GGGGRRRRRRRR

Well I have been working to learn Ogre3D for a project at work and well there aren't any good tutorials out there. It was easy enough to export you model out. But keeping the textures and animations intact, that was not so easy. Here is how I setup materials in 3DS Max that export with Ogre3D.

Hint-- Ogre3D works best with the default scanline renderer

Ogre3D Materials in 3DS Max using an image map

1. Select a blank material in the  Material Editor --> click the standard button --> choose Ogre3d Material I  disregarded old material.
2. Select the none slot under Techniques.
3. Select the none slot under Passes.
4. Select the none slot under Texture Units.
5. Under the texture  --> select none slot under bitmap  and choose your image.

Now in 3DS Max you will only see grey if you want to see the material you will need to go back to the root of the material and click material under Max Viewport/Render Material and add the same image there.

Now you can see what your model will look like before exporting for Ogre3D.

I will add next time how I added animations to my .mesh file.

Not everything is a s it seems.

I am currently working on a project that uses multiple passes. In 3DS Max there is a nice feature called State Sets. You can record scene states, like if you are setting up a AO pass and need some masks. I seems to be pretty simple to use. I like it other then it breaks and gives me an error. At that point it stops working and I have to go back to a previous save and hope it is working in there. The idea of the feature is great but the execution not quite there. My work around is to just duplicate the object and apply the AO material or mask material or what ever it is you need. This way I can setup each render fairly painlessly. Not as quick as state sets but it also works. Well that has been my crux this week and if there is something else that is quicker and easier I am all ears.

Rendering and Compositing

Compositing renders. That has always been a little trouble for me. I figure out how I want to do it then I don't need to do it for a while probably just enough time to forget how I was doing it. Well this is how I do it. It is not unique to me. I have learned this from various sources over time and am not sure where exactly.

Renders (3D Max)
Ambient Occlusion - All is visible, no exposure  control and material override with AO material
Shadow- objects not visible. They just need to cast shadows
Color- Visible but not casting shadows

Compositing (order in stack  in AE)
AO - Set mode to multiply
Color - Add a simple choker effect to remove Anti-aliasing (set to about 1)
Shadow- Adjust opacity and add a blur effect to soften

Today I relearned something. It might be little but it caused a little frustration. I am using PF flow to help explain how oil flows through a vane pump. I wanted to have them follow the path exactly. After playing with the settings and not getting anywhere, I decided to change the Emitter icon to length and width of zero. Low and behold it worked. Quick way to  force the particles to follow the assigned path.

OK so this is something new for me. What I have decided to do is post my notes of what I have learned today I hope it may help someone else. I take notes almost everyday of what I am working on and try to document what I have learned. In stead of leaving them all in my note books I am going to post what I hope is the useful stuff. What I do for a living is 3D animation, motion graphics, and video. I have fallen into a interesting niche. I create online training. I use multiple programs to do my work. Here is the list of programs I use. Adobe Creative Suite(After Effects, Premiere, Photoshop, Illustrator,etc), and 3D Studio Max. Today I just starting so we shall see how often I post and what kind of schedule I will be posting on.