Photomontage Help for Beginner

[Harch84]

HI guys,

 

First time poster here so I hope you wil go easy on me. I have been asked in work to investigate the possibility of us starting to do photomontages for new building developments or new road proposals. I have a masters degree in GIS and so am fairly technically savvy but this is a new area to me.

 

I think I know most of the process involved which would be to:

 

* create a DEM or Contour file in a GIS package of the area. We use MapInfo with Vertical Mapper.

* Then import this DEM into 3ds and create a terrain.

* I think I then do a camera match with the photos we took using coordinates, lens etc and line up the terrain and reference points to the photo right?

* Then after you have it lined up you can bring it into Photoshop and finish it off.

 

 

In theory I think this all works but as I am brand new to 3ds Max I dont know where to start with it. Could any of you point towards a comprehensive tutorial or guide on how to complete this in 3ds Max or how each of the functions works?

 

I also have google sketchup and was wondering if I could just use their 'Match Photo' option? How reliable would this be though as it doesnt take into account lens size etc?

 

Your help would be greatly appreciated and any advice I can give on GIS matters will be gladly shared with you.

[Thablanch]

the max help file provides a quite good tutorial on the subject

 

as well, you can take a look:

 

http://www.evermotion.org/tutorials/compositing/arch/

 

http://area.autodesk.com/index.php/tutorials/results_index/bc0669449d499526f58291c52002e5f0/

[Claudio Branch]

Interesting situation you have found yourself in...changing careers?

 

I can give you plenty of resources for handling the challenge at hand, but the real question here is this:

 

Do you really want to do this type of work?

 

Nothing personal, but having a degree and some technical savvy isn't enough.

 

You need PASSION.

 

So, do you have it or did someone else suggest that you take on the role and responsibilities of "3D Guy"....?

[shaderkul]

I agree with Claudio on this. What will keep you from being frustrated in this is your passion for it. I have a little experience with photo montage and believe me, it can be very tedious. Not that I'm trying to discourage you anyway, but know what u are getting into.

Anyways, this is my first post here in a while ( I think?) and I must say I'm humbled by the sheer amount of talent on display here. Keep it up guys.

Edited November 15, 2008 by shaderkul
spelling mistake