3D WORLDS

So You Wanna Learn 3ds MAX

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 06:29:00 +0000

Want to join the video game revolution? Maybe you'd like to produce broadcast graphics and animations. Want a job at a post production film and CG animation studio? Your education begins here. Joe Tresca is a 3ds Max expert who produces 3D animations for Fortune 500 clients. His down-to-earth training style has helped novices reach a professional level for the past 5 years. You'll learn 3ds Max fast as Joe Tresca leads you through over 7 hours of intense video training. Those new to 3ds Max simply cannot afford to miss this video training.

More Detail
&
Purchase Here

Techniques From the Masters, Volume I

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 06:25:00 +0000

The Techniques from the Masters, Volume I disc is a compilation of professional-level video tutorials put together from a variety of instructors who want to share some of their knowledge with the 3D community. Youre not going to find this much bang for so few bucks anywhere! This video includes 10 videos, covering nearly thirteen hours of video training over 11 different applications! This first volume of the Techniques from the Masters series will teach you a wide variety of secrets and tricks ranging from modeling to advanced rigging to rendering to matchmoving and even on to network programming and much more! These videos are presented on a DVD-ROM that is NOT viewable in your home entertainment DVD player! The videos must be played on a home computer and require a media player software that supports the XviD codec, which must be installed to watch the videos. Techniques cover the following softwares: Maya, XSI, Houdini, Terragen 2, Voodoo, C++, Unreal Engine 3, 3ds Max, Photoshop, DAZ Studio, Motionbuilder.

More Detail
&
Order Here

Money From TurboSquid

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 03:56:00 +0000

You have a lot 3D model on your Hard Drive, but you don't know where to, or what should to be done with all "these junk stuff".
Don't delete your 3D Model or so called your junk stuff, you can earn extra money from it.
but how?

I'll explain about TurboSquid first

What is TurboSquid. Basically it is an internet marketplace where people buy, sell, and share their 3D digital models and textures.

Turbo Squid is at http://www.turbosquid.com

Turbosquid is a free way to earn money if you have made some 3D models and you don't mind selling them.

So how do you go about doing the sellings?

First go the Turbosquid website

Register an account with them. You can do this by going to Member on the mainpage. Once in the Member page, filled up and submit your partculars under the CREATE NEW MEMBER ACCOUNT

After the registration, you can start uploading the work you want to sell using their upload feature.

There is a Product Manager section on the Member page. Use it for adding price, descriptive keywords and other information about the products. You can even add additional support files too. Additionally, you can also assign the files for free downloading if you want to.

Lastly, click on the Publish Product button. Your product is being created and is ready to sell.

The formats of 3D models that are commonly on sales are:

3D Studio
3D StudioMax
Maya
LightWave
Cinema4D

Payment of commissions are via cheques or paypal.

All these seems pretty confusing from the description, but is not. It is really very easy to create a product for selling.

these are the information for using Turbo Squid to sell 3D models. Besides 3D models you can also sell textures and software with it.

Hope that this essay has been useful.

I'll explain later with other "3D Store" you can join...

posted taken from http://www.ideacosmo.com/

Analog Display Plug-in for 3D Max

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 03:01:00 +0000

Need an electronic display for that spaceship cockpit
or digital clock? Have we got the plug-in for you!

Click on the image below to download the beta version of the plug-in for use with Max 7/8, 9/2008 and 2009. This is a "zip" file and requires a decompression utility to extract the contents. Please read the enclosed "readme" file before installing!

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is beta software! Use at your own risk. Save your work often to prevent loss of work caused by possible crashes.

Here is a sample movie of some of the things
the Displays plugin can do! (Requires DivX CODEC)

This demo shows several features of DISPLAYS. Numeric output linked to the frame number, random decimal, hexadecimal, binary, 7- and 16-segment LED-type and Nixie displays, scrolling messages, values linked via parameter wiring. A supplied utility allows creating an infinite variety of custom displays!

Taken From => http://max.klanky.com/

3dsmax Glass Water Model (Vray) Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 02:56:00 +0000

Here I will Tell you about 3dsmax glass water model vray

I have used following techniques in this 3ds max tutorial.

How to create Water Effect with the help of V-ray Plugin

[1]-First of all you will press (ctrl+N) now you will see the new window is open

Now press (F10) u will see the Render window is open

Then open the Assign render (palette) click on the (Production) change the property

Like image as shown below

[2]-Open Render palette and use the Following Setting

[3]-Use the following Setting create Box like this in the front view

[4]-Now your image should be like this

[5]-Use the following Setting create Box like this in the front view

[6]-Now your image should be like this

[7]-Now create a shape like this with help of the (line tool)

[8]-Select the object apply (Lathe) (Shell) and (Tessellate) Modifier in the Modifier window use the following setting

Image as shown below

[9]-Now your image should be like this

[10]-Now create a another shape like this with help of the (line tool)

[11]-Select the object apply (Lathe) (Shell) and (Turbo Smooth) Modifier in the Modifier window use the following setting

Image as shown below

[12]-Now your image should be like this

[13]-Now Set the both object like this in the front view

[14]-Now click on the Light > Omni and use the Following Setting

[15]-Now set the omni like this

[16]-press the button (M) you will see the material window is open

And click on the Standard Button

[17]-Select the (VRayMtl) in the Material/Map Browser Palette

[18]-Open Basic parameter in the material window and use the Following Setting

Image as shown below

[19]-After use the following setting now you will see the final image is ready

Press (f9) to see the preview of the image

Maisto 1/24 Ferrari Enzo Model Kit

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 02:17:00 +0000

Assemble an Enzo Ferrari with this 1:24 Scale Assembly Line Die Cast Metal Model Kit from Maisto?. Suitable for Ages 8 & Older. FEATURES: Highly detailed Enzo body design in die cast form. Opening doors and hood. Injection molded interior parts with realistic details including door panels, racing-style bucket seats, dashboard, cargo space, and center console. Detailed engine compartment and chassis. Tires with realistic tread design. Two sets of 5-spoke wheels with Ferrari logo. Clear red tail light pods. Authentic logos where appropriate. Illustrated assembly guide. INCLUDES: (1) Die Cast Model SPECS: Scale: 1:24 Length: 7-1/2"" (191mm) Width: 3-5/8"" (93mm) kr4/5/04 ir/jxs.

More Detail and How to Purchase Click Here

2006 Shelby GTH Plastic Model Kit

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 02:15:00 +0000

The 2006 Shelby GT-H, painted in black and gold, was built to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original Shelby GT350H. There were only 500 units built, all badged, plaqued and signed by Shelby and all only available from Hertz as rental cars.

More Detail and How To Purchase Click Here

Revell Metal Body Corvette 327 Fuel Injection Engine

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 02:11:00 +0000

1-6 Scale. Features over 100 pre painted parts made from diecast and plastic lots of chrome, pre finished, wiring included, assembly required. Skill level 2.

More detail and how to purchase

Revell Big Scale Visible V-8 Engine

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 01:55:00 +0000

The Visible V8 engine kit includes How an Auto Engine Works - an illustrated guide to the Visible V-8 Engine as well as an instruction booklet. Turn the hand crank and watch as the interior engine parts move! Ages 12 and up.

More detail and how to purchase click here

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 03:21:00 +0000

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been selecting these 3D renders from all over the internet. I personally think this turned out to be quite a nice selection. If you think so too, please digg this!

Scene was modeled in 3D studio MAX 08. Also MudBox was used to create a map for Hamilton’s race suit. The entire scene was rendered in VRay and finally, Photoshop was used for texturing and some touch ups.

A stunning render of a Ford Mustang. Awesome detail!

This Land Rover Defender was made for a client. Originally it was a lowPoly 3D model. Gradually, the rough parts were replaced and more and more details were added to make this final render.

This shark was modelled with ´Edit Poly´ in 3ds Max. It started of as a simple box and was sculpt and shaped using book illustrations as aguide.

The bumblebee character was designed in Zbrush and a first composition was rendered in 3D Studio Max. Fur was rendered seperately and the entire image was retouched in photoshop.

Ocular Production is a 3D visualisation firm specialised in creating photorealistic 3D renders of architectural marvels.

A 3D render of how Vadim Valiullin sees the future of painting. Note the screen in the top right.

A unique piece made by Peter Hofman in Cinema 4D.

One of the beautiful still life renders of Herner Quintero.

A very realistic render of an old Jeep Wrangler model. This image was modelled in 3DS Max and rendered using Mental Ray.

A terribly realistic render done by the talented Benjamin Brosdau. He used 3dS max 7 and the alpha version of next limit`s maxwell render. Render times were about 3 to 4 hours to get the special flash light-photography style. Noise reduction was done with Neat image software.

And another by Benjamin Brosdau.

A stunning render of a bathroom done by Francesco Legrenzi in 3DS Max, Vray and retouched in Photoshop.

A camera design for competition. This awesome image was rendered using 3ds Max 2009 and finalized with Photoshop CS.

Texturing this image was the hardest part. It was modelled in 3DS Max and rendered in Vray.

Modeling of this fantatic looking parot was done in Maya, while rendering was done in MentalRay. A HDRI Probe and two lights were used for the lighting.

The following three images are by the extremely talented Axel Ritter from Germany. He uses mainly Cinema 4D and these images just keep amazing me.

Eventhough this image, by Bulgarov, isn’t textured yet it already looks amazing. This is a ZBrush shot.

Neil MacCormack works mainly in Lightroom LightWave and has rendered the next two futuristic images. Enjoy!

It’s so difficult to get humans right, but Stephen Molyneaux sure managed to make Bernadette here as realistic as imaginable. This isn’t a photograph, but a render in 3DS Max and Zbrush.

There are more angles of this crash on Den Fox’s site.

Taken from http://www.zhoog.com/

Model Kits Garage

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 06:49:00 +0000

'69 Shelby GT500™ 2 in 1 Model Kit

Price $18.15 => more detail and order here

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 06:35:00 +0000

Fear 2: Project Origin

The second heart-stopping shooter by Monolith (after F.E.A.R.) continues the spine-tingling supernatural suspense story of an escalating paranormal crisis that threatens to destroy a major American city. At the center of the calamity is the mysterious Alma, whose rage against those who wronged her triggered a chain of events that has spiraled completely out of control. Now that she has been loosed upon the world, the consequences will be unimaginable. Utilize the world interaction enhancements to create instant cover or remove obstacles Play with and against friends in multiplayer competition Enhanced graphics engine takes action horror to new heights through enhanced visuals and effects Enemies behave realistically and use the environment against you through vastly enhanced enemy Artificial Intelligence Maintains the authenticity of the Alma storyline. more for detail & order...

3D Papercraft

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 02:12:00 +0000

YAMAHA "YZF-R1"

The Best Selling PC games in the US for 2008

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:06:00 +0000

The fine people over at NPD released their top 20 best selling PC games in the US for 2008 (sans online sales, of course).

According to NPD PC game sales in the US were just $701 million in 2008, down 14 percent from 2007. But, as most of you know, the NPD Group's numbers for PC game sales only cover the revenue it monitors from US retail stores. The number doesn't cover the growing amount of revenue generated via games bought via direct download. Nor does that number cover things like microtransactions and subscription sales for MMO game.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

Spore

World of Warcraft: Battle Chest

Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures

Warhammer Online: Age Of Reckoning

Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

The Sims 2 Double Deluxe

World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Collector's Ed

Fallout 3

World Of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

Call Of Duty: World At War

The Sims 2 FreeTime

World Of Warcraft

Sins Of A Solar Empire

Warcraft III Battle Chest

The Sims 2 Apartment Life

taken from http://www.guru3d.com/ by Hilbert Hagedoorn

Microsoft's Open Letter To PC Gamers, Full Of Good News

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:59:00 +0000

When I start an open letter to the world, I begin with "Dear So-and-so."

When Microsoft vp John Schappert began his open letter to PC gamers today, he started with "Growth and Opportunities in PC Gaming."

Weird start. Nevertheless, Schappert has issued what is basically a Microsoft-penned report on the state of PC gaming. Pretty rosy. No mention of World of Warcraft or Steam or The Sims.

But some good stuff nonetheless, like:

Other popular titles such as “Crysis” and “Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures” have sold and shipped more than 1 million copies, respectively. “Hellgate: London” now has more than 1 million active subscribers.

And

Today I’m excited to report that Microsoft and a growing community of the gaming industry’s leading publishers, hardware manufacturers and retailers have made the Windows-based PC the largest gaming platform in the world.

Read the full letter after the jump.

Growth and Opportunities in PC Gaming

These are exciting times for the PC gaming industry. Over the past couple of years, Microsoft Corp. has increased its focus on investment in Windows gaming because we see the incredible growth and opportunities it represents not just for us, but for the industry at large.

Today I’m excited to report that Microsoft and a growing community of the gaming industry’s leading publishers, hardware manufacturers and retailers have made the Windows-based PC the largest gaming platform in the world. Every major region will see PC gaming continue to grow in audience, game revenue and hardware purchases for the foreseeable future. While the challenges we face as an industry are many, PC gaming has never been stronger, and we’re confident this trend will continue in the years to come.

The past year has seen exponential growth in online activity and sales, continued platform and hardware innovation, and continued success with the Games for Windows branding initiative, which adds prominence, a quality and technical bar, and a consistent look and feel to the retail PC gaming experience.

In the last year, we have helped launch a wide range of stellar PC game titles exclusive to Windows including “World in Conflict,” “Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar” and “Sins of a Solar Empire.” Other popular titles such as “Crysis” and “Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures” have sold and shipped more than 1 million copies, respectively. “Hellgate: London” now has more than 1 million active subscribers.

We are also dedicated to supporting the next generation of PC game developers with XNA Game Studio, a set of free, easy-to-use development tools for Windows-based PCs, Xbox 360 and Zune. Our goal is to assist a growing community of more than 1 million students, hobbyists and independent game developers realize their potential and enhance the Windows gaming ecosystem through their ingenuity.

Later today in San Francisco, Microsoft will be joined by our partners and select press at our Big Picture showcase event, where attendees will experience the PC gaming renaissance firsthand. Top game publisher Activision will premiere upcoming title “Call of Duty: World at War.” Attendees will also be among the first to experience AMD’s new Radeon HD 4800 Series DirectX 10 graphics card, NVIDIA’s new GeForce 9M notebook GPU and other stellar hardware from Dell Inc., HP, Gateway Inc. and Acer Inc.

Also today, 16 titles join the Games for Windows portfolio, including “Call of Duty: World at War” (Activision), “Ghostbusters: The Videogame” (Sierra Entertainment), “Crysis: Warhead,” (EA Partners), and “Zoo Tycoon 2: Ultimate Collection” (Microsoft Game Studios).

The Windows-based PC is the most connected gaming platform on the planet. Microsoft’s continued investments will enable game publishers to take advantage of that connectivity while delivering to consumers the kinds of gaming experiences they will love.

These are exciting times. We’re proud of how far we’ve come and excited for what the future holds.
Here’s to Windows gaming,

John Schappert
Corporate Vice President
LIVE, Software and Services
Microsoft

taken from http://kotaku.com/5019541/microsofts-open-letter-to-pc-gamers-full-of-good-news

3D Game Environments: Create Professional 3D Game Worlds

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 14:10:00 +0000

3D Game Environments: Create Professional 3D Game Worlds

Book Description
Teaches game artists to create AAA quality 2D and 3D art assets for a variety of game worlds

Product Description
The ultimate resource to help you create triple-A quality art for a variety of game worlds; 3D Game Environments offers detailed tutorials on creating 3D models, applying 2D art to 3D models, and clear concise advice on issues of efficiency and optimization for a 3D game engine. Using Photoshop and 3ds Max as his primary tools, Luke Ahearn explains how to create realistic textures from photo source and uses a variety of techniques to portray dynamic and believable game worlds.

From a modern city to a steamy jungle, learn about the planning and technological considerations for 3D modeling, UV layout, and creating textures that goes into developing a realistic and appealing game environment with:
* The entire game world development process: from planning to modeling and texturing.
* Exercises and projects to practice with: each section includes projects to practice creating different world genres.
* CD with source art to practice with and use in your own projects, program demos, and plug-ins.

For Detail & Order Click Here

3D Game Textures: Create Professional Game Art Using Photoshop (Paperback)

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 13:55:00 +0000

"As well as the design angle of creating artwork for games, this book also tackles the business side of creating artwork for commercial purposes, making it a wonderful insight into the world of the professional games artist. After reading this you'll have a far better understanding of what it takes to become successful in the games world, and it will give you the opportunity to begin building a stunning profolio." - Advanced Photoshop "Discover how to design bullet holes, flames, windows and walls - all the effects that are an essential for today's videogame - with easy-to-follow tutorials. There are a variety of different themes explored throughout this book, covering anything from urban street scenes to the fantasy genre." - Advanced Photoshop, April 2006 "This book can help anyone become a better texture professional...Ahearn's book can and help you become a much better artist, even if you never did much texturing before...The details are simple, but they give anyone who has no Photoshop experience a better idea of what to do. A more experienced reader can gain an in-depth look at how to add improved texture to his projects. 3D Game Textures is a great book for beginners who would like to learn about textures for 3D art. No one should have a problem understanding and using this easy-to-comprehend information." - Apogee Photo Magazine, August 2006

To Order Click Here

Stop Staring: Facial Modeling and Animation Done Right (Paperback)

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 13:49:00 +0000

Lips, brows, frown lines--they’re all in motion in an expressive face. Stop Staring analyzes facial structures and movements and shows animators how to enliven the faces of their characters. The author, whose own handsome head (in modeled form) graces the cover, is an experienced animator currently working on The Sims.

He writes with a dry wit and a confidence born from experience. The book is friendly but also loaded with content and precise in its directions. "I am by no means God’s gift to animation, but I do pretty well at making a talking head look like a living one, not just a set of gums flapping." This is not a how-to manual, but a richly detailed guide to achieving the right movements for a given situation and emotion. The companion CD includes all the pieces readers will need in order to work along with the text: models (both realistic and stylized ’toon characters), lip-synching samples, finished Quicktime movies, and even a copy of Maya Personal LE. (More info and some movies can be found at jasonosipa.com.)

For Order Click Here

Readers move from "Getting to Know the Face," to synching audio, working on the mouth, eyes, and brows, and rigging. Osipa has created a methodology for facial animation that gets results and makes the process fun. The book can be used as a step-by-step guide for learning new skills or finessing techniques, or as a reference book for troubleshooting specific expressions (for example, "happy eyes," "frustration," and "sneers" are all in the index). Although the projects are presented using Maya, the concepts involved pertain to animation in general.

There are lots of production tips and, in Chapter 13, case studies using five scripted scenes. Readers can even begin with this last chapter, watching the movies (they’re funny!) and enjoying Osipa’s debates as he works through animating his face telling a lame bartender joke or a sassy ‘toon gal weighing the pros and cons of pink and blue bows. This hip writer knows what he’s talking about, even when it’s his own animated mug that’s doing the talking! --Angelynn Grant --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review
"A breath of fresh air to both students and industry professionals alike." -- Owen Hurley, Director (Casper's Haunted Christmas, Barbie in the Nutcracker, Barbie as Rapunzel)

"Readers new to these techniques are spared the frustration of feeling overwhelmed ..." -- Jason Schleifer, Senior Animator, Weta Digital

"Stop Staring is a refreshingly practical book on animation, loaded with useful information for animators, artists, and designers." -- Will Wright, Game Designer --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

What Are You Waiting For, Best Value Ever?

The Essential Blender: Guide to 3D Creation with the Open Source Suite Blender (Paperback)

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 13:45:00 +0000

Blender is a free and open source 3D creation suite that is a real alternative to commercially available 3D design software. A cross-platform software package with millions of downloads annually, Blender is now one of the world's most popular 3D design tools.

Although Blender is free, it's intended for design professionals and others motivated to become 3D artists. The Essential Blender will provide you with the knowledge you need to help integrate Blender into your work and begin to master its powerful creation tools.

If you've never tried 3D design before, an introductory chapter will familiarize you with relevant terminology and concepts. If you're already experienced with commercial 3D software, The Essential Blender will get you up to speed with Blender quickly.

After a tour of Blender's 3D modeling, animation, and rendering capabilities, you'll learn how best to use Blender for these tasks:

# Object manipulation and animation
# Mesh and sculpt modeling and shape animation
# Materials and texturing (including UV unwrapping)
# Lighting and rendering
# Particle animation
# Character rigging and animation
# Node-based composition

The book is modular in its approach, with each topic addressed independently and accompanied by hands-on tutorial sections.

The combined expertise of key members of the Blender community, coupled with the experience of editor Roland Hess, bring you The Essential Blender--the definitive guide to Blender. You'll find a wealth of 3D design information inside that will help you to unlock your artistic potential and get the most out of Blender.

Includes a complete version of Blender 2.44 on the CD-ROM. Covers Windows, Mac OS X, Linux (x86 and PowerPC), Solaris, FreeBSD, and IRIX.

Produced by The Blender Foundation. Printed and distributed By No Starch Press.

About the Author
Editor Roland Hess is a professional writer who has used Blender for almost a decade.

Ton Roosendaal is Blender's creator and the chairman and founder of the Blender Foundation, the non-profit organization that maintains Blender under the GNU/GPL license. He co-authored The Official Blender 2.3 Guide, The Official Blender GameKit (both No Starch Press), and The Official Blender 2.0 Guide (Premier Press).

Learning XNA 3.0: XNA 3.0 Game Development for the PC, Xbox 360, and Zune

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 13:35:00 +0000

Do you have what it takes to become a game developer? With this hands-on book, you'll learn quickly and easily how to develop computer games with Microsoft's XNA 3.0 framework-not just for your PC, but for Xbox 360 and the Microsoft Zune as well.

Written by an experienced university-level game development instructor, Learning XNA 3.0 walks you through the framework in a clear and understandable step-by-step format. Each chapter offers a self-contained lesson with lots of illustrations and annotated examples to help you master key concepts. Once you finish the book, you'll know how to develop sophisticated games from start to finish.

* Learn game development concepts from 2D animation to 3D cameras and effects
* Delve into high-level shader language (HLSL) and introductory artificial intelligence concepts
* Develop three complete and exciting games using 2D,3D and multiplayer concepts
* Develop and deploy games to the Xbox 360 and the Microsoft Zune

Order Here

While teaching XNA to beginning game developers, author Aaron Reed noticed that several key concepts were difficult for students to grasp. Learning XNA 3.0 was written specifically to address those issues. With this book, you can test your understanding and practice new skills as you go with unique "Test Your Knowledge" exercises and review questions in each chapter.

Why wait? Amaze your family and friends by building your own games for the PC, Xbox 360, and Zune-with Learning XNA 3.0.

"An outstanding book! Teaches you XNA development in a smart way, starting from 2D basics and going into 3D and shader development. What I really like is the 'peeling the onion' approach the author takes, which builds up knowledge from previous chapters." --David "LetsKillDave" Weller, CEO, Cogito Ergonomics, LLC, and former XNA program manager

Start Learning XNA 3.0

About the Author
Aaron Reed has extensive software development experience and more importantly, experience in software development education. Since 2004 he has taught courses at Neumont University in .NET, web development and web services, XNA, systems design and architecture, and more.

Aaron's experience in teaching both DirectX and XNA for several years to university-level students helps him understand what topics are easily understood and which ones need more depth and emphasis. Through experience in the classroom he also has a good understanding of what format and sequence makes the most sense to present the material. This book follows that format and is meant to present game development concepts in the way most efficient and most comprehendible as proven in the classroom.

Power Nurbs Pro v.5.12 for 3ds Max

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 02:55:00 +0000

Power NURBS unique hybrid approach fuses the next generation NURBS surface construction technology with the industry’s leading Solids Modeling technology bringing an unparalleled modeling experience to the 3ds Max Platform.
Power NURBS modeling environment is designed to provide artist intuitive access to complex advanced modeling tools allowing you to expand your creative potential beyond the polygon world.

Download:
Power Nurbs Pro v.5.12 for 3ds Max

Download for max 9-2008 (32-64bit)
Rapidshare:
http://rapidshare.com/files/125329134/nppnpro9_2008.rar
Or FileFactory:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/a3918a/n/nppnpro9_2008_rar

Download for max 2009 (32-64bit)
Rapidshare:
http://rapidshare.com/files/125331570/nppnpro2009.rar
Or FileFactory:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/9b04a2/n/nppnpro2009_rar

Product Homepage

Download...

Try Password: 3dsmax-stuff.com

(Or: www.3dsmax-stuff.com, Sometime password is wrong)

Focus On 3D Models (Game Development) (Paperback)

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 03:30:00 +0000

Focus On 3D Models covers today's most popular 3D model formats! Every programmer can take advantage of this 3D model and animation reference because it contains models that range from simple to complex based upon the skills and knowledge of the programmer and their intended use. Beginners can experiment with the easy-to-use basic 3D model formats. Intermediate and advanced programmers can expand their 3D modeling skills by mastering other popular formats presented in this book. The CD contains all source code from the book (including the necessary media and executables), Gmax, Paint Shop Pro 7 demo, Milkshape 3D, sample 3D models, and various freeware and shareware modeling programs.

Click For Order

About the Author
After programming for several years, Evan Pipho discovered gamedev.net in mid-2000 and immediately became a devoted gamer. At age 17, Evan has already tackled DirectDraw, Direct3D, and OpenGL in addition to co-creating Ngine.

How A House Is Built: with 3D Construction Models (Paperback)

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 02:59:00 +0000

How A House Is Built: with 3D Construction Models is a how-to book on the construction of a small, simple, and sustainable house. The book uses detailed illustrations, captioned text, short videos, and 3D models to walk the reader through eight distinct phases of construction.

The house starts with a surveyed layout, an excavation referenced from a workpoint, and the installation of footings and stem walls for a raised foundation. Next, the framing by the doors, windows, trim, siding, and metal roofing to close the house in. The plumbing, mechanical, and electrical systems are then roughed-in at the end of the book in preparation for finish work that is completed online as an interactive chapter.

Links to each of the 3D construction models used to illustrate the chapters of this book are included on the book's CD. The construction models help readers explore and visualize the details of each phase of the construction process just as they do for builders in the real world.

Readers are encouraged to build 3D construction models for their own projects. Each chapter ends with a Hands-On section with how-to tutorials that include navigating through a design model, excavating a model base, assembling a foundation wall, fabricating and erecting framing members, extruding 3D objects from 2D details, and running pipes and wires through the walls and ceilings.

Click Here For Detail

About the Author
Dennis Fukai is a licensed architect and construction manager with more than thirty-five years experience as a professional construction administrator, researcher, and university professor.

He is a Fulbright Scholar and earned his PhD in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. Dennis has been recognized internationally for his work in advanced construction modeling and graphic communications.

3ds Max 2009 Bible

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 09:44:00 +0000

The only comprehensive reference-tutorial on 3ds Max available, this book is everyone's favorite. Whether you're a beginner looking for 3D basics or a full-fledged animator seeking new ways to dazzle viewers with your creations, it's all here. You'll find pages of professional tips, loads of advice, and more than 150 step-by-step tutorials guaranteed to build your skills and spark your creativity. A 16-page color insert highlights cutting-edge work from 3D artists. A valuable companion DVD provides all the examples and content from the book, including unique models and textures you can customize on your own, and a searchable, full-color version of the book.

3ds Max 2009 Bible covers both 3ds Max 2009 and 3ds Max 2009 Design and covers:

Navigating the viewports with the ViewCube, SteeringWheels, and other ways.
Creating realistic materials with new ProMaterials.
Using Spline Mapping to improve texture mapping over irregular shaped objects.
Blending multiple texture maps together with the new Composite Map.
Creating architectural walkthroughs with the Walkthrough Assistant.

Don't miss out on the newest version of this bestselling resource!

From the Back Cover
Covers both 3ds Max 2009 and 3ds Max 2009 Design

This is, hands down, the best book on 3ds Max you'll find

If you want just one book to be your go-to guide for all things 3ds Max, this is the book. Whether you're a beginner looking for 3D basics or a full-fledged animator seeking new ways to dazzle viewers with your creations, it's all here. You'll find pages of professional tips, loads of advice, and more than 150 step-by-step tutorials guaranteed to build your skills and spark your creativity.

Discover the ViewCube, SteeringWheels, and more ways to navigate the viewports
Use the new ProMaterials to create realistic materials
Improve texture mapping over irregular shaped objects using Spline Mapping
Blend multiple texture maps together with the new Composite Map
Easily create architectural walkthroughs with the Walkthrough Assistant

What's on the DVD?
You'll find before-and-after example files for every tutorial in the book. The DVD also includes:

Unique models and textures you can customize for your own designs
Autodesk 3ds Max evaluation version
A searchable full-color PDF of the book

System Requirements: See the DVD appendix for details and complete system requirements.

Also in the Book

A 16-page full-color insert showcases cutting-edge work from 3ds Max artists

Mental Ray Paint Shaders

noreply@blogger.com (BSupry) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 03:15:00 +0000

Mental ray car paint shader

Introduction

The paint related shaders comes from the paint library. The declaration of the shaders and Phenomena can be found in the file paint.mi. To use the shaders, the declaration file must be inluded and the library linked:

 link "paint.so"
 $include "paint.mi"

Car paint has several peculiar characteristics. On top of the cars bodywork is a thin layer of pigment. The properties of this layer is such that the actual perceived color shifts depending on the viewing angle as well as the incident angle of the incoming light.

Within this layer tiny metal flakes are suspended. The flakes reflect light and can be seen glittering on a sunny day, due to individual flakes reflecting sunlight directly at the observer.

On top of this is a clearcoat layer, which can be more or less reflective and more or less glossy, depending on the quality of the layer and any added wax coating. Most notably, this layer tends to exhibit a pronounced fresnel effect, reflecting more light at glancing angles.

Structure of car paint

Car paint Phenomenon

The mi_car_paint_phen should be applied as a surface shader in a material. The shader supports:

Diffuse reflection in the pigmentation layer, with selectable color shift due to observer as well as incident light angle.
Specular highlights from lightsources in the metallic flakes
Optional ray traced reflections in the metallic flakes
Specular highlights from lightsources in the clearcoat (with optional "glazing" mode)
Includes a clearcoat layer with selectable mirror or glossy reflections and specular highlights with an optional "glazing" mode.
Includes a lambertian dirt layer, for that "unwashed" look.

The shader has the following parameters:

  declare phenomenon "mi_car_paint_phen"
     (
         color       "ambient",
         color       "base_color",
         color       "edge_color",
         scalar      "edge_color_bias",
         color       "lit_color",
         scalar      "lit_color_bias",
         scalar      "diffuse_weight",
         scalar      "diffuse_bias",
   color       "flake_color",
         scalar      "flake_weight",
         scalar      "flake_reflect",
         scalar      "flake_exp",
         scalar      "flake_density",
         scalar      "flake_decay",
         scalar      "flake_strength",
         scalar      "flake_scale",
         color       "spec",        
         scalar      "spec_weight",     
         scalar      "spec_exp",        
         color       "spec_sec",
         scalar      "spec_sec_weight", 
         scalar      "spec_sec_exp",    
         boolean     "spec_glazing",
         color       "reflection_color",
         scalar      "edge_factor",   
         scalar      "reflection_edge_weight",
         scalar      "reflection_base_weight",
         integer     "samples",
         scalar      "glossy_spread",
         scalar      "max_distance",
         boolean     "single_env_sample",
         color       "dirt_color",
         scalar      "dirt_weight",
         scalar      "irradiance_weight",
         scalar      "global_weight",
         integer     "mode",
         array light "lights"
     )

Diffuse parameters

ambient is the ambient light component. Note that this parameter is treated differently to the ambient/ambience parameter pair of many other base shaders in that it is influenced by the other diffuse color parameters following, and hence represents incoming light, rather than the objects "ambient color".

base_color is the base diffuse color of the material.

edge_color is the color seen at glancing angles (i.e. edges) which tend to appear much darker. For really deep metallic paints seen on sports cars it tends to be almost black.

edge_color_bias defines the falloff rate of the color towards the edge. The useful range is 0.0 to approximately 10.0, where the value 0.0 turns the effect off. Higher values makes the edge region narrower, lower values makes it wider.

Color shift due to view angle, shifting between a red base_color and a blue edge_color
(atypical colors chosen for demonstration purpouses only) with varying edge_bias

lit_color is the color seen in the area facing the lightsource.

lit_color_bias defines the falloff rate of the color towards the light. The useful range is 0.0 to approximately 10.0, where the value 0.0 turns the effect off. Higher values makes the colored region facing the light smaller/narrower, lower values makes it larger/wider.

Color shift due to view angle, shifting between a red base_color and a green lit_color
(atypical colors chosen for demonstration purpouses only) with varying lit_bias

The overall level of the diffuse parameters can be tuned with the diffuse_weight parameter.

The diffuse_bias modifies the falloff of the diffuse shading. The useful range is approximately 0.5 to 2.0, where 1.0 represent standard lambertian shading, higher values pushes the diffuse peak towards the light source, and lower values flattens the diffuse peak.

irradiance_weight sets the influence of indirect light (photons and final gathering) on the surface. It is internally divided by PI, i.e. a value of 1.0 means the standard 1.0/PI weight.

Specular parameters

spec is the color of the primary specular highlight, spec_weight a scalar multiplier and spec_exp the phong exponent.

spec_sec is the color of the secondary specular highlight, spec_sec_weight a scalar multiplier and spec_sec_exp the phong exponent.

The parameter spec_glazing enables a special mode on the primary specular highlight called glazing. By threasholding the specular highlight, it makes the surface appear more polished and shiny. For nice sportscars with a lot of wax, turn glazing on. For beat up cars in the junkyard, turn it off.

Left to right: Flake specularity only, standard specularity, "glazing" mode enabled, and finally; "glazing" mode specularity with flakes

Flake parameters

flake_color is the color (reflectivity) of the flakes, which is generally white.

flake_weight is a scalar multiplier for the above color.

flake_reflect defines the amount of ray traced reflection in the flakes, which allows glittery reflections of e.g. an HDRI environment. The value of 0.0 turns the effect off. The effect should generally be very subtle and a value of 0.1 is often enough. The final intensity of reflections also depends on flake_color and flake_weight.

flake_exp is the Phong specular exponent for the flakes.

flake_density sets the density of the flakes. The useful range is from 0.1 to approximately 10.0, where lower values indicate less dense flakes and higher values indicates denser flakes.

Since flakes are inherently small, they can easily introduce rendering artifacts if their visual density becomes significantly smaller than a pixel. If the oversampling of the rendering is set high, small flakes may also potentially trigger massive oversampling and hence very long render times needlessly, since the averaging caused by the oversampling will essentially cancel out the flake effect. To avoid this the parameter flake_decay exists. It sets a distance at which the influence of flakes fade out. A value of 0.0 disables fading. Any positive value causes the flake_weight to be modulated such that is reaches zero at this distance.

Flakes at different distances with no flake decay. The furthest flakes may potentially cause flicker in animations,
or trigger unnecessary oversampling and long render times (here rendered with low oversampling for illustrative purpouses).

Using flake decay. The flake strength diminishes by distance. The same intentionally low oversampling as in the previous image has been used.

flake_strength sets the difference between the orientation of the flakes. The useful range is 0.0 to 1.0 where 0.0 means that all flakes are parallel to the surface and higher values means the orientation of flakes are more and more varied.

flake_scale is the size of the flakes. The procedural texture is calculated in object space, and will hence follow the object. Keep in mind that the scale is therefore influenced by any scale transformation on the object instance.

Reflection parameters

reflection_color sets the color of the reflections in the clearcoat layer, generally white.

Clearcoat tends to reflect more at glancing angles (edges). The edge_factor defines the "narrowness" of this edge, reflection_edge_weight the reflective strength at the edge (generally 1.0) and reflection_base_weight the reflective strength at facing angles (generally low, 0.1 - 0.3).

Optionally, clearcoat layers may be glossy. The samples parameter sets the bumber of glossy reflection rays traced. The value of 0 disables glossiness and glossy_spread sets the amount of glossiness. Cars are generally near-mirrors so this value should be kept small.

The glossy reflections are created with the help of mib_glossy_reflections and thus the parameters max_distance (limiting the reach of reflective rays) and single_env_sample (optimizing lookup of environment maps) are exposed parameters of that shader - see mib_glossy_reflection. Only a subset of the parameters are exposed, if more are required, one can either build a custom shading graph or create ones own variation of the mi_car_paint_phen Phenomenon.

Dirt parameters

Real cars are rarely clean. Here showing the dirt layer (hand painted dirt placement map), including a bump map applied in the dirty regions.

A simple lambertian dirt layer covers the underlaying paint and clearcoat layers. dirt_color is the color of said dirt, and dirt_weight the amount of dirt, which would probably be connected to a texture shader to get variations in the dirt across the surface. If dirt_weight is 0.0 no dirt is added.

Advanced parameters

irradiance_weight sets the influence of indirect light (photons and final gathering) on the surface. It is internally divided by PI, i.e. a value of 1.0 means the standard 1.0/PI weight.

global_weight is a global tuning parameter affecting the entire diffuse, flake and specular subsystems. It does not affect reflections or dirt.

And finally; mode is the light mode and lights the lightlist.

Metallic paint

mi_metallic_paint

This shader is used to facilitate the rendering of metallic paint. However, it only takes care of the pigmentation and the flakes, not the very important clearcoat reflections. To accomplish the full effect, it needs to be combined with a reflection shader (i.e. connecting it to the base_material parameter of mib_glossy_reflection). It also needs a bump shader for the flakes (generally mi_bump_flakes).

To get all these connections made automatically one can use the ready-made Phenomenon called mi_car_paint_phen, which also supports a dirt layer. See the above documentation, which has slightly more detailed documentation of the parameters with example images.

The shader supports:

Diffuse reflection in the pigmentation layer, with selectable color shift due to observer as well as incident light angle.
Specular highlights from lightsources in the metallic flakes
Specular highlights from lightsources in the clearcoat (with optional "glazing" mode)
Optional ray traced reflections in the metallic flakes

  declare shader
     color "mi_metallic_paint" (
         color       "ambient"           default 0 0 0 1,
         color       "base_color"        default 0.8 0.1 0.0 1,
         color       "edge_color"        default 0.0 0.0 0.0,
         scalar      "edge_color_bias"   default 1.0,
         color       "lit_color"         default 0.6 0.0 0.2,
         scalar      "lit_color_bias"    default 8.0,
         scalar      "diffuse_weight"    default 1.0,
         scalar      "diffuse_bias"      default 1.5,
         scalar      "irradiance_weight" default 1.0,
         color       "spec"              default 1 1 1 1,
         scalar      "spec_weight"       default 0.2,
         scalar      "spec_exp"          default 60.0,
         color       "spec_sec"          default 1 1 1 1,
         scalar      "spec_sec_weight"   default 0.3,
         scalar      "spec_sec_exp"      default 25.0,
         boolean     "spec_glazing"      default on,
         color       "flake_color"       default 1.0 1.0 1.0 1,
         scalar      "flake_weight"      default 1.0,
         scalar      "flake_reflect"     default 0.0,
         scalar      "flake_exp"         default 45.0,
         scalar      "flake_decay"       default 0.0,
         shader      "flake_bump",
         scalar      "global_weight"     default 1.0,
         integer     "mode"              default 3,
         array light "lights"       
     )
     version 2
     apply material
 end declare

Diffuse parameters

base_color is the base diffuse color of the material.

edge_color is the color seen at glancing angles (i.e. edges) which tend to appear much darker. For really deep metallic paints seen on sports cars it tends to be almost black.

lit_color is the color seen in the area facing the lightsource.

irradiance_weight sets the influence of indirect light (photons and final gathering) on the surface. It is internally divided by PI, i.e. a value of 1.0 means the standard 1.0/PI weight.

Specular parameters

spec is the color of the primary specular highlight, spec_weight a scalar multiplier and spec_exp the phong exponent.

spec_sec is the color of the secondary specular highlight, spec_sec_weight a scalar multiplier and spec_sec_exp the phong exponent.

Flake parameters

flake_color is the color (reflectivity) of the flakes, which is generally white.

flake_weight is a scalar multiplier for the above color.

flake_exp is the Phong specular exponent for the flakes.

Since flakes are inherently small, they can easily introduce rendering artifacts if their visual density becomes significantly smaller than a pixel. To avoid this the parameter flake_decay exists. It sets a distance at which the influence of flakes fade out. A value of 0.0 disables fading. Any positive value causes the flake_weight to be modulated such that it reaches zero at this distance.

flake_bump is the actual flake bump shader used. The shader mi_bump_flakes exists for this purpose, but any shader that modifies the normal vector (e.g. mib_passthrough_bump_map) can be used.

The shader put in the flake_bump may also return a color, which will be the color (intensity) of the flake, or it may leave the color unmodified.

Additional parameters

global_weight is a global tuning parameter that is a global multiplier to the output of the shader.

Finally mode is the light mode and lights the lightlist.

Flake bump shader

This shader is designed to create a bump map with the appearance of small individual flakes at slightly different orientations. It does so by slightly modifying the current normal vector based on a procedurally generated flake texture. It also returns a color that indicates the "intensity" for that flake.

    declare shader "mi_bump_flakes" (
     scalar      "flake_density"     default 0.5,
     scalar      "flake_strength"    default 0.8,
     scalar      "flake_scale"       default 0.2,
 )
 version 1
 apply texture
   end declare

flake_density only affects the returned color, not the amount of change to the normal vector. The useful range is from 0.1 to approximately 10.0, where lower values indicate less dense flakes (more flakes are given low color values near black) and higher values indicates denser flakes.

flake_strenght indicates the amount of normal vector perturbations. Useful range is 0.0 (which disables the effect) to 1.0. For low values, flakes are nearly parallell, for higher values, the difference between each flakes orientation is larger.

flake_scale is the size of the flakes. The procedural texture is calculated in object space, and will hence follow the object. Keep in mind that the scale is therefore influenced by any scale transformation on the object instance.

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3ds Max 2009 Bible

Mental Ray Paint Shaders

Contents

Introduction

Car paint Phenomenon

Metallic paint

Flake bump shader