Modo Material Guide

chango70

Stinkie I wanted to give modo a spin, just downloaded the trial. Where is the best place to start? (For tutorial resources? Had a look on their website the videos dont seem to be what I need) I mean if I want to go through the similar work flow to SU.

EarthMover

Stinkie,

The library is still available here - http://forums.luxology.com/discussion/topic.aspx?id=16238

Stinkie

Ah, good. Takes away the need of me going through my messy 'archives'.

@chango70 said:

Stinkie I wanted to give modo a spin, just downloaded the trial. Where is the best place to start? (For tutorial resources? Had a look on their website the videos dont seem to be what I need) I mean if I want to go through the similar work flow to SU.

What do you mean?

In any case, these might help:

http://www.digitaltutors.com/store/home.php?cat=87

http://www.3dgarage.com/category_s/3.htm

http://vandigital.com/products

chango70

Hi Stinkie

There are no free videos out there for Modo introduction? I guess you have to factor that in overall cost of Modo...

Stinkie

Here's a couple of free ones.

http://www.vertexmonkey.com/tutorials_complete.php

http://www.luxology.com/community/tutorials/

http://www.ethereal3d.com/Tutorials/index.html

http://homepage.mac.com/janoverust/FileSharing24.html

http://www.free3dtutorials.com/modeling/modo/

chango70

Yes, thx, thats what I was looing for!

Stinkie

Don't mention it. Whenever you feel like spending some cash, do try Andy Brown's tutorials. I've got a couple, and I've tremendously enjoyed them - especially the architectural modeling one (as that is where my interest lies).

If you speak Spanish (I don't, regrettably), these might be helpful as well:

http://www.etereaestudios.com/docs_html/general_index_htm/tutorials.htm

chango70

Stinkie whats your work flow between SU and Modo?

Stinkie

'block out stuff' in SU. I keep geometry clean and simple.
export as obj. I do this bit by bit - not sure if this is necessary. Export settings: check all, except "triangulate all faces" and "export edges".
import into modo (if some normals come in flipped, hit 'f' twice). First, I organise the Items list, to keep things tidy. Then, I consecutively select all of the items in the items list. Then I go to properties > other maps and delete the vertex normals map.
bevel, add details, UV, texture.

5 export to Maxwell Studio.

Quick example:

tomot

@unknownuser said:

5 export to Maxwell Studio.

I'm curious! Why would you export to Maxwell when Modo already has a high quality rendering engine? It appears to me your buying a lot of additional software. On the other hand why not just import SU obj's into Maxwell and forget about Modo?

chango70

I was thinking the same, but I guess he is a perfectionist and unbased engine looks better at the end of the day. Me? I save electricity with VRay...

remus

Unbiased engines tend to be easier, as well, so if he's happy with maxwell, no point in spending loads of time learning the modo render engine.

Stinkie

@tomot said:

[I'm curious! Why would you export to Maxwell when Modo already has a high quality rendering engine? It appears to me your buying a lot of additional software. On the other hand why not just import SU obj's into Maxwell and forget about Modo?

Simple: Maxwell, though slow, is lightyears ahead of Modo's render engine, quality wise. And quality is my prime concern. As for exporting SU geometry to Maxwell, that route is fine, in some instances. In others, say when you need lots of detail, it is not, as SU is "poly challenged". Also, try sculpting in some detail with SU.

@chango70 said:

I was thinking the same, but I guess he is a perfectionist and unbased engine looks better at the end of the day. Me? I save electricity with VRay...

Yes, I am indeed a perfectionist. Vray's great, no doubt (I have a license, and I'm glad I do), but it is 32 bit ... I have 16 gb of RAM installed, I'd preferably not waste those. And yes, unbiased rendering does look better.

@remus said:

Unbiased engines tend to be easier, as well, so if he's happy with maxwell, no point in spending loads of time learning the modo render engine.

No, that's not it. It's all about the quality of the output. Take a look at the Modo Gallery. How much of the arch viz in there looks realistic to you? And errr ... using Maxwell's not quite 'as easy as taking a photo'.

Summary:

a) SU's really good at quickly yet accurately blocking out a scene. But it cannot handle lots of poly's, and lacks certain tools I need.

b) Modo's not nearly as fast or intuitive as SU when it comes to architectural modeling. However, it's excellent at adding detail, uv-ing etc.

c) Maxwell handles lots of poly's, and produces great images.

I own all three of these apps. Given the fact that I aim for quality, I'd be stupid if I didn't try to combine them.

EarthMover

Stinkie,

I was curious why you are exporting out of SU as an .obj. Are you still having issues with the .skp importer for Modo? It's been working great for me.

I don't think a lot of people give modo's render engine enough credit. Sure it's not going to give you unbiased results, but the entire program with all it's features costs less than a license for maxwell. For the money, the nexus engine is pretty darn good. Here are some of my favorites from the luxology gallery.

Modo render 5.jpg

Modo render 4.jpg

Modo render 2.jpg

Modo render 1.jpg

Modo 3.jpg

Stinkie

@earthmover said:

I was curious why you are exporting out of SU as an .obj.

To avoid triangulation.

@earthmover said:

For the money, the nexus engine is pretty darn good.

I'm not debating that, far from it - modo does offer a lot for it's price. But, I have the luxury of being able to choose between Maxwell and modo's renderer (and VfSU). Given the fact that I am mainly concerned with quality and rendering times aren't that much of an issue to me (I am not a pro, thus I haven't got any deadlines to meet), it would be illogical for me to use modo's engine.

Back to learning how to unwrap UV's now.