PhotoWorks scenes

[rockguy]

I'm just begining to use the PhotoWorks add-in. So far it is working great. I am having a problem creating good nature scenes however. The canned scenes don't look very good. I was wondering if there was a website that offered predefined nature settings for this software. I suppose I could use any scene if it were saved in the correct format and then use that as my background or add the model to the scence in a photo editing software. Does anyone know of a good way to do this?

 

[earlpatrick]

when you are in the scene editor in photoworks, click on the background tab. choose scaled image or tiled image and you can browse to a file of your choosing. SW will use .tiff, .jpeg and .bmp files as well as targa and lwi. for good nature scene photographs, i would browse websites that cater to graphic designers. frequently they have stock images that are free or cd's full of particular styles of images (e.g. nature, industrial, sports etc.) that you can purchase relatively inexpensively.

what do you model that you render against natural backdrops?

cheers,

earl patrick
epillsbury@bensonglobal.com

http://www.bensonglobal.com

 

[rockguy]

Thanks for the info. I just started working for a company that produces granite products. I would be rendering buildings and monuments against a natural setting. As an example, The Washington Monument or the Lincon Memorial are the types of products we would be producing. Not neccassarily the entire building but the parts that make it up.

 

[earlpatrick]

sounds cool. i work for a company that does skyscraper exteriors so we render a lot different stone types. the best platform i've found for doing that, for what it's worth, is 3-D studio max. their library of stone materials is great. i've used their travertine several times and it looks awesome. it's also just a better rendering platform in general. better lighting and easier to control. it will also import models from autocad or solidworks if you prefer to do your modeling in other programs.

best of luck.

earl patrick
epillsbury@bensonglobal.com

http://www.bensonglobal.com

 

[rockguy]

I ahve had some trouble with stone rendering in PhotoWorks. I have managed to make it look pretty realistic but it still isn't a "real stone" look. The canned images are no help and I have scanned pictures of various types of granite and tried using those but I have found it doesn't work the best either. I'm going to check into 3D studio after the information you gave me. We have been demoing lots of software here trying to find one that works the best. We are trying Inventor next. Inventor doesn't have a rendering package but they did reccomend #d Studio. Maybe that will be the better overall way to go.

Thanks Again

 

[packmen]

How do you export Sw models to 3D Studio???