I kinda disagree here:
I think it is a bit like saying its cheating to do smoke in fumefx. Of course the goal is to improve and do some research, but using plugins is just a way to try to get the best effect.
I used Zap from sapphire plugins to do my first test, and there is still a huge amount of work to do afterwards. I’m still thinking about ways to do lightning in 3d with 3dsmax, but I don’t feel like developping my own complex plugin.
My goal here is to improve my skills by achieving the best effects I can do with the tools (and the time) I have.

