Latest 3D car rendering/composite

[pixel_monkey]

Rendered with Mental Ray in Maya. Post processed in Photoshop.

[pixelzombie]

i gotta say the reflections on the car are very realistic...

[jvr]

Good Job.

I guess this is a background image imported in Maya, the car 3D model put in place, lights added simulating the scene lights and finally a high res render exported. Right?

Must a retoucher be a master of Maya to do this, or is there a simple tutorial to do it?
I'd like to try it. Any tutorial available?

[pixel_monkey]

Originally Posted by pixelzombie

i gotta say the reflections on the car are very realistic...

Hey, you didn't have anything to point out this time. I must be doing better with this stuff. I'll take this as a compliment...haha.

jvr,

Pretty much excepts that no 3D lights were used to render the car. I used a single HDR file to illuminate the scene. It was difficult choosing the right one that mimics the lighting in the image used. The proper way to do it is to photograph a 360 degree HDR image on location and use that as the primary light source. It gives the most accurate lighting and reflection that way.

I'm a bit different than many retouchers. I started out in 3D...even got an BFA with it. But, I don't get any luck in that field. I like retouching and always try to incorporate my 3D knowledge with it. I'm no master of Maya, though. I'm only at the tip of the iceberg even though I've been using the program since 1999...there's just too much to learn.

[pixel_monkey]

jvr,

Forgot to tell you that these sites offer great training materials.

http://digitaltutors.com
http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com
http://www.simplymaya.com

Google is also your best friend.

As for 3D online communities,

http://www.3dbuzz.com
http://www.highend3d.com

And this one is the cream of the crop of all 3D sites. Most of the members on there are industry professionals. Some of the stuff on there will make mine looks like crap. They look just photographs.

http://www.cgtalk.com

[jvr]

Thank you for the links!

One of the things I've got to do very often, is to recreate a car's shadow. I found this very difficult. And I think a 3D app could be helpful to recreate the scene and render only the shadow. But don't know where to start.

[pixelzombie]

it isn't easy to recreate the shadow but that is one of those things you will get called upon to do and not every place you work will have 3d software on hand..i'd say keep at it with photoshop...