A step by step guide to Using Irradiance
Particles and Importons in 3DS Max 2010
with
Hyperfocal VHDRIs.
This tutorial requires 3dsmax 2009 or 2010 and the plugin “Ctrl.Ghost” which allows you to control Irradiance
Particles and Importons. Irradiance Particles (IP) and Importons are a hidden feature of Mental Ray 3.6. IP and Importons are similar to other GI techniques like Final Gathering.
Using the ctrl.ghost plugin, we can control the look of our lighting and shadows, controlling light bounce, intensity, shadow sharpness and so on. The main benefit of these new Mental Ray features is that you can get similar lighting and shading results to Final Gathering/HDRI, but with sharper shadows and less “speckling” or grainy artifacts. In prior versions of 3dsmax out of the box, it has been difficult to get nice looking shadows from HDRI lighting alone, but with IP and Importons, thankfully there is now a great solution to this without having to go and spend up on a copy of VRay.
There are already a few resources out there for IP, however we feel that there is yet to be a complete tutorial on using IP that can be easily followed from start to finish. So here it is!
For this tutorial we will be illuminating an exterior arch viz scene using Hyperfocal Design’s new VHDRI
skies. These VHDRIs are named due to their very high resolution, and in most cases the higher dynamic range. You will find that most of Hyperfocal’s
normal HDRIs and VHDRIs that are shot during the day will have a brighter sun, and you will be able to achieve sharper, longer shadows. Naturally most of the sunset and overcast images have lower dynamic range and you won’t be able to get sharp shadows unless you place a mr Sky or Physical Sun/Sky or direct light.
So first things first, download Ctrl.ghost from:
www.mentalray4design.com (for 09 and 10 versions)
Depending on whether you are using 32 or 64 bit,extract the files into the relevant directories. Make sure you also extract the stdplugin MrGeomShaderObject.
Now when you start Max next we are ready to go.
Either load a pre-existing scene or put down some objects to test with. Remove all lights from your scene, turn off Final Gathering and any other lighting you may have.
Go to the create tab -> Mental Ray -> Mr Shader. It is important here that you actually create the Mr Shader gizmo in your scene. It doesn’t matter
where, just click and drag out the cubic gizmo anywhere at any size. Now click “Shader” and select Ctrl Ghost.
Next, click and drag the shader from the right hand panel into a free slot in your material editor as an instance. This is where we will be controlling everything
to do with the importons and IP. Yes, its odd that its in your material editor but its easy to control and use.
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