Hello,

I am seeking feedback from any artists out there that are intermediate or advanced users. What I am in the middle of starting is 3D stories. Mainly, I am a writer, but have learned a fair amount of Poser Pro and am looking to get into Vue and Adobe Photoshop. At this time, I would say I am about an intermediate user as I always learn something from someone all the time.

What I would like to know, is what are the best tools and methods for creating my "worlds"? Think of it like a comic book, only I am going with the most advanced tools out there for Poser, Vue, etc. to achieve the best realism I can. That means I need software and packages for the software that allow me to construct these "worlds" with anything I imagine.

Vue -

I have started learning Vue using their demo trial software and am seriously considering the Vue 7 "Infinate" package. It goes without saying Vue is great for outdoor and scenery renders, but what about interior renders? I need anything and everything for my "worlds" ranging from skies with spaceships to luxury indoor realistic looking rooms. How would I construct these "rooms" for interiors using Vue and some aftermarket packages? I have only done outside stuff with Vue and could use some help here for inside realistic renders and what the basics are for doing them. I know Vue integrates well with Poser and since I am using the most current Poser Pro that should work well together.

How do I make "rooms" with Vue for wall art, torches, etc? Are there add-on packages in the marketplace with tools someone else made to aid in such things as room construction and furnature?

Photoshop CS4 -

I plan to also use Photoshop CS4 for my post work to bring it all together and final editing. What I am still torn between is do I need the 3D features of the "extended" edition? What I need to do is work with my finished scene using "layers" in Photoshop which is fairly standard and to use "brushes" to paint directly on the characters for my effects (i.e. wounds, blood, tatoos, etc.) Will "extended" allow me to paint directly on my Poser figures by importing them or can I do those basic things using the "standard" CS4 version and save some money?

Thanks for your advice and input.

Hi there, interesting post. Not sure what you mean by "story" but perhaps you will post one when you have that done.  On tools, Photoshop is a must but the usefulness of extended is debatable.  The 3-D features are pretty limited and I have always done 3-D work in something like Vue or C4D and exported the rendered items for post-work in Photoshop.  But heck, not sure what the price difference is  - I have extended and feel good knowing it's there, even if I never use it. 

Vue is an interesting product.  I have the xStream package but have only found it useful for landscapes and outdoor compositions.  For interiors I use C4D, which I really like. With the Interposer plugin, bringing in Poser content is a snap. I started out using Carrara Pro, which seems to be a blend of the three above, only the render quality, control, and speed was not there. I'm sure others have opinions, and more experience using Poser for interiors, which seems to have a large aftermarket for props.

Well, good luck!
coocoo

I have to agree on the limitations of the 3D aspect of PhotoshopCS 3 & 4.  The creation of wounds, tattoes, etc would best be accomplished in Photoshop (or such related paint programs) and applied in Poser as decals or textures.  Haven't had too much experience with other applications to form a comment.

hborne makes a good point; u need photoshop (or equal) for texture work while inside a 3-d app, and afterwards as as well for finishing. If pisa is a concern, i hear that Gimp is pretty good.

 as far as constructing rooms are concerned, Vue has limited modeling ability. It is possible to make a room in Vue, you may be better off with a modeling program if you want your room to have complexity, like archways for instance. There are plenty of free modeling tools about.

From what I am reading here, sounds like you are doing either stills or a movie.

I can make some simple recommendations - Vue is okay for outdoor scenery (been using vue since Vue 3). If you are looking at creating indoor scenes I recommend going with a program like Sketchup or Work Design Lite.

As for 3d painting I am not the person to ask.

Vue is just as good as doing indoor scenes as outdoor ones, many of my Vue scenes are indoor ones. The advantage of Vue is that it pretty much has it all IMO, I've just downloaded 7Infinite yesterday but it already looks a big improvement on 6 and that was awesome. The lighting in Vue is better than Poser and as someone already said, importing complete Poser scenes just for rendering using Vue's lights is a breeze!!

Quote - From what I am reading here, sounds like you are doing either stills or a movie.

I can make some simple recommendations - Vue is okay for outdoor scenery (been using vue since Vue 3). If you are looking at creating indoor scenes I recommend going with a program like Sketchup or Work Design Lite.

As for 3d painting I am not the person to ask.

In regards to my final work, I should explain a little better. At this time, I am not disclosing full details as I will be doing something either few or no one else has yet done. I will be starting a full web site dedicated to my work and giving away the first one so people can see what I am doing and the sheer detail of the stories. Like I said, I want to captivate with my writing and bring it to life with the art.

I have gotten feedback from Vue users saying it is perfect for indoor scenes as well, if you get the right tools. But that's the problem, I don't have enough feedback yet to get an accurate answer as to rather or not Vue can let my imagination run wild and be able to create both indoor and outdoor renders.

Also, I realize there are some .obj items for Poser use that can be integrated into Vue as well. However, most of those Poser items are either old or not made for realistic renders. I want to do everything from an interior room detail to an outside pathway leading up. So I am still left wondering what I need for the variety of renders of a scene.

Basically, what I need are simple tools like tiles, roofs, furnature parts, etc. that let me construct the item however I see it. In other words, think of it as a much more polished program like the Sims comuter game uses for doing a house ranging from old to modern both outside and in.

I am NOT aiming for film realism, but as good as you can get from current Poser, Vue, etc. So I still need to iron out if I can get aftermarket packages with Vue or something else to let me do inside work with a fair amout of ease spending most of the time making it look the way I want sort of like playing with Legos. You get your basic "wood" tiles, build the floor. Get some that look like stone and build the walls, etc.

I know Adobe CS4 is needed but I still haven't figured out if I really need "Extended" version if most of my work will be done in Poser Pro and Vue. Also, no one has mentioned or recommened a program similar to Vue that has a lot of downloadable aftermarket packages for making interior scenes as realistic as Vue can.

Those are still some questions I have and thanks for the replies and interest in helping. I just need to get the right tools that will ease my construction so I can bring to life what I imagine.

Thanks.

I don't think you'll find any furniture parts. 

There are a number of room-construction kits... look for Maclean in the Marketplace here.  

There are also a number of scene groupings that include movable and scalable
walls and floors, for instance my own 1950 Kitchen.

For tiling, you can take two approaches:

The easiest would be to do it all with materials.  Find a texture of a stone, apply
it to a surface, set the material to "tiled", and adjust the U and V scales until you
have the right pattern.

Or, for "physical" tiling, you can play around with my Tiler script.....
http://ockhamsbungalow.com/PPP/Tiler.zip

Replied ot the original starter in Vue forums, but for those who say Vue is no use for interior renders..

http://www.silverblades-suitcase.com/wildspace/characters/characters1realism.jpg

I did that using Chipp Walter's interiorPak system, as a test ;)

I've just started using Vue for renders and am impressed.
Poser is a great tool for writers.
Photoshop is an awesome tool.
You could either learn how to model stuff next or just keep a small reserve available for content purchase.