So.  I tripled checked all my glossy settings and specular settings.  Everything is nice and low.  I started another render and I think the flask exploded.  Every pass the scene gets worse, with more white stuff.  I'm at a total loss, I have no idea what's wrong.  Please help?

Xandi, how much light have you put on the scene? If you use the Linear 'camera' part of Lux, try lowering the exposure value. One possible culprit is that you have too much light hitting your materials.

If you're flummoxed by what I mean, you can also go into the light tab and lower the gain of the light, effectively taming the 'power output'. Your scene will darken, but you can counteract this by opening up the exposure which will let in more light. 

I'll try to get a screen grab of Lux  showing this in just a bit. 

Sorry if you already know this, but just in case ;-) 

You don't need to use those parameters, that's just an example of what I used. Your scene's needs depends on your lights, of course. 

Quote - So.  I tripled checked all my glossy settings and specular settings.  Everything is nice and low.  I started another render and I think the flask exploded.  Every pass the scene gets worse, with more white stuff.  I'm at a total loss, I have no idea what's wrong.  Please help?

Not sure what happened to your flask! Firstly de-tick any of your glass settings is you have them set to 'hyper-realistic' and switch all your liquid settings if you have them set to water, to be standard glass as well, just for a start.

I have gone back to the latest download of the scene of Paolo's which has the test tube rack and glass globe moved apart (they were intersecting at one point). This is so I can now move all the textures and settings over one by one (I know I can save the settings and re-load them all in one go, but I want to find out what is causing the 'black' book and aerial. I left all the glass and liquid settings alone until I had set all the other objects. (Some items do default to standard glass, but they should be ok on the latest download)

I then found some very strange interactions with setting the flask liquid, if set to wwater the odd books and aerial went black, as also happened if I set hyper-realistic glass... I haven't had time to further investigate, but that alone seems odd, particularly as several people are getting the 'black' interaction. I did also find that when setting an item from glossy to water, the clour remained correct, but if I then turned it back to glossy, both the specular and the glossiness went to 255,255,255. So if you are changing materials back and forth it is always worth doublt checking your specular has changed to something crazy. I had to 'reload' studio setting to nmake it revert. It also felt that it was the original glossy material settings for specular (41,41,41) that seemed to be making the book/aerial black somehow... I do not know enough about the files to check what's going on, but there is definatly something. I don't know if it is related to the splitting up of the containers / liquids from their initial grouping or not... I will need to do the same tests using the original download from the original challenge site, as although the liquids etc are all one material, I suspect they may not give the same issues.

As a start though, set your glass to standard and water/liquids to standard glass too and see what happens... (I notice you have one of the aerials black! `¬) )

I'll check back at lunchtime, got to work now!

> Quote - I got this in the oven.

I've been going through this thread from the last page, these two caught my eye. excellent work mousso. Great pose and lighting on each.

testing some globe lighting in the previous scene, and the globe is still intersecting the tube rack... little bit of noise in this one due to adding the cylinder light sources in the globe, but its a start! (liquids are set to 'water' and glass to hyper realistic) - three 'black' books, and the black antenna...

This is the scene from the latest download, Paolo has moved the tube rack out from the globe and I have transfered most of the materials etc... all the glass is set as 'standard' glass, and the liquid is also 'standard' glass... as mentioned above, if I use hyper real glass or water, then the three books go 'black' and one of the radio antenna... I will finish transfering the textures etc and decide what to do from then! (the '666' is a suitable reminder of the 'mad lab' - I'm sure it's coincidence?)

So far it's working! All my glass and liquids, which I set to glass, are just glass, nothing checked off and it's rendering fine so far!  I'm waiting for the brain bucket to clear up a little more noise and then it should be done. Thank you SO much for the help!

Glad it is moving forward! I've just set running for overnight; maybe tomorrow we can see about starting to set some of the glass / liquids if we want some more detail... the top image above actually does have the hyper glass and liquids as water... so will look at a comparison. The brain is quite glossy, but so far it has a tendancy to clear up, so here's waiting to see what happens! `¬)

Great work mbin (love the light on the top image!), and congrats to Xandi to finding your success!

In a bottle no less =D

Quote - > Quote - New Windows dev build -

Noise Aware Lux

Which is here. Only for the brave :)

 Tried it on the Mac.  What fun!!  Basically, you go into View and turn on Show Sampling Map, then go to the new User Driven Sample tab, add a pen and draw where you want, hit Apply, then turn off the Show Samping Map, and wait a bit.  Voila!  

Good job mbin. Fun to see that scene come to life in Lux.

BTW, I don't know if you are all aware but I keep a "development journal" about Reality 3. I hope it's OK to mention it here, since it's kept on RDNA, if not I apologize in advance to the moderators and I will accept the appropriate punishment :)

Anyway, the latest update is here:

http://forum.runtimedna.com/showthread.php?72442-Reality-3-development-journal&p=710144&viewfull=1#post710144

You can traverse the thread back to the beginnin if you want to see the previous entries.

I post every week there so you might want to subscribe to the thread if you want to stay up to date on the developement of Reality 3.

Cheers.

^^ Good read (above). Learned quite a bit about the Reality to Lux export process that I didn't know. Kinda feels like watching Michelangelo paint the Sistene Chapel. =D

...so this is the overnight run (10h) with the 'standard' glass, the only addition is the background (which needs to be made the right size to the room, as it shows in the globe at the moment as just the plane it is! - will be sticking to a tomb theme tho... just need to apply the 'scene' to the whole room to get the reflections and refractions to look correct) I'm quite surprised at how well the glass has come out compared to the hyper real, I guess it will be easier to tell once the lighting etc is sorted and I can see the differences. This run I have put the tomb image behind the table rather than having it reflected by a mirror in that position... Not sure which I like best at the moment...  (any preferances?) still a lot of things to do tho! this could turn into a long project? (only getting to spend a little time on it each couple of days!)

@SuperBoom; thanks! I notice your latest also has some 'sparks', not sure how well my using primitives is going to work, I did try making lightening with lots of cylinders once! ...I may try using Dformers this time?

@Paolo, Thanks! it is fun, although there are some strange interactions which are making it a bit more complicated... Hopefully tho, the final result will be ok! 

Mbi, the lightinng thingy was actually a full prop I found somewhere on my travels. I don't recall just where at the moment, but I'll post a link if I find it again. Your glasswork makes me want to use 'standard' glass on something, and quick! Looks great, especially with the tomb background. Post that baby full size when she cleans up a bit more!

 

Add: Pretty sure these were it: http://www.runtimedna.com/RDNA-Atmospherics-Lightning-Vol-1.html

actual 3d props

you should be able to click (twice?) on it for full size... There is still a lot to do, the final render (when ever that will be!) will be 1920x1200 tho...

The only thing I notice with this latest scene is that the tops of the test tubes seem to be 'corrugated', which doesn't seem to be visible when looking at the mesh view? I just checked, and it seems to have been like that all along... (I've done test renders on several different versions of the download), so not sure what's happening there...

thanks for the link, I will have to check that out!

Which do you prefer, this version, or the one with the tomb reflected in the mirror?

`¬)

Does anyone have the link for the mad lab without the intersecting globe and test tube stand?    I have 3 versions and all of them intersect..  I also noticed that book binding 05 intersects with the brain top.

It should be available from the original link, Paolo did update it a couple of times, and the last one is the one I'm just moving over to. It should be the version that is here... https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3701566/3DRenderChallenge/MadScience.zip 

If that version is still intersecting, then Paolo is your man!

yes, I also noticed the brain lid and book, but it is very slight!

No one took me up on the offer of the Dformer data for the tube rack, I was going to post them as a matter of course, but have not had the time yet. I will post them this weekend tho, but they will only work if you import the scene at 125%, otherwise all the positional co-ordinates will be wrong... I will post them, I will.... `¬)

I'm off to hook up my new cd player, so catch you later!

Quote - It should be available from the original link, Paolo did update it a couple of times, and the last one is the one I'm just moving over to. It should be the version that is here... https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3701566/3DRenderChallenge/MadScience.zip 

If that version is still intersecting, then Paolo is your man!

yes, I also noticed the brain lid and book, but it is very slight!

No one took me up on the offer of the Dformer data for the tube rack, I was going to post them as a matter of course, but have not had the time yet. I will post them this weekend tho, but they will only work if you import the scene at 125%, otherwise all the positional co-ordinates will be wrong... I will post them, I will.... `¬)

I'm off to hook up my new cd player, so catch you later!

 

Thanks!  I will give your deformer a go. I never could get those to work right for me. I understand how they work, I can never seem to apply them correctly. 

Quote - BTW, I don't know if you are all aware but I keep a "development journal" about Reality 3. I hope it's OK to mention it here, since it's kept on RDNA, if not I apologize in advance to the moderators and I will accept the appropriate punishment :)

Anyway, the latest update is here:

http://forum.runtimedna.com/showthread.php?72442-Reality-3-development-journal&p=710144&viewfull=1#post710144

You can traverse the thread back to the beginnin if you want to see the previous entries.

I post every week there so you might want to subscribe to the thread if you want to stay up to date on the developement of Reality 3.

Cheers.

 

Read the whole thread, Paolo. I think I'm subscribed to it. Very interesting, even to someone like me who knows next to nothing about program writing.

We were talking previously about c/s and efficiency and gpu efficiency etc etc.. here's a screenie for ya to check out....

 

Didn't quite come out like I was hoping it to; but, put it up as my gallery post for today as I didn't have anything else to post.

A little Lab re-do.....  Love the new version of Lux, it seems faster and the ability to focus on one area that's being a PITA is great...

Quote - Didn't quite come out like I was hoping it to; but, put it up as my gallery post for today as I didn't have anything else to post.

 

Add some DOF to blur the background. IMHO it looks as if it's in a studio. The horse and all, its equipment looks great.     What texture is that on the horse?

it's from the mil horse bundle from daz.. buckskin

Quote - it's from the mil horse bundle from daz.. buckskin

I never got it to look that good. You must have the perfect balance of light and spec.

Well done.

that was a push-button render.. i did nothing other than turn the stock daz studio mats to matte from glossy.  except for the mane, tail and fetlocks.  and a single mesh light about 45 degrees above behind the camera and go

I like it too, Sharky! Horse looks very natural ;-)

Quote - A little Lab re-do.....  Love the new version of Lux, it seems faster and the ability to focus on one area that's being a PITA is great...

...nice! I see the black antenna, do you have water or hyper set anywhere? Just trying to find out if there is a relationship somehow! `¬)

The Dformer data; I will do screen shot for them, and all that will be needed will be to add to the scene and type in the relevent parameters. Provided the scene was imported at 125%, they should just work! (and that the scene was not moved, but then there shouldn't be a reason to move it, as it is self contained...) Will post them at the weekend `¬)

Quote - > Quote - A little Lab re-do.....  Love the new version of Lux, it seems faster and the ability to focus on one area that's being a PITA is great...

...nice! I see the black antenna, do you have water or hyper set anywhere? Just trying to find out if there is a relationship somehow! `¬)

The Dformer data; I will do screen shot for them, and all that will be needed will be to add to the scene and type in the relevent parameters. Provided the scene was imported at 125%, they should just work! (and that the scene was not moved, but then there shouldn't be a reason to move it, as it is self contained...) Will post them at the weekend `¬)

No Hyper or water in this one. 

Been a while since I checked in here, hope everyone is well. 

I've come across a problem I know I've seen before but can't for the life of me recall the solution - using the eyebrow surface has exposed a black seam in Lux.Turning it off leaves me with no eyebrows (none on base texture) - Is there a quick fix short of manually layering the images of the eyebrows into the face surface? I tried that and of course the line up doesn't just work so I figured I'd ask for an alternate solution. 

Thanks!

Quote - Been a while since I checked in here, hope everyone is well. 

I've come across a problem I know I've seen before but can't for the life of me recall the solution - using the eyebrow surface has exposed a black seam in Lux.Turning it off leaves me with no eyebrows (none on base texture) - Is there a quick fix short of manually layering the images of the eyebrows into the face surface? I tried that and of course the line up doesn't just work so I figured I'd ask for an alternate solution. 

Thanks!

 

You must be running old versions of Reality/Lux.   If and I say IF, I remember correctly the problem is that you have the scene set to exterior.  Change that to interior in Reality...   I hope that helps and that I remembered it correctly. If I didn't somebody will be along to slap me and set this matter straight.   LOL

> Quote - > Quote - Been a while since I checked in here, hope everyone is well.  > > > > I've come across a problem I know I've seen before but can't for the life of me recall the solution - using the eyebrow surface has exposed a black seam in Lux.Turning it off leaves me with no eyebrows (none on base texture) - Is there a quick fix short of manually layering the images of the eyebrows into the face surface? I tried that and of course the line up doesn't just work so I figured I'd ask for an alternate solution.  > > > > Thanks! > >   > > You must be running old versions of Reality/Lux.   If and I say IF, I remember correctly the problem is that you have the scene set to exterior.  Change that to interior in Reality...   I hope that helps and that I remembered it correctly. If I didn't somebody will be along to slap me and set this matter straight.   LOL

Reality version 2.5 -- Build: 2.50.1.104

Lux 1.1 

Scene type is Interior. 

Here is the screen of the issue, the big concern being the black seam squiggle, but I can see there is a gap in the hair of the eyebrow (just as it ends up in shadow from her bangs) which I hope is also related. 

It looks a lot like the issue I was having.  If you have 2 meshes colliding with each other than you'll see black splotches.  On the eyebrows.. use a smoothing modifier.. set it real low like 1 or 2.. then set the collision instances to like 5 and set the collision object as genesis.  should clear up

Quote - It looks a lot like the issue I was having.  If you have 2 meshes colliding with each other than you'll see black splotches.  On the eyebrows.. use a smoothing modifier.. set it real low like 1 or 2.. then set the collision instances to like 5 and set the collision object as genesis.  should clear up

It isn't genesis, it's V4 and her built in eyebrow bit. I didn't think you could use built in bits for the smoothing/collision detection stuff. There is no seam/issue showing in a 3Delight render (hence why I'm asking here). 

I'll see if I can apply the idea. 

Plixy.. since it's V4.. i have no freakin idea.  There are a lot of imperfections that won't show up in a biased renderer that won't stand up to the light of day in a renderer like luxrender.  

Quote - > Quote - It looks a lot like the issue I was having.  If you have 2 meshes colliding with each other than you'll see black splotches.  On the eyebrows.. use a smoothing modifier.. set it real low like 1 or 2.. then set the collision instances to like 5 and set the collision object as genesis.  should clear up

It isn't genesis, it's V4 and her built in eyebrow bit. I didn't think you could use built in bits for the smoothing/collision detection stuff. There is no seam/issue showing in a 3Delight render (hence why I'm asking here). 

I'll see if I can apply the idea. 

It may well be a mesh collision issue. It's sure not what I thought you were describing. If Sharky's suggestion does not work try adjusting the bangs out from the forehead slightly... 

 

Edit: What hair is that?

Edit2:What character is that?

Quote - > Quote - > Quote - It looks a lot like the issue I was having.  If you have 2 meshes colliding with each other than you'll see black splotches.  On the eyebrows.. use a smoothing modifier.. set it real low like 1 or 2.. then set the collision instances to like 5 and set the collision object as genesis.  should clear up

It isn't genesis, it's V4 and her built in eyebrow bit. I didn't think you could use built in bits for the smoothing/collision detection stuff. There is no seam/issue showing in a 3Delight render (hence why I'm asking here). 

I'll see if I can apply the idea. 

It may well be a mesh collision issue. It's sure not what I thought you were describing. If Sharky's suggestion does not work try adjusting the bangs out from the forehead slightly... 

 

Edit: What hair is that?

Edit2:What character is that?

 

Why would adjusting the bangs help when it's her eyebrows that are the issue? Character is FK-Jannika  (V4) (with dial mods) and the hair is Alanis, with a toxic texture. But again it seems to be the Eyebrow body part object - allowing to change eyebrow colours - there is no eyebrow on the base texture - a part which is typically off in my usual V4 renders. 

Thanks for the contiuned help/suggestions/ideas.

Quote - > Quote - > Quote - > Quote - It looks a lot like the issue I was having.  If you have 2 meshes colliding with each other than you'll see black splotches.  On the eyebrows.. use a smoothing modifier.. set it real low like 1 or 2.. then set the collision instances to like 5 and set the collision object as genesis.  should clear up

It isn't genesis, it's V4 and her built in eyebrow bit. I didn't think you could use built in bits for the smoothing/collision detection stuff. There is no seam/issue showing in a 3Delight render (hence why I'm asking here). 

I'll see if I can apply the idea. 

It may well be a mesh collision issue. It's sure not what I thought you were describing. If Sharky's suggestion does not work try adjusting the bangs out from the forehead slightly... 

 

Edit: What hair is that?

Edit2:What character is that?

 

Why would adjusting the bangs help when it's her eyebrows that are the issue? Character is FK-Jannika  (V4) (with dial mods) and the hair is Alanis, with a toxic texture. But again it seems to be the Eyebrow body part object - allowing to change eyebrow colours - there is no eyebrow on the base texture - a part which is typically off in my usual V4 renders. 

Thanks for the contiuned help/suggestions/ideas.

I'm thinking it is one mesh intersecting another. An easy test would be to remove the hair and give it a quick render and see if the problem goes away.  I was hoping I had that model so I could do a quick test for you but I do not own ether one.

 

I could be totaly wrong about this, just trying to help the best I can.

 

Test it systematically. Start with the model no eyebrows (Render), add eyebrows (render) then hair etc, etc. That way you will know for sure where the problem is. I have seen this problem in the past but not for a long time. I was hoping someone that's had this problem would jump in here but this forum has been real quite today.  

> Quote - > Quote - > Quote - > Quote - > Quote - It looks a lot like the issue I was having.  If you have 2 meshes colliding with each other than you'll see black splotches.  On the eyebrows.. use a smoothing modifier.. set it real low like 1 or 2.. then set the collision instances to like 5 and set the collision object as genesis.  should clear up > > > > > > > > It isn't genesis, it's V4 and her built in eyebrow bit. I didn't think you could use built in bits for the smoothing/collision detection stuff. There is no seam/issue showing in a 3Delight render (hence why I'm asking here).  > > > > > > > > I'll see if I can apply the idea.  > > > > > > It may well be a mesh collision issue. It's sure not what I thought you were describing. If Sharky's suggestion does not work try adjusting the bangs out from the forehead slightly...  > > > > > >   > > > > > > Edit: What hair is that? > > > > > > Edit2:What character is that? > > > >   > > > > Why would adjusting the bangs help when it's her eyebrows that are the issue? Character is FK-Jannika  (V4) (with dial mods) and the hair is Alanis, with a toxic texture. But again it seems to be the Eyebrow body part object - allowing to change eyebrow colours - there is no eyebrow on the base texture - a part which is typically off in my usual V4 renders.  > > > > Thanks for the contiuned help/suggestions/ideas. > > I'm thinking it is one mesh intersecting another. An easy test would be to remove the hair and give it a quick render and see if the problem goes away.  I was hoping I had that model so I could do a quick test for you but I do not own ether one. > >   > > I could be totaly wrong about this, just trying to help the best I can. > >   > > Test it systematically. Start with the model no eyebrows (Render), add eyebrows (render) then hair etc, etc. That way you will know for sure where the problem is. I have seen this problem in the past but not for a long time. I was hoping someone that's had this problem would jump in here but this forum has been real quite today.  

I agree with the testing plan, and started with the most suspect in my mind, the eyebrow - taking it one step further to make sure my 'last resort' option of layering the eyebrow texture into the face would give me a seamless result after turning off the eyebrow-V4-piece. See screenshot. 

It still doesn't feel like the correct fix, but does I feel isolate the problem to the eyebrow. I don't know what it does with respect to preventing adjustments to the eyebrow for expressions or the like or if this is just a surface not a geometry I'm turning off. 

 

Quote - > Quote - > Quote - > Quote - > Quote - > Quote - It looks a lot like the issue I was having.  If you have 2 meshes colliding with each other than you'll see black splotches.  On the eyebrows.. use a smoothing modifier.. set it real low like 1 or 2.. then set the collision instances to like 5 and set the collision object as genesis.  should clear up

It isn't genesis, it's V4 and her built in eyebrow bit. I didn't think you could use built in bits for the smoothing/collision detection stuff. There is no seam/issue showing in a 3Delight render (hence why I'm asking here). 

I'll see if I can apply the idea. 

It may well be a mesh collision issue. It's sure not what I thought you were describing. If Sharky's suggestion does not work try adjusting the bangs out from the forehead slightly... 

 

Edit: What hair is that?

Edit2:What character is that?

 

Why would adjusting the bangs help when it's her eyebrows that are the issue? Character is FK-Jannika  (V4) (with dial mods) and the hair is Alanis, with a toxic texture. But again it seems to be the Eyebrow body part object - allowing to change eyebrow colours - there is no eyebrow on the base texture - a part which is typically off in my usual V4 renders. 

Thanks for the contiuned help/suggestions/ideas.

I'm thinking it is one mesh intersecting another. An easy test would be to remove the hair and give it a quick render and see if the problem goes away.  I was hoping I had that model so I could do a quick test for you but I do not own ether one.

 

I could be totaly wrong about this, just trying to help the best I can.

 

Test it systematically. Start with the model no eyebrows (Render), add eyebrows (render) then hair etc, etc. That way you will know for sure where the problem is. I have seen this problem in the past but not for a long time. I was hoping someone that's had this problem would jump in here but this forum has been real quite today.  

I agree with the testing plan, and started with the most suspect in my mind, the eyebrow - taking it one step further to make sure my 'last resort' option of layering the eyebrow texture into the face would give me a seamless result after turning off the eyebrow-V4-piece. See screenshot. 

It still doesn't feel like the correct fix, but does I feel isolate the problem to the eyebrow. I don't know what it does with respect to preventing adjustments to the eyebrow for expressions or the like or if this is just a surface not a geometry I'm turning off. 

 

I checked the product and it's an image applied using a transparency so your method should work just fine..

Plixy, have you tried using geometry shell with 0 offset distance?

Came across this. Lighting setups

Quote - Plixy, have you tried using geometry shell with 0 offset distance?

Ah... No, brows are a sperate object... I thnk?

Hiya Plixy,

If you're still having problems with the eye brow, just go into studio and make sure its turned off (deselected with the eye).

This will still show up in reality as a material, but it should show up as matte, with the opacity all the way to zero in the alpha channel.

Its an easy fix and works every time.

I've been very slow to use the Genesis platform so a lot of the fav characters are still on m4/v4. 

Quote - Hiya Plixy,

If you're still having problems with the eye brow, just go into studio and make sure its turned off (deselected with the eye).

This will still show up in reality as a material, but it should show up as matte, with the opacity all the way to zero in the alpha channel.

Its an easy fix and works every time.

I've been very slow to use the Genesis platform so a lot of the fav characters are still on m4/v4. 

As I mentioned, I normally have the eyebrow off (as you state) in Studio - just in this case it was on because it was actually being used for the eyebrow texture. I've worked around it by manually layering the eyebrow I wanted on SkinFace - which had no eyebrow at all. 

Are you suggesting given this that it would've worked if I'd not layered the texture but left it off? That seems pretty counter intuitive to me. :) 

I must say this level of helpfulness never failes to amaze me in the reality forums. :)

Quote - As I mentioned, I normally have the eyebrow off (as you state) in Studio - just in this case it was on because it was actually being used for the eyebrow texture. I've worked around it by manually layering the eyebrow I wanted on SkinFace - which had no eyebrow at all. 

Are you suggesting given this that it would've worked if I'd not layered the texture but left it off? That seems pretty counter intuitive to me. :) 

I must say this level of helpfulness never failes to amaze me in the reality forums. :)

I'm not familiar with Skinface, but if you're comfortable with Photoshop or Gimp, I'd just graft your eyebrow onto the main face texture and blend the seam lines with the clone tool, then touch up what can't be fixed with the air brush in a semi-opaque spray. 

Just my experience, but when I set up face textures for custom characters, all the UV mapping for the face uses said singular face texture for everything, chin to forehead and cheek to cheek. The eyebrow never gets its own map, which is why I suspect they got rid of the eyebrow selection altogether for Genesis. 

Back to Gen4, it should be invisible on your character by default, but depending on who set the character up (especially if it wasn't done for Studio or a daz character, i.e. a poser figure), you'll see the eyebrow as a singular addition on your character which will render looking like a peach colored skin flap. 

The only thing that requries a separate map for a Gen4 character's face to really work, aside from eye maps, is an alpha map for the eyelashes.

I couldn't begin to guess your user level, but if you've not seen how reality/Lux interprets the face texture, next time you're in reality, select the face texture portion of your character in the material section and view it through the texture+uv option, within the gear menu on the far right side.

The material that the face is UV mapped to will show up looking like a wire frame mesh and semi-transparent atop the face texture.  Everything on the face tex should be there, minus cut-outs for the eyes. If your character's eyebrows are also missing, voila, there's your problem. 

If you already knew that, my apologies. New baby at home (finally!!) is killing the ol brain pan's cognitive functions. 

Ignore the above. I got a nap, reread the thread and see what you're on about now. Doh!

I wonder, if it's not the mesh itself, if it's an issue with a bump or normal map (if you're using a normal, that is)? 

I remember having an issue like that with lips where there was a subtle ring around the mouth area that I figured out was the seams not lining up after remaking the face texture and not fixing the bump to match. In troubleshooting before I figured out the problem, I removed all depth-effect maps and found where the seam problem came from.

It that isn't it, I can throw some more random darts your way after another nap ;-) 

Quote - > Quote - It should be available from the original link, Paolo did update it a couple of times, and the last one is the one I'm just moving over to. It should be the version that is here... https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3701566/3DRenderChallenge/MadScience.zip 

If that version is still intersecting, then Paolo is your man!

yes, I also noticed the brain lid and book, but it is very slight!

No one took me up on the offer of the Dformer data for the tube rack, I was going to post them as a matter of course, but have not had the time yet. I will post them this weekend tho, but they will only work if you import the scene at 125%, otherwise all the positional co-ordinates will be wrong... I will post them, I will.... `¬)

I'm off to hook up my new cd player, so catch you later!

 

Thanks!  I will give your deformer a go. I never could get those to work right for me. I understand how they work, I can never seem to apply them correctly. 

I was just sorting out the screen grabs and info for the Dformers, and have been thwarted yet again! The first Dformer failed to work, even though I could see it is in the correct place. On closer examination of the mesh, although the tube rack has not been moved, I can see that the mesh density of the rack is double what it was before. This means there are additional points that now need to be moved by a relative amount to make it correct. I am rather annoyed that these Dformers will not work, and have no idea why the mesh density has changed... If I have the time later I may see if adding multiple Dformers to each area will help... this is now getting to be beyond my knowledge/ability to Dform the rack back into its correct shape! - if anyone else has any suggestions? ...I'd really like to use the latest scene, but unless the mesh density can be adjusted to be as it was, I may end up staying with the previous setup... I also notice the liquid surface inside the tubes is not smooth again either... (in the latest and previous version...)

For my Dformers to work, the mesh needs to be the density of the mesh shown on the lhs, and the tube rack must not have been moved in the scene... Paolo, any suggestions?

Present tubes surface...

...If anyone wants the Dformers for the previous scene, then I may post them... but I've spent too much time on this today now... sorry!

 

Managed to squeeze one more render in before I start writing this script I should have started and will start tonight.  I can sort of justify my time spent on this since it's inspired by a character from the story. 

B&W film response in Lux and the red was done with Topaz B&W filter in Photoshop.