Re: tips on working with dense reference models?

2013-12-24 Thread Ben Beckett
I had a very heavy crab once in a scene, I had the Low d mesh visable and
non renderable, and the HD mesh Hidden and renderable.

I did this so I did not have to switch out my ref's

The scenes may have take a few min more to open but it work great.

But Standin are brill

Ben


On 24 December 2013 01:29, Peter Agg peter@googlemail.com wrote:

 If moving between resolutions is a pain then you can always have visible
 low-res geo with the high res stuff hidden. You don't get the same speed
 boost that you get with multiple resolutions, but sometimes it's enough to
 make it workable.


 On 23 December 2013 18:33, Cristobal Infante cgc...@gmail.com wrote:

 another way is to use 2 resolutions for your reference models. One very
 low res, and only switch to the highres when you are ready to render. The
 trick is to use the same rig so the animation sticks.

 If you want to give this a shot I recommend you download the scn toc
 manager created by Alok to switch those models from outside the scene.

 The standin route is great if you are rendering with Arnold IMHO.

 good luck!



 On Monday, 23 December 2013, Paul Griswold wrote:

 Thanks Alan!  Yep, this is all solid, non-deforming stuff (CAD data).  I
 have rigged it all with nulls the way you mention.  The problem I'm having
 is just updating when I scrub the timeline.  Even if the object has zero
 animation, simply scrubbing the timeline causes Softimage to freeze for
 several seconds.

 I'm actually testing Redshift for this one.  They've got a stand-in, but
 it's very alpha IMHO.  You either get a box or a full representation of the
 geometry.  There's nothing in-between, yet.  VRay's implementation looks
 somewhat nifty - I think they give you a bunch of points in the shape of
 your object.

 It sounds like the fastest solution would be to decimate the geometry
 and use it as a stand-in.

 I just wasn't sure why there's such a huge difference in performance
 between local and reference.  It's really significant.

 Thanks!

 Paul

  ᐧ


 On Mon, Dec 23, 2013 at 1:05 PM, Alan Fregtman 
 alan.fregt...@gmail.comwrote:

  Is it as simple as building low res stand-ins and offloading?

 Pretty much... yeah.

 Is it a solid, (mostly if not completely) non-deforming thing like a
 vehicle? If that's the case, you may wanna consider making a null hierarchy
 where each null contains a selection of meshes that move as one.

 For example, a regular solid car's rig might be: car body, left/right
 front/back wheel rotation and left/right front/back wheel brakes, so 9
 nulls. Animating those 9 nulls will be way lighter than dealing with
 hundreds or thousands of parts deforming or individually constrained to
 whatever, plus it's less data for the Delta property to keep track of. By
 the way, I like to call these nulls segment nulls.

 If you're dealing with mentalray or Arnold, both have the standins
 concept that works quite well, especially in Arnold. (Maybe XSI Vray does
 it too, not sure.)

 You'll want a standin per segment and if you name your standins the
 same as your segment nulls in a separate resolution, then it's very easy to
 animate a very light rig that is high-res compatible. Also makes it a piece
 of cake to republish update geo and shading by simply reexporting the
 standin files.

 At work we had stupid mesh density in Pacific Rim's control pod
 stilts and this *segmented workflow *of standin nulls constrained to
 a rig worked out great. ;)


 On Mon, Dec 23, 2013 at 11:09 AM, Paul Griswold 
 pgrisw...@fusiondigitalproductions.com wrote:

 I don't work a lot with reference models, but I am now.  The mesh is
 dense and has a lot of parts to deal with.  When the mesh is local,
 Softimage handles it fine.  But when it's reference, just moving through
 the timeline takes 8-10 seconds per frame.  Even in Bounding Box mode,
 Softimage grinds to a halt.

 Can anyone point me to any FAQs or guidelines on working with heavy
 reference models?

 Is it as simple as building low res stand-ins and offloading?

 Thanks  Merry Christmas!

 -Paul

 ᐧ







tips on working with dense reference models?

2013-12-23 Thread Paul Griswold
I don't work a lot with reference models, but I am now.  The mesh is dense
and has a lot of parts to deal with.  When the mesh is local, Softimage
handles it fine.  But when it's reference, just moving through the timeline
takes 8-10 seconds per frame.  Even in Bounding Box mode, Softimage grinds
to a halt.

Can anyone point me to any FAQs or guidelines on working with heavy
reference models?

Is it as simple as building low res stand-ins and offloading?

Thanks  Merry Christmas!

-Paul

ᐧ


Re: tips on working with dense reference models?

2013-12-23 Thread Alan Fregtman
 Is it as simple as building low res stand-ins and offloading?

Pretty much... yeah.

Is it a solid, (mostly if not completely) non-deforming thing like a
vehicle? If that's the case, you may wanna consider making a null hierarchy
where each null contains a selection of meshes that move as one.

For example, a regular solid car's rig might be: car body, left/right
front/back wheel rotation and left/right front/back wheel brakes, so 9
nulls. Animating those 9 nulls will be way lighter than dealing with
hundreds or thousands of parts deforming or individually constrained to
whatever, plus it's less data for the Delta property to keep track of. By
the way, I like to call these nulls segment nulls.

If you're dealing with mentalray or Arnold, both have the standins concept
that works quite well, especially in Arnold. (Maybe XSI Vray does it too,
not sure.)

You'll want a standin per segment and if you name your standins the same
as your segment nulls in a separate resolution, then it's very easy to
animate a very light rig that is high-res compatible. Also makes it a piece
of cake to republish update geo and shading by simply reexporting the
standin files.

At work we had stupid mesh density in Pacific Rim's control pod stilts
and this *segmented workflow *of standin nulls constrained to a rig worked
out great. ;)


On Mon, Dec 23, 2013 at 11:09 AM, Paul Griswold 
pgrisw...@fusiondigitalproductions.com wrote:

 I don't work a lot with reference models, but I am now.  The mesh is dense
 and has a lot of parts to deal with.  When the mesh is local, Softimage
 handles it fine.  But when it's reference, just moving through the timeline
 takes 8-10 seconds per frame.  Even in Bounding Box mode, Softimage grinds
 to a halt.

 Can anyone point me to any FAQs or guidelines on working with heavy
 reference models?

 Is it as simple as building low res stand-ins and offloading?

 Thanks  Merry Christmas!

 -Paul

 ᐧ



Re: tips on working with dense reference models?

2013-12-23 Thread Paul Griswold
Thanks Alan!  Yep, this is all solid, non-deforming stuff (CAD data).  I
have rigged it all with nulls the way you mention.  The problem I'm having
is just updating when I scrub the timeline.  Even if the object has zero
animation, simply scrubbing the timeline causes Softimage to freeze for
several seconds.

I'm actually testing Redshift for this one.  They've got a stand-in, but
it's very alpha IMHO.  You either get a box or a full representation of the
geometry.  There's nothing in-between, yet.  VRay's implementation looks
somewhat nifty - I think they give you a bunch of points in the shape of
your object.

It sounds like the fastest solution would be to decimate the geometry and
use it as a stand-in.

I just wasn't sure why there's such a huge difference in performance
between local and reference.  It's really significant.

Thanks!

Paul

ᐧ


On Mon, Dec 23, 2013 at 1:05 PM, Alan Fregtman alan.fregt...@gmail.comwrote:

  Is it as simple as building low res stand-ins and offloading?

 Pretty much... yeah.

 Is it a solid, (mostly if not completely) non-deforming thing like a
 vehicle? If that's the case, you may wanna consider making a null hierarchy
 where each null contains a selection of meshes that move as one.

 For example, a regular solid car's rig might be: car body, left/right
 front/back wheel rotation and left/right front/back wheel brakes, so 9
 nulls. Animating those 9 nulls will be way lighter than dealing with
 hundreds or thousands of parts deforming or individually constrained to
 whatever, plus it's less data for the Delta property to keep track of. By
 the way, I like to call these nulls segment nulls.

 If you're dealing with mentalray or Arnold, both have the standins concept
 that works quite well, especially in Arnold. (Maybe XSI Vray does it too,
 not sure.)

 You'll want a standin per segment and if you name your standins the same
 as your segment nulls in a separate resolution, then it's very easy to
 animate a very light rig that is high-res compatible. Also makes it a piece
 of cake to republish update geo and shading by simply reexporting the
 standin files.

 At work we had stupid mesh density in Pacific Rim's control pod stilts
 and this *segmented workflow *of standin nulls constrained to a rig
 worked out great. ;)


 On Mon, Dec 23, 2013 at 11:09 AM, Paul Griswold 
 pgrisw...@fusiondigitalproductions.com wrote:

 I don't work a lot with reference models, but I am now.  The mesh is
 dense and has a lot of parts to deal with.  When the mesh is local,
 Softimage handles it fine.  But when it's reference, just moving through
 the timeline takes 8-10 seconds per frame.  Even in Bounding Box mode,
 Softimage grinds to a halt.

 Can anyone point me to any FAQs or guidelines on working with heavy
 reference models?

 Is it as simple as building low res stand-ins and offloading?

 Thanks  Merry Christmas!

 -Paul

 ᐧ





Re: tips on working with dense reference models?

2013-12-23 Thread Cristobal Infante
another way is to use 2 resolutions for your reference models. One very low
res, and only switch to the highres when you are ready to render. The trick
is to use the same rig so the animation sticks.

If you want to give this a shot I recommend you download the scn toc
manager created by Alok to switch those models from outside the scene.

The standin route is great if you are rendering with Arnold IMHO.

good luck!


On Monday, 23 December 2013, Paul Griswold wrote:

 Thanks Alan!  Yep, this is all solid, non-deforming stuff (CAD data).  I
 have rigged it all with nulls the way you mention.  The problem I'm having
 is just updating when I scrub the timeline.  Even if the object has zero
 animation, simply scrubbing the timeline causes Softimage to freeze for
 several seconds.

 I'm actually testing Redshift for this one.  They've got a stand-in, but
 it's very alpha IMHO.  You either get a box or a full representation of the
 geometry.  There's nothing in-between, yet.  VRay's implementation looks
 somewhat nifty - I think they give you a bunch of points in the shape of
 your object.

 It sounds like the fastest solution would be to decimate the geometry and
 use it as a stand-in.

 I just wasn't sure why there's such a huge difference in performance
 between local and reference.  It's really significant.

 Thanks!

 Paul

  ᐧ


 On Mon, Dec 23, 2013 at 1:05 PM, Alan Fregtman 
 alan.fregt...@gmail.comjavascript:_e({}, 'cvml', 
 'alan.fregt...@gmail.com');
  wrote:

  Is it as simple as building low res stand-ins and offloading?

 Pretty much... yeah.

 Is it a solid, (mostly if not completely) non-deforming thing like a
 vehicle? If that's the case, you may wanna consider making a null hierarchy
 where each null contains a selection of meshes that move as one.

 For example, a regular solid car's rig might be: car body, left/right
 front/back wheel rotation and left/right front/back wheel brakes, so 9
 nulls. Animating those 9 nulls will be way lighter than dealing with
 hundreds or thousands of parts deforming or individually constrained to
 whatever, plus it's less data for the Delta property to keep track of. By
 the way, I like to call these nulls segment nulls.

 If you're dealing with mentalray or Arnold, both have the standins
 concept that works quite well, especially in Arnold. (Maybe XSI Vray does
 it too, not sure.)

 You'll want a standin per segment and if you name your standins the
 same as your segment nulls in a separate resolution, then it's very easy to
 animate a very light rig that is high-res compatible. Also makes it a piece
 of cake to republish update geo and shading by simply reexporting the
 standin files.

 At work we had stupid mesh density in Pacific Rim's control pod stilts
 and this *segmented workflow *of standin nulls constrained to a rig
 worked out great. ;)


 On Mon, Dec 23, 2013 at 11:09 AM, Paul Griswold 
 pgrisw...@fusiondigitalproductions.com javascript:_e({}, 'cvml',
 'pgrisw...@fusiondigitalproductions.com'); wrote:

 I don't work a lot with reference models, but I am now.  The mesh is
 dense and has a lot of parts to deal with.  When the mesh is local,
 Softimage handles it fine.  But when it's reference, just moving through
 the timeline takes 8-10 seconds per frame.  Even in Bounding Box mode,
 Softimage grinds to a halt.

 Can anyone point me to any FAQs or guidelines on working with heavy
 reference models?

 Is it as simple as building low res stand-ins and offloading?

 Thanks  Merry Christmas!

 -Paul

 ᐧ






Re: tips on working with dense reference models?

2013-12-23 Thread Peter Agg
If moving between resolutions is a pain then you can always have visible
low-res geo with the high res stuff hidden. You don't get the same speed
boost that you get with multiple resolutions, but sometimes it's enough to
make it workable.


On 23 December 2013 18:33, Cristobal Infante cgc...@gmail.com wrote:

 another way is to use 2 resolutions for your reference models. One very
 low res, and only switch to the highres when you are ready to render. The
 trick is to use the same rig so the animation sticks.

 If you want to give this a shot I recommend you download the scn toc
 manager created by Alok to switch those models from outside the scene.

 The standin route is great if you are rendering with Arnold IMHO.

 good luck!



 On Monday, 23 December 2013, Paul Griswold wrote:

 Thanks Alan!  Yep, this is all solid, non-deforming stuff (CAD data).  I
 have rigged it all with nulls the way you mention.  The problem I'm having
 is just updating when I scrub the timeline.  Even if the object has zero
 animation, simply scrubbing the timeline causes Softimage to freeze for
 several seconds.

 I'm actually testing Redshift for this one.  They've got a stand-in, but
 it's very alpha IMHO.  You either get a box or a full representation of the
 geometry.  There's nothing in-between, yet.  VRay's implementation looks
 somewhat nifty - I think they give you a bunch of points in the shape of
 your object.

 It sounds like the fastest solution would be to decimate the geometry and
 use it as a stand-in.

 I just wasn't sure why there's such a huge difference in performance
 between local and reference.  It's really significant.

 Thanks!

 Paul

  ᐧ


 On Mon, Dec 23, 2013 at 1:05 PM, Alan Fregtman 
 alan.fregt...@gmail.comwrote:

  Is it as simple as building low res stand-ins and offloading?

 Pretty much... yeah.

 Is it a solid, (mostly if not completely) non-deforming thing like a
 vehicle? If that's the case, you may wanna consider making a null hierarchy
 where each null contains a selection of meshes that move as one.

 For example, a regular solid car's rig might be: car body, left/right
 front/back wheel rotation and left/right front/back wheel brakes, so 9
 nulls. Animating those 9 nulls will be way lighter than dealing with
 hundreds or thousands of parts deforming or individually constrained to
 whatever, plus it's less data for the Delta property to keep track of. By
 the way, I like to call these nulls segment nulls.

 If you're dealing with mentalray or Arnold, both have the standins
 concept that works quite well, especially in Arnold. (Maybe XSI Vray does
 it too, not sure.)

 You'll want a standin per segment and if you name your standins the
 same as your segment nulls in a separate resolution, then it's very easy to
 animate a very light rig that is high-res compatible. Also makes it a piece
 of cake to republish update geo and shading by simply reexporting the
 standin files.

 At work we had stupid mesh density in Pacific Rim's control pod stilts
 and this *segmented workflow *of standin nulls constrained to a rig
 worked out great. ;)


 On Mon, Dec 23, 2013 at 11:09 AM, Paul Griswold 
 pgrisw...@fusiondigitalproductions.com wrote:

 I don't work a lot with reference models, but I am now.  The mesh is
 dense and has a lot of parts to deal with.  When the mesh is local,
 Softimage handles it fine.  But when it's reference, just moving through
 the timeline takes 8-10 seconds per frame.  Even in Bounding Box mode,
 Softimage grinds to a halt.

 Can anyone point me to any FAQs or guidelines on working with heavy
 reference models?

 Is it as simple as building low res stand-ins and offloading?

 Thanks  Merry Christmas!

 -Paul

 ᐧ