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Posted by Crafty360 at Nov 4, 2010, 3:46:17 PM

lighting
Hi Again - newbiw question alert!
All of my renderings using Advanced Photo plug in look very dim and dull.
Is there a way to increase the standard ceiling light brightness or do you just add loads of lamps?

Thanks!!

Posted by hansmex at Nov 4, 2010, 3:56:33 PM

Re: lighting
Crafty360,

Yes, there is.

And if you provide more info*, we might be able to explain you "how".
Of course you could start by searching the forum? But maybe that's just a silly remark.
Or else you could read the plug-in manual? Neah.. silly remark too!

Hans

*SH3D - which version
*Plug-ins - which installed
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Hans

new website - under constuction
hansdirkse.info

Posted by Crafty360 at Nov 4, 2010, 4:07:06 PM

Re: lighting
Hi Hans

I have and always do try to search the forum but being completely new its still not overly clear how to use - sorry if it is tiresome to answer.
I have SH3D 2.6
Advanced render plug in v 1.6

Thanks

Posted by hansmex at Nov 4, 2010, 4:36:00 PM

Re: lighting
Crafty360,

Well, there's a documentation page... and on that page there's a lot of interesting info.... On that page you might want to check out the Plug-in Tutorial... It should cover most questions on plug-ins.

If it doesn't, please, come back. I wrote the tutorial myself, and will gladly answer any question the tutorial doesn't cover, so that he next version will be better.

Hans
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Hans

new website - under constuction
hansdirkse.info

Posted by whippetsleek at Nov 4, 2010, 4:49:28 PM

Re: lighting
Hi again Crafty.. lol.. Don't mind the sometimes tongue in cheek answers as there can be alot of repeat questions from people just starting to use the software. smile

Sometimes it is best also to search through the older threads as many had the same question... I know because I asked this same question when I first started using SH3D myself.

When you downloaded Advanced Rendering, you should have gotten light bulbs in your furniture list. Models of the lamps don't produce light by themselves, you have to add light bulbs.

You also have to "turn on" the light bulbs by rotating them with the angle selector in the Modify Furniture window. The angle of the bulb is the power of it's light... say you have a bulb turned to a 45 degree angle, that means the bulb is putting out 45% of it's light.

And yes, you do have to add many light bulbs to a room usually, here is my thread on this same question, it might give you more answers in addition to the tutorials. http://www.sweethome3d.com/support/forum/viewthread_thread,1656#6842
smile

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Posted by hansmex at Nov 4, 2010, 4:59:39 PM

Re: lighting
Aaahhhh Chris,

I wish I were as sweet and patient as you are smile

Hans
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Hans

new website - under constuction
hansdirkse.info

Posted by Crafty360 at Nov 4, 2010, 5:33:47 PM

Re: lighting
Thank you very much guys - don't know why I couldnt find that thread with a search but its solved my problem exactly - I only had 1 light. I now have 8 and things look good.
Thanks once again!

Posted by whippetsleek at Nov 4, 2010, 5:50:57 PM

Re: lighting
No problem Crafty. db4tech (the poster who made the lights, and some of the improvements to the renderer) has made many posts about the lights and photorealistic renders, you might want to search out his posts if you feel like alot of reading.. biggrin

He makes many good suggestions. And if you run into terms you don't understand, just come back to this thread and ask... smile

And aww shucks, Thank you very much Hans... blushing

I just remember when I was new to this software, and how much you, db4tech, and puybaret ( and likely wanted to pull out your hair ) helped me, so I hope to return that favor by helping others...
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Posted by hansmex at Nov 4, 2010, 6:59:18 PM

Re: lighting
I'm just having my male period, that's all wink

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Hans

new website - under constuction
hansdirkse.info

Posted by whippetsleek at Nov 4, 2010, 7:14:08 PM

Re: lighting
I wonder if it would be good to make a section right on top that says something along the lines of INTRODUCTION : READ FIRST for the new users to this forum? I guess that would be a puybaret question... but it might be useful to have all the tutorials and user guides linked to an introduction thread. That way if someone is new, they see the links to the information first thing.
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Posted by hansmex at Nov 4, 2010, 8:41:21 PM

Re: lighting
Chris,

The first change I would propose is that the top-left menu is changed. It now has 3 sections: Documentation, Support and About. The last two do not point to content, but Documentation links to very important content. This is not very logical, and I have the feeling that it is missed by some people.So, I would suggest to change that part of the menu, and maybe partly change the way in which the content is presented there.

A Start here section in the forum might be a good idea as well. I'd be happy to write (some of) the content that should or could go there. Seen the (recent) importance of plug-ins, I would definitely suggest that a Plug-ins section would be advisable.

Hans
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Hans

new website - under constuction
hansdirkse.info

Posted by whippetsleek at Nov 4, 2010, 10:16:33 PM

Re: lighting
Yes, I think most people simply don't see the documentation part of that menu, because most forums are set up with either beginner threads, or introduction threads. I think that is what most people come here and look for...

And actually I think having a section of the forum especially for beginners, with maybe a moderator to keep an eye on it, would be a good idea... It would keep repeat threads to a minium, and also maybe repeat questions.

A plug in Section would likely be a good idea also... smile

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Posted by Puybaret at Nov 11, 2010, 10:24:47 AM

Re: lighting
Hans, I know that this unique link on Documentation isn't a great idea, but when I redesigned Sweet Home 3D web site last year, I didn't want to create Support and About pages that would have require a translation...
On the other side, I wouldn't worry that much because users seem to handle it correctly anyway. From the October 2010 statistics, the multi-level house guide (also referenced in the FAQ) received 2385 visits and the personalized textures guide (referenced on the documentation page and in old forum pages) received 1485 visits. The plugins guide received 3876 visits but it's not a fair comparison since the link to this PDF was visible on the home page during weeks.

As said before, I'll probably add a plug-ins section and a textures section that will cite a few web sites, once version 3.0 will be released.

Finally, I don't believe that adding a Beginner or Start here section in the forum would be helpful. How would you qualify something is for beginners? How users could guess that their question is a beginner question?
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Emmanuel Puybaret, Sweet Home 3D creator

Posted by hansmex at Nov 11, 2010, 2:26:25 PM

Re: lighting
Emmanuel,

The ideas whippetsleek and I exchanged were primarily meant to improve "user comfort". It's unavoidable that some people will go straigth to the forum and ask their question(s) without taking the trouble to search for an answer first.

That said, the layout of the website (in the sense of navigation) could use some improvement. I'm fully aware that it's probably impossible to design a foolproof navigation strcture, but based on what I've seen this last year, this is my attempt for the forum:

PROBLEMS
- installation
- video drivers, graphics card, two screens, crash in preferences
- other problems, crashes, crashes on loading, damaged files, red models/boxes
- is this a bug? (strange behaviour, localization, etc)

HELP
- help and announcements on SH3D (with fixed first topic)
-&- help and announcements on plug-ins, extensions, player and external renderers (with fixed first topic)
- other questions
- models and textures
- wishlist (with fixed topic "Roadmap" ?) smile

- gallery
- (discuss anything) (MMmm.. I don't like such a vague topic, but I can see its use)

LANGUAGES
- French
- German (you will most likely get an answer because we have active members here)
- Spanish (you will most likely get an answer because we have active members here)
- Other languages (no guarantees here)

In two places I put "with fixed first topic": here you always can find a direct link to the latest version/beta of SH3D or one of the plug-ins. Now you have to search where that link is buried.
It might be a good idea to have "fixed topics" in other sections as well. They can serve as a kind of FAQ. Where it says -&- that topic could be combined with the previous topic.

The "User Guide" page would be more accessible (and easier to reference to) if you added a few extra anchors to subjects in the Other Features section. Over time this part has become rather long and you can easily get lost. Also, when answering questions in the forum, it would be easier to give a more precise reference/link.

As to the Documentation link: it took ME (I know, I'm not too smart) 3 or 6 months to discover I could click that link. A simple solution would be to insert directly underneath the chapter name a link that is called Documentation. The fact that you have twice the word Documentation wouldn't win any beauty contest, but it would improve clarity.

Beginner / Start Here... yes, I agree that's a bit vague. When we have a problem, we're a beginner for that subject, otherwise we wouldn't need help. Improved navigation might make such a section obsolete.

As always, these are just ideas and suggestions. Use what you think is useful, forget about the rest. Finally, if you need translations (and they're within my abilities NL-FR-SP-EN-GE and Google) don't hesitate to ask.

Hans
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Hans

new website - under constuction
hansdirkse.info

Posted by Puybaret at Nov 11, 2010, 2:40:27 PM

Re: lighting
Hans, thank you for your proposal. I'll keep that in mind, even if I won't use Problems as the name of the first section (I don't want to people run away when they see so much potential problems!). wink

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Emmanuel Puybaret, Sweet Home 3D creator

Posted by Crafty360 at Nov 11, 2010, 2:48:31 PM

Re: lighting
Hi Again
Well heres my very first attempt. I would really like suggestions as to how to improve (yea I know theres a long way to go) particularly with the blown out lighting.

Posted by hansmex at Nov 11, 2010, 5:39:59 PM

Re: lighting
Crafty,

You're asking almost the impossible when you want to know how to improve your design.

First of all there are some intangible factors, like inspiration, creativity, and such.

Then there are models and textures: the quality of your design depends heavily, I mean HEAVILY, on them.
- Models can be found all over the internet, on websites of furniture manufacturers, dedicated 3D websites, Google Warehouse, etc. Mind the copyright if you intend to use your design for commercial purposes!! You can also design them yourself, using SH3D, Blender, Art of Illusion, Misfit 3D, and many other programs.
- Textures are equally important, as they determine how the model will look and feel. They can be found in many places, you can make them yourself, or use specialized programs like Bricks'n'Tiles, or Wood Workshop.

When you are done with the basic design, you will have to think about how you want to show off your design:
- Lighting is a factor that needs detailed attention for a realistic result. With the introduction of the Advanced Render plug-in in version 2.6, a "revolution" has set in. You can now add lights wherever you want, and adjust the amount of light for each individual light source. Also, you can set your geographical location, the date, and time of day, to get realistic sunlight and shadows.
- Rendering finally is where it all comes together. Fortunately the render engine(s) in version 2.6 (plus plug-ins) and v3.0 (beta versions for now) have greatly improved. Nevertheless, if your quality needs are set very high, you may want to consider an external render engine/program (and buy a faster computer as well).

You may want to read this thread on version 3.0 and things connected. And this thread on lighting.

It's a lot of reading, but getting to know SH3D really well is important when you want good results, because renders don't lie!

Hans
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Hans

new website - under constuction
hansdirkse.info

Posted by Crafty360 at Nov 11, 2010, 5:49:38 PM

Re: lighting
Super advice thanks Hans - I aim to put alot of time into this and hope one day to help others too!

Cheers

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