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ART area lights provide four main areas of benefit:
How does ART work with RenderMan?
ART uses the RenderMan scene-description language natively. The ART plug-ins for 3D applications generate RenderMan data for ART to render from the application's scene data. ART also allows RenderMan (.rib) files to be rendered directly through a simple command-line interface. ARTalso provides the user the ability to use certain RenderMan files directly inside the 3D application, these include RenderMan shaders for materials, lights, cameras and atmospherics - making the ART renderer fully end-user programmable.
RayBox FAQs
What applications does RayBox directly support?
RayBox has the capability to support most major 3D software packages through their RenderMan compliant ART RIB interface. ART plug-ins are available for Autodesk's Maya, 3dsmax, and VIZ providing control from within the application of ART's advanced rendering features . In addition, many users create their models in a 3D CAD application and then import this data into Maya or 3dsmax in order to use the ART renderer.
RayBox has the capability to support most major 3D software packages through their RenderMan compliant ART RIB interface. ART plug-ins are available for Autodesk's Maya, 3dsmax, and VIZ providing control from within the application of ART's advanced rendering features . In addition, many users create their models in a 3D CAD application and then import this data into Maya or 3dsmax in order to use the ART renderer.
How does RayBox work with 3dsmax/VIZ
The ART plug-in for MAX provides integrated control of RayBox and streamlined transfer of scene data to the rendering device within the normal 3dsmax/VIZ rendering interface. For the user the plug-in is virtually seamless. The render panel works in the same way as with the native renderer, with a few simple additions and exceptions. Lights, cameras and materials are all added in the appropriate roll-out panels and utility interfaces.
How does RayBox work with Maya?
The ART plug-in for MAYA provides integrated control of RayBox and streamlined transfer of scene data to the rendering devices within the normal Maya rendering interface. For the user the plug-in is virtually seamless. the plug-in allows you to simply control rendering on RayBox devices, including splitting a single image across multiple rendering devices.
The ART plug-in for MAYA provides integrated control of RayBox and streamlined transfer of scene data to the rendering devices within the normal Maya rendering interface. For the user the plug-in is virtually seamless. the plug-in allows you to simply control rendering on RayBox devices, including splitting a single image across multiple rendering devices.
How do I work with applications that support RenderMan?
The principle applications that support RenderMan are:
The principle applications that support RenderMan are:
- Houdini (Side Effects)
- Softimage 3D(Avid), through the SoftMan plug-in (Animal Logic)
- Maya (Alias|WaveFront), through the MTOR plug-in (Pixar)
Use of RayBox with these applications is a process of exporting a .rib file from the application and then using the ART RIB command-line interface to render the .rib file. In some cases, some user intervention may be needed to adjust the .rib file properly for RayBox use.
Why do I need to use ray tracing / I don't use ray tracing very much, why would I need RayBox?
Many 3D artists use scanline renderers, despite the low image quality they produce, because in general they have the advantage of being faster than software ray tracers running on the same hardware. RayBox uses specially designed hardware and so it produces images far faster than a software ray tracer, and with quality and realism far beyond anything achievable with any other. Realism adds value to your images, allowing you to work within the medium more intuitively and to communicate your ideas more effectively. RayBox frees you from the constraints of traditional software-based rendering, bringing high-quality rendering into the workflow as a viable production tool.
Many 3D artists use scanline renderers, despite the low image quality they produce, because in general they have the advantage of being faster than software ray tracers running on the same hardware. RayBox uses specially designed hardware and so it produces images far faster than a software ray tracer, and with quality and realism far beyond anything achievable with any other. Realism adds value to your images, allowing you to work within the medium more intuitively and to communicate your ideas more effectively. RayBox frees you from the constraints of traditional software-based rendering, bringing high-quality rendering into the workflow as a viable production tool.
The ART-renderer FAQ's
What is special about ART area lights?
The ART renderer allows the user to create area lights through its application plug-ins. In 3dsmax/VIZ this constitutes additional lights in the lights creation roll out panel, in Maya ART simply makes use of the existing area lights controls within the application.
The ART renderer allows the user to create area lights through its application plug-ins. In 3dsmax/VIZ this constitutes additional lights in the lights creation roll out panel, in Maya ART simply makes use of the existing area lights controls within the application.
ART area lights provide four main areas of benefit:
- Size and shape. The lights can be made any type of rectangle (for spot lights), or any type of box (for omni lights. The size and shape of the light affects the quality of illumination generated. Just as in the real world ART area lights provide a diffuse and comprehensive illumination as a function of their size and shape.
- Shadows. Shadows are cast by ART area lights according to the lights' size and shape. The bigger the light, the softer the shadow. There is no need to work with shadow maps with ART lights. Because they are physically correct, shadows become increasingly soft and less dense the further they are cast from the shadowing object. ART shadows are also self-cast, in other words objects can cast shadows on themselves - something that cannot be done with shadow mapped shadows.
- ART lights can also be made visible, thereby reducing the need to model "stand-in" objects for lights. Visible light sources also generate specular highlights with the correct size and value (according to the size, shape and brightness of the light) in shiny objects in the scene, providing a much more real effect than the arbitrary specular highlight generation of most renderers.
What is special about ART cameras?
ART cameras provide two principle benefits over most renderers' cameras:
ART cameras provide two principle benefits over most renderers' cameras:
- Depth-of Field. DoF is truly 3D with the ART renderer, providing the user the unique ability to vary DoF over a single object, animate DoF over time (rack focus), and render camera fly-throughs with DoF. Many renderers' generate DoF as a post-process using the z-buffer, this involves varying degrees of blur on discrete rendered layers within the scene, this clearly limits the value of DoF in these renderers' compared to ART.
- Lens Effects. ART generates lens effects through the camera according the physical principles of camera lenses. Lens effects are created through brightness values in the scene that exceed a user-definable limit. In this sense ART lens effects are generated in exactly the same as with a standard 35mm camera - where portions of an image are overexposed a lens effect is generated. The kind of lens effect created depends on the type of filter used, and so it is with ART, which provides a number of lens effect types to choose from.
This is a unique property of the ART renderer which can be referred to as high dynamic range rendering. This is because lens effects generated as a result of "over-exposure" make the over-exposed portions of the image look brighter than white, so that the range between dark and light in the scene is extended.
What is special about ART Materials?
ARTVPS provides a number of additional materials for the user of RayBox. These can be used in addition to the materials supplied with the 3D application. Three "RenderCoat" materials are added:
ARTVPS provides a number of additional materials for the user of RayBox. These can be used in addition to the materials supplied with the 3D application. Three "RenderCoat" materials are added:
- Shiny. Primarily for non-metallic shiny objects, e.g. plastic and ceramics.
- Glass. For all glass and translucent objects.
- Mirror. For all metals and mirrored materials.
The unique attribute of all these materials is that they are physically very accurate, providing a degree of reality beyond that provided with the corresponding materials that ship with 3D applications. They also provide an unprecedented degree of user control, creating a scene-building environment, which works very predictably, and therefore efficiently. Additional libraries of RenderCoat materials are also available from ARTVPS.
How does ART work with RenderMan?
ART uses the RenderMan scene-description language natively. The ART plug-ins for 3D applications generate RenderMan data for ART to render from the application's scene data. ART also allows RenderMan (.rib) files to be rendered directly through a simple command-line interface. ARTalso provides the user the ability to use certain RenderMan files directly inside the 3D application, these include RenderMan shaders for materials, lights, cameras and atmospherics - making the ART renderer fully end-user programmable.
