London Visualization Training with CGarchitect and 3DATS

Brian Smith, Tod Stephens, Peter Draper, Mike Merron and Jeff Mottle have partnered together to host another exclusive London,UK training event from March 16-19, 2010. We are putting on 6 classes for Architectural Visualization including 3ds Max, mental ray, V-Ray and Revit. We wanted to personally invite you to check it out. For more information you can go here: http://www.3dats.com/london

We last ran this event in 2008 and sold out every class, so be sure to book early as there is a very limited number of seats in each class.

Refer a Friend and Receive a Free Book
If this training is not for you, you can still refer this program to a friend or colleague, and if they sign up, you will get one of 3DATS' 3ds Max Architectural Visualization books for free! To qualify, simply forward this email and then email us at london@3dats.com with your name and contact info as well as that of the person you referred. Also, don't forgot to let us know which book you want: http://www.3dats.com/products.asp

Exclusive Dubai Training Event for Architectural Visualization

3DATS and CGarchitect.com have partnered to bring you a one time exclusive training event in Dubai for Architectural Visualization Artists. Featuring industry experts Brian Smith, Pete Draper, and Jeff Mottle, each class includes:

• 18 hours of intense instruction over two days
• Lunch and refreshments each day
• Access to a private party on March18th
  
• A current or future 3DATS book
  
• A special gift to be provided during class
  
• Exclusive discounts from industry vendors
  

When is this happening? May 30-June 4, 2009

What are the Training Topics? 3ds Max, mental ray, V-Ray, Combustion and Fusion

REGISTER BEFORE March 1st, 2009 AND SAVE $300!

Click here to learn more about the 3DATS Dubai training classes or go to http://www.3dats.com/dubai/.

3ds Max 2008 Architectural Visualization - Beginner to Intermediate Now Shipping

3DATS is pleased to announce the shipping of the only 3ds Max 2008 book dedicated to architectural visualization: 3ds Max 2008 Architectural Visualization - Beginner to Intermediate. This 480 page, full-color, hard-cover bound book takes you through the challenge of learning one of the most complex computer programs ever created, by way of easy-to-follow tutorials and time tested production techniques. It specifically focuses on those parts of the program you need to know to be productive in the industry today.

The intent is not to show you every possible way to accomplish a task, but rather some of the fastest and most efficient ways. 3ds Max is a large and complex application - but by learning just the features that apply to visualization, and specifically the ones that really work best, you'll be learning everything you need to know to get ahead in the industry in the shortest possible time.

Included at the end of the book is a large gallery of 3D visualizations by some of the top artists in the field, along with their best advice for beginners trying to advance in the industry. Special discounts from leading industry vendors and valuable downloadable content is also available to readers. Support files are available in release 9 and 2008.

For additional information regarding these and other training material, visit the 3DATS products page at www.3dats.com/products.asp

Antialiasing and its Side Effects

Introduction
In the 3D world, render engines use a process known as SuperSampling to improve the quality of rendered output by decreasing the effect of aliasing. Aliasing is a term to describe imperfections in the rendering process caused by color changes that are too drastic, and that occur over too small an area of screen space to be adequately depicted by the pixels that define that space. In a single still image, aliasing is certainly noticeable and can reduce realism, but if the same scene is set in motion, the results can be downright distracting and can ruin what would otherwise be a great animation. Two examples of these antialiasing side effects are flickering and texture crawling. The following discussion explains this problem further and discusses a unique and effective way of reducing these unwanted effects for any animation. The results are sure to amaze.

Flickering
Flickering occurs during animations when materials, such as the grass shown below, have a speckled appearance with drastic changes in color occurring over a small number of pixels. In these cases, the computer cannot accurately determine which color to assign a given pixel, because the edge of two colors exists in the middle of a pixel. In the left image below, supersampling is disabled, and the contrast in adjacent pixels is harsher than in the right image, in which supersampling is enabled. When scenes with these textures are animated, the difference between the two can be dramatic.

See the rest of this article at http://www.3dats.com/tutorials.asp#week6

Visit 3DATS http://www.3dats.com/ for more 3D training support: 3D Visualization Books, V-Ray Training, 3ds Max Training, AutoCAD Training, Online Training, Free V-Ray Tutorials, Free, 3ds Max Tutorials, Free AutoCAD Tutorials

Creating 3D Site Plans

Introduction

Creating a 3D site plan can seem like a daunting challenge and can easily frustrate experienced users. For many years, I have experimented with virtually every possible way to create site plans, and the chances are that if you’ve been frustrated with a particular plan of attack, I have probably experienced a similar frustration when trying the same thing. I now find myself using the same steps and tips and tricks on just about every site I work on, with minor variations in site elements specific to each piece of work. With a little practice using these routines, anyone can breeze through constructing a solid site foundation in minimal time.

In this tutorial, I wanted to demonstrate as many tips, tricks, and routines as possible, spending minimal time on repetitive steps that waste time without teaching anything new. Therefore, the site plan used in this tutorial may appear overly simplified. For example, lines that represent streets are often poorly constructed and contain countless breaks, rather than being continuous lines. Rather than giving you lines that require hours of editing and welding to fix, I have provided near perfect linework, with only a few imperfections that allow me to demonstrate problems usually commonplace to site drawings. This will allow the tutorial to progress rather quickly in comparison to real-world site planning, and therefore speed up and optimize learning considerably.

See the rest of this article at http://www.3dats.com/tutorials.asp#week1

Visit 3DATS http://www.3dats.com/ for more 3D training support: 3D Visualization Books, V-Ray Training, 3ds Max Training, AutoCAD Training, Online Training, Free V-Ray Tutorials, Free, 3ds Max Tutorials, Free AutoCAD Tutorials