large scale visualization - tips and techniques?
polycounter lvl 6
Greetings,
I would like to hear from folks doing large scale visualization (architectural, city, county, etc). Game artists feel free to chime in too, I'm seeking wisdom from all sides. Hang in there, the questions come after this intro stuff.
I've been doing 3D modeling for a couple decades now, and I hate to admit it, but I'm just not able to keep up with the latest and greatest demands for more stuff, better stuff, faster, faster, free data, etc (why are you building that model when you can download it from google? is a common question).
Regarding content creation workflow - I don't know much beyond the mantra "complexity is exponential" - I've experienced that first hand, only I didn't know it at the time. I do now.
My workflow is antiquated - polygon modeling, simple materials, diffuse textures, every now and then I get to put on some multi-texture. It's a very manual process. Want a model? Go get some info - google or grab the camera and take some pics, bring back to the studio and block in the model, maybe get some dimensions online, maybe not. Develop the texture, sometimes using existing texture, sometimes using my own reference images, on rare occasions using something from mayang or other online resources. Refine the model and tx as needed, lather, rinse, repeat.
Examples of my work here.
Disclaimer - that web site is a wip in so many ways, so please bear that in mind.
There is a lot of free data out there - mainly images, but also some digital elevation maps, some places are starting to publish lidar point data, usually not where I need to build something. So for the most part, my workflow is not data driven.
But. Clearly, given the huge amounts of data available, data driven is where visualization is headed, if not arrived then on the doorstep.
My question then, is how to transition from the completely manual, old-school workflow into something more .. modern?
Tools I use include Maya, Photoshop, Creator (3d simulation modeler from Presagis), have messed around with canoma back in the day, photomodeler for "automatic" model extraction.
What do you guys doing viz work use for large scale projects (workflow, tools, technique)?
Oh yeah - we've had as many as four modelers at one time, but currently this is a one person shop. In theory a really big project like a city environment project would mean some programming and art support.
Thanks for your time!
I would like to hear from folks doing large scale visualization (architectural, city, county, etc). Game artists feel free to chime in too, I'm seeking wisdom from all sides. Hang in there, the questions come after this intro stuff.
I've been doing 3D modeling for a couple decades now, and I hate to admit it, but I'm just not able to keep up with the latest and greatest demands for more stuff, better stuff, faster, faster, free data, etc (why are you building that model when you can download it from google? is a common question).
Regarding content creation workflow - I don't know much beyond the mantra "complexity is exponential" - I've experienced that first hand, only I didn't know it at the time. I do now.
My workflow is antiquated - polygon modeling, simple materials, diffuse textures, every now and then I get to put on some multi-texture. It's a very manual process. Want a model? Go get some info - google or grab the camera and take some pics, bring back to the studio and block in the model, maybe get some dimensions online, maybe not. Develop the texture, sometimes using existing texture, sometimes using my own reference images, on rare occasions using something from mayang or other online resources. Refine the model and tx as needed, lather, rinse, repeat.
Examples of my work here.
Disclaimer - that web site is a wip in so many ways, so please bear that in mind.
There is a lot of free data out there - mainly images, but also some digital elevation maps, some places are starting to publish lidar point data, usually not where I need to build something. So for the most part, my workflow is not data driven.
But. Clearly, given the huge amounts of data available, data driven is where visualization is headed, if not arrived then on the doorstep.
My question then, is how to transition from the completely manual, old-school workflow into something more .. modern?
Tools I use include Maya, Photoshop, Creator (3d simulation modeler from Presagis), have messed around with canoma back in the day, photomodeler for "automatic" model extraction.
What do you guys doing viz work use for large scale projects (workflow, tools, technique)?
Oh yeah - we've had as many as four modelers at one time, but currently this is a one person shop. In theory a really big project like a city environment project would mean some programming and art support.
Thanks for your time!