PBR LETS ARTISTS CREATE THE MOST REALISTIC VENTUZ GRAPHICS EVER

Physically Based Rendering​ (PBR) is a lighting model to describe materials and generate computer graphics replicating the way light and surfaces interact in the real world. It allows artists to create more realistic lighting and materials in a more intuitive way.

Ventuz 7.1 adds support for a full PBR rendering pipeline. Ventuz materials now support PBR Lighting as an alternative to the Phong lighting model and including support for typical PBR features such as Fresnel and multi-scattering, to create cutting edge rendering results beyond what’s possible with most real-time rendering solutions.

MULTI-SCATTER VS. NON MULTI-SCATTER

The pair of visuals displays a row of golden spheres illuminated under varying lighting setups: one subjected to direct light and the other to indirect light. These images aim to highlight the superior precision of Ventuz 7.1 Physically Based Rendering (PBR) in reproducing rough metal surfaces compared to conventional PBR techniques. Each sphere in the series is rendered to showcase the difference: the left side employs Ventuz 7.1 PBR, while the right side employs the long-standing classical PBR methods utilized for more than a decade.

Specular Value: 1

Roughness: 0

Direct lighting

Ventuz 7.1 PBR vs. long-standing classical PBR.

Specular Value: 0

Roughness: 1

Specular Value: 1

Roughness: 0

Image based indirect lighting

Ventuz 7.1 PBR vs. long-standing classical PBR.

Specular Value: 0

Roughness: 1

As evident from the textured spheres, the traditional approach yields images with deeper shadows and lower saturation levels. Artists have sought to bypass this limitation by manipulating the albedo values of their materials. However, with 7.1 Physically Based Rendering​ (PBR), we introduce a multi-scattering approximation that addresses this problem. This innovation is rooted in advanced research not widely accessible among our peers, and it promises to deliver more authentically rendered outcomes.

Lights have also been improved for physically based rendering with new nodes for ambient, directional, spot and point lights. A brand-new HDRI texture loader performs all the pre-filtering required for image-based lighting without needing any external tools.

MULTI-SCATTER VS. NON MULTI-SCATTER

The pair of visuals displays a row of golden spheres illuminated under varying lighting setups: one subjected to direct light and the other to indirect light. These images aim to highlight the superior precision of Ventuz 7.1 Physically Based Rendering (PBR) in reproducing rough metal surfaces compared to conventional PBR techniques. Each sphere in the series is rendered to showcase the difference: the left side employs Ventuz 7.1 PBR, while the right side employs the long-standing classical PBR methods utilized for more than a decade.

Direct lighting

Ventuz 7.1 PBR vs. long-standing classical PBR.

Image based indirect lighting

Ventuz 7.1 PBR vs. long-standing classical PBR.

As evident from the textured spheres, the traditional approach yields images with deeper shadows and lower saturation levels. Artists have sought to bypass this limitation by manipulating the albedo values of their materials. However, with 7.1 Physically Based Rendering​ (PBR), we introduce a multi-scattering approximation that addresses this problem. This innovation is rooted in advanced research not widely accessible among our peers, and it promises to deliver more authentically rendered outcomes.

Lights have also been improved for physically based rendering with new nodes for ambient, directional, spot and point lights. A brand-new HDRI texture loader performs all the pre-filtering required for image-based lighting without needing any external tools.

TWO NEW PBR WORKFLOWS: METALLIC AND SPECULAR

Ventuz materials now support real roughness textures and two new texture stages have been added, Metalness and Cavity. The number of texture stages of Ventuz materials has also been increased from 8 to 14 textures to give you more creative freedom when designing or creating materials.

Ventuz 7.1 PBR also supports the two most common PBR workflows, Metallic and Specular, each one requiring a different set of textures.

The Metallic workflow uses a simple 8-bit texture to determine if a surface is metallic or not, if it´s a conductor (metallic) or insulator (non-metallic), this marks the reflectivity of its surface. Specular workflow is more “Artist-friendly”, specular textures offer more control over the specular color and intensity and therefore give the artist more flexibility, but this workflow might require more resources to process it.

© image by Adobe

TWO NEW PBR WORKFLOWS: METALLIC AND SPECULAR

Ventuz materials now support real roughness textures and two new texture stages have been added, Metalness and Cavity. The number of texture stages of Ventuz materials has also been increased from 8 to 14 textures to give you more creative freedom when designing or creating materials.

Ventuz 7.1 PBR also supports the two most common PBR workflows, Metallic and Specular, each one requiring a different set of textures.

The Metallic workflow uses a simple 8-bit texture to determine if a surface is metallic or not, if it´s a conductor (metallic) or insulator (non-metallic), this marks the reflectivity of its surface. Specular workflow is more “Artist-friendly”, specular textures offer more control over the specular color and intensity and therefore give the artist more flexibility, but this workflow might require more resources to process it.

© image by Adobe

New Nodes and Property Changes

Our new PBR Skybox node requires only a single HDRI texture to achieve realistic image-based lighting and includes presets for studio, noon, and night lighting environments.

The HDRI texture loader performs all the pre-filtering required for image-based lighting without needing any external tools.

Improved and extended Texture Sets loading. You can now import by choosing the “PBR-Metallic-Roughness, PBR-Specular-Glossiness or Unreal Engine 4 (Packed)” preset for Substance Painter texture export. Define your own presets for Marmoset toolbag or follow our naming conventions guide line in the usermanual to import all your textures as a “set”. 

New PBR Skybox node requires only a single HDRI texture to achieve realistic image-based lighting and includes presets for studio, noon, and night lighting environments.

THERE ARE MORE ADDITIONAL FEATURES IN VENTUZ 7.1

To get the full overview of the new features, improvements and workflows that will come with Ventuz 7.1, please check our release notes.

Our user manual provides a detailed explanation of all features and gives step-by-step instructions.

DOWNLOAD VENTUZ 7.1

* 3D model in header by Karol Miklas