Henry Tjernlund wrote:
Thanks. I hope that I can keep track of all that. I have used other
software. The ones I like is where the interface is easy and
consistent. For me, the interface can really make a big difference in
how well I use the program. So far my favorite is Cinema 4D, though my
version is an older one (R8) that I got on academic discount when I
was teaching a few years ago. C4D used to be very nice to their user
base, but now (like so many other program makers, once they achieve
success) they have gone all "rock-star" with their attitude. I also
have Rhino (v3) and Vue 4 Desprit. In every program I seem to find
strengths and weaknesses. Like I said, for me the interface seems
critical and I have to admit, that having played with RS for only a
couple weeks since buying the magazine (3D World) that it may be a
little too non-standard and counter intuitive for me. But I'll keep
trying at it.
I regret buying vue 4 in 2001, what kind of a company is that, no
private tech support? only public forum? I was working on R & D project
at that time. Also after buying the only product they had at that time
vue 4, they released vue 4 pro a couples of months after with no
discount for vue 4 owners.
Cinema 4D is a clusterf... of buttons, windows, menus, shortcuts, tried
it many times since XL and version 7 and it's too expensive and rely too
much on plug-ins for normal basic operations. Just trying to figure out
how to buy the software and what you get for is difficult. So many
options, the only thing for sure is you will get screwed. Sorry I hate
that over hyped Maxxon software.
Rhino is really good for solid modeling.
Cannot say Realsoft is easy to learn, If you have experience with
renderman materials and lights you will be at home otherwise it can be
difficult.
It's difficult to believe how feature jam packed RS really is and how
flexible it is. Most users get stuck forever in trying/experimenting
every feature instead of actually producing something (this is my
opinion). It's a never ending software to learn and experiment. There is
nothing realsoft cannot do if you take the time. There are even hidden
(bonus) functions that are not documented in the manual, and so many
tricks that can be really powerful with a little imagination.
RS is the most easy, simple and fun modeler; anything else is simple
when you understand the philosophy and mentality behind.
Quick start (maybe does not apply to your workflow):
The thing is that the default user interface start with only a single
view in perspective, this makes things a little messy if you don't work
with Subdivisions. Also the rendering view is way too big. You need to
master the art of creating orthographic(non-perspective) views with
proper grid size and "camera view window" with proper aspect ratios and
setup so you can place a camera (with safe frame)and render right from
the user interface.
My only problem with RS is that the default user interface is a blank
user interface. User interface are saved with the rs files, they can be
loaded or saved independently. So basically once you have a working user
interface with all your setup save it and always start a new project
from that saved user interface. You can create many user interface for
"SDS" modeling, one for Nurb modeling, one for material, one for
animation, and one for rendering. Maybe you need to add more views to
your workspace to feel at home (by splitting the main 3d view).
I would recomend this special tutorial on how to create view window for
rendering
http://www.neuroworld.ws/tutorials/jsp_tutorial_hdtv_rendering/jsp_tutorial_hdtv_rendering.htm
Also the basic materials that are included and offered by the community
are mostly useless like all other 3D software (no offense, but a real
bit mapped layered texture is the real deal, procedural is good for
retro 80's cg).
What you need is a way to put texture on precise channels (diffuse,
transparency, displacement, ...) and material mixing with texture
coordinate adjustments for tiling.
What is your experience level in 3D?
Good luck and ho, don't take me too seriously.
Jean-Sebastien Perron
http://www.neuroworld.ws/tutorials.htm
