Brandy Ryan
In episode three of his VRED series, DGDesign’s Senior Designer Mike Turner talked about creating backplates that really make your car design pop.
Mike picks up on the backplate conversation in episode four, sharing some other render approaches he’s exploring on his own.
Like the “spot-lit” effect that you can create using VRED’s sky light to establish time and location (0:29):
Working with this kind of environment allows you to play with shadows and highlights. In this scene, Mike’s created a tarmac shading with a grid/pit box decal.
HDRIs are also another great rendering approach. Mike talks through the pros and cons of this approach (e.g. pro = photo-realistic feel, con = limited viewpoint and lighting) (2:41):
This Ministry of CGI image creates a compelling environment for this car design—but using the same backplate more than once can feel unoriginal. These environments also don’t really fit other modes of transport.
And then there’s building a custom 3D environment (5:17):
This approach really gives a designer the chance to set a mood, tell a story. While it does have a longer render time than using HDRIs, the flexibility is worth it.
A custom environment allows you to merge the sky-light tool (choosing your time of day and location for specific lighting) and bring in the realism of an actual environment.
For specifics on these three rendering approaches—and a teaser on using VRED to bring in liveries—watch the video.
Yes, there will be more! Bookmark the Autodesk Design Studio blog to access these videos as they’re released. You can also subscribe to our VRED YouTube channel and follow us on Facebook.
