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    • jason_marantoJ Offline
      jason_maranto
      last edited by

      Not particularly -- it's more of the fundamentals of the material system (in relationship to the rendered output) and the SketchUp to Maxwell series expands on those ideas to talk about the embedded character-type materials and what their strengths and weaknesses are.

      The idea is to get a solid foundation in what the various materials settings do in Maxwell and how you can bend them to your desired purpose with the least amount of trial and error possible.

      If I've seen any one area where more people are confused than any other (in regards to Maxwell) it is definitely materials -- it is really important to understand the fundamentals of the system to avoid wasting your time... I would just start with the free videos and I bet that would be enough to answer many questions already for you.

      Do bear in mind that I recommend anybody using the stand-alone plugin to download the trial version of the full Maxwell Render Suite to have access to MXED (allowing you to create your own custom MXM files for use in the plugin).

      Best,
      Jason.

      I create video tutorial series about several 2D & 3D graphics programs.

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      • M Offline
        MMM717
        last edited by

        Thanks Jason! You've been a big help...

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        • M Offline
          MMM717
          last edited by

          I've been considering adding some trees/bushes/etc. to my model. I looked through the Sketchup 3d warehouse, and tried out these two first:

          Error 404 (Not Found)!!1

          favicon

          (sketchup.google.com)

          Error 404 (Not Found)!!1

          favicon

          (sketchup.google.com)

          When rendering in Maxwell, the both the tree and bush are rendering 2d/flat instead of 3d.

          Should I be looking for a particular type of model that appears 3d in Maxwell? Is there something I can do to make the above ones (or others) appear 3d, even though they're showing 2d presently?

          Thank you...

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          • Rich O BrienR Online
            Rich O Brien Moderator
            last edited by

            SketchUp can't convert a 2D image to 3D. Try searching the warehouse for a 3D tree.

            Download the free D'oh Book for SketchUp πŸ“–

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            • M Offline
              MMM717
              last edited by

              Thanks. I thought these were both 3D models, since each page allows for a "3D View", but I guess not! πŸ˜„

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              • Mistro11M Offline
                Mistro11
                last edited by

                Can I keep Kerkythea plugin in SU at the same time or would it cause conflict?

                i7-4930k @3.4/3.7GHz, 32Gb RAM, NVidia GTX 980Ti 6Gb, Windows 7 Pro 64bit
                Structural Integrity is Not Just Physical...It's in the Design and Purpose

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                • brodieB Offline
                  brodie
                  last edited by

                  I don't speak from experience but I don't see why the two would cause a conflict. You can save a copy of your plugins folder just in case though. If it causes an issue just go back to the copy.

                  -Brodie

                  steelblue http://www.steelbluellc.com

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                  • pbacotP Offline
                    pbacot
                    last edited by

                    I have been trying the free Maxwell plugin. It doesn't seem to be able to do two point perspective. I thought some renderers did. Anyone know which ones do off-hand? Maybe it was K-T which I haven't used in a long time.

                    MacOSX MojaveSketchUp Pro v19 Twilight v2 Thea v3 PowerCADD

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                    • brodieB Offline
                      brodie
                      last edited by

                      Yes, I don't believe the real-time engine can do that. With the full version, however, that is able to be handled during the export process.

                      -Brodie

                      steelblue http://www.steelbluellc.com

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                      • pbacotP Offline
                        pbacot
                        last edited by

                        I exported a Maxwell scene and made many changes in GIMP etc. to make an image (background, color adjustments). Now I want to re-export a scene with a few specific things remodeled as an alternate design. I want to insert those changed areas into my previously developed image.
                        Maxwell Fire appears to depend on the size of the SU window on screen to setup the extents of the shot. I can set the pixel width but how do I exactly set the extents of the shot to what I had before. I am back at the same monitor and I might get close by guessing at the window size, but what if I were using my laptop monitor instead? If the file save from Maxwell fire is the exact extents and pixels, it's easy to overlay in PS.

                        MacOSX MojaveSketchUp Pro v19 Twilight v2 Thea v3 PowerCADD

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                        • jason_marantoJ Offline
                          jason_maranto
                          last edited by

                          I cover custom aspect ratios in video 4/8 of this playlist:

                          Best,
                          Jason.

                          I create video tutorial series about several 2D & 3D graphics programs.

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                          • pbacotP Offline
                            pbacot
                            last edited by

                            Thank you Jason! I know I'd seen that before, but at the time I didn't know how I'd use it--so I guess it slipped my mind. That should do the trick.

                            Peter

                            MacOSX MojaveSketchUp Pro v19 Twilight v2 Thea v3 PowerCADD

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                            • C Offline
                              Cubcrafter
                              last edited by

                              I have been going thru this tread and the Maxwell for SketchUp looks like it could be a good render for what I want to do. I am an architect and I have no experience at all with rendering.
                              First I would like to be able to do clay renderings, but I do not know where to begin. I design R/C aircraft that I laser cut and kit and I would like to do a clay rendering of this attached image that I have done all of the work in SketchUp.

                              This is a Eindecker EIII at 1/3 scale - 135" wingspan. I would like to put clay renderings into the assembly instructions.

                              I have downloaded the free plugin and watched some of the videos but I didn't see anything about clay renderings.

                              Are there any tutorials or guides that could get me started with clay renderings.

                              Thanks,

                              Larry


                              Over view


                              What I would like to be able to do


                              Wing closeup

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                              • jason_marantoJ Offline
                                jason_maranto
                                last edited by

                                In the plugin Scene Manager go to the "Output" tab and find the "Materials" subsection -- there you will see a checkbox to enable material overide, which when activated will allow you to load any MXM you might like to use for your clay material (I've attached a simple one).

                                You can get more MXMs from http://resources.maxwellrender.com and I have a large array of colors (183 based on the RAL system) you might find useful for clay renders here: http://resources.maxwellrender.com/scripts/Diffuse1_9227.zip

                                Best,
                                Jason.


                                basic_clay.zip

                                I create video tutorial series about several 2D & 3D graphics programs.

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                                • C Offline
                                  Cubcrafter
                                  last edited by

                                  Thanks Jason,

                                  This got me started. I assume that when I purchase the license the quality of the image will improve with the higher dpi.

                                  Any tricks for using background colors in the SketchUp file to get better contrast with the clay render.
                                  This looks like it will be fun and let me present my work in a new and interesting way, both my architecture and aircraft work.

                                  Thanks,

                                  Larry


                                  First try

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                                  • jason_marantoJ Offline
                                    jason_maranto
                                    last edited by

                                    It looks like you are using Skydome to render in that example -- you set your environmental lighting under the "Environment" tab of the Scene Manager. For this I would probabaly start with a type of "Physical Sky" with the Sun enabled.

                                    Render quality is directly related to SL/time -- meaning higher SL/render time will result in better images. This is set using the "Settings" icon in the Maxwell Fire window. I tend to render to SL 18 for final clay renders...

                                    Also be careful to manage camera focus parameters because strong depth of field effects increase render time -- I typically use a f-stop of 16 unless I know I need depth of field.

                                    Best,
                                    Jason.

                                    I create video tutorial series about several 2D & 3D graphics programs.

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • C Offline
                                      Cubcrafter
                                      last edited by

                                      Thanks,

                                      I know just enough now to be dangerous so I'm going to watch those 8 videos on the web site again and go thru the manual. They will have more meaning to me now.

                                      Thanks,

                                      Larry

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                                      • utilerU Offline
                                        utiler
                                        last edited by

                                        I have a question. I have edited the GE aerial image I bought into my model as well as applying transparency to my trees but when I run Maxwell, I can't work out how to show these textures / colours other than a highly polished highly reflective material!!!! 😲

                                        Is it something to do with my transparency?

                                        πŸ‘

                                        purpose/expression/purpose/....

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                                        • jason_marantoJ Offline
                                          jason_maranto
                                          last edited by

                                          SketchUp (SKM) material opacity lower than 100% is interpreted by the Maxwell plugin as becoming more and more "AGS" (A simple material made to mimic glass reflections) as it reduces opacity. The solution to create these type of "false transparent" materials in SketchUp to Maxwell is to use images in PNG format that contain transparency data (as an alpha channel) for creating your SketchUp objects -- the Maxwell plugin will render these PNG based "SKM" materials as normal diffuse-type materials while respecting the transparency data in the images alpha channel.

                                          Best,
                                          Jason.

                                          I create video tutorial series about several 2D & 3D graphics programs.

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • utilerU Offline
                                            utiler
                                            last edited by

                                            Thanks Jason, I'll give it a whirl!

                                            purpose/expression/purpose/....

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