Chris LeBlanc

Ian, Thanks for sharing. I have too many thoughts on this subject than time to write. This would be a great conversation over lunch sometime. I do not think you are being too negative... someone needs to balance out the over enthuiasm of the press release, in which are several amusing points. Below are some of the high points. "[Realtime] offers client a higher level of graphic photo realism [than prerendered 3D]." Hilarious. "It renders 30 frames per second instead of one per hour - that's 3,000 times faster than traditional animation methods. I would like to see the animation that takes 1 hour per frame. Are they rendering on a x386? "This makes it a first (and only) in the architectural industry." Not really, a free copy of Sketchup can render at 30 frames per second. (and one can even choose to label its output as a higher level of photo realism in a press release :-) Seriously, there are many uses for realtime 3D. For presentating data which is objective in nature, such as an automobile, a dna molecule, or even architectural massing and overall form, realtime argueably is viable choice. But that is not the subject of this press release or discussion. As it relates to our industry, one of the primary uses for realtime seems to be in generating buzz. It is the kind of concept that can make an employee or department look good, and makes for good press. It is just unfortunate that HKS' press release couldn't simply read, "we have developed a team of talented 3D artists who can accomodate a wide range of presenation needs using a variety of tools" Which is probably much more accurate but would not likely get noticed by Businessweek. Chris

I think it is beautiful. I don't think you need to worry any more about details and realism... my critique is that this is an odd viewpoint and composition. Why so close? At this distance, your ornamental trees actually block significant elements of the project. I would pull back and show more context.

Jack- I do not have insurance through them, yet. But I am a member of ASAI and have received a quote and some information on what they offer. It seemed like a pretty good plan, although about the same cost as what we are currently paying. I was expecting it to be less than our currently plan, as we are on an individual (not group) plan currently. I am still considering it, though. I am currently trying to figure out if going with this type of group plan will keep my rates from being raised too high as I get older, which might make more of a difference in the long run from my individual plan costs. Anybody else have experience with group vs individual insurance plans in the US? If anyone is looking for disability insurance, I did learn of a group plan for that which is a great deal. If you are a member (or associate) of the AIA, the AIA Trust offer a great deal for your disabiliy insurance...much lower rates than the quotes I received as an individual. Hope that helps, Chris

Note that it states 3x performance "per watt" this does not necessarily mean a 3x faster chip. Chris

Short answer 1: File > Summary Info > Save to File.. Open file and search for "missing material" Short answer 2: You can also use the Command-Line Renderer with the switch "-continueOnError" This would address all misc errors, but it is a bit of a pain to use. Everyone has had the dreaded "missing dll" issue when going to network render. This seem to be common when working with other on different version of Max, or between Max and Viz. I couldn't find this answer... so I thought I would share my solutions to this problem. For modifiers it appears a potential solution is to use a script such as KillMissingModifiers or possibly modifierAddAndRemove by Neil Blevins. For materials I haven't found a successful script for Viz 2005, or 2006. In the past I had to remove objects and isolate the offend object manually. The techniques above works for Inknpaint, and it would probably work for other missing material types as well. The comand line renderer allows for additional switches to tell it to ignore these types of errors, as well as a lot more options. If anyone knows of a way to set this option from the UI, please let us know! Thanks, Chris

Vivek, I tried looking for them a while back without luck. I was very interested in seeing there product, because at the time there were not many low poly people options. We now have more options (lowppolygon3d.com, axyz) however none have really impressed me. I would still be interested in seeing what their product looked like... would you mind posting a sample... or send me an image via email? Thanks, Chris

Nice work. I would definitely add some people, but I would also try cropping them a little differently. Currently I feel there is too much foreground, especially the parking lot view. It is problematic primarily because the foreground does not add significantly to the communication of the design... it's just filling space in the rendering. Whenever I see that happening in my rendering I either crop tighter, or add pleasing compositional elements like landscaping. You may also consider an alternate vertical composition that focusses on the central element only. Regards, Chris

That one actually looks like a "cyanotype", which is one of the earliest type of photographic prints. They have a sort of blueline look to them.

Hi all, I don't usually post, but this one needs to be known about. I just noticed a bug which caused 5 out of 6 of my frames not to be saved. Whats worse is every frame was actually rendered, but only every 6th one was saved. Here it is... the "Every Nth Frame" spinner is active only when specifying frames in the "Range:" section. (see attached image) The spinner is not active when specifying frames in the "Frames:" section, so one would think it would not have an effect, right? Wrong. When netwoork rendering, all frames will be rendered as expected, but only the nth frame will be saved. I have reproduced the bug on Viz 2005, only when network rendering. Good thing this was caught in my test runs and not the final. Regards, Chris

There is an "Artist looking..." section, but what if I have a job to refer? Thanks, Chris

Call me an optimist, but I am not worried, here's why... The two potential competitors are in-house modeling becoming easier, and overseas firms. I realize some clients will inevitably go one, or both of these routes. However, the majority of your local clients probably will not. Keep in mind who your clients are. The majority for me are small to mid sized local firms. If you primarily work for clients over the internet and can't offer any personal service, then you are more likely to lose some of them. But this type of client is less stable to begin with. However, if your clients are local and benefit from having you nearby for flexibility, peace of mind, etc... then they will be less likely to do either. I have lately been trying to broaden my market by offering more types of services (ie. conceptual for schematic design, simple interactive presentations) as well as targeting all scales of firms. I have found smaller firms to be some of my best clients, and small jobs are often my most rewarding. When more 3D modeling is done in house, several good things happen for us. Clients are already thinking of 3D and presentation, instead of waiting to the last minute and calling the old hand renderer (which many still use) Also, when I am provided with a 3D model, my clients typically are able to afford higher quality work, or I can charge less for a great rendering... and they can afford a great rendering more often. While I think all architects should be using 3D for design presentation (and therefore including this work in his fees) usually these images do not cut it for press release. Even if the architect can produce better results given enough time, he is not interested in working for free. And rather than 'nickel and dime' the client for a couple thousand more in fees, it is often more convenient and respectable to offer to get a professional artist. Clients are already accustomed to this relationship, and it can help keep the architect from being 'used' to create marketing material. Chris

If you have 100% reflection, it won't show a shadow.

Hi chris, Make sure you don't agree to non-competition clauses. They are not enforceable in many states, but you don't want to give any fuel to the fire if you decide to go out on your own. Also, do you currently do any freelancing/moonlighting? This may be your best option to bringing in extra cash. You could also suggest that you handle the 3D jobs for your company as a freelancer. As a general observation, starting up this type of subsidiary is not an easy road. I have seen more end up bad than good. This is mainly due to lack of communication between those who (assumably) have a lot of business experience, and an overachieving and trusting and employee who doesn't have any business experience. If you decide to do it, just don't forget that many people play by different rules in business than in life, and many will try to take advantage of you. You cannot judge them by whether they are "nice guys".. they may not even think they are screwing you, but in the end you are still getting screwed. I would think that if you have no complaints about your current working environment, then it may work out. If however, you think that you are sometimes taken advantage of as an employee, it probably won't. Chris

I am actually planning to build a system, and I'm considering reusing some components (16 gig scsi, 80 gid ide, removeable 80 gig (for offsite storage), tornado 3000, dual monitors, dv500, curently running NT). I would consider spending 400-500 on the video card alone. I don't have a price set for the system as a whole, just look for good price/performance. I am looking to build: Dual Athlon - new 1 Gig Ram - new 16 Gig SCSI for system/cache 80 Gig Raid for data (mirrored) Removeable 80 gig for offsite backup Pinnacle DV500 Tornado 3000? (quadro 700?) Motherboard? Windows 2000 (xp?) I am trying to decide if I should upgrade my video card or continue using my tornado 3000. I would be willing to purchase a Quadro 700 if it were going to be significantly faster (on the scale of 2x or more) than the 3000 I currently own. I have recently read that the Quadro series do well with wireframe views, which is where I notice a slowdown now. Concerning the Brazil question, I will be using Brazil and want to make sure Pentium wouldn't be more appropriate. I haven't seen anything conclusive that says the Athlon wouldn't work well with Brazil... just the system requirements on Splutterfish's site and a random posting somewhere. While I'm at it, I might as well ask for a motherboard recommendation. Can I find one with integrated Raid (1,0) as well as Network? If you have a recommended case I might as well ask that too Thank you, Chris ----------------- Chris LeBlanc 3D Artist DesignVision www.designvis.com