Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The sky's the limit with Artlantis 4.1's new HDRI Backgrounds feature

Artlantis 4.1 continues to dazzle and amaze with a rich set of excellent new features, including the new HDRI Background environments option. We're going to break down exactly what an HDR image is, and how you can start using them today to help create an immersive, detailed environment with realistic ambient lighting effects in your renderings.

High Dynamic Range Image (or Imaging) is a method of capturing a higher range of lighting intensities in an image by taking multiple photographs of the exact same view at a variety of different exposures. Through the use of software, the photographs are merged into a single HDR image file, which can then be manipulated in different ways through the use of tone mapping. Tone mapping enables the full range of intensities in the image to be utilized at will, creating anything from a subdued effect that simply better balances the contrast between light & dark areas of the image, to an extremely exaggerated effect where the high contrast creates an otherworldly atmosphere.

In 3D rendering applications like Artlantis, HDR images tends toward the more subdued, balanced use of background imagery to create realistic-looking immersive 360-degree environments. But, because the full range of lighting exposures are embedded into an HDR image, that same image can also serve as a light source for the scene, creating highly convincing ambient lighting on the surfaces of the 3D model.

What does all this mean, then? Simplicity! Select your HDR image in the Perspective Inspector: Environment settings: Background settings, then click on the HDRI button to turn on HDR lighting and adjust the intensity. Optionally, you can still add a heliodon (with or without shadows and lens flare) to create additional daylighting effects in an HDRI-lit scene. Now, it's your turn to download the free HDRI samples and try it out on your model in Artlantis 4.1!

Download the Artlantis 30-day Demo

Download the HDRI Samples

Artlantis 4.1 Pricing and Ordering

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Were can I find other additional HDRI Background samples...?

Artlantis said...

Thanks for your interest!

Try the HDRI Hub:
http://www.hdri-hub.com/

Best regards,
Team Artlantis