#Is 3D Studio good?
8 messages in this thread
Like any powerful, complex piece of s/w 3D studio takes a while to learn…but
IMHO once mastered its miles more flexible than LW (which is also pretty
impressive). 3D Studios device independance (I use 1600*1200 on a 20" monitor)
puts lightwaves tiny, fixed screen to shame and its open ended architecture
(IPAS) has allowed many 3rd parties to develop awesome special f/x packages
that'll do anything from Blowup a house to automatically creating a forest!
Until version 3 of 3DS, LW's rendering was of higher quality, but 3DS is now
comparable (and a hell of a lot faster).
Add to this the fact that 3DS runs on the PC platform (loadsa options, loadsa
expandability/cheap prices) vs. the Amiga (great machine with a questionable
future) and 3DS wins by a nose.
Of course, most folks on this forum are probably going to say otherwise.
SK.
Thanks, Suresh. I'd have to go along with your point of view, especially what
with those IPAS options. Who knows, a lot of us may have to go to other
platforms anyway…though I'd rather save the bucks and learning curve!
Trent/ReAnimators
>Thanks, Suresh. I'd have to go along with your point of view, especially
>what with those IPAS options. Who knows, a lot of us may have to go to
>other platforms anyway…though I'd rather save the bucks and learning
>curve!
Every IPAS option I have seen for 3DStudio has looked like a bad 2D
photoshop filter or a feature already in LightWave. Do you really want to
say that the lens flare feature for 3D Studio is even in the same league
as those of LightWave..I think not.
Grant Boucher – Amblin Imaging
"It's hard to believe grown-ups do this for a living."
Really?! I had thought from all the hype in the trades that the IPAS stuff was
fantastic. Guess you can't always believe what you read.
With front-end ware like DMM, Sparks, Hollywood FX, etc., there certainly are
many quality "add-ons" for LW. BTW, I see in the June VTU a couple of
interesting ads: Newton's Law (Cybernetica) and PowerMacros (in DevWare's ad).
Heard anything interesting about these? We currently use DMM ,and SPARKS…
Regards,
Trent/ReAnimators
(Confirmed Toaster Geeks!)
Just saw the issue of Cinefex with the "Babylon 5" article. Included a
color photograph of the Lightwave-rendered alien that will be seen in an
upcoming ep. Awesome. Foundation wanted to texture map onto the alien's
skin and (I'm no LW user) had some problems doing it in a straightforward
way. So they turned the skin into a flat projection, laid the texture onto
that and then wrapped the whole thing back into a 3D shape, thereby
apparently avoiding a split line. Clever boys!
— Ron Legro / MILWAUKEE WI USA via AUTOPILOT
["Phun, phun, phun on the Infobahn…"]
Thats the March/April 94 issue of Cinefex yer talking about right?
Nice Article on B5
If I recall correctly, the episode in question is called "Grail" and deals with
a (Foundation-computer-generated) alien parasite living inside our old friend
Kosh. Methinks this is a precursor to the "computer-generated recurring
character" Ron Thornton was hinting at a while back.
I've heard people say the FX in B5 are cheesy. Oh well, everyone has the
democratic right to be wrong. What's really impressive is that Foundation's
stuff gets better every episode.
Folks like Foundation and Amblim surely could have just about any system they
wanted. I think it's a great testimonial that they use LW. The only bad part
is that we'll see lots of drek being produced 'cause the LW alternative is so
darn cheap!
BTW "Grail" feeds on 07/04/94 and is the first of the new 8 episodes remaining
in Season 1 of B5. Coming soon!
Trent/ReAnimators
>>Every IPAS option I have seen for 3DStudio has looked like a bad 2D
>>photoshop filter or a feature already in LightWave. Do you really want to
>>say that the lens flare feature for 3D Studio is even in the same league
>>as those of LightWave..I think not.
I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. As an avid 3DS and Lightwave user my
vote goes to 3DS (most of the time). I guess whenever I deal with particle type
stuff (space scenes with twinkling stars etc…) I jump to lightwave, but for
most day to day stuff..3DS. As for the IPAS routines, I don't know which ones
you've seen, but most of the ones I get to play with are AMAZING. The only
exceptions are some of the *boring* painting routines, which, you're right in
saying aren't a patch on PhotoShop.
Each to his own eh?