I'm trying to creat the soft aura around the areas where harsh light hits an object.

My process, has been to render an alpha image of the highlights i want to have an aura.

I then create a selection in Photoshop based on that alpha, and copy and paste. This leaves me with the hightlight on a separate layer. Then I futz with the levels, blending mode, and outer glow layer effects untill I'm satisfied.

I'd like to know what other people's methods are for capturing this effect. -- Especially for animations.

Thanks,
Scott

Scott, Have you played with Glare any? I wrote it to create just such an effect. Best regards, Eric Winemiller Digital Carvers Guild 3D extensions for Carrara http://digitalcarversguild.com

Eric Winemiller
Digital Carvers Guild
Carrara and LightWave plug-ins

Yes, I am currently doing test renders with glare. I had some funny experiences with it not respecting transparency maps. It looks like I may render passes with select objects and glare, rather than a single pass. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

-Scott

Scott, An option here is to trace your edges of your circuit board in a Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator, export as an .ai file and then import that line art into the spline modeler to create a shape. You can then map the texture to it using the Layer List or Projection Mapping functions. This will allow you to use Glare. I'd love to see the finished image if you ever care to post back! Mark

Geeez. Of course i'll post it. (provided i finish it) still have much modeling to do. don't hold your breath. : )

Thanks for the tip on quasi-clipmapping. i guess i was afraid to try that earlier cause i'm splineless.

oh dear, i didn't just say that did i?

-scott