The following video capture shows the very smooth integration between Maya, MachStudio Pro and PhotoShop in a real production workflow.  The PhotoShop integration including editable layers for the render passes is especially interesting.

We surreptitiously captured this 7-sec clip at the ATI Professional Graphics preview event back in early April, pre-announcing the FirePro V8800.

Always good to see the human side of the people behind the technology!

I found this topic to be so interesting, that I wanted to re-purpose his responses and intermix it with my own views (so apologies in advance if it sounds like two people).

How will the upcoming IRay and GPU's affect the individual and small 3D computer graphics studio?

In my mind this question is actually three separate questions.

1. How will iRay affect my hardware needs?
2. How will iRay affect my pipeline?
3. How will iRay affect my workflow?

Hardware

First thing to consider is; iRay is a platform, not an application. It's a way of harnessing the power of multiple GPUs over a network (including over the net). This means that from the hardware standpoint, you don't necessarily have to invest in new hardware. Application developers will either provide the computing power over the web as a SaaS solution (and hopefully be able to give good throughput), or you will subcontract the hardware portion to render farms which have multiple Nvidia GPUs. Of course you will be able to deploy your own cluster of Nvidia GPUs if you want to.

Pipeline

From the pipeline perspective, this really has to do with who will port their tools - or design new ones - to iRay. The current available applications which use iRay are pretty much limited to mental ray and still images. Basic things like changing light direction or camera position can be done with very fast visual feedback using progressive rendering, but the ability to truly author the content by accessing the entire gamut of visual parameters is currently unavailable via the iRay platform. We still need to see tools that can do more than provide fast navigation to understand how iRay will affect the pipeline and how will tools that use it, will replace existing ones.

Workflow

The workflow is of course the most important piece of the puzzle. However, it's too early to understand how it will change as there are no tools yet, which harness iRay for complete 3D visual authoring. But we can in general understand how GPUs affect the way we create CGI by looking at the wider GPU visual computing arena. Tools like Octane Render, Furry Ball and of course, MachStudio Pro are already changing the workflow landscape by harnessing the power of local GPUs to author visual content in real-time and near real-time.

Octane is in the early stages, with limited features and control. It is designed for creating still images rather than animations and relies on progressive rendering for speed. For even modestly complex scenes, you degrade the image sampling quality. I'm not a fan of progressive rendering in general. How strange would it be if you were a painter and as you applied paint to a canvas, you saw a grainy approximation of your work as you painted. The more complex your painting, the longer it would take after each brush stroke to see the actual image. That is to me, progressive rendering. Better than nothing, but still the technology is getting in the way of the creative process.

Furry Ball, as an add on to Maya, is actually more interesting and I look forward to seeing where this software goes. From the double-speed videos I have seen, it looks promising. But since it is Maya dependent, you manipulate lighting in a separate window from the image, which again separates the artist from the canvas. Moving back in forth between different modes is cumbersome and adds extra steps and extra time to your workflow. Fortunately the software does not succumb to the progressive rendering approach that feels so removed from direct interaction with the final scene.

In contrast to the other GPU tools, in MachStudio Pro, the workflow is akin to "painting with light". In fact, the ability to author visual content in real time creates a "digitally tactile" sense of working with paints on a canvas. This puts the emphasis back on the artistic skills of the user; and less on the technical software expertise.

With MachStudio Pro you can make a scene look any which way you want. So the question becomes, how do you want to make it look?. This question can be answered through imagination, or experimentation. The point is that having the tools which help you imagine, and experiment, are among your most valuable tools as an artist. The tools which empower you to be an artist, are the tools which will ultimately affect your workflow.

Getting the technology out of the way of the artist

The idea that a sotfware package will someday offer a magic "Make Art" button which will produce meaningful, photo-realistic images in one click, is simply misleading. A push button render with technically correct global illumination, is good for rendering colored spheres or stemware on a table, but generally not so good for rendering an image or scene intended to convey creativity, meaning or feeling.

With tools like MachStudio Pro, the quality of an image can evolve based on the artists reflexive reaction to the scene. Clicking a render button and getting a physics-defined, ray-traced image is not much of a creative process. Creativity is about being able make a decision, quickly observe the result, and then further evolve the image. It is this dialog with the image, this interactivity, that makes a good artist and good 3D CG animation.

As the field of CG is developing we are being handed better and better tools to express ourselves. The tools which will change the workflow-landscape will be those which empower and inspire us to express ourselves in most natural and direct ways.

Why am I writing about V? For this new season of V, ABC is bulking up on virtual sets, FX, and virtual locations.  Zoic Studios is one of the primary FX companies behind V with 20 artists delivering green screen and virtual sets. (In fact they won the VES Award for Outstanding Created Environment in a Broadcast Program or Commercial for creating atrium and ship interiors for the V pilot.).  With the increased VFX demands in this second season,  Zoic was looking for ways to push their workflow pipeline into hyperdrive without shooting up costs.  Enter MachStudio Pro.

This recent article that appeared on CGW explains in detail what Zoic is doing, but here is a cut-to-the-chase recap:

The Atrium virtual set for V, which appeared in 17 shots over two episodes, contained 2,589 frames, each of which was fully rendered three times for a total of 7,767 frames rendered. Initially, Zoic rendered the set in an un-optimized fashion; it required recalculating the lighting simulation for each frame and yielded a render at four hours per frame. Zoic staffers tweaked the set and were able to optimize the render time to one hour per frame.

Zoic then decided to try MachStudio Pro and brought rendering times down to 16 minutes per frame (versus one hour).  They are now working with StudioGPU to further optimize frame buffers which they think will reduce render time to 4 minutes per frame.

Now that kind of 6000% performance increase is worthy of being called advanced alien technology.

I immediately thought of StudioGPU and MachStudio Pro.

Voting from users is important to this process - the idea being that the most interesting start-ups percolate to the top of the nominations. From Bob's post: "Together we’ll whittle the number down to 24 then come June I will set off with my family in our RV to visit all 24. We’ll camp in the parking lot or in the driveway of the CEO and spend a couple days at each startup, learning about the company, the people, their technology and their market. I’ll take with me a small camera crew and we’ll produce what will begin with a summer of blogging and end with a 13-part TV reality series"

How to add your vote for StudioGPU

1. Go to http://cringelyslist.democrasoft.com.
2. Log-in to the site using your Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Yahoo or similar accounts.
3. Search for StudioGPU. You should find an entry from 3/29/2010 submitted by Tony DeYoung.
4. Then click on the stars in the upper right hand corner of the StudioGPU nomination to rate it (hopefully 5 stars!).
5. Add comments, testimonials, insider knowledge, etc. that you think will encourage other users, investors, Bob Cringley and the Kauffman Foundation to take note. Comments are important - they say more then I could fit into the short overview blurb.
6. After you vote, share the URL with your colleagues who also use MachStudio Pro.
7. Note: Do not re-nominate StudioGPU. Just star and comment on the existing StudioGPU nomination from 3/29/2010 submitted by Tony DeYoung

So if you believe that StudioGPU is indeed innovative and exciting in how it changes the way 3D artists work with lighting and rendering, then go to the site today. Cast your vote, add your comments, etc. We cannot track voting, so if you do vote, let us know in the comments section for this blog post or the StudioGPU Facebook page.

Then cross your fingers that StudioGPU, MachStudio Pro and maybe samples of your own MachStudio work end up featured in the Startup Tour Reality TV series (or at least make some news).

A few weeks ago I posted an example of a photorealistic architectural rendering created in MachStudio Pro. The rendering was set up to emulate the style of the same scene as rendered in VRay.

The results surprised many people. The V-Ray-rendered and MachStudio Pro-rendered images were both production ready and very comparable. But of course, the MachStudio Pro image rendered in only 84 sec as opposed to a typical lengthy photo-realistic render (many minutes). And you could change the materials, lighting, AO, DOF, cameras, HDR exposures on the fly.

I've seen some other example renders that are being used in upcoming productions (which unfortunately means I can't share them yet) that are positively astounding.

Passion & Development

With each update, the SGPU development team adds in more refinements, and enhanced ways of rendering. It's one of the big advantage of buying software from a smaller startup - they are passionate about their work, want to constantly improve and are approachable by and responsive to users.

So this week I want to share an image I received from the StudioGPU Labs. It's an example of work in development.

Now if you've followed the recent Renderosity review, you know StudioGPU is actively working on additional rendering styles including ray-tracing. Well this image, using some StudioGPU radiance pass secret sauce is an early example of what you can expect. This is just a prototype, but you can see that the quality of light and color is cranked up even further.

Oh by the way, this new "In the StudioGPU Labs" image took about 60 sec. to render at 980 X 1200 with with x6 AA samples (36 samples per pixel). You can view the full resolution rendering here (will open in a new window).

Examples of MachStudio Pro photo-realistic imaging - good and even better.

Are there capabilities and features that you want to see integrated into MachStudio Pro? Experiments you want to see tried in the lab? Comment here or join the discussion in the StudioGPU forums. The developers read every post and typically respond within a day. It's a great way to have an impact that changes the industry and how it does visualization and rendering.

I'll be posting more images fresh "from the labs" as I receive them. Stay tuned!

Chad Wanstreet is a Technical Director at Speedshape Detroit, an automotive and product visualization studio.  However, his previous education (and obviously still a passion) was in architecture. This is where Machstudio comes in.  Chad used MachStudio Pro to help he and a friend visualize and define a basement renovation project.

Below are several images from the project (more in the showcase).  What interests me most about these renderings (besides the visual) is the workflow:

1. Model and texture iin 3ds Max
2. Light in MachStudio Pro
3. Render from MachStudio Pro in passes:  diffuse, reflection, AO, z-depth, and matte (render time for 1920 x 1080 images at x24 anti-aliasing was about 5 mins to produce all 5 passes)
4. Final composite in Nuke for stills and animations

Take a look at these sample images - they are a great example of “previs for architecture”. Quoting from Chad:

“Machstudio provides me with a quick feedback loop for my concepts, and the ability to create animations very quickly, which I love.  Too many of the tools which designers and architects use for quick concept work focus only on volumes and materials, and miss out on light, time and the relationship of the two.” (bold is my editorial)

“Machstudio Pro allows me to create very fast renders and animations, which normally I would need multiple computers or a farm to produce, in hours not days or weeks while experimenting with the effects of light on my design.”

If you have an example of work you have done in MachStudio Pro, or impressions/critiques about the productions I feature in this blog, submit a comment.

Basically CG artists are asked to create their own version of B-movie or resurrect creatures from an existing movie. The emotive impact and implication of “the story behind the imagery” is the aspect that is most important.  But as we all know, good story can be strongly enhanced by powerful lighting and FX.  Since there is not a lot of time (nor budget) to produce these B-movies, the ability to do quick creative treatments and changes (essentially previs for animation) can be critical - i.e. MachStudio Pro.

Check out the StudioGPU CG animation showcase to see some inspirational examples (not of B-movies content, but of animation content). The Princess Twins, New Guys (each video produced in only a week), and Secret of Skull island, all make clear what you can do with good story telling and real-time lighting workflows.

You can enter as individuals or as teams so this might be a great opportunity to search for colleagues in our forums.  If you do plan to enter the contest, add a comment here or in the forums so we can follow your work!

But I wanted to do some informal callouts in this blog of some of the interesting work I've seen, running from small productions, to experiments, to high visibility projects. What got me thinking about this, was the recent "Natal" video I received from FX, lda, a Mozambican post production studio for TV. FX, Ida is using MachStudio Pro to produce one commercial each month for the Arroz Leao brand of rice.

Nildo Essa is the principal behind FX, Ida. He began as a one man shop but has recently expanded to add in a second modeler for background scenes, and a story writer. Nildo himself does all animation, rendering, lighting and character modeling.

Natal (a punk jingle bells holiday commercial) is the second commercial in the series created with MachStudio Pro (see his other video in the showcase)

The workflow for Natal

For the "Natal" Commercial, Nildo motion captures all moves of the 3 characters in his very small but workable mocap studio (Nildo is the actor!). He imports this data into Max, cleans it up, and then maps into onto the final characters which are already modeled and textured.

With the camera work done he moves all assets into MachStudio Pro. For Natal he rendered the foreground elements separately from the background and then used After Effects for compositing and motion blur. In Premiere Pro he adds the final touches and special FX.

Now the kicker: Each commercial averages about 1 week of actual production from audio recording to the final piece and showing to the client. Impressive to say the least.

If you have an example of work you have done in MachStudio Pro, or impressions/critiques about the productions I feature in this blog, submit a comment.

What caught my eye was one of the job requirements:

“We need someone who has at least 6 yrs. experience lighting with Maya and any experience with MachStudio Pro is a bonus (but we expect some on-the-job training with this package).”

You can check out the job posting here.