Should Alias be worried??????????
 

Hi all,

I know this is a bit naughty, but

I'm not actually trying to start yet another Maya/Softimage debate.

http://www.edharriss.com/xsi/version3.htm

Just interested in what Avid are implementing in their new version of XSI. Version 3 (out soon) looks pretty impressive from a character design/animation point of view. They really seem to be listening to their users and implementing innovative stuff that makes the average users' life easier and more fun.

An interesting comparison:

Maya 4.5 new features. I'm sure you are all aware of them by now.

and

XSI 3 new features.
Check out 'character designer' half way down page........

Again, should alias be worried?????????


re Jim

ps I havn't sold out yet............

Yes it does look good, I think thats one of the main reasons for alais droping there costs so much... only time will tell I guess

wow theres just so much i havent even touched in maya. that i just might be way to busy.

bah!......Maya 4 Life!!!

Competition !... Maybe A|W is working on Maya 5 (or whatever it will be called) and maybe it will be groundbraking animation and modeling tools.

There is always a company/product that is better then the other...

Hopefilly built-in GI or HDRI AT LEAST!!!

THAT would be cool:)

oke.... :) the following question pop-up in my mind:

What is GI and HDRI (something like High Defenition bla bla bla )

GI = Global Illumination

and i'll take a stab at what HDRI means, i'd go with High Definition Radiosity Illumination.

Sorry folks, I should have explained it more...

HDRI: High Dynamic Range Imaging

It's a way of faking GI using images with a higher dynamic color range than normal imagery.

Here's a buncha links for more info on the study of HDRI:
http://www.debevec.org/HDRShop/main-pages/links.html

Also, below are links to a free plugin called: LightGen, AND a free Program called: HDRShop.

Lightgen is a plugin for Photoshop, I think, that will take an a HDRI image, or any image for that matter, and output a Maya mel script of lighting info for you.
So, when you run it in your Maya scene, it will create lights JUST like you shot your scene in the same environment of your chosen image. ALMOST, instant GI within Maya:)

HDRShop is a free proggy that converts images into hdri imagery, perfect for use with Lightgen, AND preforms the proper "Polar" distortion for you automaticly.
Also great for environment reflection maps, hdri, etc.

Here is the actual link to HDRshop and lightgen
http://www.debevec.org/HDRShop/

Hope that was a good explanation:)

Enjoy!

well tnx will download the plugins and see what it can do, do you us them alot ?

YES! They are very helpfull for getting that GI look:)

Good luck!

the program keeps crashing on me.... so I dumpted it in the trash !

ya know what.. My good friend is a XSI suer and hes really excited about 3.0 but he was also excited for me when Maya 4.5 was released. What we all ned to realsie here is they are both VERY capable 3D software solutions. But for me the interface and everything in Maya in its setup is more my style, and i would have better workflow with it. But for my friend he loves the interface of XSI and wouldnt want it any other way.

they are both maybe in competition but at the same time you cant compare them, because they are both at the top of there league and wont be going anywhere anytime soon :)

my 2 cents

Which one? HDRShop?

By the way, as a designer I find this HDRI technique certainly interesting, since I´ve had lot´s of trouble when dealing with brightness and contrast in photographs ... so "another" thing learned at Simply Maya! Thanks RaceCGI!

that one yeah...HDRshop, I load it up and load up an image and then boooomm! I am back in windows, maybe it was corrupt while dowloading....yeah.. next time better .. :)