Attached Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817111709&cm_re=IOGear_USB_Sharing_Switch-_-17-111-709-_-Product

Make sure that you get a reasonably fast USB Memory stick. I like Patriot, these days.

Another AMD fan here..... If you have two machines, you might want to consider using the second as a dedicated rendering machine. It would be slower, but you wouldn't care as your primary machine is where you would be busy constructing your scenes.

I agree with Dale on a bunch of things - I have the same AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition cpu on three machines (coupled with ASUS Crosshair III Formula motherboards) and these are rock-solid systems, even when overclocked and performing at speeds just a little under the standard performance specs of the Intel i7. Dale is certainly correct about the things you could do with the money you would save by not purchasing an Intel i7. 

 If I were doing it again, I would go for the AMD 6 core and the newest ASUS Crosshair Formula mobo this time. The tech reviews are pretty positive.

One thing I've learned the hard way over the years - make sure your power supply is much more than you think you'll need. Two of my rigs are AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Editions, with 6 GB of RAM, the ASUS Crosshair Formula Boards, NVidia 250 (but could be the NVidia 460 video cards), and two sets of RAID drives on each (four total hard drives per machine). I'm using Thermaltake 850 watt modular power supplies on these guys. Over the years, I learned that if the power supply is a lot more than technically needed (150 to 200 watts more than the estimated requirement) , your motherboard and cpu will last a heck of a lot longer, and you can overclock for rendering purposes without giving it another thought. (Personally, I don't overclock very much - wanted the ASUS mobos more for longterm stability than anything else. But, overclocking this particular rig to cut rendering times in half is a snap.))

If you can have only a single machine, an Intel i7 makes sense because your rendering needs are more demanding than your Vue scene creation needs. But if you are able to expand up from an older box, you really should consider an AMD rig.  And, he's surely right about going to a cow system if you are rendering animations, but just using a second rendering computer if you are mostly concerned with rendering stills.

I do disagree with Dale on one little piece. I have a KVM switch that handles two DVI-connector-type monitors and four computers just fine! (A little bit of excessive hardware, perhaps, but I'm making my living with these guys.) My KVM box is a bit high-end and expensive - it is the MiniView Dual View Dual Link DVI (GCS1644) from IOGear. It is supporting two DVI monitors, the four computers, plus a radio mouse and a bluetooth keyboard. (Not to mention multiple  sound systems.)  

Plus, I have an IO Gear4-Port USB Sharing Switch that sits on top of the KVM switch. This little cheap guy hosts a 4 GB Patriot USB memory stick, and one USB connection to each of the four computers. I can copy files from any machine to the USB stick and then just press one of the switches to transfer the files to another one of the four machines. Easy, fast and cheap!

You would not need such a fancy (nor expensive) KVM Switch, but there are several that handle dual monitors, especially if your monitors are standard 15-pin type, and not HMDI or DVI. Just take a look at those produced by IOGear on their website. In a KVM Switch, you get what you pay for. (However, if you go with a KVM Switch, particularly with a good one, try Amazon for the actual purchase, as it is a cheaper source.)

You cannot create a rig for a character from within Vue, to my knowledge. Sorry.

 Instead, you must use some other 3D program, such as MAX, MAY, XSI, Lightwave, Truespace and the like. These programs have special tools for creating jointed "bones" for a creature or other object - this is called "rigging." Rigging is its own skill set, just like model-building or lighting a scene. There are two relevant technologies of joint control, known as IK and FK, but I won't go into that subject here. Rigging can be fairly  complicated - and as usual, higher end 3D programs have tools that make the process of rigging easier than do inexpensive 3D programs.

Actually, the process of rigging must start early on when the model is being built. Normally, your model should be specifically designed to carry a rig. (That is, not all models can carry a rig very well. In fact, the majority of static models cannot.) 

 The basic goal of a modelbuilder who intends for his or her model to be rigged and animated is to create well-designed "edge-flows" (mesh lines and contour lines) and more dense quads or triangles in the mesh areas where the model will be expected to bend  - so that deformation at the expected joint areas will not  "show."  Also, a modelbuilder should have a pretty good grasp of how the model is intended to be animated - that is, the mesh design often should be planned and designed for specific kinds of movements.  (This is why character design and rigging typically are their very own skill sets.)

 And, we're not done yet. After a model is "rigged" (has a jointed skeleton or several), you also must bind the model mesh to the jointed bones in a process called "skinning." This also can be a fairly complicated process. The most commonly used skinning method, "smooth skinning," has you assign different degrees of attachment of the vertices to a joint, so that the mesh deforms smoothly when the joint is bent.  That is, vertices near the center of the joint should be completely assigned to the joint in a perpendicular fashion, while vertices further away from the center of the joint should have a "looser" amount of attachment. They respond less strongly when the joint is bent. This business of assigning different weights to the vertices near a joint allows bending of an elbow or a knee to look "natural." Skinning can be relatively simple for characters like cartoon characters, or it can be a very painstaking and difficult process for photoreal characters, animals or plants.

And last, there is the whole business of properly getting a jointed, and or animated character into Vue from the source 3D application. A process now made simpler by the use of Collada format files, but still - sometimes a little tricky.

These are the reasons that we don't yet see a lot of rigged characters for Vue. (Although I and some of the other modelbuilders are working to expand our knowledge and tools so that we can provide more such items for Vue.)

I Got Mine!!!!!!!

Chipp, it is beautiful!  So much better  in glossy print than was the *.pdf.  Nice medium size to fit on the shelf and on the desk. Great layouts. It has been a long time since I've read a book that is pumped up with positive attitude all the way through.

Great Job!

Bruno is correct, this will be the problem. Is also true of Vue6.

I had to purchase another version of Win 7 (Win 7 Professional) in order to get Vue 6 to work. 

I just ordered my copy. Shipping charges are a bit steep, but I'm sure this comic book will be well worth the price. 

You're most welcome.

I think this one might be very difficult to tell what it is. It might be that we need one larger piece with most of the handle intact. And, the plate probably should be broken a little more creatively. What do you thinK?

Version 6 vob's will load into your Vue 8 Complete with no problem. 

Anybody can have the intact cup and saucer - just send me an e-mail request.

This is in Version 6, since I couldn't wait much longer for a reply.  If you'll send me an e-mail to forester@mountainflight.us, I'll reply with the model to you.

I can make the fractures in almost any way you would like.

 I'll try making a set for you today.

 And let's not forget the motherboard, in this discussion.

Win 7 often reports that the drives are the slowest component of a system, when in fact, it is the northbridge or southbridge chips that are relatively slow. (The northbridge chip typically controls the RAM and the graphics card, AND the southbridge chip. The southbridge chip, among other things, controls the disk drives.)  Sometimes, a motherboard uses relatively cheap condensors, also impairing the speed.

No sense in putting SSD's on a mediocre motherboard.

 Er, ... why aren't you asking this question in the Cornucopia3D forums, rather than here??????

 Actually, they don't take them away.

Vouchers are sometimes (almost always) given as a reward for purchases at 3CD.  Typically, the size of the voucher depends upon the size of the purchase. I have no idea what the "formula" is for determining the size of the voucher, but since I also am a purchaser as well as a vendor, I can see that it is somehow proportional to the total purchase cost size.

They do expire if you don't use them soon enough. They are good for 30 days, but I'm not entirely sure of that time period, since I never use mine.  (I don't use mine because it takes money out of the pocket of fellow vendors. Purchases of items with vouchers are made pretty much at the expense of the vendor.)   ... But, be sure to use yours when you get them -it's part of what we vendors give back to the Vue community.

 Vouchers also are given as prizes for the monthly Theme contests - for winning compositions and pictures. They may be given for other promotional purposes as well. 

  Also, C3D gives spot sales to large numbers of customers randomly selected, where products chosen by the site administrator are often marked down 85 - 90% from their normal purchase price. (Again, it is the vendors, rather than the site who are mostly bearing the cost of  this program.)

 By the way, there are well more than 1,500 items (I think it's now in the neighborhood of 2,000 items) that are eligible for purchase with a voucher.   The reason that there are not more is that some vendors simply can't afford to participate in the voucher program. Many of us are doing this for a living, and we all sometimes struggle to feed the children, ... you know how it is!

Thank you! You are very kind!