Alternate configurator renders of the other 4 FE colors

[HoweBank]

After being frustrated with the lack of accuracy and/or realism with the official configurator, I decided to buy a 3D model of the Emira and come up with my own. These are my 4 best guesses for Magma Red, Hethel Yellow, Dark Verdant and Nimbus Grey. Nimbus is the one I've been having the most trouble with believe it or not, even though Dark Verdant was a royal pain to get more or less close to the samples we've seen. I'm still working with Nimbus but this is where it's at for the moment.

This is in a simulated outdoor setting with natural sunlight. All 4 of these are the same other than paint color, i.e. Black Pack, tan leather seats, silver forged wheels, yellow calipers. I'll do some more with different caliper colors, black wheels, diamond cut, and different angles, etc. but this is to start. I'll also do some in a studio light setting, as well as maybe inside a parking garage or something like that.

The idea here is to give people a more realistic idea of how the other FE colors we haven't seen on a car might actually look on the car. I'm not claiming these are absolutely accurate, but I think they're not too far off.

(I should mention that the model was created by 3D SQUIR and I did all the textures, colors, etc.)

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thank you for these images.

 

[Eagle7]

Fabulous work, but I think the colors are off. I went to the Indy event and they had paint samples there. The red and green are much darker than these images and the yellow had an orange-ish tint. One of the Lotus reps said that the factory was in process of producing one Emira in each color combination. That's what I can't wait to see.

IMHO the blue is a trendy color, so I'll skip that one. I'd go for red or green, but not if they are as dark as they appear everywhere I've seen them (paint samples and Lotus' configurator). Light gray? Silver would've been better. Dark gray? Black would've been better. So I'm going for Hethel Yellow, but only because it doesn't come in Chrome Orange like my Elise SC!

How's this compared to the samples you saw? I'm having trouble to get the gradient shift right so it doesn't just go completely black. I have multiple photos that vary considerably, from almost black to definite green. This picture is in the middle. Do the samples go darker than this in the light?

 

[SteveB]

How's this compared to the samples you saw? I'm having trouble to get the gradient shift right so it doesn't just go completely black. I have multiple photos that vary considerably, from almost black to definite green. This picture is in the middle. Do the samples go darker than this in the light?

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Here’s a photo of the Dark Verdant planform I took at an Emira viewing at Hethel. Photo was taken outside and the sky was overcast not bright sunshine. I was assured this was the actual Dark Verdant paint that will be used on the Emira. In the shadows the colour is very dark but not completely black - note the contrast against the black trousers in the background. I think your latest render is very close to how a Dark Verdant Emira will look.

 

[Eagle7]

Here’s a photo of the Dark Verdant planform I took at an Emira viewing at Hethel. Photo was taken outside and the sky was overcast not bright sunshine. I was assured this was the actual Dark Verdant paint that will be used on the Emira. In the shadows the colour is very dark but not completely black - note the contrast against the black trousers in the background. I think your latest render is very close to how a Dark Verdant Emira will look.

Okay! That gives me a sample from someone who can compare what they saw to what I'm replicating. I'll work off this sample and see how close I can get to this look.

Thank you!

 

[TXEMIRA]

Okay! That gives me a sample from someone who can compare what they saw to what I'm replicating. I'll work off this sample and see how close I can get to this look.

Thank you!

I’m excited to see this! Again, repeat, nothing will sway me from this color but gosh I’m always excited to see variants.

 

[Mike-engel]

How's this compared to the samples you saw? I'm having trouble to get the gradient shift right so it doesn't just go completely black. I have multiple photos that vary considerably, from almost black to definite green. This picture is in the middle. Do the samples go darker than this in the light?

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This is a really attractive spec. Classic! I think we will end up seeing a lot of VG once actual cars appear, particularly if the new paint process can produce depth like a multi-coat hand painted car. I really like it.

 

[Eagle7]

Okay, after playing around with the materials/render system I was using, I just could not get it to produce an image that looked like the Verdant sample picture, so I switched to a different system. I've done this with the PBR system (Physical Based Render) which has pre-calculated lights, materials and render engine. They're designed to more closely approximate the way real-world lights and shadows work, but the downside is they take longer to render because the 'rules' are more complex.

The other downside is non-PBR materials under PBR lighting look either too bright or flat; lacking contrast, so I have to create new PBR materials. I did that for the Verdant paint and silver wheel paint, but everything else is non-PBR.

I replaced the 4 ceiling lights with 4 PBR lights, and one of the things you'll notice is the difference in shadows.

Here's the reference photo of the planform in Verdant that I used to sample the color from,

and here's what the paint color shader looks like that I created as a PBR shader based on samples from the Verdant planform photo.

For reference, here's a snapshot of the car in the old Verdant shader with the non-PBR system for comparison.

Here's the same shot with the PBR system. You can see the difference in shadow detail and accuracy, especially underneath the car (there are 4 overhead can lights).

These new PBR renders are probably closer to the way the car is actually going to look in Dark Verdant, based on the photo of the planform. HOWEVER, one thing to remember is the planforms are only a few inches across, so the transitions from light to dark are very fast. There's a big difference in the transition from light to dark across a 4 inch curved surface, compared to a curved surface that's 4 feet long. Plus, these are just color shift surfaces. I haven't figured out yet how to get a metallic effect in a PBR material. I haven't worked with this system before because I didn't want the longer render times, but in this case it seems necessary to try and get closer to the way these metallics are going to look on the car.

Now to get busy creating new PBR materials to replace the old ones.

 

[kbhoz]

View attachment 2134
I desperately want Ardent Red. And those wheels! Are they aftermarket?

I love my Ardent Red

 

[Friedensbar]

Okay, after playing around with the materials/render system I was using, I just could not get it to produce an image that looked like the Verdant sample picture, so I switched to a different system. I've done this with the PBR system (Physical Based Render) which has pre-calculated lights, materials and render engine. They're designed to more closely approximate the way real-world lights and shadows work, but the downside is they take longer to render because the 'rules' are more complex.

The other downside is non-PBR materials under PBR lighting look either too bright or flat; lacking contrast, so I have to create new PBR materials. I did that for the Verdant paint and silver wheel paint, but everything else is non-PBR.

I replaced the 4 ceiling lights with 4 PBR lights, and one of the things you'll notice is the difference in shadows.

Here's the reference photo of the planform in Verdant that I used to sample the color from,

View attachment 2370

and here's what the paint color shader looks like that I created as a PBR shader based on samples from the Verdant planform photo.

View attachment 2365

For reference, here's a snapshot of the car in the old Verdant shader with the non-PBR system for comparison.

View attachment 2366

Here's the same shot with the PBR system. You can see the difference in shadow detail and accuracy, especially underneath the car (there are 4 overhead can lights).

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These new PBR renders are probably closer to the way the car is actually going to look in Dark Verdant, based on the photo of the planform. HOWEVER, one thing to remember is the planforms are only a few inches across, so the transitions from light to dark are very fast. There's a big difference in the transition from light to dark across a 4 inch curved surface, compared to a curved surface that's 4 feet long. Plus, these are just color shift surfaces. I haven't figured out yet how to get a metallic effect in a PBR material. I haven't worked with this system before because I didn't want the longer render times, but in this case it seems necessary to try and get closer to the way these metallics are going to look on the car.

Now to get busy creating new PBR materials to replace the old ones.

Thank you so much for your generosity in producing these renders for the community. It's a real gift. If you have the time and energy would be up making a version of these images with red brake callipers? Warm regards from Sydney, Australia.

 

[Eagle7]

I'm slowly getting the hang of working with the PBR system. It's supposed to mimic real-world lighting and shadows, but there are some limitations. The PBR system seems to want to render all surfaces as semi-gloss. I'm getting the colors pretty close, but I still haven't figured out the high gloss thing yet. As usual, Magma and Dark Verdant are the ones being the most difficult to create, but I'm working on it.

So far I have fairly decent versions of the other 4 FE colors started.

 

[NicolasB]

I'm slowly getting the hang of working with the PBR system. It's supposed to mimic real-world lighting and shadows, but there are some limitations. The PBR system seems to want to render all surfaces as semi-gloss. I'm getting the colors pretty close, but I still haven't figured out the high gloss thing yet. As usual, Magma and Dark Verdant are the ones being the most difficult to create, but I'm working on it.

So far I have fairly decent versions of the other 4 FE colors started.

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Looking good, you can certainly tell it in is semi-gloss. The colors shown look pretty accurate to me

 

[PaulP]

I'm slowly getting the hang of working with the PBR system. It's supposed to mimic real-world lighting and shadows, but there are some limitations. The PBR system seems to want to render all surfaces as semi-gloss. I'm getting the colors pretty close, but I still haven't figured out the high gloss thing yet. As usual, Magma and Dark Verdant are the ones being the most difficult to create, but I'm working on it.

So far I have fairly decent versions of the other 4 FE colors started.

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I’ve actually been wondering about a blue with matte PPF - I think this may look similar

 

[ADC]

I think the least realistic thing in these renders is how tidy that garage is...

I’ve actually been wondering about a blue with matte PPF - I think this may look similar

I've been on the fence about this myself. I feel like I won't be convinced one way or the other until I see it in person on a single panel (and after much thought, I'm probably leaning more towards not doing it now TBH - it may make the blue look too "toy like" :| )

 

[SteveB]

Okay, after playing around with the materials/render system I was using, I just could not get it to produce an image that looked like the Verdant sample picture, so I switched to a different system. I've done this with the PBR system (Physical Based Render) which has pre-calculated lights, materials and render engine. They're designed to more closely approximate the way real-world lights and shadows work, but the downside is they take longer to render because the 'rules' are more complex.

The other downside is non-PBR materials under PBR lighting look either too bright or flat; lacking contrast, so I have to create new PBR materials. I did that for the Verdant paint and silver wheel paint, but everything else is non-PBR.

I replaced the 4 ceiling lights with 4 PBR lights, and one of the things you'll notice is the difference in shadows.

Here's the reference photo of the planform in Verdant that I used to sample the color from,

View attachment 2370

and here's what the paint color shader looks like that I created as a PBR shader based on samples from the Verdant planform photo.

View attachment 2365

For reference, here's a snapshot of the car in the old Verdant shader with the non-PBR system for comparison.

View attachment 2366

Here's the same shot with the PBR system. You can see the difference in shadow detail and accuracy, especially underneath the car (there are 4 overhead can lights).

View attachment 2367
View attachment 2368
View attachment 2369

These new PBR renders are probably closer to the way the car is actually going to look in Dark Verdant, based on the photo of the planform. HOWEVER, one thing to remember is the planforms are only a few inches across, so the transitions from light to dark are very fast. There's a big difference in the transition from light to dark across a 4 inch curved surface, compared to a curved surface that's 4 feet long. Plus, these are just color shift surfaces. I haven't figured out yet how to get a metallic effect in a PBR material. I haven't worked with this system before because I didn't want the longer render times, but in this case it seems necessary to try and get closer to the way these metallics are going to look on the car.

Now to get busy creating new PBR materials to replace the old ones.

Excellent work Eagle7. I think you have the hue, saturation and brightness of Dark Verdant - its just the glossy shine that needs enhancing somehow to match the planform sample. Would you be able to reproduce these latest DV images with gloss black wheels instead of silver? I'm curious if the DV body colour will be distinct from gloss black or whether they will look the same in the shade. They are distinct on the configurator (same for the full black pack roof) but not sure this will be the case for the actual car assuming the planform colouration is correct.

 

[Eagle7]

I'm working on figuring things out with this new system, so I'm not ignoring requests, just trying to get things sorted out so they look correct. I've got the gloss thing figured out now.

 

[Eagle7]

Nimbus Grey

 

[FederGigant]

The more I look at those nimbus renders, the more I like it.
@Eagle7 could you also do a render of Seneca and Dark Verdant both with black pack, black rims, yellow calipers and black alcantara (yellow stitching)? That would be great because it seems as if things are getting serious for me this week I didn‘t have the chance to see a real car due to covid, nor have I ever sat in a Lotus, but those renders are a huge help in terms of looks of the car nevertheless!

 

[NicolasB]

Nimbus Grey

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This looks nice, though I do not like those cut wheels. All I can see are flowers . Still looks semi-gloss to me for some reason?

 

[Nick in Sydney]

This looks nice, though I do not like those cut wheels. All I can see are flowers . Still looks semi-gloss to me for some reason?

Agree, it's still not as glossy as real paint. To me, silver wheels look much better with Nimbus than cut.

 

[NicolasB]

Agree, it's still not as glossy as real paint. To me, silver wheels look much better with Nimbus than cut.

You mean black wheels