This last few days I've been experimenting with new techniques to render large groups of environmental polygon. I've not yet care for realism, but the first one on top is rendered with fog, (thus the greyish look) the one on the bottom is a zoomed out camera located far closer to the object.
Maya 8 is a mess. There's bug everywhere. Take the edge loop and make multiple edge loops. i.e. click on one edge and let it make an edge loop, then click on another edge and create an edge loop. It'll refuse to make an edge loop if you're lucky. Else, it'll crash without warning. Another flaw of maya 8 is enabling plugins. Try turn a plugin on in maya 8 then make it start everytime. Yes, it'll work as normally. But in Maya 8, try making the plugin start everytime, and then turn it on, the first button will turn off. More flaws of maya 8 that is like the last. i.e. non fatal, is try to turn on final gather or global illumination. An opaque square will appear on those text and then try scrolling (if you're not so lucky as to find a three button mouse these days.) It'll scream a crash and wants you to click ok. But it'll resume, presumably, normally. Also, some old custom MR shader doesn’t seem to work. Another flaw is that when you try to create primitives, it'll want you to click and drag on one place and then drag it on another direction to create a sizable primitive. This flaw first appears on 3DS max and it seems to has crossed into maya. :D Another flaw is that it broke the modeling bar and split it into polygon and everything else. It's takes a while if you've got used to the way maya behaves in the good ol' days of alias. I hope there'd be a fix to these bugs soon. Oy, yes one more flaw on the maya 8 system is the icons and splash screen. Someone seems to have hacked into autodesk and changed all the maya icon logos and splash screens and replaced it with a bizzare looking thing. The logo, used to be a maya logo, now looks like a phoenix, a dove, an axe or a flaming fireball like roxio's. And a humanoid creature with dragon features seems to embrace the splash screen. I hope someone at autodesk would notice this and come up with a solution quickly. Yet, Maya 8 has some significant upgrades since it's predecessor at alias. Although I couldn't think of what it was. They fixed the mental ray renderer and it would seem to render huge displacements at a non-crashing rate. (it's still slow at large displacement) and they finally figured out how to build a software for x64. That's it. Oh, some shaders got sss improvement, and you can attach dynamic curve onto a surface. You still can't beat blender's fluid capabilities.
Alright. So the fun begins! I'm in Boston. The booth is up. It’s a cool booth. Some great images from ILM and Electronic Arts. Also, Damian Canderle, Sebastien Legrain and Jeff McAtter's images are up on the top banner and they are huge! Thank you so much for the images guys!
Today, we are going over the presentation and I think you will be very happy with the new features that have been added to the new ZBrush which is a free upgrade for ZBrush 2 users.
ZBrush strives to be more than a leader in digital sculpting, it strives to bring the future of digital art to today’s artists. We, as artists and developers, do not stop at creating tools for today’s artists. We create tools for tomorrow’s artists as well. The future of digital art is getting better and better and Siggraph is the time for all of us to celebrate how much computer art has advanced.
In this post and following posts I will highlight some of my favorite features of the next ZBrush. Here is a first look.
Speed, speed and more speed.
SubTools – millions and millions of polygons and support for multiple objects and multiple textures.
3D sculpting with an alpha, texture, and stroke – the power of Projection Master in full 3D.
Mesh Extraction – a fast and incredibly powerful way to create new geometry from existing geometry.
3D Layers – store sculpting and texturing in 3D layers for a non-linear workflow
Topology Projection – transfer high-resolution sculpting from one model to another without loosing the hi-resolution details.
Poly Painting – paint directly on your models surface without any UVs.
ZCasting - Broadcast your ZBrush session to the ZBrush community.
The new ZBrush is significantly faster and capable of handling much larger polygonal models than ever before. The new ZBrush is optimized for 32 bit systems as well as 64 bit systems, taking full advantage of the processing power, multiple CPUs and available RAM.
I have made two short movies of the new features using a model I am working on in the new ZBrush. Everything you see is 100% pure ZBrush.
The first movie is about our new SubTools feature that allows artists to work with multiple objects and multiple textures. It also allows you to work directly on models with a staggering number of polygons. The model you see here is twenty two million polygons!
The second movie is about Mesh Extraction. Mesh Extraction is an incredibly fast and powerful way to create geometry. Mask a part of your model and simply extract it. Poof! Instant geometry. ZBrush automatically generates a new SubTool with clean edges. Check it out!
Also, one more feature I want to mention here is ZCasting. ZCasting will enable ZBrush artists to connect with each other and broadcast their ZBrush session to the community. Look for more information on this soon. Oh and perspective? But of course. More on that later.
Now, a little about the show tomorrow. Our first demo is around 10 am. We will be doing one demo every half hour or so. We have Alex Huguet demoing his ZBrush workflow in the afternoon. A schedule will be available at the desk in the booth. See you guys tomorrow!
Autodesk has chosen SIGGRAPH2006 to release new versions of both 3ds Max and Maya. The double announcement was made today at the Autodesk User Group Meeting at the opening day of SIGGRAPH2006 in a balmy Boston. With the merging of Alias and Autodesk earlier this year, this meeting has become the one place where 3D artists and animators have gathered to hear the best, latest and most spectacular news about their popular products. They were not disappointed.
3ds Max 9 Highlighting the new 3ds Max 9 product, Autodesk has clearly focused its efforts behind the lifting of core performance of the software, and strengthening the pipeline efficiencies. Designed and optimised for the latest technology 64-bit workstations, 3ds Max 9 has been elevated with core animation and rendering tools developed to assist the artist more than earlier versions. Tighter control of shared files, tracking of project assets and increased pipeline customisation has been delivered to accelerate the creative workflow.
Files generated within 3ds Max 9 in the proprietary file format FBK, will continue to be transferable between different Autodesk products like Maya, Motionbuilder and others, while mental ray 3.5 also adds powerful rendering functionality to the 3ds Max rendering capabilities. Its simplified user interface is perfect for working with global illumination and SSS shaders, as well as a unified indirect lighting model that provides matching results when switching between different radiosity modes.
For any rendering job using the integrated version of mental ray, the user will be able to assign as many CPUs to the job as required. The integrated version of mental ray will then behave exactly as does the 3ds Max scanline renderer.
Autodesk 3ds Max 9 will be shipping in October 2006, with no changes to either the standalone or the network prices, while International prices may vary. US$3,495 (Standalone); US$3,995 (Network). Customers purchasing 3ds Max 9 will receive software for both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems (Windows only). Both will use the same licensing so customers are able to use either 32-bit or 64-bit 3ds Max 9 on their workstation (hardware and OS must be present that supports this capability). The legacy program also remains unchanged.
Maya 8 The newest version of Maya is released almost immediately. An Early-access ‘upgrade-download’ for Platinum members is available in early August, and this will be shipping simultaneously for all platforms. At the moment, Autodesk now offer Maya Complete, Maya Unlimited and Maya 7 Personal Learning Edition. This Maya 7 PLE will continue to be available as a free trial from the web site.
A 64-bit version of Maya 8 is supported with Windows XP Pro x64, whereas the 32-bit version of Maya 8 is supported on Windows XP Pro (SP 2 or higher), Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0 WS, SUSE Linux 9.3, Mac OS X 10.4.6, and Fedora Core 4 systems. Maya Complete and Maya Unlimited licenses are able to operate across Windows, Mac OS X and Linux platforms. Parallel Dongle support will also continue through all systems
Autodesk Maya 8 is scheduled to ship in August, with standalone and network pricing unchanged. Maya Complete (Standalone) is US$1,999, Maya Complete (Network) is US$2,999, Maya Unlimited (Standalone) is US$6,999, and Maya Unlimited (Network) is US$6,999. The upgrade price of Maya remains unchanged at US$899 for Maya 7 Complete and US$1249 for Maya 7 Unlimited. And as an added incentive, Autodesk would like to mention that they will continue to develop and support both apps for the foreseeable future, as they “see each product addressing different needs and workflows”. Further, “having a range of solutions to meet customer needs as opposed to a single ‘one glove fits all’ approach benefits customers and Autodesk’s business. There is a growing user base and market demand for both products.”
Also being launched at the same time, at the Autodesk UserGroup evening at SIGGRAPH, is the new web site for the Autodesk artist communit:.The Area
The purpose of the site is to create a central repository of 3D content created by the Autodesk 3D community. Autodesk will provide content as appropriate and support the ongoing development of the site, but the goal is for the community to generate and own most of the content.
The site will include: Tips & Tutorials for beginner, intermediate and advanced users. Downloads for product trials, textures and shaders, plug-ins and scripts. Showcase that will include image and movie galleries, member portfolios and “Behind the Screenz”, a section containing stories focused on artists and developers. Blogs – from Autodesk product development as well as community members. Discussion forums – focused on various topics beyond technical support. Features will include advanced search capabilities, profiles, and the ability to rate and comment on tips/galleries.
New products include RenderMan Studio 1.0, RenderMan for Maya 2.0, and RenderMan Artist Tools 7.0
EMERYVILLE, CA – (July 28th, 2006) Pixar Animation Studios today revealed the next stage in RenderMan development at the SIGGRAPH 2006 conference in Boston, where the studio will demonstrate the latest upcoming RenderMan products, including version 2.0 of its popular RenderMan for Maya plug-in, the latest RenderMan Artist Tools 7.0, and the debut of its next generation successor RenderMan Studio.
Available later in 2006, RenderMan Studio 1.0 combines the ease of use of RenderMan for Maya with the advanced capabilities of the existing RenderMan Artist Tools, and can be used either standalone or as an interface to render farms using RenderMan Pro Server 13.0. Consisting of a Pro version of the RenderMan for Maya plug-in with RIB output, plug-in shader functions and procedural geometry support, together with the latest versions of Slim, “it”, and Alfred, along with an embedded RenderMan renderer built into Maya, RenderMan Studio is the most comprehensive and powerful rendering solution available anywhere.
At SIGGRAPH 2006 Pixar will demonstrate the latest version 7.0 of RenderMan Artist Tools including major feature and GUI upgrades to Slim, enhancements to “it” and support for Maya 8. As RenderMan Studio will ultimately replace RenderMan Artist Tools, all users on current maintenance will be offered the option of a free transition to RenderMan Studio at a time of their convenience.
Pixar will also reveal RenderMan for Maya 2.0, the latest version of Pixar’s acclaimed Maya rendering plug-in bringing RenderMan’s peerless feature film quality to all Maya artists. Version 2.0 incorporates multiple enhancements including multi-threading, ray-tracing optimizations, and Maya 8 compatibility. In addition, from the first day of the SIGGRAPH 2006 tradeshow, all new purchasers of the current RenderMan for Maya 1.2 will be offered a free upgrade to version 2.0 when it is released later in 2006.
“Pixar is investing heavily in both the core RenderMan renderer and its supporting software for artists and TD’s. RenderMan Studio in particular brings all our artist tools together in one comprehensive solution,” said Dana Batali, Development Director for RenderMan at Pixar Animation Studios. “RenderMan Studio also unifies the RenderMan product family by providing a natural upgrade path from RenderMan for Maya.”
Relied on by artists and technical directors worldwide, RenderMan is the recognized industry standard for CG feature animation and visual effects rendering and has been used in each of the last 30 movies nominated for a Visual Effects Oscar® by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences.
SIGGRAPH 2006 attendees are invited to visit the Pixar booth (#811) to see the latest developments in cinematic rendering technology and to meet with RenderMan sales and development personnel. For more details on RenderMan products and Pixar Animation Studios please visit www.pixar.com
About Pixar Animation Studios Pixar Animation Studios combines creative and technical artistry to create original stories in the medium of computer animation. Pixar has created seven of the most successful and beloved animated films of all time: Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Cars. Pixar has won 20 Academy Awards® and its seven films have grossed more than $3.4 billion at the worldwide box office to date. The Northern California studio's next film release is Ratatouille. (summer 2007)
This is a test of an XWing animation I did out of my free time. I'll post the animation later. I have to redo the rocket blast animation due to the layers of black not getting matted. Or layers of blue not getting matted. Whichever way you like to see it. Though I won't actually show it to you. Also, a little issue with some particles rendering unwanted background behind it's transparent condition. The background blue is the skymap without the ground. Thus, the lower black background. The blurry state of parts of the model is due to the wing opening and the forward moving state of the plane causing a motion blur. (Have you ever taken a photograph of anything that moves fast like a race car or a ball getting thrown with a slow shutter speed?)
These two kilins, well they are not actually kilin, but lions. Kilins has horns and scales. They are made for the april issue. Models and bases and background rendered in Maya with RenderMan. The Stereo 3D version is made of the stuff I tried the last few days. Look at previous post. The models are recycled of an older kilin model with no skin or face details among other. This one is far more detailed. The base weren't actually seen in the paper so it was just sortof a placeholder. The floor too. So you see the terrible rendering and half-assed modeling on them. The background is actually reminiscent of the TianAnMen museum, but actually, the top of TianAnMen is white. Also, this one has european type castle tops with all the jagged stuff. You will see those in a precursor design to the castles, the Ten Thousand Li Wall, better known as The Great Wall.
A bit on the heavy side on uploads. I've been experimenting on stereo 3D during the last few days. You'll need a red/blue 3D glasses to see these in 3D. The Bigfoot is rendered in two images. One for the right eye and one for the left eye. Stock model and background. So, nothing special there and on the shader. Only the rendering. It requires two camera. I used maya's stereo cam. It generates two cameras side by side each with it's own target. Meaning a point where the eye looks at. This one is actually focused on the background. I think I should've focused on the foreground, (i.e. the bigfoot truck) but then the truck's hood wouldn't have very much depth.
The sedan OTOH, is 3Dized differently since it's rendered to test the model's quality. (It's stock model) and under a quick render with RfM, it gets all these spots all over it due to lack of ray and its calculation. Thus it'd look much different than that of the bigfoot. But move your mouse over it and you can tell that it's been 3Dized. You can see the red spots on the white reflections. I dunno what caused them but they weren't there on the original.
You can see in the original, there's no red stains on the body of the vehicle. Also this one is a one camera render as I said before. These red stains has also appeared on several occasion that I tried to 3Dize a single pic with bright/white parts on the pictures. I don't suppose these were a problem with the concept of red/blue 3d but instead I suppose this is more of an algorithm problem with the software.
You will need a pair of 3D glasses to see these images in 3D. If you want them for free, search the net for rainbow free glasses. You'd find one of these free of charge. (International viewers: I don't know if they ship internationally but there's no harm in trying).
This is the second version of two version of the fog that fogged the city of bandung off the original vlog posting of mine that is stabilized, noise reduced, and letterboxed (letterboxed?) Well, anyway, widescreened.
This person is a homeless person. Sleeps across the street from my home. Right in front of a closed office. Though down in luck, the person keeps praying to Allah. I've seen it several times. The loyalty to religion is commendable, though I doubt it will do any good. What do you think? Actually, I just shot this to test an old film effect filter. And since it's a long distance shot hendheld, it needs stabilization. How good does it work? Well, I think it's comprimised by the old film look.
this is a half-assed matte test, used only as a practice to put a rendered thing behind part of a live action footage (in this case, the boy riding the skateboard)
This is a head of EVA-01 rendered. This is a WIP based on WETA's EVA-01. The white render is untextured. The Colored render is textured. Though both are still WIP (Work In Progress). There's no guarantee this is how it'll look generally when I'm done with it, I hope that I can achieve the look and quality that I aim for.
This is a Maya Live test. I need to know how good the tracking capability of softwares. Compared with MatchMover's automatic SMART technology, Maya Live is far more accurate once you get the hang of it. MM's learning curve is quite simple, while Maya's need quite a getting used to. But once you got it, it's good enough for most of your tracking needs. And again, much more accurate than MM's. If you want to manually track with MM, I'm sure it coud give you good results, but you still need to get used to it's UI, while for maya users, Live is quite intuitive.
The "DragonFire™" is a result of a stunted inspiration for Advertising Gallery front page. Originally it was supposed to be a dog for this next lunar new year is a fire dog year. But as it turns out, the dog looks like Santa's Little Helper. The scrawny bag of bones. And he was on fire. :D So, we cannot use animal violence on the cover of our premiere issue. Thus, I thought, why not use a dragon? It is a universal symbol of us chinese all over the world who will one day dominate the entire universe as scripted on the dead sea scroll rev. 2. But I digress. So this is the final product of the dragon. There is no normal map. There is no displacement map on the final render. The head is made entirely within ZBrush. The body is made entirely within maya. The texture map is all zBrush. All meshes has it's own texture. The head is approx. 2.5 million poly and the body has more than 8 mil. The fireball is a dynamic simulation of fire within maya with a red glowing sphere inside. I should've something of a burning coal shader. But the red glowing ball looks more like them dragon drawings you see everywhere during the new year, so that style was chosen instead of realism. And the dragon itself, is out of the dragon ball series this is why the dragon has a 3D 'anime' quality instead of realism.
Posts
