Hi Matthew, >and I wind > up guessing when the points, edges, faces should be sharp or rounded
I gave up totally on edges as sharp etc. More experimentation and I might understand them. To get sharp edges on my SDS shapes I extrude another face but pull it just a fraction of a fraction out and the edges are sharp but at some cost of course. I did a small Tutorial on it at http://www.neico.co.nz/3d/RS3Dwhatwhere.html > I don't > have the luxury of making a living doing graphics and 3D It's your life, you only get one that you can be certain of, if you arent doing what you like then blame yourself .... do graphics enough and it'll keep you fed ... or not, but who cares if you're doing what you like? > Where do I mess with "geo quality"? I have an idea, but I'm not exactly > sure what you're referring to. In render settings which is the third option from the left along the top of the select window options. Double click a render option, like "quality over speed" and in its properties is the far right tab called "misc". For speed you can turn off caustics and shift Geometric Quality to Low. Or at least that's what i think can happen. >I sure would like to be able to > animate a scene that large Book time with a render farm somewhere since I reckon render time is the only issue against animating whatever you like. >I hope > Realsoft is up to the task. I have found the RS is up to anything I can think of. The limits are mine not RS's. But don't quote me on any of this. I'm a newbie, self-taught or rather self-semi-taught. Anyone at all, please correct anything above so that Matthew doesnt have to suffer. Neil Cooke ----- Original Message ----- From: "Matthew Hagerty" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, July 01, 2006 10:22 AM Subject: Re: Changing color of multiple ojects at once? > I prefer modeling in wireframe too, and use a quick render to check > things out. I've been using Realsoft since the Amiga days (3.0 I think) > and back then there were no SDS objects, so I will almost exclusively > use analytics. I generally cannot get SDS to do what I want and I wind > up guessing when the points, edges, faces should be sharp or rounded or > whatever. Once I do have an SDS kind of how I want it, I'm scared to > mess with it. Same with meshes really, I just never sat down and > learned them well enough to be proficient. Of course you would also > think that after 10+ years I'd be a Realsoft expert, but alas I don't > have the luxury of making a living doing graphics and 3D (but I sure > would like to), so it's just a hobby that usually gets the short end of > the time-stick. > > Where do I mess with "geo quality"? I have an idea, but I'm not exactly > sure what you're referring to. > > > "Oh, yes ... the real answer to "how do I manage these beasts" is > that I know that I have no intention of involving them in animation. > They are all designed to be mural sized prints." > > Mural sized? Cool! As for animation, I sure would like to be able to > animate a scene that large (but not at mural resolutions, more like DVD > quality.) The lightcycle animation I'm planning will easily have 1000's > of analytic rectangles that will have to appear over time as the > lightcycles move and leave a "jet wall" behind them. I'm still trying > to even begin working out in my head how I will manage that. I hope > Realsoft is up to the task. I've also always been leery of complex > animations that can only be played backwards using "undo". That really > makes it hard to get things right by experimentation. > > I really like your tip about dropping finished parts of a scene into a > folder that's marked real time invisible. I have no idea why I didn't > think of something like that, it's so obvious. Thanks! > > Matthew > > Neil Cooke wrote: > > Thanks for your words Matthew, > > > > Glad the constant/color material is useful. OT: I really like the fade > > material in that folder as well. > > > > > >> how you manage > >> such a large scene? > >> > > > > The simple answer is "painfully". But it's not that bleak. Perhaps the main > > feature is to use analytics at every possible point. Surfaces are then > > handled with a minimum of bump material work and if reflection and > > transparency materials are also held to an absolute minimum so much the > > better. Have only one or two lights and only ever have one (main) light with > > ray-traced shadows checked. > > > > But where's the fun in that? My current project is as complex as the one's I > > pointed you to and it's all SDS and I gave most surfaces a tweaked "brush > > steel" material and the folly doesn't end there. I have to render it in > > quarters and join it in post but this works superbly in RS so no problem > > apart from the days involved. I draw solely in wireframe mode and shift the > > viewport ray-trace render to "black and white" with white unchecked for > > screen re-draws to see how things are going. > > > > And because I render at fairly substantial pixel counts I follow Vesa's > > advice of some time back and play with AA levels, thresholds, etc. Bernie > > was shocked that I didnt play with "geo quality" but that was because I > > didnt know it existed. And a hint from Chris, I think it was ... keep > > TaskManager available because sometimes RS file updates during modelling, > > etc, work can take a while, Chris's point was that so long as the RS process > > is ticking over it will generally come out the other end Ok. > > > > Oh, yes ... the real answer to "how do I manage these beasts" is that I know > > that I have no intention of involving them in animation. They are all > > designed to be mural sized prints. > > > > But also I'm still learning. The reason these images are all Analytic is > > because for a couple of years I simply did not want anything to do with SDS > > or Nurbs. The reason the scenes are so big is that I didn't know they > > couldnt be. Etc.. > > > > That's my book for the day. Got some ladders to draw. > > > > Neil Cooke > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Matthew Hagerty" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > To: <[email protected]> > > Sent: Saturday, July 01, 2006 2:12 AM > > Subject: Re: Changing color of multiple ojects at once? > > > > > > > >> Thank you all for the suggestions, I think I can make something work > >> now. Neil's makes the most sense to my brain, so I'll give it a try > >> first, but I'm certainly going to experiment with everyone's suggestions > >> if only to better understand the software. > >> > >> Neil, those images are incredible! Care to share with us how you manage > >> such a large scene? Do you model parts individually and pull them into > >> a master scene? I seem to always model and set up my scene in the same > >> file, probably because Realsoft does not separate the modeler from the > >> scene/renderer/animator like many other packages (not that it's bad, > >> just different.) But then again, I've never made a scene as complex as > >> the one you linked to below. > >> > >> Matthew > >> > >> > >> Neil Cooke wrote: > >> > >>> In case this helps ... maybe copy the "color" material from the constant > >>> folder in the materials library and rename it color1, copy again and > >>> > > call it > > > >>> color2 etc. ... grab all things that must stay black for example and > >>> > > assign > > > >>> them color1, etc. I use this system to create slightly different > >>> > > coloured > > > >>> stoneworks in the link below ... the exaggerated colour image is used > >>> > > for > > > >>> checking what parts I have assigned etc. Go to the fourth and fifth rows > >>> > > of > > > >>> images down on this page: > >>> > >>> http://www.neico.co.nz/3d/neico0601.html > >>> > >>> I don't know about animating this since I have never needed to look into > >>> > > it. > > > >>> I use that constant/color material a lot. > >>> > >>> Neil Cooke > >>> > >>> ----- Original Message ----- > >>> From: "Matthias Kappenberg" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >>> To: <[email protected]> > >>> Sent: Friday, June 30, 2006 5:42 PM > >>> Subject: Re: Changing color of multiple ojects at once? > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>>> Hi Matthew, > >>>> > >>>> What's with a identifier or a "user defined channel", > >>>> and a material with "if" statement? > >>>> > >>>> Matthias > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> ----- Original Message ----- > >>>> From: "Matthew Hagerty" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >>>> To: <[email protected]> > >>>> Sent: Friday, June 30, 2006 12:48 AM > >>>> Subject: Re: Changing color of multiple ojects at once? > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>>> Vesa Meskanen wrote: > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>>> Hello > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>>> I'm not sure how to map "to the scene" and where do I find the > >>>>>>> Map2Obj tool? Also, I guess I'm missing how this will let me > >>>>>>> > > quickly > > > >>>>>>> change the color of the various objects of the model that represent > >>>>>>> the model's color? > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> > >>>>>> Sorry! My reply was apparently aimed at users who already knew how to > >>>>>> change the colors using map2obj. > >>>>>> > >>>>>> The method I described has the following idea: you create a material > >>>>>> (texture map etc). which defines the colors. Material defined color > >>>>>> > > is > > > >>>>>> then converted to object colors. After that, objects can be animated > >>>>>> and the color will not change. Using this principle, one can color > >>>>>> thousands of objects in a couple of minutes 'automatically'. I am no > >>>>>> longer sure if this is what you wanted. > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>> Let me try to explain another way. I have a model, a lightcycle > >>>>> inspired from the movie TRON. The model has about 60 or so objects > >>>>> > > that > > > >>>>> make it up. Some of objects, like the main body, tires, etc. are a > >>>>> color such that you would say "that lightcycle is blue, or yellow, or > >>>>> red", etc.. Now, there are also parts of the lightcycle that are > >>>>> > > always > > > >>>>> going to be white, some that are black, some that have materials, > >>>>> > > etc.. > > > >>>>> So, to change the "color" of the lightcycle, I currently have to > >>>>> > > either > > > >>>>> multi-select or individually select each of about 35+ objects and set > >>>>> the color. I was wondering if there was some way to assign a tag of > >>>>> some sort, or group the objects that make up the those that define the > >>>>> "color" of the lightcycle, and change them all at once instead of > >>>>> individually or multi-selecting all 35+ objects every time. > >>>>> > >>>>> Matthew > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>> > >> > > > > > > >
