michiel | 2 weeks ago | 15 comments | 16 likes | 484 views
shoji M, songbaojin, Filip and 13 others like this!
Here's an experimental ambient occlusion effect.
The model used in the screenshot can be downloaded here:
sketchfab.com...
No ambient occlusion
The GLB format supports ambient occlusion maps that in BluffTitler can be controlled with the FX OCCLUSION FACTOR prop of the AdvancedMaterials\PBR effect. In the left picture is it turned off by setting it to 0.
Baked ambient occlusion
In the middle picture the FX OCCLUSION FACTOR prop is set to 3. This clearly demonstrates what ambient occlusion is all about. The ambient occlusion is precomputed by the 3D modelling app and baked in an ambient occlusion texture map stored inside the GLB file. This looks amazing and is super fast!
Realtime ambient occlusion
However not all models feature an ambient occlusion map and some layers, including the text layer, never do. In this situation you can apply the new CameraAmbientOcclusion effect to the camera layer (right picture). This tries to compute the ambient occlusion in realtime.
The result is slightly different than the baked version. Assuming the baked version is correct, the effect is not perfect. But it's fast and looks much better than the left version!
How to install and use
After downloading and unzipping, place the effect in the BluffTitler\Media\Effects\Camera folder. Apply the effect by selecting the camera layer and choosing MEDIA > CHANGE EFFECT.... Fine-tune the effect with the FX props.
Glow
This effect also darkens the glowing parts, which is an error. This can not be fixed in the effect, but requires a new version of the BluffTitler app. When you encounter other issues please comment below!
Have fun
Have fun playing with this new effect!
Download media files (7.3 KB)
The CameraAmbientOcclusion effect features an FX AMBIENT OCCLUSION COLOUR prop. The only realistic value is black, but you can achieve interesting results by using bright colours. Not sure what this simulates, but it looks spectacular!
It also demonstrates which parts of the model are affected by the ambient occlusion effect.
michiel, 2 weeks ago
Sketchfab features an ambient occlusion post processing filter called SSAO (Screen Space Ambient Occlusion). This filter is more realistic than our experimental effect and looks amazing applied to architectural models. For some reason however it's not as effective when applied to other models. And it does not feature an AMBIENT OCCLUSION COLOUR prop 😁😉 Sometimes unrealistic looks better... Maybe we can offer a few ambient occlusion effects, ranging from expressive to realistic.
michiel, 2 weeks ago
New showcase is more attractive against old one you gives a showcase, would know how to add lights inside the bulbs that point to objects, in your case to the picture on the wall..
bambamD, 2 weeks ago
Thank you for sharing Michiel.
SHARING IS CARING
snafu, 2 weeks ago
Thank you all!
BambamD, you could place a point light near the painting, but the easiest way is to apply the NotLightened effect to the picture layer.
michiel, 2 weeks ago
An option that only renders the ambient occlusion as a B&W image could be useful. Please comment on this page when you have feature requests!
michiel, 2 weeks ago
Thanks. It's a greatly appreciated new feature. AO only rendering would be cool for compositing it later and therefore having the ability to use another camera effect.
Thor5ten, a week ago
merci. michiel
Rorysee, a week ago
Comment to this article
More by michiel
About michiel
Michiel den Outer is the founder and lead coder of Outerspace Software. He lives in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
If he isn't busy improving BluffTitler, he is playing the piano or rides the Dutch dikes on his bikes.
800 articles 3,945,937 views
Contact michiel by using the comment form on this page or at info@outerspace-software.com