ArchiCAD 12 & Artlantis 2

[Robert Fuchs]

Hey, here is my first project with ArchiCAD12 and Artlantis 2.
I thought I would try a night shot. I love the filters that can be used on the renderings. I used the exposure option on these. I tried to use the neon shader for the car lights but Art2 would crash or lock up every time. I did get the shader on the light post but I couldn't change the shader color from bright white. So I still have a lot to learn with this new version but it is really nice. My Dual G5 2.0 just doesn't cut it anymore either. You really need to upgrade your hardware with this software upgrade.

What do you guys think?

[Dwight]

There's glass and diffused balcony glass.
But it is not the glass. The interplay between sun-just-below-horizon angled to reflect against the windows is what makes the scene.

And NO radiosity

[Dwight]

Another version with more color in the sky.

[Anonymous]

Fantastic! More like paintings than renderings. How much time does it take for the settings?

[Dwight]

That's true. I'm trying to learn how to add colorful character. Radiosity makes night shots look too soft - unlike the nasty contrast you usually see at night.

You see the color since the sun is right at dawn, and I'm using the sky color and pollution factors to adjust the sky.

To make a 1500x1500 rendering was 7.5 hours on a 2x4x2.8 MacPro.
[Mainly due to the entire city block of 3D translucent trees adding polygons]

[Thomas Holm]

Dwight wrote:
There's glass and diffused balcony glass.
But it is not the glass. The interplay between sun-just-below-horizon angled to reflect against the windows is what makes the scene.

Yes, but when I asked I was experimenting to understand the Fresnel glass settings. I found the Fresnel transition value extremely sensitive and important - and I landed on precisely 0.3 like you did in this rendering. Also, reflection color is important. But smoothness seems to be less - at least for flat glass planes, it can be at min?

[Dwight]

Flat things are already smooth.

Smoothness affects the faceting of curved elements. If you see facets, you need more smoothness.


Play with the auto-detection -- exaggerate the irregularity of those panes with xy distortion is also useful in uniform glass facades.

[Ignacio Azpiazu]

Dwight wrote:
To make a 1500x1500 rendering was 7.5 hours on a 2x4x2.8 MacPro.
[Mainly due to the entire city block of 3D translucent trees adding polygons]

If it is the trees, what trees are they? I routinely get 20 min to 1 h for daytime 2500x2500, high radiosity, high antialiasing, 6 city blocks with a zillion '3D Plants and Trees' from Abvent, detailed building models with lots of glass, a pond here and a pool there, same computer.

Dwight wrote:
-- what am i not asking about that is important for night rendering?

I never tried night renderings yet, with every presentation I start toying with the idea and then abandon at the feeling that they will need a lot of interior work and then a lot of lamp tweaking. What is the best way of introducing some sort of apartment-by-apartment or room-by-room on-off and light quality variations, if there is any other better way than a lot of lamps (like say would neon shader 'lamp' objects you can just stretch across some interior walls and slabs do a decent job?) Perhaps also some quick low polygon curtains (planes with translucent textures?).

[Dwight]

Those are custom Onyx Pro Trees with a buzzillion polygons each and translucent leaves. And about fifty light sources. Render THAT in an hour, buster!

I'm glad that you have asked about night rendering - I am writing that article in my book right now and will be sure to answer your questions.

[Dwight]

Here is four hours.

It suffers from Little-Orphan-Annie syndrome - vacant circles for eyes [much like one might draw the souls of modern-day rappers] when you light interiors, you need stuff in there for detail. The Artlantis 3D posable animated "couple kissing" figures for instance.

The story of this image is sort-of like "The building stands proud, ready for occupancy having passed final wallboard inspection."

Shots like this need more light in the street.

[Ignacio Azpiazu]

This is so difficult. I threw a lot of lamps in there to see what happens. A zillion hours happen.