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Bobby Parker 3/3/15 Bobby Parker 3/3/15

Introducing Stingray

Our goal with Stingray is to build a truly modern and flexible 3D game engine. By combining a completely data-driven rendering pipeline with powerful, easy-to-use game creation tools, Stingray is going to change the way 3D games are made.

Want to get on board?Get more information about Stingray hot off the press.

http://www.autodesk.com/campaigns/stingray/stingray-contact-me

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Bobby Parker 2/24/15 Bobby Parker 2/24/15

Five GPUs and over 20 TFLOPS

Boxx’s new workstation packs five GPUs and over 20 TFLOPS of compute horsepower

The liquid-cooled chassis is designed to support Intel’s Xeon E5 v3 processors with up to 18 cores and 36 threads per chip, but front-and-center billing goes to the GPUs. The Apexx 5 can pack up to five high-end graphics cards, four for workstation rendering and a single dedicated viewport GPU.

For those of you keeping track at home, that works out to over 20 TFLOPS of single-precision floating point and nearly ten TFLOPs of double-precision horsepower. That’s more firepower than the number one supercomputer in the world from the year 2000 and would’ve still captured a place on the TOP500 within the last decade, particularly once you toss in another 2.6TFLOPS from the Xeon CPUs (assuming two E5-2699v3.)

All four cards run in full PCIe 3.0 x16 slots with a fifth PCIe 3.0 x8 slot for the dedicated viewport card. Users also have the option of equipping other co-processors, including a Synch card for frame locking, PCI-Express SSDs, or a 10Gbit ethernet card. Boxx also includes liquid cooling as standard on all its CPUs (GPUs remain air-cooled, but the chassis are designed to keep all five graphics cards at acceptable temperatures, even in such aggressive configurations).

The chassis can support up to eight mechanical hard drives or 16 2.5-inch SSDs. Obviously the market for 4-5 GPUs in a single system is going to be relatively rare — even at the high-end, there aren’t many engineers or designers who need that much GPU horsepower in a single system. Boxx’s product marketing manager, Chris Morley, acknowledges that the product is aimed at a very specific type of customer, but notes that the Apexx 5 is offering a level of performance you literally can’t buy elsewhere, since even the highest-end systems from Dell and HP tend to top out below this point.

The company has been deliberately courting disgruntled Mac users since the Mac Pro debuted last year, and its “Mac Pro No” video is funny enough to be worth a watch. It’s also telling — where Apple built a dual-GPU workstation that emphasized the GPU at the expense of CPU performance and focused the system almost entirely on external connectivity, the Boxx Apexx 5 kicks GPU options up to 11 without skimping on dual CPU horsepower or the internal connectivity that most people expect in a modern high-end workstation.

http://mobile.extremetech.com/latest/222730-boxxs-new-workstation-packs-five-gpus-and-over-20-tflops-of-compute-horsepower

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Bobby Parker 2/21/15 Bobby Parker 2/21/15

Custom Kitchen Rendering

Interiors are always fun; challenging, yet fun. I received a request for my services, from a kitchen designer out of Chicago, who needed to do something to keep his client engaged. The kitchen designer had the vision, but his clients could not feel it with the 2D CAD plans that he was providing.

It's always exciting for me to get my client's reaction when they see their vision in full color. Maybe, that's part of what fuels my passion for what I do.

“Holy cow that’s amazing!!”

— Cabinet Designer

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Bobby Parker 2/18/15 Bobby Parker 2/18/15

Arts and Craft Architectural Rendering

The architect design the cutest arts and craft house, but the problem was, the rendering they provided didn't suit the needs of the real estate firm hired to sell it. So, they called upon my services. I am always excited to help and I get excited to work on structures I find visually appealing, like this art and craft house.

Here, the process was a little different than my usual client. This time, the real estate company contacted me directly. This was their first time hiring a service like mine, and I sensed a little fear, but I held their hand and all went well.

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Bobby Parker 2/12/15 Bobby Parker 2/12/15

Office Building Night Rendering

I absolutely love a client who asks for bold!

Here, is a one story and a two story office building being proposed in a very busy construction market. The designer typically provides illustrations to the developer and since the market is competitive, they wanted to up the ante. Hopefully, with the help of my architectural renderings, their office buildings will be noticed, at least that is the plan.

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Bobby Parker 2/6/15 Bobby Parker 2/6/15

Say goodbye to Net-30 payments

Say goodbye to Net-30/60/90 payments.

Fundbox offers business owners a simple way to fix their cash flow by advancing payments for their outstanding invoices.

How It Works?

Fundbox is the easiest and most transparent financial solution for all your business’ cash flow gaps.

We’re helping thousands of business owners and freelancers overcome cash flow gaps by advancing payments for their outstanding invoices. Here’s how it works:

CREATE A FREE ACCOUNT IN UNDER A MINUTE

It’s entirely free and takes about twenty seconds to complete. Enter your email, choose a password, select your bookkeeping app and you’re done. Continue using your bookkeeping app just as before and your outstanding invoices are automatically available for you to clear in your secured Fundbox account.

CLEAR YOUR OUTSTANDING INVOICES

Instead of waiting 30, 60 or 90 days to get paid, click any of your outstanding invoices to get the amount transferred to your bank account instantly and securely.

YOUR MONEY WHEN YOU NEED IT

We make sure you don’t have to wait for your clients to pay to run your business like you want to. Pay salaries, buy equipment, travel for business, and more. Peace of mind guaranteed.

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Bobby Parker 2/5/15 Bobby Parker 2/5/15

Incredible Architecture 3D Artworks

Daily, I check my online reputation and yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised. Paulo Gabriel, over on the abduzeedo.com blog, listed some of my work as being incredible. Please, hop on over and check it out!

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Bobby Parker 1/26/15 Bobby Parker 1/26/15

McKinley Town Home Rendering

I am seeing a trend. Over the past several months I have had many comments about the need for high quality architectural renderings. It seems, high quality renderings are what is setting companies (developer, architect, real estate) apart. Now, there are a lot of things that set a company apart, but nothing more visual than a high quality architectural rendering. People, for the most part, don't get the low quality renderings; it makes you look like an amateur. People are very visual and technical talking, or a stack of 2d drawings, just cause confusion. Slide a low quality rendering across the table, no matter how much time you have invested, is an excitement killer; you can almost feel the air being pulled out of the room.

Above, is one of those case studies. The Architect had a rendering, which was done in SketchUp, but it lacked realism. Now, SketchUp is a very capable software and I have seen some nice renderings come from it. But it is so much more than the software you chose. Technically, it was accurate, but it was missing composition to hold the image together. If you don't get it right, the brain will know something is wrong, and the image will become a fraud or fake and be rejected.

Color plays an important role in perspective renderings!

Once you understand the color part of your rendering, you’ll be able to create stunning architectural rendering with ease.

When you're rendering recedes three essential things become apparent.

Background = Neutral (and bluish) and Foreground = Saturated
Background = Less contrasted and Foreground is = Contrasted
Background = Cooler and Foreground = Warmer
This is how the eye naturally sees.

“Oh my gosh! It looks like a real photo! This looks great!!”

— Real Estate Company

McKinley Town Home finally got to my desk, not by the architect or developer, but by the sales people, who have the job to sell! This sales department knew the importance of an awesome photo-realistic architectural rendering.

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Bobby Parker 1/23/15 Bobby Parker 1/23/15

Chicago Restaurant Architectural Rendering

What an awesome project to work on. I was asked to illustrate this restaurant, which is just a little outside of Chicago, Illinois. The design went through several iterations, but at the end, it turned out beautifully. Stay tuned, an interior architectural rendering is coming!

“It is not easy to win them over from other architects in this town! Your work is valuable!”

— Architect

It was hard to see the scale of the building, so I put a person. I also put the person, who is wearing dark clothes, in front of the light brick wall. I am hoping it brings the viewer to the entrance. There was too much foreground, so I added the cars, which have a motion blur, so they don't overpower the scene. Anyway, enjoy!

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Bobby Parker 1/14/15 Bobby Parker 1/14/15

What You Should Know About Taxes When You're a Freelancer

Becoming a freelancer doesn't just change the way you work; it also changes the way you manage your money. One area that requires special attention when you're self-employed is your tax filing.

This post originally appeared at MyBankTracker.

To be successful as a freelancer, you have to treat it like a business in terms of marketing yourself and how you treat clients. The same idea applies to your taxes, since you're solely responsible for making sure the IRS receives the right information. When I first started freelancing, taxes was something I only paid vague attention to since I wasn't earning that much to begin with. Over time, I learned more about how freelance taxes work and what follows are 10 rules every newbie needs to keep in mind.

You Can't Always Rely on 1099 Info

When you're working for a company as a paid employee, they're responsible for tallying up your earnings for the year. These are reported, along with the amount of taxes you've paid, on your W-2. As a freelancer, you're considered an independent contractor, which means you'll be issued a 1099 at the end of the year.

If you're relying solely on 1099s to tell you how much money you made, you're taking a big risk. It's always possible that a client could omit a payment or make a mistake in their calculations. If you file your taxes based on incorrect information, you could be in for a nasty surprise if the IRS determines that you actually owe more money. Keeping your own records is a smart move to avoid errors.

I use a basic spreadsheet to track my income throughout the year. Specifically, I make note of what the project was, which client it was for, the amount, the date it was invoiced and paid and my net earnings after any PayPal or bank fees are deducted. It's a fairly simple system, but it's proven effective. I once had a client send a 1099 that was short by several thousand dollars and thanks to my spreadsheet, I was able to pick up on the error right away.

The IRS will Know if You Don't Report Income

Underreporting or omitting income on your tax return is a major no-no and it's a mistake to think that the IRS won't catch on. For one thing, when a client mails you a 1099, they also send a copy to Uncle Sam so if you leave one out at tax time, your records aren't going to match up with what the IRS already has on file.

Even if you've got a client who's less than diligent in their record keeping, that doesn't mean you should take a gamble on not reporting your income. One year, I had two different clients who never issued a 1099, even after I contacted them about it. It added up to a nice chunk of cash and while it was tempting to just forget about reporting it, I made sure it showed up on my return.

Separate Accounts are the Way to Go

If you've been freelancing for a while and you haven't set up separate bank accounts for your business and personal spending, that should be at the top of your to-do list. For one thing, it simplifies your record keeping. You can easily see all of your income for the year and any expenses you incurred for the business without having to weed out what you spent on groceries or dinners out.

The other reason to split things up is to protect yourself in the event of an audit. If something on your taxes raises an eyebrow with the IRS, having separate bank statements for your business makes it easier to backup the information on your return.

You May Have to Pay Estimated Taxes

When you're getting a regular paycheck, your employer is responsible for making sure that the appropriate amount of tax is withheld. As a freelancer, you may have to make estimated payments four times throughout the year, beginning in January. These payments are designed to cover your projected tax liability so you don't end up with a big bill when April 15th rolls around.

Generally, you're not required to make estimated payments if you didn't owe any taxes during the previous year, you expect your total tax due for the current year to be less than $1,000 or your prior year's federal withholding is equal to 90 percent of what you think you'll owe. Be aware that if you don't make estimated payments through the year and you end up owing taxes when you file, you could get hit with a penalty for underpayment.

Your Tax Liability is Calculated Differently

Freelancers are responsible for paying income tax but you're also on the hook for self-employment tax. This is an additional tax that's designed to cover the Social Security and Medicare amounts that would normally be withheld by a traditional employer. For the 2015 tax year, the self-employment tax rate is 15.3 percent for up to $118,500 in income. The most you'll have to pay in self-employment taxes for the year is $14,694. That's on top of whatever you'll owe at your regular income tax rate.

There are Clear Rules for Deductions

The IRS has very clear rules on what you can and can't include as a deduction on your taxes. Calling the corner of the living room where your laptop is located a home office probably isn't going to cut it.

Generally, in order for something to be considered a deductible business expense it must be both reasonable and necessary. This can apply to things like a new laptop, business cards or travel expenses as long as they're incurred as a direct result of your freelance work. If you're in doubt about whether some qualifies, your best bet is to get advice from a tax expert or just leave it out altogether.

Records are a Must

Any time you plan to deduct something on your taxes, you'll need a receipt or other documentation to back it up and that's especially true when you're running a freelancing business. Collecting all your receipts in a shoebox is a way to keep your physical receipts in one place, but using a program like Quickbooks cuts down on the clutter.

The software has a lot of features that are appealing to freelancers, including the ability to sync it with your bank account, track your expenses, create customized invoices and pay your bills. The most basic version costs $13.99 a month but if you don't have the extra cash to spend, you can still keep tabs on what you're spending with a free app like Expensify.

Your Audit Risk May Increase

The words "tax audit" are enough to send a shiver down anyone's spine and while they typically only affect a small percentage of the population, freelancers may be more susceptible. Statistically, filing a Schedule C on your taxes makes you two to four times more likely to get hit with an audit. The odds of being targeted increase by how much money you make so that's something to keep in mind as you expand your freelance business.

You Have Retirement Options

Being self-employed has lots of perks but unfortunately, a retirement plan isn't one of them. Fortunately, there are several options out there that can help you build your nest egg while earning you some tax benefits.

For example, as a member of the Freelancer's Union, I'm eligible to participate in a solo 401(k), which offers higher annual contribution limits than a traditional or Roth IRA, along with the ability to deduct the money that goes in from my income. There's technically no employer match but I can chip in cash as an employer and an employee to the tune of $53,000 in 2015. Not only can I save for the future but I also score a tax break in the mean time by claiming the deduction.

Sometimes it's Worth Hiring a Pro

Filing your taxes can be complicated enough when you're dealing with W-2s and the standard deductions. When you throw in business expenses, estimated payments and self-employment tax, it can be even more challenging. If your freelance business has really taken off or you haven't been keeping the best records so far, paying a tax expert to handle things for you may be a wise investment.

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Bobby Parker 1/12/15 Bobby Parker 1/12/15

The Freelance Handbook

The second in our six-part series of practical manuals, The Freelance Handbook is your definitive guide to being your own boss.

New year, new start – right? If you’ve made it your new year's resolution to go freelance then you're in luck: there's never been a better time to be your own boss. With more and more employers outsourcing their work, and social media connecting you better than ever before, it's a great time to take the plunge into freelance waters.

But the road to solo success isn't always easy. So whether you're thinking about making the leap or are a seasoned freelance pro, pick up a copy of The Freelance Handbook – 116 pages of practical tips and essential advice for making it alone.

From setting your rates and managing your time to getting noticed, winning work and more, The Freelance Handbookbrings you everything you need to succeed as a freelance creative.

Chapters include:

Go it alone
Win more clients
Work smarter
Manage your money
Be more business savvy
Promote yourself
Well-being
Essential resources

The Freelance Handbook has sold out in print, but you can still buy an ebook edition using the free Computer Arts app on Apple Newsstand.

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Bobby Parker 1/11/15 Bobby Parker 1/11/15

Manufactured Home Rendering

Recently, I was asked to help explain the design intent for a semi-custom manufactured house manufacturer. The designer had some great ideas to give the manufactured home some curb appeal, but was lacking the ability to visually show the owners her design. Initially, the designer contracted some architecture students, but the illustrations were not successful.

Manufactured Home

Option 1

Manufactured Home

Option 2

Manufactured Home

Option 3

“This is absolutely amazing and so incredibly realistic! I am so excited!!!”

— Interior Designer

Also, along with the exterior, the designer had some ideas for the bedroom. See, most manufactured homes have the bedroom in the back, and the back isn't seen by most, so lacks character. In this manufactured home community, which is in Florida, the homes are located on a beautiful lake. The back of the home is on the road, and is seen by most, and needed some curb appeal. The challenge was, they wanted windows on the back, but they wanted to make sure that the bedroom has little natural light.

Manufactured Home Interior Bedroom Rendering

This was a fun project and I was extremely satisfied in helping someone convey their design ideas; that's what I do!

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Bobby Parker 1/10/15 Bobby Parker 1/10/15

Should you go freelance?

Have you ever considered going freelance?

Perhaps it’s something you’d like to try but you’re concerned about the financial risks. Or maybe you’re already taking freelance work ‘on the side’ and are wondering whether to take the plunge into full time freelancing.

In this video I share some points to consider, when deciding whether or not to go freelance. This advice is based on my own experience of moving from permanent employment, to freelance copywriting.

Visit my website:
http://gilbhub.com

Follow me on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/hannagilb

My LinkedIn:
http://linkd.in/1vizL8F

@WorkHubs:
http://www.atworkhubs.co.uk

Got questions about the freelancing life? Or are you a freelancer who can offer some top tips? Leave me a comment or connect with me on Twitter @hannagilb
For more tips on copywriting and the freelance life, visit me at Gilbhub.com

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Bobby Parker 1/7/15 Bobby Parker 1/7/15

Watch The Designer's Pricing Class Trailer:

This class is a step-by-step guide to help you get paid what you're worth:

50 videos in five entertaining lessons that take you through understanding the market, learning how to price projects, acquiring the negotiating skills you need, and learning how to write a sexy proposal.
Five documents and templates such as a checklist for your first call with your client, a proposal template, a step-by-step guide on how to price like a pro and exercises you can do by yourself or with a friend.
Online tools to help you calculate your break-even rate and write a great proposal in just a few steps
Lifetime access to the class (including any updates) from any device, anywhere in the world
Your questions answered by the mentors
Bonus: 30% discount for Happy Socks
Bonus: Free 3 months of Studio account on Qwilr

The class will launch on January 13th, 2015 with 15% off for the first 72 hours.

We're giving away a free ticket!

If you want to win a free ticket to our awesome class, all you have to do is share our trailer (with the following link) on your Twitter/Facebook account:

http://youtu.be/Rx9uSYP-zL0?ref=info@bobby-parker.com

The winner will be announced tomorrow night on our Twitter and FB page.

Good luck!

- Lior Frenkel

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Bobby Parker 1/5/15 Bobby Parker 1/5/15

The Real Cost of Architectural Rendering

Russell L. Thomas

No matter what professional field you are in, inevitably you will be asked to provide or even justify the cost of your services. It can be difficult to give pricing while trying to make sure that what you are providing pricing for is what any competition is providing pricing for. In addition giving some context for your price and demonstrating that it is reasonable is often times necessary. If you are an architect practicing in Washington State you may show clients the published price surveys that would indicate where you where within the reported percentile and is a good litmus test of your fee structure compared to the rest of the market. In the architectural visualization profession there isn't any "defacto" standard and many studios are good at the old "Bait and Switch" to lure you in. One resource is the 2009 CG architect survey and the information could be interpreted as follows:

In a 2009 worldwide survey, performed by CGarchitect (most influential and reputable online magazine/community focusing on architectural visualization), the average price charged for a high-quality 3D architectural still image is between $1000.00 USD and $2000.00 USD. This is an average price you could expect that paying in this range as being fair for small to medium projects, large projects range from $3,000.00 USD onward depending on the project. While standard 3D animation costs anywhere between US$5000.00 USD and $10000.00 USD , you could expect to pay a fair bit more depending on duration and complexity of video. Obviously, every studio is different and prices vary, but usually the studios that are producing higher quality work, are charging more. If you have worked with rendering studios you probably know you can get cheaper renderings from countries like China and India, downside can be the quality control and all the time spent managing the process to get the results you want. The comprehensive survey on the profession of architectural visualization can be found here:

http://www.cgarchitect.com/2009/11/cgarchitect-2009-industry-survey-results---spotlight-on-the-future-of-the-architectural-visualization-industry

There are some firm hard figures on the monetary level of what are going rates by regions and it gives you a good idea how much you may pay in currency, but I would argue that the cost of renderings is also measured in your time and quality of the end result.

It's All Subjective:

I can say a rendering is bad and the average person off the street might say they see nothing wrong with it, so why should anyone care? This is the dilemma many potential clients face, bottom line is the all mighty dollar and if a cheap $500.00 rendering conveys the idea to the average person, why not just go with the cheapest artist/studio you can find? If it serves your purpose, it is hard to argue against it, and probably a waste of time to even try. So rather than argue the subjective, lets discuss the objective.

$500.00 vs. $1,500.00 Rendering:

The little guy in a foreign country using pirated software and hardware supplemented by their government doesn't have the overhead of a big professional studio. Obviously you can reverse the scenario and the little guy in our country using pirated software working from home has less overhead than a big studio in a foreign country, this isn't about foreign vs. domestic, just pointing out the more typical scenario based from my experience. So pricing doesn't necessarily denote quality so that $500.00 rendering is looking pretty good right about now.

In any case the little guy typically can whip out a rendering that is probably acceptable and you are dealing with an individual which a lot of people like. That $500.00 rendering can also come from a large studio that is basically a render mill pumping out renderings at a very fast pace by the use of hundreds of artist working for cheap, producing renderings via assembly line fashion. Down side is usually that you get different people of varying skill levels each time that studio provides services. What it can come down to is the big studio has back up artist to complete your project if initial artist gets sick or has an emergency comes up, but you aren't guaranteed the same artist working for you from project to project. So at this point there really isn't much mentioned here that helps a potential client make better decision.

For an American company seeking artist specializing in AEC, choosing an American artist/studio who has a strong foundation in our construction industry is a huge bonus in the long run. If you go with someone who doesn't have a strong architectural background you will probably need to assign someone in your office to coordinate with them and this cost you money and adds up real fast. There is also the whole English as a second language which can sometimes make communication less than accurate. Now that $500.00 rendering starts costing a lot more.

Having someone who knows National materials, construction techniques and building codes is very beneficial, saves lots of time for the Client who doesn't have to hold their hand every step of the way. Little things like handrail balusters spaces greater than 4" apart or curbs greater than 6" high can make a rendering appear incorrectly and steal the viewers attention trying to figure out what doesn't look quite right. So a trained professional who charges more can actually save money for the client and more importantly can save a lot of heart ache and revisions.

Selecting an artist/studio by their online portfolio can be difficult for multiple reasons, so if in doubt ask for a reference. There have been plenty of situations where online artist/studios have been called out on stealing others work and showing it as their own. Another item that isn't illegal but questionable is that there are companies out there that sell readymade scenes for people to render and put in their portfolios. The scenes are sold for this purpose, so nothing illegal, but artist/studios are using content not created in-house to pad/build their portfolio, the work doesn't represent what they can do and is misleading. There are also plenty of cases where an artist was a small part of a team and they go off on their own and show the work as their own. So be careful if the work seems world class, but the price is ridiculously low and they can't provide a referral or two.

What it comes down to is finding the artist/studio that is knowledgeable in your industry sector and who has a body of work that you respect and a point of contact that you feel comfortable with at a price point that is in your realistic budget. No simple answers just some things to think about, we have found that there are some fantastic artist/studios in China and the old Soviet Union countries like Serbia or the Ukraine, so it doesn't mean you can't go outside the country to find great reliable talent, just do a bit of homework and make sure you aren't going to do a lot of hand holding for a final product that isn't acceptable.

In conclusion the real cost of architectural renderings may not be the bottom dollar but the end result and your "hassle free" time. And after all on a multimillion dollar project, is a few thousand dollars too high of a price to pay to represent you and your project?

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Bobby Parker 12/30/14 Bobby Parker 12/30/14

Scenic Mountain Architectural Rendering

Park City, Utah is a scenic mountain community with three world-class resorts and a town filled with activities. Lane Myers, in the construction industry for over 25 years, asked me to create several photo realistic architectural renderings for their homes located in Park City.

Like the majority of my work, I received an email for a quote. The email was from Freedom Design, which isn't the architect on file, but has a relationship with Lane Myers. Lane Myers had seen some of my work done for Freedom Design and asked if I can create a rendering with the same level of realism as they had seen on renderings I did for Freedom. Of coarse, was exited to get started and after they excepted my quote, I dove right in.

First, I received the AutoCAD 2D Drawings, which were very nicely drawn, and I created the 3D model based on the 2D CAD file. Like the majority of 2D CAD files, there were things to work through, but nothing too difficult.

Once the model was completed, I sent some gray-scale proofs, so the builder can verify the accuracy of my 3D model. The gray scales were approved and I started the texture mapping (colors and materials). Once again, I emailed some color proofs. Once the color proofs were approved, I fine tuned materials, worked on lighting and shadow, and delivered some high resolution finals.

During the project, there were some changes to design, but I was happy to make the changes. A lot of the time my renderings bring up design changes, which is an important part of the design process and I am glad to help. One thing I didn't have was a nice photo of the mountain, which would be seen behind the houses. The architectural renderings will be used for sales and marketing, and a construction site billboard.

From start to finish, this project took me a little over a week. The client was happy, which makes me happy.

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Bobby Parker 12/17/14 Bobby Parker 12/17/14

Forest Pack 4.3 Pro & Lite Released

iToo Software announced today the release of Forest Pack 4.3 Lite and Pro versions. This update adds powerful new features suggested by users, including tools to create level-of-detail models, a new boundary-checking mode to simplify the creation of clearly defined edges for large scatter areas, and the ability to limit distribution using material ID’s.

Forest Pack 4.3 Demo Reel from iToo Software on Vimeo.

Forest Pack 4.3 brings Corona Renderer materials to the existing libraries, adds 16 new ready-to-use gravel presets – each in two versions for small or large-scale areas – plus many more features and fixes.

Key Features :

A new Forest LOD object that allows you to switch billboard, models or materials based on distance from the camera, a custom target, or as a percentage of the screen size.
Edge boundary checking mode to automate the creation of clean edges, especially when creating grass. Works by removing element sub-objects that fall outside the scatter area’s perimeter. (V-Ray only)
The ability to limit a scatter to specific polygons using Material IDs when using surfaces.
Introduced separate controls for Density and Scale Falloff Affect parameters.
A new XML Data exporter to aid interoperability and integration of Forest Pack into large pipelines.
16 new Gravel presets, including detail and large-scale models.
Materials for Corona Renderer added to existing free libraries.

To help you get up and running with these new features, iToosoft is also releasing two short tutorials :

2. Boundary Checking Using Edge Mode to show a simplified technique for creating clean edges around large scatters.

The Lite version of this release, freely available to download and use commercially, and full release notes are available now on the iToo Software website.

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Bobby Parker 12/11/14 Bobby Parker 12/11/14

V-Ray 3.0 for 3ds Max SP1

V-Ray 3.10.01 is now available for download from our website. Before you get too excited, let me say that we will have a patch next week with some minor fixes, so it may be best to wait until then. Nevertheless, if you find any issues, please let us know.

We had a build yesterday that didn't work correctly; if you downloaded that, please get an updated installation from our website. We apologize for this inconvenience.

There is a short video demonstrating some of the new features here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy-tRHExWgU

The full changelog from the previous release is as follows:

Build 3.10.01 (official) (November 2014)
==============

New features:
(*) V-Ray: Further optimizations for render speed;
(*) Updated to OpenEXR 2.2.0 and added new DWA compression options to VRayOptionsRe;
(*) Support for point cloud rendering in 3ds Max 2015;
(*) Built-in DMC samples calculator for VRayLight, VRayMtl and brute force GI;
(*) .vrmesh viewer: Added a .vrmesh viewer tool for previewing .vrmesh and Alembic files in a standalone OpenGL application;
(*) Embree: Update to Embree 2.3;
(*) Embree: Proxies and instances can now be accelerated by Embree;
(*) Embree: Can now accelerate hair rendering for Ornatrix and HairFarm;
(*) V-Ray: Added "GI filter multiplier" option to the Global switches rollout to control texture filtering for GI rays for VRayHDRI;
(*) V-Ray: Secondary matte environment background slot to control the appearance of matte objects in reflections/refractions;
(*) V-Ray: When created, V-Ray will automatically load a preset named "default" if there is one (allows for customized default values);
(*) V-Ray RT: Support for Carbon Scatter;
(*) V-Ray RT: Support for the V-Ray VFB for ActiveShade session;
(*) V-Ray RT CPU: Support for the VRayClipper object;
(*) V-Ray RT CPU: Support for Ornatrix and HairFarm rendering;
(*) V-Ray RT GPU: Support for using the light cache for GPU rendering;
(*) V-Ray RT GPU: Support for coherent tracing (may improve rendering performance);
(*) V-Ray RT GPU CUDA: Support for the nVidia Maxwell GPU architecture;
(*) V-Ray RT GPU CUDA: Support for the VRayFastSSS2 material;
(*) V-Ray RT GPU CUDA: Initial support for hair rendering for Ornatrix and HairFarm;
(*) V-Ray RT GPU CUDA: On-the-fly recompilation of the GPU kernel to include only features used by the particular scene;
(*) VFB: Ability to dock/undock History window and Color Corrections window to the main VFB window;
(*) VFB: Added highlight burn color correction to the VFB;
(*) VFB: Added "background image" color correction to the VFB;
(*) VFB: Added white balance color correction;
(*) VFB: Added the ability to save multi-channel .vrimg and OpenEXR files from the VFB UI;
(*) VFB: Added the ability to load arbitrary file formats in the V-Ray VFB for post-processing;
(*) VRayInstancer: Implement a new geometric plugin for instancing objects on a ParticleFlow and other particle systems;
(*) VRayHDRI: Added image preview in the file open dialog;
(*) VRayHDRI: Added controls to specify UDIM/UVTILE tiles for the preview in material editor;
(*) VRayScatterVolumeMtl: Greatly improved calculations; ability to use the light cache;
(*) VRayScannedMtl: Support rendering of scanned real-world BRDF materials;
(*) VRayProxy: Support for hair and particle instances;
(*) VRayProxy: Support for subdivision objects in Alembic files using OpenSubdiv;
(*) VRayLight: Disc light shape;
(*) VRayLight, VRayIES, VRaySun: Added parameters to control the diffuse and specular contributions separately;
(*) VRayLightSelect render element: Added "mode" parameter to allow extracting the full/raw/diffuse/specular contribution of specific lights;
(*) VRayMtl: Added GGX BRDF model;
(*) VRayMtl: Added clip opacity mode option for faster rendering of trees etc;
(*) VRayMultiSubTex: Extended with new randomized modes for choosing colors;
(*) VRayVelocity render element: Added include/exclude list;
(*) ply2vrmesh: Added export options to export specified frames to separate files;
(*) ply2vrmesh: Added Alembic frame offset output to the files;
(*) ply2vrmesh: Added option to merge two or more .vrmesh files into one;
(*) vrimg2exr: Added -multiPart option to vrimg2exr that produces an OpenEXR 2 file with each render element in its own "part";

Modified features:
(*) V-Ray: Added an option to open the V-Ray messages window on error or warning only;
(*) V-Ray: Added by Object IDs selection method for Render mask;
(*) V-Ray: Added MaxScript access to the Trace sets include/exclude flag;
(*) V-Ray: Added %numPasses and %numSubdivs stamp keywords;
(*) V-Ray: "Camera Motion Blur" is controlled independently on "Motion Blur" setting;
(*) V-Ray: Embree enabled by default;
(*) V-Ray: Improved render speed when not using any render elements;
(*) V-Ray: Light cache "Use for glossy rays" option is enabled by default;
(*) V-Ray: Optimized hair rendering in general;
(*) V-Ray: Reduced memory usage for hair and particles;
(*) V-Ray: Renamed the "Time independent" option to "Lock noise pattern" in the DMC sampler rollout;
(*) V-Ray: The default GI methods are set to Brute force/Light cache;
(*) V-Ray: The default image sampler set to Progressive;
(*) V-Ray: The image sampler parameters rollout is unfolded by default;
(*) V-Ray: VFB is cleared always when doing network rendering with render mask;
(*) V-Ray RT: Improved refresh speed;
(*) V-Ray RT: Removed the Show Mask option from the user interface, the mask is written in VRaySampleRate render element for the progressive sampler;
(*) VFB: Improved anaglyph stereoscopic preview to reduce retinal rivalry;
(*) VFB: Improved initialization speed of the History window when there are a lot of images in the history;
(*) VFB: The vfbControl MaxScript function returns values for the commands that have states;
(*) VFB: Made the History window compliant with the 3ds Max color theme;
(*) .vrscene exporter: Added combo box to select between Scene Animation/Frame range, the latter remembers the start/end values;
(*) VRay2SidedMtl: Added ability to filter the translucency effect through the diffuse color of the front-facing side;
(*) VRayClipper: More robust and faster algorithm is used;
(*) VRayDirt: Added "double sided" option;
(*) VRayDirt: The distribution parameter can now take negative values for more defined edges;
(*) VRayFastSSS2: Added opacity texture slot;
(*) VRayHairFarmMod and VRayOrnatrixMod: Faster rendering of hair;
(*) VRayHDRI: Added MaxScript access to "coords" parameters;
(*) VRayLight: Added the ability to display the light name in the viewport;
(*) VRayLight: Somewhat faster sampling of rectangle lights;
(*) VRayMtl: Multiple layers of glass rendered with noise;
(*) VRayOSLMtl/VRayOSLTex: Improved shader cache logic, now the compiled shaders reside entirely in a memory buffer;
(*) VRayOSLMtl/VRayOSLTex: Removed dependency of shader name on the shader file name;
(*) VRayProxy: Export texture coordinates for .vrmesh preview, if preview mesh is specified;
(*) VRayProxy: Same proxies are automatically instantiated;
(*) VRayProxy: Show proxy color set names in Vertex Color texture "Channel Name" list;
(*) VRayProxy: Show the extra color channels from Alembic files in the "Channel Name" drop-down of Vertex Color maps applied to the proxy object;
(*) VRayProxy: Support for Material ID channel when rendering with point clouds;
(*) VRayShadow: Made the U, V, W Area shadow sizes animatable in the VRayShadows params rollout;

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Bobby Parker 12/9/14 Bobby Parker 12/9/14

Managing Multiple 3DS MAX projects

If you are like me, you have several projects going on at any given time. Each project in a different stage and most awaiting on client comments. And, if you are like me, you hate loosing work and backups are very important. As you might know, 3DS MAX has an Autoback, which keeps 3 backup copies.

“How often should I back up? It depends, how much data are you willing to lose?”

— Bobby Parker

Without spending a fortune, I sought out for a solution, and found a solution that works great.

Project Switcher

ProjectSwitcher is a Macroscript utility for quickly switching between multiple project folders. It keeps track of the previously opened projects, saves them to an .ini file and presents them in a dropdown list.

Installation: For automatic startup, just copy this script into your scripts\startup folder and restart 3ds Max.

Use the 'X' key to remove an entry from the list (this will not do anything to your actual project folder!); the 'Set' key works just like the 'File > Set Project Folder function: it allows you to select another existing project folder or create a new one. Both will be added to the list. Note: projectSwitcher does not currently track any project folder actions that were performed directly in 3ds Max.

New in v0.31:

Due to a bug in 3ds Max 2014, I have made an alternative version for 3ds Max 2014
The alternative version 0.31 no longer works as a dockable toolbar but inside a floating dialog instead
Dialog now remembers position and size

New in v0.3:

Automatic Project Switching when opening .max files: When opening the file c:\projects\myproject\scenes\file.max, this function will automatically set c:\projects\myproject\ as the new project folder. Thanks to Tollef Roe Steen for the suggestion.
No longer a macroscript; can be automatically run when 3ds Max starts

Bug in 3ds Max 2008: A bug in the latest release of 3ds Max causes projectSwitcher to always show a Browse-Folder-Dialog. This can be fixed by manually editing the file Macro_SetProjectFolder.mcr in the <3dsmax_root>\ui\macroscripts directory and changing

local _SetProjectFolder_macro_option_promptUser
local _SetProjectFolder_macro_option_newFolder

in line 25 and 26 to

global _SetProjectFolder_macro_option_promptUser
global _SetProjectFolder_macro_option_newFolder

Save the .mcr file and restart 3ds Max. This should return normal functionality for projectSwitcher

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Bobby Parker 12/6/14 Bobby Parker 12/6/14

Architectural Rendering with Rhino and V-Ray with Dave Schultze

Watch the Online Video Course Architectural Rendering with Rhino and V-Ray

A detailed rendering job can make your building models look more realistic and professional—and help sell clients on your ideas. This course teaches everything you need to know about rendering interior and exterior architectural scenes with Rhino and V-Ray. Using a pavilion of his own design, author Dave Schultze shows how to set up Sun, Sky, and V-Ray lighting systems; apply glass, metal, stone, and wood materials; and insert trees, grass, and people for additional scale and interest. Plus, learn how to use cameras and compositing techniques to add a sense of depth and realism to your designs.

Topics include:

Setting up your system
Understanding the settings, software, and process
Lighting the scene
Tweaking exposure
Rendering with architectural glass, masonry, and concrete
Making realistic grass and trees
Creating depth of field
Compositing from 3D to 2D

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