Are we there yet?

[bonestructure]

In some ways, yes, we have. Most people see the main CG on screen. What they don't realize is that most movies they see have CG work in them. Skies, buildings, crowds, weather, dust, vehicles, a lot of these things are done routinely with CG. It's all in the background and usually done so perfectly that it goes completely unnoticed. CG is routinely used to put extra floors on buildings, fill out crowd scenes, change just about anything on the set.

As far as primary CG, I don't think it's there yet. The best I've seen are the air battles in Pearl Harbor and in Band of Brothers. And the actual bombing scenes in Pearl Harbor. As far as people, monsters, etc, it just isn't there yet. It's excellent, certainly, but not as realistic as live action yet. Best character animation I've seen is in a movie called Immortality, which I know nothing about, but the CG was amazing.

[jonathynblythe]

Wow, "Immortality" huh? Is that a movie that one can rent on DVD? Or is that like someone's MPEG project on the net? Is there maybe a link to it?

In any case, I have always wondered what would be best for finally creating that perfect reality illusion. I'm down to 2 options: the 3D programs like Maya and 3D Studio Max, and/or those rotoscoping-matchmoving programs. If you took a realistic Maya drawing (like some of the award-winning ones from this site), combined it with a photo in photoshop and created a matchmoving-rotoscoped skin for that character where you or someone else is moving on a camera for the character's movement, then I guess that's the most realistic one can get.

I know that a few movies do this sort of thing already, but I was wondering what would happen if someone maybe took an actual photo of someone and made a "living character" out of him/her. Is this possible? I wish I knew more about CAD, but I don't :( There's LOTS to this stuff.

Thanks. Jonathyn

[spider_newgent]

Hi

From your post it seems clear that you don't have too great a knowledge of CG as whole. The processes involved, possibilities, etc.

If I were you, and as interested as you seem in CG, I'd visit www.discreet.com (http://www.discreet.com) and download the 30 day trial of 3D Studio Max, (my program of choice). Also try to famiarise yourself with photoshop. (www.adobe.com (http://www.adobe.com))

Have a look at the tutorials and have a play around with the tools. see what kind of results you can acheive, fiddle with settings, and see from the tutorials which part you liked best. moddeling, texturing, rendering, compositing, animating etc. Then try to gain some more experience in that field.

If you get stuck, the 3d forums are very helpful here, just be sure to search for the answer before you post. Most of the questions you'd want to ask as a beginner would already be answered there.

In answer to your initial question I think CG is heading the way of traditional media. Painting and drawing were initially used in order to realistically and convincingly portray the world around us. With the advent of photogragphy, (and simply produced photorealism) the onus shifted toward representation of ideas, emotions, and so on, and all of the wonderful genres of art we have were dreamt up.

The CG industry will take a similar line, and become more about the representation of ideas, rather than photorealistic images.

We're not there yet...

[jonathynblythe]

Well it's true that I have very little knowledge of CG and that's kind of why I'm here. Like I said, there's so much to learn.

I have received 3D Studio Max 8 from a friend, but don't know how to use any of it. This is why I'm interested in sites like this in other words.

Is there an absolute, rock-bottom "CG for dummies" tutorial available? Discreet doesn't have anything that goes as low as my layman-level.

[spider_newgent]

Ok, firstly, I don't mean to flame you at all. But I'd be very careful about using pirate 3D software.

If you have a legitimate release of 3D Studio 8, you should have all the help files.

Press F1, and click the "getting started" button, then have a go at some of the tutorials. It will take a while before you start getting anywhere. You need patience, a logical mind, and above all, a good imagination.

Once you've had a good go at the tutorials and are familiar with the interface, have a look at the "joan of arc tutorial". just do a search for it in the 3D studio forum here. It is a very comprehensive charactr modelling tut. We have all done it and are all happy to help if you get stuck.

I cannot stress enough that at this point you need to build your skills to a reasonable level, and the first step is to learn the interface and the way the program works.

Happy Maxxing!

[Manuel Ponce]

I Think We're so there, in the very "Near" future we might not even need actors anymore. Lets take a movie Like "Lord of the Rings" or "Matrix 3" or "Starship Troopers", I'm just metioning them for the amount of realistic CG. Now take these movies 30 or 40 years back in time and present them to an audience. I think you'll have many people believe that the effects on screen are REAL and maybe even freek some people out.

[Âme noire]

Hi jonathynblythe,

maybe some more free tools you can use to get a first glimpse at the CGWorld:

www.blender3d.org (http://www.blender3d.org)
www.gimp.org (http://www.blender3d.org)

you could also take a visit at www.yafray.org (http://www.yafray.org), especially because you seem to be interested in realistic rendering, I think they go quite towards realism.

I personally think that we have already approached realism for those who haven't a trained eye for cg. I did take a pause for approx. 3 years doing 3D stuff and getting back at the moment and noticed a big step in the direction to fake realism even for people who are doing cg.

Good luck in exploring cg and get used to sleepless nights :D

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