I have not seen a good post on rendering software yet so I thought I would make one for those who want to learn.
There are basically 2 types of renders. 2D and 3D. 2D would be like the old school hand drawn or those painted in some sort of program which I will discuss later. 3D are renders done using a 3D model done in some sort of CAD program.
2D renders are much faster to create than 3D. They also do not require a expensive computer. there are a lot of options when it comes to software for completeing 2D renders. The most popular is photoshop which is widely used and a very versatile program. If you are doing renders for tshirts then illustrator is the way to go. illustrator creates whats called vector art, which creates very distinct edges. Illustrator does not use pixels the way that photoshop does.
Here is a list of other software used for 2D renders:
Corel painter- Very cool program if you want to create images done with a painted look. It immatates mediums very well.
Photoshop- very good and very powerfull program that can be used for just about anything.
Illustrator- widely used to create vector art.
Autodesk Alias automotive- Cool program that is very good at immatating sketch quality renders.
Autodesk sketchbook- Another good program very similar to alias automotive without the features geared towards automotive style renderings.
Art rage studio- Not so much used for rendering but a cool program for painted styleing.
corel draw- this is another program that is very good at doing vector images.
There are a ton of others I cant list them all. These are just a few of a very long list.
here are a few 3D modeling applications-
Autodesk 3DS max- widely used program for modeling all types of 3D models. Very powerfull application.
Autodesk maya- this is more widely used for animating cartoon style and gameing stuff but can be used to model anything. It is also very powerfull.
Autodesk softimage- Another powerfull modeling application. Not as widely used but a very good application. This app. was formaly known as Softimage XSI
Luxology Modo-Cool modeling program. not as widely used but a very good program.
Maxon Cinema 4D- this program has become very popular. It is a good application and can model very well.
NewTek Lightwave- This program is more difficult to use than most. But it is very popular with professional modelers. It is also one of the first 3D modeling applications.
Pixologic Zbrush-very popular modeling application among game modelers. It uses a clay style modeling system. You can model anything with it.
Autodesk Mudbox- Very similar to Zbrush. not as popular as zbrush but just as good of a application.
SideFX houdini-Another powerfull modeling app. This one is harder to use than the others as well.
Again there are other programs. Most of these programs are for mac or PC. there are a few linux based programs out there and some of these can be purchased for linux. Blender is a 3D modeling app. for linux but it is not very user friendly. As most things linux arent.
Another thing to keep in mind if you want to get into modeling is the computer system. 3D animation and modeling software are very ram intensive as well as very Vram intensive. If you have a small or old video card your onscreen renders will suffer dramatically. And you need to have plenty of RAM while you are modeling.
There are a lot of good tutorials out there on modeling and painting and what have you. gnomonology is a CG school that does very good tutorials. They also have classes you can take. Lynda.com is a good place to find basic tutorials on specific programs and will teach you all the features and how to use the program.
Digital tutors has a lot of good tutorials as well.
I would also recommend anyone that wants to render get a good graphics tablet. I prefer intuos wacom tablets. But do your research before you buy waccom tablets are a little more expensive.
WOW! what a perfectly timed post. As some may know, I have been developing the latest version of the Digital Paint Booth software for last several years. Let me try to explain what the new software is.
The new version is all 3D and runs on very cutting edge render engine that is CPU based so no special graphics cards are needed. This update allows you to view the vehicle in realistic 3D views and modify suspension, wheels, offsets, track width, tire profiles, tire sizes and body options. You can turn selected body components on or off or chrome them or paint them. It also has built in simplified graphics creation tools that allow you to load and place pre made graphics or draw your own.
There is so much you can do with this new version and I think Kevin's interview on v8tvshow.com does a fantastic job of showing some of the major features.
And then here are some video from my site as well.
We just release this version a few weeks ago and only have about 30 cars as of now but more are schedule for release every month. We will be attempting to add 10 vehicles a month the database.
I want to render my 65 Nova now and may purchase another car later. Am I correct in assuming that I simply purchase a single vehicle version now and again later, should I buy a different car? Does the version include interior renderings? I am redoing the entire car and could utilize every option available for my car. I also noticed that a 65 Nova is not in the data base, could it be added?
I did not look into this program much. But I like it so far.
Am I understanding this correctly...you purchase a premade model so to speak and then customize it? If I am correct in my understanding this can be done as well with any 3D modeling program. Many 3D modelers make a living just creating models and selling them. There are alot of sites that sell 3D models.
The biggest problem is there are alot of vehicles that there is no model for. Like GRnova stated he did not find his car in the list.
My other question is what if you want to make body customizations? is this program capable of that?
I get the purpose of the program and it looks very user friendly. I am by no means trying to knock the program. I think its great and fills a very big void.
Grnova and Corso thanks for the replies. The software will not do any body mods but it can switch between preset mods. Some cars have chop, fender and hood options. You can recolor,chrome, remove just about anything from the options panel, which is panel that we build specific to each car. This is where you can shave door handles, change interior color, recolor or chrome bumpers, remove trim ect. The software is not aimed at doing things like moving wheel wells forward or putting on a bumper from a different car. It is aimed at the 95% crowd that have a stock bodied to slightly modified vehicle.
When it comes to models and specific years I kind of group them into generations. The differences between model years can sometimes be very small and will not effect the overall look of the vehicle. Do I have a 65 Nova, no but I do have a first gen Nova. That is kind of how I look at it. Hope that made sense?
The models can be (and are built) with many different modeling applications but it still takes me about 1-2 days to set the car up with all the texture maps and break out all the individual parts and get it into the software. I wish it was as easy as just buying the model(which I do) and dropping it in but it does require more work to integrate into the system.
At first I thought the software was perfectly timed, as I'm painting my car next weekend and was curious about some options I've considered.
Unfortunately, it has a lot of issues. I presumed going in that I'd be dealing with HOK colors only and held out a little hope of a straight up color picker but I didn't see one. I picked the closest color to what I wanted. I had also seen the list of wheel manufacturers and saw Rushforth and Forgeline. Both make wheels very similar to my wheel (from another manufacturer) but I was a little sad to find only 3 wheels between the two of them, and none similar to my wheel.
That would probably be one level of annoyance, I mean I accepted both but then I saw the Shop button in a few areas which appears to be setup so that you can go buy a different wheel, or graphics etc. Of course it's broken right now but charging me for each wheel type just takes the annoyance to another level.
Finally, and what actually prompted me to return it was that I cannot even open up files I saved. It just hangs, almost always on something related to chrome (first was bumpers, I redid it, and did not have chrome bumpers but chrome door locks hung it). Having to redo even a simple car is terrifically annoying.
Matt, valid points, all of them. But let me address them here on the forum. I know it is no excuse for the minor flaws in the software but I am a one man show. I completely developed the software on my own. I have spent the last 2.5 years creating this software and bringing it to the public. There are flaws. I know that, but the demand for the release of the software was so great that I launched it last month flaws and all. Trust me in the fact that I work on this software constantly(just ask my wife) and fixes to the bugs will be soon. As far as your specific concerns... there is a simple work around for the save feature. Email me and I'll tell you. Second, as of right now I have wheel sponsors lined up but again as I am only one person creating this software, I am creating the 3-d models for as fast as I can. Remember you will receive free updates for 1 year with bug fixes and new wheel companies as they are completed. This is a first release software and bugs are bound to happen and I am addressing them as fast as I can and will release an update to all current users as soon as possible. Sorry for the delays.
I am still willing to make things right with you but you will have to be patient as I create the fixes and publish updates.
Sorry for your issues.
Carter
I can see exactly where this software is good. By no means was I saying its bad. I agree that most people have fairly stock vehicles and I think your program will fit the market perfectly.
When I said you can buy models I was reffering to other modeling software, I understand they have to be setup for your program specifically.
I think this will be a great program once more companies get on board with it and the model list becomes bigger. I can see this program being used widely in the industry, tire and wheel shops could benefit from this program as well.
3D modeling is very time consuming Especially if you are doing high detail high poly models.
Corso, no prob, I did not take it wrong. I just did not want folks to think they could buy a stock 3d model and it would work with the software. I could telll by you original post you know what this cg 3D thing is all about
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
First Hemi 'Cuda Convertible Ever Built
Short clips: Goodguys Pleasanton autocross and pit videos
Rendering software
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