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MR and Max 2009 - manual?


Rick Eloy
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We just got Max 2009 and I was taking a look at its new stuff... got really well impressed by MR and its new shaders and how it now blends with Max and the new frame buffer...

So, I think it's time to take a more serious try with it. Does anyone know where I can find the manual? I tried Max's docs and didn't find anything specific, so I was wondering if there's a manual somewhere. :confused:

Cheers!

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hmm, we haven't received 2009 yet, but I downloaded the demo and gave mr a try. It surely gets better with each release. I had bought the "Realistic Architectural Visualization with 3dsmax and mentalray" from Focal Press and it was very explanatory on the subject. That was for the max 9 version I believe.

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chris bullen wrote 4 killer mental ray chapters for our 2009 book. i hadn't spent much time using it before, but in the process of doing a copy edit i feel like i learned it very well. i've always wanted to be able to produce in mental ray what i can with vray so that i can truly compare apples to apples.

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not sure about The max 2009 (havent upgraded yet, i didnt pay my yearly subscription = extortion fee) but autocad 2009 had some paper work That you could REQUEST a hardcopy manual (well you get To chose 1 out of 5 or 6 possibilitys but ONLY ONE)

 

i guess They are Trying To save paper while generating green = $

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chris bullen wrote 4 killer mental ray chapters for our 2009 book. i hadn't spent much time using it before, but in the process of doing a copy edit i feel like i learned it very well. i've always wanted to be able to produce in mental ray what i can with vray so that i can truly compare apples to apples.

 

Is this in the Intermediate to Advanced, or the Beginner to Intermediate? ...Any idea when the Intermediate to Advanced will be ready for shipping?

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Hey all:

I have allways been a fan of Mental Ray and like someone said mental ray gets better with every release; it is true but it has always been this good it was just a little complex for most users. it is geting easier for the architectural visualization comunity? yes...that is my impresion. there is nothing like experimenting with the render engine to learn how it works. the nice thing about it is that it gives you so much control over everything and if you are good at it you can even make it render very fast.

 

I am working on a tutorial of the last image I worked on with mental ray. its a very simple interior but it will help undestand at least the way I use mental ray (not that it is the right way)

 

Cheers

 

Carlos Cristerna

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(...)and if you are good at it you can even make it render very fast.

Ok, that really didn't sound promising...is it still slow (meaning one has to have some deep knowledge to make it fast)?

BTW, let us know when this tutorial of yours comes out, ok?

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Make Travis' question mine.

Damn, Brian, you'll finally get me to buy one of your books... does it come with an autograph? :D

 

well that's flattering. the books are all stored in and shipping from a different city than from where i'm at. i will certainly sign it if you come to the dmvc. of course, i could just give you a scan of my signature and you could print it out and tape it to the inside of the book :D

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Rick the tutorials are very good to get you started. For the Arch and Design shaders read the pdg that ships with the program. It is an excelltent source of information. Dont get too ties up with the actual numbers of settings but rather the settings themselves. Also look in the "Help" directory, there is a pdf on the production shaders as well. I've only had a quick glance at this one.

 

For a more indepth look into mentalray check out the mental bout max tutorials. Also also of behind the settings information.

 

Check out http://www.mymentalray.com, its a young forum but frequented by the "guru's" of mr especially Master Zap.

Vizdepot has a excellent mr forum, moderated by Jeff Patton

 

If you manged to learn Vray then you will have no problem with mentalray.

 

jhv

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Ok, that really didn't sound promising...is it still slow (meaning one has to have some deep knowledge to make it fast)?

BTW, let us know when this tutorial of yours comes out, ok?

 

Not at all, in many ways quicker than vray, but as with all renders , get the settings wrong then yes it will be slow. mr is alot more forgiving than Vray though.

 

jhv

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Thak you guys for the input! I'm checking both sites now...

I have to be honest, I'm probably one of those people who think MR is a slow-hard-to-master beast without having much experience with it. But as Justin said, it can't be much different from VRay.

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I think you have hit the nail on the head, alot of those who critize mr either have never used it or tried to use it back in Max6 days.

 

What I also find funny is how many say they dont want to invest the time to learn mr because they spent so much time learning and investing in some other renderer.

 

I can assure you that if you run through the tuts, read the pdf's tyou will be up and running in not time at all. Sure it will take a bit more time to get all the nuances but thats where the fun lies

 

jhv

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