Study Program – Corona Renderer Course

LEARN METHODS & TECHNIQUES
– STUDY PROGRAM –

LEARN METHODS & TECHNIQUES
– STUDY PROGRAM –

01.

Corona Engine

The Goal of this module is to deepen the knowledge of Corona Rendering, starting from the basics up to covering a wide range of concepts and tools that the engine makes available.

01 5′ 30”
Render settings: all focused in a few practical controls
Interactive rendering for tests and 2 and 5% thresholds for the final render

02 3′ 20″
Denoiser: Basic concept and time / noise correlation
When and how to use it to significantly reduce rendering times

03 6′ 40″
Render tools: a series of tools that allow you to speed up production
The power of the Region Render, Interactive, Resume and Render Select.

04 5′ 10″
Corona Cam: technical aspects of the Corona Camera
Properties and differences in exposure control with Global, Simple EV and Photographic ISO

05 4′ 40″
Depth of Field: What it is and what conditions make it visible
How to vary the focus point and easily manage the DOF working at fixed exposure

06 5′ 30″
Motion Blur, Bokeh effect and how to improve render times
adjusting the GI / Antialiasing balance of Corona

07 8′ 40″
Simulation of natural light using Corona Sun and HDRI maps
Pros and cons of the two lighting solutions

08 5′ 40”
Artificial lights A: Power / size relation and basic shapes available for light sources
Simulation of photometric curves with the use of IES files

09 6′ 20″
Artificial lights B: Manage the color of the light and the relation between source / shadow size
Light simulation using the Corona Light Material

10 6′ 50″
Virtual Frame Buffer (VFB) A: the relevance of post production and highlights
Differences between Highlight Compress and Filmic Highlight

11 7′ 30″
Virtual Frame Buffer (VFB) B: Counterbalance the loss of detail in black tones
LUT, Bloom & Glare and more considerations about the Denoiser

12 8′ 00″
Light Mix: Manage this powerful tool to control lights in post production
How to optimize its use in your workflow and combining it with the Denoiser

13 5′ 30″
Displacement A: Definition and practical application in a red brick wall
Using Screen Size and all the differences with the World Size option

14 4′ 20″
Displacement B: Use it for towels, rugs and coffee beans
Autobump concept and how to set Screen Size to manage detail differences

15 8′ 30″
Scatter A: How to scatter numerous objects on a surface
Control of the variations of rotation, density, height and frequency of each single object

16 6′ 50″
Scatter B: Distribution of objects on splines and in 3d volumes
How to control the Scatter, modify objects and orient them correctly on a surface

17 7′ 10″
Caustics: How they are created and how to simulate them in Corona
Set the good wave and how to calculate caustics in a separate image

18 6′ 00″
Proxy: what they do and how they improve the viewport experience
How to export to Proxy, modify them and eventually reassign their material

19 7′ 10″
Volumetric Light: How to create an environment that can simulate it
Relation between Vlumetric light and Directionality. ‘Enviro Distance’ setting

20 4′ 50″
Virtual Reality (VR) A: Introduction and concepts of spherical / cubic mapping
How to set up a VR camera and display 360 ° images and 3D Strereoscopy

21 5′ 00″
Virtual Reality (VR) B: Spherical / cubic maps comparison and introduction to Layama
Create correct paths for Layama and export the Virtual Tour for a web page

22 7′ 30″
Materials Library: How to enjoy the incredible Corona’s Material Library
Use of the World size and simple editing to adapt the materials to your needs

23 15’30”
How to create a scene using only ready-made assets
Material Library + Material Presets + Cosmos

24 11’10”
Let’s explore the Corona Volume Grid tool
How to simulare a fireplace with VDB Files

02.
Corona Materials

The Goal of this module is to deepen the knowledge of Corona Renderer Materials, starting from the basics up to the optimized materials, covering all the cases relating to interiors, with reference to lighting.

01 7′ 40”
The simulation of materials has a main actor: the Corona Material
Let’s see how to recreate plastic, glass, and how to simulate its internal dispersion

02 7′ 50″
How to simulate different metals, colored and with variations of anisotropy
Let’s set the Color Picker tool to make easier color selection

03 9′ 25″
Analyze real reflections and create maps in Photoshop to simulate variations
Then we get hyper-realistic reflections with special maps

04 7′ 30″
Thanks to Corona Physical Material we can quickly create many materials
Let’s deepen its use and the concept of Roughness

05 7′ 33″
Understanding offset percentages to avoid repetitions
How to use ‘step’ to randomize composite textures (collage)

06 7′ 10″
Use Randomizer in a single mesh, translating the texture horizontally
When it is convenient to use Randomize each tile

07 7′ 50″
The ideal is to randomize multiple textures, for this we have Multimap
This excellent tool can also help with single textures

08 7′ 35”
Create detailed materials by taking advantage of the Layered material layers
We simulate a worn floor and the cover of an ancient book

09 7′ 15″
Comparison between normal lights and Corona Light Material
How to combine lights and simulate displays and backlit backgrounds

10 9′ 35″
Direct sunlight often produces dominant colors, which can be a problem.
We solve with RaySwitch, which we will also use to solve ‘Fireflies’

11 5′ 05″
The simulation of translucency varies depending on the type of object.
In this lesson we talk about materials without volume such as Leaves, Curtains, Paper.

12 6′ 22″
Activate the Subsurface Scattering (SSS) functionality for translucencies in volumes
Let’s take advantage of the absorption properties to correctly create a colored glass

13 8′ 30″
The importance of chamfered adges and the simulation with the Round Edges
How to use Ambient Occlusion to create edge erosion effects

14 10′ 50″
Simulate fabrics with the Fall off and ‘Sheen’ maps
Use Corona Scatter to verify the effect of microfibers

15 15′ 20″
Decal – With the Decal tool we can “print” materials on other surfaces
In this lesson we analyze the tool and its applications

03.
Lighting Specialist

In this module you will learn a Method for Lighting scenes in a Photographic way. The method consists of a step-by-step process, which will allow mastering the Chiaroscuro, Hierarchy of lights, physical laws and photographic rules.

01 7′ 30”
Chiaroscuro is the only real goal to be achieved
Let’s deepen the origins, the fundamental elements and let’s train ourselves to recognize it

02 10′ 40”
How it works and how to read the Hierarchy of Lights
Finding the balance between primary, secondary, fill and accents lights

03 10′ 05”
Applying the Hierarchy of lights in a real situation
What steps to follow to ‘sculpt‘ a scene with the use of lights

04 8′ 35”
How to create soft Natural Light
Approach based on the angle formed between the room and natural light

05 8′ 52”
How to create a nocturnal atmosphere
Analysis, implementation of lights, with in-depth analysis on Chiaroscuro

06 7′ 40”
More complex nocturnal hierarchies
Use all layers of the hierarchy to ‘sculpt‘ and enrich an image

07 8′ 14”
Each shot needs its own lighting adaptation
Manage different cameras with the Manage State Scene

08 10′ 40”
How to control Natural lighting in large interiors
Analysis and research of gradients & steps in various areas of the scene

09 9′ 00”
Nighttime lighting in large rooms
Turn a daytime lighting into a night light with the LightMix

10 7′ 30”
The inverse of the square law in Photography
How and why the decay of light produces different gradients

11 8′ 10”
Practical applications of the inverse of the square law
Practical examples and solutions based on this physical law

12 6′ 00”
The importance of reflections in photography
Extension of the hierarchy to the 5th layer for the control of reflections

13 10′ 30”
How to use specular reflections correctly
Why the detail lights increase the visual value of the image

14 6′ 10”
How to use a background in a nighttime scene
What factors allow you to harmonize a background with the render

15 8′ 30”
How to use a background in a daytime scene
Balance between light and background, direction and use of HDRIe

16 9′ 20”
How to arrange a good lighting for a single furniture
Illuminate your pieces is a white, abstract and infinite space

04.
Archviz Composition

Composition is the Art of creating an invisible glue that keeps the image together, increasing the sense of cohesion that inevitably increases the level of Photorealism. In lessons we will deepen various aspects of image analysis – The concepts are applicable to any render engine.

01 12’00”
An image can be conceived as a machine with mechanisms
From Nicolas Puossin to the invention of “images at a glance”

02 8’00”
Subdivision of the analysis into 3 layers: Focal Lens, Large shapes, Density
The importance of the sense of cohesion for photorealism

03 20’00”
How to manipulate space with the use of different focal lenses
Wide angle, telephoto and perspective corrections

04 19’00”
When it’s time to use the medium focal length
Space compression and use of DOF as a compositional tool

05 21’00”
What are “Brain-Frendly” images and why they are essential
It all begins in the center: Central and amplified perspective

06 21’00”
Vertical, horizontal deformations, and broken perspective
Relative tension and application in Rule of Thirds and Symmetry

07 12’00”
Composition of large shapes with:
Compositional diagonal, Framing, Shape/color balance, Entry point

08 15’00”
Compositing images with Entry Lines
Synthesis of the various techniques and management of the compositional “Situations”

05.
Walkthrough Animation

Animation in the field of architectural rendering is an exploration of well-composed shots, made through specific camera movements. In this module you will learn the movement styles and how to implement them in 3ds Max through the use of animation for Keyframe.

Then you will also learn the fundamental techniques for the production of frame sequences avoiding flickering effects and reducing rendering times.

01 6′ 10”
Walkthrough animations can be simplified in the calculation
Let’s try to understand the structure of the process, breaking it down into 2 parts

02 8′ 30”
‘Emotional’ architectural animation has its own visual language
Study and learn to recognize camera movements and how to imitate them correctly

03 13′ 00”
Let’s implement camera movements thanks to the use of Autokey
Learn how to edit the keys of the animation to make complex movements

04 18′ 10”
Complete workflow from pre-calculation to final sequence
Import frames into After Effects and fix some problems

05 12′ 00”
Techniques to drastically reduce RenderTime and flickering
Interpolation & application of denoise to sequences in post-production

06 10′ 00”
How to correctly use a farm: let’s explore Fox Render
Desktop app, tests and production, with 50% discount for RI students

07 10′ 30”
Is it possible to correct some flicker errors in post-production?
Combine the power of an external denoiser plugin, with animated masks in After Effects

08 12′ 20”
Panorama animation with 1 single 360° Render
How to render 200 frames in less than 5 minutes

09 9′ 00”
How to add animated elements in AE
Pre-composing and adding fire

10 13′ 10”
How to handle objects in perspective
Objects integration with masks and Power Pins

11 11′ 30”
Let’s introduce the 3d Camera tracking in AE
How to track and replace the fire

12 12′ 10”
Tracking a plane in perspective
How to add the rain effect on the side window

13 17′ 00”
Animating the Depth-of-Field in AE
Camera Lens blur and Lenscare plugin

14 15′ 10”
Camera Handheld effect / shacking
How to implement AE expressions

06.
Archviz Modeling

In this module, we study how to model architectural spaces, using editable polygons.
We will discuss precise techniques and methods to proceed from a 2D drawing to complete 3D.

01 11′ 30”
Editable Polygons – How to deal with some basic operations
to start modeling using Editable Polygons

02 9′ 22”
Extra Subdivisions – Adding polygons subs is a key action to master modeling
Let’s see some methods for adding cuts and details

03 11′ 00”
Basic Edits with Polygons -Start modeling with very simple shapes
Edit your geometries until convert them into more complex objects

04 16′ 30”
Three Modeling Techniques – There are a lot of ways to reach the same goal
Let’s dive into 3 techniques that you can combine to speed up your workflow

05 16′ 15”
Practise /CAD file – It’s time to start applying the modeling concepts learned
Step-by-step we’ll model an entire apartment based on a real case

06 22′ 00”
Practise P2 – In this lesson we continue modeling the apartment
Now let’s model more in detail a curved ceiling

07 16′ 00”
How to Setup a Project – Save time and resources by following a proper workflow
In this lesson you’ll learn how to prepare your files before to start

08 19′ 15”
Working with Tech Drawings – How to approach a project to model
if you only have technical drawings based on image format

09 14′ 30”
Real Project /A: Let’s model directly the walls  (level 1) of Santuary House
Also learn tips to organize your references from this cool existing project

10 13′ 50”
Real Project /B: Keep modeling secondary walls of Sanctuary House
Check & review some visual organization

08.
Artificial Intelligence

By Artificial Intelligence we mean a series of tools and services, very different from each other. In fact, AI is not only the “generation of random images”. Although very popular, this application represents only a small part of the whole.

INTRO
How do I suggest you approach AI
Read: There is an important message for you!

01 10′ 00”
Topaz Video – AI to enhance footage
Interpolation and Upscaling to save calculation time

02 10′ 40”
Dalle-E – The AI Artist
Editing and Outpaiting for contextual image generation

03 12′ 20”
Photoshop – AI Remove Tool
Tool for removing distracting elements

04 11′ 30”
AI Midjourney
Basic commands for output control

05 12′ 30”
AI Midjourney Commands
How to control the creative process

06 10’00”
Combine ChatGPT with 3ds Max
How to create a simple Macro for your needs

00.
3ds Max from Scratch

BONUS MODULE – This content has been designed for those starting from scratch, or for example coming from Cinema 4D. But it is also a useful module for those who already know 3ds Max, given that the lessons also contain tips, shortcuts and suggestions to learn right away everything you need to work in an optimized way.

  1. The 3ds Max Interface 10’12”
  2. Create objects & Navigate the scene 12’30”
  3. Selection Tools 9′ 10”
  4. Basic Functions 11′ 00”
  5. Pivot, Snaps and Constrains 12′ 35”
  6. 3 ways to Clone objects 9′ 00”
  7. Edit Poly modifier 11′ 20”
  8. Edit Spline modifier 10′ 00”
  9. More 3ds max modifiers 14′ 00”
  10. UV Coordinates (mapping) 11′ 20”

— COMING SOON —

Platinum users will receive the following content for FREE as it becomes available.

07. Realistic Exteriors

COMING SOON |  Release estimation date: December 2023
included for Platinum accounts: release date and topics may slightly vary

Topics overview: Exteriors HDRI, Lighting, Vegetation, Scatter, Forest Pro
Parallax OSL, tracking for exteriors, animated vegetation, Aerial View
Fog simulation, Atmosphere, Megascans

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