Ambient Occlusion and How to Post Process It

[barkest]

We have 2 options with AO and if it is a bit grainy or needs lightening or more contrast or whatever then its not really possible in VW.

 

Here is a technique that I worked out earlier today that gets around the limitations of VW AO options

 

Happy to take questions or indeed revise if anyone has a better method

 

 

aoManipulation.mp4

 

apologies you have to download I will get around to sorting this out

Edited May 11, 2017 by barkest

[Andy Broomell]

Good idea! Photoshop would allow you to do many things to the AO, such as remove unwanted areas, alter its graininess, or even change its hue for some interesting effects.

 

Regarding graininess of AO within Vectorworks itself, I believe that's controlled by the anti-alias quality setting of the render style.

[barkest]

1 hour ago, Andy Broomell said:

Regarding graininess of AO within Vectorworks itself, I believe that's controlled by the anti-alias quality setting of the render style.

 

 

I did not know that but if you increase anti-alias then of course the render time will increase as well and with AA it can increase quite a bit so maybe its a bit of a 'heavy handed' tool. I will play around with it to see how it affects it.

 

In the meantime I will continue with this method as you say it has some possibilities especially to exclude areas of AO if required (did not think of that either)

 

So using this technique with the remove shadows one 

its possible to post process both shadows and AO for greater control

 

Edited May 11, 2017 by barkest

[Andy Broomell]

Cool - I hadn't seen that other thread!

 

I do hope that multi-pass rendering is eventually implemented into Vectorworks. 

[barkest]

7 hours ago, Andy Broomell said:

 

I do hope that multi-pass rendering is eventually implemented into Vectorworks. 

 

It would be a lot quicker than the manual method workarounds but then necessity is the mother of invention