[wimver]

Anyone care sharing the workflow you follow when rendering formz jobs?

I'll start with my own experience, not really knowing if what I am doing is the most efficient way to do things.

1. model in FZ (obviously) by using generic colors for all objects
2. do some test renders in renderzone
3. create materials in mxed if necessary (that is, if they aren't in my library yet, or available in the mxm gallery)
4. join all objects that will receive the same texture, and put them on a dedicated layer.
5. apply mxm to the joined groups
6. create objects as emitters when necessary and apply emitter attributes
7. click render in the MW dialog box
- that's right, I do not change any of the settings in the MW dialog, I change everything in studio.
8. normally, a render starts in CL, but many things are still wrong, so I quit this app.
9. in Studio, I adjust sunlight, strength of emitters, add hdri, adjust projectors, set image size, aperture, focus, and finetune the materials after some test renders inside Studio.
10. do a test render on smaller scale in CL.
11. render at full size in CL.
12. save the mxi, and a few versions of the image, with different exposure settings (play with iso or shutterspeed, gamma and burn) but this is not always necessary
13. do some finetuning in photoshop, and add persons, trees if necessary
14. I have the idea I forgot something.

is anyone working with bitmapped trees in formz (where the branches are geometry but the leaves are bitmaps with alpha channel)?
how is the workflow then?

thanks
wim

[juan]

Hi Wimber,

The workflow will be huge enhanced very soon with the release of the new plugin for FormZ v6.1. This is almost finished and we target to release it when v6.1 final version is out.

Kind regards,

Juan

[Peder]

Wim!
I use Maxwell for archviz.
I try to stay in FZ because I often continue refining the geometry while producing intermediate renders. I only use .mxm materials because of the bugs in the way FZ Maxwell materials is translated. Often I have to set emitters to what seems very high intensities -not sure why this is...

Problems are:
Sometimes if an image map is used on a material it will override the .mxm material.
All objects (or none) need to have a Maxwell material associated with them or else the render fails.
The values (at least some of them) in the Maxwell palette resets if I open another model during the session.
I cannot set a name for the .mxi file from FZ.

Sometimes I will go into Studio and apply some finishing touches like playing with the DOF or setting up a Multilight render if I need it.

I find it tedious to have to navigate through my entire network file structure inside EVERY input field. I wish Maxwell could remember the last place, (maybe this is just a limitation of Win XP as I find many apps have these issues). Also if I set up a filename for the .mxs and image file from within FZ I have to redo it in Studio.

I hope most of these issues are well known and will be adressed soon...

Still I am very happy with the results I am getting. After years of trying to bend FZ renders to my will I finally feel I can get the payoff I (and the clients) deserve for all that tedious modelling... Being a lighting designer that is where my real passion lies...

FZ 5.5.3
Maxwell 1.1
Win XP SP2


Peder

[wimver]

Thanks Juan & Peder,

I am really looking forward to the new plugin then! I guess it is pointless to further dig this survey when a new workflow is about to arrive.

Peder,
most of the problems you mention are reported (by me and others) to Juan and I am shure they will be addressed.
they are mainly the reason why I don't use any of the settings within formz, that way I am shure of consistent output.
but, as Juan announced, solutions are in sight, let's stay put and hope...

JUAN,
do you think my other problem (in the thread right before this one at the moment, about the strange artefacts) will be addressed as well? maybe you missed that one, I am interested in your opinion.

anyway, apart from the workflow issue and the black triangle thing, I am very happy with the formz-maxwell marriage so far! it is really going in the right direction. (... and a renderspeed enhancement of about 400% would be nice )

thanks
wim

[juan]

Hi all,

@Peder: Yes, most of this issues have been addressed.
@wimver: I am still looking at what is causing your artifacts It would very useful if you can send to techdesk@nextlimit.com a formZ scene as small as possible that reproduces this bug. In the past there was a similar bug in G5 machines due a lack of precision in some cases when calculating intersections but we have never noticed anymore issues like this.

Kind regards,

Juan