3D-Pangel

Hrvoje, Have you started publishing a list of tutorials that have been created for the Master Class Section? Can this list be posted outside of that forum? There is nothing in the description about the tutorials in the store page. I think it would be important to know what people are missing. Now here are some of my thoughts....and I will be perfectly honest. I am going to wait until the Master Class section has enough content or some really desirable content before I subscribe and I am willing to pay more in the future than pay every month now and hope for more content in the future. If I don't know what I am missing, then I will never subscribe. I am not sure how many people have subscribed yet, but if you are not seeing the numbers you were hoping for then maybe my position is not unique. If that is the case, then may I make a suggestion? Have each tutorial in the Master Class be available for purchase separately outside of the subscription model. Depending on the length and depth of the subject, you could charge similar to what the Vertex Pusher tutorials cost. This gives people options - subscribe and get them for free along with access to the forum or purchase separately (no access to forum). One thing we do know is that they will be well done and worth whatever you charge. But having thought about the subscription model, it would only be enticing to me once you have a pretty substantial library of content already created and a good track record of generating tutorials on a regular basis. I have faith in you producing great product, but you do have a full time job with MAXON too along with running this forum. Also, I am sure that you have a life outside of C4D which should take a higher priority. So despite your best laid plans, things happen and the tutorials may not come at a pace we would all desire in a perfect world. Thus my desire to "wait and see". I hope you understand. Dave

Care to elaborate on that? Or were you saying that Maya is not an alternative for you alone (rather than studios)? If you really meant that Maya is not an alternative for Studios, then why? Is it because of Autodesk's subscription model or something else that I completely missed? Dave

Also....my request would be for complex mechanical rigging training. A perfect example would be the landing gear on the Prometheus spaceship as shown here: Dave

Really interested in this....but I have a concern...not for me but for Hrovje. If the tutorials are downloadable, what prevents me from not signing up for 12 months and waiting until you have all 50 videos, then signing up for only 1 month and downloading all 50 at once and then not paying again for the next 12 months? Is there something I missed in how this works? The reason why I ask is because I want you to fully work out how this will work ahead of time before I sign up. If not, then changing the privileges of the program 6 months into it hurts everyone and I really want Hrovje to be very successful with this (I really miss Vertex Pusher). Dave

I just returned from a business trip to Thailand. Overall, it took about 33 hours to get there from the time I left my house to go to the airport (around 3:00 AM to catch a 6:00 AM flight) to the hotel in Bangkok. We had some time off the next day and this tour of an ancient temple made it all worthwhile: And then we were greeted by this: One of my favorite 3D artists is Stefan Morrell (known as Stonemason by those who buy his models sold at DAZ) and I honestly felt like I stepped into something he would have created It made the whole airplane ride worth it. Seeing stuff like this is what you travel for! Hopefully this inspires you to push your 3D sculpting and modeling skills a bit. Dave

Vozz, I would agree with you. The seller fee will cut down on the shop being flooded with substandard goods. I think the TS model is a flat 40% of every sale with no upfront costs - and that does yield some pretty lame products being listed on TS. ...but what was also mentioned in this thread is that every product gets reviewed for quality before it is listed. If that is possible, and the lame products are kept from being sold at the Cafe, then I would like to submit a "no fee/higher Cafe percentage" option. Some people may want to sell their stuff, but to test those waters don't want to spend the $60 to only find out that the Cafe marketplace is not working out for them. The $60 fee may in fact keep them from even considering selling models on the Cafe. Just a thought for a lower cost of entry for the timid at heart. They can convert at any time to the regular model if they see some success with their sales. Dave SIgor, One thing you need to consider is how to determine authenticity of the good. Not sure how TS does it, but there has to be some legal agreements the seller needs to sign that removes the Cafe from all accountability should somebody be selling something that is not theirs. For example, I have purchased Evermotion models in OBJ format and put a ton of work into them to convert them to C4D (some were used in this video). Now some of the conversions required sections being completely remodeled and re-textured, but does that make the models mine to sell? In my opinion, absolutely NOT. But someone else may think differently, not intentionally want to do something illegal, sell the stuff on the Cafe, and then it comes out that the models were originally from TS, DAZ, free downloads from another site, etc....etc...etc... and then the Cafe is equally at fault for whatever happens next because the Cafe took a percentage of the sale. In short, get a good lawyer before you proceed with this. Dave

Of course, you defeat your own logic of having a "high ambition for C4D" to do what other packages do every time you buy a plugin....that is, you could make the same argument for having to buy plugins: "Why can't C4D do this, why do I have to purchase a plugin?." But we do....in fact, everyone does. Look...get the tools you need and move on. The best analogy I can think for your complaining is the person who wants to build a mansion, but claims he can't start because they have yet to invent the 10,000 blade Swiss Army knife with all the tools he needs in one application to get the job done. Now, if you think you have found a pretty comprehensive tool set (eg. TouchDesigner and Houdini), then please move there with all haste especially if it makes you more productive and able to better support your business. Not sure why you are holding on to C4D as it sounds like you have found your own answer. Dave

I see so many possibilities with Extrudifier....but has anyone figured out how to limit this to a selection rather than a whole object? Or am I just missing something basic and obvious? I presume that I could use the split commands to make separate objects, but that is just ugly. Ideally, if I had the full resources of the MAXON development team at my disposal, then this is what I would hope for: Works as a non-destructive modifier object - which it does now (though I am not sure how to add it to the menu). Above Seed is a window where you can drag you selection tag. All settings below apply to that selection tag. If no selection tag is provided, the whole object is being modified. As soon as you add a selection tag, the controls for seed all the way down to"Inner movement" get repeated under a new collapsible menu with yet another selection tag window at the top. The process continues to repeat. The modifier works equally well on ngons as well as polygons. Yes...that would be very tough to do...but then again I have all the resources of MAXON at my disposal. You can auto-fillet or chamfer each inner or outer square (check box for both). You can apply a different texture to each level. ...and I am sure I could think of a few more, but its late and I am tired. Dave

Me thinks you are over-reacting there. While it is true you can draw an infinite number of lines through a single point, you really are taking a huge logical leap extrapolating a small python plugin to a major R19 release feature....unless of course you just wanted to make a cynical point to an otherwise very accommodating and patient MAXON representative. So I will take a logical leap: You have lost patience with MAXON, you will not wait for R19 and will be jumping to Maya and Houdini very soon. In fact, you can't wait to get to this promised land of graphical delights where the features are always new, cutting edge and rock solid. It is a magical place filled with contented users where the only limitations to your creativity are found in your own skills and not in the software. Autodesk and Side Effects freely discuss new features years ahead of their release dates and adopt every user suggestion or fix every user bug right away because they have legions of dedicated coders working globally 24 hours a day. Yes...it is a happy place where there are no complaints or frustrations. So why aren't you there yet? Ahhh...the curse of quality! It takes time. So what you are saying is no early Christmas this year! Well...can't blame me for trying. And as far as subscriptions go....NOOOOO!!!!! I will be happy with waiting. I would love to be on the beta team, but that privilege requires more time and dedication than I am willing to give it right now (this is a beloved hobby for me, but I do have a day job...plus a family....plus a wife...home....dog....kids...you get the idea). Maybe when I retire (ahh...that would be fun). Thanks again, Dave

JF, Fully understand the legal, financial and just plain "let's minimize the noise over undelivered promises" constraints that MAXON adopts relative to new features. But just wondering at what point during the development process do certain features become locked for a release? Is it always around Siggraph? I would hope not as Siggraph is usually just one month before a full release notice. There has to be some point far earlier where MAXON is fully committed to incorporating a new feature into the program. And by committed, I mean "we don't have a release unless we get this implemented as so many other enhancements depend upon it". I ask because we look at the competition and it seems that they are more willing to share some details well ahead of their next release. I would imagine, like MAXON, that they also don't want to over-promise and under-deliver so what they talk about has a 99.999% probability of being in the next release. As such, there is almost no risk of giving its user's a sneak peek much earlier in the release cycle because come hell or high water that feature will be in the program. There has to be features planned for R19 that also fall into a similar category? So while discussing some features will entail the risks you outlined, I can't imagine that all features carry that same risk. Again, I fully support and respect your policy. But the next time your sitting in a product development meeting, and the Program Manager is just tickled pink about meeting schedule for features X,Y and Z, then ask yourself and the team what the harm will be to share that same level of optimism with your customers for those features? Dave

Well...this will be a first for me...actually creating and updating a thread on a current WIP. Probably a first, because I never really know if I will be able to finish a project when I start it, but I feel pretty confident about this one. The project will be the space station from Star Trek III --- highly inspired by listening to the music from the movie. I am a huge fan of movie music and one my favorite composers is James Horner (Avatar, Field of Dreams, Apollo 13, Titanic, ST II and ST III, etc.). Sadly, he passed away in 2015 in a private plane accident. Just lately, I have been listening to his soundtracks. The station I hope to create is this one: At first glance, it did not seem to offer too much a challenge as it really is about 10 primitives (cones, spheres and cylinders) stacked on top of each other, but as I do research on the web, finding any and all images, it is actually not that simple. So it should offer some fun challenges. I also plan to model the interior docking area as well: ....and finally, here is where I am so far - Okay....is it just me or does this look like a giant mushroom? ;-) Dave

Never meant to imply that about Hrvoje and I would certainly agree with you. A true gentleman. But after just watching that Krav Maga video, I did find it incongruous to his nature as best as I could determine from his tutorials and Cafe posts. And that is when I thought "wow...that would make an excellent villain character: huge and physically menacing but with a soft and calm speaking voice -- who explains why he must break you while he is doing it in soothing tones." So I was thinking more about that character than Hrvoje. ..hmmm....maybe Hrvoje has a future in the next Bond movie. Hrvoje does remind me of Ron Fedkiw: Stanford University professor who developed PhysBAM for ILM who was a competitive weight lifter who dead lifted 800 lbs in the 198 pound weight class. Hey...like Hrvoje...another data point against the "all brawn and no brains" stereotype. Dave

Okay....I had to look up Krav Maga Yes...now I am scared. ....a really scary image would be Hrvoje slowly twisting you into a pretzel while he calmly says in those soft dulcet tones of his "I must break you now....do not take it personally but this is the simplest and most direct way for me to deal with you. It is veeery easy and there is no reason to be concerned....{crrrraaaack!}" BTW: Sigor...love your new avatar....cute! Striking resemblance too! Dave

Jean-Franocois, First off---welcome to the Cafe! Thank you for clearly and logically explaining where Maxon-Labs sits in the overall C4D world and for setting expectations for what to expect --- or not expect --- in the future. In short, you have level-set me pretty well at least. Relative to providing positive feedback to product management, what is the best way to do that? Will Maxon Labs consider a forum of some sort or should we use the "suggestions" link at Maxon.net? Or do we just yell at Hrvoje at the Cafe? I understand he's quite open to that! ;-) Dave

So how long has Maxon Labs been around? I was always pretty bullish on what Maxon offers beyond C4D such as the Cineversity tutorials and CV-Tools, but this just takes it up a notch. Bravo! So is this just a repository for what the developers create in their "spare" time? Apps that maybe support their own workflow but are not part of the development program? Just wondering because it would help to know how comments/suggestions would be taken. Would they yield any changes, promote further development, be compatible with future releases, etc. I get the sense they would not which is a shame because the Coons and Extruder tools would make really nice permanent additions to the Maxon toolset. But for now, extremely grateful to Maxon for sharing!!! Dave

Don't get me wrong. I have absolute confidence in the future of Maxon otherwise I would not have purchased my 2017-2018 MSA license back when they had the 30% discount (so I am good through 9/2018). I just get the growing sense that Maxon is siding with the industry perception of their own renderer and feared that maybe they were coming to the realization that they will never be able to keep up with the 3rd party developers. Question: is that interior rendering done with a beta version of the new renderer or with the current version. Confused by " what I saw on Maxon beta forums is very capable renderer that is already in Cinema" I would imagine it is the beta renderer you are referring to but just wanted to be sure. Yes...I would love to see the image as well. My hope for the future of AR: Texture channels....but underneath the hood a nodal system for going above and beyond. Volumetric shading Light emitting materials OpenVDB And my personal nit: More control on the shape of the volumetric spot light (does it have start at a point?). Dave

So I have to ask: But all these tutorials are on "Realistic rendering" and appear to be sponsored by Maxon but there is no webinar on using C4D's Advance Renderer. So what conclusions are we to draw from this? Realistic rendering is NOT possible in C4D using AR? Has the industry backed away from AR and, left with no choice, Maxon has consigned themselves to the fact and is promoting 3rd party rendering solutions over their own renderer? By promoting 3rd party rendering solutions rather than their own internal renderer, is Maxon backing away from AR? Overall, not a good sign unless there is something I am completely missing (in which case, please clue me in!!!). Dave

Wow. Very nice and better progress than I have made. Is the PC sluggishness only related to the real time preview. How fast did it render as I would imagine that you would need to really increase the samples to get a clean image without noise. Plus, when you push the scale to get smaller clouds but preserve the detail, that would also spike render times. But it does show very exciting possibilities. Dave

Overall....FreeD tech was under-whelming given the 5 years of development time over the last example we saw showing the baseball game. My expectation was that it would create an animation from within the virtual world it created but in reality it was only a static image and then again only from the POV of the quarterback. They didn't even jump around from quarterback to receiver to linesman....you get the point. Yes...still pretty cool but given the pace of 3D advances, maybe our expectations have been set unrealistically high. Relative to the Superbowl itself. All I can say is wow. 2 hours of disappointment as the Pats were behind by 25 points in the 3rd quarter (28 to 3). Then they slowly marched back to a 28 to 28 tie at the end of the game, won the coin toss in overtime and marched down the field to score the game winning touchdown. Sigor -- C'mon man....show some love for Brady because when you recover from such a deficit (the biggest in Superbowl history) you have to be mentally tough. Plus, his mother is fighting cancer, just came out of chemo so he had all that going on in his head as well but he still focused and fought back. That takes strength. He did win MVP but felt he didn't deserve it. He felt White deserved it so he gave him the $50,000 truck you win when you get the MVP award. Now that's class. How can you not respect that? Look, I respect tough competitors. Rodgers and Rothleisberger are my 2nd and 3rd favorite quarterbacks. Yes, we compete against them but you still have to respect them because they are just damn good. Dave

I wonder if what the Superbowl will use is this Free3D in this link as that was from 2013...almost 5 years ago. Note that the Free3D demo could only shift between any of the two taking cameras. It never got close to the players and at the end of the video they do show you an image of a player up close and the textures do not hold up. What tonight's Superbowl is talking about is developed by Intel and they are talking about putting the 3D camera anywhere...so obviously this is a whole generation of technology better than what was shown in 2013....and like Sigor, I was impressed by what was in that 2013 video. So really interested to see how far this technology has gone in 5 years! Dave BTW: Only 27% of people are rooting for the Patriots. As a person who has lived in New England all my life, we are used to it. I mean we've gone to the SuperBowl more than any other team in the NFL (9), we have had more consecutive wins than any other team in the NFL (21), and more consecutive winning seasons (10 or more wins in a season) than any other team (12) . We are just use to everyone hoping for us to lose and rooting against us.

Thank you. I would be interested to see what you come with. Right now I am trying to get that effect by using pyrocluster to shade a bunch of tiny spheres cloned randomly to the surface of a larger sphere using MoGraph.....and right now it looks like a bunch of uniform puffy spheres cloned to the surface of another sphere. There has to be a better way! Thanks for all your help. Dave

Okay...this is cool. Is there anyway to get the volumetric shading to not run hard to the outside of the volume? That is, could you use this technique to create volumetric clouds around a planet and be self-shadowing. This is what I am after: If you used the shader that you developed, it would not look right because clouds do not run hard against a perfect sphere at the top of the atmosphere. In fact, the exact opposite of what you created would be what is needed. Creating the perfect 3D model of the earth from space has been a pet-project of mine for quite some time. And so far, the one thing that I have not been able to create is volumetic clouds from space that look real. If Cycles volumetric rendering could do that, I would be buy it right away. Dave P.S. That would be an interesting Cafe challenge: make a hyper-realistic earth as seen from space.

As a VFX enthusiast, I was excited many years ago when they started mapping the first down lines during live action play in football games (okay...I am a true geek and I don't get out much). I appreciated all the 3D graphics software that was involved: camera tracking to get the line to stick on the field, contrast matting to put the line behind the players, etc. What they are going to debut at Superbowl LI (51) today puts all that to shame and takes it to an extreme level. At the Superbowl, they will be placing 38 fixed cameras around the stadium. Those cameras are going to be recording the action and mapping the players volumes, actions and position - very similar to how the VFX industry uses motion capture but rather than just recording the motions, it also records the 3D volume of each player and then texture maps the recorded image back onto that volume. And it does all that without the benefit of the players wearing reference marks (or those tight leotards with the triangle and square patterns). So what this will enable is a replay in 3D space where you can view that play from the quarterbacks perspective. Literally, put the camera in the quarterbacks helmet and rerun the exact same play...or put in the receivers helmet...or from the perspective of the referees....basically anyone on the field at that time. Not sure how much processing hardware is required but each 30 second clip records 1 Terabyte of data which is then rendered in only 2 minutes. The technology was developed by Intel (go figure) and you can read more about it here. Being from NH and a die-hard Patriots fan, I now have another reason to watch the game! Dave

Just wondering....but isn't paypal safer than credit cards...especially for purchases made outside your country? Dave

By the way, as the Cafe Supporter options are priced in Euro's, I thought I would mention that for our US members that the value of the Euro against the dollar is coming off a 10 year low. I was shocked at the conversion rate used by Paypal so I looked it up at www.xe.com So not only is it a good time for US members to donate to the Cafe, but it may also be a good time to buy plugins (Nitro4D, C4D Zone, etc), models (Evermotion), etc. that are only priced in Euro's. Dave