Materials & Lightning
OctaneRender integrates between the default materials and shaders included in 3ds Max four new materials and shaders optimized to work with OctaneRender; Diffuse Material, Glossy Material, Mix Material and Specular Material. Next to the materials OctaneRender comes with a lot of maps allowing you to define any material just by using the four basic material types. The step of defining the materials is very important and necessary for high quality and photorealistic renders and OTOY is aware of this fact. You have basically the absolute control over the materials and even the user can use the Node Editor (note: available in OctaneRender stand-alone)to create complex materials changing and editing procedural textures, colours and textures mapped to different material parameters for better control. OctaneRender supports Subsurface Light Scattering (SSS), Complex IOR, Chromatic Dispersion, and absorption to create photorealistic and physical accurate materials. One of the most exciting feature OTOY implemented inside the renderer is the possibility to access a community material library without the need of leaving the OctaneRender user interface. Like this you can access the library and add new materials inside the material editor with just one click. Beside the option of creating new materials OctaneRender can convert materials created using MentalRay or V-Ray to Octane materials and so save you precious time. The convert function is accessible from the render tab menu and works quite well but I preferred to create new materials instead of converting them.
Materials
- Physically based material models
- Bump and normal mapping
- Opacity / Alpha mapping
- Transmission, absorption and scattering
- Null material and mix/stacking of materials and layers
- IOR and Chromatic dispersion for specular materials
- Access to LiveDB Material Database
Spectra
- Supports multiple colour spaces
- RGB colours
- Gaussian spectra
- Blackbody spectra
Next to the material set-up another setting crucial for a high quality scene and render is the lightning. OctaneRender brings together three new light types; Standard lights, IES Files and sun/sky system inside 3ds Max. All of the lights are fully customizable and the user can take a full control about the parameters. OctaneRender simulates light not as RGB colours but as an electromagnetic wave. Since it is based on the physics of light, it captures all light interactions in the scene just as in real-world. The real-time approach gives a great advantage to the user; he can adjust the shadows literally absolutely and place the light to mostly fit the final image. You can also turn any object into a mesh light by enabling the emission property of the material where the colour is controlled by a blackbody spectra or a texture.
Lights
- Spectral Sun / Sky daylight with real-time location / date control system
- Spectrum or HDRI environment lighting
- Customizable texture and blackbody spectra emissions from geometry with controls for temperature, power (watts), distribution, efficiency
- Support for IES light files
