Creating HDRI Scenes

middle_watch

I have started to try and develop my own HDRI environments, on the whole I think I have it mastered, I create my scene, then render to file with the Beauty Canvas option set, use the generated EXR file as the environment background for my HDRI scene. BUT, my final result always ends with the virtual ground too low, loading in new figures leaves them hovering above the virtual ground level, tried all sorts of fiddling with camera Y translation levels, checking again and again that my scenary is set to put the ground at zero, but to no effect. I have the sneaking suspicion I am missing something really dumb and obvious?

middle_watch

Example:

Richard Haseltine

Moved to Daz Studio Discussion as it is not a scripting topic.

You are rendering a full  spherical view, or mulitple angles from the centre of the same scene and then stiching them together in an application that will creatre environment maps? You can use a single viewpoint as an HDRI, you need the whole environment.

middle_watch

Daz camera with spherical lens, creating my own spherical image from a 3D model within Daz, it comes out fine, just the annoying mis-match between the resulting scene ground not being the same as the model ground height. I did have an idea about specifying a manual ground height when rendering the scene from the model, and then adding the same value when using the HDRI scene, but not had chance this weekend to try it yet.

jjoyner

I have watched the YouTube video Creating and Working With Your Own HDRIs – In the Studio with DAZ 3D (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1iQuMvXdqE) by Jay Versluis (The WP Guru in YouTube) a few times and found it informative.  He covers a lot in the nearly 2 ½ hour tutorial and may cover the thing that you are looking for.

There’s also a product in the DAZ3D store that automates much of the HDRI creation process.  It’s V3D HDR Creator (https://www.daz3d.com/v3d-hdr-creator).  It’s on sale today as is the HDR bundle by the vendor.  I bought the bundle last Fall.  The creator also has a YouTube video about V3D HDR Creator; it has no voice annotation though.  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2dcVvys0q4);

There are other HDRI creation videos on YouTube.

charles

probably part of the problem is your HDR scene doesn't have actual proper HDRI lighting profiles, but like a single fake one. Don't get me wrong I am totally down to exploring how to create these, and have created some useful non enviro domes...no, not domes..more like cups. For applying AI generated panromaics too, I do convert them using Affinity to HDRI, but they also are just fake HDRs

 

Richard Haseltine

charles said:

probably part of the problem is your HDR scene doesn't have actual proper HDRI lighting profiles, but like a single fake one. Don't get me wrong I am totally down to exploring how to create these, and have created some useful non enviro domes...no, not domes..more like cups. For applying AI generated panromaics too, I do convert them using Affinity to HDRI, but they also are just fake HDRs

"Fake"? As long as you use the .exr you should have the full colour depth required.

middle_watch

Well after a lot of false attempts I can at least fix it, but am at a loss to explain it! To summarise I create a room in Blender, export it to DAZ via OBJ file and dress the room in DAZ with iRay, light it up with a combination of EXR and lights. At this point importing figures or primatives works fine.

I then render to an EXR file with a spherical lens to produce my HDRI scene. Creating a new Daz image I apply the EXR file and import a figure / primative and re-create the original camera, now set to plane lens, but with the same Y translation. Yuk, the object hovers above the "ground" as does the shadow and defies any attempts tinkering with the camera, ground level etc to produce a believable image.

Going back to Blender I checked for the obvious stuff: translations and scales not applied, room not set to zero base, all fine. 

In despair rather inspiration I imported the model again into Daz, then exported it back as an OBJ file, then imported it again, simply because I have known this to fix mis-aligned models where clothes will not fit, and so on. And that worked. Move to floor works, the shadows appear on the floor and I can raise and lower the ground level if I want.  

Sorry I could not figure the root cause, but it may help someone with a similar issue.