Background size problem
carfor-2225296
Posts: 0
Hi,
I'm new to Carrara. I'm trying to follow a tutorial, and in step one I'm having problems!
It says to load an image in the background > Map. Okay, its in there, The little preview box looks perfect. But renders
look ZOOMED in and way too big.
I even tried making the background image SMALLER than the render frame. { 1920 x 1080 } its still too big and distorted. I see some controls to turn the image. They seem to work, but don't make it smaller.
am I doing something wrong, or is this a bug?
thanks
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There's a big difference between the scene's Background and Backdrop. The background wraps around the scene or universe. The best images to use are spherical images. They will be reflected and can be used as Image Base Light (IBL). This is where you would use an HDRI. I have a couple examples of spherical renders at ShareCG:
http://www.sharecg.com/pf/full_uploads.php?pf_user_name=evilproducer
The Backdrop doesn't wrap around the scene and won't reflect or act as an IBL. If you load an image in the Backdrop, you should set your render size to the same aspect as the image you're using for the Backdrop or the backdrop image will appear distorted. Backdrops are useful if you want to use an image in the Background to provide reflections or IBL, but don't want it to show in the final render. You can use movie files or image sequences as well.
Thanks a lot evilproducer for your fast reply.
this is the tutorial I'm trying to follow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhchmPOWcE0
There's a big difference between the scene's Background and Backdrop. The background wraps around the scene or universe. The best images to use are spherical images.
..........ok. But I think hes using a normal image .
I just tried to make my image SUPER WIDE and it doesnt help, still way too zoomed in.
They will be reflected and can be used as Image Base Light (IBL). This is where you would use an HDRI. I have a couple examples of spherical renders at ShareCG:
.............Yes, I tried the hdri setting before, and had better luck with that I think. But hes saying load in MAP choice.
http://www.sharecg.com/pf/full_uploads.php?pf_user_name=evilproducer
The Backdrop doesn't wrap around the scene and won't reflect or act as an IBL.
..........gotcha.
If you load an image in the Backdrop, you should set your render size to the same aspect as the image you're using for the Backdrop or the backdrop image will appear distorted.
Backdrops are useful if you want to use an image in the Background to provide reflections or IBL, but don't want it to show in the final render. You can use movie files or image sequences as well.
ok
Can anybody else load a background like this , in map channel, with no zoom problem?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhchmPOWcE0
thanks
Cripeman is using a spherical photo. What type are you using? It also helps if it's a very large resolution image. Notice how long it took to load the image in the video?
Cripeman
...........is that Cripeman?!
is using a spherical photo.
gotcha.
What type are you using?
Ok I found some on google to test. Ok looks much better in the assembly window. { but shouldnt there be a zoom
control - looks too zoomed in }
but renders still look terrible. way too zoomed in!
It also helps if it's a very large resolution image. Notice how long it took to load the image in the video?
yeah,
.... anyone know where to buy those sperical images for royalty free use?
........anyone know how to fix the too zoomed renders?
thanks
What camera are you using? The default? The problem could be the image resolution, or it could be the camera, if you switched to telephoto or Zoom.
It could help to see what you're seeing. Can you post any screen shots.
\Another possibility: Did you use the magnifying glass tool?
My bad! Sounded kind of like him. I don't think it is.
...........is that Cripeman?!
My bad! Sounded kind of like him. I don't think it is.
Ha! I thought the Carrara people might be forming their own hip language. Like no matter what brand you buy, its
always KLEENEX , right?
so who ever makes a tutorial ? Another one by Cripeman!
Ill try and post pics later, thanks
Some images just might not be a good background. However, have you tried resizing the image in question? Say, if it's 2000 x 1000, change it to 8000 x 4000 in an image editing app.
Spherical Backgrounds that wrap all the way around need to be 2 x 1, so 8000 x 4000 is the most popular size, since you need a lot of pixels for such a large wrap. If the image was taken from a spherical camera, the position of the spherical camera has everything to do with the view you'll get from using the image in your background. One thing you could try, but I can't remember if EP (shear genius) mentioned it before, is that you could change the zoom on your render camera. Select the camera and go to the General tab above. Set it to 'zoom' and try cranking it back to 25 - see what happens.
Hi Carfor :)
The tutorial was created by Dimension Theory.
The image he's using, is an HDRI image,. which as Evilproducer points out, is a 360 degree Spherical environment image,
there are a couple of HDRI images which come with Carrara, and they should be in the Carrara/Scenes/Global illumination folder.
if you've installed the Carrara native content,
HDRI (High Dynamic range image) provides the scene background and the scene lighting if you enable the (Sky Light) option in the renderer settings.
Background HDR images can be either High resolution, and sharp detail, or will intentionally have a "Blurred" version of the image, which is best suited for providing the scene reflection,. but it's not intended as a background or backdrop.
You can use a different image for the Scene "Background",.. such as an HDRI, ...and use another image, or video clip, as the "Backdrop", which will always be fitted exactly into the camera view.
There are many different HDRI files available free on-line
You can also use other programs like Bryce, or Photoshop to create HDRI files.
One other point,.. Carrara can also use a Colour value, or Gradient, or an ordinary image (not HDRI) and still use the values to light the scene.
Hope it helps :)
I have been wrestling with this for the last few hours; all the help I find on "Backgrounds" speaks to Backdrops; which I don't need; my toons arms are rather wide in the frame but no matter what I do I get this Hacked short 4x3 aspect useless thing. (4x3 Really Devs is it 1995? ) I know I somehow accidently got this right last night, but cant reproduce what I did; could someone walk me through how one adds a Background image to a Scene. It would be most appreciated. Thanks BB.
I'm a little confused by the post. You mention a toon's arms being wide and the aspect being 4:3? To set the aspect for your cameras, you would go to the Render Room and use the Output tab to set the dimensions. You may need to un-check the Keep Proportions check-box.
Is the toon you're talking about a model or an image? If it's an image, are you trying to add it in the vertex model room for a reference image, or are you trying to add it to the scene in the Assembly room?
A background wraps around the scene like an image mapped to a sphere, except when it's added as a background it wraps around the virtual universe. The best images to use are spherical and if they're going to need to be crisp and clear the resolution will need to be quite high. If it's only used to generate reflections or IBL, then it can be lower res or blurry.
The backdrop (which is what it sounds like you may be using) fills the entire frame with the image. If the aspect ratio of the image being used as the backdrop is different than the final render, then the backdrop image will look distorted.
I'm blanking on how to add a reference imag in the vertex modeler, but to add a background or backdrop to your scene in the Assembly room, you would select Scene in the Instances Palette on the right, and then use the pull-down menus next to the background and backdrop (or both) and select Map to add an image file, image sequence or movie file.
The Background can also use HDRIs, image maps, color gradients, etc. to generate reflections and image based lighting. The backdrop does not contribute to scene in the form of reflections and lighting.
Image I am trying to get is a Genesis based figure Arms wide with a Sunrise in the Background..
I accidently got the Background to change last night using a Background image that came with Windows, but today all I seem to be able to access is the BackDrop;
which even when I try to change the photo in the Render Settings seems to remember the 4:3 and that's what you get.. but its not what I need anyway.
I need to change the Background. . and all the help on this subject is Horribly obsolete, and none of it speaks to the Background, but the BackDrop; and when you can find something that speaks to the background its for poser. ... because why wouldn't it?
http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/artzone/pub/tutorials/otherapps/otherapps-poser09
Please someone tell me where the Devs have buried this basic function. Thankyou Bb.
It sounds like from the link you posted, that they're using the term background, when in Carrara, that function is Backdrop.
Select Scene.
Select Backdrop and use the pull-down menu and set it to None. You can always add something later if you want.
Select Backdrop and choose Map from the pull-down menu. You should get see a the filed expand with an empty thumbnail (unless you have an image loaded already), click the top folder icon next to the thumbnail. An open file dialogue will appear where you can navigate to your chosen image. I'm on a Mac, and when I select an image file, data about it is displayed, including image size. I don't know about Windows. The information is also displayed below the thumbnail.
To see the image in the production frame in the Assembly room, go to the Interactive Renderer (the little up-arrow within a circle at the top of the Assembly Room window and click it. The pane for the Interactive renderer will open and you can choose to display the Backdrop. Close it, and you should now see the image in the Scene's Backdrop. The area occupied by the image is your production frame. Anything outside of it will not be rendered unless it causes a shadow or is reflected.
Screen shots continued:
You can also use video by choosing the Map option under Backdrop or Background. Instead of a still image, open a movie file or image sequence.
Carrara also has a shadowcatcher which is invisible except for the shadows that fall on it and it also masks any objects behind it. That is partly how I did this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8puXTRXt7Y
A shadow catcher is a lighting model available in the Texture Room, and is useful for still shots as well.
Im actually working with DAZ, the point of the link was the DAZ help does not speak to DAZ??
Anyhow, what I am trying to accomplish is something more like this, which I achieved with a primitive with the Image I wanted set as a skin.
http://www.anar-mura.com/gts/2014/Bridget_Sunrise_x768.jpg
for the Fari copy it seems I'm better off pursuing in Manga Studio or one of my other 2D programs after I have the basic figure set. But I very much appreciate your time in answering this question. BB.
No idea what you're talking about as far as not being able to access Background, just Backdrop. What exactly would you like to know about the Background?
If you're referring to the skies in Carrara, that is set up using "atmosphere" tab, set to Realistic Sky. When a scene is open in Carrara, look to the right of the screen. Select the word "Scene" (larger bold print above the list of scene assets, if you have any).
Now look up a little higher. Make sure you're in the General tab on top.
Atmosphere - The only option that I'm really familiar with at this moment is the Realistic Sky. Using this along with changing the main light into a Sun light, will give you control over the sky color and brightness inside the realistic sky editor. Access that by clicking "Edit" after adding the Realistic Sky. The upper sky dome inside the editor will allow you to drag the sun around in the sky. Drag it really, really close to where it disappears on the horizon for sunsets and sunrises.
For more precision in where the sun appears in the scene, for a sunset, for example, select the Sun light in the assembly room (not in the realistic sky editor) and rotate it so that it is pointing toward the view you're looking through. So point it at you. Look for an outline of a cartoon-like sun on the back wal of the scene. This is where the sun will appear in the render, if the camera you're currently looking through is what is set to render.
Background - This can set up colors and images to wrap around your scene, even if you don't want to see these in the final render. For example, using the colors for global illumination, reflections, whatever. But they can also be used in the render. Realistic Sky atmosphere and Backdrops will hide the background unless they have alpha channels making that view invisible (you can use png, tga, bmp, etc., with alpha channel)
Backgrounds wrap 360 degrees around the scene always.
Backdrop - this uses an image as the backing for your render, and will override any atmosphere or background settings. However, none of these will block geometry in the scene.
Geometry in a scene, like figures, props, billboard images, etc., will always render in front of any of the scene atmosphere, background or backdrop. Always, unless set not to show (deselect "Visible"). So be careful not to place things so far in the distance that they appear smaller than objects of the same type behind them, say, in an image.
Zoom settings for images used in the background or backdrop are made when the image is made. The only real way to change that is to tile the image. So if you have a spherical image, and you want it to be closer to the camera, load it into Background, load in a spherical camera and adjust the rotation, etc., and leave the zoom at it's default of 50, and try the render. See if that's more to your liking. Perhaps you'd like to zoom more. Select the Spherical camera in your scene and adjust the Zoom setting to your liking. Just realize that it can be difficult to get this just right. It's part of the drawback to using such cheats instead of a full scene. But it's often worth it. More times than not, this technique is used as backgrounds... not the main focal point of an image. Like you say, "I just want a picture of Genesis in a sunset" sort of thing. While the sunset is still important to you, it is the background.
Carrara can do a lot of things outside the norm. Like rendering images of images, without any geometry in the scene at all. This can be very helpful when it comes to making your own spherical maps.
I like to build up a distant setting that surrounds the scene very far away. Add in the realistic sky and shoot a spherical image from about 6 or 10 feet above the ground (set the height of the spherical camera in the motion tab) at 8,000 x 4,000, load that in as a background map, and add a ground terrain for the focal point area of the scene. To use a shadow catcher and a background map, you'll generally need higher resolution maps, as the ground gets pixelated very easily with such shots. Quite time-consuming.
Anyways... hopefully there's a spark of something in there that can get you closer to what you're trying to figure out. Then if you need further assistance, just ask more!
note enough time to read this all just now, but I will; TY very much for your time and help BB.
I consider 8,000 x 4,000 to be about as low of a resolution as I can live with. I'm rendering one in those dimensions right now, and the render has been going for 20 hours, and still says that it has 14 more to go, just for a small example of how long this high of resolution can take to render. But since it's a background anyways, we could go lower and use faster render settings. Mine is for a product, so of course I need to use at least minimum resolution. But the image you've posted to uses a very low resolution backdrop.
If you tell me the resolution of the image that you want to end up with, I could make you a sunrise backdrop image in that size, right now, if you like? I have a sunset scene right here... just tell me the size of the image you need.
Here's one at 800 x 600 you can have.
Just drop it into the backdrop, pose Genesis, set up the lighting.
For some fast and dirty lighting, go to the browser under Scenes > Lighting, and drag in the 3-point Lighting file, right into your scene. Now select that whole group that just came in and rotate it until the included camera matches roughly where your is and delete the example objects that they're lighting.
Carrara is immense.
Carrara is intense.
But most of all...
Carrara Freaking R O C K S ! ! !
When you read that, I might be waaaaaay off the mark. I do that so that, somewhere in there, you might find something that's close... so you can copy and quote that part, and we can go from there. It's just easier for me that way. I try to be as clear as possible, but sometimes, well... not so clear... right? ;)
You'll have to pardon the confusion, but you posted this in the Carrara Discussion forum, and not the DAZ Studio forum. ;-) I have no idea how to do it in Studio.
Hey Dart, it sounds as if the OP is using Studio and not Carrara.
BB, please correct me if I'm wrong.
You'll have to pardon the confusion, but you posted this in the Carrara Discussion forum, and not the DAZ Studio forum. ;-) I have no idea how to do it in Studio.Oh... I was confused too... Yeah... I'm not sure how to do much in Studio. Soon though. I'll be learning all about DS Pro very soon! :)
But Carrara will always be my baby... the place I go to for most everything!
I still get the impression that BB is using Carrara. If not... BB... get Carrara! It's a way of life! You're sure to Love it! :ahhh:
I refer you to this quote, sir:
Amongst the new users, it is common to refer to Studio by the generic term, "DAZ," when what is usually meant is, DAZ Studio.
So, NyaaaaH! ;-P
I know that's what you saw and meant. But there might be other ways to interpret that. I used to frequent DAZ to get to their tutorials section for ideas and fixes. I even talked to them sometimes. So....
EDIT: But I'm certainly NOT saying that you're wrong, ep! ;)
What? No raspberry? C'mon. ya' know ya' want to! Thbbbbtttbttt! ;-P
Ahhhh haaa haaaaa... whoa... stop that!!! :lol: