This will be the third image that I have posted on this site that goes from a daytime base rendering to a full on night rendering using only Photoshop. The first ever No Render Night Tutorial I created came at the very beginning of this website a long time ago. Since then, the technique has shifted slightly but the concept remains the same. This updated workflow can be seen in my Day to Night image break down and explains certain key moves such as darkening the base image that will help make sense of some of the steps shown below. While the breakdown below is brief, I hope it still paints a picture of how this image evolved and the transformation that took place.

Also, I am excited to say that I will be meticulously breaking down this image layer by layer in a few weeks at the Renderit 5 conference in Mexico City.  I am looking forward to the event and meeting everyone that comes by the workshop!

 

 

1. Sketchup Model

 

The Sketchup model is unchanged from the daytime rendering. The sun even remained in the same location.

 

 

2. V-Ray Base Rendering

 

Above is the original V-Ray base rendering used in daytime rendering. Instead of spending time Photoshopping out the shadow lines, I rerendered with softer shadows seen below.

 

In order to get the soft shadow, I changed one setting which was increasing the size of the sun in the V-Ray option editor. Everything else remains unchanged in the model and light settings.

 

 

3. Darken the Image

 

As dramatic of a change as this is, this step is pretty simple. Paint the entire image blue except for the sky, and set the layer blend mode to “Multiply”. After that, I dropped in a new night sky, and painted in some haze to help separate the background from the foreground.

 

 

4. Textures

 

This step took little time because I simply dragged over the textures from my daytime images and dropped them into place. I also warmed the floor just a hint.

 

 

5. Interiors

 

This step also went fast since I was also able to carry over the interior textures used in the daytime scene. However, I did need to paint in some floor reflections.

 

 

6. Lights, Lots of Lights

 

This is the step where I spent much of my time experimenting with lighting options. Everything is painted in using different techniques and layer blend modes. This could make a good tutorial in the future if I can somehow find the time…

 

 

7. Entourage

 

Entourage was added towards the end of the process to add narrative and give movement to the image. For this type of lighting scenario, the people were darkened to almost a silhouette, with highlights added as needed.

 

 

8. Color Adjustments

 

At the end, I brought back some blue tones to contrast the spots of warm light. I also used some warm color overlays to punch up areas to help activate them.

 

Just a few more images planned for this project including a grand aerial shot. Stay tuned….