Lynda.COM Maya 2011 Lighting and Rendering in mental ray

Author:
Eric Keller

Duration:
04h 56m

Released on:
7/22/2010

Exercise files:
Yes

Software works on:
Windows only

Maya 2011 Lighting and Rendering in mental ray with Eric Keller shows how to master practical mental ray techniques for rendering models created in Maya. This course walks through the most efficient and innovative mental ray techniques, including direct versus indirect lighting methods, creating different types of shadows, using the new ShadowMap camera, and reusing shadow and final gathering maps. A chapter on optimizing render times and enhancing render quality is also included. Exercise files are included with the course.

Topics include:
Understanding computer-generated lighting
Creating depth map and ray traced shadows
Softening and shaping shadows
Working with global illumination
Lighting with the caustic settings
Applying physical and portal shaders
Adding depth of field with the Bokeh shader
Splitting a scene into render layers
Comparing render passes and render layers

Introduction 03m 46s
Welcome 01m 32s
Using the exercise files 02m 14s

1. 3D Lighting 19m 08s
What is a CG light? 01m 22s
Types of CG lights 10m 55s
Direct lighting 04m 48s
Indirect lighting 02m 03s

2. Cast Shadows 53m 20s
Decay rate 06m 30s
Previewing lighting and shadows 02m 37s
Creating depth map shadows 01m 57s
Troubleshooting depth map shadows 02m 38s
Shadow map overrides 05m 30s
Using the shadow map camera 05m 31s
Saving and reusing shadow maps 02m 48s
Creating raytraced shadows 01m 56s
Adding softness to raytraced shadows 03m 42s
Creating area light shadows 05m 11s
Sample: mental ray area light 04m 23s
Setting area light visibility 08m 07s
Creating soft shadows with spot lights 02m 30s

3. Indirect Lighting 43m 35s
Setting global illumination for interiors 02m 33s
Tuning global illumination 05m 56s
Global illumination photons 01m 12s
Activating caustic light effects 03m 28s
Tuning caustic settings 03m 35s
Setting caustic light effects on metal 02m 35s
Using final gathering for indirect lighting 02m 09s
Tuning final gathering 04m 02s
Reusing final gathering maps 03m 21s
Adding light with shaders 05m 27s
Creating final gathering maps for animation 04m 26s
Combining final gathering with global illumination 04m 51s

4. mental ray Light and Lens Shaders 01h 02m
Activating the Physical Sun and Sky network 02m 33s
Tuning the Physical Sun and Sky settings 07m 18s
Applying physical light shaders 08m 54s
Applying image-based lighting 08m 57s
Tone mapping 06m 23s
Applying portal light shaders 07m 45s
Creating light beams with participating media 10m 09s
Adding depth of field with the Bokeh lens shader 10m 39s

5. Render Layers 48m 21s
Introducing render layers 06m 13s
Creating render layers 04m 28s
Splitting a scene into render layers 15m 36s
Applying render layer presets 07m 47s
Setting render layer overrides 07m 07s
Creating render layer composites 03m 52s
Organizing renders with tokens 03m 18s

6. Render Passes 42m 24s
Introducing render passes 02m 56s
Comparing render passes and render layers 06m 44s
Editing render passes 10m 41s
Using appropriate materials 05m 51s
Batch-rendering passes 05m 56s
Compositing in After Effects 06m 41s
Rendering the EXR image format 03m 35s

7. Render Quality 23m 03s
Anti-Aliasing Quality 06m 44s
Setting color profiles 02m 53s
Diagnosing raytracing 05m 07s
Adjusting motion blur 06m 57s
Finding mental ray help 01m 22s

Goodbye 00m 21s
Goodbye 00m 21s