Mental Ray My Way: A Practical Designer's Guide to Creating Realistic Imagery Using Mental Ray & 3ds Max

This book is the ultimate guide to Mental Ray, covering lighting theory, camera theory, and cinematography. It also includes scripts that automate tasks such as depth of field, focusing the cameras, and more, allowing users to focus on the art. It also teaches users how to set up a virtual machine to act as their renderer, freeing up their machine for other scenes.

Format: Hardback
Length: 250 pages
Publication date: 31 December 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive guide to Mental Ray offers a comprehensive exploration of its features and functionalities, empowering users to translate scientific concepts into artistic expressions. It delves into lighting theory, camera theory, and cinematography, providing valuable insights and techniques for achieving stunning visual outcomes.

The book goes beyond mere manual execution and showcases powerful scripts that automate tedious tasks commonly encountered in 3D Studio Max, V-Ray, and Mental Ray. By employing real-world calculus and lighting theories, it develops scenes that automatically calculate optimal camera settings, resulting in exceptional renders.

Key Features:

Intelligent Accompanying 3DS Max Scenes: The book includes comprehensive 3DS Max scenes with real-world placeable cameras, lights, and utilities, enabling users to master their lighting techniques and gain a deep understanding of the fundamentals.

Professional Results: The book emphasizes achieving professional-quality results while fostering a deeper understanding of automating tasks. It empowers users to focus on the artistic aspects of their work, allowing them to streamline their rendering processes.

Maxscripts: Accessible and explained Maxscripts facilitate some of the tedious aspects of rendering scenes, such as depth of field, camera focusing, and more. These scripts are based on real-world values, providing users with a more efficient and effective rendering workflow.

Virtual Machine Setup: The book teaches users how to set up a virtual machine (VM) as their renderer, freeing up their machine for other scenes. This approach enhances rendering performance and allows for seamless multitasking.

Lighting and Camera Techniques: The book covers lighting and camera techniques used by professional photographers, cinematographers, and fine artists. Each scene is constructed to correlate with the book, providing a clear understanding of the artistry and creative processes involved in 3D rendering.

By leveraging the power of Mental Ray and applying the knowledge presented in this guide, users can elevate their 3D rendering skills to new heights, creating stunning visualizations and captivating digital artworks. Whether you are a professional or an aspiring artist, this book is an essential resource for unlocking the full potential of Mental Ray and achieving artistic excellence.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781138747050