenge.  I did a before/after image, left image I used 3 point mesh light setup, I was not happy at all, no matter how I manipulate the lights, I toss the light setup.  Right image I tried Iray ghost lights for the first time.  And thought wow !  I was able to illuminate areas I desired, well balanced lighting.  No harsh shadows on her face, chest, etc....  I'll share more as I continue to experiment.  Architectural interiors are next.......

     

    Marmia.jpg
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    Post edited by AJ2112 on
  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548

    I used the dome lighting again in this one (the same one I used on the butterfly render) to highlight and help outline her figure.  No other lights except for what come in the scene itself.

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