How to import CAD dwg to lightwave?

[ingo]

Oooh yes, content directory. As a Mac user i hate this stuff and made the same mistakes too. Now whenever i have done two third of the work i use the conman plugin to build up a LW standard directory and to copy all surface files from every part of the HD into that directory, i do that BEFORE the final rendering and as a nice backup help.

 

And in addition to David's manual hint you can use the PDF manual for a quick search on you computer, works very well if you need fast info about anythink.

 

HTH

 

ingo

[blaz]

yeah, it's because of the content dir., I don't have anymore problem.

thanks, guys.

 

David, this is the result using radiosity and lighting adjustment.

http://www.cgarchitect.com/forum/filepush.asp?file=1-copy_1.jpg

[dwright]

it needs more work, are you adding foliage in Photoshop or in LW? I suggest to take out foliage and just concentrate on the model and lighting, and then move into the details.

 

Lighting needs work, is kind of flat. Start with one light, get some interesting shadows going, after you are happy with that, then start by adding more lights, or by turning on radiosity. I recommend first learning how to cheat it without radiosity first.

 

Shadows are part of the design, is like a color, and currently it does not communicate its shadows, its form; again forget about the rest and just focus on the model and raw light, it will be a good exercise if you have the time.

 

David

[blaz]

the foliages are from photoshop.

thanks for your comment,light is a difficult part same as color. i'll use this for my light study.now THEY have chase me for the other 2.

time??? never get enough time to try...

what anti-aliasing do you use for your final renndering?, is it normal practice if I use low setting?

[dwright]

low is for pre-view, I use high for end results. oe medium and higher frame size. For print, I prefer to render at 6500+ size with no or minimal AA.

[blaz]

Hi David,

All the raytrace tools in shadow, reflection, etc.

is it necesary to use? or can be cheat in other way?

cause I try to render 1600x1200 with low AA and backdrop radiosity, it took me about 5 hours. in my dual P2.8xeon 2G RAM.

and then I tried before with high AA and monte carlo radiosity in 600x800 took me 29 hours.

is it because of something wrong with my modelling cause i created an actual thickness of the wall ( internal and external). happen to the windows and doors as well.

 

any modelling tips for fast rendering?

thank you anyway

http://www.cgarchitect.com/forum/filepush.asp?file=4copy.jpg

this is the the image that took me 29 hours to render

[ingo]

Hi blaz, the 29 hours is a little bit to much for that rendering in that size. And i dont think it has to do with the modelling. You need at least raytrace shadows and maybe reflection in this special case, but that makes no big speed difference. Try to start with lower settings (3x9) and/or a simple low resolution backdrop for your rendering.

 

HTH

[dwright]

calculating radiosity with hotspots and using monte-carlo based is always going to be slow (with current LW engine).

 

For an image like that I will fake it. We only use LW radiosity for exterior shots that have an environment (such as sky, or backdrop) and a real sunlight (directional light), for interiors, we fake it or we use Lightscape. If you plan to render just using radiosity (under LW) you are going to face with long rendering times.

 

I truly recommend helping the engine by adding/guiding light and radiosity as a background player not as your main light. An alternative, is the use of luxigons (check your manual)

 

Best regards,

 

David

[blaz]

Hi all,

thanks for all your comment and advise.

new jobs coming in, got to go back to max for a while.

 

see you guys