Alienware M15x. The mobile office for 3d rendering.

Vray Benchmark M15x Normal mode (non-stealth)

Vray Benchmark image for the Alienware M15x

Are we 3d architectural illustrators and 3d renderers no longer chained to our desks or  in a cube? I recently purchased the new Alienware M15x. I have to say, I was so tired of working at my desk everyday for hours and even though I miss my large flat panel, I like being mobile better.  Now I know a laptop is not a render farm or a Boxx but for a little workstation, its pretty impressive.

I purchased it in March, about 1 week after it was announced. I was a little nervous about NOT purchasing a dell but I really wanted to try something better, and to tell you the truth Dell wasn’t really impressing me with their workstations anymore.

My spec’s are:

Intel Core2 extreme x9000 2.8 ghz

Nvidia Ge-Force 8800M GTX 512 MB

15″ WUXGA LCD with web-cam

4 GB ram

Blue-Ray/DVD Rom

200GB Hard drive with another 200GB Smart-bay drive

Vista Ultimate (no comment)

The cool thing about this laptop is not only is it fast but with its glowing  light pipe around the outside lid and the lighted keyboard, this computer turns heads. I must admit, it was the cool lighting and Alienware FX that pushed me over the edge and made me order it.

It also has stealth mode (low power mode- see above images) built-in blue tooth, built in web-cam and HDMI port for watching off of the Blue-Ray Disc to the TV.

All in all I have been really impressed with this mobile workstation and enjoy being able to leave the confines of my office once in a while…

MORE BENCHMARKS AT THIS THREAD:

http://www.chaosgroup.com/forums/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=36265

The dying art of Autocad Modeling… Is it.. old school??

I admit, I model in Autocad.. Is this lame. Sometimes people give me that look. The look that “your only modeling in Autocad because you can’t model in 3dsmax.”

That’s not true, I chose to model in Autocad. I come from a generation that autocad was the be all, end all. 3dmax was just this program that was really cool but no one in the office would actually own a copy.   It seems like all the younger renderers wouldn’t touch Autocad with a ten foot pole for modeling. So my question is, is autocad modeling old school?

I think Autocad is a great tool, and now with the advances in lighting and materials, and new presspull command, I think it intergrates with clients elevations and floorplans pretty well.  I was recently on a forum called cadtutor.com and impressed to see some of the new renderings in autocad, lighting and all. Autocad has come a long way from Release 10. It no longer looks like a cartoon.  Some of the interior shots were pretty amazing.

So I dont know nurbs. But you gotta love presspull. Take a client elevation and just start presspulling the regions until you have a whole side of a building modeled in no time. I admit, it still needs a little work and is a little buggy but it could be great.

I can model fast. Probably faster than any 20 year old cg artist with a 3d program. So cut us old timers some slack and don’t give us that look like we are a dying breed. Autocad still rocks!

Texturefly.com is now open for business.

desert tree image texturefly

Come check out http://www.texturefly.com to get your masked images for compositing, 3d entourage, clipart,  and stock photos. We have over 50 new images, including tree images, car images, people textures and plant images. We are also adding new stuff everyday so don’t forget to register for an account so that we can update you with out product updates newsletter.

Texturefly has been a dream of mine for a long time. After working in the industry for 12 years, I realized the real shortage of masked images available to architectural illustrators and artists alike. I noticed I was seeing the same textures and images in everyone’s rendering in every state. We all know how long it takes to shoot, airbrush, cut and edit these images, and finding the time to start this endeavor hasn’t been easy. I have been cutting out my own trees, cars, and plants since 2001 and like to think that these images will give you a little more variety so that your 3d renderings or whatever you decide to use them for will be unique and your photocompositing enjoyable. Don’t forget to check back periodically. New items go up everyday! And sign up for our newsletter for email updates.

Happy halloween from Texturefly!

Trick or Treat..Texturefly.com goes live…12:00 a.m. Halloween!!

Car Image Clipart - Texturefly.com

Ghost Hunters isn’t the only thing going live this Halloween. Texturefly.com will launch at 12:00 A.M. this Halloween, October 31, 2008.  We have been working diligently to get our texture store up and running. And the great thing is, although we have a limited number of tree images, people images, car masked images, plant clip art, etc, we add new stuff to our site everyday.

All images will be sold individually. Everyone knows how hard it is nowadays to find good images for our 3d renderings and architectural illustration. There are a limited number of sites  selling stuff and  I’ve been to them all through the years looking and buying textures  (imagecels and got3d) . Our goal is to be the premier online texture store. We want you to know that quality and variety are number one.

Most of our clip art photoshop masked images are 12.7 mega-pixel high resolution tiff files. We don’t supply an alpha channel but instead each image is cut out on a separate layer and so all you need to do is drag and drop. All plants supplied are 6.3 mega-pixel. We used a professional Canon 5D camera to shoot all our trees, people, cars, plants etc.

Categories that include images now are Domestic car images, Foreign Car images, Desert Tree images, Broad leaf Tree images, Flowering Tree images, SUV/Truck images, Desert Plant images, Beach/Gym People images, Casual People images, Active Adult/Senior images.

We will be traveling though out the US to provide all zones of Plants and Trees, so if you don’t see your particular types of trees, don’t be discouraged, we will be adding new images daily.  Some categories coming soon are, Business people images, Conifer Trees, Cactus, Aerial view, Blooming Plants, Evergreens and also Sky images, Panoramas and Tileable textures such as stone, brick and other great seamless texture maps for 3dsmax.

We will also have a newsletter listing all our new products and specials so be sure to create an account with us so you can find out the latest and greatest at texturefly.com. And remember, if there is anything that you would like to request, please email us at info@texturefly.com  Happy Halloween from Texturefly!

Texturefly.com is on the rise.

masked acacia tree

It’s time to get ready to implement and in the very near future,  launch Texturefly.  Texturefly.com will be a premier online texture store that will specialize in masked images not only for those that are in architectural illustration and 3d rendering, but also those using  composite images in Photoshop as well as stock photos for web, advertising etc. Texturefly will start off with a section on masked trees and people, eventually  expanding to cars, plants and tileable textures. All images with be on a black or white background and masked using an alpha channel. All images will be sold individually at first then maybe when things get running we will have packages or bulk discounts. It will be set up so the end user can download the image directly after payment is approved though a download link.  If anyone has any requests or interests has any input to please feel free to comment on this blog.

http://www.texturefly.com

How to market architectural illustration during a recession

Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours… Ronald Reagan.

Times are tough right now in the architectural world. No one is building and no one is investing in architecture. You drive down the street and see the four office buildings that have your 3drenderings in front of it, empty.  Is this the beginning of the end?

I think not. Even though development is slowing down, why should the need to market it. I would think just the opposite. Doing architectural illustration in Phoenix, Arizona for the past 7 years, we’ve seemed to have our work handed on a silver platter. There was so much construction going on that we never needed to do anything to get more than enough work to keep a zillion people busy.  I would say now would be a good time to strike. Just because someone isn’t handing you work left and right, doesn’t mean that there isn’t any. I think we just need to be a little more aggressive.  Here are a couple pointers to get you though a recession.

Stay focused, stay positive. I know in a recession people get really negative. You hear talk, your colleagues get laid off or go bankrupt. But seriously, does a negative attitude really help. Better yet, maybe we shouldn’t spend 23 out of 24 hours blaming the government. Lets be proactive people, not retroactive. Keep a positive attitude, no one has ever succeeded with a negative one.

Use Connections and networking. I found networking to be the most useful tool in a business. People aren’t going to freak out if you call up and get the 411 on there company situation or if you ask them if they need any 3d renderings, 2d graphics, elevations or colored site plans.

Maybe you should give a discount. Seriously, $3000.00 for one 3d rendering. We all know it doesn’t take that long for architectural illustration, and if you have a high overhead, maybe its time to cut back. Ive seen what some people charge in architecture, and although that seemed reasonable  in 2001, its not so reasonable now.

Bottom line, if you have a good 3d rendering that is realistically priced, you should be able to keep afloat in a recession. Put some elbow grease into marketing, pride into your work and a positive attitude.

Our website is: http://www.endisine3d.com

Starting a good 3d rendering

3d rendering- Phoenix Arizona

I have a formula for a good 3d rendering. I use it over and over. After a while, I start to wonder, should I be experimenting more? I am a firm believer of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. At the same time with all the new technology, should I be trying new settings or new materials, lighting etc.

Here’s a little bit of background on my soup Du jour, Right now I am working with the new 3dsmax 2009 coupled with V-ray 1.50 SP2. Compositing is done with Adobe Photoshop CS3 extended. My hardware is new also. I purchased the Alienware M15x with 4g ram and the Intel Core2 Extreme x9000 and the NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTX. I will get into that bad boy a little later.

It’s good to have a template scene set up in 3dsmax. In my template named templatesun.max, I have a camera, a sun and compass and one ground asphalt plane.  I also have my environment and V-ray setting up. Basically, I import the 3d geometry into the scene and pull my camera, sun and ground plane over to my model. This way, if I need to import more geometry, I can bring it into the scene and it will be in the proper x,y and z coordinates.

I find the most important element to be your V-ray materials library. If you are starting a materials library, check out http://www.vray-materials.de/ . This site has some really great materials that are free. Just make sure you have the proper plug-ins and the materials you select are in the correct max version. You may also have to check the paths on the maps. I haven’t gotten one yet that I didn’t have to change the paths.

I have a library called, you guessed it, Vraymaterials.mat.  I keep getting this request from clients. Can I have your model, which would include materials. Anyone who spends an inordinately amount of time in Max and Vray knows that materials are top secret entities. Hours go into creating a good material,  so next time people, just don’t ask 🙂

My basic materials are, asphalt, stucco, concrete walk, concrete curb, dg (or decomposed granite for those of you not from Arizona or Nevada), grass, glass, stone, roof tile and metal. I can basically drag and drop, do a little color adjust and voila, the rendering is ready….. If only it were that simple. But if you are doing a lot of renderings, this makes it pretty easy to keep your renderings consistent and shorten you time on the project.

Our website is: http://www.endisine3d.com

Starting a company in 3d graphics

My company is called endisine3d, Inc. We specialize in 3d architectural illustration, 3d renderings, colored site plans and elevations.  After working in an architecture firm that will remain nameless, I realized that it seemed ridiculous that I should be working for the man and making peanuts. I was seeing what was being billed to the client per hour and what I was making and so I figured, I can do this.

In 2001, I started my company while still working at the architecture firm. My game plan was to find some clients and then, when I couldn’t stand working 16 hours a day, I would quit the firm. This lasted about 4 months. After a triple shot latte and 5 hours of sleep, the boss called me into the office and asked if I was on something. I said, yes, a triple latte. I proceeded to tell him that I was starting my own gig and quiting his. This wasn’t going as planned. I jumped the gun and gave him my two weeks.

Crap, what did I do? I barely had enough clients to tide me over and now I quit my job. Anyway, to make a long story short, starting a business isn’t for everyone, I had to borrow, beg and steal to make it work and now, in 2008, I’m still doing well as a business owner.

I think that this is a good business because not many people do it and a lot of people need it. Also you don’t have to charge too much when you are starting out because its mostly your time that you are billing out. Yes, you do need software (which is expensive) and equipment but I think most people in this industry are overcharging. I also think you need to be really good at creating graphics and very detailed. It’s important to have pride in your work.

So that is pretty much where I am in 2008. Since the market is slow right now, I’m going to be writing about stuff I know in this business, software, hardware, tips, tricks, websites, etc, until we get out of this recession and start building again!

Our website is: http://www.endisine3d.com

A little history about my journey to 3D architectural illustration

Hello and Welcome to my first blog. Someone recently told me that while the market in architecture is less than hot right now, it might be a good idea to start a blog. Now I admit that when it comes to 3d rendering, Adobe photoshop, and Autodesk 3dsmax I feel I’m pretty good at technology. So when I had to ask what a blog was, I felt pretty dumb. Anyway, when I got the DL on the concept, I figured it would be a cool idea to write about my journey through the world of architecture.

Having started out as an architecture major at USC (go Trojans!) I find it ironic that a simple turn of events landed me right back where I started, in architecture. I always wanted to be an artist and convincing my parents that I needed to switch to the art department was not my shining moment. Needless to say after 3 majors and one transfer, I did graduate with a B.F.A in studio art.

I find myself 24, and no idea what I am supposed to do. I literally had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of my parents money with no jobs, no prospects and no money. My architecture experience starts here. I am sent on an interview from a tip someone had given me. A man by the name of Jon, half Kiwi, half English, half crazy attempts to interview me while running around his design studio working, panicking, and finally telling me to leave and come back another day because he had a deadline couldn’t talk to me. To make a long story short, we clicked right away. I ended up working for Jon for 4 years in the ever exciting world of systems furniture. Yes that cube you have to sit in everyday is system furniture. Don’t get me wrong, we did more exciting things as well. See Jon is an amazing furniture designer.. We would work on interiors for custom houses etc. Jon did all of his drawings by hand, they were works of art, I told him. And the artist side of me loved that unique side to design. But then I got introduced to Autocad….

Actually I don’t even think it was technically autocad but some other program that was way easier. I started drawing plans, elevations, sections. Soon I was onto axonometric, isometric all done in 2D of course. Then I found 3dsmax.

Hail! 3dsmax Release 1. This was hot. It was officially announced at Siggraph 1995 . Completely new interface, object oriented with modifier stacks and allowing for 3rd party plug-in renders and running on Windows NT 3.5.1.

I was determined to learn this program and Autocad LT. I knew it was going to be the future. Jon and I started doing 3d interiors with the few articles of furniture that they gave you on a Viewpoint disk (I wish I could have thought up Turbosquid.com) we added in his custom built-ins and used the fabulous materials they had in the application (not!) and rendered it out on a sweet 800×600 resolution, real high-def stuff.

The clients freaked. They couldnt believe how cool this was. I knew I had to move forward.
Release 1 turned into 2, 3, 4 and finally here we are. Max 2009.

Our website is: http://www.endisine3d.com