Maya for architectural visualisation

[ingo]

Originally posted by Zortea:

Well, in my opinion, only one thing counts:

CAN MAYA IMPORT .MAX, .DWG OR .3DS FILES?

If it can, I´ll use it for certain tasks, if not then I´ll not use it...

Just curious, why do you need to import those strange file formats ? I see definitely no use for that, especially for max files.

[xgarcia]

He did say his "opinion". Possibly these are the file formats he works with. Do not discount one file format from the next. They're all simply files of the tool of the artist!

[keithg]

I know that Rhode Island School of Design uses Maya, and RISD is up ther in schools of architecture.

[ferox]

if you are contemplating a cinematic approach to your visualisation(s), then maya and composite additional effects.

____________________________________________

 

 

http://www.imageworks.com/events/pdf/spiderman/spider-man_acad_stokdyk_images.pdf

 

 

Extract, page 03:

"Imageworks (who) created approximately 40 CG buildings, 17 of which were built to hold up to very close interaction. A vast library of street props, vehicles, streetlamps, stoplights, trash cans, and newsstands was created. The rooftops of the buildings also required CG air-conditioner

units, antenna, and pipes for complete authenticity.

 

"Our virtual buildings were individually made up of a massive amount of geometric and textural detail. Many had architectural ornaments, gargoyles, and an enormous range of organic details which made their model construction an order of magnitude more difficult than typical character modeling.

 

"Both the geometry and textures were based on the extensive data capture of real New York buildings. Our survey and photography team acquired thousands of stills, which were then painted and processed to create 3D texture maps. This task had multiple levels of decisions for every photo: color correction, warping, shadow, reflection and radiosity removal. The survey geometry gave us point clouds of building construction, and even city block design.

 

"To reduce our texture and geometry dataset, but still retain visual complexity, we came up with a unique cheat for the interiors of all our buildings. A fisheye camera was employed to capture whole room interiors in a single image. This image was then deconstructed in a Renderman shader to provide a faux 3D projection. This worked for 95% of our CG buildings we were flying by, and we filled in the gaps with traditional CG

sets for the interiors we got closer to."

______________________________________________

[Chris Whalen]

Actually,

I am currently a student at a local Community College in my area and I'm working on two models in Maya. One is the outside of a gas station, and the other is a luxury / California style rambler house. Both models I have yet textured and plan on doing this step over my next break.

 

Although I agree a lot with what people were saying about Maya being a bit difficult to create 3D architecture, I also believe that if you have a broad imagination and the ambition to learn, nothing is impossible.

 

ALSO, if you look at the link below, you might notice I'm having an issue w/ proportion. I can't seem to figure out if I need to scale down the gas pumps or scale up the building a little bit. Any tips would be appreaciated.

 

Chris Whalen

 

GAS STATION MODEL: (un-textured)

GAS STATION LINK

[pancake_man]

I'd like to just add that to my mind if one has some imagination and in some way has familarity with arcitecture it doesn't matter which program he uses.... Of course one can say " Oh my model is so bad because of the lack of some tools in certain software"...... But actually it's the lack of something in his mind :ngesmile:

 

Of course it's possible to rely on one's saying that MAX is the best for speedy arch visualizations.... But why don't we just figure out it by ourselves....

 

P.s. sorry for my english .... :ngesmile:

[mbr]

That is basically the conclusion - someone with skill and experience can make something great in any 3D program.

 

For me, my choice is Max because of compatibility - everyone has .3ds, .dxf, or .max files. If you need a certain flower, no problem, you can find it.

 

I will admit that I thought about buying Maya with MR for the $2k, which is it's best advantage for arch viz. But if I switched, I'd go with Cinema, for the price and growing popularity.

[mbeshir]

Hi,

 

I'm a digital artist/modeler starting an Architectural Visulization class using Maya. I found this thread to be very useful.

 

Any tutorials out there on the use of Maya for this purpose? I'm a Maya pro, and would like to know what specific issues are problematic with architectural projects, as well as any workflow tips from Architects and architectural illustrators. I know there's a ton of max resources, but I'm such a beginner in max, that I wouldn't know what to do with it.

 

Thanks,

[animotion3d]

hey all,

i am using maya in architectural projects,

i started using it mainly for paint f/x solutions,

and i found little rendering time in maya then in

max.

so here i m using it well.

i also used cinema4D for same project for panoramic views.

i am getting problems in final rendering in maya.

its having jerky movement in final video cd when

i watch them on TV

else is great in maya.

maya will soon take dominance.

but max is still getting advantage of hype.

at least in india.

bye all..

[MunCHeR]

Hello all, I have just started using Maya for archi viz work, pretty much the only cg work I can get where I live.I used MAX ages ago but swapped over to maya because my student license of max ran out, and maya complete was way cheaper than a pro version of max, and it runs on linux, which handles memory a lot better than windows.Maya now comes bundled with mental ray for maya, the beta was kind of bodgy I thought, but the maya 6 integration is vastly improved, not as good as xsi's but definately getting there.I have found it really good to work with, dwg files import seamlessly, the only problem I have found is I cant keep the dwg files layers when I add for example a south elevation to a layer, some of the models can get quite complex and keeping the dwg layer colours make it much easier to read.I usually import the dwg file and break it up and use the various elevations as viewport image planes.But i definately think it rocks, the interface is fast and mental ray is a fantastic renderer, if anyone knows of a way to group your layer editor please share.

 

regards

 

MunCHeR

[mitchrichie]

I can import a dwg file into maya and it looks good but it comes in as a single mesh. How do I seperate all the pieces? I need to be able to apply textures and shaders to different objects. I'm importing an entire house and need to be able to make it look good for rendering... Any ideas?