tools ../iv
Life's little essentials -
ours and others
We create lots of little tools and techniques to assist in production. Occasionally these are appropriate to share with the community, and we upload them here :
SlideKnit
SlideKnit.zip
This tool can help you lay things out on the surface of complex objects which have been UV-mapped.
For example, you could craft an intricately-detailed knit-pattern mesh in a flat plane, then wrap this
around a sweater-shaped mesh. Instructions and installation notes are included in the zip.
Displacement Maps
DisplacementMaps.zip
This document outlines our pipeline for creating and using displacement maps
in ZBrush3.1/Mudbox2009 and 3dsmax 2009 with mentalray.
Unfortunately Slide can't be held responsible for any destruction these tools might wreak on your equipment, production schedules or personal wellbeing. On the plus side, they're free and you can use them however you wish!
Of course, we also use a great variety of other plugins and tools. Here are some of the most useful we've come across :
NodeJoe
http://www.nodejoe.net
This fantastic piece of software provides a node-based interface for manipulating
materials in 3dsmax, which we use on a daily basis and can't imagine working without
LPM
http://www.lukashi.com/...
Lukas Lepicovsky has created a render pass manager for 3dsmax, essential for
keeping track of per-pass hacks and settings in complex scenes
PhotoStudioPro
http://www.infinity-vision.de/...
Among other things, this a one-stop shop for tweaking the multitude of 3dsmax
settings to do with exposure, glare, depth of field, colour-correction and gamma.
If you've created an amazing production tool and would like to see it in this list, we'd love to hear from you.
