Forum: Poser - OFFICIAL


Subject: Why is the HDR map not loading/rendering completely?

Anim8dtoon opened this issue on Sep 28, 2019 · 14 posts


Anim8dtoon posted Sat, 28 September 2019 at 9:49 PM Forum Moderator

Hi peeps, I'm working on a scene in Poser 11 Pro using a hi-res HDR map to light it via Snarlygribbly's EZDome Python script, but need help because, for some reason, the HDR background is not completely loading/rendering (see image). What can I do to fix this so that it looks right? Many thanks in advance for your help! Anim8dtoon!

Modern Day Mona Lisa.jpg


hborre posted Sat, 28 September 2019 at 10:13 PM

which dome did you use and what type of HDR map was applied to it? If you are using a globe dome, you need a panorama map to cover everything. You could try rotating the dome to see if the offending spot moves elsewhere.


Anim8dtoon posted Sat, 28 September 2019 at 10:34 PM Forum Moderator

hborre posted at 10:29PM Sat, 28 September 2019 - #4364693

which dome did you use and what type of HDR map was applied to it? If you are using a globe dome, you need a panorama map to cover everything. You could try rotating the dome to see if the offending spot moves elsewhere.

I used Bagginsbill's EnvSphere in conjunction with Snarly's EZDome script, and the HDR map is a 90MB 8192 × 4096 generic one that I downloaded from HDRIHaven at this link: https://hdrihaven.com/files/hdris/rustig_koppie_8k.hdr

Hope that helps in determining just what the issue is and how I can fix it. Thank you!


hborre posted Sat, 28 September 2019 at 11:07 PM

BB’s dome is a different size than Snarly. Plus EZDome uses 2 domes for lighting and imaging. I never combine both methods, I use one or the other. If you’re using BB Dome, just load the HDR. Don’t use the script.


hborre posted Sat, 28 September 2019 at 11:49 PM

I just checked the HDR against BB's Envsphere and it renders find with his settings alone. Any HDR used for Snarly's EZDome should be an sIBL collection or the HDR converted into such collection to be used properly in the script. You would need to use sIBLEdit program to perform the conversion.


Snarlygribbly posted Sun, 29 September 2019 at 6:42 AM

You shouldn't use BB's sphere and EZDome together - EZDome already incorporates BB's sphere (used with permission). Using both may result in conflicts in the geometry.

Free stuff @ https://poser.cobrablade.net/


Snarlygribbly posted Sun, 29 September 2019 at 6:44 AM

hborre posted at 12:43PM Sun, 29 September 2019 - #4364704

I just checked the HDR against BB's Envsphere and it renders find with his settings alone. Any HDR used for Snarly's EZDome should be an sIBL collection or the HDR converted into such collection to be used properly in the script. You would need to use sIBLEdit program to perform the conversion.

Actually, you can recreate the sIBL setup from within EZDome without the need for an external tool. sIBL collections do save a lot of effort though.

Free stuff @ https://poser.cobrablade.net/


bagginsbill posted Sun, 29 September 2019 at 8:46 AM

Poser's camera model includes a "yon" value that prevents the rendering of polygons beyond that distance to the camera. It defaults to 1000 PNU (860 feet). For this reason, my EnvSphere was created with a radius of just 750 feet, so people who can't read instructions will not be surprised.

I believe the EZDome geometry (which has TWO copies of the EnvSphere) is similarly sized. Just to be sure the "yon" value is not creating the problem, try increasing the yon value.

Note, Poser 11.2 seems to support a much larger value for yon than before. I typed in many 9's, like 9999999 and in the past this value would exceed the maximum and a different number would show. Now it takes it.


Renderosity forum reply notifications are wonky. If I read a follow-up in a thread, but I don't myself reply, then notifications no longer happen AT ALL on that thread. So if I seem to be ignoring a question, that's why. (Updated September 23, 2019)


Anim8dtoon posted Tue, 01 October 2019 at 8:45 PM Forum Moderator

Peeps, thank you all so much for your responses! I should have clarified that for the scene above, I was using BB's sphere that's incorporated into EZDome, not the one that resides in the Runtime library separately. Bagginsbill, I'll give your suggestion of increasing the yon value of the camera. Just one question, and that is, would that be the main camera, or the posing camera? Many thanks for your help!


Anim8dtoon posted Tue, 01 October 2019 at 8:47 PM Forum Moderator

hborre posted at 8:46PM Tue, 01 October 2019 - #4364704

I just checked the HDR against BB's Envsphere and it renders find with his settings alone. Any HDR used for Snarly's EZDome should be an sIBL collection or the HDR converted into such collection to be used properly in the script. You would need to use sIBLEdit program to perform the conversion.

Hborre, where would I find sIBLEdit to download? Is that a Python script or an app? Is it compatible with Mac OS X? Thanks for the suggestion!


hborre posted Tue, 01 October 2019 at 9:38 PM

The app is a free standalone but only available for Windows and Linux. I see no Mac support. However, there are free sIBL files available from HDRLabs and I think from other sources. Here is the link so you may at least become knowledgeable on the subject: http://www.hdrlabs.com/sibl/sibl-edit.html


Anim8dtoon posted Tue, 01 October 2019 at 10:56 PM Forum Moderator

hborre posted at 10:56PM Tue, 01 October 2019 - #4365324

The app is a free standalone but only available for Windows and Linux. I see no Mac support. However, there are free sIBL files available from HDRLabs and I think from other sources. Here is the link so you may at least become knowledgeable on the subject: http://www.hdrlabs.com/sibl/sibl-edit.html

Thank you so much for your help!


bagginsbill posted Wed, 02 October 2019 at 10:05 AM

Anim8dtoon posted at 11:04AM Wed, 02 October 2019 - #4365314

Just one question, and that is, would that be the main camera, or the posing camera?

It would be the (or any or every) camera you are using to render with. Changing properties on other cameras you're NOT using during the render will never affect the render.


Renderosity forum reply notifications are wonky. If I read a follow-up in a thread, but I don't myself reply, then notifications no longer happen AT ALL on that thread. So if I seem to be ignoring a question, that's why. (Updated September 23, 2019)


Anim8dtoon posted Wed, 02 October 2019 at 2:13 PM Forum Moderator

bagginsbill posted at 2:13PM Wed, 02 October 2019 - #4365398

Anim8dtoon posted at 11:04AM Wed, 02 October 2019 - #4365314

Just one question, and that is, would that be the main camera, or the posing camera?

It would be the (or any or every) camera you are using to render with. Changing properties on other cameras you're NOT using during the render will never affect the render.

Bagginsbill, thank you so much for the clarification! Much appreciated, and keep up the wonderful work you and Snarly do!