Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
IPR Rendering
As you saw in Chapter 7, a fast way to preview changes to your scene is to use Maya's
Interactive Photorealistic Rendering (IPR). After you IPR-render a view panel, specify
the region you want to tune by dragging a box
around that area of the image in the Render
View window. Maya updates that region every
time you make a shader or lighting change to the
scene. Figure 11.10 shows the fruit still life as an
IPR render as the color and specular levels are
being fine-tuned.
IPR is perfect for finding just the right light-
ing and specular levels. It will, however, register
raytracing elements such as refractions and true
reflections only if the scene is set to render through
mental ray for Maya. Overall, IPR quality is fairly
close to that of a full render while still allowing
you to watch your tuning in near real time.
Reflections and Refractions
You can either map or raytrace reflections.
As you saw in Chapter 7, creating a reflection map for an object is pretty simple. Simply
assign a Phong, Phong E, Blinn, or Anisotropic material to your object, and make sure
the Reflectivity attribute is greater than zero. Then, click the Reflected Color map button
to add a texture or a file as a map to create the reflection. (See the axe project in Chapter 7
for more on reflection maps and shaders.)
To generate true reflections, however, you'll need to enable raytracing in either Maya
Software or mental ray for Maya. Mapping textures to the reflected color isn't necessary
when raytracing is enabled, because Maya reflects any objects in the scene that fall in the
proper line of sight.
Figure 11.10
IPR rendering lets
you fine-tune your
textures and light-
ing with near real-
time feedback.
r ay tr aC ing with mental ray
r ay tr aC ing with mental ray
Enabling raytracing in mental ray is as simple as checking the Raytracing box in the Render
Settings window in the Features tab.
Enabling raytracing in mental ray is as simple as checking the Raytracing box in the Render
Settings window in the Features tab.
Raytraced Reflections
To enable raytraced reflections, use a material with a Reflections attribute, such as a
Phong, and open the Render Settings window. Choose Maya Software, and in the Maya
