HDRE Landscape Kit

Kit for MODO 701, 601, 501, & 401

HDRE Kits are collections of photo-based environments that provide subtle and realistic lighting to your models. By combining high-quality HDRI panoramas with matching background plates, these High Dynamic Range Environments provide modo users with the power of image-based lighting with an incredibly simple workflow. Simply choose your location from the Assembly preset browser, select a background plate from the visual HDRE Card View, and then fine tune the shot with the HDRE heads up display (HUD). Photorealism was never so simple.

In this section:

Video Demonstration of HDRE Workflow

Purchase the HDRE Landscape Kit

How does HDRE work in modo?

Select one of five supplied locations

Just click on the desired location to use as a light source.  Next, drag in your preferred camera background plate from a palette of images. Your scene is automatically pin registered to the background, your resolution has been adjusted and your camera position and settings have been matched to the background plate. A ground plane has been provided for you to drag and drop your mesh items on top of – and as you do they immediately appear to be “in” the location with accurately cast shadows, lighting and reflections. You are now ready to render without ever having created a light, adjusted a camera or even having accessed the Shader Tree.

Fine tune your results

To further enhance your renderings, embedded controls are presented right in the modo viewport to adjust things like the amount of indirect vs. direct illumination.  For example, moving a slider will enhance the shadows in your rendering by increasing the lighting contribution from physical sun that is available at that precise geographic location.  You can also adjust the amount of saturation for both the environment and/or the background – right on up to making your background plate be a black and white image.

When you select a new environment, it is added to your scene in a non-destructive way. The supplied scripts simply limit the visibility or effect of your existing settings without deleting anything. This workflow allows you to experiment with different locations or mix the effects you obtain from a new location with ease.

What’s included in the HDRE Landscape Kit?

HDRE Landscape includes 5 different locations. Each of the supplied locations includes the following components:

• Render-ready Camera Background Plates
  Each location includes 6 - 12 custom Camera Background Plates. Each Background Plate includes a ground plane and a pre-calibrated modo camera. Typically we include close-up, medium and distance shots so you can place objects of various sizes in front of the background plates.
• High-Resolution Spherical Panoramic Image (4k x 8k pixels)
  Image provides source for accurate reflections and refractions from the environment.
• HDRI Image
  HDRI Image provides source of indirect rays.

Sample Panorama Image

This QuickTime VR movie navigates one of the five supplied natural locations, all shot in western North America.

HDRE Landscape Sample Panorama Image, QuickTime VR 3.2 MB

Please note: If you have difficulty viewing on 64 bit Windows, please upgrade to iTunes 9.1/QuickTime 7.6.6 player or later.

Camera Background Plates

Each of the five natural locations include multiple pin-matched camera background plates. Here is a selection of the background plates (in their respective locations) included in the HDRE Landscape Kit:

HDRE Gallery

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

What are these Kits for?
They are designed to help you light and place your models in interesting locations with no fuss. Even the simplest models look great with the use of these Kits. They are great for pitching your work, building a portfolio, and learning about HDRI lighting. If you are a professional, the Moofe Kit gives you additional flexibility, in that you have a source where you can license high-resolution images from Moofe for specific commercial use, exclusively if you prefer. For more information on Moofe see below.

Which HDRE Kits are currently available?
Currently, there are three. We are offering the HDRE Landscape Kit, plus the HDRE Moofe and HDRE Urban Kits.

How many locations do I get in these Kits?
Each Kit has five locations. The Moofe Kit has 18 - 25 backplates (for each of the 5 locations) and the Urban and Landscape Kits each have 6 - 12 backplates (for each location). For example, the first location in the Urban kit is an industrial warehouse area. Six backplates are provided for that single location including a wide expanse of asphalt, a cul de sac, a street with adjacent warehouse, a close-up of the street and two more backplates showing a paved area with barricades. The Moofe Kit backgrounds are 3,608 x 2,706 and you can contact Moofe to license even higher resolution backplates, all shot with a Hasselblad H3D Mark II camera.

What happens to my existing lights in my scene when I activate an HDRE?
All of your lights are still there but they are turned off automatically to make way for the new lighting provided in the Kit.

Are these Kits useful for people who do not use modo?
The supplied imagery would be useful, but the kits are far more valuable to modo users because we have made the kits extremely simple to use inside of modo through the use of scripts, rigs and custom user interfaces.

Is there documentation provided?
Yes, we provide extensive video tutorials (English language) which cover how to use the Kits and also how to create custom effects.

Please contact Luxology Sales if you have questions...

You can order products or ask sales questions via telephone, fax or web form.

If you have Support Questions...

If you need help using Luxology software, please contact Luxology Support on our Support Contact page. If you think you have found an issue (e.g. bug), please submit the error using the special form on your My Account page. For a quick tutorial on how to submit a bug report, please see this thread on the Luxology Forum.

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