This article covers color management options in Corona for 3ds Max. For general information on color management, see: Color, Color space, and Color Management Basics
Note: this article applies to Corona 11. Corona 12 and newer feature improved support for 3ds Max Color Management.
Corona and 3ds Max Color Management
Note: if you are new to Color management, we would recommend checking this article first.
3ds Max 2024 introduced color managed workflow, which lets users have OCIO workflow for all the parts involved in rendering (inputs, outputs, display, rendering color space etc.) Before this, only Gamma Workflow was available.
As of Corona 11 HF1, almost all 3ds Max Color Management settings are supported by Corona, also additional color space (RGB primaries) options have been added Corona maps and Corona Color Picker.
More detailed information about it below.
Supported features:
- Previously used default - Gamma workflow - is supported as is, and will give the same results as before. When gamma workflow is used in 3ds Max, Corona defines its internal color space for rendering, found in Developmental/Experimental settings:
Note: no need to change any default settings. This is how things have always worked.
- CoronaColor and CoronaBitmap can define the color space (RGB primaries) of the input:
- Color Picker can now select color also in the current rendering space. Previously users could pick between sRGB and linear sRGB, now there is the extra rendering space option:
Note again: these are specifically useful for OCIO workflow, which will use Rendering color space (wider space) for shading evaluation. With Gamma workflow, the values are always converted to Linear sRGB to be used (mixed) with other maps.
When OCIO modes are used:
- Rendering Color Space defined in 3ds Max settings is respected by Corona.
- These settings from “Displays and Views” in 3ds Max Color Management are respected:
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- Viewport Default - The colors in viewport are transformed to the display color space and then the “View Transform” is applied to them. When drawing, for example, a Corona Light in the viewport, its color is transformed to the “Display” space and then the “View Transform” is applied on it. In the legacy gamma mode, the “Display” space was linear sRGB and the “View transform” was simple gamma correction.
- Material Editor - both options are supported, 3ds Max settings are respected.
- Color Swatch - the same thing, the colors selected by color picker are displayed in the given “Display” space with the “View Transform” applied
- Color Picker - does not respect the “Display” and “View Transform” settings, just the option to pick the color in the current rendering space is added. The reason is that it does not change the previous color picker workflow as much as if we made it more like the new 3ds Max color picker.
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- Selecting color space of saved image - when using the OCIO mode, the saving dialog has options to select the color space transformation or display/view transformation applied to the saved image. These settings are part of 3ds Max UI unrelated to Corona.
What is NOT supported in Corona 11:
- Frame buffer default settings from "Displays and Views" menu of 3ds Max Color Management.
These settings define the transformation from the rendered image representation to VFB. In the Gamma workflow, simple gamma transformation is used, as it used to work in 3ds Max 2023 and earlier. In the OCIO workflow, there is no transformation applied - the render in VFB is in linear sRGB (it is consistent with the way it behaved with the OCIO workflow in the previous versions of Corona).
Note: this article applies to Corona 11. Corona 12 and newer feature improved support for 3ds Max Color Management.