Monday, May 31, 2010

Model a High Rez Domed Fountain Structure in 3ds Max

Final Product What You'll Be Creating

In this intermediate level modeling tutorial, you will follow Ben Tate as he demonstrates how to create a deatailed domed structure and water fountain in 3ds Max.

A combination of both poly modeling and spline modeling techniques will be used to complete the structure and the water fountain. You will learn quick and efficient methods to build detailed molding pieces, utilizing simple extrude and bevel techniques, as well as combining spline profiles and the lathe modifier, as well as creating and positioning objects using the Array tool, and applying smoothing groups to your models.

Video 1

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Note: click the ‘Monitor’ icon to view tutorial in full-screen HD.

Video 2

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Note: click the ‘Monitor’ icon to view tutorial in full-screen HD.

Video 3

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Note: click the ‘Monitor’ icon to view tutorial in full-screen HD.

Video 4

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Note: click the ‘Monitor’ icon to view tutorial in full-screen HD.

Composite A Live Action Jet Flyby – CG Part

Final Product What You'll Be Creating

In this 2 Part, 45 minute tutorial we’ll go over the process involved with compositing a jet,

Video 1

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Note: click the ‘Monitor’ icon to view tutorial in full-screen HD.

Quick Tip – An Intro to VRay RT

In this quick tip we will take a beginners look at VrayRT, examining worflow, and a few basic techniques to get you up and started with Active Shade rendering.

Video 1

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Note: click the ‘Monitor’ icon to view tutorial in full-screen HD.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Fixing Lens Distortion in PhotoshopFixing Lens Distortion in Photoshop

In this slightly expanded Quick Tip we’re going to take a look at fixing lens distortion caused by the camera lens. We’re be offering a quick, ten minute overview of the complete workflow and also understanding the process of fixing chromatic aberrations and vignetting.


Watch the Video


Topics Covered

  • Using the Lens Correction Filter to fix perspective and distortion
  • Different options for expanding the edges of your image after fixing the lens distortion
  • An overview of the problems caused by Chromatic Aberration and Vignette
  • Using a grid to line up your image correctly
  • Further adjusting your image using Photoshop’s distort tool

Model a High Rez Domed Fountain Structure in 3ds Max

Final Product What You'll Be Creating

In this intermediate level modeling tutorial, you will follow Ben Tate as he demonstrates how to create a deatailed domed structure and water fountain in 3ds Max.

A combination of both poly modeling and spline modeling techniques will be used to complete the structure and the water fountain. You will learn quick and efficient methods to build detailed molding pieces, utilizing simple extrude and bevel techniques, as well as combining spline profiles and the lathe modifier, as well as creating and positioning objects using the Array tool, and applying smoothing groups to your models.

Video 1

Download

Note: click the ‘Monitor’ icon to view tutorial in full-screen HD.

Video 2

Download

Note: click the ‘Monitor’ icon to view tutorial in full-screen HD.

Video 3

Download

Note: click the ‘Monitor’ icon to view tutorial in full-screen HD.

Video 4

Download

Note: click the ‘Monitor’ icon to view tutorial in full-screen HD.

Create Realistic Condensation on Glass with Maya Paint Effects

Final Product What You'll Be Creating

Adobe Design Premium CS5 software offers you complete creative freedom without sacrificing precision or quality, whether working in print, web, interactive, or mobile media.

In this Maya Quick Tip tutorial, you will learn how to create realistic looking condensation any object, specifically cold glass, and then quickly render it for a nice polished final effect using Maya Paint Effects.

Step 1

Model your glass object. It could be a bottle, window, or anything that gives you the feeling of coldness.

Step 2

Switch to the “Rendering Menu” by pressing “F6″ on your keyboard, select the object, and then go to “Paint Effects > Make Paintable”.

Step 3

Open “Visor” by going to “Window > General Editors > Visor”.

Step 4

Select “Surface Bubbles” from the list.

Step 5

Start drawing the bubbles on the object’s surface. If the bubbles direction is reversed, simply undo, select the object, then go to “Edit NURBS > Reverse Surface Direction”, or “Normals > Reverse” if the object is made with Polygons. Now draw again. Note: To control the brush size, press “b” and hold while moving your mouse Left or Right.

Step 6

When you have finished drawing your bubbles, you may need to edit the following properties:

  • Sample Density: Increases or decreases the bubble density.
  • Surface Offset: Controls the distance between the object and the bubbles.
  • Smoothing: Smooths the bubbles path (underlying curve).
  • For me, the Density = 0.6, the Surface Offset = -0.010, and the Smoothing = 10.

    Step 7

    After that you can also add some tiny bubbles to fill in the empty area.

    Step 8

    Now you can render you scene using “Maya Software” or “Mental Ray”.

    For Maya Software Render, adjust the “Specular” and “Depth Shadow” attributes in the “Attribute Editor”. This will allow the “strokeSurfaceBubbles” brush to get a better render.

    For Maya Mental Ray Render, convert the Paint Effects to Polygons, and use “Mia_Material > Glass Presets” for the bubbles on the surface. You can use IBL to give reflections too if you like.