The Mental Ray Indirect Illumination settings were not messed with much. Here is what I used.


The renderer tab is where I made most of my changes. Samples per Pixel can remain ¼ and ¼ until the lighting is just right; there is no reason to go above 1min and 4max for very detailed scenes. The Contrast settings on the mental ray renderer tab, right below the Samples per Pixel values, determine how to "weight" the Samples per Pixel values—toward the Minimum or the Maximum values you have set. If you render and find that the small details in your scene are being fuzzed out, it may not be because the Samples per Pixels are too low, but your Contrast settings are too low. I find that anything between 0.251RGB and 0.322RGB spatial settings will do the trick. Just remember to keep it in the grey area. Here is a screen.

The Camera Setup

The initial render

And the final scene textured and lit. Now let's take it into Photoshop for some cleanup.


I used Photoshop to make the lighting more prominent throughout the scene. Added some DOF (depth of field) and made some dust particles so the room didn't seem so clean. I like to make my scenes look like art pieces. Most people want to make them look like photographs, and that's awesome, but since I am in the gaming industry, I like the feel and look of a hand crafted environment.


Special thanks to the team at 3D Total for giving me the opportunity to speak my mind and show others how to use their talents. And for the Total Textures, everyone should have these in their library. The Total Textures allow me to achieve the detail I need in every scene I make.

Tutorial Written By:
Jacob Johnson, www.ja-bob.com