This can also be seen on the top of the bunny model as well, in ACES the purely blue shader still maintains its shape under the warm 2000k light whereas the linear sRGB method essentially clips to blue and most of the detail is lost, particularly in the ear and face. The old method begins to clip right away, the lights hit a maximum red and green value and just stay there completely blown out without any desaturation. The lighting behaves more naturally in ACES, the bright lights hit the wall and the hottest parts of that light desaturate and roll off nicely back into the color of each wall. Straight away the ACES render looks more photographic and generally more realistic despite the uncanny scene. Scene-Linear Rec.709-sRGB with Un-tone-mapped view On top of that, ACES aims to simplify working with formats from many different sources and color spaces with an easy to follow workflow from the start to finish of a production pipeline.īefore, when using scene-linear Rec.709-sRGB with a linear workflow, there was no distinction between linear color data ( a linearized diffuse color map) and linear non-color data (normal / roughness maps) but ACES is a color-aware workflow that needs to understand the differences between the two or else the result will be incorrect, this is primarily handled by designating the appropriate color space of the source assets as discussed here. In general, working with ACES provides an easier path to creating more predictable and photo-realistic images in less time and effort. Colors in ACES desaturate as they become brighter in a similar way that we see with our eyes. Due to this increased dynamic range both highlights and shadows have more detail, with a smoother more filmic response and the ability to handle extreme lighting and color saturation. While the Rec.709 and sRGB color spaces are slightly different due to their unique gamma curves since the actual rendering space is linear this gamma curve is irrelevant and hence why Rec.709 and sRGB are grouped together for the title "scene-linear Rec.709-sRGB."ĪCES has a much wider color gamut than sRGB making it capable of representing more colors and more accurately portraying scenes. A color space's gamut is the total set of all colors that are capable of being represented within a color space, in this case Rec.709 and sRGB have the same color gamut but different non-linear gamma curves. Here "scene-linear" refers to Redshift's internal linear working space where all color math is performed before any kind of color processing, a sort of idealized starting point. The "Rec.709-sRGB" portion refers to the color gamut that was used when rendering.
The introduction of ACES as the default Redshift rendering color space brings with it many potential improvements compared to the old default rendering setup in scene-linear Rec.709-sRGB with an un-tone-mapped preview.
Prior to the implementation of OCIO all rendering in Redshift was done entirely in scene-linear Rec.709 - sRGB color space and many artists utilized the "linear workflow" as part of their method for color management, when using ACES the workflow changes slightly but the general concept of color space consideration and linearizing your source assets before rendering remains largely the same. Native OCIO support in Redshift leverages the use of the industry standard ACES color encoding system as the new default rendering color space in the form of ACEScg. OpenColorIO (OCIO) is an open source color management system that allows users to easily manage their color throughout all stages of the production pipeline in a predictable and consistent way. Since Redshift version 3.0.46 OpenColorIO was implemented directly into Redshift. When working in Redshift there are many times that bring color directly into the equation, like when using a diffuse texture in a material or an HDRI image in a dome light, and color management helps ensure that those colors are displayed as intended. Color management is an inherently complex subject but the ultimate goal of a proper color management workflow is to simplify the process of color handling throughout a project.