Image Transformation

Hello,

I am trying to render a video in 3ds max, in where the background rotates with the rest of the scene....im 3ds max it does not allow me to make the photo larger than 10000mmx10000mm. My base drawings are done in autocad architecture 2009. For me to use this photo, it needs to be 366471.2mm x 30480mm. I tried creating a mass element and applying it as a map in 3ds but as i stated above, it does not allow me to set the image size larger than 10000x10000. so i was wondering if it was possible that i could turn the image into a cylindrical shape within autocad that i could just use as my background, or if anyone has any other advice on this topic. it would be very helpful. If you do no understand my questions please let me know. This is kind of urgent as it is for a rendering assignment for school.

thanks

also. this is not a mandatory part of the assignment. it is just for extra, so a gradient map is not used as a background.

I have moved your question to the 3DS Max section of the forum.

Why do you need the photo to be so large? I have applied an image to the inside of a cylinder before in order to get a complete 360 degree background with no problem. Can you post a screenshot of what you are attempting?

it would not let me post links so i have to post the photos here. that is my site and cylinder in arch 09. i am not using the image shown below as my enviroment, but if i were how would you suggest i do so that it allows the image to rotate with the camera during a movie, and also be used for rendered images?

Well, you did say you were using 3DS Max, not Autocad, correct?

First of all, you need to delete all the faces of the cylinder, except for the ones that face inward, toward your site, and then turn on your "Backface Cull" so you can see through from the backside of the cylinder poly's. Then you need to map the UV's of the cylinder so that you can apply and adjust the image like you would any other material. Then, in order for the image to be seamless, you would need to use the "Render to Texture" option to output your texture to a file that can be opened in Photoshop so you can paint out your seam.

How's that? Clear as mud?

I've resized your image so that it now fits on screen.

well my base drawings are in autocad, but i am using 3ds max to render it. how would i delete all the faces of the cylinder and leave the ones facing the site? it is a 2 mass elements created in acad, then i used a boolean subtract to take the middle out. I am unsure what turning my "Backface cull" is. I have only been using 3ds max for about 3 weeks, and we only use it for rendering, so i am still new to it. And the part about mapping the image like any other material i can do, but changing the size of it is where my trouble has been all along. it only allows me to set the size of the image to 10000x10000 when the picture is much larger than that.

I think maybe you are trying to bite off more than you can chew with this project. There's a lot you need to learn about Max before attempting what you are trying to do. I could walk you through this, step by step, but it would probably take a long time. You would also need access to Photoshop.

I don't work with metric measurements, so I just did a conversion of your image size and I found that 366471.2mm x 30480mm = 1,202 ft. x 99 ft. How can your image be so huge? You're going to have to reduce it if you want to use it.

Also, when dealing with images to be mapped onto surfaces, you generally work in pixels, not milimeters or inches.

Below is an image that I've used as a background a few times. It's 4 ft. x 2 ft. and 3500 x 1647 pixels. It's a good background image that I have mapped onto the inside of cylinders for a 360 degree background image for sites that were roughly the same size as yours. So my point is, your image doesn't have to be massive in order to use it as a background.

i had to make my image that size because that was the circumference of my cylinder. the only reason im talking in metric was because thats what the project units were set up as when i started the file. this is just for extra stuff because i really dont like using a gradient background. sure i have access for thousands more rpcs than the rest of my class, but i dont like to take it easy. im always going for more than needed. i think this background would just be better since i have motion rpcs in my scene. this assignment is due on tuesday, so i need to finish a couple more renders still. but i would still like to try and get this to work.

oh and i also have photoshop so that is not a problem

i think i may have solved my problem....i found an rpc environment that lets you choose all different kinds of skies, horizons, and ground cover. I can get the ground cover to show up in the renders, but the horizon and sky are extremely dark. I think this problem is because my sun is set too low and cannot illuminate the area that is need to show the sky. Have you ever tried this environment?

No, I've never worked with RPC environments. I have always mapped background images onto planes or cylinders.

I have recently purchased "Vue" which allows me to import pre-set atmospheres into Max which include sun and sky, so the only other lights I create are random omni's in strategic locations for backlighting. But the default atmosphere lighting is more than enough to illuminate the scene.

ok here is my one interior render. I know its nothing close to what you guys can do. Maybe some pointers on what to improve would be helpful. Thanks.

Not bad, did you render this in Autocad or Max?

The one thing that jumps out at me, and it's the single biggest thing that most people either neglect or forget about, is shadows. When you use RPC's you have to enable their ability to cast shadows, otherwise, they don't cast any. Your lights will ignore them and they will end up looking like they are floating above the floor, which seems to be the case with your render. The lack of shadows also makes the render appear flat because you lose the sense of depth.

You also have some reflectivity on your floor, but the people are not reflecting. I think there is an option for the RPC's to cast reflections also. I haven't used them in a while so I'm not sure about that one.

There's also a flower pot? in the window behind the woman. It is looking very flat, and unnatural, for lack of shadows.

Overall, it's a pretty good render, just fix the shadows and reflections and it will look much better.