My current plan is to release it on Renderosity first. I've begun writing it but it will probably be a few weeks before it is done. Stayed tuned.

You can buy lens material from a number of sources and make your own prints with an ink jet printer. I plan to show how to set up your 3D files to generate the necessary images for either making your own or if you so choose how to work with a lenticular printer.

ZaxysDMI

Quote - I'd be interested in seeing it too. Does it need any special apparatus, or is it the cross-eyes approach or the depth-cued texture effect?

No special apparatus required and it is neither the cross-eyes or depth-cued effect.

The process uses a series of views (8-24 usually) that are interlaced and then printed directly on or a print is laminated to a sheet of lenticualr lenses. These lenses present each eye with a separate view of the scene and you see it in 3D. True stereo 3D.

ZaxysDMI

Did you know that this technology has been around since before the turn of the century, not this last one but the one before, Kodak used this same technology for Kodachrome film in 1928 only to reproduce color instead of 3D.

Here's a link on the history of lentcular if anyone is interested.

http://www.microlens.com/HistoryofLenticular.pdf

ZaxysDMI

Well, the secret is that the print is wearing the glasses!

Actually a lenticular sheet is a series of lenses embossed or extruded as long half cylindrical lenses.  (see illustration below). The images are sliced up and a piece from each is put under each lens, when you view the print the lens lets each eye will see a different view and creates the 3D effect. It will all be explained in much more detail in the tutorial including how you can proof you own with just an ink jet printer and a laminator.

ZaxysDMI

Oh, here's a couple of links.

http://www.peterjsucy.com/Products.htm - some sample animated gifs demonstrating as best as possible via the web what is actually happening.

http://www.extremevision.com - one of the top printers in the country.

I've got some basic wishes for a new version of Poser. Taking advantage of multiple processors and more than 2Gb of RAM for starters.

Then how about being able to open more than one document at a time or being able to leave a window rendering while you work on another file. Right now Poser is the biggest bottleneck in my workflow because when it is rendering you're not doing anything in Poser. All my jobs require at least 12 frames to rendered so this is a major drawback.

As quaint as the UI is, it is not at all efficient. I vote to can it. Keep the unique controls that work but  it's time for a overhaul.

I'm hoping the Poser import tools for Strata are released soon because with Strata I have all the wishes above plus distributed rendering.

ZaxysDMI

Quote - i'm interested and if I could get involve the better

Sure, what did you have in mind?

You can send me an email at peter@zaxys.com if you want to reply outside the forum.

ZaxysDMI

Quote - I'd be interested in a tutorial. There have been tutorials for 3D anaglyph images and I'd imagine that the process is similar unless it's better to get more than two images.

Yes definitley, there is no comparison, hands down this is way better. Full color just like a photo but 3D and no glasses.

ZaxysDMI

The  process works with any 3D app as long as you can animate the camera, so I plan to make it pretty general.

Yes, actually what you are describing is the simplest form, the flip uses only two images. And for many years that was pretty much all there was. Today's lenticular images usual have between 12 and 24 different images. (Thanks to digital technology.)These images are combined in a special software program and the resulting image is printed on a specially designed material that has strips of lens extruded into it.

The lenses limit your view to only one or two views at a time. If the lenses are oriented so they run horizontally across the card you see an animation when you pivot it on its horizontal axis. However,
if you orient the lenses vertically each of your eyes sees a different image.  If the images are a series of stereo views of a scene you see a print in true 3D.

They are often used as backlit displays at tradeshows, I'm sure there were some at SIGGRAPH it's a big show for the industry. They are also used as POP signage, playing cards, direct mail pieces, luggage tags, and much more. There was a service at one time for Nimslo (a four lens stereo camera) that made 3d prints.

So I guess it's sort a like a viewmaster without the viewer.

ZaxysDMI

I holding out hope that new 5.0 version of Strata3D may offer me a better solution. It's always had a great renderer and I've heard rumors of direct Poser import. Version 4 can sort of import Poser files but you lose alot. It's useful for those times when you really have to have volumetric fx like smoke, fog and clouds. It's already multiprocessor enabled (using all four in my Quad) and 64bit and 5.0 is due to ship soon. Certainly long before a new version of Poser appears. Here's hoping.

That would be true if I was using Windows but I'm using OS X which is a 64 bit OS and most other graphics packages I use can access more than 2Gb. Poser is the exception.

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