Thank you kindly for including my work and considering it to be of quality.

Wow, Modo is expensive, and it come with features (animation and rendering) that i already have in other programs (C4D, etc). I wish they had a modeling only version that is cheaper. I'm tired of every program doing everything and you have to waste a lot of money for the repeated duplication of abilities.

Are there any good modeling-only programs? I have an old version of Rhino, and it seems great for mechanical things, but not so much for organics. I just got Hexagon through a magazine discount offer but haven't had time to play with it much.

Well, like anything else there are trade-offs. I just downloaded TG as well. (I have Vue 4 DEsprit as my other terrain generator.) TG looks to have a baddly designed interface and I expect to be struggling with its learning curve. Vue, conversely, is intuative to get started with right out of the box without opening the manual. But I agree, Vue is difficult to achieve photorealistic results, at least with version the 4 that I have. But if they ever want to compete with Bryce and Vue and sell Terragen, then they had better put a better inteface on it.

I have read up some on HDRI light probe, HDRI Shop, etc. I understand that you need different exposure images to combine into a single HDRI image. Partly what I want to fo is to make some environment maps or ever light probes for other software (Like my C4D R8)

Okay, I have my old copy Vue 4 DESPrit. I notice i can do 360 degree panoramas. I also notice that there is an exposure setting in the light control panel. THe setting is normal by default, but can go 2 stops under or 2 stops over exposed. There are also some ambient light mixing controls that are a part of this. So... is there anything to gain by making 3 renders (Normal, +2 stops, and -2 stops) and combining them together in HDRI Shop (or PS CS2) to make an HDRI light probe image for use in other applications? If need be I can ever sety up a mirrored sphere and use the virtual camera to make my exposures as well (like what is done with real HDRI light probes.) Not sure if there is any advantage there either.

I know this will not be the exact same as a real world HDRI light probe, but would it be close enough in some way that it is worth doing.

BTW, I have done the panoramic thing with a single normal exposure render and used it as a JPEG (LDRI) envirenment map in C4D and it seem to work pretty good (transparent, reflection,s radiosity, etc.) What might I gain by going with a higher dynamic range image for lighting?

Attached is a sample render in C4D with a "environment" made from a single normal exposure render in Vue 4 DES. BTW, I use a black and whire version of the enviroment for the GI lighting and color version for the raytraced reflections and background. Otherwise the image tends to render blue from the sky color.

Quote - My main business is architectural illustration. I have clients that require their images printed at AO size (sometimes larger) for display and inspection at Appeals and Public Inquiries. Officials and the Public inspect the images not only from a distance but also close up. My clients expect extreme accuracy with their images and in consequence, high resolution is necessary.

Regards Al.

Well in that case a program like DAZ Studio is not a good choice. I would suggest something like Form-Z, 3DMax, Lightwave, Rhino 3D, or one of the various CAD programs. But those are $1000 and up but will give you more professional results. DAZ Studio is more of a beginner 3D starter program.

I have an old copy of Form-Z. Its often used for architecture. Actually did some architectual rendering once. You will likely want something that does precise measurements and snaps to grids and objects, and global illumination (also called radiosity) rendering.

But still, I have heard of pro photographers doing 2-page spread magazine photos with a 6MP (3000x2000) digital camera.

Henry

I lucked into Cinema 4D as I was working at a community college for a while and qualified for the academic pricing. Without that I could not afford it. However, that was years ago and its several versions behind now. I had Bryce 4 for a while but switched to Vue D'Sprit 4 during one of their special offers. (Under $100) Bryce and Vue seem to leap-frog each other in features. I found I liked Vue a little better and its interface seemed a little more professional.

But as you say, at first, and even now, I use simple primative objects when trying something new. And at first I played with just a few simple objects over, and over, and over,... again until the interface seemed natural and second nature. And then work through the manual and tutorials. ANd work throught them more than once. Work through a tutorial several times until you almost dont have to read the instructions to do it.  Then go through it some more only do things differently with different settings or objects. And so on.

DS seems to be a good free program if you dont expect Maya like things from it and take your time to learn it in steps.
Henry

Sounds like it might have been a corrupted install. But I feel the need to comment on the large image size. What would you need a 8000 pixel image for, unless a poster or banner that someone might look at so close that their nose will press against it. Except for test renders I save in TIFF format and turn it into a JPEG at the last step after editing. Almost all images, whether from a digital camera or 3D software benefit from some brightness and contrast adjusting. People have made usable 20x30 inch prints from 2000x3000 pixel digital camera images. Unless you are making a life sized poster that will be viewed close up, I dont see the reason for a 8000 pixel image.

Henry

I tried downloading some free clothing for V3 here in zip fromat, but my un-zip program says all the files are corrupted.

Henry

C4D is my general 3D program of choice. 3DMax is good but the company refused to recognize me as a valid user as I bought an old copy on ebay. So I gave it to a fried and got C4D instead. C4D is powerful and every 3D progarm has its own way of doing thing. I downloaded DAZ Studio last week and have not yet figured out how to combine it with C4D. I also ordered Poser 5 on its $49 sale. That has not arrived yet. Check out the one C4D tutorial for doing atmospherics. It takes much more setup than Bryce or Vue but you have more control once you do. The problem with Poser, Bryce, and so on is that once you see a dozen image made with that software they all start to look too similar.  C4D, like 3DMax, LW, is a powerful general 3D program that allows you to go beyond the look of other programs. But it takes work.

Henry

Every program has its learning curve. And unlike word processing applications, 3-D graphics programs all seem to work so differently from each other. I down loaded DAZ Studio last week. The program seems managable, but I am already familiar with other software like RayDream, Bryce, Vue D'Sprit, and my favorice Cinema 4D. DS seems like a reasonable free product. Not nearly as powerful as Blender (which I think has a terrible interface) but somewhat intuitive with its dail system. Download the manual and work through it. The manual might not be for exactly the current version but about 80% of it still applies. If you are new to 3-D it just takes some getting used to. Start small if you need. Even if you resort to making spheres and planes to play with materials and lightin. I still do that to this day with Cinema 4D when I am trying to figure out something about it that I have not dealt with before. Then work from what you know, to what you want to know in small steps. And, this is importaint. Repeat stuff several times until you can do it with minimal reference to the instructions/tutorial. Do the simple stuff over and over. Stack cubes, give them different materials, etc. Its hard to do something complex when you have too many new things happening at once.

Henry