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One of our most popular webinars ever, last week's episode on Rhino left us with lots of unanswered questions once time ran out. Here Maia Merav Holtzman, from Design Rhino, and Pascal Golay, from McNeel, pick up exactly from where they left off.
Q: Can you render with a clipping plane so you just render what you see with the clipping plane?
A: Yes, with Rhino's renderer and some others, like Brazil. Flamingo nXt now recognizes clipping planes as well.
Q: Is there a way to quantify the angle when you create a taper (by scaling a sub object) like that?
A: Not with the gumball, ExtrudeCrvTapered for an exact angle.
Q: Can you position the gumball in a specific location on an object - like the end of a curve or corner of an object?
A: RelocateGumball command is the easy way. This is a command you can type at the command line, or put on a button etc. This allows the location as well as the orientation to be set. In addition, you can adjust the gumball by first holding Alt and then changing the gumball control (its center point) location or scale handles, rotation handles or axis handles. With Alt down first, these changes will affect the gumball widget only and not the geometry the gumball is attached to. Object snaps are allowed.
Q: Will we ever get stones to work with in V5 for those of us in the jewelry industry? Gemstones like in Matrix?
A: It’s possible that Matrix hasn’t released a version that’s fully compatible with V5 yet. I imagine that they will soon, but in the interim I’d be happy to send you stones, and there is a downloadable library of them available at here.
Q: Will a V-Ray 2.0 ever be released for Rhino 5? If not I'll be forced to leave Rhino and I do not want to do that.
A: Presumably yes, but Chaos Group will have the definitive answer to that.
Q: Can you scale at all with the gumball? I don't see how?
A: The small squares on the gumball are scale handles. You can click and drag to scale in one axis, hold Shift while doing this to scale 3d and click on a handle and type a scale factor as well (1D only).
Q: Can you add your own environment in the V5 library? Like having our own library within Rhino?
A: Yes, you can create environments from the Environments panel, and save these as files to disk to make them available in any Rhino file. See also the Libraries panel.
Q: Is it possible to scale with the gumball to a specific height or length?
A: No. Only proportion can be entered by typing, not desired size. Use the traditional scaling commands with distance constraints to scale to a dimension.
Q: Patch command seems to have changed a bit in V5.
A: We would need more info to answer this question.
Q: I'm having a weird thing happen that may be related to the clipping plane ... occasionally a shaded model disappears along a moving plane when I am using the mouse ... seemingly moving away and towards me ... that must be some function I am not familiar with. I have to save the model and reopen to get it to stop ... help?
A: Not sure I understand, but please send a model and details to: tech@mcneel.com.
Q: I think when you lift control points it can look harsh, [what if] you want to elevate a point slightly?
A: Use the Gumball and set GumballDragStrength to say, 50%.
Q: What are her settings to get the updates [to a polysurface being edited using sub object selection] to happen. Or how would you disable those updates to the sub objects
A: If the object being edited is a sub object then the rest of the object updates- no history involved.
Q: On the TweenCrvs command is there a way to get it to make multiple curves based on distance between curves rather than a set number of curves?
A: Sorry, no, only the number, evenly distributed between the inputs.
Q: Where can I find a tutorial on making complex surfaces with 5 edge curves (I've seen a car fender tutorial somewhere??)
A: I'll need to hunt around but this might help. If you’re still interested.
Q: When using the display options, e.g. tech or chalkboard, may the resolution be set for higher dpi printing over screen resolution? Thanks
A: Use -ViewCaptureToFile, with a dash in front, like this _-ViewCapturetoFile. You'll see that you can set the resolution as needed.
Q: When using the clipping plain can the plain be made invisible to make a screen capture without seeing the plain?
A: The plane is infinite, so you can move the 'widget' out of the way, or just hide it.
Q: You mentioned easily converting meshes to NURBS - can you explain further.
A: This, as an automatic process, is only practical for relatively simple and planar-ish objects using MeshToNURBS. Otherwise, a full reverse engineering process is needed, using the mesh as a reference for new curves and surfaces. There are plug-ins that can help on the Rhino resources page - look for "reverse engineering".
Q: What are your favorite work flows for jewelry design in Rhino?
A: I always work with a caliper for measuring, and like to have my dimensions sketched out in advance. Generally, I will draw my design by hand and import that or an image that I want to work with using the PictureFrame command. Then I will start to build, using that image as a reference point. I do a lot of surfacing commands: sweeps and revolves and lofts, and a lot of reductive modeling using BooleanDifference. Filleting is part of every single piece I’ve ever created. I am always careful to create a watertight model, checking edges as I go even when I plan only to render the model, because I consider it important to build a piece that is cleanly and carefully made, no matter the final use. For more on this, check out our 3D Jewelry Design Google Hangout.
Q: Which do you prefer to use for jewelry design Rhino or Rhino Gold?
A: I prefer Rhino.
Q: Is Rhino 5 capable of 3D printing or casting machines for jewelry, and if yes how easy can it be set up in Rhino 5. Thanks
A: Rhino can export to 3D printing formats. It does require careful modeling to get good, closed, printable objects.
Q: Can the clipping plane be a curved or complex surface, i.e. not a plane?
Q: Is there a way of changing the background in the Artistic Display mode?
A: You need to make a copy of the mode- the built-in one is hard coded.
Q: The back of a surface does not have a different color when I am in shaded mode.
A: You need to set that up in the display mode controls- it is not on by default. Go to Tools>Options>View>Display Modes, choose whichever display mode you'd like, and look for Backface Settings.
Q: Can clipping plane also cut a cross section if wanted?
A: No, not by itself- SectionTools can help, see here.
Q: Will RhinoGold 4 work with Rhino 5?
A. I have heard that it will.
Q: Can you extract cross sections with the clipping plane?
A: Not directly, but this is possible with a script. Look here for ClippingPlaneCurves. Instructions for installing and running the scripts are at the top of the page. IntersectPlane may also be of interest.
Q: Will clipping plane work with the intersect command?
A: Not directly but a script can help: see above. Also, you can always snap to an end of the clipping plane to create a planar surface at the exact same height that can be used for Intersect.
Q: Does the clipping plane work with mesh surfaces?
A: Meshes are clipped, yes.
Q: Do we have smooth options with control points? If we move one we can influence on other points.
A: SoftMove is the best we have for this currently.
Q: Is there a way to print with hidden lines (not as bitmap or screen grab). The Make2d option is way too slow for very complex scenes.
A: Use the Technical display mode
Q: Thanks but using the print command and in vector mode doesn't show the object in technical display mode, only as raster mode.
A: Set up a Layout with a detail in technical.
Q: Yes but how do you print not just display it ... Hidden lines can be hidden
A: You can turn off hidden lines in the technical mode. Also see the Pen mode
Q: Thanks I'll experiment using a layout
Q: Can she give the url for her site? Some people may not know.
A: To learn more about Maia's work, visit her website at Design Rhino.
Would you like to learn more about Jewelry Design and 3D printing? Join us for our upcoming Google Hangout on Air!
In the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas? Contact Maia directly to learn more about her classes!
Curious about our upcoming webinars? Check out the list here!
Our 69th Webinar, Working with Shaders in Artlantis 4.1, left us all wanting for more! Here Chris Stringer answers all the questions he couldn't get to during our live Q&A session.
Q 01: Can a render from Artlantis be used as a Postcard?
A: No. A Postcard is a specialized type of low-resolution (400x300 pixel) JPEG rendering with additional information about the scene's materials embedded into it, created in Artlantis using the menu/command Tools/Create Postcard. By contrast, a regular Artlantis rendering created using the menu/command Inspector/Render does not contain this type of information...See also Q 2, Q 12 and Q 24.
Q 02: Can Postcards be moved from one PC to another? Must the Shaders be shared on both rigs?
A: Yes, Postcards can be moved, shared, emailed, etc. Yes, the original Shaders that existed on the computer/project where that Postcard was created must also exist on any other computer where that Postcard is going to be used, if it is to work properly. To ensure that Shaders and other media files used in a specific project travel safely with the project when it is being sent from one computer to another, always remember to save the project using menu/command File/Export as Archive… See also Q 1, Q 12, and Q 24.
Q 03: When you re-assign materials, will it be saved that way when the document is reopened?
A: Yes. Those settings are retained in that Artlantis file. See also Q 9.
Q 04: What are the limitations in Artlantis if a texture is pulled from the web? Do you lose any feature rich operations if you apply your own texture?
A: The limitations really depend on the quality of the texture and the set of accompanying image maps, because your goal in Artlantis shouldn’t be just to use good textures…it should be to use good Shaders. So,what’s the difference? A texture is a single bitmap image that defines one aspect of a material’s appearance. They can get assigned to the material in the 3D modeler or later in Artlantis. The most common type of texture used isa color (diffuse) image map, which are typically made by photographing a real-world material and often digitally altering them to create seamless edges. A material that only has a single texture map assigned to it is going to appear “flat” and less realistic…i.e. more computer-generated. A Shader is a combination of one or more separate texture files(typically all based on the same color image map as a starting point) that work in combination to define a material’s appearance in ways that cannot be accomplished with the use of a single color image map alone. Shaders typically make use of additional supporting image maps to add effects such as bump, reflection, shininess, normals, etc. These maps interact with the scene’s light and reflections to add life-like qualities to the materials. In Artlantis, it is possible to create a custom Shader that has all of the advanced settings of the high quality default Shaders in Artlantis, since they are offered to you within the menu/command Tools/Create Shader From... But, you either need the skill to create the supporting image maps for the shader (if they don’t already exist), or you need to find someone who already has those skills and has created those image maps. You can learn a lot by using the Create Shader From command to examine some of the existing Shaders’ settings and their accompanying image maps.
Q 05: Is there a specific relationship between values of the bump to the normal maps?
A: The bump and normal maps are both typically derived from the same starting point: the diffuse (color) image map. Both can be used to create the illusion of enhanced depth or relief in a Shader by affecting the way light interacts with the underlying color map, however, the normal map can be used to accomplish more than what is possible to achieve with the bump map. The grayscale information in the bump map can only scatter light in the direction of one axis: the Z axis.The normal map is a more advanced type of bump map, using the RGB color information it contains to scatter light in the X, Y, and Z axes. As an example, when creating a slate floor tile Shader, you might start with an 8 x 8 tile grid for the color map.
Giving it a Reflection of .7 and Shininess of 700 would create the following appearance:
You might use a bump map to simulate the depth of the grout lines and provide a rough textured quality to the slate surface. The lighter areas in the bump map will result in that area of the diffuse map appearing raised while the darker areas will appear to be recessed.
The normal map could have some of those same qualities as the bump map. It could have the same basic texture, accentuating the rough texture of the slate surface (below top). However, it could instead be created to scatter light in a simpler, profoundly different way…to make the individual tiles appear as if none of them were laid completely level (below bottom), so that the reflections of the background do not line up perfectly on each tile.
The combination of the bump and the normal maps could be used to both enhance the natural texture of the material and create more of a random appearance to the reflections in the tiles.
Q 06: Chris, can you show us how to use light on interior at night views? Thank you.
Q 07: How can we make realistic renders like those in 3D Studio Max using Sketchup with Artlantis?
A: The built-in Artlantis radiosity engine strikes an excellent balance between quality and speed. However, if you need something that goes beyond the capabilities of the Artlantis radiosity engine, check out the Maxwell Render engine for Artlantis. By default, it is installed with Artlantis 4.1 in a 30-day demo mode (can be activated with the purchase of a separate serial number) and is accessible from the menu/command Artlantis/License/Maxwell Render Engine (on Mac) or Help/Edit License/Maxwell Render Engine (on Windows). Licensed from Next Limit Technologies, the developers of the standalone version of Maxwell Render, the engine is an optional product that excels at creating hyper realistic renderings with physically accurate lighting behavior. The renderings take significantly longer to produce, but if that level of quality is needed, it is possible to do so without having to leave the familiar and extremely easy-to-use Artlantis work environment. That’s a powerful combination! Normally,you’ll want to use Artlantis for your preliminary renderings (and most of your final renderings, for that matter), then use the Maxwell Render Engine when is has to be perfect. You’ll note that there is a dedicated family of Maxwell Render Shaders in the Catalog of mostly reflective and refractive surfaces. You’ll want to apply those in a different version of your Artlantis project before doing a Maxwell rendering.
Artlantis Radiosity Engine:
Maxwell Render Engine:
Q 08: I had difficulties customizing interior views using white walls in Artlantis. I use the "china", "basic" shader, but never got the realistic view as you can see in this if it's possible.
A: If you want to achieve brighter whites, here’s what to do. In our example here, we’ll be changing the walls. First, you’ll want to have probably either the Basic or Expert Shader applied to your surface. The color doesn’t matter, but just to keep things simple, make it white. Locate the blanc.jpg in the Catalog/Images and drag it onto the surface (the walls, for example) in the 3D Preview window. In the ShadersInspector/Material list, select the blank.jpg texture. In the settings for that texture, mark the Rep. checkboxes so that it tiles horizontally and vertically. At this point, you probably won’t notice any visible changes in the 3D Preview window yet.
With the blank.jpg texture still selected in the Shaders Inspector/Material list, adjust the Ambient slider to the right to maybe around 0.20 or so. You should see the white areas of the walls brighten considerably. If you take the Ambient slider all the way up 1.00, it will increase the white to a very unnatural looking pure white, which you wouldn’t normally do. Note that the ceiling in the next image next has not been changed, thus becoming a point of reference compared to the brightened walls.
Q 09: Is it possible to apply a shader texture in just one face of the imported model? Or do we need to import another model with that face in a different shader?
A: Yes, you can apply a Shader to just one face using the re-assign material command. There is no need to import another model. First, select the face by activating the selection tool in above the material list.
Change the selection method to single face.
Click on the desired face in the 3D Preview window to select it. The selected element will temporarily be highlighted. Then, click on the Apply Material icon, in the Shaders Inspector palette.
A dialogue will appear. In this case, you will want to apply a copy of the currently selected material to the surface. Give the new material an appropriate name.
The final result is a new material definition for that surface, which now operates completely independent of the other elements in the scene that shared its previous material. You can then apply Shaders to this surface as you normally would in Artlantis…just drag and drop a Shader directly onto the surface in the 3D Preview Window.
See also Q 03.
Q 10: How can we use HDRI files to get shaders affected within the environment?
A: While it is true that HDRI does affect the appearance of Shaders in the scene, that’s a lighting/background topic really best left for a future webinar. In the meantime, you can watch this video available on the Artlantis YouTube channel: Artlantis 4.1 - Adding HDRI Background.
Q 11: When we render the "white" shader from native Artlantis there's always a little bit of gray aspect. How can we control this shader to put it more with and apply to interior walls?
A: See Q 8.
Q 12: Since the Postcards are just jpegs, do they have to be generated from Artlantis?
A: Yes, they must be generated from Artlantis, because they are not “just” jpegs, they are specialized jpegs with additional information embedded into them. See also Q 1, Q 2 and Q 24.
Q 13: Can you do paint on the surface, like graffiti effect?
A: Yes. While there is no paint brush tool in Artlantis, this can be easily achieved if you add an alpha channel to an image in Photoshop to mask out its background. In the alpha channel, dark areas will mask the image and light areas will remain visible. Export as a TIF or PNG, then drag and drop that image file directly into the Artlantis 3D Preview window. Scale, reposition, and check the Use Alpha Channel checkbox.
Q 14: I have problems with 3D plants from version 1.2 looking very rough when rendered in 4.0. Do you know why that would be?
A: That would be a question for the Artlantis technical support team. We would need to know what plant files you’re using, a few things about your system and setup, and might possibly need an archived project file to diagnose the cause and offer a solution. To submit a support ticket on artlantis.com, use this link.
Q 15: Is there an easy way to use alpha channels in Artlantis, so you can make realistic looking grass for example?
A: Yes, but Shaders might not be the best option. The problem with many grass textures (and even high quality grass Shaders) is that from a far distance, they appear too repetitive, while from a close distance, they appear too flat. You could start with a grass Shader, and drop one or more subsequent grass textures onto it (with various bits masked out using an alpha channel to show the other underlying grass texture) to create a more randomized appearance to the grass texture, but this does nothing to resolve the problem that in real life, unless you’re on a golf course, grass normally doesn’t look like low-pile carpet.
Grass 1 with alpha (goes on top)
Grass 2 (goes underneath)
Grass textures 1 and 2 combined. The blend creates more randomnessthan using one texture alone, however it still looks pretty flat.
Grass is a material that is really difficult to simulate through just a texture and some bump and normal maps, because in reality it is a highly volumetric type of surface. Yes, you’ve got to put some kind of ground material in your project, but rather than taking great pains to create a Shader to simulate grass or using a high-poly 3D grass object, you could instead make a composite for your final image. Artlantis provides the option to save out a rendering as a Photoshop file. The resulting file contains 5 separate, very useful layers: MODEL_FRONT (the foreground elements), BACKGROUND (the background elements), MATERIAL (a materials map, differentiating the materials in the scene by unique colors), OBJECT (like the materials map, only for objects),and ZBUFFER (a grayscale depth map of the scene). The first 2 layers combine to create the finished rendering, but it’s the last 3 layers that can be very useful for post-process editing.
If you don’t already own Photoshop, stop what you’re doing and order it now. If there’s one other tool you need to create great renderings, it’s Photoshop. We can open this rendering in Photoshop and quickly use the magic wand to select the ground plane in either the OBJECT or MATERIAL layers. We create a grayscale mask from this, then apply a glass distortion filter to it to give it more of a rough edge.
Next step is to combine the rendering with a real image of the site or a photograph of a neatly manicured lawn (via a quick trip to a stockphoto website). I located 2 suitable images, used the content-aware fill to extend and touch up some areas, blended them by setting one of them at 50% opacity, then brightened the result with an overlay layer. Grass is brightened by adding a new solid green layer, set to overlay at 28% opacity
The final result of the new grass added into the overall composition is pictured below. Much more convincing! Since this is a tutorial about adding grass textures, I won’t discuss the additional compositional elements, cropping, and other adjustments that could be done to this image in Photoshop to make it a fully realized architectural rendering.
Q 16: What is a good practice to make good use of those different mapsto make better looking gaps or displacement?
A: See Q 5.
Q 17: We've had a lot of problems with swimming pools in particular. If in the modeler the solid element (slab) for the water actually touches the walls around it then Artlantis shows a black surface when rendered. We've been doing a work around which is leaving the water short of the walls and floors of the pool by about 1 cm inorder to not have the black surface. Any suggestions?
A: Sometimes, a simple work around is the best solution! You might also try just using a flat plane for the water. I once talked to a person who was rendering an interior and was puzzled by the way that the exterior looked wrong through the windows, even though everything was oriented properly and set up correctly. As it turned out, she was using the “glass” refraction option in her windows’ glass Shader settings, which was warping the view of the exterior like a magnifying glass. This was quickly and easily resolved by simply changing the glass refraction option to “air.” Your issue might be related to something like this…some weird refraction happening at the water’s edge. If you think this is a bug, you should create a support ticket with the Artlantis technical support team. They would probably need an archived project file to diagnose the cause and offer a solution. To submit a support ticket on artlantis.com, use this link. Another option might be to try posting in the Artlantis forum.
Q 18: Good afternoon, in my experience with Artlantis I have a problem with exterior renders. In general, is there a simple way to make the default shader to look more natural, I mean imperfect, weary or grayed out?
A: See Q 13 and Q 15 (first half)…stacking alpha channel images on to materials. The repetitiveness of the brick wall in the example from Q13 is definitely broken up by the graffiti, but in your case, you will probably be using a more subtle pattern (maybe a light layer of patchy dirt/grime that is applied across the surface), with maybe a few additional one-off textures applied here or there to resemble pockmarks or imperfections. You can apply as many textures as you want over top of a material, and you can opt to have them simply operate as one instance, or repeat to tile across the surface. Also, keep in mind that when a texture is applied to a material, that texture can then be set to be 100% transparent and used as some other kind of map (such as a Bump map) by adjusting the relevant slider (such as the Bump slider). So, you can really stack up or layer a whole series of graphic effects onto a material to achieve just about anything you want for imperfections or weathering.
Q 19: Can you render the pool image we're looking at?
A: Here’s another look. Sorry, the high resolution version stays with me!
Q 20: Are Artlantis 4 and Artlantis Studio separate applications that need to be purchased separately?
A: That depends on what you need. Artlantis 4 is available in two separate packages: Render and Studio. Render creates still images only, while Studio creates still images plus dynamic content like animations, VR object movies, and iVisit 3D panoramic VR presentations. You can start with Render, and if you ever need to create any of the dynamic presentation content, you can upgrade to Studio for very close to the difference in cost between the two applications. Incidentally, they both use the same file format interchangeably, so an office team could easily use both Render and Studio on the same project files.
Q 21: Can ImageCels be incorporated in Artlantis?
A: Yes. According to the imagecels.com FAQ, their “images (people,trees, etc.) are 2D in the 32 bit .TIF (LZW compressed) file format with embedded alpha channel masks. They are placed against a 0,0,0 black background. Textures are 24 bit .TIF (LZW compressed),seamless and tileable.” TIF is one of the many file formats that Artlantis supports, including support for embedded alpha channels.
Q 22: What are good websites to get HQ textures?
A: There really are a ton of them. Our store, objectsonline.com, sells 6different volumes of Artlantis Shaders, but we do not carry any stand alone texture files. Marlin Studios is one old favorite. Another is TurboSquid. But, even with a site as huge as TurboSquid, I will often start my search by using Google image search, and then happen upon professional texture websites along the way, once I find the best example of a texture for whatever specific material I’m trying to create.
Q 23: I was an Artlantis user for many years and missed the latestupgrade path. In 4.1 can we re use all the shaders that we have for the past versions? (vol 1-10)
A: Artlantis has been around since the days of big hair and spandex (although being a French product, I’m not sure what was popular in Paris back then). When Artlantis was completely recoded and released in 2005, Abvent reset the version numbering to 1.0 and split the product into Render and Studio. Users of the legacy version, which had reached v.4.5, had a period of several years during which they could upgrade at a discount. Currently, users on Render or Studio v1.0 or later are eligible for a discounted upgrade to Render or Studio v4.1. Regarding the legacy Shaders, if the disc they came on is copyrighted year 2000 or later, there is still a chance they might work. Backwards compatibility was available for the legacy Artlantis Shaders volumes1-10, if they were released on or after year 2000. Although many of them still might work, they are not officially supported anymore. I’m not sure if yours will still work for you, but you could test that out by downloading the Artlantis 4.1 demo version, which runs without a serial number for 30 days. You would just need to copy your legacy Shaders into your programs folder…Artlantis/Media/Shaders/.
Q 24: Are postcards embedded in the project file, or do we need to transfer postcards to other computers where the project file is being worked on?
A: Postcards are separate JPEG files that are created in a project, but are saved outside of and operate independently of that project. Do not rename or edit them! They should normally be stored in your program's folder…Artlantis/Media/Postcards/. You will want to keep copies of the Postcards on any computer where you may later want to access them.You should also ensure that any Shaders referenced in a postcard also travel with the Postcard. See also Q 1, Q 2, and Q 12.
Q 25: What is the difference between reflection and fresnel settings?
A: The Reflection setting of a Shader controls one aspect of the Shader’s appearance: its ability to reflect light. The Fresnel Transition can, in effect, dynamically override or exaggerate the Transparency and Reflection settings of the Shader. In order for Fresnel to have any noticeable impact, there must be at least some level of transparency and/or reflectivity assigned to the material in the Shader settings. Fresnel will increase a material’s apparent reflection/opacity as a surface is oriented more obliquely, angled to face away from the observer. Conversely, a material’s apparent reflection/opacity is reduced as a surface is oriented more tangentially, angled to face toward the observer. When a material is assigned a low Fresnel Transition value, the apparent differences between the material’s reflection/opacity, when viewed at different angles, are exaggerated. When a high Fresnel Transition value is used, the differences are minimized. The following images illustrate these differences.
High Fresnel setting viewed at different angles…minimal differences
Brian Benton delivered a great webinar on AutoCAD Sheets for Project Management and many of you had questions for him. Here are his answers to those questions that couldn't be answered during the live Q&A session.
Q: How do you add a sheet to the Sheet Set? A: With the Sheet Set open, click, hold, and drag a Paper Space Tab for the file you want to add and drop it into the Sheet Set you want to add it to. You have to have the file opened and it must be current. The Sheet Set you want it in must be opened and current. A second method is right-click on the current sheet set and click on the Insert Sheet option. Browse to the file and select the paper space tab you want to insert.
Q: What is the difference between the sheet view tab and model view tab? A: Both tabs reference saved named views in files. You can save a named view in a file and list it here. Clicking on the saved view in the Sheet Set Manager will open that file and zoom to that view. Model Views are for views in model space. Sheet Views are for views in Paper Space.
Q: Can you import excel data into sheet set? A: No. You have to enter Sheet Set data manually.
Q: Do sheet sets work with AutoCAD WS, ADT, and MEP? A: They work the same way in all AutoCAD Verticals. AutoCAD WS cannot handle Sheet Sets, but if you upload your file (that was using Sheet Sets) to AutoCAD WS it will bring the current Sheet Set data with it in the mobile platform.
Q: Is there a way to automate the updating of the Sheet Index after it's generated and new sheets are added, or they are rearranged, renumbered, etc.? Currently, the only way I know is to select the Index, rt-click and select to update the data links. A: Yes. The command is "datalinkupdate". Add it to your acad.lsp or acaddoc.lsp file like this:
(COMMAND "datalinkupdate" "u" "k")
When AutoCAD opens a file it will run this script and will automatically update the data links.
Q: Does Sheet Set only work for Paperspace? Will it also work for model space? A: It only works for Paper Space and you can only assign a tab to one Sheet Set file at a time. A Tab can not belong to more than one Sheet Set. If you have a model space file that you want to add to your Sheet Set (I do this with area base files) create a paper space tab for it anyway and add that tab to the sheet set.
Q: Can we use SSM with a file document manager where we check drawings in and out? When checking in files they are removed from our local drives. A: I do not know about third party Document Managers, but it will work with Autodesk Vault.
Q: Will renaming the Path to the drawings mean destroying the link in Sheet Set? A: Yes. Sheet Sets are path dependent. If the path or file name changes you can repath the drawing by right-clicking it in the SSM and changing the path that is saved in the properties option.
Q: Can I export Data-information from Sheet Set to an Excel document ? A: No. If you have created a Sheet List Table it can be extracted to a spread sheet.
Q: What about a link between Data-information of Sheet Set and BIM database? A: No. Sheet Sets can’t link to other data bases.
Q: Looks like Sheet Set acts similarly to Autodesk Inventor project files or are they different? How? A: They are similar but are limited to simple data and file references.
Q: re: SheetSetPlaceholder and ViewportScale placeholder type -- I can automatically display the viewport scale within a View Label block, but cannot control the format. AutoCAD has 7 built in formats for viewportScale, but none are the one I need. I also tried copy/pasting the field expression into the "formula" field, but the block then returns "####". Is there any way to customize the viewport Scale format? Is there a "trick" to getting the formula field to work? Thanks. A: I have also struggled to get the formula field to work in a block. I have also had little luck with place holders. I have set up my template file (.DWT) and the Sheet Set file I use as a template Sheet Set file to work. My DWT file looks at my default DST file. I don’t use placeholders. This tends to work more often than not for me.
Q: Please note that dragging a layout tab into the SSM does not work if the SSM is docked. A: I learned something from this. I did not know that but I tested it and you are correct. It will not drag and drop the drawing unless the SSM is undocked. I typically don’t dock my SSM so I have never run into this issue. Autodesk, please fix this.
Q: I recommend SSM Properties Editor by JTB World for extra SSM editing power. A:JTB World produces quality products and is one of my favorite CAD based websites. I have not tried this product myself but it has been recommended to me several times.
Q: What is the limit of sheets you can have in a sheet? A: I do not know if there is a limit. I have not reached it yet. Right now I have a Sheet Set open that has about 50 drawings and 7 subsets. So it will handle at least 50. I apologize for not having a more definite answer.
Q: When two people are using two different sheets in the same sheet set and one is xref'd into the other, how do they affect each other? A: They affect each other no differently than if they were not in a Sheet Set. The rules of xref’s govern their behavior.
Q: Can you have custom fields in subsets? A: No but that would be a great idea. Autodesk please make this happen.
Looking for more webinars? Check the complete series on our website.
And don't forget to visit Brian Benton's CAD-a-Blog and to get his full training program.
Did you watch this week's Novedge Webinar? Michael Gunther-Geffer introduced us to high-end surface modeling in Rhino with VSR Shape Modeling. You can watch the entire live recording on our YouTube and Vimeo Channels.
A few of your questions went unanswered because of time constraints, so we sent them to Michael, who provided us with the answers.
Q: Can you do curvature analysis on the mesh? In Alias I use this to layout my primary surfaces.
A: We have e.g. a section command with curvature analysis on top, but the result is not smoothed, and therefore probably useless on meshes.
Q: Is there a function similar to the detach command in Alias?
A: As far as we can judge, the Rhino Split function covers this functionality, therefore we don't see a need for a VSR function doing that.
Q: Can you work with meshes resp. scan data?
A: We have several functions allowing the creation of curves and surfaces on top of meshes. You can sketch curves on meshes, modify curves or surfaces on top of a mesh, create surfaces on a mesh and so on. We can also select areas of a mesh (curvature based), and trim, split or create a new mesh from this area.
Q: These values are indicative of the level of tangent or curvature different from CATIA values or Alias. In other words, the curvature of the value of 0.1 in the VSR, corresponds to 0.1 in the Alias and CATIA?
A: For Position and Tangency we use the same result values as you know from ICEM or ALIAS. For curvature we use a bit of a different numerical result display. You can have a look into our online manual coming with the plug-in, there you will find a detailed explanation. In general you can say, 0.0 is perfect, other values are showing the relation of the curvature on both sides to each other. But we have also other analysis for this, e.g. you can cut radial sections with a curvature graph on top between both edges.
Q: Is it appropriate to discuss the use of the "Adopt" option in the "Surface Align" tool?
A: The "Adopt" option takes over the parametrization from the reference surface on this edge. It therefore aligns the control point distribution of the surface to match to the control point distribution of the reference, often leading to a better matching result.
Q: And is there some way to change color of section on mesh and surface ? I use very often in icem. And smooth?
A: Smooth command is already developed, and will be in the next Shape Modeling major release (3.0) in Q4 this year. We created an enhancement request for different colors for sections on meshes and other geometry. Meanwhile you could create two section analysis, selecting the meshes for one, and the rest of the geometry for the other analysis, defining two different colors for them.
Q: Is there in VSR something to extrapolate? A: Yes, in the control point modeling there is an option "Extrapolate", allowing dynamic extrapolation of a curve or surface.
Q: Hello there, which is the "best" density of triangles for a scanned mesh from a 3D scanner, in order to work later creating surfaces? I am using a NextEngine scanner. A: Sorry, unfortunately there is no general answer for this question. It depends on the shape of the object, and the needed quality for the reverse engineering.
Q: Can you get a color map of the deviation between the surface and the mesh vs section lines? A: Color mapped deviation will come with Shape Modeling 3.0 in Q4/2013.
Q: Can you make a surface from points only? A: No, we need a triangulated mesh. But for Rhino 5 there are some free plugins available to triangulate a point cloud to a mesh.
Q: Can we become a beta user of the new release? A: Of course, customers and people giving valuable feedback on our plug-ins are always welcome as beta testers.
Q: I need smooth surface from the points but as close to the points as possible. A: This is exactly what our smooth function will do. It is always a compromise, though, and depends heavily on the quality of the points. If the quality of the points is poor the surface may not become smooth, when the deviation is very low.
Q: In Catia you can match a surface projected on top of another without trimming. Basic matching on top of a surface instead of the edges. The question is are you guys planning a tool like that? A: This is already implemented and will be available in Shape Modeling 3.0 in Q4 2013.
Do you love webinars? Check the upcoming webinars in the Novedge Webinar Series here.
To order your copy of VSR Shape Modeling, click here.
Learn more about Virtual Shape, the makers of VSR Shape Modeling on their website.
To connect with other VSR and Rhino users, join our Rhino Jungle community
Last week's webinar with Paul Gaboury on ZBrush was awesome! We got so many questions, though, that Paul and his team couldn't answer them all during the live recording. Here are the questions they couldn't get to.
Q: How do you add or remove points on the curve?
A: Simply click on a point, and drag it up to the top of the menu or
outside of the menu window until it is removed. This works similarly
in the Photoshop curve editor.
Q:
Also can you keep UVs with IMM brushes?
A:
At this time UVs can not be kept when using the IMM brushes.
Q: How do you snapshot?
A:
Shift + S
Q: UVs with IMM brushes? Is it possible to keep them?
A: There is no way to keep the UVs while enabling the mesh to be an
insert mesh.
Q: Can ZBrush be saved in stl format for 3D printing?
A:
Yes it can.:) This is done through a ZBrush plugin that is shipped
with ZBrush called "3D Print Exporter"
Q:
Please provide some links to the workflow with lower cost 3D apps
like Rhino 3D for real world fabrication with tolerances for
manufacturing... converting these assets into 3d solids.
A: Not
sure if you are looking for this but here are some links of
items being created for the real world through ZBrush. Don’t have a ton
of stuff for Rhino but I know the forums for Rhino has a lot. We are
working on putting more examples together.
Q: How to get the ring back into Rhino as
a NURB surface with accurate scale...
A:
ZBrush does not export or import NURB surfaces. Would have to export
a STL or OBJ then use Rhino to convert that back into a NURB surface.
Q:
Hardware question: On a Windows based PC, what is a FAST system that
runs Z-Brush/PS/Premiere, just wanting to get a realistic baseline
not minimum spec system hardware.
A:
ZBrush requires less system power than both of those applications.
When working with all three simultaneously however, it would be
better to use around 8 GB RAM or higher.
Q:
Will Z-brush take advantage of an Nvidia Quadro Graphics card? I am
an Industrial Designer by training and have loved the organic nature
of ZBrush but have not found a good demonstration of how to workflow
for taking the 3D assets into, say, Rhino 3D for working these models
into real world 3D printed assets for molds etc.
A:
ZBrush does not use the video card at all so there will be no
advantages of using the Nvidia Quadro card for ZBrush. We are
currently working on videos showing the workflow between ZBrush and
applications like Rhino.
Q:
Any dvd/movies/tutorials that cover this process in detail would
be SUPER appreciated. Thank you Paul, you are an awesome instructor!
Q:
Do you offer any video tutorials on ZBRUSH for production, or
could refer ANY videos?
A:
What specific type of videos are you looking for? How to get out your
displacement and normal maps to render somewhere else or are you
looking for videos on what type of topology flow you should have for
production? We have some free videos on ZClassroom that show some of
this but the The Gnomon Workshop is a good place for this type of
videos. I would like to recommend certain ones but I need to know more specifics.
Q:
I find it really difficult to get very high-res with DynaMesh!
A: This could be because the object itself may not be scaled/sized
properly within ZBrush. Try to do a "unify" in the
Deformation palette and redynamesh at high rez. If you do unify keep
in mind that the physical size of the sculpt will be changed. It
could just be the resolution is not turned up high enough.
Q:
I'd like to know the specs of Paul's PC!! I feel like mine does not
manage so well undo timeline and sometimes doesn't allow
DynaMeshing... :-(
A:
I’m using a 4 year old MACBook Pro notebook with 8GIGs of RAM
and a core Two Duo processor at 2.66GHz. Not too strong.
If you are on Windows XP that may be the issue with DynaMesh. We no
longer support WindowsXP.
Q:
Is it better to increase DynaMesh resolution or dividing the
dynameshed mesh when going high definition?
A:
I would actually come out of DynaMesh and begin to use Subdivision
Levels to get my detail. This way I have lower levels to make big
changes.
Q:
How do you keep the mask from going through the model?
A:
If the mask is going through the mesh, inside the "Brush
Palette" down in the "automasking" subpalette you will
find the option to turn on "BackFaceMasking" which will
solve that issue if needed. If you are using the MaskRect, MaskLasso,
MaskCircle, or MaskCurve brushes you have to hide the back portion of
the mesh and then complete the masking.
Q:
Is there a source for all the keyboard shortcuts?
Q:
I see that decimation master often leaves open holes when I try to
verify the mesh in a different package like Rhino...are there any
settings that allow this to be guarenteed watertight for printing?
A:
Once you have completed a decimation you can run the Close Hole
algorithm that is in the Tool>Geometry>Modify Topology menu
Q:
Is there any chance to control what edge loops you get while using
decimation master?
A: No, not at this point
Q: Would dropping the undo history improve performance?
A:
It will just make your file sizes smaller and when ZBrush AutoSaves
it will not take as long.
Q: Not really a question, but I'm a jeweller and I just want to tell you
how much I love Zbrush. I used to use Rhino and ZBrush but since the
last updates I've switched to only using ZBrush for all jewellery,
including stonesetting and sizeing and exporting for printing. Love
it, thanks alot, it feels like you listen alot to your users. Great
job.
A: Thank you! I will pass along that information to the team:) Thank
you.
Q: That's great for stonesetting :D
Q: Is there a lasso tool for that or only a box?
A: Only a box, there is no lasso tool to select the image.
Q: Are there any plans to work more closely with the T-Splines plug in in Rhino?
A:
Could not say at this time, sorry.
Q:
Where were the algorythms for smoothing the pulled polys? And do
those algorythms not change the poly levels for the more simple
parts of the panels?
A: I am not sure if you are asking for the Polish by Feature here... it is
found in the Tool>Deformation sub-palette.
Q: When do you want to use a dynamesh vs a
polymesh?
A:
One of the most effective uses is to start as a conceptual phase.
This is because it gives you the freedom to work without worrying
about the base topology of the mesh. There are many other uses of
DynaMesh as the resolution can go very high and retain high quality
surfaces, including hard surfaces.
Q:
Why would you not want to work in that format all the time?
A: That would be a personal preference to you the artist. For example, if
you are working with meshes that are needed for animation and have been
prebuilt for rigging purposes you obviously wouldn't want to DyanMesh
as that will essentially remesh the object.
Q: What is the advantage of the dynamesh?
A: For the purposes of scultping, there is a huge advantage to
essentially free sculpting while dynamesh will redistribute topology.
For example the way that I just pulled out the ears and did a
"re-DynaMeshed" to get more topology in that area for
sculpting.
Q:
I have a question about the Memory Stress test in the perforance
panel. Is that a way to optimize your system for ZBrush?
A:
No that is to test the system when you are having issues with ZBrush.
Our support team will use that information to help you.
Q:
Should you turn to the Topology Brush only when qRemesher or
only-fashioned remeshing produce inadequate results?
A:
I would turn to the Topology brush when I want to be more precise how
the topology will be following the surface.
Q: Any way to import a precise curve for the profile initialize feature
for the profile primitive?
A: You
can only import profile curves that were saved from ZBrush.
Q: Fast way to repair holes?
A:
Either use DynaMesh or run the Close Holes algorithm in the
Tool>Geometry>Modify Topology menu.
Q: Has anyone worked with scan data and polyloops in order to clean up
the scan?
A: Yes,
there are quite a few people using ZBrush with scan data. I myself
scan items and bring them into ZBrush. I actually cover this in my
book ZBrush Professional Tips and Techniques.
Q: When do you use qremesh, dynamesh, remesh?
A: In most workflows, DynaMesh/Remesh would be the conceptual sculpting
stage, and QRemesher would be the finessing of topology phase or
"cleanup phase" for control of where the edgeloops are
placed for completion.
Q: Can you touch on how
you use the wacom for those of us without it?
A: What are you using if not wacom? ZBrush is a pressure sensitive
application so it gives the user a great benefit when using the Wacom
product. The user will be able to use pressure to sculpt and paint.
Q:
coming from Photoshop, ZBrush's selection tools are a bit
hard to use/get used to. Are there plans to improve them?
A: There are no plans to change the way these tools are working at this
point. You could submit this into the ZClassroom Feedback section in
ZClassroom.com :)
Q:
Is there a way to align a ZBrush object to an arbitrarily-angled
photo? Not orthographic x, y or z view.
A: You could use the Deformation Palette controls, which would be more
precise, and allow you to type in values to get the angle of the 3D object. Use the sliders "offset" "rotate" "size"
etc.
Do you love webinars? Check the upcoming webinars in the Novedge Webinar Series here.
Did you miss yesterday's webinar with Brian Hillner on Bunkspeed Pro? Don't worry, you can still watch it on our YouTube Channel. All our webinars are always available online and free of charge.
The questions from the audience were so many that David Randle from the Bunkspeed team took some time to answer those we couldn't fit in our live broadcast. Here they are.
Q: What hardware
is the demo being run on?
A: Brian [Hillner, the webinar presenter] is using a
machine with 2 Fermi based GPU's (1x Quadro 6000 and 1x Tesla C2070)
and is running at a resolution of 2560x1600px. It is a single CPU,
12GB RAM configuration.
Q: How
significant is the performance between Fermi and Kepler architecture?
A: As of right now,
performance on Kepler is only fractionally better than Fermi. iRay
(the renderer we use) is still undergoing improvements to leverage
the massive hardware performance gain of the Kepler architecture.
Also, keep in mind that although Kepler is only fractionally faster
than Fermi, the Kepler cards consume 30 - 40% less power so they are
much more efficient.
Q: What are the
options for sending Pro/E geometry to Bunkspeed?
A: We have a free
plugin available here
that allows you to push your geometry directly from Pro/E or Creo
into our products. We have a version going live soon that also
supports Creo2.
Q: Please explain
the functionality of Powerboost...
A: PowerBoost is a
separate product which gets installed on a dedicated “rendering”
machine. When installed, it allows users within a workgroup to send
their renders (via queue) to the dedicated PowerBoost machine to
render. This allows users to keep working on their desktops and never
have to wait for a render on their own machine. As a note, PowerBoost
connectivity is only available in our Pro and Drive products
Q: Is there a
limit on how many GPUs Bunkspeed can use?
A: Pro is licensed
for up to 2 GPUs but it can be configured to use up to 8 in a single
machine. More info about how to do this can be obtained from your
Novedge sales contact who can work with us to get you what you need.
Q: How come queue
doesn't work?
A: Queue should
function just fine. If it isn't, I would suggest approaching
support@bunkspeed.com so we can make sure it is working for you.
Common issues are the result of port conflicts with Anti-Virus
software or licensing when using a floating version of Pro/Drive, as
Queue Service checks out a license and if that license isn't checked
back in (by stopping the Queue Service), then other users can't check
out Pro/Drive or Queue on another machine.
Q: Is it possible
to export the object and camera?
A: It is possible to
export your object as an OBJ or FBX right now via File > Export.
We are currently working on also exporting the camera data via FBX. This should make it into our next release. In addition, we also
support importing of animated FBX files...
Q: Did Bunkspeed intend to
use a live plugin for HDR Light Studio?
A: We currently have
a way to "live update" modification you make to an HDR in
HDR Light Studio using our auto-update feature. HDR Light Studio has
been busy working on their API to support our dev environment and
we are looking to have a tighter integration with their product as soon as
their work is ready.
Interested in Bunkspeed? Find out the details here.
Do you love webinars? Check the upcoming webinars in the Novedge Webinar Series here.
NOVEDGE is much more than an online company: born out of the dream of two engineers to build the kind of online store they would buy from, it has grown to support creativity and innovation. That's why it is so important to us to stay in touch and to interact with you. We want to get to know you better and we want to hear what you are doing, what you love, how we can help you design and create.
We have an extensive presence on social media, so today I decided to take some time to list all the places you can find me, interact with my team and connect with other innovators and professionals like yourself.
We are very proud of our Webinar Series! You can find all 62 webinars on our YouTube and Vimeo channels and we add a new one every two weeks. And, starting in June, we will record a live webinar every Wednesday at 11 am. You can find all the details of the upcoming webinars and how to register on our website.
Our blog features interviews with artists and innovators twice a week, like Chris Anderson and Joseph Drust, and occasionally our President and our CEO share their thoughts on a particular topic. We also introduce our new partners and update you on what's happening at Novedge.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Novedge is on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest and Linkedin. If you are present on any of these social media channels, follow us and get in touch! My team and I will get back to you within 24 hours during the week.
On Twitter, you can keep up with the latest webinar announcements and you can ask questions during the live recording by using #NovedgeWebinar
We also use #NovedgePromo to remind you of some of the best specials we run on our website and #NovedgeTeam and #NovedgeBlog when we post inside news and articles.
And search #NovedgeReview to read the latest reviews on our website, from users like you.
If you are interested in the latest news, subscribing to Novedge Pulse is for you! Pulse shows news and posts from 350 blogs, and sources about 500
different authors. You can also read it on Twitter or Facebook.
ONLINE COMMUNITIES
Kevin Luu is our online community manager and does a great job of moderating our three online communities, Rhino Jungle. WikiCAD and Vectorworking. If you haven't already, I invite you to join the one that matches your interests and to get involved with other professionals. Each community is also present on Twitter and Facebook, so you can easily keep in touch.
Rhino Jungle is the place to learn and share about Rhino, plugins and complimentary products. You can also connect on Twitter and Facebook.
We recently created The World is 3D, our community for Media and Entertainment professionals. You can join it on Twitter or on Tumblr. We also publish an interview with an M&E artist every Friday on our blog.
Finally, you can follow us on Linkedin and also join our Linkedin Group, The Novedge Network. We are still shaping this group, so I would love to hear from you what in your opinion would make a great topic of conversation.
And last, but not least, we just started a series of short videos of tips on how to best navigate our website. Our site has great tools, including user's reviews and detailed licensing information. I plan on posting one tip every Thursday evening, check out the first Novedge's Tip of the Week and let me know what you would like to see in future videos.
That's it for now. Please take a few minutes to leave a comment and let me know which social media channel you like the most and what we can do here at Novedge to connect and build community.
Did you enjoy last week's webinar on RealFlow? We ran out of time to answer all your questions, so the team behind RealFlow answered all the remaining questions by email.
Q: Will there be a
plugin for Luxology modo 601? Or will it be Alembic interchange?
A:
We will be using Alembic as the interchange data format between Modo
and RealFlow from now on.
Q: Will RF2013
Learning Edition support the use of external plugins?
A:
The limitations for the 2013 Learning Edition will be pretty much the
same as with the existing Learning Edition license for RealFlow 2012,
which already allows the use of external plug-ins. Please contact us
if you are having any issues with your current LE license and the
external plug-ins.
Q: What about GPU?
A: The
Hybrido 2 base solver, hy-flip, will have the ability to make use of
the GPU, as long as it is openCL 1.1 compatible. To find out more
about what are we doing on the GPU, here is a link to the
presentation that Angel Tena gave at the nVidia booth last Siggraph.
Q: Is it possible to
develop a plugin for RF?
A:
If the question is whether anyone can develop 3rd party plugins, the
answer is yes. There is a C++ SDK that allows for that.
Q: Will the 3rd party plugins (e.g the ones from WET WORK) work for 2013? The Plugins
are expensive compared to their size..:)
A: The makers of any third party plugins will simply have to recompile
those in order to be able to load them in the RF2013 version. We do
not set the prices for these plugins.
Q: I have a one year
student license for RealFlow 2012 (from the cgsociety workshop), can
I upgrade the license to use 2013 instead?
A:
Yes, we’ll have an upgrade available for $170. All RealFlow
Learning Edition licenses bought within 2 months of the release of
v2013 will be upgraded to v2013 for free. By
the way, your RealFlow Learning Edition license is permanent – we
removed the time restrictions!
Q: Can we beta test
the new RealFlow 2013?
A:
We haven't hit beta yet. We’ll be getting there in the next few
weeks (Jan 2013). At the moment, there are no plans to have a public
beta period, but do feel free to get in touch to make your case and
we will see what can be done
Q: How do you tile
RealWave with Hybrido - in Maya or inside RealFlow itself?
A:
What RealWave and Hybrido share are the Statistical Spectrum waves,
and the ability to export tileable displacement maps. One can use
RealWave to get a faster look&feel, and then copy the parameters
to the Hybrido displacement. In Maya, you will simply need to make
sure that the area you want to cover is made of tiles, and use the
displacement texture from Hybrido to displace the Hybrido mesh, as
well as the surrounding areas.
Q: How does Realflow
2013 Hybrido compare to the standard of Naiad sims?
A:
That will be for users of both products to decide. We believe that
our hy-flip, the implementation of the flip solver for Hybrido 2 base
simulations, is really good.
Q: Is the simulation flow
multithreaded? If so, and Python also comes with 2013 I can
definitely see the benefit of using the flow instead of Python. If
Python does also come with 2013, has there been any work done to
improve Python's speed and various bugs?
A: Regarding
multithreading and nodes in the simulation graphs, any node that
performs RealFlow internal operations that are multithreaded is
multithreaded by definition. Most of the nodes that perform array
operations are multithreaded internally, and you will also be able to
create multithreaded heterogeneous compounds using the Kernel node
inside them.
Python
itself is not getting any updates on this RealFlow version. Although
Python will certainly still have its place inside RF, we believe that
simulation and batch graphs will allow for greater flexibility with
less effort.
Q: Please show step
by step how to render a realistic Hybrido water material.
A:
This will be pretty straightforward once you start using Maxwell
Render inside RealFlow 2013. With Maxwell, the artist really does
have the control.
Q: Any plans for a
python base job manager/ submitter?
A:
We currently have a Python implementation that we can share. Please
send us an email if you are interested.
Q: Will Hybrido 2
have viscosity that can be changed over time?
A:
Hybrido 2 won't have a viscosity model in this release. It will be
implemented in a later release.
Q: Will you have a
mental ray renderer inside RealFlow 2013?
A:
No. We strongly believe that Maxwell Render is the way to go for
fluid/particle rendering, and that is why we are implementing this
Maxwell Render integration for previews inside RealFlow 2013.
And that's it! Leave your comment below and thank you for joining us for this latest installment of our Webinar Series.
If you have questions about purchasing a RealFlow license, please contact Bob Thayer at Novedge.
To
contact the Next Limit Technologies/RealFlow team, you can use the customer
gateway - or for non-customers, you can find a contact form here.
Our 61st webinar on Clayoo was so engaging, we simply ran out of time during the Q&A. Rafael Del Molino of TDM Solutions agreed to answer what he didn't get to reply to last month.
Q: Assume that
I have a model already created in Clayoo and then the engineering group
has a change in just part of the profile. If they send me a curve
that represents a change of just part of the surface of my completed
model will Clayoo allow surfaces to snap to the newly supplied
curve?
Rafael Del Molino: Yes we can adjust the model using the match to curve tool to do it
Q: Once the
ring was done and converted into NURBS was it possible to work
inside the finger area and build a nice bump into it? Called comfort
fit.
Rafael Del Molino: Yes it is possible
to do everything after converting the model to NURBS, it will be a Rhino
object and all the Rhino tools can be used as well.
Q: No Mac
version planned yet?
Rafael Del Molino: As
soon as Rhino has a Mac version, Clayoo will have one too.
Q: Do I have to
convert in NURBS to export as an STL?
Rafael Del Molino: No, we can export
to STL directly from a Clayoo mesh.
Q: Is it
possible here to split straight?
Rafael Del Molino: This functionality
is in our to do list for the next version but now you can adjust the
faces subdivisions to divide them as you want with the extract
command, so we can say yes.
Q: Dimension
wise can we increment motions in 1 direction? Let's say I wanted to
set a thickness for this spoon, is there an easy way to enter a
value?
Rafael Del Molino: Yes we can define a
value for the thickness using the shell tool for example.
Q: Free
support? For life?
Rafael Del Molino: Yes, even before you
buy it.
Q: This looks
very similar to T-splines - is it ? What are the differences?
Rafael Del Molino: We don’t compare
Clayoo with any product.
Q: Can you
import a mesh into Clayoo?
Rafael Del Molino: Yes, using the tool
create by mesh you can do it. Or you can use retopology command to
create a Clayoo surface from your mesh with the desired topology.
Q: Is Clayoo
scriptable with Python?
Rafael Del Molino: We
are wide open to give that option to our users, but which
functionalities do you want to use in Python?
Q: Will there be any Grasshopper add-on related to Clayoo in the near future?
Rafael Del Molino: We are wide open to building Grasshopper Clayoo components. Which
functionalities do you want to use within Grasshopper?
Q: Clayoo to Rhino works fine. What about Rhino srf to Clayoo srf?
Rafael Del Molino: We can use the create by surface tool to do it but if we need details or to define
the subdivisions we can use the retopology tool.
Q: How accurate
is shelling or offset? Is it good enough for manufacturing?
Rafael Del Molino: It depends what
sector are we talking about but, if we need more accuracy, we can use
the Rhino tools to do it.
Q: Can we
choose lines that will be bordered to NURBS surfaces?
Rafael Del Molino: Yes, after converting
the Clayoo model to NURBS.
Q: Are you
using keyboard numbers to change the # of faces?
Rafael Del Molino: No, we change them
in the command parameters.
Q: Can you
change a NURBS surface to a Clayoo Object?
Rafael Del Molino: Yes, we can use the
create by surface tool to do it but if we need detail or to define
the subdivisions we can use the retopology tool.
Q: Can the
control points of a Clayoo object snap to, say, the endpoint of a
line?
Rafael Del Molino: No, but it will be
added to the next version.
Q: When he
selected a face I didn't see where you can type in numerical values
to move the face, edge or point specific distances. Same with scale
and rotate.
Rafael Del Molino: For the moment is not possible but that will be added on the next
version.
Q: Any ability
to snap selections to curves, faces, edges?
Rafael Del Molino: Yes, We can snap
the selection with the selection mode.
Q: Does Clayoo
have symmetry?
Rafael Del Molino: At the moment we
can use the mirror from rhino with the record history activated to do
symmetry, but we are working in other options.
Q: Is it
possible to view in Zebra?
Rafael Del Molino: Yes, all the surface analyses tools can be used.
Find out about upcoming webinars with Novedge here.
Last week's webinar on Maxwell Render was a great success!
Thank you to all who attended the session live. So many of you had questions, that even going over our usual one hour limit wasn't enough.
Mihai Iliuta kindly agreed to answer all the remaining questions on our blog.
Q: If I stopped a rendering, how can I later continue the rendering?
Q: Can Maxwell handle UV-islands in the materials?
A: Maxwell gets whatever UVs the main application gives it, it can also
handle multiple UV sets and materials per object.
Q: Maxwell works based on cores, does it need necessarily any video card?
Q: You might mention that the PC has specifications that you currently have? Q: What is your hardware configuration? Q: Can you talk about a good hardware set up for Maxwell- ram/cpu/video card
etc?
A:Maxwell only uses the CPU(s) so the faster the CPU the faster the
render. My config is an i7 2600K so really a middle range machine by
today's standards. Please see our Benchwell site
(http://www.maxwellrender.com/index.php/benchwell) where our users have
benchmarked their computers to get an idea of what computer to buy. You
can also run this benchmark test on your computer by opening Maxwell.exe
(not Studio) and going to "Tools>Run Benchwell".
Q: Do you use any special material inside of the modeled reflectors ?
Q: Do you use for a diffuser SSS -Material ?
A: I just set the inside of it to pure black because if it was white you
would get more light bouncing in there which would slow down the
rendering a bit and the light probably wouldn't be as focused. But it's
not super important.
A diffuser with SSS is probably overkill although it would work (use
thinSSS and a single sided plane for faster renders in this case), so an
HDR emitter or simply reflecting light off of a white solid plane would
be sufficient.
Q: Hi, many thanks for the tutorial. Can you roughly say how much increasing
resolution affects render time, as the coffee machine was only 700 by 700
pix?
A: If you double the resolution you quadruple the number of pixels so it
will take 4X longer to render. This is the same for all renderers though.
Q: How can we achieve Chromatic Aberration?
A: There is a switch in the material editor to turn this on for
transparent materials. It does add to the render time though so use it
if you really want a material that shows this. If it's a high grade
(pure) glass, they usually have almost unnoticeable aberration. More
info:
http://support.nextlimit.com/display/maxwelldocs/Transmissive+Properties
Q: Does the camera model choice affect the image besides proportion, is
there any difference using a Canon or a Nikon?
A: Choosing a camera make changes the sensor width/height - which in
turn affects what the "real" focal length of a lens is. We added this
functionality for easier matching a render with a photo for compositing
purposes, so you simply enter the real sensor width/height of the camera
that took the photo, then you enter the focal length of the lens and the
render and photo will match up. Other than this, camera make won't have
any influence on render quality or look.
Q: Do you try to capture the gridded cells of a gridded soft box? Or do you
always sink your large soft box into a single box cell as you did today?
A: It depends on how focused you want the light to be. You could
of course model a grid and you'll get a bit more focused light. The nice
thing in Maxwell is because it's so precise, you can take any real
photography technique and use it in Maxwell.
Q: If I don't want monochromatic gray/white light, but I like HDR image
emitters, how do I introduce color temperature to my HDR?
A: Just add some color to the gradient, it will work just as fine. The
important thing when working with 32bit high dynamic range is the 32bit
RGB value of the color picker. Try to stay within 0 - 1.0 when picking a
range of colors. If you go higher when drawing the bright gradient you
will get a too strong central light source. Depends on the look you want
of course.
A: No, there is no constraint functionality in Maxwell Studio. In most
modeling applications though there is. For example even Solidworks has
"Mates" with which you should be able to achieve the same thing.
Q: Any tips specific for jewelry?
A: Some tips are mentioned at the end, at 1:06:05
Q: When you do studio lighting do you turn the sky off?
A: Unless you want to mimic taking studio photos in bright daylight
(which wouldn't make sense), the sky is off. The sky is a MUCH stronger
light source than studio lights, but you could for example block the
light from the physical sky a bit to better mix it with studio lighting.
Q: How do you prefer to show lighting from within building windows in
shooting an exterior night scene for showcasing architectural work?
A: I found that it works really well to take photos of lit windows at
night, then turn them into HDR emitters either by saving the cropped
photo in PS as 32b HDR/EXR or turning it into an MXI using Maxwell
(File>Open Image, then File>Save as MXI). Then load them into an emitter
material. They will emit light based on the colors in the photo so it
creates a very realistic effect.
Q: How do you get a soft reflex on the bottle's front? You had a hard reflex
in the demo, but a soft one in your real rendering?
A: If by soft you mean it was semi transparent, I just lowered the
intensity of the emitter. You could also get a soft edged effect by
replacing the emitter with just a white reflector surface which will
catch the light coming from the background but not be illuminated
equally so it will create a faded reflection effect.
Q: Will the multi light feature work in Photoshop when you import Maxwell's
native render into Photoshop?
A: Yes, when you open an MXI with our Photoshop plug-in, each light will
be in its separate layer. The layers though are not ready to be used as
Multilight, and we have a PS action which you apply to each layer to get
the same functionality. More info here:
http://support.nextlimit.com/display/maxwelldocs/PS+action
Q: What was the Maxwell light type you used when generating your custom
lights?
A: I used either Lumens (instead of the default watts/efficacy), or
"Image based" emitters which allow me to load a high dynamic range image
format (HDR/EXR/MXI) which will emit light.
Q: I always have problems with adjusting DOF. Do you have any tips for this?
A: This is affected first of all by the aperture of the lens (fStop) and
to a certain degree by the focal length of the lens. More info here:
http://support.nextlimit.com/display/maxwelldocs/Camera
I also really suggest to look into some basic photography information
that covers this. What you learn from that is directly applicable in
Maxwell.
Q: Can you do a simple interior scene with lightning from ""outside""...
Q: What is the quick scene setup for interior scenes with ""Meshlights""
from ""outside""? That I don't need thousands of watts to lightning the
room...
Q: Is there a repository for hdri image light maps?
A: No, not at the moment. But it takes just a few minutes to create them
in PS.
Q: How to create that flat color image again?
A: This starts at 0:19:35
Q: Terrific seminar! Any tips on "filmback" setting in Studio?
A: This is only really useful for easier matching of your render with a
photo. Just enter the sensor width/height of your camera, or choose one
of the camera makers presets.
Q: Can you clarify the relationship between surface subdivs and light
intensity?
A: Subdivisions of the emitting surface doesn't affect light intensity,
it's just that if you use a one million polygon emitter surface, it will
render a bit slower than a 1 polygon plane emitter.
Q: Do you typically find it helpful to post process with multi light layers
or more trouble than it's worth?
A: Yes it can be very useful, especially with clients that aren't sure
what look they want. Being able to change each light in post is a great
time saver.
Q: Object ID / Material ID masks are noisy at the edges if you choose the
magic wand - how can I avoid this noise and get a clean mask?
A: You shouldn't get noise if the objID/MatID are sufficiently clean.
Remember that these channels also take into account the DOF blurring of
your main render, otherwise they would be a bit useless. So in these
areas you have to let the render until they are cleaner, if you get
noisy edges.
Q: Which SL level should I have? I also read that the color for those Masks
should be full RGB ( full red full blue,..) colors to get pixel true masks.
Is that right ?
A: Most renders will look pretty much clean by SL 18, especially
exterior renders. Interiors will take longer, and SL of 20 might be
needed. I very rarely go over SL 20. Moreover, there's no point in
getting too obsessed if there is a tiny bit of noise left. Even digital
photos taken at ISO 100 will have a bit of noise.
With a pure RGB color for the objID/matID you will get a better
selection in PS and you can change these colors per object or per
material from the material settings or the object properties. Where
these are depends on your plugin. All the plugin docs can be found here:
http://support.nextlimit.com/display/maxwelldocs/Plug-ins
Q: What is faster to render on Maxwell - emitters or image based lighting?
A: It's not a clear case and depends more on the type of scene you have.
For example many highly reflective, slightly rough objects which cause a
lot of light bounces. In general though, if the HDR has a lot of big
even lighting, it will render faster. But the same is true if you use a
large emitter that lights your object from many directions.
Q: I would like to ask about glass and liquid interaction. What is the
correct setup for faces of meshes? I mean, liquid mesh should be scaled
down, so there will be small air gap between glass and liquid?
Q: Hi Mihai, would be nice to see a correct setup for rendering liquids in
glass in Maxwell, in the forum are three different setups, but which one is
the right one?
Q: How did you simulate the liquid inside the bottle?
A: See image below. The important thing is that the normals of the
liquid are pointing outwards. Leave also a small gap between the liquid
and the glass at the top.
Q: HDRI Studio vs. physical studio light. Any rendertime differences?
Q: Is there any different in image quality using Maxwell emitter vs HDR
image ( from HDR light studio)?
A: It's not a clear answer but in general, the lighting from an HDR is
more even and so it lights the object from many directions, which can
decrease render time. The main advantage of HDR Light Studio is in the
scene setup time - you can very quickly set up the lighting very
precisely plus each time you move a light in the virtual HDR sphere, you
don't have to wait for Maxwell to re-export and re-voxelize the scene
which happens when you move real emitter geometry in your scene.
There is no image quality difference per say - but when using HDR
lighting remember that all your lightsources are really at the same
distance from your subject, so you can't really use the light falloff
law (as mentioned in the webinar) to your advantage.
Q: How would you best render with the ""camera"" UNDER water looking out
towards the surface of the water?
Q: Would that be the normals facing the camera in the bubble when taking
image from inside water?
A: The main thing is that you need to tell Maxwell it's already inside
water. So you need to place the camera perhaps inside an "airbubble" and
this way there will be some refraction difference when rays go from
air>water and water>air. Try placing the camera inside a sphere to which
you apply a transparent material with an ND lower than water (so below
1.33).
I would think the best way is to model this bubble with a real small
thickness, in which case the normals won't matter.
Q: Can you use the object or material ID to influence the reflections of the
material such as the red reflections? Or is this something that would have
to be done in PS?
Q: When you changed the hue saturation of the coffee machine, the reflection
did not change. It seems there was no way to change the relection.
A: You can't adjust reflections with those channels. You do have other
channels such as Roughness and Fresnel which can be useful but it's not
possible to completely separate diffuse from reflections in one render.
You would have to do two renders - one with the render options set the
Type to "Diffuse", the other set to "Reflections". But it's impossible
to always get a complete separate because for semi rough surfaces, what
is really diffuse and what is really "reflection". For Maxwell, as in
reality, all light is really "reflected" light. It's just a matter of
how diffusely or specularly that light is reflected that
gives..."reflections".
Q: Is it better to use a roughness of 1 or to use a bumpmap for the
roughness?
A: "Better" or "worse" depends entirely on the look you want. In some
materials you can actually see the individual bumps if you get in close,
so in that case a bump map or normal map would work well. In others,
they look a bit diffuse and the bumps are really tiny even when close up
so roughness would just be more convenient in this case.
Q: Do you have any advice on working with IES files with Maxwell emitters.
A: Apply the IES emitters to a small sphere (around 5cm) - this is the
best way to mimic how the IES profile was actually created from a real
light source (they put light sensors in a spherical shape around the
light source to measure its strength and shape). More info:
http://support.nextlimit.com/display/maxwelldocs/IES+emitters
Q: What does lock exposure mean?
A: It means you lock the exposure to a certain value, even if you change
for example the fStop, which affects BOTH the depth of field and the
exposure. There are three camera parameters that affect the exposure:
fStop, Shutter speed, ISO. So for example if you want to render really
small objects in focus, you need to increase the fStop to get a wider
depth of field but this will also change the exposure. Instead, lock the
exposure, change the fStop and Maxwell will automatically change the
Shutter speed to compensate for the loss if light reaching the "sensor",
because of the increased fStop.
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