Why don't colors match from Library Browser to Camera View?

[kcrossley]

Why is it that when you apply many of the materials in the library the color of the selected item when applied to your design doesn't match the color of the library item shown? For example, an almond vinyl siding color looks correct in the library, but when applied to the 3D design becomes a muddy gray.

This happens with most of the materials colors. It's the same monitor space, the colors are just on different parts of the screen. And yes, my sunlight is all the way up.

Thanks,
Kelly

[Kilgore Trout]

My materials always come out pretty close except for slight variations due to lighting effects. In the attached picture you can see the material in the library and on the house and it is only slightly darker on the house. I'm not sure why you are seeing such a big difference unless it is something related to your video card.

[Ken B.]

I'm using HD Pro 7 and I have the same problem as Kelly, especially on ceilings. I chose the whitest of whites and still my ceilings look grey. I have tried all of the downloaded paints and still have the same problem. I have yet to figure out how to fix this problem.

Ken

[kcrossley]

My materials always come out pretty close except for slight variations due to lighting effects. In the attached picture you can see the material in the library and on the house and it is only slightly darker on the house. I'm not sure why you are seeing such a big difference unless it is something related to your video card.

That looks fine, but it's not what I'm getting. BTW, my video Card is a GeForce 6600 with 128MB.

[Kilgore Trout]

Kelly, post a picture of what you see on your screen. Also, if you have Pro, you might want to check your ambient lighting in the 3D Settings. If you have set these too low, then all of your materials will probably look too dark.

Ken, ceilings are always darker then walls. This is a side effect of the way the lighting model in the program works. The other thing you might notice is that your ceilings will get noticably brighter when you do a final view. This is because the program has different settings in final view that make the lighting effects look more realistic. The default lighting will place a light up near the ceiling that tends to light up walls and floors but won't light up the ceiling well. You can add more lights to the room and that will ususally help. You can also add at least one light that is down low and you ceiling will look better. In Pro, you can use the 3D>Add Lights tool to add a light without a fixture that you can then open and adjust the height down.

[ans3]

Ken, ceilings are always darker then walls. This is a side effect of the way the lighting model in the program works. ....

That is what also happens in the real world. A number of years ago, I wanted to have a 18 inch border around the ceiling in my living room to match the color of the walls. I painted the border at least six times. The border always looked darker than the walls. At first I thought it was because I was using the wrong paint. Inorder to get a close match, I mixed the paint that I was using on the walls with an equal amount of "untinted" (no color added factory white) paint to get a close visual match.

So, the program tries to replicate what the eyes would see, based on the lighting conditions as you look up to the ceiling.

[Dan Park]

You can use certain lighting effects to lighten ceilings but the program does a really good job of approximating what the color will look like on the ceiling. Most rooms are lit from the ceiling so the light travels down to the floor and walls. If you want to brighten the ceiling up you can place some lights to shine upward. Of course in the real world as stated earlier ceilings are much darker, we just don't notice it as much because that is what we are used to.

[kcrossley]

Kelly, post a picture of what you see on your screen.

I'm ususally a Mac guy. How do you do a screen capture in Windows XP?

[Dan Park]

Use the print screen button on your keyboard. That copies to the clipboard and you can paste into any graphics capable application.

[kcrossley]

Use the print screen button on your keyboard. That copies to the clipboard and you can paste into any graphics capable application.

Well, I couldn't use the print screen because I have a Logitech keyboard and KVM switch that allows me to go back and forth between the Mac and PC. But I did find a cool app (SnagIt) that works, so here you go.

Kelly

[Kilgore Trout]

That looks a little dark to me too and obviously darker then in the picture that I posted.

Is it this dark on the other side of the house too? The reason I ask is because the sunlight generally comes from the lower right corner of your screen when you look at your house in plan view and shines toward the upper left corner. Depending on where you are looking at your house, it will be darker in the shaded areas. If your house is dark all around, I would say there is a problem. If you house is noticably lighter on one side, then the program is doing what it should. I have attached another picture that shows the difference in color from the house in the sunlight and in the shadows. This is a final view with shadows turned on so you can see the difference that the sunlight makes.

[kcrossley]

I created a new house, much like you did, and I got the same results as you. Why the top one is acting this way I have no idea.

[Allen42ACJ]

In render view,use the rainbow tool and go to render.You can adjust the settings there.
Think they all have this feature..

[hartwedb]

I am having the exact same problem.

I have HDsuite 7.0, and a brand new PC with good graphics card so those arent the problems.

My kitchen appliances are bone color (or some other slightly off white cream color).

Any time I try to make the appliances this color they show up as light gray.

The brownish tint you see in the color wheel simply goes away and turns gray in 3D.

Its driving me crazy and Ive been trying to adjust everything, reflectivity, the color itself, and lighting. Am I missing a setting?

Thanks

[Wizard]

I have the same in HD Pro 7 also, when trying to pick a specific color for the cabinets only to see them completely the wrong shade.