Thanks for all the replies. And as you read along, please remember that I come from the physical film/video production world, so I tend to want to force the 3D paradigm to fit within the boundaries that I understand most...

We've focused a lot of our conversation on modeling, but what about lighting? That's always been the real bane of my existance!

In the real world, you mostly encounter three types of light sources: tungsten, flourescent and daylight. Each has its unique color temperature. Intensity is measured by wattage.

If you were to agree a standard unit of measure, i.e. a meter in your scene corresponds to a "real world" meter, shouldn't preprogrammed light sources be available that give you the results you expect when you place a 60 watt bulb in your lamp at home? (You'd have to also tell the software the focal length and speed of your virtual lens, naturally.)

For example, I've seen the great tutorials on building skylights and I have also purchased some light kits for Poser. It's amazing that artists have spent the time to work this stuff out so painstakingly. But shouldn't some of this already be coded into the software so that everyone else doesn't have to figure it out for themselves?

Wouldn't it be great if you could tell the software to light an outdoor scene as if it were 12 noon on a sunny or overcast day? I know it's more complicated than that, but light does have certain predictable qualities.

Once you apply the preset, you'd certainly want to tweak the lighting from there, but the point is that for most of us, the presets would do most of the work and we would just embellish that by adding a kicker light or two.

I agree entirely with everyone who has pointed out that 3D is a craft that must be learned and refined over time. What I am focusing on is design changes that might attract an entirely different level of users to the field who might help to make companies like Curious Labs and Hash, Inc. more financially solvent.

Discuss amongst yourselves... :-)

Message edited on: 12/27/2004 10:10