- Physically accurate rendering with Ocean™
- Step 1: Generating the Pattern Geometry in 3ds Max
- Step 2: Setting the Lighting
- Step 3: Generating Materials from Color Palettes
- Step 4: Exporting the CAD Scene to Ocean™
- Step 5: Procedural Material Variation in Ocean™
- The result: Physically accurate, predictive visualization
- Download and try it yourself
Introduction
What does it mean to say a rendering is physically accurate?
In this article, we’ll look at how the Ocean™ 2024 splashscreen was constructed. This simulated image was built using a science-based workflow that combines procedural geometry, spectral materials, and light modeling.
It was fully rendered inside Ocean™ without any retake. No retouching. No artistic cheats. Just a physically true rendering made possible by Ocean™.
And yet, the process is far from rigid.
It supports full creative freedom — but always within the constraints of real-world physical behavior, allowing designers to explore visually rich concepts while staying grounded in how light, color, and materials truly behave.
This workflow demonstrates how Ocean™ integrates smoothly with Autodesk 3ds Max, one of the many upstream tools supported in our ecosystem. It’s a practical example of digital prototyping, where accurate visual behavior is simulated before any physical prototype is built.
So let’s have a look at the different steps from CAD modeling inside Autodesk 3dsmax, with materials repartition in CAD, CAD scene export, colors variations in Ocean™.
All the files required for this scene can be downloaded and used for free. Note that a demo version of Ocean™ is needed.
Figure 1: Ocean™ rendering session of the splashscreen
Step 1: Generating the Pattern Geometry in 3ds Max
The idea behind the concept was to design random bunch of lines with color variations. An organic colored shape pattern.
Figure 2: Pattern geometry without materials with ligthing
Figure 3: Pattern geometry with material assignment for the background
It’s all a question of trial and error, and it’s reworked to bring out the desired concept that mimics natural randomness.
Figure 4: Pattern geometry inside 3dsmax
Here are the final steps in 3dsmax for modeling the main pattern geometry:
- Start from a simple linear 2-point line.
- Duplicate this line several times in parallel.
- Add points by subdividing these lines to allow later deformation.
- A “Noise” modifier gives some distortion to the lines.
- Give volume to the shape by extruding lines with a height and width.
- Add another layer of deformation with a “Twist” modifier for a more random shape.
- The “MaterialByElement” modifier randomly distributes a face identifier between 1 and 20 to the faces of each part of the geometry.
- A final deformation step involves randomly selecting a few points (green & blue colors) in the geometry…
- … and adding a thickness variation for each solid line (more subtle deformations)
Step 2: Setting the Lighting
For the lighting, we use two planes, one coming from above and the other from below.
These objects are simple plane geometries.
Figure 5: 3dsmax main scene objects
Figure 6: Lighting setup for the scene
Once imported into Ocean™, these planes were assigned emissive BSDF materials with physically defined spectral content.
The top light has a neutral white color illuminant. The other is a warmer color with a reddish tint. The environment is pure black. This means that only these two lights are illuminating the scene.
To keep the lights visible only through their illumination (and not as solid surfaces), we placed a “Null” BSDF on both, that makes them transparent while retaining their emissive properties.
Figure 7: Emissive light materials in Ocean™
Figure 7: Emissive light materials in Ocean™
Unlike CGI tools that use fake lights and baked effects, this setup reflects Ocean™’s commitment to true radiometric simulation. The lighting behaves exactly as it would in the real world.
Step 3: Generating Materials from Color Palettes
We’d like to distribute the different colors of a palette over the entire geometry of the CAD model. Instead of manually assigning colors, materials were generated programmatically in 3ds Max.
The process is as follow :
Extract color schemes from color palettes.
Convert these values to RGB or HEXAdecimal for use in a script.
Rather than manually creating each material for each color of a palette, we use Maxscript in 3dsmax to automate the random generation of gradient colors from a chosen palette on several temporary geometries. This facilitates the material creation on geometries.
Then 3dsmax’s materials are generated ready to be used in a multi-material (for geometry face IDs) on the model geometry.
Still in 3dsmax, materials are distributed on the geometry using a “MaterialByElement” modifier. The result is random face identification for each CAD model element.
This allows us to randomly assign colors to each element of the model. Changing the “seed” parameter varies the color distribution of the model.
This process can be reused to test different color palettes.
Figure 7: Example of various palette colors
This approach allows fast experimentation with different color palettes and ensures material IDs are consistently mapped — a key detail for further use in Ocean™.
Combinations and aesthetics can be freely explored by designers, knowing that every variant can be simulated with high physical accuracy in Ocean™ — a balance between artistic intent and scientific validation.
Now that the camera is placed, staging is done with lights and materials, let’s export the scene from 3dsmax to Ocean™.
Step 4: Exporting the CAD Scene to Ocean™
Seashell geometry
Since the first versions of Ocean, the “Ramose Murex” shell has been our mascot. The 3d model is simply placed in the center of the scene with a green specular material.
Export 3dsmax CAD scene to Ocean™
From 3ds Max, the entire CAD scene was exported in a format compatible with Ocean™:
- Background pattern geometry with several unique materials assignements for colors variation
- Seashell geometry
- 2 light planes geometries
- 1 camera
Figure 8: CAD scene from 3dsmax to be exported in Ocean™
Figure 9: Ocean™ list of Objects needed for the scene
Ocean™ reads this structured input and preserves all relationships — geometry, materials, lighting, and camera position — enabling a direct transition from 3D modeling to spectral simulation.
Step 5: Procedural Material Variation in Ocean™
Once inside Ocean™ each palette color is placed in a BSDF, isolated in a specific folder.
From 3dsmax, colors distribution is already random and assigned to geometry.
We can do the same inside Ocean™ procedurally and change the randomness at any time.
To randomize the distribution of these colors directly inside Ocean™, we use a “switch” material for each of the materials corresponding to the CAD model’s face identifiers.
By varying the value of the “random seed” for each of these materials, the shader randomly selects one of the colors from the BSDFs palette. In this way, we no longer define a color for each material, the “switch” material does it for us randomly. Thus, colors in the palette are distributed procedurally.
This procedural method allows:
- Re-randomize color assignments instantly,
- Explore palette distributions without re-exporting from 3ds Max,
- Rely on Ocean™’s native material system for true spectral rendering.
The creative process remains flexible and iterative — but always within the framework of measurable optical behavior. This is what enables Ocean™ to bridge aesthetics and physics.
Ocean™ simulates the optical response of each material under the scene’s lighting, using bidirectional ray tracing and spectral data to generate a physically accurate appearance.
The result: Physically accurate, predictive visualization
The final splashscreen image — rendered entirely in Ocean™ — required no post-processing. Every highlight, reflection, color interaction, and luminance value stems from Ocean™’s physically based simulation engine.
What may appear as artistic flourish is, in fact, the result of controlled, measurable parameters — from light emission to BSDF definitions — enabling creativity grounded in physics.
This project illustrates the full potential of Ocean™ as an optical simulation software with rendering capabilities — as a visual prototyping engine. From CAD modeling in upstream tools like 3ds Max, through structured export and physically defined materials, Ocean™ ensures that what you see is what you’ll physically get.
Design with science. Validate with confidence.
Read our use cases for real-world applications:
More tutorials:
Download and try it yourself
With this simple scene of the splashscreen visual from the Ocean™ 2024 release, we observed how the scene was made, how to handle multiple materials, play with random distribution of these materials, how to prepare CAD so they’re ready for use in Ocean™.
Submit the formular and get access to the files for this Ocean™ scene. You will be able to reproduce the final image and analyze the various elements that make up the scene.
Feel free to modify the material parameters and see for yourself!
Note that the demo version of Ocean™ is also needed.
Need more information? Contact us:
Q&A
What is predictive simulation in the context of product design?
Predictive simulation refers to the use of physics-based software to anticipate how materials will appear and perform under real-world lighting and environmental conditions. With Ocean™, this includes rendering visuals and generating quantitative optical data based on actual material properties.
How is Ocean™ different from traditional rendering tools?
Unlike conventional rendering software that relies on approximated shaders or visual tuning, Ocean™ uses spectral measurements and optical physics to simulate materials with scientific accuracy. It accounts for angle-dependent color shifts, surface roughness, and true light interaction — not just surface appearance.
What types of materials can be simulated?
Ocean™ supports a wide range of optically complex materials, including:
Glass (laminated, tempered, coated…)
Coated or anodized metals
Textured or layered composites
Iridescent materials (e.g., nacre, automotive finishes)
How accurate are the simulations generated by Ocean™?
Ocean™ delivers physically accurate, wavelength-dependent, and angle-resolved simulations. This means the results are not just photorealistic — they’re predictive and trustworthy for design decisions, performance analysis, and communication across teams.
Can Ocean™ be used without measured data?
Yes — while spectral measurements provide the highest accuracy, Ocean™ also supports hybrid workflows. Designers can complement physical data with observation-based insights, texture maps, and theoretical BSDF models to replicate visual behaviors when measurements aren’t feasible.
Can Ocean™ be integrated into existing CAD and PLM workflows?
Yes. Ocean™ supports CAD data import (e.g., Rhinoceros, SolidWorks, Catia, and more) and connects with measurement tools (e.g., BYK, X-Rite). It also supports formats like BSDF, glTF, OpenEXR, and Python scripting for automation and integration into digital material libraries.
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