06/30/2001

I used a utility called OBJto3DM to convert the Poser files for import into Rhino. Works great but I kept losing all the mapping information. Turns out, you need to poke around the preferences a bit and tell it not to discard the mapping information.

Who knew?

The lighting is turning out to be difficult to control. I've got to fine tune it every time I change the camera position.

gnat view

spider view

canine view

06/29/2001

Another test render, this time with Sarah.

06/25/2001

A test render in volumetric lighting mode. There are a few obvious flaws that I'll correct later (the camera / photographer casts no shadow) but overall I'm pretty pleased with the lighting.

Everything is coming together but I still need a few hours to finish it all up. Unfortunately those hours were hard to come by this weekend.

The same view with and without volumetric lighting enabled.

06/18/2001

I think I spent too much time outside this weekend. At least I made a little progress on Sarah. I'm not finished with the pose but you can start to get the idea from this render.

In her original version I cheated a little with the suntan. I added a red ambience to the body and head maps. In this scene it's noticable but with the lighting in final scene she'll look like she's got a 20% radiation glow so I'll have to go back and adjust the color balance on the original maps.

06/15/2001

Just a quick render with Sarah in the scene to check the scale. Michelle found another example for the bed that should make things a little easier.

•  Linensource - Matelasse - Jacobean

I'm just going crazy trying to divide my time between this, work and the Sixers this week. Good news, rain in the forecast for the weekend so maybe I can catch up a little.

06/13/2001

My usual routine for getting Poser figures into Bryce is this:

• Create the figure in Poser
• Export it to a Wavefront OBJ file
• Group it with Grouper
• Import it into Rhino, scale and position it
• Import the Rhino version into Bryce and use copy matrix
• Import the Grouper version into Bryce and use paste matrix
• Delete the Rhino version from the scene
• Texture the Grouper version

Since Poser figures don't export in real world coordinates I have to find the correct scale factor. The easiest way to do this is to zero the figure then export it, measure it's height and knowing the correct height (5'9), calculate a scale factor. The Rhino scale factor stays the same regardless of the final pose.

The whole process can be a little tedious but it's easier to correctly scale and position a Poser figure in Rhino than it is in Bryce.

The first time I import the grouped figure into Bryce I'll setup all the materials for the figure and save them as presets. That way if I change the pose later I only have to apply the preset materials.

Zeroed figure used to determine the scale factor.

06/12/2001

List of things to do:

• Sarah
• Linens
• Backdrop for outside the window
• Final lighting and texture adjustments

I'm starting to see the (volumetric) light at the end of the tunnel.

One of the original problems with Sarah was that once you changed her geometry, her clothes didn't fit quite right. The painted on jeans solution wasn't working either. I really liked the way the textures and expressions were going but the basic Victoria model was always a bit "hippy" for my tastes.

Then I came across the Dierdre character. Great geometry and morphs for the clothes but I didn't like the maps (or the name). Problem solved. Starting with Dierdre's geometry I'll transfer the facial morphs and textures I've already done for Sarah to make "Sarah 2.0".

If it were only this easy in real life ...

06/10/2001

This is a just for fun test render with Bryce 5. I'll probably use it for the final renders.

Also refinished the furniture and added a trunk.

06/08/2001

More details. I was thinking yesterday that this scene is starting to get a feel to it. Since all the objects in the scene are complete and textured I've got the freedom to move the camera to virtually any view without having to worry about the old west building facade effect.

Michelle wanted a picture of the stern grandmother to put in the left frame. My mother (after months of asking) recently dug up some pictures of my father's family. I'll be restoring those later this year. Looking at the pictures, I definitely had a stern grandmother to fit the bill. Then I remembered that I also had a family picture that included Michelle's Grandma Blanche that was taken last year that I thought would blend in a little better.

Shortly I'll be dusting off Sarah and adding her to the scene. I hope I remember where I put those files.

I used Jonathan's Seriously Free Paint on the frame. It's got a very nice subtle texture further confirming that he is the DTE guru.

It was  relatively easy to create these maps in Photoshop. I created a selection that had the same length and width proportions as the image object then proportionally resized and positioned the selection and used it to crop the original image. To the cropped image I used the actions palette to add the vignette and sepia effects.

Unfortunately the original image lent itself more to a landscape layout so the cropping on the right hand picture isn't perfect but I think it still works.

Note the reflections of the out of view objects.

06/07/2001

I was trying to get a view of the new floor material against the rug but in wireframe mode I forgot about the palm. It looked interesting so I thought I'd post it.

I had a minor setback when I went a little too long between saves this morning so some of the details aren't showing in this view.

The gorillas in the mist view.

06/06/2001

NURBS is good. I recreated the wine bottle and glass from examples I had here at the house. Michelle found the label on the Internet. With a little retouch, it was ready to go.

The smokes started as a Rhino object that was mapped in UVMapper. I created a texture map from the scanned images of an (empty) pack of smokes Michelle gave me.

I think the more accurate models and maps make a big difference.

06/05/2001

The stuff you find on the Internet is either excellent quality or it's kinda just there. This is a test render of the small table for the bay window area. Table, lighter, ashtray ... excellent. Smokes, wine bottle, wine glass ... just there.

Jon did a nice soft light study that's similar to what we're after here.

I can never figure out what people are thinking when the make these models. Most times they are scaled in either English or Metric units but sometimes they are just way out there leading me to think the author just eyeballed it.

Jack Valero has some nice wine glasses over at Lannie's 3D Model World but I was too lazy to download them last night. Oliver Ffrench also has some "pots" (must be a French thing) that'd probably look great on the dresser.

Actually Oliver has the most excellent Absolut bottle model I've ever seen (2008-01-11 update: the model is no longer available, the lawyers at Absolut complained to Oliver about it) but I don't think she (Sarah, the character in the scene) is in that kind of a mood. I also don't think she smokes menthols either (I'll hear about that when I get to the office).

Want something done right, do it yourself. Must remember to bring the dial calipers home with me tonight.

Just a quick test render to see where we are. I sent a copy of the floor off to a separate Rhino file and imported and positioned the objects there.

This render is also a separate Bryce file. Since this is going to take a little bit of work to get it right it's easier to work with a smaller file.

Once the textures and placements are right I'll merge the model back into the master Rhino file then import it into the master Bryce file and apply the finished textures.

06/04/2001

This one is finishing a thought from yesterday. I setup the view and noticed the rug wasn't mapping properly. Had to stop and figure out what was wrong. Turns out it was a Bryce thing. I'll have to log that as a bug on the beta forum.

The bay window looked empty. I think it needs a small table for the wine bottle, glass and a few other things. I showed Michelle a few models and she really liked this one. Problem was, it had these freaky legs. I'm pulling rank on this one and going with my first choice instead.

Obviously I'm working on the fine details. Shortly I'll need a label from her favorite wine and an empty box of her preferred smokes to finish the bay window area details. I'm pretty sure neither will be a problem (duck).

When I bought the second computer I wondered how I ever got along with only one. Now that I've got three here I'm wondering how I got along with only two ... and how I'm going to pay the electric bill.

Imported planar mesh surfaces don't seem to map properly in parametric mode (it renders all black). To fix this one I simply converted the surface to a Bryce 2D surface and everything worked fine.

Also, the palm wasn't showing up well so I gave it a 5% ambience.

06/03/2001

The good news is that Mercury is very happy with it's new (newer) heat sink. It's now cruising along at a relatively chilly 48C (better than 70C+). Other Steve suggested Icarus might be a better name. "But, we got a charge" (ABC-Wenger in 3m58s)

Status:

Gave up on the Victorian linens for now. The vase just didn't look right on the chest of drawers so I moved it over to the dresser and stuck some eucalyptus in it. I found a nice clock for the chest of drawers.

Also added an oriental rug and the obligatory palm tree but I'm thinking it's in the wrong place. It should be where the second night stand is. What single person has two night stands?

I'm sure Michelle is wondering what I'm up to going so long without "supervision".