Welcome

dolphus · 18 Apr 2008, 04:57

Hi guys i,m from PE

solo · 18 Apr 2008, 05:02

The windy city ... so they say.

Welcome dolphus.

juju · 18 Apr 2008, 07:46

Hey hey hey, what do you know, another bru! HOWZIT?!

Hi there dolphus, welcome to SCF. I just know you're going to be spending way more time here than is healthy for your internet usage...

I have to go to PE next month for my institute AGM. I have not been there (PE) in a loooong time.

dazza · 1 May 2008, 21:11

Hi guys.
I'm a SU user from JHB, pretty new to the forum but slowly finding my way around.
Look forward to seeing more South Africans on here.
BTW, do any of you guys use Kerkythea?
I've recently started playing around with it and it is a brilliant companion to SU.
Anyway, look forward to getting to know some more SU users!

juju · 3 May 2008, 13:40

Welcome Dazza! Good to see some more locals on the forum.

KaTie? Yup, tried it, good application. Thing is it seems a little too complicated to get a reasonably good render, that is why I bought Podium (US$179 - approx R1500 - available through http://www.suplugins.com) a short while ago. It works from within SU so I don't have to jump around between apps so often and it is quite simple to use.

mauritzbotha · 4 May 2008, 23:16

Fantasties idee.

We moved to Novato, just north of the Golden Gate bridge.

I designed Renditioner and wrote most of the Mac version. Our PC version is almost done and we will start selling the Mac version in SA by the end of next week. How popular are Macs in SA?

BTW. I was thinking about launching a competition for the best Photo Realistic Rendering of a piece of biltong. The entries should be accompanied by the biltong so that the judges can express an objective opinion of the quality on the rendering

solo · 4 May 2008, 23:20

Lol, welcome y'all!

I like the biltong idea, but one needs some glass caustics in a good rendering so I suggest adding a few 'Castle's' for good measure.

I also feel I should be a judge.

juju · 5 May 2008, 10:43

Hehe, biltong en bier!

dazza · 6 May 2008, 06:59

So tell me guys, how did you all get into SU and 3D?
Just interested to see how different people from differebt fields (although mainly architectural) seem to get into 3d more and more.
@SOLO - had a look at some of your work - awesome stuff. How do you get the realism in your texturing? Sorry to ask but I'm still new to texturing and can't even get it close. BTW I'm using KT with SU now.
Thanks.

mauritzbotha · 16 May 2008, 03:37

I joined a CAD company and one day while doing research I saw some SU videos. I just saw a lot of features where the elegance was in the simplicity.

Some time ago I got into a discussion with somebody about how difficult it is for mere mortals to produce a decent rendering. SU was mentioned in the discussion and I got hooked on the challenge that it would just be impossible to create a plug-in renderer that fits the SU paradigm - beauty in simplicity. That is where Renditioner was born.

I work much more with the back end, the API, and it follows the same principle: simple and effective.

dazza · 16 May 2008, 07:30

Thanks Mauritz, I think I'll have to have a look at Renditioner!

BTW, are there any Joburg SU users out there on this forum???

dazza · 16 May 2008, 07:37

@JuJu
I've been thinking about moving down to Cape Town for a while now. Can you give me any advice regarding the architectural and archviz industries down there ie. are there any/many good jobs going at the moment, pay rates compared to JHB etc.
Also, what are the good "affordable" residential area's to look at moving to?
Thanks in advance for your help.

juju · 16 May 2008, 09:00

The profession down here is very competitive. Statistics (for Gauteng and Western Cape) from last year February reads as follows:

Population: GP = 20.1%, WP = 10%
Professionals: GP = 38.18%, WP = 26.56%

That would relate to ratios of approx. 1.9 for GP and 2.6 for WP - so as you can see there is quite a high consentration of professionals in the Western Cape (relative to GP). It is well known that Joeys pays better than CT, it's a bitch (but we have the Mountain, as Barry "The Cousin" Hilton would put it).

Suburbs? Hmmm, difficult to tell. Are you Afrikaans or English? There is a bit of a difference here since English people tend to prefer the Southern suburbs due to the high number of English people there, Afrikaans people tend to prefer Northern suburbs due to the high number of BBQ's going on the weekend. Then there is the matter of prices, IIRC houses are quite a bit more expensive here in Cape Town if you compare accommodation to that of Joeys.

dazza · 16 May 2008, 09:18

Thanks, JuJu.
I'm English but being in English dominant area is a non-issue. Whats important is safety, resale value and proximity (travel times) etc. The pace up here is just crazy-hectic and that filters through to all aspects of life. What I'm longing for is a more relaxed way of life with less high strung people, all the amenities that modern life has to offer and the SEA
Luckily alot of what I can do I can do from home but as we all know, living with a decent quality of life now days requires a steady income (well for us arch techs) fairly short travel times in to work are important as well. Now I realise I'd have to get a job down there first and then look and residential areas but it does all get a bit confusing as to what is good and what is bad. I suppose the best is getting in touch with an estate agent down there and seeing what they have to say. Do you know any reliable ones down there?
Anyway, enough waffling, back to work for me!!!

juju · 16 May 2008, 09:39

You can never go wrong by using the bigger Estate Agencies (Pam Golding, Seeff, Rawson, etc.) but if I were you I'd check to see which area you would like to live in and take it from there, some agencies are stronger in different suburbs.

Are you a member of SAIAT (South African Institute for Architectural Technologists)? If not, you should think about it. Anyhows, you might be able to find a job through the newsletter. They are not a recruitment agency, but have a section where people who are looking for people can advertise and where members can advertise should they become available.

Actually, there is a plethora of places you can advertise / look when seeking employment. If you have a strong portfolio and the desired qualifications then finding work shouldn't be a problem. If you have a B.Tech (Design) I can almost guarantee that you will have little to no problem finding a job.

dazza · 16 May 2008, 09:46

Thanks JuJu!
I'm a member of both SAIAT & SACAP and didn't think to look there, should put my well earned fees to work.
Once things get a bit more serious about the move and I've done some proper research, would you mind me asking you some more direct questions?

juju · 16 May 2008, 10:51

No problems man, speak to Sandi at the SAIAT office, she's normally quite helpful. Good to see you're a SAIAT member, is Manus Heunis your local convenor?

You're welcome to speak to me via PM or e-mail if you wish. PM me with your direct e-mail if you wish and I'll reply.

I doubt that SACAP would be of any help in finding employment, they're not geared that way.

andre51 · 20 May 2008, 22:47

Hi All

Thanks for the invite Juju...

I've been around (since the first version of SU) and like most moved here to get away from Google.

I'm an architect in Jozi and our firm use SU for all our work.

cheers

Andre

juju · 21 May 2008, 07:33

Hi Andre! Good to see you popped in. It's not a "by invitation only" group, it just seems like a lot of people miss this section of the forum for the some or other reason.

dazza · 21 May 2008, 07:42

Welcome Andre, good to see another Joburger in the forum