Hey guys I'm trying to find a way to render my 3D model in an ocean scenario, but it's really hard to find good images. I could totally go for overlaying the rendering on picture and photoshopping it in, but I really wanted an actual environment I could render, like a water surface image or an HDRI panorama of an ocean. Anyone has any idea on how to do good renderings of yachts on the water? Thanks!
If you want this render to use as commerical, then you could buy some very hig detail panorama images. If this will be just for personal use then you could try google image search. Use the new features like images larger than 10mpx. You will find alot of images there and render your 3d over the image if your software allows that. Compositing render. If you cant do that then u have to do it on photoshop.
What rendering program are you using for the boat? As in many rendering programs, you can add a plane(within your modelling software)- which acts as the ocean surface and then apply a material to that plane. As there are many rendering programs available, they have their own materials, you may be able to find a material to download from the net, or otherwise you would have to make one yourself- at this point making materials escapes me! For example, Maxwell Render uses .mxm materials, and from their site, you can download ocean materials, then with some lights added above the boat, and the ocean material, you should be onto a decent render! Otherwise photoshop can be the next best thing! Hope this helps!
The trouble with images is that you will hardly get the correct wave profile for a specefic hull, that is if you want to render a moving yacht. It is however possible to save the wave profile from the CFD as an IGES that can later be used in the presentation rendering.
Not that it is really a suitable application, but Blender did just come out with a new ocean wave-generator. Should be easy to import most formats and run a dynamic render.
In their posts about the new FPB 97, the Dashews have many pictures where they've inserted renderings of the 97 into pictures that originally showed either the FPB 84 or in a couple cases the FPB 64. That's obviously the best way to deal with accurate wave patterns, but you may not have a large supply of pictures of similar boats (to your renderings) to work with. SetSail Blog Archive FPB 97 – Code Name “Wicked”
This is the way I made a rendering, I actually kept the hull as well, to get our D29 Sidewalk to become a Runabout...