Background Maps Rendering¶
Available in Krakatoa MX v2.0.0 and higher
Overview¶
- In version prior to Krakatoa MX v2.0.0, the particles were rendered over a monochromatic background - either the solid color specified in the 3ds Max Environment dialog, or the solid color specified as Background Color Override in the Global Render Values rollout of the Krakatoa UI.
- In these earlier versions of Krakatoa, the Environment Map of 3ds Max could be used only as the source of Environment Reflections when that feature was enabled.
- Since Krakatoa MX v2.0.0, the Environment Map of 3ds Max, if specified, can be used either as the source of Environment Reflections, or as the background for particle rendering, or for both.
Rendering The Background Map¶
- To render the 3ds Max Environment Map as a background of the Krakatoa rendering, the following conditions must be met:
- The 3ds Max Environment Map must be specified (Duh!)
- The Krakatoa option >Override Background must be turned off (otherwise the background will be overwritten with the solid color specified in the Krakatoa UI).
- Krakatoa will render the background using its current projection method - Planar, Cylindrical, Spherical or Shrink-Wrap.
Rendering Background Map and Reflection Map¶
The 3ds Max Environment Map can be used for both background rendering and environment reflections.
Note
When rendering Environment Reflections, the projection mode set for Reflections (typically Spherical projection) will also be used for the Background projection. This is a known limitation of the 3ds Max environment system.
The following image shows the same rendering as above, but the >Use Environment Reflections checked and Reflection Strength set to 0.5:
- Here is the same rendering with 0.25 Reflection Strength:
Rendering Reflection Map Without Background Map¶
- In cases where the 3ds Max Environment Map slot is used for specifying the Environment Reflection Map and no background rendering is required, checking the >Override Background Color in the Krakatoa UI will render the specified color as background while using the 3ds Max Environment slot for reflections.
- In the following image, the Environment Map was left at Spherical and Reflection Strenght at 0.25, but the >Override Background Color option was checked in the Krakatoa UI and the Background Color was set to a shade of blue:
