V-Ray | REALISTIC LEAVES + VEGETATION | Updated Translucency Workflow Explained

In this tutorial you will learn how make realistic looking leaves, trees, vegatation or foilage in V-Ray using the newly updates Translucency Workflow. We will start by talking about the model for the leaves and then get the proper maps from Quixel Megascans. Afterwards we will add details with Opacity Maps and NormalMap and finally start to create a realistic looking Leaf Shader completely from scratch. We will be using Translucency Maps to get a realistic appearance and finally use a 2-Side Material for having different textures for the front and back of our leaves.

I am using 3ds Max and V-Ray 6 in this demo but you can also use similar techniques for older versions such as V-Ray 5, V-Ray NEXT and V-Ray 3 using a slightly modified workflow.
A similar workflow can also be used in other software such as Cinema4d, Maya, Blender and different kind of render engine such as Corona, Octane, Redshift, Arnold, Cycles, CyclesX, Eevee and countless others.

Chapters:

00:00 - Introduction
01:53 - Preparations
03:45 - Basic Leaf Shader
11:47 - 2-Sided Leaves
14:32 - Outro

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[JonasNoell]

✅Check out Patreon for all my scene files, bonus videos, a whole course on car rendering or just to support this channel 🙂
patreon.com/JonasNoell

[FFhm]

A big thank you! To the point, concise, now I finally understand how to do it properly - loving it. :)

[d_hhk]

Answered the questions in my mind. Thank you.

[ytmelo]

Amazing. Kudos to you. If someone wants to stay up to date with progressively enhanced Vray procedures and features your channel is the right place to go. Very informative, super clear explanation.

[vktr_work]

Great Video! Would love to see a tutorial on how to do a procedural asphalt texture

[jaircas]

Your tutorials are just AMAZING!! thank you!!

[scpk]

this is just so WHAT ELSE SHOULD WE SAY...

[clearstoryimaging]

Super helpful. Thank you for the great video!

[keithyakouboff]

In Maya there does not seem to be a way to flip the normal map's green channel. I simply gave the leaf a negative bump value.

Question: Translucent leaves tend to blur the shadows coming through them. In this tute, they were sharp. Aside from messing with the shadows from the light source itself, is there a way to make that work?

[bgtubber]

Really nice! Are there cases where the SSS amount differ between the front and back side materials? Or should it always be the same value for both sides for realistic results?

[GiuseppeBrischetto-mjni]

I ask my self, which type of cpu is in your brain? Complimenti di cuore

[StudioReplica_Arch]

Do you have a recommendation for a realistic animated tree library that doesn't cost a fortune? Thanks

[scpk]

Hi Jonas, are the leaves already UV-Prepared? you didn't explained how was the Banana Leaf fit the leaves model

[richardminhle]

Hi Jonas, My elements drop down list always show Vraydiffusefilter instead of diffuse. I don’t see anything that doesn’t start with a vray preffix on the elements tab. How is yours different? Thanks.

[JasonA]

Hi Jonas, is it generally normal practice when dealing with megascans PBR materials to use 100% reflection value every time?

[scpk]

Hi Jonas, does subdividing a plane (e.g. floor) has something to do with its render quality?
-I saw some artist doing this - even walls, they subdivide it

[pixelquarry]

So there was an update to the translucency workflow...good to know ;)
Can you think of a reason why this workflow is not used on cosmos assets?

[belousovarchitect]

thanks) cool)) Can I get a lesson on cottage architecture from you?

[LeonardMitchell-heug]

Since the VrayBitmap has replaced the default 3DsMax Bitmap, I'm a left a bit confused about the colorspace transfer function, inverse gamme etc and which map needs to be set to what...roughness and normal to inverse gamme and albedo map to sRGB? in general a video about gamma 2.2 and the correct setup for maps would be much appreciated.

[RemainingLight]

Great! Simplier way is always welcome. Sadly, it doesn't work with GPU rendering. But... well, this is Chaos' way.