The Final Product
Design Stages
Friday 26 November 2010
Friday 26th of November
Finaly another update that is actually based on the course. I have finished creating my lighting scene which I believe came out amazing. I had taken the model that our course instructor had made and textured it and lit it. Here are some pictures that follow the texturing to the final product.
Monday 15 November 2010
Monday 15th of November, My Biggest Post Ever!!!
Thought I would do a quick update on my post, as I thought it would be interesting to show the equipment I am using for the course and explain some of the parts and give help to those interested in a new machine. Remember this is a brief tutorial please do further research on components.
This PC system was built with 3D design and rendering in mind. It is based around an AMD Phenom II X6 (~£169) six-core processor. Now with games you want less cores with more power (this is because at the moment games can only utilize four cores), but with rendering you want more cores with any power you get for example mine are currently running at 2.8 GHz, I hope to overclock this to 3.5 GHz in order to squeeze out more performance. On top of this I have placed a third party heat sink and cooler, this disperses the heat away from the chip giving it a longer life (I would highly recommend this as when rendering the machine will be running at 100% for a long time and thus generate a large amount of heat).
On to the RAM, now again with this the more the better, where games can only utilize 4 GB of RAM your design program has access to all of the memory, at the moment the sweet spot seems to be 8GB. I went for some Patriot Sector 5 DDR3 memory in an 8GB kit (~£65 each kit of 4GB). However if you own or plan on buying one of the new i7 cores you can utilize triple channel memory which allows you to install up to six RAM sticks. With any other you are currently limited to four. A named brand is good to go for here as they are reliable and usually come with built in heat dispersers (A note with these, make sure that the third party heat sink and fan will fit if you have filled the RAM slots with sticks with heat dispersers).
The graphics card will do a lot of grunt work while you are editing and creating your 3D models, and not a lot while rendering that's the job of the CPU and RAM. I selected an AMD HD 6870 (~£240) for my card as it had achieved good benchmarks with rendering live 3D and is the newest of the AMD line-up. Now when choosing a card you have to look at all the different models out there. I'll save you the work and give you a few of the best ones out there. The ATI HD 5850 1GB (~£215) won last years graphics card of the year. 'Nuff said, and it won't break the wallet (trust me cards can get very expensive). The new generation AMD card to pick is the HD 6870 1GB it runs faster than the 5850 and comes stereoscopic 3D ready. Now on the NVDIA side of things is the 460 GTX 1GB (~£160) and that's it really until the new line up is released. Their 470 and 480 cards run too expensive and too hot. Expect to pay anything between £160 to £260 for a decent card, some even come factory overclocked. Most new motherboards come with a feature called SLI (NVIDIA) or Cross-Fire (AMD) which allows you to run two graphics cards allowing for future expansion of the system.
Now this is the bit most people skimp on, but a good power supply will last longer and provide your components with the right amount of power. Preferably it is best to buy a modular supply, that is one that allows you to choose what cables to run from it, thus helping with cable management.I picked up a Xigmatek NRP 700 watt power supply, named brands are always best yet again for reliability. Also look at the wattage a power supply between 700 and 1000 watts is a good choice to go for as newer graphics cards require power direct form the PSU. It also gives you enough power to run SLI or Cross-Fire.
When choosing a mother board choose one that works with your selected chip. My choice was a Gigabyte 870A-UD3 (~£85) board, now the two best brands to go on here are either Gigabyte or Asus, there is also MSI however I've heard of some issues with their boards. The preferred size of board would be an ATX board I would only recommend a micro-ATX board I you have case restrictions, but if you are building from scratch you shouldn't have any. I you wish you expand to two graphics cards ensure that they are SLI or Cross-Fire ready. Yet again ensure they are compatible with your chip you can always ask at the store on online.
This is the generic parts of the computer. I have a 1TB (~£60) hard drive and since the price of 1TB drives have gone down this is the best choice as it offers massive amounts of space for less money. In my computer I have included a Blu-ray drive this is not recommended for most people and I have chosen this for watching films. A standard DVD-RW drive will do and these are cheap at around £19. I don't have to tell you about the keyboard and mouse as you obviously know how to use these if you got here. The screen is also entirely up to your own personal choice.
The last part of the build is the case, I have chosen a medium size case as case sizes go in the form of the HAF 922 (~£90) from Coolermaster is a big thing make sure everything is tidy not only does this look nicer but also allows better airflow through the case.
Before and after cable management.
So there you have it a quick tip on a 3D design PC. If you have any questions or queries I and available at gaucho2mark@yahoo.co.uk, I am also available for PC builds. There is also a store on Holburn Street called Everest Tech they sell components and build systems, they will also answer any queries you have (by the way if you purchase all the components to a PC to build yourself you can ask for discounts as they are a small store). Thanks for reading and until the next time.
On to the RAM, now again with this the more the better, where games can only utilize 4 GB of RAM your design program has access to all of the memory, at the moment the sweet spot seems to be 8GB. I went for some Patriot Sector 5 DDR3 memory in an 8GB kit (~£65 each kit of 4GB). However if you own or plan on buying one of the new i7 cores you can utilize triple channel memory which allows you to install up to six RAM sticks. With any other you are currently limited to four. A named brand is good to go for here as they are reliable and usually come with built in heat dispersers (A note with these, make sure that the third party heat sink and fan will fit if you have filled the RAM slots with sticks with heat dispersers).
The graphics card will do a lot of grunt work while you are editing and creating your 3D models, and not a lot while rendering that's the job of the CPU and RAM. I selected an AMD HD 6870 (~£240) for my card as it had achieved good benchmarks with rendering live 3D and is the newest of the AMD line-up. Now when choosing a card you have to look at all the different models out there. I'll save you the work and give you a few of the best ones out there. The ATI HD 5850 1GB (~£215) won last years graphics card of the year. 'Nuff said, and it won't break the wallet (trust me cards can get very expensive). The new generation AMD card to pick is the HD 6870 1GB it runs faster than the 5850 and comes stereoscopic 3D ready. Now on the NVDIA side of things is the 460 GTX 1GB (~£160) and that's it really until the new line up is released. Their 470 and 480 cards run too expensive and too hot. Expect to pay anything between £160 to £260 for a decent card, some even come factory overclocked. Most new motherboards come with a feature called SLI (NVIDIA) or Cross-Fire (AMD) which allows you to run two graphics cards allowing for future expansion of the system.
Now this is the bit most people skimp on, but a good power supply will last longer and provide your components with the right amount of power. Preferably it is best to buy a modular supply, that is one that allows you to choose what cables to run from it, thus helping with cable management.I picked up a Xigmatek NRP 700 watt power supply, named brands are always best yet again for reliability. Also look at the wattage a power supply between 700 and 1000 watts is a good choice to go for as newer graphics cards require power direct form the PSU. It also gives you enough power to run SLI or Cross-Fire.
When choosing a mother board choose one that works with your selected chip. My choice was a Gigabyte 870A-UD3 (~£85) board, now the two best brands to go on here are either Gigabyte or Asus, there is also MSI however I've heard of some issues with their boards. The preferred size of board would be an ATX board I would only recommend a micro-ATX board I you have case restrictions, but if you are building from scratch you shouldn't have any. I you wish you expand to two graphics cards ensure that they are SLI or Cross-Fire ready. Yet again ensure they are compatible with your chip you can always ask at the store on online.
This is the generic parts of the computer. I have a 1TB (~£60) hard drive and since the price of 1TB drives have gone down this is the best choice as it offers massive amounts of space for less money. In my computer I have included a Blu-ray drive this is not recommended for most people and I have chosen this for watching films. A standard DVD-RW drive will do and these are cheap at around £19. I don't have to tell you about the keyboard and mouse as you obviously know how to use these if you got here. The screen is also entirely up to your own personal choice.
The last part of the build is the case, I have chosen a medium size case as case sizes go in the form of the HAF 922 (~£90) from Coolermaster is a big thing make sure everything is tidy not only does this look nicer but also allows better airflow through the case.
So there you have it a quick tip on a 3D design PC. If you have any questions or queries I and available at gaucho2mark@yahoo.co.uk, I am also available for PC builds. There is also a store on Holburn Street called Everest Tech they sell components and build systems, they will also answer any queries you have (by the way if you purchase all the components to a PC to build yourself you can ask for discounts as they are a small store). Thanks for reading and until the next time.
Friday 12 November 2010
Friday 12th November
Even though I have just updated my blog yesterday due to class requirements I have to write up another one today. So as I said yesterday I have finished my dining room scene as the first brief for 3ds Max and passed (I believe). My Maya brief is not going as well, just applied for an ERR and will have to redesign the entire airport layout as the previous one did not work out at all. The new one will be based off an airport in my hometown in Argentina.
We have also started our second brief that spans through both classes. This one focuses on lighting and different lighting techniques. I have picked three case studies to study different form of lighting and its effects and reasons. My first one is a Pink Floyd lightshow; I have picked this one because of my love of the light shows at the concerts. The following one is a cabin at night with a fire going in the fireplace; now this one I picked as it seems rather relaxing and it’s interesting how the lighting works with setting the mood. My third case study is of a car show room; this is because the lights serve the purpose of making the cars look amazing and thus help seal a sale, and how it attracts customers to the car.Thursday 11 November 2010
11th November 2010
Even longer since last post but that's life. Here is the finished dining room scene.
More on the airport to come.
More on the airport to come.
Tuesday 5 October 2010
Tuesday 5th October
Long time since last post update but I finaly got around to semi-completing my table scene all it is missing is the cutlery which will be in there by tomorrow.
The main issue I had was with the reflections coming off the chairs so I changed the material it used and problem was solved
Thought I'd include a wireframe of the scene so friends who don't do 3d can see what the objects realy are
he Maya brief isn't going as well as I had planned so need to get a serious move on, thats the reason there are no snapshots of it
The main issue I had was with the reflections coming off the chairs so I changed the material it used and problem was solved
Thought I'd include a wireframe of the scene so friends who don't do 3d can see what the objects realy are
he Maya brief isn't going as well as I had planned so need to get a serious move on, thats the reason there are no snapshots of it
Friday 17 September 2010
Friday 10 September 2010
Friday 10th September
Moving along with the programs, and still so far I prefer 3ds Max over Maya, yesterday we made a fish, and today we worked on Maya learning more of the complicated editing options, we also talked about and painted the models that we had built the previous day. I have also created some sketches of the items that will be placed in my table scene. Enjoying the course so far.
Friday 3 September 2010
Friday 3rd September
Collected information and images for a modern dining space, these included chairs, tables, cutlery, plates, and glassware. Room design was easy as the first image is what I had envisioned. Lighting wise it will be all artificial as the room will be windowless. I have decided to have a black glass table with black leather chairs.
Thursday 2 September 2010
Thursday 7th of September
Just had my first go at Maya, wow is it slightly more complicated than 3ds Max but I'll get round to using both. Brainstorming ideas for the airport lounge went quite well, now to get pictures.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)