3D Architectural Solutions

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noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 17:18:00 +0000

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New Visualization School from 3DATS, SPINE3D and CGarchitect

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 11:47:00 +0000

Launch of New Visualization School Sheds Light On The Visualization Industry

Three visualization industry powerhouses have joined forces to form a world-class training school for professional and aspiring visualization artists.

MIAMI, Florida -- April 27, 2010 -- 3DATS, CGarchitect, and Spine3D announce the formation of a world-class training center in Miami, FL dedicated to architectural visualization and beyond - CGschool. The CGschool is the only company in the world that provides Autodesk Authorized books and training dedicated to architectural visualization while simultaneously working full-time in visualization production.

"The launch of the CGschool marks a turning point in our industry", said Jeff Mottle, founder of CGarchitect, "Specialized visualization training in our field has long been underserviced and never before offered by professionals of this caliber. We are all very excited to launch this school for our industry and look forward to sharing the immense pool of knowledge that we have assembled here."

Located at the Spine3D headquarters in Miami, this school aims to provide the best quality training for 3D Architectural Visualization and beyond. Courses include Beginner through Advanced training in 3ds Max, V-Ray, Fusion, Photoshop, Internet Marketing, and much more. For more information, visit http://www.thecgschool.com.

About Us
3DATS,LLC provides high quality training solutions for design visualization professionals. Our products and services include customized training, 3D design consultation, training books and DVDs, as well as some of the best content available in the visualization industry.

Spine3D is an award-winning visualization studio that has produced stunning 3d imagery for some of the world’s top designers, real estate developers, and advertising agencies. Their expertise with large scale 3d environments and cinematic animations has not only allowed them to succeed in the real estate industry, but with leading corporate and entertainment brands as well. Spine3D is able to create compelling online or offline marketing materials for any product or environment. With Spine3D there are virtually no limits to turning ideas into reality.

CGarchitect.com was launched on August 1, 2001 by Jeff Mottle with the help of many industry professionals from around the world. Our goal is to provide the most comprehensive and up to date online resource for the architectural visualization industry. Since its launch CGarchitect has grown from a few hundred visits each month to well over 200,000 unique visits and serving over 5 million ad impressions per month! Thanks to many of you and your contributions, CGarchitect.com has become the global voice for the industry.

To learn more about CG School, please visit our site at http://www.thecgschool.com

CGschool
+1-800-240-7675
cgsupport@thecgschool.com

The Latest In Computer Hardware for Architectural Visualization - 3DATS Tech Talk

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:04:00 +0000

Have you ever had to buy a computer for architectural visualization and labored over the decision of which system to choose? We are writing to let you know that we have just launched a new free website that we hope will make any future buying decisions a little easier for you.

3DATS has joined hardware guru Andrew Lynn to bring you 3DATS Tech Talk. The purpose of the site is to provide recommendations, updated monthly, for those of us in the Arch. Vis. community who need to purchase computer hardware. The site will be thoroughly updated each month with new and relevant information, purchasing recommendations, and new postings will be made to discuss any interesting technology developments.

Andrew is a visualization artist who studied computer engineering and earned degrees in architecture from MIT and Syracuse. He uses his knowledge in computer hardware and architectural visualization to build computers that work for our industry.

In Andrew's initial series of blogs, he creates a workstation buyer's guide, explains the methodology behind the different workstation recommendations, creates a complete parts list, and provides recommended configurations for various job types within the industry. "These configurations are great. Not only are they up-to-date, they also allow everyone to see what type of system suites them best – both in quality of machine and price", says Jeff Mottle, Owner of CG Architect.

To ask hardware related questions or for more information on 3DATS Tech Talk, please go to http://3datstech.com/. Detailed blog entries will be added each month with periodic updates as breaking news develops. Other notifications can be found by RSS and Twitter.

3D Architectural Interior - The Lodge @ Arrowhead

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:15:00 +0000

3D Interior Animation for The Lodge at Arrowhead located in Peoria, Arizona. Architectural Visualization software used is 3ds Max & V-Ray.

Currently we are on schedue to complete 9 more rooms. Stay tuned for updates.

100 of the World's Top 3D Visualization Artists - Deadline Next Week

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:46:00 +0000

3DATS announces the production of a unique new book designed to give great 3D visualization artists around the world an affordable opportunity to show-off their best work in a beautifully crafted book of the highest quality print. This book provides 3D artists the opportunity to showcase their work to prospective clients or employers in a way that has never before been possible, and hence market themselves in a completely different light. The power of print is incredible! Don't miss this opportunity to show your future clients or employers just who should do the job.

Deadline for Sumbitting Images is January 22nd, 2010.

Why Be Printed?
There are numerous benefits of having your work printed in this book, but the ones that will probably mean the most include the following:

•The satisfaction of seeing your own work in print in a ‘Best Of’ book
•Showing future clients or employees your printed work
•Having your work recognized by the 3D community

3D Architectural Visualization Project From Start to Finish Book

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:23:00 +0000

Over the last few years, we have received an incredible number of requests from 3ds Max users at all skill levels suggesting that we create a book that illustrates the process of creating a 3D visualization project from start to finish and step-by-step. As a result of these requests, we are pleased to announce the production of our 4th book, 3ds Max Architectural Visualization – One Project From Start to Finish. This book will be the most comprehensive guide to completing a 3D visualization project ever produced, and we have commissioned one of the best, and most respected 3D visualization firms in the world, Cat-a-pult, to help write this one of a kind book. The intent of the book is to show in great detail, each step of the visualization process, as applied to one very unique visualization project and every facet of the design and creation process will be illustrated to include at a minimum the following areas:

Modeling
Materials
Unwrap UVW
Texture Painting
Day & Night Lighting

Animation
Particle Systems
Forces and Deflectors
Cloth
Reactor

Compositing
Editing
Rendering
Plugin Usage
Render to Texture

This book will be applicable for all skills levels. The material will be presented in an way that is engaging for advanced users and explicatory enough for beginners. For example, during an exercise to loft a wall, the instructions will tell the user the path of where the loft feature can be found and the exact button and settings that will need to be clicked, but it will not spend valuable time explaining all the remaining settings not used and all of the additional considerations with the loft that are explained in our 'Beginner to Intermediate' book. However, important considerations will be mentioned at times (at least during the first use of a feature), even if the same material is highlighted in a previous book.

This book will incorporate the use of V-Ray but the vast majority of the book will present material that does not require the use of V-Ray. Approximately 10% of the book will explain V-Ray specific features and procedures.

The ultimate goal of the book is to transfer knowledge of as many features and procedures as possible while showing how to create one amazing project. We are completely confident that readers of all skill levels will agree that this book meets its goal.

London Visualization Training with CGarchitect and 3DATS

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:17:00 +0000

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

Onyx 3D Vegetation Sharing Portal

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Tue, 12 May 2009 19:56:00 +0000

3DATS and Onyx Computing announce the launch of a new website through which licensed Onyx users can freely share and distribute their Onyx creations with other licensed users. Users can share their architectural visualization 3D masterpieces in these categories:

- Bamboo
- Broadleaf
- Conifers
- Flower
- Grasses
- Palms
- Other

If you own the Onyx Tree program, you can't afford to miss out...it's all free! Click here for more information on the 3D vegetation sharing system.

Exclusive Melbourne Training Event for Architectural Visualization

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:35:00 +0000

3DATS and CGarchitect.com have partnered to bring you a one time exclusive training event in Melbourne, Australia 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 May 1st
A current or future 3DATS book
A special gift to be provided during class
Exclusive discounts from industry vendors

When is this happening? April 27 - May 2, 2009

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

REGISTER BEFORE MARCH 6th, 2009 AND SAVE $300!

Click here to learn more about the 3DATS Melbourne, Australia training classes or go to http://www.3dats.com/melbourne/.

3ds Max Architectural Visualization - Advanced to Expert Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:44:00 +0000

3DATS will be publishing the third title in its visualization series in the summer of 2009. Entitled 3ds Max Architectural Visualization - Advanced to Expert, this book will be a collection of self-contained chapters, written by dozens of industry experts. The goal of this book is to take readers from an advanced level to an expert level by providing a straight-forward discussion of difficult subject matter not available anywhere else. It serves as a follow-on companion to the two previous books of the same title; the Beginner to Intermediate and Intermediate to Advanced editions.

Content of 3ds Max Architectural Visualization - Advanced to Expert includes:

Part I - Color and Composition
Part II - Materials
Part III - Lighting
Part IV - Rendering
Part V - Animation
Part VI - Workflow
Part VII - Post production

You can view more details and the table of contents at http://3dats.com/expert_book/.

A list of architectural visualization and movie authors and industry experts will be released within the next few weeks. Check back to this blog for more details.

Exclusive Sydney Training Event for Architectural Visualization

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:25:00 +0000

3DATS and CGarchitect.com have partnered to bring you a one time exclusive training event in Sydney, Australia 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 April 24th
A current or future 3DATS book
A special gift to be provided during class
Exclusive discounts from industry vendors

When is this happening? April 20-25, 2009

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

REGISTER BEFORE MARCH 6th, 2009 AND SAVE $300!

Click here to learn more about the 3DATS Sydney, Australia training classes or go to http://www.3dats.com/sydney/.

Exclusive Dubai Training Event for Architectural Visualization

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:28:00 +0000

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/.

Free 1-hour live demonstration of OnyxGRASS and Onyx2Max from Onyx Computing

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:38:00 +0000

Onyx Computing announces the release of two new products, two upgrades and a free 1-hour live demonstration!

New Products:

OnyxGRASS is the first dedicated parametric modeler for grasses. The modeler creates a wide variety of decorative grasses, wild grasses, and grass covers and it comes with the library of ready-to-use grasses and grass covers. As is the case with all our modelers, this modeler has a well structured, intuitive interface, easy to understand and especially so by all those who are visually inclined.

Onyx2Max is our new plugin for 3ds Max that enables the import of Onyx proprietary 3D files to Max. It is not meant to be a competitor to our famous TREE STORM, but a complement import tool to replace obsolete 3ds file import. Onyx2Max imports Onyx 3D plants with their 3D geometry, color-per-vertex data, materials, UV mapping coordinates, and textures. Extremely useful tool for 3ds Max users!

Upgraded Products:

OnyxGARDEN Suite 2 includes our new OnyxGRASS modeler with the GRASS library. This means that the new Suite is now a collection of SIX dedicated plant modelers/creators with their respective libraries of more than 460 ready-to-use plants. In addition, the new Suite comes with our new Onyx2Max plugin and additional, new libraries with ready-to-use broadleaf and conifer trees, and shrubs.

OnyxGARDEN SuperBundle 2 includes new OnyxGARDEN Suite 2 and TREE STORM plugin for Max.

For more information, visit http://www.onyxtree.com/index.html

For a free 1-hour live demonstration webinar by 3DATS, click here to register http://3dats.com/onyx.asp

3ds Max 2009 Architectural Visualization - Intermediate to Advanced Now Shipping

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:32:00 +0000

3DATS announces the shipping of its second 3ds Max book dedicated to architectural visualization industry: 3ds Max 2009 Architectural Visualization - Intermediate to Advanced. Many years in the making, this 544 page, full-color, hard-cover bound title is the combined effort of 9 different authors from around the world who have combined their experiences and skills in the creation of a book that is truly a first of its kind; an advanced 3D visualization book filled with techniques that have been time tested in major production firms for maximum speed and efficiency.

This book is the follow-up companion to the book entitled 3ds Max 2008 Architectural Visualization - Beginner to Intermediate. That book was written primarily for beginners and was designed to take 3ds Max users to an intermediate level and provide the basics needed to land a job with a visualization company. 3ds Max 2009 Architectural Visualization - Intermediate to Advanced takes the next logical step and is designed to take intermediate 3ds Max users to the advanced level, not just by teaching more advanced features, but also by teaching practical application and time-saving techniques of the tools covered in the Beginner to Intermediate title.

Included at the back of the book are numerous appendices that provide a wealth of tools including production tips, marketing strategies, business resources, a V-Ray reference guide, and much more. In the end, we believe that a great mixture of practical application and real-world experience was achieved and presented in the most logical order. We hope you agree!

Also included with the book are special discounts from leading industry vendors and valuable downloadable content. Support files are available in release 9 and 2008.

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

View 3DAS Videos on Video Sharing Sites

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 17:11:00 +0000

Besides our gallery animations page, 3D Architectural Solutions animations are now available throughout the web in many formats. Now you can make comments and share the videos with anyone at anytime.

3DAS Demo Reel Animation
YouTube, Yahoo, MySpace, Metacafe, Google, Revver, DailyMotion, Blip.tv, Veoh, Crackle, Brightcove, and Viddler

Barefoot Beach 5 Story Residence Animation
YouTube, Yahoo, MySpace, Metacafe, Google, Revver, DailyMotion, Blip.tv, Veoh, Crackle, Brightcove and Viddler

Lifestyle Family Fitness Interior Animation
YouTube, MySpace, Metacafe, Google, Revver, DailyMotion, Blip.tv, Veoh, Crackle, Brightcove and Viddler

Savannah Preserve Interior Residence Animation
YouTube, Yahoo, MySpace, Metacafe, Google, Revver, DailyMotion, Blip.tv, Veoh, Crackle, Brightcove and Viddler

LEGEND

YouTube
Description: The top video sharing website.
Demographics: Evenly female/male audience, even age distribution, U.S. East and West coasts.

Yahoo! Video
Description: An original video destination, but late to the game
Demographics: Slight more male viewers, slightly older, even US geographic distribution

MySpace
Description: Primarily a social networking site, but video is still huge
Demographics: High percentage of female and under 18 viewers

Metacafe
Description: Popular worlwide, prides itself on community votes driving featured content
Demographics: Skews towards older, more educated, male viewers

Google Video
Description: Increasingly becoming more of a video search engine
Demographics: Slightly more male viewers, disproportionately more Hispanic audience

Revver
Description: One of the firrst video sites to offer ad revenue sharing
Demographics: Slightly older, white male crowd

DailyMotion
Description: The YouTube of Europe
Demographics: Overwhelmingly white male. Higher age and income than most

Blip.tv
Description: Publisher-friendly video sharing and distribution site
Demographics: Slightly more male, slightly higher income level than most video sites, even ethnic distribution

Brightcove
Description: Trying to bring TV to the internet
Demographics: Even split male and female. Few under 18 viewers

Viddler
Description: Newer site with cool features like comments tied to a particular time in the video and automatic webcam synch.
Demographics: Slightly more male; college-educated.

Crackle
Description: Focused on making people stars
Demographics: Largely male, disproportionately African-American audience

Veoh
Description: Focused on full-screen video programming for anyone with a broadband connection
Demographics: Slightly more male viewers, predominantly Asian, distributed across all age categories

Online Videos - Create Onyx Trees, V-Ray Proxy, and Building 3D Walls

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:59:00 +0000

The 3DAS Visualization Insiders are now complete. You can view our 1-hour long webinar videos for free. The 3D architectural visualization videos are:

Week 24 - Creating Onyx trees
This webinar demonstrates the use of the Onxy Storm plugin that runs within 3ds Max, as well as the very powerful line of tree and plant generators that feed this plugin. Here you will learn how to craft vegetation, apply realistic materials and animate your creations to suit your project needs.

Week 25 - An In-Depth Look at the V-Ray Proxy
This webinar provides an in-depth look at this incredibly powerful feature that many 3ds Max users would now say they simply couldn't work without. During the discussion, you will learn the difference between static and dynamic geometry, you will see the best ways to quickly generate and manipulate proxies, you will be shown how to control the memory consumption of proxies, and you will learn how to alter materials placed on a proxy. All objects and are not created equal, and proxies are no exception!

Week 26 - The Many Ways of Building Walls
One of the most commonly asked questions between fellow 3D visualization artists is, "How do you create your walls in 3D?" The question is bound to be answered a number of different ways depending on who you ask and their experience level, but the question is so important to so many of us because walls are usually the first part of a building that we create and arguably the most important.

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

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 14:54:00 +0000

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

Two New 3ds Max 2008 Books are Now Available for Preorder

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 21:08:00 +0000

Two new books on 3ds Max 2008 are now available for preorder. You can find them at http://www.3dats.com/products.asp. Now, here's the cool part. If you preorder (and only if you preorder), you will receive FREE training. So, if you like the tutorials, you should check out the book...it's worth it.

Creating Vegetation on a Large Scale

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 22:52:00 +0000

Shadows for 2D Trees
Creating realistic shadows for 2D trees can be quite challenging if not approached carefully. Even using a good approach can have dire consequences when specific details in implementation are not taken into consideration. There are four types of shadows that can be used in conjunction with 2D trees. Each has advantages and disadvantages and which method you use depends greatly on the same things discussed earlier, which also drive which type of vegetation you create; RAM, rendering time, scene complexity, etc. Though there is no official title to any of these shadows types, we will use the following terms to delineate the different types-

3D Shadows
Opacity Mapped Shadows
Project Light Shadows
Image Shadows

3D Shadows
The most realistic type of shadow that can be used for a 2D tree is the shadow of a 3D tree. Unfortunately, it's also the least efficient and most time-consuming method. To implement, simply place a 3D tree at the center of a 2D tree, disable the Visible to Camera and Visible to Reflection options and disable the Cast Shadows option of the 2D tree. The images below show an example of a 2D tree using the shadow of a 3D tree. The 3D tree that was used was the Generic Oak from the 3ds Max Foliage feature. Even with the branches and trunk disabled, this particular tree can have from 5k to 8k faces, depending on which seed value you use. Although this is a relatively small number of faces for a scene of over a million faces, it would not be practical to use a large number of these trees to make 3D shadows because as few as 200 could add an additional one million faces to your scene.

See the rest of this article at http://www.3dats.com/tutorials.asp#week8
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

An In-depth Look at Image Sampling

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 22:42:00 +0000

Introduction
This article was written to clear up some misconceptions about the V-Ray image sampler and was a direct response to a thread posted on the Chaos Forum (click here to view thread). In this thread, several users found the explanation of the image sampler in the article Critical V-Ray Settings very helpful but were confused about why certain settings were recommended. In this article we (3DAS) wrote,

By default, the Min and Max values are 1 and 4 respectively, which provides decent quality for test purposes. However, these values will often need to be raised for production renders. Values such as 3 and 6 are typically good settings for most production purposes. Caution should be taken in using higher values than 6 because of the possibility of excessive render times. Additionally, it is a good idea not to separate the Min and Max values by more than 2 or 3. Doing so can result in a wide range in quality of detail because it leaves VRay more room to guess incorrectly.

In the Chaos thread, somone wrote-

ok after extensive testing, that qmc setting does not make sense - its faster to do min 1 max 6 and the quality does not suffer which is what the document suggests

Another wrote-

I totally agree about with that as well. I was using Min 1 max 10 with the to get my glossies nice and smooth, and to give the QMC sampler enough room to sample adaptively for good results. After reading the PDF I tried Min 4 Max 6 settings and it increased my rendertimes with no visible difference in quality

Followed by many more like-

But then I started thinking (must remember to engage brain before fiddling) and looked again - so the pshot is the guys at cgarchitect need informing they are wrong on that point! - though I guess it depends a bit on what their qmc adaptive settings were

Many good points were made in this thread but a lot of assumptions were also made. Hopefully this article will help clear up the subject of image sampling. I would argue that image sampling is the most important and least understood feature in V-Ray. If you do not conduct good image sampling, having extremely high quality settings in other areas of the program (like irradiance maps and the QMC sampler) will do you absolutely no good.

See the rest of this article at http://www.3dats.com/tutorials.asp#week17

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 Backgrounds for 3D Scenes

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 16:46:00 +0000

Introduction
Backgrounds are a critical part of just about every type of 3D scene. Although they are a relatively simple element to add to a scene, backgrounds can just as easily be a source of frustration and problems for 3ds Max users. There are two main types of backgrounds – those created with geometry and those created by use of the Environment Map channel. Both have advantages and disadvantages over the other and both can be broken into several subcategories. The following discussion explains each of these categories and subcategories and looks at methods to implement each type of background.

Environment Channel Backgrounds
This is the simplest type of background to implement, yet often the most difficult to make look good. It is nothing more than using a color or a map in a fixed orientation. By default, 3ds Max uses a black color swatch in the Environment and Effects dialog box to provide a black background. This type of background is a poor choice regardless of the color, but black is particularly bad even for test renders because of how it can hide the boundaries of an object.

See the rest of this article at http://www.3dats.com/tutorials.asp#week13

Antialiasing and its Side Effects

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 16:26:00 +0000

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

The 3D Animation Process Overview

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 16:21:00 +0000

Introduction

The intent of this article is to provide some insight to some of the major steps of a typical animation project from the first meeting with a client, through post production and delivery of the final product. Every project is unique and every firm takes its own approach to producing professional animations, but this discussion lists some of the typical problems and pitfalls that plague our work and some techniques that can improve your workflow and save you enormous time and grief. The following is a list of some of the major steps of a typical animation.

Market Your Services
Talk/Meet with Client
Do not disclose price
Determine end product
Learn as much about project as possible
Request drawings
Make contact with other companies
Receive and inspect drawings
Question poor designs
Determine what will be seen and the level of detail
Create production timeline
Write proposal / PSA
Receive signed contract and deposit
Create project folders
Ensure you have latest drawings
Break up project
Clean and prepare CAD linework
Import linework
Model building elements
Model site elements
Create an assembly line work flow
Save incrementally and save often
Merge background rig
Use material libraries
Merge scene elements
Load lighting preset
Create animation paths
Create copy of maps in project folder
Create test renders
Fix / change animation
Create production render
Post production

See the rest of this article at http://www.3dats.com/tutorials.asp#week16

Creating 3D Site Plans

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 14:21:00 +0000

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

Critical V-Ray Settings

noreply@blogger.com (Brian & Brian) — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 03:38:00 +0000

Introduction

To say that VRay is a complicated program would be an understatement! Ironically enough, however, it has become the most ubiquitous engine in the visualization industry because of, among other things, its simplicity. Although it contains a large number of settings which should ideally be separated from critical settings and grouped into an advanced section all alone, it is nonetheless a fairly easy program to digest when you know which settings are critical and which can be left for exploration down the road.

We believe knowing VRay means knowing how to troubleshoot your scenes. When you render a scene, you either get a result you want or don't want. If you get what you want, great - but if you don't, and don't know how to fix a problem, such as blotchiness, noise, flickering, etc, then you are bound to spend precious time testing numerous settings. Even when you do get the results you want, you may not realize that you can achieve the same or better results in less rendering time.

Rather than explaining the critical settings in a top to bottom manner, starting with the top-most rollout and ending with the bottom-most, this discussion presents VRay features in a more logical manner, from most critical to least critical. For example, there is an option to disable glossy effects in one of the first rollouts, Global Switches; however, it wouldn't make sense to discuss an option for a concept that has yet to be explained. Therefore, such a setting is reserved for later.

For the purpose of this discussion, we are defining critical settings as those which tend to require attention at least once during the course of a typical visualization animation. This means that while a particular setting's use may not be guaranteed during any given visualization, its use will probably have been at least considered as an option because of its special qualities or characteristics that it offers a user. By the same token, having not listed a setting does not at all mean that it is not something worth exploring, but rather it is a setting most likely not as widely used, as unique in its affect, or as practical in a production environment.

See the rest of this article at http://www.3dats.com/tutorials.asp#week14