Iray HDRI Tookit - Support thread [Commercial]
KindredArts
Posts: 1,270
Hi!
I don't often do support threads anymore since most people know what they're doing, plus i ship a lot of content with read-me's now. This set may cause difficulties if you're new to daz however. Just like my ghost-light series, it can be a bit confusing if you're not sure what the purpose of the set is.
Iray HDRI tookit is based on the scripted matte function that's buried in the bowels of daz, and doesn't get as much love it should. All i could find on the subject was an old video by Mec, and a couple of threads here and there. There's also a lot more you can do with Matte functions besides simply shadow catching - you can play around with it's reflective capabilities too.
If you're having difficulties using the tools i've provided, or want to further discuss how to utilize them, pop a post down below.
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Comments
Can we also simply thank you here? This toolkit allows me (and probably many others!) the use of HDRIs that used to be way too confined or constricting to be ever considered suitable for use, simply by actually allowing some interaction with the HDRI. It simply increases the amount of space available within a scene, which is awesome. We're no longer confined to posing in front of that chair which is part of the HDRI, but now also on it and even behind it.
I'm so excited about this one. I love my HDRI's and this is only going to make them better.
insta buy.... required product for all!!
This product is absolutely ingenious! The promo videos clearly show the effects and easilt demonstrate the beneift of the product. Well done.
This seems very cool, KA!
Although I wonder if it's very difficult to manipulate your figures / props without being able to see the HDRI? Did your promo images take a lot of fine-tuning in the Iray preview mode?
Thank so much guys, i'm really glad you're happy with the set! It's a really sweet function that's been brutally underused so far, hopefully, everyone will take it in their stride and create awesome content. Really appreciate the support my dudes
Absolutely! I do everything in Interactive mode personally, but i know a lot of folks have slower PCs (or don't want to leave their GPUs running full blast). I've added a section in the documentation on how to render a clean plate background and add it as an environment background in daz once you have your camera locked off. Once you have a visual representation of your scene, you can merge your characters and set up the matte tools without even touching interactive mode. Setting up your scene is super quick when you have the background set up, but you can't see how the gloss/shadowing looks unless you jump into interactive mode obviously.
That is a brilliant solution which I never considered. Bravo! This is in my cart now.
Excellent, i hope you enjoy it! Again, this solution is within the documentation which you can launch from your content library. If you get stuck though, i'll be here. Good luck
It jumped right into my cart... Quite happy so far! However no finished renders yet.
To improve handling I used two viewports. A large one not in IRAY mode with the original camera. To tweak the obstructions I set up a small auxiliary viewport with a zoomed in camera. Make sure you leave the second camera at the same coordinates! I first moved the objects in the large viewport. For fine tuning I changed everything in the parameters pane setting up a smaller nudge for the critical parameters.
Hope my description makes sense
Dear KindredArts,
I have a question concerning this product and I hope you don't hate me for asking noob-ish stuff! :O
Does this theoretically enable me to first render a background on its own and then add a figure, place it e. g. on a couch, apply the geometric forms that'll give me the realistic shadows and then hide all the background? Would this let me render my backgrounds and characters separately with accurate shadows once I put the two renders together in Photoshop? Or is this exclusively for use with HDRIs?
You can render a background you assemble as a HDRI, and yes, then this should work perfectly. I posted a short guide on rendering your own HDRI here just 9 days ago. Though I do hope someone makes a more detailed guide of the process sometime, and hopefully expands it with additional knowledge and tweaks to improve the result. I know both the process and the guide have plenty room for improvement, and should possibly even have their own dedicated thread, but I think that at least I managed to make it understandable.
Hi Markus, thank you for your purchase! I never thought of using auxilary viewports but that's certainly valid. Definitely lock-off cameras though folks - just tapping W,A,S,D can throw off your perspective.
You can render your background and then use it as a background in either Daz or composite in photoshop. If you render with no HDRI at all in daz, but with the catchers/occluders/reflectors added, you get a result like i've added below. So yes, you can composite inside or outside of daz if you like.
By the way, I was just reviewing my way-too large collection and noticed that this product and the 2nd Ghost lights set don't show up in the store under either the Resources or Lights categories, which is where I would expect to find something like this, and that they're instead buried deep in the "props" section. Granted, they both use props at the core, but I can't imagine that many people would go into Props looking for something to modify lighting...
KA you are brilliant !!! Love all your products
Best tools I've ever used. Now, I don't have to render characters knees down HDRi Lol ! cause feet never plant on ground properly. Have a lot of wonderful HDRi, but characters always looked out of place/position. I even asked how to adjust HDRi in enviroment with no solutions. Thanks for all your hardwork, dedication, bringing us fantastic tools 
I just bought this but am at a bit of a loss as to what to use it with. I don't have many HDRi sets that would serve a purpose for creating scenes - especially interiors. If anyone can suggest a few, I'd appreciate it. I have lots of HDR skies and panoramas but very few foreground scenes.
It doesn't have to be an interior or foreground scene. It is useful anyplace you want to put characters or props "into" the HDRI. This is an outdoor image I did recently with one of the Cake and Bob beach HDRIs from the Daz Store. See the two people "in" the water. I used Matte planes to accomplish that. (Full disclosure: I did not use the Iray HDRI Toolkit, but I used the same Iray Matte technology and technique. I assume the toolkit will make it easier and more accessible.)
I'm new , sort of, but lost ..what is lock off camera? What is interactive mode?
Thanks. I do realise that it can be used with any HDRi but I was hoping to use it with some - how do I put it - close-up scenery. Interiors, street scenes ... the kind of thing Stonemason is brilliant at creating with mesh. Perhaps he should sell HDR versions of his scenes?
There's something probably here that may suit your fancy.
Hi Marble, best solution would be to experiment. Since purchasing HDRi kit, I've experimented non stop, see what works, what doesn't etc....... Render a scene you would like to do close up scenary interiors, street scenes, let us know what you used. And we can try to assist. I've learned in 3D that there is no one method of achieving scenes.
It isn't the use of the toolkit that I am asking about, really. I'm just wondering where I might find those interior or close-up exterior HDR images.
Yes, that's where I found those I have already. I use quite a few of them for backgrounds but either they are panoramic or they don't render sharp enough for close up scenes. Maybe I'm doing something wrong when I put one in the Environment panel.
I notice that KA hasn't visited this thread since September, by the way.
Hi Marble, sorry couldn't help. Goodness, didn't even notice KA has not been unavailable since Sept
Lots of the HDRIs are better just as backgrounds. And agree many do lack a crispness.
But take an HDRI like *THIS* from HDRI Haven.
This is a screencapture of the HDRI at the website link above.
And this is a screencapture at bottom of same page of what some people posted as zoomed in examples of HDRI usage.
When I first saw this, it was like, Ok, that is cool how that huge HDRI can be zoomed in that far, and still looks good up close.
To me this was probably as good as it gets.
A creative use of HDRI and 3D assets blended together.
If you really like crisp, think you are stuck rendering 3D objects. Full 3D renders just look better 99% of the time for my eyes.
That said, KindredArts HDRI examples look pretty darn good from a story-telling POV. Really like his motorcycle example.
And some postwork on the HDRI could maybe help get it to look the way you want.
Personally I still use HDRIs for background landscapes, some of the interiors, the sand or rock beaches and skies, and otherwise, it's all 3D.
In 12 months hopefully RTX3080Ti is out and hopefully has 24GB VRAM. Or may have to eat potatoes for a long time and buy a Titan.
Agree entirely with your post. KA's promo examples do look good which is why I asked the question. I wondered whether he might share where he found them.
As for the GPU - I sold my beloved iMac so that I might buy a 2070 Super for my PC. Have now abandoned that idea since 4.12 has so many problems which only seem to be addressed by throwing lots of VRAM into play. I can't afford a 24GB GPU so, hopefully, the 3070 range might come with a decent amount of VRAM but I am not holding my breath.
In terms of shadow-catching, does this product provide any darker shadows than the "Enable Iray Matte" function already included in DS? My typical scenes are interior and so any HDRI lighting I've got is simply what spills through a window. The majority of my lighting is via spotlights and emissives. With those lights the Iray Matte function only provides shadows that are a whisper of what I'd get on a regular solid surface, and that's causing me a great deal of grief. Does this offer a solution for that?