Artlantis 3.

0 Radiosity

This excellent tutorial covers the radiosity parameters found in Artlantis 3, and is made
available by courtesy of Abvent.

The tutorial focuses on each setting, analyzing the effects on accuracy and lighting
conditions.

We will focus on each setting, analyzing their effects on the rendering quality and light
conditions. First, activate the proper checkbox in the Preferences menu to access all the
extended parameters. The radiosity parameters have two main sub-sets.

I. Radiosity expert parameters

1. Accuracy

Defines the precision of the radiosity calculation. There is a scroll-down menu that has three
pre-defined settings : normal, medium and high.

Long range slider : defines the distance (in pixels) between the radiosity sampling points on
the image being calculated.

The area between the radiosity sampling points are interpolated. The shorter the range the
higher the radiosity quality achieved. Values from 96 to 8, lower value means more samples
to calculate.

Short range slider : works similarly to the previous one, but this one defines the special
processing for nearby surfaces. The longer the range analyzed for this type of process, the
higher the radiosity quality achieved. Values from 0 to 48, higher value means more samples
to calculate.

2. Lighting

Lighting defines the lighting conditions. Pre-defined settings for interior or exterior light
conditions can be activated from the scroll down menu.

Before we continue, a short explanation is needed here about how radiosity works.
In real life, emitters emit photons. Popping from object to object, they light our world while
losing their energy as they are partially absorbed by surfaces.

1. First bounce controls the tone of the bounces that effects the surfaces receiving direct light.
A higher value means a larger contrast between the light and shadows.

2. Next bounces controls the power of the bounces after the first bounce. More bounce
produces more energy on the surfaces; a higher value means more light on surfaces that
receive indirect light.

3. Attenuation defines the amount of absorption of the ”energy.” 1.00 means that the energy
is kept while bouncing toward, while 0.50 means energy is halved for each bounce. It affects
the contrast of the radiosity shadows.

4. Color bleeding controls the amount of color transferred from surface to surface. Low
valuedesaturates the radiosity calculation.

II. Radiosity parameters - Accuracy

Click on above image

1st render - Accuracy is set to normal

Assessment : A rough picture. Draft shadow/light conditions can be checked easily on larger
surfaces; smaller surfaces have a general ambience and lack of precise details. This rendering
setting is ideal for quick test renders.

Explanation : let's focus on the normal, pre-defined setting regarding the accuracy sliders.
Long range : 96
Short range : 4

These two values mean that radiosity is computed using only a low number of sample points,
while large sections of the surfaces and the image are simply interpolated. Therefore, the
radiosity is not very precise.

2nd render - Accuracy is set to medium

Assessment : Better radiosity quality, owing to the larger density of sampling points. On
small surfaces, such as parts of toy cars, we may observe better shadows and less general
ambience.
Radiosity shadows around the objects become visible.

Explanation : the medium, pre defined setting has the following values :
Long range : 64
Short range : 16

Value 64 of “long range” occurs in more precise radiosity calculations. Value 16 of “short
range” affects the surfaces nearby, emphasizing details and creating radiosity-shadow
transitions.

3rd render - Accuracy is set to high

Assessment : High radiosity quality with precise and soft shadow transitions. Comparing the
image to the previous render, we may observe smaller details. Radiosity shadows are soft and
have less contrast.

This setting is highly recommended for final renderings.

Explanation : the high pre defined setting has the following values:
Long range : 32
Short range : 32

Density of radiosity sampling points is enough to produce this result.

It is important to mention here that the higher quality we choose the longer the render takes.

Click on above image

1st render Accuracy is set to high, Bounces: 4-1

The picture is O.K. Lack of enough secondary bounces; surfaces that receive only indirect
lighting stay dark. The contrast between shadow and light is too much. Lets tweak the “Next
bounces” slider a bit.

2nd render Accuracy is set to high, Bounces: 4-4

Surfaces in shadow got brighter in general. More secondary bounces provide more lighting
power calculated onto these parts of the scene.

3rd render Accuracy is set to high, Bounces: 4-8

Surfaces got brighter again a bit. Comparing to the previously calculated images, it is obvious
that surfaces facing downward (such as the bottom side of the roof and slabs) got brighter.
More and more small details can be seen in the shadows.

Attenuation has an affect on the calculation as well as on surface brightness.

Low bounces value can be compared with higher Attenuation value.

On the other hand, if the surfaces are too bright because of high secondary bounces;
decreasing the Attenuation value will solve this.

It is important to note that calculating more bounces takes more time to render. It is quite
important to see clearly how each rendering parameter works and what their effects are.

What is more important is finding the setting that provides the requested quality and worth to
render regarding the rendering time.