Been running with a stripped Firefox for a while now and I love it as well. It also makes me feel safer about my kids going online.

Thanks for that Pete, it was helpful. I think I've narrowed the problem down to a scale issue.

If you wouldn't mind, there are two other things that I'm struggling with a little in Vue.

1. Making a realistic residential style lawn.
2. Soft Shadows

Any advice?

What is the best way to prevent displacement from pulling apart a texture where it wraps around a 90 degree corner? It happens to me in both Vue and Vray and I'm not sure of a fix. I particularly have the issue trying to displace brick or stone veneer textures.

Thanks Pete. This is helpful. I was working on creating a splashfoot for a waterfall right before I came across this thread. Funny how life works.

@sepo said:

Apart from SU +Podium LW9.5 +LWCAD+Kray... It will be interesting with LW9.6 as one will be able to use external render engines....Also heard Vray is making standalone so there will be explosion of non native LW rendering.

F-Prime is a great realtime render option for lightwave and a lot of guys are using a lightwave to Modo workflow, which is pretty seamless. It will be interesting to see how Vray handles the UI for a stand alone version.

Click Draw, I've used Rhino, but it always felt counter intuitive to me....but nurbs modeling always does. If you can get past the learning curve, Rhino has a great adaptability factor with countless different plugins..

Great SU work! There is something a little unsettling about the render though. Being as though it's a pool scene, I would perhaps brighten up the sky background and color tone of the water to something less stormy looking and more of a mid day summer feel, and also lose the lens flares. There is potential for a great image here. It just needs a little tweaking.

I've bounced around through a lot of demoing 3D products. The ones I have the highest affinity with are -
Sketchup - Modo - 3DS Max - Vue - Lightwave + LWCAD

I started out with Max, then switched over to SU for 90% of my work. I still use Max for certain things, but Modo is my new love and the more I use it, the more I love it. I just upgraded to Vue 7 and so far it has blown me away. I'm in the process of re-rendering some of my stuff I previously rendered in Vue 6, and the difference in quality and speed is amazing. The new radiosity engine is producing results that are close to Vray in my opinion. If money is an issue, I think Modo gives you the most bang for the buck, with lightwave as a close second.

As with everything you do, very classy!

Nice job. My wife glanced over my shoulder and thought they were falling hot dogs.

Pete,

I've been trying to imitate your Vue animation. I've figured out how to center the pivot point and get the blade spinning with keyframes. How did you get it to render in 4 minutes? What format did you output to? What did you use to convert to a .gif? BTW - I had a project go through and I was able to upgrade to Vue 7. So far, I love it. Way more stable on my 64-bit system. Only issue is that I installed the 64-bit, but only the 32-bit version supports SU import. Do you think I would loose render speed going down to the 32-bit version? Is Vue's SU importer good enough to justify a downgrade? Sorry for all the questions...

Awesome work! Great detail on the model. I would love to see more close ups.

I don't know about anti smoking....these renders make me want a cigarette. And I'm not much of a smoker.

Pete,

How do you get an HDRI into Vue? Is that only something you can do in 7? Also, do you still have to convert the file to .3ds with Vue 7, or do you just open the .skp file directly? I have a pretty large project in the works, and may be able to justify an upgrade.

EDIT: Found the HDRI slot. It's in the Environment Mapping, under the effects tab. I've been using Vue for some time now, and never knew that was there!

I'm guessing it has to do with the way the smoke dances.

Classic!

Wow Pete.....7 minutes! Thanks man, that looks awesome. So I guess E-on really improved their render engine. I would never even think to try to render a product shot with Vue 6.

One thing with the render....the blade would never get dirty like that. That hose running up the side is a water line.....couple that with the fact that it is cutting through concrete and stone and you have a self cleaning blade that stays pretty shiny......no mater how beat to hell the saw gets.

Al,

When you say "holes", do you mean in the shadow mask?

Thanks Jeff. Your Sketchup to Modo renderings have been a huge inspiration to me and are a big reason why I started to look into Modo.

I did not use an HDRI in the modo render. I just created a quick studio setup with a ground plane, two 'lightboxes' and an area light. Environment was set to constant. I still have a lot to learn with Modo's render setup.

Al,

Have you considered the idea of creating a .png to .skp converter to add to your line of RP tools? It seems you already have the coding done for a tool like this. Hypothetically, this tool would allow the user to import a .png, or .tif transparent file and the converter would spit out a .skp file with the shadow mask applied. Also adding a alpha mask output would be invaluable for certain rendering users.

@solo said:

I would be interested to see how Vue 7 handles this model, with the new radiosity engine, studio renders are awesome, if you ever give Vue a go, please let us see.

Interesting. I probably won't be able to upgrade to 7 until the spring when my business picks up again. By then, I'll be torn between Vue and the new Modo. We'll see. If you feel like giving it a go for testing purposes, let me know and I'll send you the model.