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Set Specular Strength to 0 to Create a Realistic Scene?


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Hi, I'm still kinda new with Cinema 4D and I read that if we want to create a realistic scene, we need to set the value of the specular strength to 0 in our reflectance tab, material editor. Is it always that way or we can implement some specular strength to achieve a more realistic looking scene?

 

I'm using the physical renderer for this one.

Screenshot 2021-07-10 173540.png

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  • Martin Ng changed the title to Set Specular Strength to 0 to Create a Realistic Scene?
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It depends how you are defining specular !

 

Generally speaking, you can set spec level in the reflectance to 0 and just use reflectance level, which is usually enough to produce realistic results.

 

However in certain materials, having a specular component in a reflection channel is a valid thing to do. Metals, particularly do have a more pronounced highlight specifically related to lights present, so that might be one case where they could stay for example...

 

So it is not correct to say that all specular is legacy now, even though it used to be a cheap fake way of doing reflection - there are definitely cases remaining where it gets a specific look we are aiming for, or adds a character or emphasis to a shader that reflection alone cannot achieve.

 

CBR

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In c4d render engine terms, specular is a basic, old fashioned artificial highlight which gets added to a material. It is like a reflection of a light bulb, but only ever appears as a basic smudge on the surface.  You can use them and they can be useful ( and they have zero render time), but if you want realism then you need to create your surface highlights by using real reflections, not cheap specular effects.

 

Generally I would advise you to delete the 'default specular' layer completely, and replace it with a real reflection. A Beckmann reflection is the most universally useful option. Then play with the roughness value to choose how soft it looks and finally remember to set the Fresnel setting at the bottom to 'Conductor' if it is metal, or 'Dielectric' for everything else.

 

This is just a rough basic guide, there is of course more detail when you start to get into everything, but it will get you 90% of the way there.

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