3dWorld is hosting an “advent calendar” this year, giving away something special every day from now til Christmas. Today’s offering is a good one, a free HDRI set from the folks behind the popular Dutch Skies package.
The set includes an 8K spherical background, a 4K spherical HDR for reflections, a spherical lightmap and a reference document to link everything together using the popular sIBL system. You also get a sequence of 11K exposures for post-production work.
The set works with any 3D package capable of reading HDR files, including 3ds Max, Maya, Softimage, LightWave 3D and modo.
Go get it now before they change their mind!
via 3D World Advent Calendar Day 2: Dutch Skies 360° | 3D World.
Graphics free, hdri
This week’s resource aims to teach you everything you ever wanted to know (probably much more, in fact) about High Dynamic Range Imaging and its use in Image Based Lighting. This is actually the second edition of the original High Dynamic Range Imaging text,High Dynamic Range Imaging, Second Edition: Acquisition, Display, and Image-Based Lighting
.
High Dynamic Range Imaging was the first book to describe this exciting new field that is transforming the media and entertainment industries. The second edition brings a significant update, adding chapters on high dynamic range image capture (hardware and software), display devices, as well as image difference metrics and video. All existing chapters have been updated to reflect the current state of the art, ensuring the book’s leading position as a reference text for those working with images, whether it is for computer graphics, film, video, photography, or lighting design.
- Up-to-date revision of the “BIBLE” of High Dynamic Range Imaging
- New material includes chapters on High Dynamic Range Video Encoding, High Dynamic Range Image Encoding, and High Dynamic Range Display Devices
- Invaluable reference for anyone serious about computer graphics, interactive entertainment, and photography/imaging
- Written by the inventors and initial implementors of High Dynamic Range Imaging
- Covers the basic concepts (including just enough about human vision to explain why HDR images are necessary), image capture, image encoding (not as easy as it sounds), file formats, display techniques, tone mapping for lower dynamic range display (FAR from easy), and the use of HDR images and calculations in 3D rendering (which is very cool, even if you aren’t working in 3D)
- Range and depth of coverage is good for the knowledgeable researcher as well as those who are just starting to learn about High Dynamic Range imaging
Graphics feature, hdri, resource of the week
A bachelor thesis from Pasha Kuliyev of the Department of Imaging Sciences and Media Technology University of Applied Sciences Cologne focuses of the various methods of acquiring HDRI images and gets into incredible mathematical and physical detail on the various benefits and problems with each method. From the abstract:
In many industrial and advertising applications today three dimensional graphics play a major role in enabling cost effective production workflows. One of the major research areas in the field of computer generated imagery for the last two decades has been photorealistic synthetic lighting of virtual objects. As affordable processing power became available more complex synthetic lighting models could be developed. one of the ese models derives lighting information of a real-world environment from specially processed photographs. In this thesis, two photographic techniques are presented and compared to the third, commercial one in terms of image quality, acquisition time, image processing time and costs.
He compares Mirrored ball acquisition, Fisheye lens acquisition, and the Spherocam HDR product. All of the math behind HDRi imagery is included in detail, and toward the end of his these (page 79) he includes this great flow-chart (shown right) detailing the process required for each technique.
You can download his thesis here, or view it via Google Docs.
via @alba
Science hdri, photography, thesis
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince opens with a stunning VFX sequence of the destruction of London’s famour Millennium Bridge. The sequence was done by London-based VFX house Double Negative, and talks about it to Popular Mechanics.
In addition to taking high-dynamic-range-image (HDRI) photography of the bridge and the area along the Thames River, Double Negative worked with the architects of the bridge. “They were given plans and CAD files that were used to recreate it as accurately as possible, down to every nut and bolt,” Burke says. A team of five to 20 people spent several months building, texturing and rigging the bridge in 3D animating program Maya, using the HDRI photography to create the right texture and detail.
via Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Movie Special Effects – F/X For New Harry Potter Film – Popular Mechanics.
Graphics doublenegative, harry potter, hdri, maya, movie, vfx
VizWorld.com 
Comments