Mastering Autodesk 3ds Max 2013

Chapter 14

Advanced Rendering Using mental ray

In Chapter 7, “Light and Shadow,” you learned how to light the Villa Savoye model with standard lights, set up “fakiosity,” and render the scene with the Default Scanline Renderer. That fundamental information still applies to the mental ray rendering engine in the Autodesk^® 3ds Max^® platform; however, mental ray gives alternative light sources that give you even more options for rendering your scenes.

3ds Max 2013 ships with the new 3.10 version of the robust mental ray renderer. It includes Final Gather presets for quickly assigning situation-specific parameters; the Arch & Design, Car Paint, and Autodesk materials; global quality sliders on the Reveal toolbar for fine-tuning renderings; and mr ...