Can you change the default "Sun-Sky" environment?
jukingeo
Posts: 711
Hello All,
I am curious to know if the default "Sun-Sky Only" image can be changed. I know that you can change out the "Dome-Scene" (or "Dome Only) setting by clicking on the image, or simply loading an HDRI background. But when I select Sun-Sky Only, it reverts back to the default image. The reason why I want to change out the image is to use more of a sky background while still maintaining the use of the SS time and dome rotation controls.
Thank you,
Geo
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Comments
It isn't an image, it's a procedural sky system.
Soooo, can it be changed?
What do you want to do? It's tied to Earth's behaviour, you enter location and time for it to give you the correct light for that place and time.
I am looking for a more realistic sky background in Sun-Sky mode when you select Draw Dome. The color of the light changes throughout the day when under Sun-Sky mode. That is what I am after. In the Dome modes, while you can change the dome and rotate it, you no longer have control over the time of day.
That is what it does. The "Draw Dome" in Sun-Sky mode shows that generated procedural sky, not an environment map, and it cannot be used with any environment maps. Change the time and you will see the sky change colour (just make sure you aren't near the poles). Pick a location (lat/lon) and scroll the time, or set the time and dial in the longitude. There are products to set location and time to get the proper sun position. You can tweak a number of parameters to change the look a little bit (tint, haze, intensity, etc.), but not much, or play with the tone mapping, like white point (use pinkish to get a bluer sky and light).
To add clouds to a Sun and Sky only render you will need to get one of the cloud sets that have clouds as props, not the HDRI ones. Use the store search for "clouds" and look at the props section. There are also clouds in some products that use panels with clouds that I have used i.e billboards. Stonemason has them on some of his products, Winter Terrains is one.
Epic Skydomes : Cloud Haven also has Billboards although it is an HDRI product. If you want to animate them then there is iReal Animated Clouds. There is also HD Volumetric Clouds but that uses a lot of resources and memory :)
Yes, this is why I am attracted to the Sun-Sky mode, however, the background really isn't very sky looking and that was the one aspect about sun-sky I wanted to change. Since that mode seemed to use an image, I was wondering if it could be changed.
Fishtales said:
To add clouds to a Sun and Sky only render you will need to get one of the cloud sets that have clouds as props, not the HDRI ones. Use the store search for "clouds" and look at the props section. There are also clouds in some products that use panels with clouds that I have used i.e billboards. Stonemason has them on some of his products, Winter Terrains is one.
Epic Skydomes : Cloud Haven also has Billboards although it is an HDRI product. If you want to animate them then there is iReal Animated Clouds. There is also HD Volumetric Clouds but that uses a lot of resources and memory :)
So you are saying I have no choice but to use a billboard background with clouds on it, or half a (physical) skydome?
Thanks,
Geo
Basically, yes, but any physical (prop) dome would block out the sun-sky anyway. It would need cutout opacity masks to let the light through. If you want clouds, the dome's cutout opacity would need to mask accordingly, essentially a black and white version of your clouds-in-the-sky image.
This is a very nice lighting solution.
https://gumroad.com/l/sunskyimg
I am not sure what you mean about making a cloud mask, but for the most part, I have been using a Cyclorama type setup, but this is sucesptable to shadows. HDRI's are a solution, but I cannot do Sun-Sky time of day with that, so I don't get the nice color changes when setting a later (or earlier) time of day. Naturally, turning on the dome for Sun/Sky yields a far from idea type of sky.
Yes, I have something similar, but this is not giving me day/time control like the default environment does. It even says that it uses separate domes for the time of day. Also if you look in the render, you can see the horizon line. I don't like that. Often I do shots from a 'lofty' position with something high, and having a dull gray horizon line is a problem. Occasionally I do finde an HDRI package that doesn't have the horizon line and that most certianly helps. But with so many HDRI and skydome/ Cyclorama purchases, I really would like to find a way to replace the original environment image with something else and still have use over the time of day and rotational options you get with the Sun - Sky mode.
Thanks,
Geo
As you have noticed, a Cyclorama-type background is susceptible to shadows, and any type of dome prop is subject to the same problem, except that you are under the dome and in total shadow. You would have to make it transparent to allow the light to shine through, but without hiding any cloud cover you want to keep. An opacity mask on the dome would allow light to enter the scene. Making a new grey scale image with the dome and changing the contrast and saturation, or levels, or gamma or some technique to get a basically black and white image would accomplish that. In an opacity mask, black will block anything from getting through, and white will let it through, with intermediate values giving partial opacity, so the open sky you would want white, and the clouds, for example, mostly black, or grayish, to let some light through.
Those billboard clouds that Fishtales mentioned are sounding easier to work with. You basically get the same effect and you can reposition them.
I have the same issues with Sun-Sky, the horizon lines look really cheap and low-res. Is there a way to increase the resolution on those, or have them blend better without resorting to tedious post-work in Photoshop?
You can dial down the "SS Horizon Blur" to 0.0 to get a sharp line, and maybe change the ground color to match your environment. You could also lower the "SS Horizon Height" below your environment's edge so that you don't actually see the Sun-Sky horizon.
Is there a tutorial or procedure on how to do this?
Thanks,
Geo
Well you can bridge all your Daz scene in Blender and create Volumetric Clouds for Eeve.
Sun is not guilty in first instance and Sky Environment does not have clouds, if you are goin realistic the clouds are on planet Earth!
Naw, I will not be doing that manually for each render. That is counter productive. I am looking for something that is set that I can use over and over again. It would have been nice that if the default environment did have some rudimentary clouds in it for the Sun / Sky setting instead of that blurred image of ruins.
Sun and Sky doesn't have any image just a blue gradient sky going from light at the bottom on the horizon and getting darker as it gets higher. If you have an image then you aren't in Sun and Sky only mode.