Enscape & AI Enhancement | Modulus Render

Modulus render
30 Mar 202420:09

TLDRThe video tutorial showcases the use of AI enhancement tools to improve the quality of 3D renders, particularly in materials like glass, fabrics, and vegetation. The creator demonstrates how scaling up the model in SketchUp and using a specific AI engine, Kaa, can refine details such as carpet strands and add realism. The process involves rendering the image, enhancing it with AI, and then using Photoshop to mask and combine elements from the enhanced image with the original render, resulting in a more realistic and visually appealing final product.

Takeaways

  • 🎨 The tutorial aims to explain how to improve renders using AI enhancement, specifically for materials in Enscape that may not be photorealistic enough.
  • 🌟 The creator is not fully supportive of AI tools at the beginning of the design process, but acknowledges their rapid improvement.
  • 🚀 The method discussed is applicable to various materials like glass, reflections, fur, carpet, and vegetation, aiming to enhance their realism.
  • 🛋️ A specific example is provided where the creator wanted to improve the appearance of a carpet in a SketchUp model with a chair in the foreground.
  • 🔍 The creator used a unique scaling technique, enlarging the model 10 times, to achieve finer details for the carpet material.
  • 💡 It's emphasized not to scale lights with the model as it could affect the lighting intensity and overall render quality.
  • 🌐 The lighting setup includes a large soft box-like light and spotlights to create highlights and reflections, contributing to the scene's realism.
  • 🤖 Two AI engines are mentioned: Kaa and Magnific, with the creator choosing Kaa for its affordability and satisfactory results.
  • 🎨 The AI enhancement process was mainly applied to improve the carpet material, with the creator using the 'enhance' feature of the AI engine.
  • 🖼️ Photoshop was utilized to overlay the AI-enhanced image on the original render, manually masking out unwanted enhancements to keep only the desired improvements.
  • 📸 The script concludes by encouraging further exploration of AI enhancement in rendering, with a reminder that while AI tools can be powerful, they should be used wisely and selectively.

Q & A

  • What is the main purpose of the tutorial?

    -The main purpose of the tutorial is to demonstrate how to enhance 3D renders, particularly the materials in Enscape, using AI tools to improve the realism of elements like glass, reflections, fur, carpet, and vegetation.

  • What is the AI tool mentioned in the tutorial?

    -The AI tool mentioned in the tutorial is Kaa AI, which the author used to enhance the carpet material and other elements in the 3D render.

  • How does the author suggest scaling the 3D model to improve the realism of small details?

    -The author suggests scaling the 3D model 10 times larger and then using a grass or carpet material to create finer and more realistic strands or hairs on the carpet.

  • What is the importance of not scaling the lights along with the model?

    -The importance of not scaling the lights with the model is that scaling the lights will not make them bigger or more powerful, which could negatively affect the lighting and shadows in the render.

  • What is the process for using the AI enhancement on the render?

    -The process involves uploading the render to the AI tool, selecting the 'enhance' option, and then downloading the enhanced image. The author then uses Photoshop to mask and combine the enhanced elements with the original render.

  • What are some of the materials that the AI enhancement can improve?

    -The AI enhancement can improve materials such as glass, reflections, fur, carpet, and vegetation by adding more detail and realism to these elements.

  • How does the author address the issue of the AI enhancement affecting unwanted parts of the image?

    -The author addresses this issue by using Photoshop to manually mask out the parts of the image that were not intended to be enhanced, ensuring that only the desired elements are affected by the AI improvements.

  • What is the significance of the AI tool's ability to enhance details in fabrics?

    -The AI tool's ability to enhance details in fabrics is significant because it can add realistic-looking folds, textures, and subsurface scattering to materials like velvet, which would otherwise be difficult to achieve in a 3D render.

  • How does the author use the AI tool to enhance the appearance of plants in the render?

    -The author uses the AI tool to enhance the appearance of plants by uploading the image, selecting the 'enhance' option, and then using Photoshop to mask and combine the enhanced plant details with the original render.

  • What is the author's overall opinion on using AI tools for 3D render enhancement?

    -The author is not fully supportive of using AI tools from the start but acknowledges that they are improving and can be useful for enhancing specific elements in a 3D render, especially when traditional methods are time-consuming or less effective.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Enhancing Renders with AI - Introduction

The speaker begins by discussing their motivation for creating a tutorial on enhancing 3D renders with AI. They mention receiving numerous inquiries on Instagram about an image they posted, which showcased an improved render. The speaker is not fully supportive of starting with AI tools but acknowledges their rapid improvement. The goal is to enhance materials in the render, particularly those that are not photorealistic enough, such as glass, reflections, fur, carpet, and fabric details. The speaker provides examples and intends to walk the audience through their process using SketchUp.

05:01

💡 Lighting and Scaling Techniques in SketchUp

The speaker delves into the specifics of their approach, which involves using a large soft box light setup in SketchUp. They describe using a sphere with an emissive material inside to create a diffuse light source and additional spotlights for highlights. The focus is on a dark chair and a carpet with fine details. The speaker emphasizes the importance of scaling the model elements, not the lights, to achieve a realistic look for materials like carpet and grass. They share a tip about working with scaled models to achieve finer details and then proceed to demonstrate the effect of their lighting setup.

10:02

🤖 AI Enhancement with Kaa AI Engine

The speaker moves on to discuss their experience with AI enhancement, specifically using the Kaa AI engine. They chose Kaa over other options due to its affordability and satisfactory results. The speaker explains that they used the 'enhance' feature rather than 'generate'. They describe the process of uploading an image, adjusting settings, and observing the results. The AI's effect on the carpet material is highlighted, showing a significant improvement in realism. However, the speaker notes that the AI also affected other materials in the image, which was not always desirable.

15:02

🖌️ Post-Processing with Photoshop

After discussing the AI enhancement, the speaker explains how they used Photoshop to further refine the image. They placed the enhanced image over the original and manually masked out areas they didn't want to be affected by the AI enhancement. This selective masking technique allowed the speaker to retain the AI's improvements on specific materials, like the carpet, while keeping the original look of other elements. The speaker shares that this method is not perfect but serves the purpose of enhancing specific aspects of the render.

🌿 Showcasing AI's Impact on Various Materials

The speaker concludes the tutorial by showcasing the AI's impact on various materials in different renders. They discuss how the AI enhanced details in cushions, plants, bed wrinkles, and glass textures. The speaker emphasizes the need for careful Photoshop work to mask and select the desired enhancements. They also share examples of how AI added realistic folds and textures to velvet and other materials. The speaker advises using AI enhancements wisely and concludes with a call to action for viewers to share their thoughts and follow for more tutorials.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Enscape

Enscape is a real-time 3D rendering and visualization plugin for various 3D modeling software like SketchUp. In the context of the video, the user is utilizing Enscape to create photorealistic renderings of architectural models. The user mentions wanting to enhance materials within Enscape, particularly to improve the realism of elements like glass, reflections, fur, and carpet textures.

💡AI Enhancement

AI Enhancement refers to the use of artificial intelligence tools to improve or modify images, videos, or other types of media. In the video, the user employs AI to enhance the textures and details of their 3D renderings, making them more realistic and visually appealing. The AI is used to refine elements such as the carpet material, glass, and vegetation, which can be challenging to represent accurately using traditional 3D rendering techniques.

💡Materials

In the context of the video, materials refer to the surface textures and properties applied to 3D models to give them a realistic appearance. The user is looking to improve the realism of materials in their Enscape renders, such as glass, fur, and carpet, by using AI enhancement to add more detail and improve the visual quality of their renders.

💡Photorealistic

Photorealistic refers to the quality of a digital image or render that closely resembles a photograph taken in real life. In the video, the user is striving for photorealistic results in their 3D renderings by using a combination of Enscape and AI enhancement tools to improve the realism of textures and materials.

💡SketchUp

SketchUp is a popular 3D modeling computer program used for architectural, interior design, and landscaping. In the video, the user mentions working with SketchUp to create a model that includes a carpet and a chair, which they then render using Enscape and further enhance with AI.

💡Lighting

Lighting in 3D rendering refers to the simulation of light in a virtual environment to create realistic shadows, highlights, and ambiance. The user discusses setting up lighting in their SketchUp model with a big black box and a soft box to achieve the desired effects before rendering with Enscape.

💡Scale

In the context of the video, scale refers to the process of resizing 3D model elements to achieve a desired level of detail. The user explains that by scaling everything 10 times larger, they can create finer and more realistic details for materials like carpet and grass within the render.

💡AI Engines

AI Engines are software applications that utilize artificial intelligence algorithms to perform tasks such as image enhancement, generation, or modification. In the video, the user tests two AI engines, Kaa and Magnific, to enhance their renderings, ultimately choosing Kaa for its cost-effectiveness and satisfactory results.

💡Photoshop

Photoshop is a widely used image editing software that allows users to manipulate and edit images in various ways. In the video, the user imports their AI-enhanced image into Photoshop to mask out unwanted enhancements and combine it with the original render, keeping only the desired improvements made by the AI.

💡Masking

Masking in image editing is the process of selecting specific parts of an image to apply effects to, while protecting other parts from changes. The user uses masking in Photoshop to isolate and keep only the AI-enhanced parts of the render, such as the carpet material, and to remove any unwanted enhancements from other areas.

💡Render

A render is the final output of a 3D scene, created by processing the model, textures, lighting, and other elements to produce a 2D image or animation. In the video, the user is focused on improving the quality of their renders by using Enscape and AI enhancement techniques.

Highlights

The tutorial aims to explain how to improve renders with AI enhancement, specifically in areas where the materials may not be photorealistic enough.

The use of AI is not fully endorsed but acknowledged as a rapidly improving tool in the field of rendering.

Examples of materials that can be enhanced include glass, reflections, fur, carpet, and fabrics, among others.

The tutorial demonstrates a method to improve the appearance of a carpet in a SketchUp model by using a unique scaling technique.

A key tip is to avoid scaling lights with the scene as they do not increase in size or intensity proportionally.

The lighting setup for the model includes a large soft box and reflective surface to add depth and detail.

The AI enhancement process was tested on various rendering engines including Enscape, Thea Render, Keyshot, Lumion, and Vray.

Kaa AI was chosen over Magnific due to its cost-effectiveness and satisfactory results.

The AI enhancement process involves upscaling the image and using the 'enhance' option without the need for extensive settings adjustments.

Photoshop is used to blend the enhanced image with the original, allowing for selective masking of certain elements.

The tutorial shows how to manually mask out unwanted enhancements in Photoshop to retain the desired effects.

AI enhancement can significantly improve the appearance of carpet materials, making them look finer and more realistic.

The tutorial also demonstrates the AI's ability to add detail to fabrics, plants, and other elements within a render.

Enhancing glass and reflective materials can be particularly challenging, but the AI tool shows promise in improving these aspects.

The AI enhancement can sometimes alter other elements in the scene, such as turning leather into plywood, which may require manual correction.

The tutorial emphasizes the importance of using AI enhancement selectively and combining it with manual adjustments in Photoshop for optimal results.

The AI tool can add realistic-looking folds and textures to materials like velvet, enhancing the overall visual appeal.

The tutorial concludes by encouraging users to experiment with AI enhancement tools and to share their experiences and results.