which GI script is the best one?

[boomji]

hey dude,
was asking my self the same thing hehe.
may be you should also post on high end or do a poll based thread here...so that every one can chime in advntages/disadvantages rants raves etc.
bye
b

[mushroomgod]

try the "sky" pluging, you can DL it from highend :)

[bigfatMELon]

IMO, having tried all of them and ultimately building my own, I think GI-Joe offers the most thorough and flexible solution.

For mine, rather than build an actual script, I started with results of the heaviest GI_Joe rig, simplified it down to what I felt was important (cuz who needs rock textured ambient domes anway?), customized the controls and added an extra 8/1 directional source with variable shadow focus (like what the softSpot script makes). This rig offers balance between ambient and directional sources, hard or soft directional shadows and ramp driven ambience.

Now I just import the entire rig, scale and tweak to taste. No script needed. I'll post it somewhere if people are interested.

-jl

[Lunatique]

POST IT, PLEEEESE! :D

And how do you insert a poll function? Some kind of vB code that's not listed?

[bigfatMELon]

Okey doke...

http://homepage.mac.com/julianlove/FileSharing3.html

Grap the file called giLightRig.ma.

There are two wires that contain all the controls for the rig. The GI_Controller (shaped like a lightbulb) holds all of the controls for the ambient dome. it's also the parent so you can scale this change the size of the dome. You can hide the dome if needed.

There is also a material called lightRamp that has a ramp node connected to it's color channel. This ramp is the main ramp for the GI Dome.


The wire named giSunTarget (shaped like the sun) is the controller for the soft spot array and also the target for that source. Place it where you want the directional source to point, then rotate it to place the sun into position.

If you look in the Extra Attributes section of the Attr Editor, you'll find all of the custom controls for each wire. They include things such as visibility, color, intensity, etc... In the case of the sun, there is a Sun section and a Soft Sun section. The Sun is a single directional light while the Soft Sun is a circular light array. Either or both can be on and there is a control for Soft Sun Focus that controls the softness of the shadow attenuation.

There's a lot going on in the rig but the goal is to place the controls in easy to get at places and to provide more than just an ambient solution.

-jl

[ACFred]

That's a nice job, Seattelite. I haven't had too much time to goof around with it, but your solution creates nice effects from the get go and your additional, flexible sun and soft shadows works nicely.

I dig it. Thanks for sharing!

[bigfatMELon]

Thanky. Glad to help out.

And starting July 11th, it's Seattlelite no more as I'm moving to Redwood City, CA to start my new job. Woohoo!

-jl

[ACFred]

Cool. Congratulations! Moving into my neck of the woods -- although I was a Seattlite for 10 years before moving back to sunny CA.

Lemme see....Redwood City.....EA?

Good luck with the gig!

[Lunatique]

Thank you, my big, fat, melon-headed brotha!

Redwood City eh? Welcome to the Bay Area! I've lived there since 1984. :) But, I'll be in China for the next year or two, trying to complete this animation project. See you in a couple of years? :D

ACFred- I was thinking EA too...

[bigfatMELon]

EA? After having worked at Sierra, I couldn't possibly go to another lethargic behemoth like EA. :p

So, I'm going to Blizzard instead.

-jl

[ACFred]

Oh, yeah. Their Diablo crew are up here, right? Very cool.

[bigfatMELon]

Yep, it's the Blizzard North office. BTW, anyone have info on the local area Maya user's group?

-jl

[ACFred]

Here's the info for the SF user group:

San Francisco
Max Sims
Freelancer
Email: max@technolution.com
Phone: 650-947-3631

I haven't attended any of their meetings yet, although I should get my butt in gear and do it since I assume it's a nice networking opportunity.

[bigfatMELon]

Great! Thanks a bunch, AC. :thumbsup:

-jl

[Lunatique]

What will your position be? Staff animator or senior animator?

[bigfatMELon]

It's a TD spot. People wear a lot of hats around there, so I'll get to dabble in a lot of areas. Also, their management structure is extremely flat so there isn't so much distinction between lead and staff. In some cases not at all. Rather refreshing in a way.

-jl

[Lunatique]

TD? Very nice. Suites you very well, as you've been doing just that at cgtalk. :D Got a problem? Get the Melon. :thumbsup:

I hope your new job won't stop you from posting and helping people here like you have been. Your help is much appreciated, and I think so many people here have had their butt/project saved by you and the other helpful memebers.

Let me know when you get there. I'll give you a list of must see/visit/try places in the Bay Area that only locals know about. ;)

[bigfatMELon]

Thanky!

It might slow me down some but it won't prevent me from posting here. At least so long as I don't break the NDA. :)

-jl

[playmesumch00ns]

I wrote me own too, just built on top of two scripts on highend called sds_attach_to_nurbs.mel and sds_fake_glob_illum_cpos or something like that.
Great idea - you just make a nurbs object and then the script whacks lights at all the intersections of the isoparms so you can control the shape/ number of lights really easily.
Except in this guy's version he didn't bother to check for duplicates.

So I extended it to remove the dup's and also added an aim constraint to orient the lights properly so you can use all kinds of lights.

If anyone wants it I'll post it. it works very nicely except...
looks a bit funny when you add a sunlight. The colours get all washed out all of a sudden but prolly just need to play with it a bit more. Haven't used it except as a MEL exercise so I'd appreciate some feedback if anyone does want to try it out

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