Thea Render is about to be launched..(edit available now)
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Frederik -
I understand the impetus for your post but I think it's a misunderstanding.
I wanted to try to use OBJ files because I'm comparing VRay and Thea for a possible purchase. The problem I have with VRay is that it's locked to SketchUp but I want to be able to use 2 or 3 modeling programs. I'm not quite clear about whether Thea has the same limitation or not, the manual didn't help out there.
Manuals vs video tutorials -
Most software is designed and marketed by extremely advanced computer users. And the loudest voices on the forums driving the development of the software tend to be also from very advanced users. The problem with this is that very often these same people are not particularly good teachers. The ability to present material in a way that a novice can understand, or to even remember what questions they had when they were novices is actually quite rare. Thus the poor quality of most training material.
I skimmed through the manual and it's very detailed but it didn't help me at all to get started. I still contend that a couple simple, basic tutorials that do not go into depth, do not go into complex technical detail, do not explain ad nauseum every panel and widget on the screen, but instead take an object or a scene and explain step by step how to get it into Thea, how to change a couple of materials, how to add or remove a texture will be more useful for novices than the manual in it's present state.
This was not meant to be a criticism - just a suggestion going forward.
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As we all know Thea is still in Beta and tutorials and PDF's are still being created, the reason there is not much around is the UI has changed and new things are being constantly added, so the tutorials and manuals I saw four months ago are no longer relevant today as things have improved, work-flow streamlined, UI tweaked.
Once the UI is finalised I can honestly assure you that comprehensive tutorials and manuals will become available as well as a repository of materials created both in-house and by community collaboration.Regarding importing models, SU has a very serious poly limit problem, we all know it, in fact rumour has it that even Podium is going studio because of it (too bad Google does not give this issue more priority)
So where Thea can have an advantage is for either using proxies (implemented very soon into exporter) or doing straight 3d imports using .3ds, .obj etc.Take for instance this scene, the house is SU, but the trees (3D) are merged in Thea, Just one tree will buckle SU to collapse (79mb) I wanted 7, so I merged the model with the SU model in Thea, and positioned , rotated in Thea with ease.
Raw Thea render (no post processing)
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@solo said:
Take for instance this scene, the house is SU, but the trees (3D) are merged in Thea, Just one tree will buckle SU to collapse (79mb) I wanted 7, so I merged the model with the SU model in Thea, and positioned , rotated in Thea with ease.
Raw Thea render (no post processing)I like this rendering. Where did you get the grass texture? If that's one thing I wish Thea had, it would be more outside-ish materials built in.
Rick
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@unknownuser said:
I like this rendering. Where did you get the grass texture? If that's one thing I wish Thea had, it would be more outside-ish materials built in.
Thanks.
The grass is a simple CG textures diffuse with a noise displacement map.
I will be optimising a few grasses I have made during beta period and making them available soon, as well as a whole bunch of other materials. -
@solo said:
Regarding importing models, SU has a very serious poly limit problem, we all know it, in fact rumour has it that even Podium is going studio because of it (too bad Google does not give this issue more priority)
So where Thea can have an advantage is for either using proxies (implemented very soon into exporter) or doing straight 3d imports using .3ds, .obj etc.Thanks. That's the information I was looking for. I don't create the sort of extraordinary images you do, and maybe never will, so I don't have so much the poly issue but I have the 'models spread over several different software applications' issue. Right now I have a client talking to me about a design for a stair that could use some objects I created in SketchUp but also some objects that are in modo. Instead of going back through one or the other I'd ideally like to take things from each application out into one renderer - which I guess Thea could do if I read your post correctly.
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You are correct.
With all the exporters available and under construction soon you will be able to take a C4D model, XSI model, Maya model, Max model, SU model, Modo model, MOI model, Z-brush model, etc and merge them all into one scene and render in Thea.
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@arail1 said:
Thea is desperately in need of a couple simple video tutorials that show you how to open a model in Thea and render it.
I go to File / Open and select an OBJ file of a simple workbench and, well, I don't really know what happens. I don't seem to get anything in the viewport and I don't know what to do next.
I guess I'll have to read the manual which is hardly too bitter a pill to swallow but a couple videos covering the basics wouldn't hurt at this stage of the software..obj should load fine in Thea render and when using 64-bit version I have not yet find a scene that is not possible to open or render... sure there must be one
Do you see base grid after you opened the .obj. If you don't see the grid, it could be some OpenGL clipping issue (scene might be huge). Try to use scale 0.01 when you open the scene. Possible you need to swap axis too. If you still don't see anything, you might have find a bug. -
BTW I'm not trying to be FIG JAM here just putting weight to my argument!
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@frederik said:
I apologize on beforehand... It is not my intention to sound annoyed and also not my intention to offend anyone here, but... Trying to excuse that some users do not want to read a manual is utterly ridiculous...
If you want to learn how to use any application, it is a necessity to read a very simple manual or a couple of tutorials...
I don't know anybody using i.e. Adobe PhotoShop, who haven't read through some simple manuals or tutorials to get some basic knowledge...
Trust mate I for one took no offence!
Im my own defence! Part the reason I trial software without a manual is to determine the steepness of the learning curve and that realising that of the many tools in ones arsenal some may well be used on an irregular basis.
If one can determine the workflow easily without reference it is then logical that later after they are somewhat proficient in the app and don't use it for some time chances are they wont need to relearn the process then!
And mate I can also suggest in regards to Photoshop, mate I've never read any manual and only one tut in the newsagency in a mag on how to create brushes, I've never opened the help file and once reading a thread on the pushpullbar about someone using actions to assist repetitive tasks set about learning actions myself and developed an action that day that allows me to create colour, bump and spec maps for floor and wall tiles that stops at points to allow me to adjust the grout width, depth and roughness, tile edge curve and degree or surface texture all else is done by action. Sure I have picked up little tips here and there along the way but never by searching for an answer!
About two months ago I was asked to do a book for a professional print job, I realised this would need to be done in Indesign so bought the Adobe publication Classroom in a Book. I just checked this moment and had read to page 24 of 444 before putting the book down because I realised I could learn it hands on quicker than referencing the book. The only issue that arose and called upon the help file was for the insertion of fold lines, search of the help file was unsuccessful, the book gave no hints and an online search revealed that there actually is no function for this and it needs to be done manually!
With SU I would suggest the complete opposite to all the above, I watched every video tutorial to assist my learning of the application as simply besides microsoft word it was the first program I purchased and had never used a computer before. Like TBG I've been a very late bloomer!
And don't get me wrong in Thea's case I will read the manual simply because I will likely have too, my point though is that generally I find a well designed interface and workflow can almost if not completely eliminate this need!!!
I guess I'm trying to reinforce that todays best applications are often designed so well that a user in most cases need very little reference to complete most tasks.
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Probably a silly question...but I can't find where to scale and rotate a texture in Thea.
All I've managed is to create a new texture layer.
Please some hint here. (End of silly question.) -
@pixero said:
Probably a silly question...but I can't find where to scale and rotate a texture in Thea.
All I've managed is to create a new texture layer.
Please some hint here. (End of silly question.)Not a silly question.
While waiting for the video tutorials, a handful of short 'here's how to do this' documents would be helpful.
The Thea manual tends, like most manuals, towards what the program can do from the technical aspect with not that much attention to the How - that is, step by step How To Do This type of instruction.
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Now, this is delicious...
action toolbar -> tools -> transform -> bitmap
...and this without reading manual (in 2 min) !
Don't mean to brag, but what can I do?
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ploblem
Export .xml SU say Thea not found in:mm what..
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Ok, I'm reading the Thea manual and it says that for Mac the current application is 32-bit only. Any news on a 64-bit upgrade?
Rick
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Unfortunately not, Rick...
We're still in first open beta phase and want to iron things out before a 64-bit application is build... -
@frederik said:
Unfortunately not, Rick...
We're still in first open beta phase and want to iron things out before a 64-bit application is build...Thanks Frederik. But now a (hopefully) simple question:
How does one zoom in and out of Thea? On my Mac, the middle mouse button does zoom, but it would take about 10 minutes of doing that to get to my zoom that I want. In other words, its too precise. Other Mac apps are fine, just Thea.
Rick
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I'm not on mac myself, so I can't tell...
Have you tried asking about this at the Thea Forum...?? -
@rickgraham said:
@frederik said:
Unfortunately not, Rick...
We're still in first open beta phase and want to iron things out before a 64-bit application is build...Thanks Frederik. But now a (hopefully) simple question:
How does one zoom in and out of Thea? On my Mac, the middle mouse button does zoom, but it would take about 10 minutes of doing that to get to my zoom that I want. In other words, its too precise. Other Mac apps are fine, just Thea.
Rick
Latest Build RV350 has been released...
chk out the change log...@unknownuser said:
Changes Log
Thea Render Beta 1.2.3 Revision 350 (30 March 10)
* Fixed ability to select when viewing from a selected camera. (UI) * Reverted to previous revision (341) key bindings for texture button & chip (in material editor). (UI) * Exporting now packages in distinct names (.mat.pack and .tex.pack) from browsers. (UI) * Automatic clip map assignment when loading a bitmap with alpha channel in color/texture controls in material editor. (UI) * Crash fix when right clicking twice in empty space in scene view, accidentally planted in previous public revision (345). (UI) * Removed double click operation to delete textures and browser objects (removal can be done from right click context menu). (UI) * Fixed rendering of infinite plane that was producing artifacts. (all engines) * Improved clay rendering now not replacing perfect reflectors/refractors and keeping material bumps. (biased/clay) * Added preview support when loading and saving scene (visible only through browsers). (I/O) * Added import support of bump/normal mapping from Kerkythea scenes. (I/O) * Added support for browsers to include whole scenes (drag & drop leads to merging). (UI) * Changed exposure of sky/ibl in GL viewport solid drawing mode. (UI) * Added batch pivot centering for all scene models (useful when pivots have been written far off objects making difficult their manipulation). (UI) * Pivot of groups is now correctly loaded/saved (previous revisions were losing that information). (I/O) * Using now correctly the group pivot for instancing brush. (UI) %(#FF0000)[*** Fixed MacOSX mouse-wheel in GL viewport that was too slow. (UI)**] -
Just wanted to ask if the WXSU problem (with LightUp among others) has been fixed?
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