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Software Discussion
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Maya
Photorealism in Maya books/tutorials
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mitm2002 68 posts29 Dec 2007Hey, I know this is a bit broad, but anybody know of a book on this subject? I couldn't find anything. Seems like it's a topic worthy of its own text. -
30 Dec 2007
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30 Dec 2007
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30 Dec 2007While i'm not sure that there are actually any useful books on the subject, but the essence of the face book that ballistic puts out is pretty good. Otherwise if you're going for photoreal, this is my advice, USE PHOTOS.
Seriously, You can get away with murder by just projecting images onto simple geometry. If you are doing creatures, you've got a different set of challenges, but for environments, unless you are going full 360 around them, you should just project the crap out of everything. And of course i'm talking about camera projections.
-Z -
Will J 215 posts31 Dec 2007Photorealism is a pretty broad subject, it encompasses a very large variety of important artistic and technical skills. I'll break it down into how I think it works (though my word isn't gospel, but I get good results by my own standards.)
Modelling:
Think of how objects look in the real world, for example, you will rarely find a perfect 90 degree edge on an object, it usally has a small radius. It can make the world of difference, especially with things like vehicle modelling. Learning skills like subdivision proxy modelling really achieves these results well for things like that. Also think, do I go geometry or texture for minute details? It's your call. It's always going to be a compramise I think. These are all artistic skills you will pick up with experience, and you will be increasingly able to back this up with technical ability.
Rendering:
It really wouldn't hurt to read some mental ray tuts. Start off with effects like Final Gather, and move onto more complicated things like global illumination. You'll get an eye for what would make a good texture and what wont. You'll start seeing random objects and think "hey thats just what I need!" Davey Jones' skin was the inside of a polystyrene coffee cup that they modded! The help files are great at covering these things.
Basically, what I'm saying is there is no "definitive guide to photorealism." It's a nack you get with experience, practice makes perfect! -
31 Dec 2007I didnt know you were from Abergavenny Will! Another fellow Welshman here! Sweet!
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Will J 215 posts01 Jan 2008Haha yes! I love Abergavenny, no I hate it really
! How many other Welsh CG'ers are there ?
Back on topic. I was looking at some Maya rendering guides, the older ones seem to be better. In fact the newer training guides look really pants. -
mitm2002 68 posts01 Jan 2008THANKS for the help, guys! Here's to lots of great work in the new year!
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Will J 215 posts02 Jan 2008No problem matey. I've only just ventured into advanced rendering, it's amazing what the switch from software to mental ray will do for you in terms of the qulity of your work. But the model still has to be nice and the textures well done ! That's something I'm working on. In fact I'm doing a kind of dinosaurish creature for uni and I realised that I can do that kind of thing now, and whatching Walking with dinosaurs and Jurassic Park was what made me want to get into CG in the first place! Full circle eh?
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03 Jan 2008Try Digital Lighting & Rendering by Jeremy Birn. It's one of the few books I have and a favorite of mine right now (also a student).
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GCastro 18 posts21 Jan 2008Here's a few that may be helpful.
Likely everything you need to know about hdri and how incorporate your cg elements to live action to get realistic results.
As the title says, but it's not just real, but HYPER real. I've not personally read the book, but have seen some of the alias/autodesk dvd's on the masterclasses on the same subject. I would venture to guess that this is an overview of the process and would need the dvds for deeper overview.
It shows how to get cartoony face rig set up, but it can also be applied to realistic faces.
Not a book, but a site with many tutorials for purchase and some touch or can be applied to realistic projects.
I'll stop there since you asked for books and i think there's a ton more stuff on dvd's for approaching more realistic techniques.
But real world reference would be the best way to go.
hope it helps. Let us know if you can get more specific. ie. modeling, rigging, rendering, compositing, lighting, fx.
George -
mitm2002 68 posts31 Jan 2008Just want to get my "thanks" in here too - very helpful!!
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12 Mar 2008i'm pretty late on this topic but this is the book i used when first got into 3d. it's not application-specific which is a big plus.
http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Lighting- ... 789&sr=8-2
edit: apparently there's a 2nd edition
http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Lighting- ... 885&sr=8-1 -
mitm2002 68 posts15 Mar 2008THANKS, Ridestowe, I'll check that book out!
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