Zack, Author at Rendernode

10 May

3D Rendering: A Guide to Organizing Projects for Cost-Effectiveness

July 11, 2022
Posted by Zack
3D Modeling, 3D Rendering, Furniture

3D rendering can be a godsend in keeping catalog imagery costs down. Over the years, I've found a handful of key considerations that have the greatest impact on the final project cost. Keeping these in mind while planning your next rendering project will keep things as cost-effective as possible. Highlights In this article, I'm going to cover the following topics as they relate to 3D rendering projects How to plan a project to optimize for each...

08 May

Blog, Resources

3D Furniture Rendering: Cost Effective Processes for Photorealistic Results

July 11, 2022
Posted by Zack
3D Modeling, Furniture, Photorealism, Project Management, Rendering

3D Rendering helps designers, developers, and consumers better understand products. 3D furniture rendering offers all these benefits but—as with any industry—has some caveats and gotchas to be aware of. Things like carvings, upholstery, and finish requirements can all impact cost. Maintaining an awareness of these will keep price and turn-around times to a minimum. Project Requirements 3D artists have to be instructed on how to create 3d models and produce 3d renderings. They aren't aware of...

04 Mar

Blog, Industry News

Multiscatter 1.5 for V-Ray Released by iCube R&D Group

July 11, 2022
Posted by Zack
3DS Max, iCube, Plugins, Scatter Plugins, V-Ray

The iCube R&D Group announced that the newest version of the popular 3DS Max plugin Multiscatter is now available for download. This version offers several improvements over prior releases including improvements to the multi-painter tool, improved viewport handling, capacity to scatter V-Ray lights, new spline options, and more. Feature Improvements This much-anticipated new release offers support for several features in strong demand by users. One of the most-highly sought—support for V-Ray light scattering—will allow users to...

18 Nov

3DS Max, Tutorials

Unlimited Material Editor Slots in 3DS Max

July 11, 2022
Posted by Zack
3DS Max, Autodesk, Layers, Material Browser, Multi/Sub-Object Materials, Scene Management

3DS Max has a decent material editor system that supports a wide range of workflows. It allows for a maximum of 24 materials at any given time but can accommodate many more if needed. By using the multi/sub-object material you can easily increase the number of slots in the material editor window to as many as you like. The Problem 3DS Max's material editor has two distinct versions; the Compact Material Editor and the Slate Material...

16 Nov

3DS Max, Tutorials

3DS Max Spinner Snaps Tutorial

July 11, 2022
Posted by Zack
3DS Max, Autodesk, Hotkeys, Snapping

3DS Max features an array of snapping tools to make any workflow easier. The Spinner Snaps tool allows you to control the increments by which object parameters are increased or decreased. I used 3DS Max for years before I discovered this feature but now I use it all the time. Introduction The Spinner Snapping feature in 3DS Max is a serious time saver. It allows users to set fixed increment values by which many numbers of settings...

25 Jun

Photoshop, Tutorials

Using Photoshop’s Camera Raw to Edit 32 Bit HDR Images

July 11, 2022
Posted by Zack
Camera Raw, HDR, Postprocessing, Tonemapping

High Dynamic Range (HDR) images are a godsend for rendering workflows and have saved my ass more than once. They allow for exposure correction in such a way that doesn't lose the details of an image and can even reveal more details hidden in the shadows. Plugins like ArionFX are great for bringing these images into a post but Photoshop's built-in Camera Raw filter works well too. What is Camera Raw? Camera Raw is the default...

23 Jun

Photoshop, Tutorials

Creating Seamless Tileable Textures in Photoshop

July 11, 2022
Posted by Zack
Photo Editing, Photo Enlargment, Photomanipulation, Photoshop, Seamless Textures, Texturee Tiling, Tileable Textures

Seamless textures make life so much easier. They allow for on-the-fly UV Mapping solutions, can be used in a wider range of projects, and eliminate a lot of post-processing work. Creating seamless textures in Photoshop is really easy—but every image calls for its own series of edits and corrections. This tutorial is about laying out a framework that can apply to any texture. Benefits of Tileable/Seamless Textures Textures that tile make life easy. You don't have to stress as...

26 Apr

3DS Max, Tutorials

Saving Custom UI Settings in 3DS Max

July 11, 2022
Posted by Zack
maxstart.max, Settings, UI

3DS Max comes with a decent system of defining, customizing, and saving user-preferences. Their use of the maxstart.max approach for default startup scene is very effective. When moving from one machine to another, or working with different versions of 3DS Max, this isn't always an option. In these cases, it's possible to save an external preference file and load manually. Saving User Preferences in 3DS Max 3DS Max offers the ability to save various settings related to...

21 Apr

3DS Max, Tutorials, Uncategorized, VRay

Studio Lighting Setup in 3DS Max + Vray

July 11, 2022
Posted by Zack
3DS Max, Vray

Studio lighting setups come in as many variations as there are working photographers out there. There are three, four, and five-point light setups as well as many variations of each. When it comes to creating a digital studio lighting setup however, some of the rules can be bent—others can be broken. Using 3DS Max + VRay can provide you with powerful results by taking only a few basic concepts into account. Highlights Creating a 3D...

20 Apr

3DS Max, Tutorials

Using Multiple UVW Map Modifiers in 3DS Max

July 11, 2022
Posted by Zack
UV Mapping, UVW Map, UVW Unwrapping

UVW mapping is one of the most time-consuming aspects of 3D visualization. Depending on the complexity of your model, you may spend hours unwrapping your model. I like to avoid unwrapping UVWs as much as possible and have found that making sub-object selections and adding multiple UVW Map modifiers can help. The Problem When creating 3D models it's often possible to generate UV mapping coordinates as a by-product of the modeling process. Spheres, cubes, and other basic...

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