Create a Beautiful Sunset Scene Using Dreamscape and 3ds Max

In this tutorial you will learn how to create a beautiful sunset over a calm sea using DreamScape and 3dsmax. DreamScape is sophisticated set of plug-ins for 3dsmax, that allows you to create and render realistic landscapes, seascapes, skies, clouds, outdoor lighting and more.

Final Effect Preview

Step 1

First of all, to render a scene with DreamScape, you will need to create a special light called "Sun". In the "Create" panel, click the "Lights" icon, then from the dropdown menu, select "DreamScape", and add a "Sun" light in the viewport.

Step 2

Move this light to the coordinates: x = 1700, y = 11000, and z = 800.

Step 3

Create a free camera, and move it to the coordinates: x = 0, y = 0, and z = 100. Rotate the camera by '87' degrees on the 'x' axis.

Step 4

Next, you will create the sun and the clouds. Press the '8' key on the keyboard, to open the "Environment" panel. In the "Atmosphere" rollout, click the "Add" button and choose "DreamScape".

Step 5

In the "General Parameters" rollout, click the "Preview" button to open the "DreamScape Sky Preview" window. This tool allows you to quickly review your sky settings in realtime.

Step 6

In the "Atmosphere Parameters" rollout, change the "Sky Density" to '5', the "Glow" value to '4', and the "H Scale" to '5000'.

Step 7

After that, change the "Haze Density" to '2', the "H Scale" to '200', and the "Brightness" value to '2'.

Step 8

In the "Clouds Parameters" rollout, change the "Clouds Type" to "Cirrus". Under the "Shape" group, change the "Detail" value to '16', the "Scale" to '0.25', the "Coverage" value to '0.8' and the "Sharpness" value to '0.5'.

Step 9

If you want to move the clouds around, you can do it in the "DreamScape Sky Preview" window. Click in the "Clouds Shape Preview", and holding the left mouse button, move the clouds and see the result in realtime. This affects the "Motion Offset" 'x' and 'y' parameters.

Step 10

Render the scene. If you want another result, you can play with all these settings until you get something you like.

Step 11

Next you will create the sea surface. Go to the "Create" panel, click the "Geometry" icon, and from the dropdown menu, select "DreamScape Objects", and add a "Sea Surface" in the viewport.

Step 12

Under the "Parameters" rollout, change the "Surface Type" to "Adaptive Mesh". This allows you to create a sea surface relative to your camera position and field of view (the sea surface that is nearest to the camera will be more detailed than the surface that is further away).

Step 13

Change the "Surface Width" to '400' and the "Surface Length" to '10000'.

Step 14

Under the "Adaptive Mesh" rollout, click the "Pick Camera" icon, and select the camera in the viewport.

Step 15

Under the "Waves" rollout, change the "Height Scale" to '0.7' and the "Choppy Waves" value to '1.3'.

Step 16

Open the "Material Editor", click the "Get Material" icon, and select "DreamScape: SeaMaterial" in the "Material Browser".

Step 17

In the "Material Editor", under the "DreamScape: SeaMaterial Parameters" rollout, set the "Sharpness" value to '10', change the "Sky Color Type" to "DreamScape Sky", and the "Underwater Color Type" to "DreamScape SubSurface".

Step 18

In the "Bump Map" slot, add a "DreamScape: Sea Bump" map to add more details to the waves. Assign this material to the "Sea Surface".

Step 19

Finally, in the "Time Configuration" panel, set the "FPS" to '25' . Turn on "Auto Key", and animate the "Sun" on the 'z' axis, from '800' at frame '0' to '600' at frame '100'. That's all, you can now render the animation.

Final Effect

Below you can see my final results. I hope you enjoyed this intro to Dreamscape in 3ds Max!

From: http://cgi.tutsplus.com/tutorials/create-a-beautiful-sunset-scene-using-dreamscape-and-3ds-max--cg-1097

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