V-Ray Unreal: Phoenix FD 3ds Max Training

Today's digital rendering animation suites have made portable and accessible software that was once unconscionably expensive and difficult to use just a decade ago. If you're looking to learn a v-ray rendering suite for an application like the Phoenix FD 3ds Max program, a few shortcuts and tweaks can drastically reduce your learning curve.

Update Your Presets

Most v-ray programs come with a host of preset options to provide general ease of use. Although these presets might work for most of your projects, they can slow you down if you don't spend a little time modifying them for your specific uses.

1. Fluid Dynamics: programs like Phoenix FD 3ds Max were originally designed for post animation editing for major movie studios. You can unlock the potential of the fluid dynamic presets by considering the shading, lighting, and other ambient features that might dominate the project you're working on. For instance, if you're working on shots in low light, you might want to grab a number of still shots and adjust the fluid dynamic presets to give you a consistent look for the continuity of the project. Once you have you've customized the presets you can create a keyboard short cut to making editing as easy as a few keystrokes.
2. Smoke and Fire: smoke and fire remain among the most difficult to naturally replicate in post animation renderings. V-ray suites can help you not only add smoke and fire but make it look realistic too. The realism often stems from the adaptive grid built into the programs. If you've never worked with an adaptive grid, the process can feel a bit daunting. The key, however, is not to focus too acutely on the isolated details. When tweaking smoke and/or fire in the grid, you should adjust the saturation and lighting within the grid shots. These holistic changes can be more effective in capturing the feel of a shot or image. Once you've nailed down the lighting and/or saturation for your grid shots you should create a customized preset and keyboard short cut for efficient editing. Many v-ray software suites have galleries of customized presets created by editing professionals available through their website with the purchase of the licensing and software.

Optimize Before Final Editing

The most advanced v ray suites come with AI optimization to sharpen your project with powerful algorithms. Often, you're better off optimizing broadly before you spend time on your final editing touches.

1. Part to Whole: the best editing makes a shot or series of shots look unedited. You can capture an organic and seamless feel to your animation by blading several scenes, optimizing each bladed section individually, before combining and optimizing the shot collectively in the end. By optimizing each shot or scene independently, you're more likely to standardize the quality, lighting, and other fluid dynamic components, which will create a standardized baseline for the software's AI program. This is particularly true when cobbling together scenes with unique lighting elements like fog or smoke.
2. Sound Mixing: although most v-ray programs are built with visualization in mind, the best programs also offer advanced sound mixing. For instance, if you're scene calls for a shot of a turbulent ocean, you won't create an immersive experience unless the sound is mixed appropriately. To add a depth of complexity, consider optimizing the sound mixing of a shot to add additional ambient layers. For an ocean scene, this will not only be the sound of the waves lapping onto the shore, but also the reverberation of the small waves created by the rippling of the wind on the water or the distant call of birds in the sky.