EITG newsletter

[Vizfizz]

Don't forget Multi-layer rendering.

[artyr]

Hello Brian,

Can you tell me if there are any tutorials-videos(they were anounced about a year ago) or an update of the manual in the works.

Jack

[dieGolum]

Hello,

Will be Rodeo included in version EIAS 7, like X-pressionist?

Diego

[3dData]

There are some samples at the EI gallery that might be examples of multi-pass rendering. If so, it'll be a great addition. I'm looking forward to seeing the HDRI solution they have come up with and the dynamics is just icing. Sounds like a definite upgrade to get. Now, if only the plugins will move up to UB at a quicker pace! :)

http://www.eitechnologygroup.com/gallery/image_full/342/

[manuel]

Any chance of seeing the content of that letter somewhere? I've signed up in the past but never seem to receive anything.

[philsphlop]

Hello Manuel,

Please send me an email to phil@eitechnologygroup.com and I will reply with the newsletter attached.
Here is a link to sign up for future newsletters. On the right hand side of the page.

http://www.eitechnologygroup.com/products/electric_image_animation_system

Best Regards,
Phil Martin
EITG Sales

[manuel]

Done. Thanks

[juanxer]

Documentation-wise, one simple thing I hope they do is integrate Xpressionist's manual into the EIA's PDF one.

[Vizfizz]

Hello Brian,

Can you tell me if there are any tutorials-videos(they were anounced about a year ago) or an update of the manual in the works.

Jack


Hi Jack,

Videos are always a slow process. Paralumino will be releasing Dave Stoddard's Lighting Studio soon. So far its shaping up to be about 3 hours of tutorials on lighting and GI.

[artyr]

Good to hear that Brian.Looking forward to it.

Jack

[PaulS2]

Good to hear HDRI implementation but please no kludgey workarounds - do it right and do it simple. Don't just make it buzz-word compliant as in the last release of "EI can use HDRI maps".

Actually have HDRI maps produce the great lighting, reflective and refractive properties we all have seen on the web created in other apps. No more pretending, ok?

Right now, I hardly use GI in EI as I keep forgetting the workarounds when there is reflective and refractive objects in the scene...I don't have time in a rush job to go find where in the manual it states how to use reflectivity and GI together.

Every app I use which has GI just allows you to have reflective objects and they behave as they should....in EI, this isn't the case. Please fix this so it is straightforward and a no-brainer to use.

[Reuben5150]

Actually have HDRI maps produce the great lighting, reflective and refractive properties we all have seen on the web created in other apps. No more pretending, ok?


I might be wrong but.. for that to happen Animator would need to support 32bit floating point, if we are talking about "full" HDRI.

I seem to remember the requests for 16bit as being a big pain in the ass for EI to implement...

[PaulS2]

I seem to remember the requests for 16bit as being a big pain in the ass for EI to implement...

If that's the case then it probably will stand in line with the other pain's in the ass requests like multi-processor support.

I hope it isn't the case though and a no-excuses implementation is done.

[halfworld]

Good to hear HDRI implementation but please no kludgey workarounds

I agree, the current solution is very half baked (essentially, It reads HDR files but doesn't do anything special with them). I hope the new HDRI features 'correct' and expand upon this (GI, reflections).

[Jens C. Möller]

Documentation-wise, one simple thing I hope they do is integrate Xpressionist's manual into the EIA's PDF one.

Hm. That rises the question, what is better? A PDF documentation, or a html documentation? I personally like the second better... but that may be me. So?

Jens

[halfworld]

Hm. That rises the question, what is better? A PDF documentation, or a html documentation? I personally like the second better... but that may be me. So?

Jens

Sorry Jens, I prefer PDF because Preview is instantaneous at searching though them...

HTML you have to trawl through...

My 2 pence :)
Ian

[Jens C. Möller]

I agree, the current solution is very half baked (essentially, It reads HDR files but doesn't do anything special with them). I hope the new HDRI features 'correct' and expand upon this (GI, reflections).

I hope Paul S can actively assist in the devlopment of the HDRI features in EI...

Jens

[PaulS2]

Thanks for your vote of confidence Jens:-)

I used to be on the betas but I think I've been dropped somewhere along the way....I'm certainly willing to help out but haven't been asked or invited. Maybe it's best I don't - I probably would be a little demanding in my requests - maybe overly so.

[3dData]

The way I would like to see EI handle HDR; drop the .hdr file into the Environment, check off the use as reflections and light source and render it out. :)

Add as many other options as needed :)

[juanxer]

Sorry Jens, I prefer PDF because Preview is instantaneous at searching though them...IanAnd easier to print.

[atdesign]

Sorry Jens, I prefer PDF because Preview is instantaneous at searching though them...
Also what I like about PDFs is that you can highlight key passages. I have many manuals that are PDFs and highlighted, you don't need to reread the entire chapter to find key concepts.

[Reuben5150]

The way I would like to see EI handle HDR; drop the .hdr file into the Environment, check off the use as reflections and light source and render it out. :)

Add as many other options as needed :)

Don't think it will be that easy, but hopefully (as per Jens suggestion) it will be a new feature in the "world" options with automatic generation of backdrops, eg, rather than having to create a sphere to which the .HDR is mapped plus setting of material attributes etc, it will be done automatically.

I somehow get the feeling it will be featured in the GI options though.. i seem to remember using some HDR's as skymaps, the results were not always as expected though..

[PaulS2]

I'd like to see them used anywhere a reflection map can be used - and in a global sky object for illumination/reflection purposes.

[3dData]

I would like to get results like this initial test image using an HDR renderer, which was acomplished by dropping the HDR into the Environment and playing with the intensity. I'm not a rendering expert by any means, but the current implementation of HDR in EI is really clunky. I'm really hoping for an efficient solution.

http://www.blasscom.com/car.jpg

[Reuben5150]

I would like to get results like this initial test image using an HDR renderer, which was acomplished by dropping the HDR into the Environment and playing with the intensity. I'm not a rendering expert by any means, but the current implementation of HDR in EI is really clunky. I'm really hoping for an efficient solution.

http://www.blasscom.com/car.jpg


I think it should go beyond cars and nice metal objects, EI can already do a pretty good job here although technically its not HDRI at all, lets be clear, EIAS can only read .HDR files loaded as light gel's within illuminator domes, once its loaded its then converted to something else, ie, not 32bit foating point, therefore there is no advantage to using HDR's over jpeg's, img's or any other format, and then the actual image is only used to color the lights (samples), so, even though pretty good results can be had, its by no means what you would call HDRI rendering.

One of the latest-and-greatest buzz words in the games industry is HDR and "bloom" no less, if in fact its been around a while now, and the thing i noticed is the way the effect is really over done in a lot of cases, sometimes resulting in dreamy looking or even abstract game visuals, like they have to prove something or make it clear to those with a less than keen eye..

i'd like this ability in EIAS, complete control over the effect, ranging from subtle to overblown, complete envronmental lighting generated by a single image, and of cause, it has to be easily identifiable as HDRI so as not to cause 1000 and 1 arguments on the forums ;-)

[PaulS2]

Here are a couple of images created while I was learning Brazil which use the "Kitchen" HDRI map in the refraction 'environment' and reflection 'environment' channels.

http://homepage.mac.com/sherstobitoff/.Pictures/Brazil/HDA04.jpg

http://homepage.mac.com/sherstobitoff/.Pictures/Brazil/HDA03.jpg

Using standard reflection maps in EI doesn't even come close to the sparkle and aliveness one can achieve with a good HDRI map.

A single spot lit everything.

[atdesign]

Here are a couple of images created while I was learning Brazil which use the "Kitchen" HDRI map in the refraction 'environment' and reflection 'environment' channels.

http://homepage.mac.com/sherstobitoff/.Pictures/Brazil/HDA04.jpg

http://homepage.mac.com/sherstobitoff/.Pictures/Brazil/HDA03.jpg

Using standard reflection maps in EI doesn't even come close to the sparkle and aliveness one can achieve with a good HDRI map.

A single spot lit everything.
As usual, very nice Paul!

A question that's a bit off topic, does EIs glass controls take in to account Beers law of light absorption? (Light is absorbed exponentially as it travels through a material making thicker areas more opaque). Paul? Anyone?

[PaulS2]

Thanks.

The 'raytrace volume' within the transparency raytrace tab should give you some, if not all, of what you seek.

[atdesign]

Thanks.

The 'raytrace volume' within the transparency raytrace tab should give you some, if not all, of what you seek.
Thank you sir. :)

[PaulS2]

You're welcome:-)

Ever since I've seen your work I've been a fan - I love your clean sense of design, executed perfectly. Very impressive!

Did you go to school when you first started or did you just pick things up along the way?

[atdesign]

You're welcome:-)

Ever since I've seen your work I've been a fan - I love your clean sense of design, executed perfectly. Very impressive!

Did you go to school when you first started or did you just pick things up along the way?
Thanks Paul, I'm a fan of your work for the same reason, a clean sense of design with beautiful execution.

Under all the Photoshop and 3D work I show is an old school graphic designer. I got a BA in design in 1979 and started doing movie posters in 1980. I had excellent professors and the first 5 years of my career was at Seiniger with freelance work for Saul Bass. The first 10 years of my career I did everything by hand, I'm completely self taught when it comes to computers and programs. When it came to learning some aspects of 3D (lighting, materials, dynamics) it didn't hurt that I had a minor in Physics.

I view design as a subtractive art form, which seems to be becoming a lost art. Much of what I see these days is additive thinking, computers and all the wonderful things they can do get in the way of what design is all about. I could go on and on about design but I'm already a bit OT, sorry Vizfizz.:)

[Reuben5150]

Here are a couple of images created while I was learning Brazil which use the "Kitchen" HDRI map in the refraction 'environment' and reflection 'environment' channels.

http://homepage.mac.com/sherstobitoff/.Pictures/Brazil/HDA04.jpg

http://homepage.mac.com/sherstobitoff/.Pictures/Brazil/HDA03.jpg

Using standard reflection maps in EI doesn't even come close to the sparkle and aliveness one can achieve with a good HDRI map.

A single spot lit everything.


Beautiful renders Paul, i've looked at your Brazil gallery a few times and thought wow ! the quallity and detail is amazing...

[PaulS2]

Thanks...there isn't that much difference between the basic look of Brazil and EI. Brazil just has a few more features which can add a little more zip to an image. EI needs these.

Allan...have no fear of talking design - it's very relavent to this forum. Very interesting story you have there.....I like the concept of subtractive design.

You can talk for pages and pages and no-one is going to give you a rough time:-)

[3dData]

You can talk for pages and pages and no-one is going to give you a rough time:-)


I certainly won't :o) And I would enjoy "listening" to the conversation.

[atdesign]

You can talk for pages and pages and no-one is going to give you a rough time:-)

I certainly won't :o) And I would enjoy "listening" to the conversation.
Maybe I'll peak in on the forums more often and give some design tips where it is needed. ;)

Back on topic, I'm looking forward to a good HDR solve in EI. A world type that puts in a auto globe would be good. Along those lines it would be helpful if the HDR can be seen in the camera view so if it needs to be rotated you can tell where your light/relfections are coming from.

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