This guide covers the Arnold version of the Domemaster Stereo Shader. Arnold 5 Compatibility Note: The new Arnold 5 release has changed their lens shader system. At this point in time the current Domemaster3D shaders are not compatible with Arnold 5. If you need a. Windows 64bit Softimage 2011-2012-2013. Arnold is a global illumination system incorporating modern ray tracing. And physically based shading techniques. Arnold offers greater speed, more power and higher quality. This gives studios using Arnold a. Distinct competitive advantage – especially in big-budget productions.
Autodesk’s Softimage to Arnold (SItoA) plug-in is now available on GitHub as open source code under an Apache 2.0 License. SItoA provides a bridge between Softimage and Arnold.
Requirements
- Softimage 2015 SP1
- Arnold 5.0.2.4 or newer
- Python 2.6 or newer
- Visual Studio 2012 (Windows)
- GCC 4.2.4 (Linux)
SItoA used to be developed by Solid Angle and is now part of Autodesk.
Yes, Softimage was discontinued after the 2015 release but there are still some users out there. This is for you!
Get Autodesk Arnold Render
Arnold is an advanced Monte Carlo ray tracing renderer built for the demands of feature-length animation and visual effects. Originally co-developed with Sony Pictures Imageworks and now their main renderer, Arnold is used at over 300 studios worldwide including ILM, Framestore, MPC, The Mill and Digic Pictures.
Posted by Michele Yamazaki
Overview
The Domemaster3D package includes the Windows x64 and Linux x64 builds of the
latlong_lens
mental ray shader for Softimage. The latlong_lens
shader is designed to render equirectangular images. The shader can be used to create panoramic images with a single click of the render button.Installation
The latlong_lens shader is included in the Domemaster3D Softimage Addon.
After you install the shader you need to restart Softimage so the shader is loaded into mental ray. If you don't restart Softimage after installing the shader you will get a 'shader not found error'.
The
latlong_lens
shader for Windows has been compiled with Visual Studio 2012. If your system doesn't have the Visual Studio 2012 (VC++ 11.0) x64 Redistributable Package installed you can download it here:Shader Usage
You can add a LatLong lens shader to your scene using two techniques:
LatLong Shelf Tool
The Domemaster3D toolbar in Softimage has a button labeled 'LAT'. Clicking this script button will add a new camera to your scene, assign the LatLong shader, and create a new output pass.
To accompany the LAT button there are a series of 2:1 aspect ratio LatLong resolution presets in the Domemaster3D toolbar:
- 1x0.5K (1024x512px)
- 2x1K (2048x1024px)
- 4x2K (4096x2048px)
- 16x8K (16384x8192px)
LatLong Manual Method
The manual method is to use the
latlong_lens
shader, open your the camera's property window. Click on the 'Lens Shaders' tab and click the 'Add' button to create a new lens shader. In the pop-menu select 'latlong_lens'
.It is possible to mirror the rendering by enabling the lens shader's 'flipHorizontal' attribute.
Rendering Tip
The best equirectangular image output is from rendering with a 2:1 aspect ratio. (Like a 2048x1024 pixel or 4096x2048 pixel output)
Sample Softimage Project
A sample Softimage 2014 project file is included. This scene can be used to test the
latlong_lens
shader installation.Links
For more information about the x64 builds of the
latlong_lens
shader check out the blog page: