Mental Ray or Renderman? or others?

# 1 16-11-2004 , 06:46 PM

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Join Date: Sep 2004

Posts: 23

Hey guys!

I want to get into lighting artist position for feature.
Is it ABSOLUTELY important to become an expert at Renderman?

Is it okay if I demonstrate rendering/lighting skills in Mental ray(maya)?

Do I have to work on POVray, Vray, BMRT, Finalrender etc.?
Cos I've never even seen 'em!

As far as Renderman goes , is there an educational version(free) & how do I get trained on it if it is irreplacable?

Please advise!

Thx!

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# 2 16-11-2004 , 08:06 PM

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I think it's more essential to learn the lighting itself rather than some specific piece of software. Mental Ray ships with Maya and will give you the necessary tools for creating physically correct lighting. I'd start with it. What I'm trying to say is if the lighting is done right, no one will be able to tell what renderer was used. Big studios will propably have they own very customized rendering pipeline anyway...

They key is to be able to "paint" with the light and shadows so that it enhances the mood of the image. Professional photographers are masters in this area. Might be a good idea to read few books on photographing...

Kari
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Do a lot, Fail a lot and Learn a lot!

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# 3 16-11-2004 , 09:59 PM

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Join Date: Sep 2004

Posts: 23

Hey thanks KBrown!
What you mean is even though I spend a lot of time & hardwork to gain proficiency in MR, I still have to be learning the rendering methodologies of every studio that I work for? phew!

No doubt its so much fun , & so much hard work too!

It is great to know that understanding lighting is the key.
Would taking short intense courses on studio photography & using studio lights with light meters & camera settings be of good help?

Cos reading about photograpghy kinda gets lil boring after a while.

Also , is it imperative for me to be an expert at some compositing s/w like combustion/shake?

Thanks for the valuable guidance!

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# 4 17-11-2004 , 12:41 PM

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Join Date: Oct 2002

Location: London, UK

Posts: 2,800

at the end of the day a spotlight in MR is the same as a spotlight in Maya and prman.... what kbrown is correct learn the theory not specific tools then you are much more flexible and attractive to a studio.

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Alan

Technical Director - Framestore

Currently working on: Your Highness

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Mental Ray or Renderman? or others?

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