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Overview

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The VRaySun and VRaySky are are special features which are provided by the V-Ray renderer. Developed to work together, the the VRaySun and  and VRaySky reproduce the real-life sun and sky environment of the Earth. Both are coded so that they change their appearance depending on the direction of the VRaySun.

The VRayGeoSun node allows you to set the position of the V-Ray Sun for a specific place in the world at a given time.

The VRaySun is frequently used with the environment texture map VRaySky.

The V-Ray Sun and Sky systems are based largely on the SIGGRAPH 1999 paper A Practical Analytic Model for Daylight [1]. For a complete list of references, please see the Links & References section.

Note that for the Clouds to work with VRaySun, a VRaySky is required.

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titleUI Path: ||V-Ray Shelf|| > VRaySun: Create a VRay Sun light button
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 ||V-Ray Shelf|| > VRaySun: Create a VRay Sun light button

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 ||Render Settings window|| > Overrides tab > Environment rollout > Create Sun button


 

 

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The V-Ray Shelf includes right-click options from the Sun button that allows an easy way to Select or Delete the Sun node if needed. 

 

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Parameters

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After the sun is created, its parameters appear in the Attribute Editor.

 

Enabled – Turns the sun light on and off.

Intensity multiplier – The brightness of the sun. Since the sun is very bright by default, you can use this parameter to reduce its effect. See the Notes section for more information. For more information, see the Intensity Multiplier example below.

Turbidity – Determines the amount of dust in the air, which in turn affects the color of the sun and sky. Smaller values produce a clear, blue sky and sun similar to what is seen in rural areas, while larger values make the sun and sky more yellow and orange as seen in a big city. For more information, see the Turbidity example below.

Ozone – Affects the color of the sun light. Available in the range between 0.0 and 1.0. Smaller values make the sunlight more yellow, while larger values make it bluer. For more information, see the Ozone example below.

Size multiplier – Controls the visible size of the sun. This affects the appearance of the sun disc as seen by the camera and reflections, as well as the blurriness of the sun shadows. For more information, see the Size Multiplier example below.

Sky Model – Determines the procedural model used to generate the VRaySky texture. See the Sky model example below for more information.

Hosek et al. – The VRaySky procedural texture is generated based on the Hosek et al. method. 
Preetham et al. – The VRaySky procedural texture is generated based on the Preetham et al. method.

CIE Clear – The VRaySky procedural texture is generated based on the CIE method for a clear sky.
CIE Overcast – The VRaySky procedural texture is generated based on the CIE method for a cloudy sky.
PRG Clear Sky – The VRaySky procedural texture is generated based on the Improved method which has enhanced sunrise and sunset sky. See the Improved Sun and Sky courseware page for more information on how to use it.

Horiz Illumination – Specifies the intensity (in lx) of the illumination on horizontal surfaces coming from the sky. This parameter is enabled when one of the CIE Sky Models are selected.

Color Mode – This mode affects the way the Filter Color hues the sun and sky light. 

Filter – Shifts the V-Ray Sun and Sky hue towards the color specified by the Filter Color.
Direct – Takes the Filter Color for the V-Ray Sun light. In this case, the light intensity is controlled by the Intensity multiplier and it does not depend on the Sun's position in the sky.
Override – Takes the Filter Color for the V-Ray Sun light, however the intensity is controlled by the position of the V-Ray Sun in the sky. 

Filter Color – Shifts the hue of the V-Ray Sun and Sky system towards the specified color.

Ground Albedo – Sets the color of the V-Ray Sun and Sky system's ground.

Blend Angle – Specifies the angle in degrees where blending will occur between the horizon line and sky. Values close to 0.0 produce a sharper horizon line, while larger values produce a softer horizon line.

Horizon Offset – Allows the user to manually lower the horizon line.

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Shadows

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Cast Shadows – When enabled, the sun produces shadows. 

Cast Shadows from environment – When enabled, the sun produces shadows from volumetric effects. 

Shadow bias – Moves the shadow toward or away from the shadow-casting object (or objects). Higher values move the shadow toward the object(s) while lower values move it away. If this value is too extreme, shadows can "leak" through places they shouldn't or "detach" from an object. Other effects from extreme values include Moire patterns, out-of-place dark areas on surfaces, and shadows not appearing at all in the rendering. For more information, see the Shadow Bias example below.

Shadow Color – Sets the color of the V-Ray Sun and Sky shadows. This option is inactive when using the V-Ray CUDA engine.

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Example: Shadow Bias


In the example renders below, the common settings are Intensity multiplier: 1, Size multiplier: 3.0, while the Shadow bias is the only attribute adjusted between renders. The values shown in the example are highly exaggerated to help show the effect the Shadow bias has on the scene. The change in the shadow position is most noticeable on the front of the building below the roof line where the shadow cast by the roof recedes back toward the top left overhang of the roof as the Shadow bias value increases.

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Options

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Invisible – When enabled , makes the sun invisible, both to the camera and to reflections. This is useful to prevent bright speckles on glossy surfaces where a ray with low probability hits the extremely bright sun disk.

Affect Diffuse – Determines whether the VRaySun is affecting the diffuse properties of the materials.

Affect Specular – Determines whether the VRaySun is affecting the specular of the materials. The multiplier controls the suns contribution to specular reflections.

Diffuse contribution – A multiplier for the effect of the light on the diffuse.

Specular contribution – A multiplier for the effect of the light on the specular.

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Photon Emission

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Photon radius – Determines the radius of the area in which photons will be shot. This area is represented by the cylinder around the Sun's ray vector. This parameter has effect when photons are used in the GI solutions or caustics. See the Photon Emission Radius example for more information.

Caustics subdivs – Used by V-Ray when calculating Caustics. Lower values mean more noisy results but will render faster. Higher values produce smoother results but take more time. This option is inactive when using the V-Ray CUDA engine.

Caustics Multiplier – Used by V-Ray when calculating Caustics. This multiplier controls the brightness of the caustics. This option is inactive when using the V-Ray CUDA engine.

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Example: Color Mapping Types

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Color mapping: Linear Multiply

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Color mapping: Exponential

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Color mapping: HSV exponential

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Color mapping: Intensity exponential

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Color mapping: Gamma correction

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Color mapping: Intensity Gamma

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Color mapping: Reinhard

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Clouds

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This feature is available in V-Ray 6 for Maya, Beta only.

Clouds On – Enables the cloud system.

Ground Shadows – When enabled, the clouds cast shadows. See the Ground Shadows example below for more information.

Density – Controls the density of the cumulus and stratus types of clouds. A value of 1 fills up the sky with clouds. See the Density example below for more information.

Variety – Controls the variety of the cumulus and stratus types of clouds. See the Variety example below for more information.

Cirrus Amount – The maximum value of 1 fills the sky with cirrus clouds. Decreasing the value, lowers the presence of such clouds. When set to 0, the cirrus clouds are completely gone. See the Cirrus Amount example below for more information.

Longitude Offset (m) – Moves the cloud system along the longitude. For more information, see the Longitude and Latitude Offset example below.

Latitude Offset (m) – Moves the cloud system along the latitude. For more information, see the Longitude and Latitude Offset example below.

Height (m) – Specifies the cloud position in height. For more information, see the Height example below.

Thickness (m) – Lower values make the cumulus and stratus types of clouds thin and sheer/lucent, while higher values make them full and heavy. For more information, see the Thickness example below.

Longitude Phase (%) – Controls the phase by longitude and it can be used to fine-tweak the cumulus and stratus clouds appearance. The appearance of the clouds loops at 0, 100, 200, etc. This parameter can be animated to resemble natural clouds appearance.

Latitude Phase (%) – Controls the phase by latitude and it can be fine-tweak the cumulus and stratus clouds appearance. The appearance of the clouds loops at 0, 100, 200, etc. This parameter can be animated to resemble natural clouds appearance.

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Example: Ground Shadows

 

The Ground Shadows option controls whether or not the clouds cast shadows in the scene. 

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Example: Density

 

The Density parameter controls the amount of clouds in the sky. The higher the value, the higher the amount of clouds appearing in the render. 

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Density = 0

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Example: Variety

 

This example shows how the Variety parameter affects the distribution and look of the clouds. 

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Variety = 1

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Example: Cirrus Amount

 

This example shows how increasing the Cirrus Amount increases the appearance of the cirrus clouds in the render. 

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Cirrus Amount = 0

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Cirrus Amount = 0.5

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Cirrus Amount = 1

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Example: Longitude and Latitude Offset 

 

This example shows how changing the Longitude and Latitude offsets affects the appearance of the clouds. 

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Longitude Offset = -250, Latitude Offset = 0

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Longitude Offset = -250, Latitude Offset = 500

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Example: Height

 

Notice how the clouds change their position in the sky with increasing the Height value. 

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Example: Thickness

 

The thickness parameter specifies how full the clouds are. Smaller values make them more thin and sheer, while higher values make them look heavy. 

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V-Ray Sky Texture

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For more information on the Sky portion of the V-Ray Sun and Sky System, please see the Sky Map (VRaySky) page.

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