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Exterior Apartment complex... n00b


krazatchu
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Hi all...

 

Im really looking forward to getting some C&C on this... as its my first piece...

I've never used VIZ2k5/MAX or any other 3D software until less than 2 months ago...

(except for autocad)

 

Anyway... this is a rough 12 piece rendering that has been stitched back together in PhotoShop... I don't if 12 pieces is alot.. but its what my pc could handle... (2.4ghz p4 northwood, 512 ddr333, ati firegl x1)

 

Teh face count is at ~2.5 million... it was at 3.8 million until i optomized everything yesterday... There is quite a bit of unseen detail in this render however there will also be a few more camera angles and perhaps some close ups / ground level shots...

 

The final print will be 300 dpi @ a4 and another larger size for the newspaper (something larger than a3 @300dpi)

 

As for this render, the camera angle will be higher to get more of an overhead view...

There will be trees/vegetation, cars and maybe people added in later...

The background I will try to render up in bryce or something like that...

 

Oh.. I havnt added any lights yet.. would really like to get some ideas there... espcially on what is render friendly/efficient... Prolly i would like to render reflections seperately, shadows too maybe... So I can adjust them in PhotoShop later...

The windows on the apartments are actually double.. .theres a set on the inside and the outside of the balcony... It really doesnt show up in this render but it will for some of the other shots....

 

Well here it is... and please dont forget... Im a total n00b...

 

I forgot to mention... I used Mental Ray...

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Heres a close up I did this morning...

 

The background is from byrce, the rest is viz 2k5...

 

I was aiming for the romantic sunset atmosphere... not quite there yet...

 

This was done with Mental ray, 1 target spot set to shadow map and some random experimenting with the MR settings :)...

 

Im considering re modeling to reduce the poly count for the far away shots... perhaps I'll do that on monday as Ill be in Japan this weekend...

 

Thanks...

krazatchu

http://www.hotdog.pe.kr/wip2.jpg

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First of all you need to ditch the Bryce sky. They look so false and outdated.

If that's a route you want to go down, Terragen is much better.

Even a jpeg of a sky from a google search would be better.

 

Your modelling looks decent-there's just a lack of depth i.e your glass is too close to the frames which are too close to the external wall surface.

 

Another good tip is to bevel all your hard edges-this makes things much more 'real world'.

 

Your textures will improve with practice but don't underestimate how important they are.

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I don't know your previous work, but I'll give you one advice: don't use Mental Ray (or any other third party renderer) unless you master the core software and basic techniques. Using MR or whatever is not making your renders look better just because you're using it.

That said, get rid of those Max trees as soon as you can. Work on your textures (like IC said). Work on the environment, on the details of the building. Then, start lighting it slowly, one light at a time, always having the final look you want in mind. It's a much better exercise.

You're probably modeling in AutoCAD, right? Take care of your poly count, 2.5 million look waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too high. I'm sure this model could be a lot smaller.

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Hi all...

 

Back from Japan... Fun fun...

 

IC:

Thanks for that tip on Bryce... the program is so user-unfriendly too. Espcially at hi-res.... I took a look at terragon on monday, wow, much better... thx...

 

As for the depth... The typical korean apartment is built this way... I took some pics today for reference... I'm pretty close to the korean standard on that.... however, I think it would be more appealing if ther was more depth... I'll try to work that in somehow... afterall... it is CG, it needs to look realistic, not necessarily be realistic... :) right?

 

hmm.. bevel... I shoul learn the easy way to do that... there must be an easy way...

 

ya.. textures... I havnt even really spent any time on this subject... Im still a n00b, only be doing CG for less than 2 months now. any sugestions or links to tutorials on texturing large flat objects for viewing from a distance???

 

 

Rick Eloy:

Previous work? I wish I had some. :) then I might actuallty have some experience... haha... Actuallty the last time I did CG was many many years ago with Animator pro... (stress on many, late 80's early 90's, can't remember, my father had a retail pc business, i did animations for trade shows)...

 

Ok, I took ur tip.. Im back to default scanline ... My first impressions/ideas were that MR was difficult but way more flexible... so I assumed it would be best to jump in and go nuts... Well, u know what they say about assuming...

 

Anywya my limited experince has lead me to find that scanline will be better for the far shots, but it doesnt give me the flexiblity that MR does for the close ups...

 

the original prints were autocad... at first I found it easier to do most of the modeling in Autocad... as I have experience there... but now I feel much more comfortable in VIZ... so the entire scene was modeled up from the 2d prints in VIZ_2k5... it wasnt until a few days ago I discovered the negatives of booleans on meshes in VIZ... And I really liked booleans too.. :(

I think I can still use booleans if I use polys with a mesh_select modifier instead of straight meshes....

 

Today I worked on the poly count for the distant shots... I took out the inner layer and used only reflect maps for the outside windows (no more glass, no more aec windows) .. As of today its ~90% remodled and Im down to ~ 650,000 faces ... I'm sure I could knock off another 100,000 or so... but I dont thinks its worth my time...

 

Also today.. I did transparent textures to put logos on the sides of buildings... (that was a little difficult to figure out) .. it worked well after I used PNG files instead of TGA's ... think there an issue with Photoshop version 7+ and TGA alpha channels...

 

hmmm... "final look in mind" ... nope theres nothing in my mind.. its blank as ussual.. ya.. the more i experiment and play.. the more it develops... Im still a bit foggy on some parts tho...

 

 

Anywya.. to wrap it up.. Tommorrow Ill post some work around my lunch time... I feel theres some significant improvements on the distant shot.... the close up isnt so important... as its only for inter office use...

 

ciao & thx....

krazatchu

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Hey again...

 

Here's the lastest... the lights are set up correctly right now, that'll be tomorrows job...

 

Also worked on some graphics for the bottom half of the buildings today(under the logo)...

 

Ill post another tomorrow when i get teh lights set up better...

 

took a trip today to take some reference pictures of other aptments.. I think thell come in handy for the color scheme/style...

 

Anyhow... gotta run, work is over for the day and now its time for the mandatory drinking with the boss...

 

Ciao/

krazatchu

 

wip3.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

hi~~

 

I finished this, well stopped working on it about a month ago now...

Decided to take a break and work on some of the interiors...

 

Well... Im back at it now... and would like some critique...

IMO, I feel its a bit too colorfull... and of course the trees totaly suck...

 

Anywya... suggestions are openly welcomed...

Thx..

krazatchu

 

exterior

 

Ya.. the size is a bit large... its a4 print@300dpi

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