How illuminate HDRi “Light dome” in 3ds max and VRay?

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For this tutorial you need basic knowledge of creating geometries

We saw in the HDRi Lighting Tutorial “Environment” in 3ds max with VRay as HDR post in a scene using the Environment, but now with VRay version 2 will explain how to do it with the Light dome.

1.- Prepare the Scenea

As I have said in other tutorials just need to put in the scene geometry and serve as a ground plane to see the shadows cast by the HDR

or better if you download the scene that I have prepared for this tutorial.

The downloads you need are the following:

• A HDRi (free download of a HDRi)
• A scene or optional download scene

Once you create your own scene or if you have downloaded open it with 3ds max.

2.- Loads the rendering engine: V-Ray

Open the Render Setup (F10 or Rendering > Render Setup…) window on the Common tab and assign it as the VRay rendering engine.

3.- Prepare the Indirect Illumination GI and Frame Buffer

In the same window the previous step, go to Indirect illumination and activates the On and choose as Primary bounces: Irradiance map and Secondary bounces: Brute force.

From the VRay tab activates the frame buffer, the frame buffer is not essential but if you activate it helps activate and deactivate the Gamma 2.2 render mode.

4.- Light creates the dome on the scene

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Final Render

Make a render Rendering > Render (Shift + Q), take a few minutes, you will have to be something very similar to the image below, the caustic depends how close you have put the transparent dome Light sphere.

Additional notes

Note that you have used for lighting one HDRi in Ligh dome of only 800 × 400 pixels, this resolution is sufficient for lighting but not for reflection, much less to the background image to change this follow these tips:

Independent HDR for reflections

One way to have controlled the reflection, is to have a single HDR for these, for it doubles the current HDR box and change the settings to your liking or even a higher resolution HDR, that the “dome light” is not involved in reflexes, uncheck the box that Affect reflection is in Options on the properties of Light dome.

For the background image uses a separate HDRi

You should also change the quality of the background image, for it marks the Invisible Options box in the properties of Light dome, and the dome is not involved in the background. Now there is no background image, double box the HDR and replace it with a higher quality, once done I open the Environment… window (Rendering… > Environment … or key 8) drag the box of HDR to map selector Environment map, you will see how the box was unchecked use map is automatically marked, now have your next render background image with higher quality.

Then I show an image gallery using the same HDRi and following the steps of the tutorial:

Leave a question for those who want to say: What is the proper determination of an HDR to use as Reflection?