My computer generated world

Stormy Sea

2011-05-14T20:54:00.000-04:00

Another Vue test animation.

Ocean test animation

2010-04-20T02:53:00.002-04:00

Just practicing on how to make realistic looking waves. Animation was made using the free version of Vue called Vue Pioneer.

Ocean animation test from Jeff on Vimeo.

Sunset above the clouds

2010-04-17T03:10:00.004-04:00

I made an animation of a scene I rendered a few months back. The 30 sec animation rendered in Vue 8 took more sixty hours to finish or like 2 hours for every second of video. I am also practicing post production using Virtual Dub, Windows Movie Maker and Bink Video. This is my first animation that has background music on it.

Sunset above the clouds from Jeff on Vimeo.

Forest test animation with post production

2010-04-10T23:04:00.000-04:00

This version of the video that was posted earlier had undergone some post production work. I tried tweaking the brightness and contrast and also added some chromatic aberration. Motiva real camera was used to do the post work.

Indigo Render test animation with post production from Jeff on Vimeo.

Forest test animation

2010-04-06T00:17:00.002-04:00

I was not able to update my blog for the past month. I was not really that busy but I was not just in any mood to write something.

During the long weekend (April 2-4) I decided to render an animation using the free version of Indigo Renderer. The whole scene including the vegetation was modeled inside Sketchup. (actually all the trees here are the same ones I uploaded to the warehouse several months ago) The 12 sec. animation at 30fps took 90 hrs. to render. Each 720x480 frame took an average of 14 mins. to render.

Indigo animation test render from Jeff on Vimeo.

Test renders for a resort style setting

2010-02-26T02:05:00.009-05:00

I'm having trouble on which pov to use for the exterior shot. I just cannot make up my mind. The GH house has a lot of interesting features that would never be seen if I chose a certain pov for the exterior. With the goal of showing as much as possible all the nice elements of the house, I decided to add not one but two more GH houses on the scene!

Also, I'm having a hard time working on the old version of Indigo. There are a lot of items missing on it which I got used using on the newer version. I reverted back to the latest one.

The house being rendered here is called the GH house and is designed by Dunsky Kornhauser Architects Ltd.

All the images here are part of my entry to the Architectural Visualization Challenge hosted by ronenbekerman.com. For a more detailed description on the progress of my entry just go to my entry thread at http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117

To check out other entries to the challenge go to: http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/gh-house-challenge-submissions/

Renderings of the GH house using older version of Indigo renderer

2010-02-20T01:04:00.006-05:00

I started using again an older version of Indigo Renderer. This version was released in 2008, a year before Indigo became commercial. The free version of the software which I have been using since last year can only render a maximum of 0.7 Megapixels. The final image I had to submit would be more that 9 MP. It's a good thing I maintained an old version.

At the beginning of the architectural challenge, I started saving some of my extra income so that by the middle of February I would be able to purchase a license for the software. I really needed this one so that all the restrictions on the free version will be taken out. I was ready to buy it last week but to my dismay, the price had already gone up by another 300 euros. With that price hike, I would not be able to get that license for another two months. The contest I joined would be finished in a month.

I did some practice renders and at the same time experimented on modifying the model. I also started playing around with materials for the floor.

The house being rendered here is called the GH house and is designed by Dunsky Kornhauser Architects Ltd.

All the images here are part of my entry to the Architectural Visualization Challenge hosted by ronenbekerman.com. For a more detailed description on the progress of my entry just go to my entry thread at http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117

To check out other entries to the challenge go to: http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/gh-house-challenge-submissions/

Some updates on the 2nd floor renderings

2010-02-19T01:34:00.008-05:00

Just posted some updates on the progress of my work on the architectural visualization challenge. I started adding some furniture and made some lighting set up studies.

The house being rendered here is called the GH house and is designed by Dunsky Kornhauser Architects Ltd.

All the images here are part of my entry to the Architectural Visualization Challenge hosted by ronenbekerman.com. For a more detailed description on the progress of my entry just go to my entry thread at http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117

To check out other entries to the challenge go to: http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/gh-house-challenge-submissions/

More exterior test renderings of the GH house

2010-02-14T22:30:00.007-05:00

Made another batch of test renders of the exterior. I am not yet sure which view to choose and what lighting setup to use. I left the computer to render for 30 hrs to eliminate much of the image noise.

The house being rendered here is called the GH house and is designed by Dunsky Kornhauser Architects Ltd.

All the images here are part of my entry to the Architectural Visualization Challenge hosted by ronenbekerman.com. For a more detailed description on the progress of my entry just go to my entry thread at http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117

To check out other entries to the challenge go to: http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/gh-house-challenge-submissions/

More 2nd floor test renderings

2010-02-13T00:24:00.009-05:00

Did another batch of renderings on a part of the second floor overlooking the living room below. On this POV we are looking towards the entrance to a room at the far end. As usual, it takes rendering several versions of a scene to just get the right lighting combination.

The house being rendered here is designed by Dunsky Kornhauser Architects Ltd.

For a more detailed description on the progress of my entry just go to my entry thread at http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117

To check out other entries to the challenge go to: http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/gh-house-challenge-submissions/

Some exterior renders with additional grass & trees

2010-02-11T23:00:00.011-05:00

I started using the additional tall grass & pine tree I modeled a few weeks earlier. Also started post-work on some of the renderings to mask some image noise caused by rendering four different scenes at the same time. I found out that even after 14 hours of rendering the image noise has not yet been fully canceled out. The other renderings are such in a bad shape that they are not fit to be posted.

The house being rendered here is designed by Dunsky Kornhauser Architects Ltd.

For a more detailed description on the progress of my entry just go to my entry thread at http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117

To check out other entries to the challenge go to: http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/gh-house-challenge-submissions/

Some more POV's on the 2nd floor

2010-02-10T00:12:00.006-05:00

Did a couple of renderings on a part of the second floor overlooking the living room below. Sometimes it takes rendering several versions of a scene to just get the right lighting combination.

The house being rendered here is designed by Dunsky Kornhauser Architects Ltd.

For a more detailed description on the progress of my entry just go to my entry thread at http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117

To check out other entries to the challenge go to: http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/gh-house-challenge-submissions/

Light layers test renderings

2010-02-08T00:32:00.004-05:00

Did some renders demonstrating light layers in Indigo Renderer. In the model, each light source is assigned a separate layer. These layers can be turned on or off while the render is in progress. Each resulting image that is produced by turning the lights on & off can be saved as a jpeg or png file.

I was able to download some nice stuff from the Google 3D warehouse to use for the scenes. I chose a restaurant scene for the tests. The chairs maybe low poly but they are already adequate.

Sun layer = off, Sky layer = off, lamps layer = on

Sun layer = off, Sky layer = on, lamps layer = on

Sun layer = on, Sky layer = on, lamps layer = off

Sun layer = on, Sky layer = on, lamps layer = on

Sun layer = on, Sky layer = off, lamps layer = off

Sun layer = off, Sky layer = on, lamps layer = off
(high exposure)

Sun layer = off, Sky layer = on, lamps layer = off
(low exposure)

Sun layer = on, Sky layer = on, lamps layer = on
(low exposure)

Some 3D trees test renders

2010-02-05T23:36:00.006-05:00

I just made some test renderings of the revised pine tree I modeled two months ago. The tree is now taller and slimmer. I also used the tall grass model I made.

The 3D pine tree can be downloaded here.

2nd floor test renders

2010-02-04T02:06:00.004-05:00

Started doing some test renders on the 2nd floor of the house.

The house being rendered here is designed by Dunsky Kornhauser Architects Ltd.

For a more detailed description on the progress of my entry just go to my entry thread at http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117

To check out other entries to the challenge go to: http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/gh-house-challenge-submissions/

Re-rendered an old scene

2010-02-01T22:40:00.005-05:00

I re-rendered an old scene. This one now has variations on tree sizes and shapes. The previous scene only used one size of tree that was scattered throughout the forest.

The house being rendered here is designed by Dunsky Kornhauser Architects Ltd.

For a more detailed description on the progress of my entry just go to my entry thread at http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117

To check out other entries to the challenge go to: http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/gh-house-challenge-submissions/

Interior and Exterior combined

2010-01-31T16:09:00.004-05:00

Made some renderings of the interior and exterior combined. Just experimenting with another POV in mind.

The house being rendered here is designed by Dunsky Kornhauser Architects Ltd.

For a more detailed description on the progress of my entry just go to my entry thread at http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117

To check out other entries to the challenge go to: http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/gh-house-challenge-submissions/

Tall grass model

2010-01-30T22:25:00.003-05:00

I modeled a tall grass I'm planning to add to the environment on my scenes. Made some test renderings to see how it would look like under different lighting conditions.

View from the lake

2010-01-29T23:35:00.006-05:00

I started rendering a scene I composed at the beginning of the architectural visualization challenge. It was just a zoomed version of an earlier POV I composed. I did not paid much attention to it before but since I have not yet settled on the final shot for the exterior scene, it just made sense to give it a try.

The house being rendered here is designed by Dunsky Kornhauser Architects Ltd.

For a more detailed description on the progress of my entry just go to my entry thread at http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117

New point of view

2010-01-28T23:01:00.006-05:00

Made some renderings from a new POV. This time I'm using an EXR map for the sky. I usually use the Sketchup sun & sky but when trying to make a cloudy sky scene, it's better to use environmental lighting from HDRI or EXR images.

The house being rendered here is designed by Dunsky Kornhauser Architects Ltd.

For a more detailed description on the progress of my entry just go to my entry thread at http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117

Another batch of test renders

2010-01-28T00:10:00.007-05:00

Here is another batch test renderings of the house as seen from a different view. As of the moment, I have not yet decided which scene I will be using for the final render. The images here were rendered over a course of several days two weeks ago. I just compiled all the scenes that are from the same view.

The house being rendered here is designed by Dunsky Kornhauser Architects Ltd.

For a more detailed description on the progress of my entry just go to my entry thread at http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117

Interior test renderings

2010-01-27T00:29:00.007-05:00

Some interior test renderings. Some of the images still have a lot of image noise. I am still deciding what lighting setup to use for the final render.

The house being rendered here is designed by Dunsky Kornhauser Architects Ltd.

For a more detailed description on the progress of my entry just go to my entry thread at http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117

More progress test renderings

2010-01-26T00:03:00.006-05:00

The rendered images here were rendered several days ago. I am still deciding what view and lighting to use for the final render.

The house being rendered here is designed by Dunsky Kornhauser Architects Ltd.

For a more detailed description on the progress of my entry just go to my entry thread at http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117

Progress test renderings.

2010-01-23T22:18:00.007-05:00

Some updates

2010-01-23T01:25:00.007-05:00

Just studying the lighting setup to use for the external scene.

The house being rendered here is designed by Dunsky Kornhauser Architects Ltd.

For a more detailed description on the progress of my entry just go to my entry thread at http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117

Architectural Visualization Challenge

2010-01-21T23:46:00.008-05:00

I joined an architectural rendering contest. I've been doing these test renders for the past several months and I think this is the right time to put all that practice into use. The contest runs from December 15, 2009 to March 15, 2010. I attached some renderings of what I have done so far.

The contest is hosted by Ronen Bekerman's blog.

The house being rendered here is designed by Dunsky Kornhauser Architects Ltd.

My entry thread can be found here: http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117

More cloudscapes

2009-12-27T00:30:00.003-05:00

Did another rendering of cloudscapes. This one was included in the Cream of the Crop collection at Cornucopia3D.com

3d trees: Low poly tree models uploaded to Google 3d warehouse

2009-12-23T22:40:00.003-05:00

I just made some low poly tree models. These models are easy to work with and would not bog down your computer that much. These may not look very realistic but they do look great from afar and cannot be almost distinguished from the other highly detailed tree models. These are now available for download.

Download

Download

3D trees: low poly coconut models uploaded to Google 3D warehouse

2009-12-22T00:44:00.004-05:00

I made some low poly models of coconut trees. These are now available for download.

Download

Download

3D pine tree renderings

2009-12-19T16:32:00.002-05:00

Did some renderings of the 3d pine trees I uploaded to the Google 3d warehouse.

New 3D trees uploaded to 3D Warehouse

2009-12-15T00:00:00.006-05:00

I uploaded three new 3d trees in the 3D Warehouse. This is the first time I modeled pine trees. I am not sure what species of pine tree are these, but they sure look like pine trees. By adjusting the width and arrangements of the pine needles, I was able to come up with 3 different 'species' from one base model.

Download

Download

Download

Adding the Moon to a Vue scene

2009-12-10T00:01:00.004-05:00

I already did several sunset renderings but this is the first time I added the Moon on the scene. To add the Moon, click the planet icon (located below the cloud icon on the toolbar on the left side). It will appear on the main camera window and you can just drag it where you want it to be. You can also re-size it and change its brightness.

Indigo Renderer sun tool

2009-12-09T00:46:00.003-05:00

Just playing around with the sun tool in Indigo Renderer. This cool tool allows you to drag the sun in the scene anywhere you want.

3d grass Sketchup test renders

2009-12-07T22:40:00.003-05:00

This is the first time I used 3d grass as ground cover in a scene. I am planning to upload this 3d grass model to the 3d warehouse.

3D trees Sketchup flooded forest renders

2009-12-02T21:16:00.005-05:00

These scenes were from the same forest model which I rendered a few weeks ago. I just added a very wide water plane to submerge the ground and get that inundated look.

Vue 8 Pioneer test renders

2009-11-20T00:53:00.004-05:00

I made some quick renders of cloudscapes using the free version of Vue 8 Pioneer. The version had many limitations aside from the Vue logo. The one thing I like is the ability to render full HD resolution without any watermarks.

Another 3d trees SketchUp forest rendering

2009-11-17T23:39:00.007-05:00

For these scenes, I used the tree model named 'small maple tree summer' that is included in the 3D tree collection found in the Google 3D warehouse. All scenes are rendered using the free version of Indigo Renderer.

3d trees SketchUp in lake view rendering

2009-11-05T20:33:00.004-05:00

I did more practice renders. I am still using the heavily forested hill which I have been using for the past month now. This time I made a large water plane that extends beyond the horizon and I submerged the valley and lower hills completely. I then positioned the sun in such a way that its reflection would be seen on the water.

Large 3D trees for SketchUp now ready for download at the 3D Warehouse

2009-11-01T00:32:00.009-04:00

I uploaded these large 3d trees in the 3D warehouse today. You can now start downloading these from the 3D tree collection. The free version of Indigo Renderer was used to render the images below.

More 3D trees for SketchUp now available for download

2009-10-31T02:34:00.005-04:00

I added nine more trees inside the 3D tree collection of the 3D Warehouse. These models came from just one base model. I just changed the leaf shape and color on each model and saved it as a different file. All images shown are rendered using the free version of Indigo Renderer.

Flooded forest test renders

2009-10-26T00:25:00.007-04:00

For these images, I just used the forest model I have been using for the past several weeks. I assigned a water material to a large rectangular box I modeled and just placed it in such a way that it would submerge the valley.

This maybe useful when visualizing environmental impact studies.

New Sketchup 3D tree uploaded to 3D warehouse

2009-10-17T21:30:00.007-04:00

I uploaded another 3d tree model. This is just a another variation of the small tree series I modeled. This one has more branches than the previous versions and had maple leaf shaped leaves. The model was named 'Small tree summer (variant 4)'.

Rendered images of this tree using the free version of Indigo Renderer are shown below.

3D trees Sketchup forest test renders - day 5

2009-10-12T18:49:00.013-04:00

It's Thanksgiving Day today here in Canada. While cooking the food, I found time to do more of these test renders. It may look like I am multitasking but in reality I just got bored waiting for the food to cook, so I just decided to give this rendering stuff one more try. Actually that one more try ended up ten more times as shown on the images posted.

I used the same scenes from my previous works, so I no longer had to repeat things which would normally take me several hours to complete like modeling the terrain, placing the vegetation, composing the scenes and editing the materials. The only major change I did was changing the Small tree summer (variant 3) to the tree model named 'tall tree' which is included in the 3D tree collection in the Google 3D Warehouse. After opening each of the scenes, I just hit the render button. Indigo Renderer can render four or more scenes simultaneously.

Under the forest canopy.

Tree top level view.

A view of the hill.

A closer view of the hill.

View from the top of the hill.

View from top of the hill with different time of day.

I tried changing the leaf color, to see what it look like.

The color of the leaves was also changed here and were also made shiny.

It looks like making the leaves shiny for this model would make the scene more realistic.

3d trees Sketchup forest test renders - day 4

2009-10-10T23:11:00.005-04:00

It looked like, I just spent the whole week doing test renders. This time, I tried fixing the shiny leaf on the tree model. I experimented on the IOR (Index of refraction) and exponent values on the material editor dialog box of Indigo renderer. I do not know what the values mean and just assumed that a smaller value might mean less shiny. I did not bother to do research, I just changed the numbers and hit the render button.

View from the top of the hill.

Top view, Google earth style.

Tree top view from the valley.

3D tree Sketchup forest test renders

2009-10-09T21:34:00.006-04:00

Did another batch of test renders. Found out today that when my trees are viewed from above, their leaves looked too shiny. I did not notice this one before because all previous renderings had the view under or at the same level of the trees.

For these scenes, I used the tree model Small tree summer (variant 3). Instancing was used to duplicate it thousands of times. The free version of Indigo Renderer was used to render these images.

More 3d trees Sketchup test renderings

2009-10-07T21:12:00.010-04:00

Did more test renderings today to determine what needs to be improved on the tree model (Small tree summer - variant 3). On these images I started to use an image of a tree bark as material for the tree trunks and branches. Although crudely done, it still gave some sort of realism to the scenes. It is much better than the chocolate brown color I used for the earlier renderings I posted yesterday.

From these renderings it's obvious what portions of the model had to be modified. At the moment, I am preparing another improved variant of this tree model. I will be uploading it to the 3d warehouse in a few days.

3D trees Sketchup test renders

2009-10-06T21:25:00.002-04:00

Finally had time to do some renderings of the 3d tree models I modeled and uploaded last week. For these images on this post, I used the Small tree summer (variant 3) model. All images are rendered using the free version of Indigo Renderer. This is also the first time I used 'instancing' to duplicate an object thousands of times on a scene. Without this method, these scenes are impossible to work on.

Free 3D trees uploaded to 3D Warehouse

2009-10-04T10:05:00.002-04:00

During the past week I was able to upload four new 3D trees to my collection of models in the 3D Warehouse.

Small file size 3d tree for Sketchup

2009-09-27T01:27:00.001-04:00

Did some experiments with various configurations for the leaves and twigs. I decided to take out some details which may not be necessarily important like those curving leaf surfaces, leaf stems and some fancy twigs. The result was a smaller file size less than 110kb with much of the detail you had come to expect from a detailed model still intact.

Renderings of the model using Ind igo Renderer are shown below. I already uploaded the model in the 3D warehouse and is now included in the 3d tree collection under the name 'tall tree'.

Uploaded a revised 3d tree for Sketchup

2009-09-26T10:13:00.001-04:00

I uploaded another revision of the maple tree that has no scanned image of a leaf painted on the leaves. The notable change was on the form of the leaves and their arrangement. The leaves are now curving in two directions. Their positions on the twigs had been re-arranged in a way that those on the tips would be a bit smaller and do not block the leaves behind them. This model is included in the 3d tree collection in the 3d warehouse.

The images below show a comparison between the revised maple tree and the Maple tree (very detailed) revision 1. The first one shows the model mentioned in this post while the other shows the version which still has the leaf images painted on the leaves. Both images are rendered in Indigo Renderer.

3d trees in Sketchup forest test render

2009-09-21T22:02:00.001-04:00

I Did a test render of a scene that has over a hundred trees on it. In the next few days I'll try spraying thousands of these trees on the same scene. The trees on the scene are the same ones I uploaded to the 3d warehouse. These images were rendered in Indigo Renderer.

Maple tree model with purple leaves

2009-09-18T00:01:00.001-04:00

I found some time to map the scanned image of a purple maple leaf on the leaves of the tree model I made. By just changing the image painted on the leaves, a new variant of the same model was made.
I uploaded the model to the 3D warehouse and named it 'Maple tree purple leaf'. It is included in the 3D tree collection.

Newly uploaded 3D trees modeled in SketchUp

2009-09-16T23:32:00.002-04:00

I uploaded five new 3D trees in The Google 3D Warehouse. A simple rendering of these models is shown below. These models are very useful background objects when you compose outdoor scenes. Be it the a perspective view of a house or an entire forest! They can be downloaded at the 3d tree collection I made in the 3D Warehouse.

Using the tree modeled in SketchUp for renderings

2009-09-15T23:40:00.001-04:00

Finally had an opportunity to use the model on the following renders. These are just simple renders. Future scenes would probably include more props. The first image shows the scene in SketchUp before the render in Indigo Renderer.

I uploaded the maple tree in the 3D warehouse. It is included in the 3D tree collection.

Depth of field (DOF) tests in Indigo Renderer

2009-09-10T23:16:00.001-04:00

Did a research in Wikipedia about DOF. I'm not really familiar with photography stuff and my camera is only a point and shoot so there is no way of knowing it. (unless you read about it) I see these f-numbers on the render settings dialog box but do not know how to use them. That all changed this afternoon when I read the Wikipedia article and did some renderings. The thing is, I learned using the technique using a virtual camera inside Indigo Renderer.

The maple tree on the scenes was a revision of the 3d maple tree I was working on last week. The notable change was on the form of the leaves and their arrangement. The leaves are now curving in two directions. Their positions on the twigs had been re-arranged in a way that those on the tips would be a bit smaller and do not block the leaves behind them. This model is included in the 3d tree collection in the 3d warehouse.
Aperture: f/1.4

Aperture: f/22

Modeled another tree in sketchup

2009-09-09T02:10:00.001-04:00

I modeled another tree in sketchup. This time, I just assigned a dark green and yellow green color on the leaves and did not used any scanned images of leaves as textures.

I just named the model 'tree' and is included in the 3d tree collection in the 3d warehouse.

Modeling a tree in sketchup

2009-09-04T22:23:00.001-04:00

After watching a youtube video of how to create curved surfaces in sketchup, I decided to apply what I had just watched on the tree model, I was working on this week. It took less than ten minutes to apply the changes including the mapping of the leaf image on the new curved surface.

The final image was rendered in Indigo Renderer. I uploaded the model in the 3D warehouse and I named it 'Maple Tree (very detailed)'.

If you're interested in modeling your own 3d tree, you can refer to my previous posts on how to model a tree in SketchUp.

Simplifying surfaces in Civil 3D 2008

2009-09-03T21:19:00.002-04:00

The newer versions of this software (Civil 3D 2009 & 2010) already has these tools that simplify surfaces thus reducing file size. But if you are still using Civil3D 2008 like me (but will be upgrading soon) and working on a 50+Mb file and suffer frequent crashes, then this is for you.

Surfaces created from TIN files in civil 3D comprise about a 70% of the file, so the suggested work around was to divide it into smaller manageable portions with each portion being saved on a separate file. A segment of the corridor being designed would have to be done on each portion of the divided surface on separate files. If there is a revision, then all the files had to be revised because they are not interconnected.

The work around I was using was simplifying the surface. Civil 3D 2008 still does not have this nice little feature so everything had to be done manually. From my experience, file size can be reduced up to 60% with minimal effects on the accuracy of the model. I did a test using the simplified surface vs. the original surface. An identical corridor model was placed on both surfaces and volume of and cut & fill was computed. The differences on the results was not even 1/2 of 1%.

This is how it was made:

Open the drawing file.
On the plan view, set the contour interval to 1m minor & 5m major.
- Right click surface on drawing & choose surface style
- The surface style dialog box appears
- Choose the contours tab and start setting the interval
After setting contour intervals, new contour lines will be generated.
Explode surface twice.
The existing surface will be taken out from the Prospector tab.
On the prospector tab, right click surfaces and choose 'Create Surface'.
Give the new surface a name and expand it. Go to 'Definition' and expand again.
Go to 'Contours', right click and choose Add.
The Add contour data dialog box appears.
On the weeding factors, change the default distance of 15.00m to something like 40m or 50m. Click OK and choose all the polylines from the exploded surface.
A new surface will be created from the polylines.
Add new boundary (non destructive) on the new surface by using the old boundary from the previous surface.

Modeling a tree in Sketchup

2009-09-01T22:46:00.002-04:00

Constructing this model in Sketchup was much easier than what I thought. First thing to do was to draw the leaf and construct the stem. Join the two to form a group or component. Make several copies of this leaf component and construct a twig. Attach the leaves to the twig in the same way as real leaves are attached to twigs. Make this new leaves and twig group again into another component. Make several copies of this and construct a branch. Attach the leaves and twig components to the branch. Make this into a branch component and make several copies again. Construct the tree trunk and attach the branches until the tree is finished .

Even though there are millions of pictures on the net, I was not able to find a suitable image to use as leaf texture, so I just took a maple leaf and scanned it. The final image was rendered in Indigo Renderer.

Right now, I'm still trying to figure out a way on how to make the surface of the leaves curved. They are so flat.

Car paint material

2009-08-25T00:02:00.001-04:00

This is the first time I used the car paint material preset in Indigo and also the first time I did some renderings of vehicles. All my previous works were landscapes and architectural visualizations.

All the 3d models were downloaded from the Google 3d warehouse.

Almost forgotten Vue renders

2009-08-21T22:51:00.002-04:00

Going through my files, I came across these these test renders of very large sized images. These came from the same Vue files where I got to render some of the images I posted last year. The idea back then was to render an image as big as possible so that when you scale it down, it would look realistic.

Actually images uploaded here get scaled down automatically. So when you click on them, they are only a quarter of the size they are supposed to be. Even with this, the photo realistic look, I was hoping to get is nowhere near it. That's the reason why this exercise was forgotten.

Exposure settings in Indigo Render

2009-04-23T17:22:00.001-04:00

I've been using Indigo for quite some time but I haven't bothered using the exposure controls. I always use the default auto exposure for the camera when rendering scenes.

In real life, I use these exposure settings when taking pictures on my camera. Yesterday I started doing some test renders with different exposure settings to see what the results would be.

default auto exposure

exposure = 0

exposure = 1

The plant model including the bark texture was downloaded from archibase.net. The guy who uploaded it did not mention what kind of plant it is. It looks like a ficus tree so I just assigned a dull plastic preset for the leaf material to make the leaves shiny.

Reentry

2009-04-08T17:55:00.003-04:00

I always wondered how it would look like to travel from a hundred miles above the earth to the sea in thirty seconds and decelerate at the same until you are as fast as a boat.

I tried searching for similar 'reentry' videos on YouTub e. None of the vid clips showed that front seat view I was imagining. That's the reason I made this short animation. For this scene, I just used one of the examples included in the Vue dvd. After playing around with the camera path, I was able to get what I wanted. As the saying goes 'If you can't find a way, make a way!'

From dawn to dusk

2009-03-27T11:19:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to compare this Vue rendered animation I prepared with the Crytek tech demos of real time rendering of the Cryengine 2.

After the storm

2009-03-24T16:29:00.001-04:00

Still playing around with atmospheric settings in Vue 6. By increasing the amount of haze on the atmosphere, "God rays" will appear whenever the sun is placed behind the clouds.

Ominous dark skies

2009-03-20T17:05:00.001-04:00

All the scenes except the one that has buildings are modeled and rendered in Vue 6. The bad weather settings were used for the atmosphere.

The scene that has high rise buildings on it was modeled in Sketchup and rendered in Indigo Renderer using a .exr file of the bad weather setting for the atmosphere exported from Vue 6.

sunsets

2009-03-14T10:22:00.002-04:00

Just experimenting with God rays in Vue

Day and night studies

2008-08-01T17:02:00.001-04:00

By changing the time of day, the mood of the room changes.

Everything here is modeled in Sketchup and rendered in Indigo Render. Items like chairs and tables were downloaded from Google 3D Warehouse.

Interior Spaces

2008-08-01T16:40:00.002-04:00

With the right tools already installed in my home computer, I am now ready to do interior renderings. Modelling an interior space is like constructing a real home. The good part is that you do not have to be a really good handyman. You can make as much mistake as you want. To fix it, you just have to undo or delete it. I did 10 renderings for this and the client chose 3 for the poster. This was my first project.

It was fun working with the folks at UrbanGreenLiving. Since this is the first time I'm into this business, it's like Building Reality before it's Real 101.

All the interior space including the Scavolini kitchen were all modeled in Sketchup. All other typical items like fruits, faucets, stove, fridge, table, chairs & bamboo plants were downloaded from the Google 3D warehouse and Archibase.net. All the scenes are rendered in Indigo Render.

Using trueSpace and Sketchup

2008-08-01T16:06:00.002-04:00

These two free software packages are great. But they have some limitations. Some of the useful features like exporting to another format or rendering are disabled. You still have to buy the Pro version or buy a plug-in that can do the rendering.

Anyway, buying them is not really that painful since they are 95% cheaper than AutoCAD, 3DsMax, Maya and XSI.

trueSpace and Sketchup

2008-08-01T15:12:00.002-04:00

I thought Blender was the only free 3d modelling/animation software. There are more. From 1999 up to last month, I never tried typing in 'free' when searching for a 3d modelling software. I thought nobody would just give away their precious work away.

I downloaded and installed these two softwares, trueSpace http://www.caligari.com/ and Sketchup http://sketchup.google.com/ . How these two became free? Well, just google it!

Fluid simulations using Blender 2.46

2008-08-01T13:35:00.003-04:00

Another item that interested me is fluid simulation. What I am trying to do is to do a scene where water is flowing from the spillway or powerhouse of the dam to the river downstream. I was looking for a software that can model fluid flow. Most of the popular 3D modelling and animation packages I looked at like 3DsMax, Maya and Softimage XSI do not have this built in feature. You still have to buy a plug-in called RealFlow from Next Limit Technologies. Each of these software packages cost between $5k to $10k without the plug-in for fluid simulation. To buy one of these to just be able to do the scene is not practical. The company I'm working in is into engineering design and consulting and not with the film industry.

I kept on Googling until I came across Blender http://www.blender.org/ . Not only is the software capable of fluid simulation but it is actually free. Before Blender all the modelling and rendering is done at the office. Now I can do it at home. Blender is 3D modelling, rendering and animation for the masses!

The first scene I did was a drop of grey colored liqid falling inside an invisible box.

The next one I did was this liquid flowing through an opening to an invisible pool.

Tsunami test animation.

Vue 6

2008-07-30T13:52:00.002-04:00

I came across Vue 6 when I tried to look for ways on how to put more trees, plants, clouds, etc. for the environments modelled in CAD software.

The usual way to add trees and plants in AutoCAD is to do a real 3d model of it. There are also plug-ins that use a billboard that has a picture of a tree on it. An example of this is the background of the transmission tower I posted earlier. But AutoCAD is not designed for this kind of work. When the trees in the model I am building reaches a certain number, the computer crashes.

The cool thing about Vue , is that it can place millions of objects inside a scene. Some test modelling and rendering was done using the personal learning edition I downloaded and showed the results to the boss. The company then bought a copy of the software.

I did a test animation of a group of plants and just used the default settings on the software including the light breeze.

Another feature about Vue that I liked is its ability to animate clouds to provide dramatic time lapse scenes.

I did some practice renderings of my company's projects. I need to know how to operate the newly bought software and to prove that the company will save money by having presentation work done in-house. My workstation can handle rendering work running in the background while I am working on my usual CAD drawings.

I tested the water surface simulation of Vue.

I tried a fly by animation.

Another flyby

More flybys

Another more of the same but with different lighting.

Test animation on focusing.

Apartment flyby.

Aircraft test animation

City development test animation.

Test rendering of forest with different times of day

My attempts at animation using AutoCAD

2008-07-30T11:35:00.001-04:00

When we are not busy at the office, I always play around with AutoCAD. One day, sometime in August of last year, I decided to try animation. The previous releases of the software does not have any animation capabilities. Every year a new version of AutoCAD is released. Each release has new features not found on previous releases. The latest version we have at the office had animation function in it.

I started out by using simple geometric objects like balls and cubes. I then tried a 3d terrain. Lastly, I did a 3D model of one of the projects we are working on and inserted it to the DEM (digital elevation model) file we have. On this last test animation, I was able to convince our boss that this 3d modelling and animation can now be done in-house rather than having it subcontracted to animation studios.

I did a scene with heavy geometry on it to find if it work. It did work!

I again tried a more geometry heavy scene. This time I placed four transmission towers and dozens of trees. It worked again!

Early work using AutoCAD

2008-07-30T11:02:00.003-04:00

From 2001 up to 2007, I only used AutoCAD in making 3d models and environments. Not only that this is the only software I know how to use, but the only one I have access to. My job as a CAD operator gave me the opportunity to explore the capabilities of the program. Even though my company does not require us to do 3d modelling, I just did it as a hobby. It is also nice to maintain another set of skills other than drafting.

Introduction

2008-07-29T15:19:00.001-04:00

When I watched The Matrix back in 1999, I was fascinated by the concept of this computer rendered world that exists only inside a computer.

A few months later I decided to take a 3D modelling and rendering course in AutoCAD (it was the only available course then) to experiment on building virtual objects and environments. And this was the start of my computer generated world.