3D modeling and rendering feedback

[patseguin Global Moderator]

I've just delved into 3D design and am having a blast. Sketchup seems to be best for my needs so far and I am using Indigo for my renderer. This is my first scene:

Every aspect of it was modeled by me. Here is my latest with the same scene:

I used stock models for the chair monitor, and desk lamp. Everything else was modeled by me. Does anyone have any feedback on how to improve my modeling techniques? I am open to suggestions on different modeling software and renderers too. Obviously in my latest attempt, I learned a lot more and was able to add some reflection to the screens, got better wood grain on the desk, etc. I also played around quite a bit with making the lights into light sources. I know it's a very simple scene, but it was very fun to create and know that everything in it was an object and rendered. I am looking to try and get even more photo realistism.

[+Anarkii Subscriber²]

First bit of feedback - there are hundreds of 3D packages out there to use, some more advanced then others. I would say just use what feels right with you, and once your comfortable with it, move on to another package. The saying is Be great at all, and a master of none. 

Feedback to that particular scene is - the textures should be uniform, what i mean by that is, the wood grain on ure desk should be going in one direction, not two. 
Lighting seems to be too bright for the scene. The lights are on, but it seems like there is sunlight happenning too, doesnt make sense. 
Id say just pump out another image with the brightness dialed down a bit (apart from the lights of the lamps) and re-map the wood texture. 

[BinaryData]

Dang! Looks good bro. At first, I totally thought it was real. Not a 3D Modeling person, but other than what Anarkii said, it looks good.

[patseguin Global Moderator]

First bit of feedback - there are hundreds of 3D packages out there to use, some more advanced then others. I would say just use what feels right with you, and once your comfortable with it, move on to another package. The saying is Be great at all, and a master of none. 

Feedback to that particular scene is - the textures should be uniform, what i mean by that is, the wood grain on ure desk should be going in one direction, not two. 
Lighting seems to be too bright for the scene. The lights are on, but it seems like there is sunlight happenning too, doesnt make sense. 
Id say just pump out another image with the brightness dialed down a bit (apart from the lights of the lamps) and re-map the wood texture. 

Cool thanks for the advice. Some guys at the Sketchup forums told me to mess with the wood grain so that was what I was trying. There shouldn't be sunlight. I'll go check and see if I made a mistake. Here is a newer one I did tonight:

 

[PacificAk]

things that make the difference between a "wow" render and "is that real" render -

• light and shadow play -
  • light does not have same intensity over distance, fade them off - from the point of origin to the opposite wall fade them by at least 40% (so at opposite wall a light's intensity will be 60%)
  • never use multiple light sources so close to each other, if you have to, only one of them has to be the "main" light source and rest of them should be much dimmer and cast even softer shadows
  • shadows in real life are never so crisp, they always have soft edges
  • for "night" renders, make the ambient light darker (i think thats what @Anarkii is pointing to as sunlight), most 3d softwares have "ambient light" manipulation capability, i have never used SketchUp, if it does, play with it...
  • directional light should have more darkness behind them - the table lamp seems to be illuminating in 360°
• objects - try to depict objects as they are IRL -
  • Wooden / Metal based object are sharp edged and planer surfaces (which are good in your scene)
  • Cloth / Leather based objects should have softer edges, irregular surfaces - your sofa cushions seem very un-inviting  & i have not seen any sofas with "one single" cushion or backs, they always have some from of stitching that breaks the continuity
  • object should not look like they are floating - all carpets have shadows under them - get rid of them by making the model a little thicker and then inserting the model into the floor (yes, you have to cheat )
• texturing -
  • Glass reflects and has transparency - your cupboard in the 2nd render - even if it is black glass it should reflect and show a little bit of the inside
  • cloths dont reflect / shine - your carpets look like they are shiny / glossy

Edited November 27, 2015 by PacificAk

[+Anarkii Subscriber²]

things that make the difference between a "wow" render and "is that real" render -

• light and shadow play -
  • light does not have same intensity over distance, fade them off - from the point of origin to the opposite wall fade them by at least 40% (so at opposite wall a light's intensity will be 60%)
  • never use multiple light sources so close to each other, if you have to, only one of them has to be the "main" light source and rest of them should be much dimmer and cast even softer shadows
  • shadows in real life are never so crisp, they always have soft edges
  • for "night" renders, make the ambient light darker (i think thats what @Anarkii is pointing to as sunlight), most 3d softwares have "ambient light" manipulation capability, i have never used SketchUp, if it does, play with it...
  • directional light should have more darkness behind them - the table lamp seems to be illuminating in 360°
• objects - try to depict objects as they are IRL -
  • Wooden / Metal based object are sharp edged and planer surfaces (which are good in your scene)
  • Cloth / Leather based objects should have softer edges, irregular surfaces - your sofa cushions seem very un-inviting  & i have not seen any sofas with "one single" cushion or backs, they always have some from of stitching that breaks the continuity
  • object should not look like they are floating - all carpets have shadows under them - get rid of them by making the model a little thicker and then inserting the model into the floor (yes, you have to cheat )
• texturing -
  • Glass reflects and has transparency - your cupboard in the 2nd render - even if it is black glass it should reflect and show a little bit of the inside
  • cloths dont reflect / shine - your carpets look like they are shiny / glossy

Exactly this. 
Personally I use Maya 2016 along with Arnold Renderer. The results it produces are highly realistic. This is an example of just what lighting can do. Nothing in this scene is actually textured. So I would suggest if your doing the realistic look - really play with your lighting first, and then apply the textures. 

[patseguin Global Moderator]

things that make the difference between a "wow" render and "is that real" render -

• light and shadow play -
  • light does not have same intensity over distance, fade them off - from the point of origin to the opposite wall fade them by at least 40% (so at opposite wall a light's intensity will be 60%)
  • never use multiple light sources so close to each other, if you have to, only one of them has to be the "main" light source and rest of them should be much dimmer and cast even softer shadows
  • shadows in real life are never so crisp, they always have soft edges
  • for "night" renders, make the ambient light darker (i think thats what @Anarkii is pointing to as sunlight), most 3d softwares have "ambient light" manipulation capability, i have never used SketchUp, if it does, play with it...
  • directional light should have more darkness behind them - the table lamp seems to be illuminating in 360°
• objects - try to depict objects as they are IRL -
  • Wooden / Metal based object are sharp edged and planer surfaces (which are good in your scene)
  • Cloth / Leather based objects should have softer edges, irregular surfaces - your sofa cushions seem very un-inviting  & i have not seen any sofas with "one single" cushion or backs, they always have some from of stitching that breaks the continuity
  • object should not look like they are floating - all carpets have shadows under them - get rid of them by making the model a little thicker and then inserting the model into the floor (yes, you have to cheat )
• texturing -
  • Glass reflects and has transparency - your cupboard in the 2nd render - even if it is black glass it should reflect and show a little bit of the inside
  • cloths dont reflect / shine - your carpets look like they are shiny / glossy

Great advice, exactly what I was looking for. I am still learning with my modeling but I can't help but dive into rendering right away and see my results. My main concern is to get as much realism as possible for whatever I create. I haven't really figured out the light settings that much yet in Indigo renderer. I figured out how to create a light source from an object and give it a brightness value but that's about it. I'm not sure how I would fade the intensity. I wanted the 2 lights because I envisioned the room having 2 and it seemed to make sense. However, every time I adjust settings for one of them, they both get the same settings. Not sure why it's doing that.

I know what you mean by the table lamp. I actually deleted it and found that the area was still illuminated. After some messing around, I found that the power button on the back of the iMac was set to illuminate and so was the iPhone dock (those 2 objects were from the 3D warehouse of Sketchup). I just removed that light from the scene as it didn't make much sense anyways with the 2 wall lights. This is how it looked with that lamp gone:

The floating has been a real problem for me because when I move my objects in the 3D space, I find it very hard to place them right on the surface I want. Like the phone and tablet on the desk and the stuff on the floor. If I zoom way in, I can still see that they are off the surface. I don't think that there is a shadow of the 2 rugs, it is just depicting the thickness. I do agree that they should not be shiny. I have to figure out how to edit the material to remove that shine.

 

Anarkii - great scene. I love the ambiance. That is the kind of look I am after. I want to create environments that look very realistic.

[patseguin Global Moderator]

Can you guys explain how materials work? For instance, I have a desk which I applied a wood material to. I decide I want to add a bit of reflection to it. How exactly do I do that? None of my renderers has any options to add effects to a material. So, if I want to add some reflection to the glass doors on my bookcase, how would I go about it? Would I paste a copy of the door on top of itself and add a transparent reflective material to the copy?

to go a step further, how do I tone down something that shines too much? I have my rug objects but no options to remove shine. Would I do the same thing and duplicate the object and paste it on top with a less reflective coating?

[patseguin Global Moderator]

Here is my latest render of this scene:

After a lot of research, I found out that my lighting settings weren't changing because I was using Reinhardt rendering instead of camera (not sure of the difference though). Here, I switched to camera and lowered the intensity of the wall lamps and the lighting changed dramatically. I added a desk lamp and took out the computer and other stuff because something there was emitting light for some reason. I changed the rugs from phone to diffuse, played with the glass in the bookcase a little, bumped up the phong on the desk surface, and added a slight amount of phong to the chair mat. How does the realism look to you guys now?