New Semester Begins Tonight
May 28, 2009 Uncategorized
Hey All. The, if you can believe it, summer semester begins tonight for my class at the Pratt Institute in New York City with the same, very long, name: Architectural Visualization Using AutoCAD, Revit Architecture and 3ds Max Design. The most exciting part is that all three pieces of software will be the latest releases, 2010. Due to that fact, this seemed like a good time to respond to a comment made in response to my post entitled, Revit and 3ds Max Share Features. The comment was about how the addition of some of these simplifying features, namely the Global Quality Control Knobs, added too many distractions to the render frame window and that users of 3ds Max should know where to go within the software to adjust these settings on a more specific level. I wanted to respond to this comment because I think it shows the two different user-types of 3ds Max. As an advanced user, like the commenter, I would agree. These, easy buttons (as the commenter called them), can end up becoming a crutch and might keep the user from understanding the processes behind the settings and they’ll never go the extra mile to fine tune their renderings. However, as a teacher of an introductory course where students have little or no knowledge of the software (and as someone who once was a beginner who found, for example, mental ray so complicated that he basically didn’t use it and frustratingly tried to get the scanline renderer to do what he wanted), I have to take into consideration that 3ds max overall is a robust and complex piece of software whose features can be exceedingly overwhelming. I also have to figure out how to introduce the students to some of these advanced features without blowing them away with terms and processes that cause them to glaze over. What I tend to do is introduce the advanced features, presets, templates and easy buttons and refer to them as a good starting off point. I tell my students never to set medium on the FG Precision Presets, the Physically Based Lighting, Outdoor Daylight, Clear Sky preset for mr Photographic Exposure Control, simply select a template like Satin Varnished Wood for an Architecture and Design material, or a Halogen Lights – 21 Watt Halogen Bulb preset for a Photometric Target Light and think that they’re finished working. I tell them to choose these presets and templates and then adjust the various settings that these presets and templates control one by one until they have a better feel for what they do. As I said before, I can understand the desire of an advanced user not to have their software muddied-up with presets and features from other software. If Autodesk’s goal, however, is to design a useful product that can be used by advanced users, while simultaneously not abandoning new users, it’s important for them to include features that allow for getting your feet wet as well as recognizable tools and interfaces from other software they might already be using.
Become a Friend of CADuzer and Visit ALL of the Blogs I’ve Subscribed to (via Google Reader)
May 26, 2009 Commentary
Hey All. I’ve added two new features to CADuzer.com which you can see off to the right. First, become a friend of CADuzer by clicking the Join This Site button:
Also, I’ve replaced the Blogs I Read section with a direct connection to all of the related blogs I subscribe to via Google Reader.
Enjoy!
Tags: Commentary
Revit and 3ds Max Share Features (because my mom always told me that sharing is caring)
May 21, 2009 3DS MAX, Rendering, Revit, latest
New features within the rendered frame window, part of 3ds Max’s Reveal 3 technology, are what are known as Quality Control Knobs. These knobs, which are actually slider bars, help you quickly change the mental ray-related settings of your renderings without having to go into the Render Setup dialog box or the Material Editor. The values in these two dialog boxes, however, will change as you adjust the knobs since these are global settings. With the Material Editor, or more specifically actual materials, values will change. For example, adjusting the Glossy Refractions Precision knob within the rendered frame window will also adjust the Glossiness setting of all mental ray-based materials. Additionally, you can drag the knobs all the way to the left to turn that particular feature off. Here’s what they look like:
As I stated in my previous post, many more of the features of this version have extensive tool tips. The Quality Control Knobs are no exception. For example, here’s what you see if you put you mouse over the slider knob for Glossy Reflections Precision:
As I was playing with these feature, I suddenly had the feeling that I had seen them before. I had…in Revit:
It’s really great to see this feature being migrated over to 3ds Max (although it would be nice to have the same example images that appear in Revit). In both programs, the Quality Control Knobs really let you continue to work without spending too much time trying to figure out which, for example, number values which will get you the results you want.
That Was Easy (-er)
I have to say that since 3ds Max 9, the software as a whole has become signifigantly easier to use (especially mental ray). I think it was at least version 2008 (possibly even version 9) that some of the new mental ray materials gave you nice, clear sentences about what each of it’s settings controlled. For example, within an Architecutre and Design material, if I move my mouse, for an extra second, over the spinners next to the Reflectivity setting, I get the following tool tip:
New to version 2010 (I don’t believe this was available in 2009), more of these tool tips were added to the Indirect Illumination tab on the Render Setup dialog box. For example, if I move my mouse over the Interpolate Over Number of Final Gather Points, I get the folowing tool tip:
Well, Autodesk has taken this one steps further (and they did this in Revit, AutoCAD and, I would have to assume, other products as well). If I move my mouse over one of the commands on the ribbon, I first get the following, simple, entry from the Help file:
If I leave my mouse there for an extra second or two, the Help tip expands to give me more information:
Hopefully more of 3ds Max’s features will get both of these tool tips as future versions are released.
Tags: 3DS MAX
View Ambient Occlusion in the Viewport in 3ds Max 2010
In previous versions of 3ds Max we began to have the ability to view more and more rendering effects within the viewport, such as shadows. In 3ds Max 2010 this technology, known as Review (now in version 3), among other features, gives you the ability to view ambient occlusion in the viewport. This feature, also called a dirt map, shows shadowing where the surface of one objects meets the surface of another. It has the effect of making an object have weight, as if it is literally sitting on top of another object. Previously, this was only visible in renderings. Here’s how to turn this feature on:
1. At the top-left corner of the viewport, left-click where it says [Smooth + Highlights].
2. When the pull-down menu appears, move your mouse over Lighting and Shadows and then click Enable Hardware Shading:
3. Click where it says [Smooth + Highlights] again.
4. When the pull-down menu appears, move your mouse over Lighting and Shadows and then click Enable Ambient Occlusion. You will immediately see a result:
To control the spread of the Ambient Occlusion, follow these steps:
1. Click where it says [Smooth + Highlights] again.
2. Move your mouse over Lighting and Shadows and then click Configure.
3. Within the Shadow Options group, increase or decrease the value next to Sample Radius and click OK:
Other new features now viewable within viewports include Shadows, Exposure Control and Specular Highlights/Glossiness:
