Christopher Nichols

Happy to see some people are able to see beyond the conspiracy theory. Granted I'm biased (pun intended) but this will be positive. Acquisitions are not always negative, in fact most are very positive. People keep bringing up the same bad examples. However, when Facebook bought Instagram everyone thought that they did it to kill them. Truth is, several years later, they are both stronger from it. When Foundry bought Nuke it became the most powerful composting software out there. And those that want to bash Autodesk, their acquisition of Revit turned the world of BIM on its head. Competition IS good. But sometimes collaboration is better, especially with software. You just got two very smart groups of developers to exchange ideas and you all benefit. And if you think Vlado or Ondra will be resting on their laurels, you don't know them like I do.

Hi guys: I wrote a blog post explaining V-Ray Swarm. Let me know your thoughts: https://labs.chaosgroup.com/index.php/rendering-rd/understanding-v-ray-swarm/

Hello everyone... I just wanted to share that we finished writing and posted our Guide to GPU. It explains a lot about video cards and why and how they can be used for raytracing. It is a very in depth guide. Please check it out and let me know your thoughts: https://labs.chaosgroup.com/index.php/portfolio/guide-to-gpu-rendering/

Good time to try things out. Right now you can get free Cloud rendering on Google with Deadline and V-Ray. http://www.deadlineondemand.com/freerenderingmonth/

Hey guys: I try and post here if there is a podcast that I feel would be of interest to you guys. This one took place in Baltimore were I talked to three of our Business Line Managers about their thoughts on where V-Ray and visualization is going in the future. Lots of discussion about our products including a lot of talk about V-Ray for Revit. Hope you enjoy it, and please give us any feedback you have. https://labs.chaosgroup.com/index.php/cg-garage-podcast/cg-garage-podcast-59-chaos-group-balitmore/

Hello Everyone: I was lucky enough to be a part of the 3D Symposium, and be on the Panel Hosted by Jeff Mottle. I was also lucky enough to record it and able to put it out as a Podcast of the CGGarage. Panel featured: Tamas Medve, Ciro Sannino, Efim Armand, Menny Maro, Jeff Mottle, Thi Lima, Pedro Fernandez, Nikos Nikolopoulos, Patricio Navarro, and myself. Lots of great discussion on this panel about the business of ArchViz. Hope you enjoy! https://labs.chaosgroup.com/index.php/cg-garage-podcast/cg-garage-podcast-50-3d-symposium/ Chris

It is probably that you don't have the right scale and that your interoccular size is off. Make sure that your scene is in the correct scale and that your interoccular is set to 6.3 cm. Chris PS: Real time is great. There are great solutions for this. You are limited by how much geometry and how real your shaders can be, as well as the technical challenges of making it as opposed to using systems you already know.

Hey guys: I figured I would share with you guys the latest podcast that is up with Scott DeWoody and Alan Robles from Gensler. We talk about a lot of interesting architecture/technology stuff. https://labs.chaosgroup.com/index.php/cg-garage-podcast/cg-garage-podcast-38-scott-dewoody-and-alan-robles/ Chris

For those of you that need help with instructions on how to make a stereo cube map, there is a thread here: http://forums.chaosgroup.com/showthread.php?83199-The-new-Cube-6x1-camera-type-in-3-20-02-any-info-on-that&highlight=cube

Hi Michal, looks cool! You can indeed make it work with the default 360Photo app, I just tested it. http://www.v-ray.com/features/sp2/

Hey guys: Since you guys don't seem to mind me posting things about Archviz centric stuff that is happening at Chaos Group Labs, I figured I would share this weeks podcast with Craig Shimahara: https://labs.chaosgroup.com/index.php/cg-garage-podcast/cg-garage-podcast-26-craig-shimahara/ I have known him for years and we had a great chat. We talk tradition of rendering, how his architecture and rendering helped him with his filmmaking, and how VR will impact and could be guided by traditional architecture rendering. Hope you enjoy it! Chris

Hello Everyone: I would love to find out more about how this is working for you. Do you have example renders? What has been your struggles? Why pick the ORBIX viewer over the default 360photo app?

Just posted another one with an ex-architect Ben West. May be of interest to people as we discuss architecture education and how it relates to the creative process in general: https://labs.chaosgroup.com/index.php/cg-garage-podcast/cg-garage-podcast-21-ben-west/

Hello everyone, Please let me know if you guys think it is an issue posting on this forum this type of content. As some of you may know, I run a podcast called the CG Garage with many different speakers. Since I have strong architecture roots, I have episodes with people that come from similar backgrounds. This week's episode is Eric Hanson, a good friend of mine who did CG in architecture in the very early days. It may be of interest to you guys. https://labs.chaosgroup.com/index.php/cg-garage-podcast/cg-garage-podcast-20-eric-hanson/ There are others on there that you may enjoy as well. Chris. PS: please let me know if you rather I not post this information on here.

One key factor when considering cloud services is if the billing takes place by the hour or the min. Also important is how long it takes for the VM to come online and start rendering. This is a cost that is billed to you even if the computer is not rendering.