matthewspencer

Really you should post your previous attempts. Otherwise it's hard to know where you're at. In general, a rock formation like this should have a layered approach: simple geometry which handles the overall form and clumps, sculpting to get the slashes and facets (which you can then bake into a map if you want, or export as geometry). The I would do a displacement map plus a normal map. Displacement should capture medium-sized details and then the normal map should both enhance those details and add the finer details. Try SSBump, it's not hugely different from Crazy Bump but for some reason I like it better. Also it's free.

That would be excellent. I still haven't found a workstation laptop with build quality that matches the MBP. Please point me toward it if such a thing exists.

Haha, Juraj, don't take my analogy so literally...it's the best I could do. Obviously the timeline with hardware is quite different from the automotive timeline. Note I still recommended the gaming card in the end. And really the analogy isn't that terrible. Pro cards are supposedly made from the least imperfect parts from the factory. A component with optimal parts isn't going to fail as soon as a component made with sub-optimal parts; this is relatively logical. I'm still recommending a newish GTX over the 4000, but it's silly to say the card is useless. Also, what are you doing to your hardware to only get 2-3 years out of it at most? The onboard graphics of my still-kickin' 2008 Macbook would like a word with you

$280 isn't terrible. It's true that it's a little old, but buying an old Quadro is sort of like buying an old BMW: you're still getting something decently made. But, it sort of just delays the inevitable. You're going to need a more updated card within a couple years. I second the idea to try and get your hands on a mid- or high-end GTX instead.

Check out the Maxwell docs on Maya: http://support.nextlimit.com/display/maxwelldocs/Maya+-+Maxwell+Layered+Material

Otherwise the computer is more than capable. Make sure any RAM you get is compatible with the motherboard.

I vote for "model it"

"extremely high detail" is very subjective...to some that means a CAD assembly with 25 parts, to others that means a 2-billion poly VFX scene. Could you clarify a bit what the projects are like? That is a very capable computer except for the laughable RAM. If money really isn't an object, then just max out the RAM. Either way try to have a minimum of 16gb, there's no reason not to. Note that more RAM will likely not increase your render times. It will only make it easier and smoother when editing/manipulating 3D files.

For ease of collaboration with others, and for how large the community is, there's no beating VRay. Maxwell is a much more specialty product, really. There are various people and companies for whom Maxwell is an incredible tool, but I personally don't think it suits the workflow of archviz. Maybe if you work for dbox and you've got a while to make something perfect for 1 World Trade Center, it'd be good to use. Personally I am in fact a Maxwell user but most of my projects aren't archviz.

Yeah I mean a real professional would use Windows 3.1, otherwise there's too much visual fluff

I really think misinformation is helping to kill Win8 sales. Not that I really care about MS's profits...just frustrating to see it. Sorry, no. Here's some benchmarks: In general things run about-the-same, or better, on Win8. On top of this the OS uses less RAM and less battery (in the case of mobile), starts up faster, and is more secure. Still don't understand the hatefest. Travis, are you finding it's harmful to your production in some tangible way? Restoring the Start bar makes gives Win8 the same interface as Win7, so I don't understand what hurdles it could present. Either way, here's some sources that better explain what I'm saying.

Personally I've found that a lot of Win8 bashing comes from old-timers and people who, for some reason, expected to be able to master it in 5 minutes. Also, ignore the misinformation until you try it. It does not take "opening 4 windows" to turn off the computer, it's two clicks, just like before. If you have to google that for hours...ahem. I installed it and never looked back. As mentioned, it's lightning-fast on startup. Bringing back the start bar takes five minutes. I find the OS to be overall noticeably quicker, just in navigation and launching of tasks. Also, I hope people have at least tried the "metro" apps; some of them are really nice. I can have an app running (for instance) live TV, and snap it to the left side of the screen, making it totally outside the frame of the rest of the windows so its never hidden. The NYTimes app is awesome, the default weather app is nice, I'm sure there are tons of useful ones I haven't used yet. I happen to like the new "flat" look to the interface, it's much cleaner than having a bunch of pointless bevels and "glossy" effects everywhere. It actually makes OSX start to look downright ancient.

I don't think it's appropriate to immediately look into expensive plugins for something as basic as a loft. The point is, if you can get your model to polys, it can be UV unwrapped. Some methods make it harder than others but usually the topology of a NURBS object is so neat and tidy that conversion to polys is quite successful. Loft it in NURBS using all the splines of that topological map, convert to a dense polygon mesh, unwrap as usual.

Funny; there's a relevant article in the Times today: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/world/asia/in-japan-the-fax-machine-is-anything-but-a-relic.html?hpw&_r=0

It's probably much more lucrative for them to focus on close relationships with CG/VFX firms, which is how they started. Some massive contracts with Sony Pictures ImageWorks and ILM easily bring in far more cash than trying to court the arch viz industry. I think it makes sense for a rendering engine to specialize. Arnold can collaborate with these VFX studios to really refine their product. Hypershot/KeyShot changed the game for product viz, and it's hyper-specialized. I think alot of renderers stretch themselves too thin. Sometimes I wonder if the engineers at Maxwell might accomplish more if they didn't have to spend their time developing for 3DS/ArchiCAD/Bonzai/C4D/FormZ/Houdini/LW/Maya/Microstation/modo/Revit/Rhino/SU/SW/XSI.