From the course: SketchUp: Rendering with V-Ray 3

Gamma handling in V-Ray 3 for SketchUp - SketchUp Tutorial

From the course: SketchUp: Rendering with V-Ray 3

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Gamma handling in V-Ray 3 for SketchUp

- [Narrator] An essential requirement for many artists who are working in or rendering pipeline these days is the ability to keep all image data in a linear color space, at least until they are ready to apply a gamma correction to it. In V-Ray for SketchUp, this really couldn't be simpler, as the render engine now handles pretty much everything automatically, which whilst not my preferred way, certainly makes things a whole lot easier to work with for newer and maybe even some experienced users. In V-Ray 2 then, we typically use the Linear Workflow checkbox in the Color Mapping controls, in order to manage the gamma of colors and bitmaps in materials. In V-Ray 3, however, this option is both hidden and disabled. In fact, the Color Mapping rollout itself is no longer available, and we are automatically set to use the Linear Multiply mode. The gamma value is fixed at 2.2, and what was previously known as the, Don't affect colors option, is also automatically enabled. What this means is that V-Ray is always rendering linear floating point images for us, and so, the sRGB button on the V-Ray framebuffer window should always be enabled in order to display a correct, that is, gamma 2.2 or sRGB, image. This, according to the guys at Chaos Group, simplifies the color management process in V-Ray for SketchUp, and also ensures that any render elements we create can be composited correctly. Now if you were a user who typically worked with the default Reinhard Color Mapping type in V-Ray 2, you may be lamenting the loss of control over the burnt value, which essentially allowed the user to blend between the Linear Multiply and exponential Color Mapping modes. While you can still produce that same effect, only now using the Highlight Burn control found in the color corrections and Exposure rollout on the V-Ray framebuffer window. As a final note, it is worth knowing that for backwards compatibility, a Linear Workflow checkbox has been added to the layer options on the V-Ray BRDF, diffuse BRDF, reflection and refraction BRDF material layers. If a V-Ray 2 material is loaded into V-Ray 3, then this checkbox gets enabled and the material should render in exactly the same manner as before. When new material is created in V-Ray 3, though, this option is disabled.

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