Memory / texture issues

# 1 30-08-2008 , 10:26 PM

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Akk! I have this model: a castle I built. I’ve laid out UVs and begun to texture. I’m trying to test my texture. I create a file node, attach the test jpg, place2dTexture node, and connect the file node to (for now) a lambert, which I then drop onto my model. I get the following output:

Script Editor:
Dropped lambert2 onto polySurface31 //
// Error: Image conversion (to IFF) failed //
// Error: Free memory is low. Memory exception thrown //

When I start maya, I get this output in the output window:

Cause of Memory Exception
1705 Mb free mem
2048 Mb free swap
244 Mb size of a (?)

My system:
Athlon 64 X2 4200+
3 GB RAM
GeForce 7600 softmoded to Quadro FX 1700

The file’s image size is 8000x8000.

The image will not display in the viewport on shade w/ texture settings, and upon render, the image is just black.
The files are not corrupt on the file system side.

It seems that SOMETHING is filling up my memory, but according to all my meters it isn’t full.

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Peter Srinivasan
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# 2 31-08-2008 , 04:56 AM

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However, I just confirmed that a 4k x 4k image will work fine. Does an 8x8 really fill up memory that much? According to my meters it doesn't seem to :< but experience says otherwise.

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Peter Srinivasan
Producer

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# 3 31-08-2008 , 06:08 AM

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you can use an 8K texture if you go to the perferances and change them to 8K.., 4 K is default from memory (mine user added image

)

take it easy and life will be easy

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# 4 31-08-2008 , 06:51 AM

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First: thanks! That answered a different ? I'd had: why do large file nodes appear as PSD default image in hypershade!

Unfortunately, that is inconsequential in light of the fact that I can not do what I must do: applying an 8k to a file node crashes maya with a "Low Free Memory" error in MEL status bar and a popup "The app* has requested to close in an unusual way..." box. I closed photoshop while trying to apply the tex.

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Peter Srinivasan
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# 5 31-08-2008 , 08:52 PM

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And finally: I also cannot take UV snapshots larger than 4k, which means I have to export at 4k and resize to 8k to make a tex then resize that down to 4k. Ideally, I'd snapshot at 8k, make tex at 8k, and import for texturing at 8k :<

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Peter Srinivasan
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# 6 31-08-2008 , 09:50 PM

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A way you can do it is to break the geo up into several pieces with a 4k texture on each.
Most likely best to make 2 textures, one for the final render of 4k or 8k and one for scene preview of say 1k or 2k.
when using the large textures render from the command line with Maya closed and no other Ram intensive apps open either and you might get there.

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# 7 01-09-2008 , 02:20 AM

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So, lets say a break it into 4 4k's for the final render: I would use 4 file nodes, each with their own 2dPlacement node, all going into some kind of uvCombine node (which is... ?) and place each within the uv space w/ no repeating, apply that tex to the castle?

Also, attached is a pic of castle as it stands. I will be doing many things, including but not limited to:

Adding tex to doors.
Adding catapults to the towers
Adding a LOT of variation in overall brick tex:
- Weathering under windows
- The outer wall was built after the inner one, w/ a different design, and different material, so that'll change color.
- Add bump map (procedural - for added detail on close-ups, UV - for brick shadowing) and possibly displacement map (for brick shadows [if I do this, I won't have a uvBumpMap for the bricks])

This project is for a friends senior theses: Robin Hood... most of the castle shots will be long shots as seen in the render I uploaded.

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Peter Srinivasan
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# 8 01-09-2008 , 04:59 AM

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thats a big job you have got going there.., looks great!! dig to see i up a bit closer when you work out your issues.

oh yea, you could run a pre and post render mel scripts to change from a low res texture to a high res at render time if your textures crash your puter.

take it easy and life will be easy

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# 9 01-09-2008 , 05:15 AM

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oooh. Interesting. I wish I actually knew enough MEL to do that. Unfortunately, as I am primarily a producer and sound designer, who is in school, no less, I haven't the time :< Right now I'm adding weathering to the bricks. I wish I had a Wacom! How that would keep my hand from bleeding. Anyway, I'll see about splitting it up. Is it possible to write a Photoshop script that will automatically break an 8k into four 4ks? Or of course allow you to tell it how many pieces to break any file into? Then save to any loaded file output plugin? That'd be pretty cool, for us who don't have a render farm.

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Peter Srinivasan
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# 10 01-09-2008 , 07:15 AM

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i only know a couple of MEL commands.., generally i need to look them up. google is good. just type in the question.., how do i

as for the PS script.., you mean an 'applett' or whatever they are called?? i should imagine anything possible and yes.., great idea.., as long as the textures were the same size.., but i suppose you could write it as 'percent.'

funny, im a sound designer at school too.., went from sound at uni and about.., (even the odd nomination for best sound designer here and there.., never won.., oh yea.., once i won a $500 pair of headphones.., very nice) to CGI at TAFE.

i think it just a simple matter of cropping the image and overlapping the plates so there is no seam. you will need to overlap around 10-15%. (so i hear user added image

)

take it easy and life will be easy

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# 11 01-09-2008 , 02:38 PM

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Really? Didn't expect the overlap. Any idea why? That interests me. Yeah, I'm both the sound designer AND VFX supervisor for a 40+ minute Robin Hood, which is of course a period epic... it's going to be killer. I might just have to start a WIP for it.

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Peter Srinivasan
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# 12 02-09-2008 , 01:07 AM

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its simple.., you cat make it steamless without the overlap.., think about it.., i guess you could try and match the plates perfectly..., but..!!??

personally im ditching CGI except for a hobby and going back to sound.., too many apps.., jack of all trades and master of none.., my fingers have been thumbing about protools (got a few gigs suddenly) you wouldnt get me in a pushy post house doing rotscope 100 hr weeks in a blue fit these days, once i did think of it.., but im not a gunsliger. i could bare audio.., AND my ego tells me its over 50% of the movie.., whether anyone outside sound or film know it.., we know it. mores the point i like them both but audio comes out on top.

the movie sounds cool.., WIP it.., looks very cool so far.

take it easy and life will be easy

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Memory / texture issues

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