When the HDRI is an exterior scene, I do use the HDRI Sun aligner Blender Addon, which directs the sunlight to match the source of the original, and that's all, unless you need the colored cool effect, pretty amazing.
Dude, I had no clue. I thought it was all you needed too until this video. Good info. Oh, hey the bit about the colored bkg...pure gold! I definitely needed that!
Also, feedback: You continue to pitch your tutorials at the intermediate blender user, which is awesome. Most video tutorials tend to either assume that you know nothing (which is great if you are just getting started) or rush past a million things without explaining them. You are filling a much needed middle area. Keep it up!
Thanks for the video. I've been struggling alot with HDRI's in Blender. Many times I've picked nishita sky over hdri, because I just couldn't get enough energy/pop to my renders. But, after doing tens of test renders and adjusting the exposure (usually -1.5 to -2 with hdri's from hdri haven) from the color management tab and finding the right angles and rotations for the hdri, it has really started to look nice. With the right exposure setting and material tweaking I've managed to achieve almost the exact feel of the hdri that I'm using. It just took many, many renders to figure it out... and it usually doesn't hurt to add a bit of sun lamp in the mix.
it depends, you don't wanna mess around with it too much, unless it's an infinite background and you wanna use mainly rect lights, if it's an outdoor scene with the time of day corresponding, i don't recommend using fake lights, otherwise it won't match the exterior
Mr Cheebs! The cheeeeebsta! Cheebo! Great advice. I do pretty much the same thing: add HDRI, rotate it, turn down the strength of it, add more lights. Basically using the HDRI as a starting point & building on it from there. Keep up the great work
One additional trick you might consider is splitting the HDRI into two maps, one for fill and one for key. The way you do this is to identify the values that the key has (in a daytime HDRI the sun will generally be somewhere around 20,000, though it could be less or even far higher). Figure out what this value is and then use a compositor to split the HDRI below this value and write out two separate maps. The only compositor I have experience with is Nuke, so I can't tell you specifically how to do it in Blender (or AE) but the general procedure should be the same across all of them. Say you identified the sun pixels have an intensity around 20,000. Put a clamp on your map that is below that. Choose a low value (a total guess would be around 3 or so). You want to make sure you pick a value that keeps most of the intense values out of your image, but that does not clip any of the blue sky. Basically pick a value way below the sun's value but still above any other values in the image. Choosing this value takes a little trial and error, but once you do it a few times it becomes second nature. Write this clamped image out. This will be the HDRI you use for your fill lighting. It will contain all of the bounce from the ground as well as the blue sky. Once you have done this, subtract this clamped image from the original HDRI. What you have left is just the sun, with black everywhere else. Save that as a separate image. This will be the key HDRI. If you use both images to light your scene, it should look identical to the original scene lit by the original HDRI (since CG lights are additive and if you use both images you are simply adding them - the exact inverse of the subtract operation you did in the compositor). But! You now have the ability to turn off the sun and replace it with your own cg light (which will not fight with the sun light in the original HDRI). You can adjust the level of fill and even adjust its color by messing with the fill HDRI. Alternatively, instead of using a CG light for your key, you can leave the Sun HDRI active and rotate it as needed, or even adjust its intensity and/or color like you can with the fill HDRI. This is something we do all the time to use a proper HDRI, but still have control over the key and fill separately. Incidentally, hdrihaven has wonderful HDRI's. They do it properly and if you stop down their images you can see the sun reduced to a small spec in the image (which is correct). For example, on a 1K HDRI map you should be able to stop down the image to the point where the sun is only about 3-4 pixels across. If you get your HDRI from another source make sure it was created correctly. If you see an image range of only, say, 1-10 or even 1-100 on an outdoor, daytime HDRI, then you do not have a true HDRI image. If you stop down the image and the smallest you can get the sun (on a 1K image) is hundreds of pixels across, then you do not have a true HDRI image.
in my experience, the hdri really used for get reflection aovs to bring over into compositing. but this is really a good way to make it much more useful as a light source. and you figuring it out by playing around with it. i use maya, and I normally combine my hdri with a direction light as an aisky to help mimic daylight and night time.
I honestly thought your models looked great integrated into a HDR background environment. In fact, I think using a HDR environment map is really only useful when you're going to integrate the models into that environment. Otherwise, you can use a "studio" style HDR along with scene lights, or just use a solid background color and area lights to light the scene. I don't see any point in using a detailed HDR environment map to light models if you're not going to use the background in the scene itself. Reflections on reflective or refractive surfaces would be the only other reason, but in a clay render that isn't even necessary.
Those are some good thoughts! Model presentations probably do benefit far more from a studio light. I don't usually try to integrate my models into an HDRI very often, as I find it easier to control the eye if I model the background myself.
While this is something I'm aware of, I wish I'd known this a couple of years ago. Good video. There is one major exception to your rule, though. That is when you are making something like an outdoor scene which is meant to look like it is lit only by ambient light and the sky. Then you do just want an HDRI and no other lights. Though in that case, the node setup you showed is still useful. Still, good advice in almost all circumstances. I just had to be pedantic about that one thing. :)
I wouldn't recommend adding lights to a exterior HDRI for the majority of the cases, studio ones are fit for that, also be VERY careful if you combine HDRI's and light sources when playing with it's strength, you should preferably just tweak the exposure.
I watched a corridor crew video yesterday where Clint rendered his scene twice (once with hdri and once with hdri + sun to get sharp shadows). So I guess it can be very useful to combine stuff.
Can you help me with my HDRI I'm using Richo Theta SC2. The problem is that I didn't receive any shadow cast on my scene. I Just put sun manually just to have a shadow.I try HDRI HAVEN it cast shadows without a sun.
Wow, I needed to see this😆! Thank you for this, it was very informative for a noob like me Does this mean I can use a lower quality HDRI seeing as it’s mainly just to help aid the lighting? (I hope I’m making sense with my question)
When the HDRI is an exterior scene, I do use the HDRI Sun aligner Blender Addon, which directs the sunlight to match the source of the original, and that's all,
unless you need the colored cool effect, pretty amazing.
I'll have to check that out, thanks!
Was about to say that lol, just the HDRI is great but adding a sun and making it alling is the perfect solution for me, for exteriors atelast
That comes already in blender, sun position
@@kendarr😢xrdz
@@MrCheebs,,z
Dude, I had no clue. I thought it was all you needed too until this video. Good info. Oh, hey the bit about the colored bkg...pure gold! I definitely needed that!
Also, feedback: You continue to pitch your tutorials at the intermediate blender user, which is awesome. Most video tutorials tend to either assume that you know nothing (which is great if you are just getting started) or rush past a million things without explaining them. You are filling a much needed middle area. Keep it up!
Thanks for the video. I've been struggling alot with HDRI's in Blender. Many times I've picked nishita sky over hdri, because I just couldn't get enough energy/pop to my renders. But, after doing tens of test renders and adjusting the exposure (usually -1.5 to -2 with hdri's from hdri haven) from the color management tab and finding the right angles and rotations for the hdri, it has really started to look nice. With the right exposure setting and material tweaking I've managed to achieve almost the exact feel of the hdri that I'm using. It just took many, many renders to figure it out... and it usually doesn't hurt to add a bit of sun lamp in the mix.
it depends, you don't wanna mess around with it too much, unless it's an infinite background and you wanna use mainly rect lights, if it's an outdoor scene with the time of day corresponding, i don't recommend using fake lights, otherwise it won't match the exterior
Mr Cheebs! The cheeeeebsta! Cheebo! Great advice. I do pretty much the same thing: add HDRI, rotate it, turn down the strength of it, add more lights. Basically using the HDRI as a starting point & building on it from there. Keep up the great work
One additional trick you might consider is splitting the HDRI into two maps, one for fill and one for key.
The way you do this is to identify the values that the key has (in a daytime HDRI the sun will generally be somewhere around 20,000, though it could be less or even far higher). Figure out what this value is and then use a compositor to split the HDRI below this value and write out two separate maps. The only compositor I have experience with is Nuke, so I can't tell you specifically how to do it in Blender (or AE) but the general procedure should be the same across all of them.
Say you identified the sun pixels have an intensity around 20,000. Put a clamp on your map that is below that. Choose a low value (a total guess would be around 3 or so). You want to make sure you pick a value that keeps most of the intense values out of your image, but that does not clip any of the blue sky. Basically pick a value way below the sun's value but still above any other values in the image. Choosing this value takes a little trial and error, but once you do it a few times it becomes second nature. Write this clamped image out. This will be the HDRI you use for your fill lighting. It will contain all of the bounce from the ground as well as the blue sky. Once you have done this, subtract this clamped image from the original HDRI. What you have left is just the sun, with black everywhere else. Save that as a separate image. This will be the key HDRI.
If you use both images to light your scene, it should look identical to the original scene lit by the original HDRI (since CG lights are additive and if you use both images you are simply adding them - the exact inverse of the subtract operation you did in the compositor). But! You now have the ability to turn off the sun and replace it with your own cg light (which will not fight with the sun light in the original HDRI). You can adjust the level of fill and even adjust its color by messing with the fill HDRI. Alternatively, instead of using a CG light for your key, you can leave the Sun HDRI active and rotate it as needed, or even adjust its intensity and/or color like you can with the fill HDRI.
This is something we do all the time to use a proper HDRI, but still have control over the key and fill separately.
Incidentally, hdrihaven has wonderful HDRI's. They do it properly and if you stop down their images you can see the sun reduced to a small spec in the image (which is correct). For example, on a 1K HDRI map you should be able to stop down the image to the point where the sun is only about 3-4 pixels across. If you get your HDRI from another source make sure it was created correctly. If you see an image range of only, say, 1-10 or even 1-100 on an outdoor, daytime HDRI, then you do not have a true HDRI image. If you stop down the image and the smallest you can get the sun (on a 1K image) is hundreds of pixels across, then you do not have a true HDRI image.
YOu have sky texture, now you have nishita. ANd also dont use hdri alone, use it with sun position
in my experience, the hdri really used for get reflection aovs to bring over into compositing. but this is really a good way to make it much more useful as a light source. and you figuring it out by playing around with it. i use maya, and I normally combine my hdri with a direction light as an aisky to help mimic daylight and night time.
I honestly thought your models looked great integrated into a HDR background environment. In fact, I think using a HDR environment map is really only useful when you're going to integrate the models into that environment. Otherwise, you can use a "studio" style HDR along with scene lights, or just use a solid background color and area lights to light the scene. I don't see any point in using a detailed HDR environment map to light models if you're not going to use the background in the scene itself. Reflections on reflective or refractive surfaces would be the only other reason, but in a clay render that isn't even necessary.
Those are some good thoughts! Model presentations probably do benefit far more from a studio light.
I don't usually try to integrate my models into an HDRI very often, as I find it easier to control the eye if I model the background myself.
Tha is exactly what i have done for some time now. I thought i was the only one. And thank you for that node setup!
While this is something I'm aware of, I wish I'd known this a couple of years ago. Good video.
There is one major exception to your rule, though. That is when you are making something like an outdoor scene which is meant to look like it is lit only by ambient light and the sky. Then you do just want an HDRI and no other lights. Though in that case, the node setup you showed is still useful.
Still, good advice in almost all circumstances. I just had to be pedantic about that one thing. :)
Agreed, thanks for bringing that up!
I wouldn't recommend adding lights to a exterior HDRI for the majority of the cases, studio ones are fit for that, also be VERY careful if you combine HDRI's and light sources when playing with it's strength, you should preferably just tweak the exposure.
I watched a corridor crew video yesterday where Clint rendered his scene twice (once with hdri and once with hdri + sun to get sharp shadows). So I guess it can be very useful to combine stuff.
Can you help me with my HDRI I'm using Richo Theta SC2. The problem is that I didn't receive any shadow cast on my scene. I Just put sun manually just to have a shadow.I try HDRI HAVEN it cast shadows without a sun.
When I increase world opacity to 1.000 It only show black grid lines Please help
I use HDRi as ambient light, the sun is the main lighting in my scene, so i knock it down to about 0.4 or so
Wow, I needed to see this😆! Thank you for this, it was very informative for a noob like me
Does this mean I can use a lower quality HDRI seeing as it’s mainly just to help aid the lighting? (I hope I’m making sense with my question)
Thank you! this solved a problem I had.
Very cool and informative, The quality of your videos is great!
Man you're great! Thanks a lot
Thank you for this
Nice and interesting thing. I thought the same.
thanks
I love your patron