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View Full Version : I want to learn Mental Ray but...

Raynix
05-21-2006, 03:58 AM
hi guys

I want to learn how to do good renders with Mental Ray.

I'm aware I can find it on 3DS MAX / Maya /XSi.

I know all 3 platforms and all those software are still available cuz of school.

So this is NOT to start a stupid program war, but I'd like to know which one is easier to start and which one gives you the most options when it comes to high end renders (by high end I mean professional quality that you see in ads or movies).

I don't mind spending days and nights on learning that, it's something that my teachers are not very good at teaching me... well Mental Ray so to speak.

So anyone able to tell from experience... about the choices ?

I heard that XSI is has the best intergration of MR... but I wonder if it is just PR from companies...


And yes I can use all 3 applications..


Thx
AndrewRaZ
05-25-2006, 10:07 PM
all things being equal, use the program you're most comfortable with.
Ministry
06-04-2006, 05:58 AM
hi, i don't think there will be much of a change in the mental ray regarding the programs.. i ve used maya and max as well but i could still find all the options which are there in both the programes. So better start working on software that u are a lot comfortable with. enjoy.
soulburn3d
06-04-2006, 06:54 PM
hi, i don't think there will be much of a change in the mental ray regarding the programs.. i ve used maya and max as well but i could still find all the options which are there in both the programes.

Well, the subelties are the difference. Like I love the way XSI has setup their interactive rendering, where you select a square area and see the resulting render, and the way you increase the accuracy of the render with that little slider. You can sort do all these things in the other implementations, but it's more cumbersome.

Personally I think the lack of standardization with regards to the mentalray interface is one of it's greatest weaknesses. Mental Images is selling a renderer, not an interface to their renderer, and the way you interface with a piece of software in my opinion is just as important if not more so than the program itself. Even if a piece of software is not quite as powerful as another, if it has a super easy to use interface, it will be more successful.

Getting back to the original question, IMO XSI does have the best implementation, but mentalray has been THE renderer for softimage and xsi for way longer than in either maya or max, so you'd assume it would be better integrated. But I'd also suggest as the others that just use whatever feels more comfortable to you. No one 3d package or renderer is perfect for everybody.

- Neil
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06-04-2006, 06:55 PM
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