NOVEDGE blog

ZBrush is Talking; modo, Maya, and CINEMA 4D are Listening!

DCC companies do their best to ensure that 3D models can easily and smoothly be transferred to/from their competitors' systems

Coming from a mechanical CAD background I'm always pleasantly surprised by the open approach in data-exchange of 3D graphics software, more specifically known as DCC (Digital Content Creation). While CAD companies try every trick in the book to make transferring geometric data from one CAD system to the other as difficult and painful as possible, many DCC companies do exactly the opposite: they do their best to ensure that your 3D models, renderings, and animations can easily and smoothly be transferred to and from their competitors' systems.

CAD companies try every trick in the book to make transferring geometric data as difficult and painful as possible

The main reason for this open attitude comes from the typical production process: most of the projects in this field require the use of several software tools and it would be unacceptable not to be able to transfer data back and forth. A second reason is the relative simplicity of DCC data when compared to CAD data. CAD projects represent products someone has to build, therefore they must be extremely precise, and able to host a lot of non-geometric information. On the other hand, many 3D graphics projects have as final goal the creation of a movie or a set of images. Precision has to be good enough to support the required quality for the final video or image, but not more.

Pixologic and Luxology today announced the release of GoZ for modo

A good example of the open attitude of the 3D world can be observed in ZBrush products. Pixologic and Luxology today announced the release of GoZ for modo, a free plug-in for ZBrush that automatically transfers mesh geometry and normal, displacement, and texture maps into modo and back again.

Gamasutra explains the power of the new ZBrush plugins with this example: "With GoZ, modo can be used to create a base model, such as a human head, to provide the basic anatomy. This model can then be instantly transferred to ZBrush via GoZ for brush-based addition of scars, warts and wrinkles. The enhanced model can then be passed back to modo to create the final rendered output files."

This is just the latest in a very interesting series of "connectors," including GoZ for Maya, and GoZ for CINEMA 4D. According to the Pixologic website more connectors are expected to be released soon, which will make life even easier for ZBrush users.

Personally I love to see the artificial barriers between software systems fall. I believe that the entire 3D market will benefit from this open approach and I can't even imagine how much better life would be for CAD users if CAD companies were willing to follow the example of Pixologic.

Franco Folini

Pixologic Videos
[Watch in Full Resolution]
 

[Watch in Full Resolution] Pixologic products are available from Novedge

V-Ray RT Can Change the Way We Design

The Moore Law is supplying us with an incredible and ever growing amount of computer power. There is so much computer power, in fact, that most of the time we use only a small fraction of what is available on our workstation. Why not use some of this unused power to improve our design and rendering processes? This is the idea behind the new V-Ray RT for 3ds Max, where RT means Real Time (more info on the Chaos Group website). The concept is simple: while you work as usual in 3ds Max (or in the future it could be Rhino 3D or Cinema4D) an application running in the background generates a high quality rendering of your current 3ds Max view. Move your point of view and the rendering will start a new image, pause for a second, and the rendered image will catch up with an incredible photorealistic quality. To get a better idea of how it works, I recommend watching this 10 minute video created by Peter Guthrie, an Architectural Illustrator/Computer Graphics artist based in London.

Enjoy!

Franco Folini

V-Ray RT Video V-Ray products are available from Novedge

RandomControl (fryrender) Goes Realtime

RandomControl, the maker of fryrender and previously known as Feversoft, is joining other companies on the real-time rendering arena (Bunkspeed Hypershot, seac02 LinceoVR, etc.)
To prove the value of the technology they are working at, they are circulating this impressive video:

The video was recorded in real-time using RandomControl's engine RC5. The original scene was created in Autodesk 3ds Max and was exported and precomputed using fryrender RT.
The resulting data file (along with the camera animation created in 3ds Max) were played in RC5 using rc5player.exe in record mode.
The frames were output by rc5player in real-time (at a rate of over 20 frames per second). All effects precomputed by fryrender RT such as DOF, vignetting, Global Illumination and physical materials were interpreted by RC5 in real-time. The frames were assembled in a video editing software, and an audio track was added for greater effect.

Some of the RC5 features which can be seen in action in the video are:

• Full Global Illumination (as precomputed by fryrender RT)
• Depth Of Field (as configured in fryrender)
• Fullscreen Anti-Alias
• Interpreted fryrender physical materials
• Real-time tonemapping / fryrender-like quality (FP32 HDR)
• Camera vignetting
• Camera animation

Franco Folini

PS: If you are interested in knowing more about fryrender I would recommend to read the interview I did in March 2007 with Chema Guerra, the CEO of RandomControl.

An Interview with George Cawood, Framework Studio Owner

George Cawood is the founder and owner of Framework Studio, a design and production company located in Culver City, CA. George's company produces trailers, main title sequences, and visual effects for a variety of feature films, television shows, music videos, and commercials. FrameWork Studio is an advanced user of Maxon Cinema 4D and therefore the best candidate to get first hand, professional feedback on this powerful modeling, animation, and rendering software. I asked George a few questions regarding his professional activities in the movie world and about his company experience as a C4D user. Here is the interview.

George, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your professional activities?

I now operate my own graphic design, visual effects, and production company

I grew up in Northern California and studied film at UCSD. For the past decade or so, I’ve worked primarily in film advertising under the various titles of editor, producer, writer, and art director on campaigns ranging from Jerry Maguire to Ironman. In 2004, I directed a feature titled Homecoming, which found a home on PBS. I now operate my own graphic design, visual effects, and production company, Framework Studio. We produce trailers, main title sequences, and visual effects for a variety of feature films, television shows, music videos, and commercials. You can check us out at www.frameworkla.com.

Many people coming from the design area are surprised to learn that in the DCC area it is common to use several competitive software packages. Can you explain why that is?

our projects usually need several different types of software

Every software vendor has an area they want to focus their product on, tailoring it for specific strengths and technologies. Our projects usually need several different types of software, depending on our creative goals, the problems we might face during the design process, plus wanting the best end result while meeting deadline and budget.

Your studio is an advanced user of Cinema 4D. Can you tell us on which specific tasks does Cinema 4D excel, and what is your feedback as a user?

designers generally consider C4D to have an easy learning curve

We use Cinema 4D mainly for typography design, broadcast design production and trailer graphics. The animation timeline, MoGraph module, and speedy rendering make it the default tool for our daily 3D needs. Our designers generally consider Cinema 4D to have an easy learning curve, similar to After Effects. Plus, integrating Cinema 4D into Maya and After Effects pipelines is easy. Also, the freelance pool has more and more designers listing C4D as their tool of choice for 3D, which makes it easy to find talented people when the deadline approaches.

What is your creative/artistic company contribution from the specifications you receive from the movie product to the release of the final product?

From concept to completion, we do it all!

From concept to completion, we do it all!  We usually meet with our clients first, and then start the creative process with style frames and storyboards.  We build our internal creative and design team, while working with our clients on approvals and deadlines until everyone is happy.  Some projects take a few days, others a few months.

Can you give me a rough idea of the amount of computational and human resources work that goes into an average title sequence?

It depends on the project, but we brainstorm using anything from paper drawings, the internet, books or trade journals for reference materials, while keeping in mind our client’s guidelines. Whether it’s 3D, film rendering, animation or broadcast design, each job is handled a little different.

How do you draw the line between creativity and technique in your professional activities?

Budget and time is always a factor, but we know and work well with our clients and always try to have a creative, but efficient strategy for each project.

What kind of interaction do you have with the Cinema 4D community?

Little to none, except when troubleshooting or scouting for freelancers.  It’s great to see what others are creating, but there hasn’t been much downtime lately.

How do you train people on a specific software platform? Do you use online training, training CDs and DVDs, or training classes?

All of the above. We try to use a variety of training techniques and each designer has their favorites. Most use Cineversity & Lynda.com.

I would like to thank George Cawood for taking the time to answer my questions. A special thanks to Fawn Shoemaker and Cristina Rodriguez for helping me to organize this interview. If you have any questions for George or for Novedge, please leave a comment below and we will be glad to answer.

Franco Folini

An Interview with Brian Looney, Architectural Rendering Artist

Brian Looney started off as an entry level drafter straight out of technical school and now he is a professional architectural rendering expert. Brian learned the major rendering tools in the field, working with architects and clients at McFarland Davies Architects, in Tulsa, OK. When Next Limit Technologies new Maxwell Render was released, Brian tried the new product, liked it, and immediately integrated it into his production processes. In order to learn more about his experience with Maxwell Render and how Brian is using this tool I asked him for an interview.

Brian, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your professional activities at McFarland Davies Architects?

I was blown away by the quality of these (Maxwell Render) renderings!

My name is Brian Looney and I have been an AutoCAD technician for eight years with McFarland Davis Architects (previously Davies Architects). Eight years ago I and a friend decided to take a drafting class at a local tech school and it turned out to be a life changing decision. I started on AutoCAD R14, learning the basics of CAD and construction documents. Continuing on up through AutoCAD 2004, I started to tinker with AutoCAD's 3D capabilities. After doing some research, I and some of the other drafters I work with decided to try and push for our company to upgrade to Architectural Desktop with it's modeling capabilities and specialized architectural features. With ADT (Autodesk Architectural Desktop), I began using the Viz Render plug in to create simple arch viz renderings for client presentations and construction doc cover sheets. I soon realized that to take my renderings to the next level, we needed to upgrade to better rendering software. 3ds Max 8 and its Mental Ray engine seemed very capable of highly realistic architectural renderings. I created many successful renderings with 3ds Max8/9 and mental ray for McFarland Davies. Then one day I stumbled upon some gorgeous photorealistic renders on a 3D website that were made with a new program called Maxwell Render. I was blown away by the quality of these renderings! After trying the demo, and presenting some renders to our owners, we decided that to take our renderings for clients to the next level, and to achieve certain goals that we had set for our company, that this was the right software for us. So for over a year now, I have devoted myself to learning the intricacies of Maxwell Render and the Maxwell material system. So I would say right now, about 60% of my time is spent in AutoCAD Architecture 2008 and 40% with 3ds Max 9 and Maxwell Render.

Can you describe for us your creative process starting from the original AutoCAD design to the final rendering?

Maxwell materials can produce very realistic results if done correctly

It really depends on what phase the project is in. Most of the time I am involved with initial design concepts, which means that I will be working from the architect's sketches rather than CAD files. In these situations, I will do all of my modeling in 3ds Max 9. If, however, the client requires a visualization towards the end of a project, I will try and utilize the cad files as much as possible, depending on the quality of the cad model (sometimes the model is not fully 3D if the project is a renovation of an existing structure), All of the usable geometry is imported into 3ds Max where the rest of the scene will be created (trees, cars, people and landscape). I do all of this and render a few camera angles out for review, using only basic matte colors. When the camera angles and construction of the scene is approved, I then start on texturing the model. For Maxwell Render, this is the most important part, and it's main strength. Maxwell materials can produce very realistic results if done correctly. After the model is textured, I'll do some quick test renders for review, and then let the full high resolution rendering "cook" overnight.

3ds Max offers a good rendering engine (Mental Ray). What motivates you to also use Maxwell Render?

before I started using Maxwell, I had been spending a considerable amount of time tweaking render settings and rendering and re-rendering tests over and over

3ds Max 9 has an excellent built in renderer in mental ray. The Arch+Design materials are excellent for creating architectural visualizations. Also, occasionally I will use the "ink and paint" shader to create "sketchy" quick renders. However, before I started using Maxwell, I had been spending a considerable amount of time with mental ray tweaking render settings and rendering and re-rendering tests over and over. This was not an efficient use of my time. Animations must still be done with Mental Ray, for it's rendering speed. That is Maxwell's limitation for me right now. The ultra-realistic results that can be achieved with Maxwell are a trade-off in terms of it's relatively slow rendering speed, ruling out animations for us with our demanding deadlines.

Maxwell Render, being based on simulation of light, is intrinsically slower than the traditional rendering tools. Despite the evident beauty of the images generated by Maxwell, what else justifies the additional time spent to generate an image?

(with Maxwell Render) the amount of geometry in the scene has little effect on rendering times

There are many benefits that, to me, outweigh the relatively slow rendering in Maxwell. First, the process of rendering is completely different than other engines such as Mental Ray. Other engines render small sections of the total image, slowly filling in the render until it is "complete". With Maxwell Render, the engine renders the whole image all at once, with the image starting off grainy and gradually clearing over time. Therefore, the longer you let it render, the clearer the image becomes. Also, you can set the time limit of the render or you can manually stop it when you think it is ready. Another very impressive feature is Maxwell's Multilight. With Multilight enabled, you have a slider for each light in the scene that can be adjusted in real time while your image is rendering. No more having to adjust lights, test render, adjust, test render... This feature alone was worth the purchase of this software. It is absolutely invaluable in arch viz interior scenes. Plus, Maxwell lights are material based. You create a piece of geometry in your modeling program and apply an emitter material to it to create a light. Maxwell includes many preset light materials which are physically accurate such as 65 watt incandescent, 40 watt fluorescent, and so on. Another benefit is Maxwell's ability to handle complex and heavy geometry. I have noticed that the amount of geometry in the scene has little effect on rendering times. Resolution and refracting glass materials have the biggest effect on rendering time, in my experience. Although, in my work, I will mainly use the AGS (architectural glass system) material to decrease rendering time. This material has the reflectivity and transparency of glass, but without the calculation heavy refractions. There are many more features that I could get into that make Maxwell stand out, but this interview would get very long and technical!

Creating a rendering of an architectural model, where do you draw the line between your artistic and aesthetic sensitivity and your technical skill?

The render doesn't necessarily need to be technically correct

Very good question! I am not the one who usually draws that line, my employer is! Haha. There are a few things I have learned to remember when producing a rendering for a client. The render doesn't necessarily need to be technically correct. In fact, sometimes a technically correct, perfectly depicted, photo-realistic architectural rendering can scare a client into thinking that the design is complete and unchangeable, especially during the early phases of design. You want to find that balance between realistic and conceptual while producing a warm and inviting eye-pleasing design concept. Now, when the project is close to complete, the client may request a more finished render. This is when the rendering will be allowed to be technically correct and all the small details of the structure can be shown because they have all been decided on and will not change.

Can you share with us a time when the quality of the rendering really made a difference with a clear impact at the business level?

Most clients are not able to look at floor plans and elevations and visualize what it is they are actually looking at

All the time! Most clients are not able to look at floor plans and elevations and visualize what it is they are actually looking at. A lot of the time, they need renderings from a human perspective to see the beauty of the design that they are investing their money in. I have never seen a client look at a floor plan and say "Wow". I think, though, that the most important area of rendering presentation is in the marketing aspect. If your company is fighting for a project, and you bring beautiful renderings of your ideas and even previous projects, and the other guys are bringing hand sketches and scribblings, you really set your company apart from the others. Clients will also be impressed with a company that has and utilizes the latest tools and technology to get the job done quicker, and more efficiently.

Based on your experience, what would you recommend to an architect or a designer that wants or need to start creating rendered images?

plan on investing quite a bit of time learning the modeling program

I think it starts with the right software and the right training. Do your research on the various modeling programs, most of them have demo's that can be downloaded and tried for a limited time. Find out what others in your field are using. Choose one that you feel comfortable with. Plan on investing quite a bit of time learning the modeling program. Enroll in training programs that are tailored to your type of specialty. When I first started with 3ds Max, I took several courses at a local tech center, bought a few books, and worked through many tutorials included with the software. You will need to get comfortable with the basics of rendering in your 3d application. When you're comfortable with modeling and rendering in your 3d software, you may decide, like I did, that a separate renderer can fill your needs better and give you better results. Whatever you decide, if you are passionate about creating digital art, and you keep up with technology and what others are doing in your field, it will be a fulfilling and fruitful career. Good luck!

I would like to thank Brian Looney for taking the time to do this interview. A special thanks also to Nicole van der Burg of Next Limit Technologies for putting me in contact with Brian. If you have any questions for Brian or for Novedge, please leave a comment below and we will be glad to answer.

Franco Folini

Update: a gallery of Brian's rendering images is available on Maxwell Render forum (free registration required).

An Interview with Dan Ablan, 3D Guru and Writer

Daniel Ablan is a well known 3D computer graphics expert and writer. He is the author of several books about Newtek LightWave, Luxology Modo, and digital photography and cinematography. Dan heads two businesses: AGA Digital Studios, a professional services and training company, and 3DGarage.com, which produces and sells training DVDs. Knowing Dan through Novedge, I couldn't resist asking him a few questions about his professional activities and the future of 3D computer graphics. Here is the interview.

Daniel can you tell us a bit about yourself and your professional activities?

I've been working in the creative arts since the late 1980's

I've been working in the creative arts since college in the late 1980's. I originally started out as a photojournalism major, but ended up minoring in that and majoring in broadcast journalism. In 1989, I was introduced to a Video Toaster from NewTek, and LightWave 3D. I loved it. I began emerging myself into 3D and in 1994, began working full time for myself. It's now 14 years later, and AGA Digital Studios, Inc. creates 3D animations for major corporate and industrial clients. We've also branched off into a comprehensive training division, 3D Garage.com, in 2003. 2007 and beyond will see more 3D animations and even more 3D Garage training videos.

You have been in the 3D computer graphics and DCC (Digital Content Creation) since the Amiga time. In all those years what was the most unexpected evolution that you would never have envisioned? On the other hand, what aspect of technology didn't reach the level of your expectations?

today, you can render entire animations in 10 minutes on computers that cost less than $1,000

I think overall, the progression of technology has been surprising. It wasn't too long ago that burning your own CDs was extremely costly and problematic. Today, anyone can buy a computer, burn their own CDs as well as DVDs. Beyond that, the advancement of OpenGL technology has been amazing, alongside the speed and power increases of the desktop computer.
In my first few years of 3D, rendering a full broadcast resolution frame with just hard shadows, no reflections, refraction or complex bump maps took 10 minutes a frame or more. Today, you can render entire animations in 10 minutes on computers that cost less than $1000. I'm surprised that real time rendering has not become more available however. It seems that as fast as computing technology progresses, software makers find more advanced techniques to test the boundaries of our systems.

The continuous increase of power available on our desktop computers is making possible new approaches to rendering based on the simulation of light (e.g. Maxwell Render and fryrender). What do you think of these new tools? Do you believe that the quality of results justifies the time required to generate a single image?

I'd have to say yes. Think about it - could we even consider rendering a full animation with global illumination just a few years ago? The realism we can achieve with a little extra time is astounding. I'm all for it.

Every day, people excited about some beautiful rendering image come to Novedge asking for the best software tool for modeling and rendering. How would you recommend selecting a 3D system for someone that is approaching it for the first time?

the simplest, cheapest processor is more than fine for anyone starting out in 3D. The key is RAM

People over due it with processors. The simplest, cheapest processor is more than fine for anyone starting out in 3D. The key is RAM. Most people never put enough RAM into their system, opting to "upgrade later" and sell out to the salesman pitching the latest from Intel or AMD. I've always told people to get a decent system with as much memory as they can afford, 2Gigs, 4Gigs, or more better 16Gigs! From there, the video card is crucial. The advent of PC gaming in the 1990's has helped all 3D animators by bringing cheaper and faster video cards to the market. That of course has bled over to Mac as well. Just about any ATI or nVidia 256 MB card will be more than fine for someone starting out in 3D - and beyond.

Can you tell how you collect and organize all the material for a new book or a new training video?

Generally, it's in my head. I start the project and take notes along the way. Lately however, with so much going on, I tend to make lists. I've got a note taking program I use on my MacBook Pro where I keep ideas, project lists, and so on for new training videos and book content.

Many of the technologies powering today's DCC systems are considered mature. In what areas can and should those technologies improve in order to fully empower the end-user?

Well, like anything technology related, I guess it would come down to: faster, better, cheaper!

You produced training material in the form of books and videos. Are you working on any new training? When do you recommend a book and when video training?

Books vs. Videos: that's really up to the user on how they like to learn

Yes. There's lots in the works. I have a few major animation projects going on right now, so I can't add to the training library until July. Books vs. Videos - that's really up to the user on how they like to learn. I like books because I can get away from the computer, read up on the software, then go try it out. Also, videos are often just a demo of the software. Many people "know" their software, they just can't teach it. A book usually has multiple editors who scrutinize over content, flow, and so on. Both are good mediums, and each has their place.

Do you think that new technologies like the one used by Luxology Modo (Polygon/Subdivision Surface Modeler) could ever replace the more "traditional" geometric modeling used by all mechanical design tools?

Replace? Who knows. But, if you take a look at the CAD programs of today, they're not adding more design tools, as much as they are more ways to light and render. That's the next step for anyone building 3D models - so it would make sense that companies employ Luxology's modo and it's excellent render engine to generate imagery. Time will tell!

I would like to thank Dan Ablan for speaking with me today. If you have any questions for Dan or for Novedge, please leave a comment below and we will be glad to answer.

Franco Folini

The New Rendering Frontier: an Interview with Chema Guerra, Co-Director of Fryrender

Jose María Guerra García is co-founder and co-director, with Pedro Osma, of Feversoft, the Spanish company that is developing Fryrender. Fryrender is a new rendering engine strictly based on light simulation (it comes as a standalone product with plug-ins for 3ds Max, Maya, Rhino, LightWave, and Cinema 4D). Jose Maria's new software product is emerging from a long phase of beta testing as one of the most promising of the new generation rendering engines. According to legend, Jose and Pedro chose the name for the new product from the acronym Feversoft RaYtracer. Now that Fryrender is getting close to being released, it's a good time to ask Jose María -- or simply "Chema" -- for more information about his company and his new product. Here is the interview.

Jose María -- Chema -- can you tell us a bit about yourself and your company?

I am the Technical Director and the programmer behind the core of Fryrender

My name is Chema Guerra. I am the Technical Director at Feversoft, and the programmer behind the cores of Fryrender and RC4.
I studied Computer Engineering and co-founded Feversoft with my business partner Pedro Osma as soon as we both got our degrees (we studied together).
Since 2001 we've devoted all our efforts to the Research and Development of new visualization technologies, mostly in the real-time field. We have created a fully-featured Virtual Reality engine called Random Control 4 and several tools around it which we have used for custom projects for customers.
During the last year and a half we have focused on the release of all that technology in the form of two products:

1. Fryrender - physically-based render engine: a next-generation render engine which also features real-time data generation capabilities.
2. RC4 - virtual reality engine: a real-time engine for simulation, virtual walkthroughs, and advanced GPGPU rendering.

What do you believe is the most important feature in a rendering system?

Fryrender is aiming at the right balance between cutting-edge technology and the best usability and reliability

From a merely technical point of view one tends to be permanently obsessed with making the engine faster, capable of reproducing reality with the finest quality, more complete.
From a customer's point of view those aspects are a must as well. But there are also some other things that become obvious when you are exposed to a rather large customers base: usability, stability, reliability, control over the final output, a consistent, and friendly support.
So, all in all, I think that fryrender is aiming at CG professionals who are demanding the right balance between the most cutting-edge technology and the best usability and reliability.

Traditional rendering is a mature technology that most of the time comes embedded with the 3D modeling system. Why should a user invest in Fryrender or a similar product?

It is very difficult for a company to master different fields at the same time. Modeling and rendering technologies are two very different and complicated worlds. It's true that all the serious 3D modeling applications come with their own render system, but in most cases the render solution they provide is far from being their strongest feature.
For example, so far, no modeling package includes a physically-based rendering solution. So if you want the highest rendering quality and a powerful modeling package, you need to invest in two different products.

Fryrender is entering the rendering market with a strategy that was first pioneered by Robert McNeel: give away the beta version as early as possible, build a solid users' community, and involve the community in the evolution of the product. What’s the next step?

involving our customers in the development process has proven to be very very beautiful

In our experience, involving our customers in the development process has proven to be not only beneficial, but very very beautiful also. Not only from a technical perspective but also from a human one.  On the one hand, Fryrender is a product for our users. It needs to meet their requirements and make their job easier, so their feedback is FUNDAMENTAL. In fact, their requests and suggestions have a strong impact in the way the development tasks are scheduled.  On the other hand, this connection between our customers and the team offers to them a high degree of reliability that is of great value.
In some way you could say that by helping and listening to our customers they are helping us give the product the right shape in return. So it is our idea to let things be this way, no matter whether we're in beta or release.

Speed is the biggest challenge of in the Fryrender innovative approach. While Moore’s Law will provide the most significant help to address this problem, what else can users do to speed up the rendering?

The new generations of computers, with better architectures and more multiplicity in their units will definitely turn what are hours today into minutes tomorrow. But that's the future and users need to cope with the computers they own in the present. In fact, Moore's Law is not always taken into account in terms of programming or software technology development (not in our case at least). If you optimize your code for today's computers, it will be even faster on tomorrow's CPUs.
No matter how fast the code you write is, it's never fast enough.  In the particular case of fry there's still a lot of room for optimization, and also for technology leaps that we have planned for the mid-term future of the product.
In a shorter-term, we are planning to add many tutorials / video-tutorials on our website to train our users in how to fine-tune their scenes to achieve the best performance.

Is there any specific reason Spain is becoming a reference point for these new rendering technologies?

I've been asked this question many times, and I have even asked this question to myself, he he. But the only answer is that this is all a matter of coincidence. Arnold Renderer, Maxwell Render and Fryrender are Spanish products. Considering that there are not too many high-end engines in the industry, Spain adds up to a remarkable percent of all the rendering technology in the market. Which is an amazing coincidence since there's no connection at all between the three engines.
All that I can say is that I feel very proud of being part of this because it's probably very good for our country.

Many European companies experience difficulties entering the US market. European users and American users are different and have different expectations. How do you plan to address the two different markets?

our approach is very simple: honesty

May this sound naive, our approach is very simple: honesty.
Most of the people involved in the CG industry is people who know what they need from a CG tool. If a tool offers the functionality they need, and generates images with the quality they wish to achieve, they will be attracted by the product eventually. This idea should work internationally.
So far, a remarkable percentage of our customers are from the US, so the fact that the Internet breaks frontiers and that CG users are rather technical people seems to make target-oriented marketing not so urgent.
Anyway, it is our idea to build a strong reseller network overseas to reach deeper. We have been waiting for the right level of maturity in Fryrender to start taking these steps. After vBeta1.7 and with the upcoming release of Fryrender DEMO we feel that the right time has come. We are in fact contacting potential resellers world-wide already.

When do you expect Fryrender will be officially released, and how will it be packaged?

The official date for Fryrender's release is 'when it's done'. We're working full blast in that direction so it won't take too long, but it's been our strict policy since the beginning to keep our schedule in full secrecy.
The release date is given by the end of the core engine's task-list. The plug-ins development runs in parallel, so the final release will come with the plug-ins that we already have (3ds Max, Cinema 4D, LightWave, Rhino, Maya) plus the plug-ins that we manage to finish before the core is ready.  Anyway additional plug-ins will be given to our customers with no extra cost, as soon as they are available.
The licensing policy will not change. The price will be 795€ [about $1068] and for that price you will get a network dongle that will unlock up to 10 simultaneous IPs, without any CPU or core limitations.

I would like to thank Jose María Guerra García for taking the time to speak with me today. Novedge is currently considering to become a US reseller of fryrender. If you have any questions for Chema or for Novedge, please leave a comment below and we will be glad to answer.

Franco Folini

An Interview with Paul Babb, CEO of Maxon (Cinema 4D)

Paul Babb is the CEO of MAXON US, the company that makes the famous Cinema 4D modeling, rendering, and animation products. Based on my experience I can say that every company and product has its own personality. Whenever I have the opportunity to talk with a Cinema 4D user about their experience with the product, I can "feel" the personality of Maxon software: powerful and easy to use. This is not the side effect of a lucky sequence of events, but the result of the vision and strategy of the person leading the company. This person is Paul Babb. This interview is a great opportunity to know more about Paul and the company he heads.

Paul, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your company?

my first introduction to 3D was as the Product Marketing Manager for ElectricImage

Myself: California born and bred (except for a short stint in New York). I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara and my Master's Degree from the University of California at Los Angeles. After school, I worked in marketing and advertising. My first introduction to 3D was as the Product Marketing Manager for ElectricImage. In 1997, working with MAXON in Germany, I introduced CINEMA 4D to the North American market. In October 1998, with the parent company I founded MAXON USA to better serve the North and South American markets.

Company: MAXON was started in Germany in 1985. The company originally developed instructional computer books and magazines. Soon, this translated into publishing software packages. In 1991, two programming brothers brought a raytracing product for the Amiga to MAXON. This was the first incarnation of CINEMA 4D and was originally released as "Fast Ray". Everyone saw great potential for the product and so it was decided to invest more energy into its further development. After two years of R&D, the first version of CINEMA 4D, now a full featured 3D application, was released. In 1998, CINEMA 4D was released, completely re-architectured to be platform independent, modular, and designed for fast, efficient development.
The latest film projects to feature CINEMA 4D include Spider-Man 3, Surf's Up, Ghost Rider, Open Season, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Monster House, Eragon, Superman Returns, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In broadcast: Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, and the On-Air Packages for Comedy Central, Monday Night Football, ESPN, NFL Network, TiVO, NBC, DirecTV, CBS NFL, Fox and many more.

Maxon is a very well-known name in the movie industry. How did a young and relatively small company like Maxon manage to became so popular?

it's our pro-customer service philosophy that makes us a standout in this industry

First credit has to go to our programming team for developing a product that is powerful, comparatively easy to use, is fast in workflow and rendering, and integrates well into any production pipeline. Secondly, I'd say it's our pro-customer service philosophy that makes us a standout in this industry.
So our product is developed in a way that makes it easy for the artist to succeed, and on the service side we focus on providing the support and resources artists need to succeed.

Cinema 4D is recognized as one of the most easy 3D systems to use. Can you tell us in which ways you worked to achieve simplicity while supporting complex features?
Again, the credit here goes to the developers. While building CINEMA 4D in a modular fashion makes the development process easier and more efficient for the programmers, it also provides lines of delineation for the user. On the interface side, the bread and butter of 3D is right at your fingertips - the more complex features are there if you want to dig deeper. Many features are accessed via user defined "levels of detail". For instance, when using Sketch and Toon (our non-photorealistic rendering engine), users are offered dozens of presets to choose from. If a user wants more control, a simple pull down menu provides access to additional controls over the style and type of rendering that can be done. Choosing "Simple" offers only basic manipulation, "Intermediate" a bit more control and "Advanced" reveals control over every aspect of the renderer and results.

Movie productions usually work with several, apparently competing, software packages. In which stage of their process do they use Cinema 4D and why?

no 3D package can be everything to every artist

"Apparently competing" is a great way of putting it. As far as I am concerned, CINEMA 4D is just another tool in the production pipeline. I don't think of MAXON as competing - I believe it is our job to make sure our tool plugs into any pipeline regardless of what other software packages they are using. It is our job to make it easy for the artist to succeed. That means recognizing that artists use many tools to complete their task, and not only accepting your role in that pipeline, but excelling at it.
For years, I've been baffled by the competitive nature of other 3D developers. Every 3D package has its strengths and weaknesses. No 3D package can be everything to every artist. I believe that way of thinking only creates problems for the artists. It's our job to make their job easier.
That being said, in the film industry, the main areas where our products offer an advantage for artists is, CINEMA 4D for creating 3D digital environments and BodyPaint 3D for 3D texturing. Our products are also used for special effects, character animation, etc., etc. but these are two areas in motion pictures where we excel.
In the broadcast or motion graphics market, CINEMA 4D stands alone. Our speedy workflow and ease of use makes it the only choice for motion graphics. In this case an artist may be bringing in an Illustrator file to create a 3D version of their client's logo. The artist would then create the structure of the scene in 3D and render out layers and 3D elements to their 3D compositing package (After Effects, Motion, Shake, Final Cut Pro, etc.). Again, it's the ease, fast workflow and integration where we excel.

What is your current strategy for design and manufacturing?
You're going to get tired of hearing it but, "integration". Make it as easy as possible for artists to bring assets in and out of CINEMA 4D to accomplish the work they want to achieve. Use CINEMA 4D where it provides them an advantage and integrate with other tools that help them succeed.

Several online communities orbit around Maxon and Maxon products. What is your company’s relationship with these communities and what is their influence on your products?

we are constantly monitoring forums and keeping track of the support calls

Community support is what helps animators succeed, so we try to support them as much as we can. The professionals that contribute to those forums are an invaluable resource for both MAXON and other users.
Community is one of the reasons we started Cineversity here in the states - to provide more resources for users to succeed.
As far as influence on the development of our products - we are constantly monitoring forums and keeping track of the support calls that come into our offices. This is invaluable information when it comes to knowing what we can do to improve our products.

In the future, do you plan to expand Maxon to a wider market, or to increase your presence in your current market?
Both.  ;-) 
Again, we are just another "paint brush" in the artist's toolset. I want CINEMA 4D to provide value they can't get anywhere else and for it to be as easy as possible for an artist to plug us into their pipeline.

I would like to thank Paul Babb for taking the time to speak with me today. If you have any questions for Paul or for Novedge, please leave a comment below and we will be glad to answer.

Franco Folini

An Interview with Victor Gonzalez, CEO of Next Limit Technologies (Maxwell Render)

Victor Gonzalez is the CEO of Next Limit Technologies, a Spanish company known for the the famous Maxwell Render, a sophisticated rendering software based strictly on physical equations of light transport. After a long phase of beta testing, Maxwell Render enjoyed instant success upon its recent release. In order to know more about the company and the people behind this success, I invited Victor to participate in the following interview:

Victor, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your company?

I was fascinated with the fantastic CG scenes in those old movies like Tron

I am 35 years old, and I am a graduate in Naval Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Madrid (Spain). From when I was very young, Computer Graphics was my main hobby, and I spent most of my time learning about programming rather then playing games (well I did that too!). I was always fascinated with the fantastic CG scenes in all those old movies like ‘Tron’. In 1997 I met my business partner, Ignacio Vargas, while working in a fluid simulation project in the university, and we soon decided to found Next Limit with the objective to create innovative simulation tools for the CG industry. Today, after 10 years of intensive work, we are proud to manage an excellent team of engineers and creatives that are continuously working on cutting-edge technologies.

How much do Spain and Europe influence your company and your products? How would Maxwell Render be different if it were made in the Silicon Valley?
Considering the global market today, there are no big differences. Nowadays a company can be located anywhere, and they can still do serious business using the networking resources and clever marketing strategies. Usually the problems are focused in recruitment (it is more difficult to find skilled programmers in Spain than in Silicon Valley) and finding investors for the “strange” concepts that we develop. We are still a non-typical company in Spain, mostly focused on R&D, and that’s not very attractive for traditional investment. However, in terms of pure technology, our people only need a computer and time. From this point of view, being outside the main, crowded street helps them to focus on the serious work.

The gallery of images generated with Maxwell Render is very impressive. There are other rendering systems on the market but none with quite an impressive collection of beautiful pictures. Is it because of better algorithms or because of a better user interface that makes the render engine fully accessible to the users?

we decided to slowly cook a very powerful unbiased render without adding any artificial tricks

The key is the rendering algorithm and how all the pieces fit together. Throwing all the ingredients together in one big soup, like other rendering systems like to do, would not be enough. We decided, from the very beginning, to slowly cook a very powerful unbiased render without adding any artificial tricks that could reduce its correctness. The algorithm is able to track efficiently all the light paths, interact with the physical materials and combine them in the optical sensor. This whole process has been developed through the years by very rigorous people that would not restrict such scientific development in favor of a fast trick. The results are definitive, the quality of the render is amazing even for us still today. Keeping the maximum quality is our goal and we will keep on working on improvements without losing this vision.

In a market where companies are charging for every bit of software your company is giving away all the plug-ins included with Maxwell Render (plug-ins are used to connect Maxwell with several modeling systems such as Rhino 4.0, form-Z, 3ds Max, Maya, solidThinking, LightWave, Cinema 4D, etc.). How do you find this beneficial?
The marketing strategy that we developed at the beginning consisted of a free release of plug-ins, keeping a licensing scheme only for the rendering engine. This has been a good strategy keeping in mind that many people use different 3D platforms in their working pipeline, especially in the CAD sector where they use a CAD platform for designing and a 3D platform for rendering. A render that can be shared across platforms is beneficial in these areas and this remains one of the main strategies of Maxwell Render. Therefore we decided to let the users play with Maxwell Render in all the different ways (either connected to different 3D applications or as a standalone through Maxwell Studio).

What is the future of rendering? Will it ever become a fully interactive real-time technology?

people want to interact with a rendering system in a more straightforward human way.

As I said before, our main goal is to maintain quality leadership. Reaching a fully interactive real-time technology will happen sooner or later, but we will not take shortcuts here. Trying to reach real-time very soon is a mistake, in our opinion. It will happen when it happens. On the other hand there are features that are strongly demanded, and these are mostly related to the human interface. People want to interact with a rendering system in a more straightforward ‘human’ way. However, today it is still a place for experts. Providing ways to capture real existing materials and send them to the rendering system is still an unexplored area too. We are watching all these areas for current and future researching trends.

Are you planning to release more products to serve the community of digital artists and 3D producers?
Of course. The goal of Next Limit is to keep a constant innovation profile. We will continue to explore new ideas and algorithms in the simulation area for various fields and markets. Today we provide several physical simulation products for the film industry and other AEC sectors. These are only a subset of all the ideas that we are actively researching and that we will hopefully bring to light in a near future.

I would like to thank Victor Gonzalez for taking the time to speak with me today. If you have any questions for Victor or for Novedge, please leave a comment below and we will be glad to answer.

Franco Folini