billcooper2

You've given me a lot to think about, and some very compelling links. I absolutely love Talcik's renders. Thank you very much for sharing your insights.

I want to thank both of you for your valuable insights. Very interesting points to consider. Clive, you are absolutely correct. I have my eye pointed squarely at some form of hybrid rendering workflow. What, at this point, I have no idea, but the beautiful thing about any art form, once you get past the rudiments, then into or beyond mid level proficiency, the art will find you and reveal itself. So I will, later than sooner, attempt to weave the two mediums together. Hey Scott, can I ask you, if money was no object, would you still recommend Mental Ray and or Corona over V-Ray? And is Corona gaining steam in a segment the community of proficient or practicing artists? Also, just out of ignorance, I don't understand why RT would be o.k. for product viz (gatoraid/bayer aspirin?) but not architecture. Arch is too complex? Thanks again guys.

Hi all, I've been modelling rough outs in Revit and bridging over to Sketchup for detailing, and finishing my renders as NPR mainly in Piranesi and PS/Painter for some years. It's time for me to break into photo-real. I yearn to see those glossy reflections and smooth glass curtain walls. My workflow question has to do with the fact I have been using revit/s.u. for my modelling chores, and then finishing in raster with great success in my area of specialty because I mainly work in loose digital watercolor. But I have a "feeling" I would be better served if I took the plunge head-long into 3ds design (or max) because I have reservations about sketchup. Whether or not those reservation are valid or fair is unknown to me, because I don't know if S.U. is capable of producing as "nice" a model as 3ds (or even Maya which I would also be willing to learn) in the realm of photo-real. I am also wondering if I can still rough-out my models in revit and then import into max to finish them off (no texturing in revit, I am aware of the ugly plasticky look) because I am also a residential designer, and I create all my cd's from my revit models, rough or detailed. I realize that my limitations now are my own, and that I have allot to learn before I can be good at anything, but I am wondering if I, as an example, purchase v-ray for sketch up now, just because I know sketch up, will I kick myself in the a$$ two years from now, and realize I should have gone with a workflow into and through 3ds from the start, while at the beginning of my learning curve? Also, is v-ray really the end all be all it seems to be? And I'm not only talking quality and speed, but is it the most widely supported in terms of available support entourage, trees, etc? I'm intrigued by the RT (?) type engines, but it seems like they have allot of detractors. I also wonder if some of you would dare to opine and comment on how you might do it if you had it all to do over again, in terms of which package combinations you would choose. Like I said, I have 3ds, Maya, available to me in addition to s.u. and revit, but I am also very intrigued by C4d, and many others. Finally, I'm a solo practitioner, and value an artistic approach and eye in my world view. Production speed is not my primary concern, but perhaps as I mature it could become so? I know I'm asking for opinions, and that is allot to ask, and I'm also not sure if this topic has been beaten to death here, and forgive me if it has, but I truly am alone in my region, and have no peers to turn to for advise. Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom. It will be greatly appreciated.

I think X-Frog has a whole series.