News from VRay.info

Free computer hardware advice from 3DATS for people in the CG and architecture community

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 CDT

3DATS launches a new blog discussing computer hardware for the architectural visualization field. Featuring CGarcitect moderator and hardware guru Andrew Lynn, this blog will be updated regularly with relevant hardware info for the industry. Andrew will be working with 3DATS to make recommendations, updated monthly, for people in the CG and architecture community who are purchasing computer hardware, and posting updates on any interesting technology developments coming through the pipeline. They are kicking things off with three articles: (*)An introduction to the workstation buying guide, explaining the methodology behind the different workstation recommendations. (*)A brief explanation of the items to expect on a workstation parts list. (*)The first set of recommended configurations. Go to the blog here: http://www.3datstech.com

Making of FALL at Autodesk AREA

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 CDT

Check out this tutorial by Toni Bratincevic that shows the creation process of Fall, from concept through modeling and lighting to final image. http://area.autodesk.com/tutorials/fall_making_of (registration required)

Massive 4.0, supporting V-Ray rendering, is now available.

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 CDT

Massive Software, developer of the Academy Award�-winning 3D animation software for AI-driven characters, has released Massive 4.0. The latest release includes support for V-Ray rendering, new terrain nodes, enhanced brain nodes and more. �Massive 4.0 is a major release that brings both creative and pipeline flexibility to artists and studios, and fulfills a number of enhancement requests from the Massive community,� said Massive Founder and CTO Stephen Regelous. �We�ve added Terrain nodes, V-Ray support, Python GUI support, Hair/Fur clumping, deep shadow maps, better placement for stadiums, and many other improvements.� Massive 4.0 generates .vrscene files for the main render files, and for the terrain and agent archive files. It also automatically generates shader dialog parameters for V-Ray material plug-ins and V-Ray materials, giving users complete freedom to assign any available default or custom plug-ins and materials. Pricing and Availability Massive 4.0 is now available for Windows and Linux. Massive Jet 4.0, delivering out-of-the-box functionality, is available for $5,999 USD per license. For ultimate customization, flexibility and the ability to create and edit agents, Massive 4.0 is priced at $17,999 USD per license. More information: http://www.massivesoftware.com/massive-4-0-supporting-v-ray-rendering-is-now-available/

Samurai

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 CDT

A CG short by RealtimeUK This short is an internal development piece produced at RealtimeUK by at team of approximately 4/5 people, working over a couple of months. Made in 3ds Max, rendered in V-Ray, post in AfterEffects. http://vimeo.com/9498000

Tutorial: Creating Realistic Grass with VRayProxies - 2 part tutorial

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 CDT

In this tutorial, Peter Guthrie shows you how to use the VRayProxies and the VRay2SidedMtl to create realistic grass in V-Ray. (Sample scene file with maps included) Part 1: http://vray.info/tutorials/grass/ Part 2: http://vray.info/tutorials/grass/part2.asp

V-Ray for SketchUp - Now available for PC or Mac OS X!

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:00:00 CDT

ASGVIS have released the new version of V-Ray for SketchUP. Compatible with the Mac OS platform for the first time, this release adds IES lights, spotlights, faster parsing times and much more. "V-Ray has officially entered the native Mac environment," said ASGVIS CEO Corey Rubadue. "In addition to improving the plug-in for both the PC and Mac OS version, this newly revised product provides a much needed boost in speed performance. ASGVIS is excited for the countless SketchUp users who work on Macintosh computers and have been asking for a version of V-Ray developed specifically for use with their systems." Here's what the beta testers are saying about the new V-Ray for SketchUp: "Amazingly fast! Instead of rendering one image per night I'm cooking five in one day. Great work ASGVIS, rendering on Mac is smooth. I'm sure my interiors will benefit from the new features as IES!" - Johannes Roevens "The addition of Ambient Occlusion in V-Ray for SketchUp adds a new level of realism for architectural visualizations, making the details and shadows in interiors "pop" and creating an instant convincing dirt effect to exterior surfaces." - Jackson Barkess V-Ray for SketchUp will include all the great features from the previous version, as well as some exciting new upgrades: � NEW! More shader types (great for metal textures!) � NEW! More than 10 new procedural textures, including dirt (for more realistic renderings!) � NEW! Lights now have the ability to add IES profiles (for light accuracy) � NEW! Material can now be layered better � NEW! Faster scene processing times � NEW! Support for SketchUp transparency and alpha transparency In addition to all the other great V-Ray features, including: � True reflections and refractions � Glossy reflections and refractions � Global Illumination allows for photorealistic lighting � Soft shadows support � True HDRI support � Fully multithreaded raytracing engine � Native SketchUp materials supported and integrated into V-Ray materials � Material editor with material preview � Sun and sky system � Physical camera � Depth-of-field camera effects. � Distributed rendering allowing a single image to be processed over up to ten machines � Per material GI, background, reflection, and refraction � V-Ray two-sided material for easy creation of thin translucency � Animation support About ASGVIS, LLC ASGVIS, LLC was founded in 2005 as the "Visual Imaging Studio" of Ayers Saint Gross Architects and Planners to provide high-end 3D visualization services for architectural clients. Since then, ASGVIS has grown with the demand for visualization - and with the development of technology, porting the V-Ray engine to both SketchUp and Rhino. In 2008, ASGVIS became an independent company and services clients in many industries, including architectural firms, jewelry, automotive, industrial design, 3D animation and film and everyday users. For more information on ASGVIS, please visit www.asgvis.com

Tutorial: Making Leaf Materials with VRay2SidedMtl

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 CDT

In this updated version of the leaf material tutorial on his blog, Peter Guthrie shows you how to use the VRay2SidedMtl to create realistic opacity mapped leaves in V-Ray. (Scene file with maps included) View the tutorial here: http://vray.info/tutorials/leafmaterial/

SnowFlow - Automatic snow generation in scenes and on objects.

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:00:00 CDT

Zwischendrin have released SnowFlow 1.6, a snow generator for 3ds Max. SnowFlow is a 3ds Max plugin that creates realistic snow with ease! You just pick an object and SnowFlow creates the snow for you. Features:

(*)self-explaining user interface with integrated help (*)one-click-solution in most standard situations (*)multiple snow methods for different needs (*)advanced settings to get the best out of SnowFlow (*)different reality levels to control object interference (*)presets for auto-settings in common circumstances (*)full control over the calculated mesh (*)system unit check and conversion to achieve full snow details (*)autoTune options for better performance (*)caching system to prevent unnecessary recalculations (*)"SnowPlug" to stick objects into snow surfaces SnowFlow also includes a procedural VRay Snow material. For more info: http://www.zwischendrin.com/en/detail/107 Videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQeelqFPjX4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7htLWzvyEc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1XLDEh2kGw

3 Hours of Free V-Ray Video Training from 3DATS

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:00 CDT

3DATS presents two free video modules from their V-Ray architectural video training series. Practical Exterior Lighting Having covered the vast majority of the important V-Ray features and settings in modules 1 through 8, students are shown how to apply many of things discussed in earlier modules, to a real exterior scene created by 3DAS. In this module, students are shown numerous different lighting and rendering approaches including irradiance maps, light cache, QMC, HDRIs, progressive path tracing, the V-Ray physical camera and the VRay Sun. The instructor describes the process that he would go through to light and render this scene from scratch, and then describes some of the other ways that you might want to approach your scenes based on what the final deliverable, the time you have available, and problems that you might encounter along the way. Throughout the module, students are shown how to deal with the myriad of problems that may arise in any scene, such as splotches, noise, flickering GI, strange dots, running out of memory, excessive render times, system crashes, lack of detail and so on. The goal of this module is to teach students how to achieve the highest quality renderings in the shortest amount of rendering time. Practical Interior Lighting In this module, the viewer is shown how to light an interior scene from start to finish. The instructor demonstrates several different ways to approach interior lighting, covers most of the different light source types commonly used for interior lighting, and then puts numerous different render and material settings to the test to show how you can get different looks to your images and precisely control the relationship between speed and quality. This video provides a solid review of material from all previous modules and serves as an invaluable guide to the complex subject of interior lighting. Support files are provided in 3ds Max 9 and V-Ray 1.5 RC3 To get the videos, register here: http://3dats.com/free/

Chaos Group interviews Paul Dreisen of Parasol Island

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:00:00 CDT

In this Envy Spot interview Paul Dreisen talks about Parasol Island and their production of the Infinity Project. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfUFrUePGEY Read the full interview here: http://chaosgroup.com/en/2/envyspot.html?i=7&MM=CGPI