#How can I do that good?
8 messages in this thread
I was totally in awe of the animations on the 3DS video. I have renewed
interest in the capabilities of the program. And Release 3 will be even more
fantastic.
However, I cannot seem to get (seem to get nothin, I can't get) the quality of
the surfaces, shininess, clarity, of the potential I see possible. What am I
doing wrong?
I thought I would imitate (the greatest form of flattery is imitation) some of
the effects on the tape so I could learn how to do it. But as I attempted to
do so, I found that I was stumped. There is more to a GREAT, or FANTASTIC
animation than movement. I was at a loss for the material to start with. I
wanted to duplicate the 1992 opening scene for the Broadcast section.
Questions I'm asking myself are:
1. What is the material? 2. How do they get the colored lights to reflect so
well? 3. How many lights are in the scene? 4. How far away are the lights? 5.
And on and on for each of the other animations on the tape.
Am I being too bold to ask these questions? I want to learn. I don't know how
else to do so. If no on answers, I guess I'll know that questions like this
are "Company Secrets".
I am attempting to make a company logo for where I work. I started with Blue
Marble, and made it similar to our standard logo, but fancier. I then made
some fancy Gold Letters to place on the Marble. The marble looks great! But
the gold looks rather blah. I think I may need more lights or something,
because the surfaces on the gold don't show up except in certain positions as
the light hits it just right.
Are there any suggestions on how many lights might be needed, and how close or
far. What intensity? All input is welcome.
Thanks for any and all input.
Dennis
Dennis,
this is really ironic because I like the Rainbow technologies logo so much that
I am using "influences" from it for my current project. It takes a lot of
experimentation to create such effects and it is quite frustrating because you
usually have to pull all the stops out to get such effects (and of course the
cost is very long render times, even while previewing). This usually includes
whole banks of multicoloured spotliights pointed straight at the logo with a
tight hotspot and a few degrees of falloff for a diffused look,
semi-transparent materials on objects with beveled edges (to catch interesting
highlights), flat mirror reflections reflecting some interesting material
possibly a moving sky texture or something organic. The surface of the material
should have some shininess but not 100% because you want a diffused effect.
I don't think the effects are so much company secrets as a lot of hard work and
experimentation. Ultimately, perseverance and a good eye will give you good
results.
One of the great things about that 1992 logo piece by Rainbow is the use of the
noise.sxp texture on the moving floor/background. Its soft edges really
provide a great contrast to all the hard edges in the piece. Dave Dwyre is the
guy at Rainbow who put that stuff together… he's extremely talented and puts
a LOT of time into his work.
– G
Gary,
yes, it's a gorgeous piece, to be sure.
Martin & Gary;
Thanks for the tips! Just having a hint of what direction to go (like a whole
bank of lights and the noise.sxp routine) is a wonderful start. I have and am
experimenting with my package, but sometimes the nights just fly by.<G> If
only I didn't have to sleep! 😉
Dave Dwyre did an EXCELLENT JOB on that logo. I particularly liked the colors.
Thanks for all your help.
Dennis
Dennis,
>> If only I didn't have to sleep!
Ahah! That's the trick – you have to give it up entirely to become a full
mutant graphics nerd <g>.
>give it up entirely to become a full mutant graphics nerd<
This is true. Already my eyebones are hanging out a la cheap 50's sci fi
movies. Those dark circles are cool, too!
DT
Martin;
<you have to give up sleep entirely to become a full mutant graphics nerd.
<g>>
Well, I'm sure tring hard! <G>