Keyshot 4 new features

[shamblingcat]

I was excited to see a lot of the new features listed for keyshot 4, but I'm having some issues with the ones I was most interested in.

Mold-Tech textures

I've been having issues importing the mold-tech texture packs. It's not very clear where the imported materials are ending up in the library. It's a pain to move them after importing because all the previews are basically the same so I want them to go to the right spot on the first try. Can you give me some insight into how importing these should work?

Rounded Edges

I can't find this feature anywhere and it doesn't seem to be listed in the manual. Is it in Keyshot 4 or not?

Depth Mapping

I've tried rendering some depth maps and the output just looks like an alpha channel. the background is pure black and the model is pure white. Is there a way to set the total depth range to fit the scene?

Model Units

I also noticed in the manual an option for setting the unit size of the model but this doesn't appear in my import dialogue box. I'm assuming that it's determined automatically for solidworks files because the correct unit type appears under scene information. Is there a way to change the scene units after importing a model?


Hopefully there are simple answers to these issues, this should have been a great update but I've just been frustrated so far.

[guest84672]

@1. They are imported into a folder with same name as the .kmp file. This folder is located in the currently active folder. Moving the materials in the library is a simple drag and drop operation. If you want to see a larger representation, right click in the library window and use the slider to enlarge.

@2. Select the part in the scene tree on the lowest level, and then look under "Properties". You will find the "Rounded Edges" command there. It is also in the manual under UI > Project > Scene tab

@3. I am not sure what you mean. This is meant for post production.

@4. The model units are automatically extracted, not unless the format doesn't support units like obj. In this case you can set the units upon import. If you need to change the units for the scenes after the fact then you can do so under the EDIT menu.

I hope this helps.

[shamblingcat]

Thanks for the reply.

1. OK, I think some of my issues were just because of folders not updating after import. Clicking the refresh button seems to have fixed it.

2. Thanks! This works great.

3. I'm expecting an output that looks more like this for adding simulated depth of field with photoshop's "lens blur" tool.

Does the Keyshot depth channel serve a different purpose?

4. Great, thanks for the tip.

[DriesV]

Thanks for the reply.

1. OK, I think some of my issues were just because of folders not updating after import. Clicking the refresh button seems to have fixed it.

2. Thanks! This works great.

3. I'm expecting an output that looks more like this for adding simulated depth of field with photoshop's "lens blur" tool.

Does the Keyshot depth channel serve a different purpose?

4. Great, thanks for the tip.

If all is well, the depth pass should be a 32 bit EXR file. Note that it is a data file for specific post production tools. in fact, all depth information is right there in the file.
What you can do is load it into Photoshop and lower exposure by a good amount (e.g. minus 3). you'll notice that shades of grey start to appear. When you have a full range of greys from the front to the back of your scene you can convert it to 16 bit and use it for lens blurring.

I'm not sure how well it works compared to the 'native' depth passes you are referring to.

Dries

[shamblingcat]

Thanks Dries, adjusting the exposure does work as you describe. However, the closer objects are to the camera the darker they get. By that logic I would expect the background to be pure white. Then I could just invert the whole thing to get what I'm after. I can manually change it but it can be hard to preserve complex edges between the foreground and background this way.

What are the specific production tools that this file is intended for?

[DriesV]

You'd need a good compositing tool for that, like Nuke or Fusion.
The EXR depth pass is not very useful in Photoshop.

Dries

[shamblingcat]

I see..  Are these really the tools that keyshot users are working with?

I realize the addition of animation capabilities puts Keyshot into the video realm but I'd still like some support for those of us who are just focusing on still images. I guess this is still better than no depth map at all so I shouldn't be too upset.