JoshJ Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 (edited) It has taken me a few years now of learning Houdini by myself off and on, to finally get a firm grasp on the benefits of using mantra. Why? Because the really good tips are scattered all around, in various forums over the course of several years and hundreds of threads, maybe a few in mailing lists, then you need to read some renderman books to get some things, etc. So it would be nice to have something like this for mantra. It seems every day I learn something new about mantra, yet it would be nice to learn it all at once! VRay: THE COMPLETE GUIDE http://www.treddi.com/forum/index.php?auto...=vray_the_guide If side effects doesn't do it, maybe it could be an collective odforce publication or something...? Edited January 21, 2009 by joshjordan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nibbler Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 (edited) "Weight: 2.9 kg" damn p.s But the idea is cool Edited January 21, 2009 by Nibbler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abvfx Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 yep... im now envious. We need one for mantra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
symek Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 yep... im now envious. We need one for mantra. I don't think there could be anything like complete guide to Mantra... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zasid Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Sounds like a good idea ,I would love to see Anamous sharing techniques in that lolzz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_K Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 It would be especially good if we could get all the heavyweights to provide insights on using Mantra in production - specifically the hacks & bits of magic & things that only experience can impart. :whistling: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
altbighead Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Agreed. Agreed to write a book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anamous Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 I actually think that this could work as a community effort (something like the wiki, but more geared towards actual production). But it requires a plan: first, we need to capture Mario and Jason, and keep them in safe, hygienic conditions, I imagine something like a chicken farm setup... In all seriousness, we should really approach this topic. cheers, Abdelkareem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zasid Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 I actually think that this could work as a community effort (something like the wiki, but more geared towards actual production). But it requires a plan: first, we need to capture Mario and Jason, and keep them in safe, hygienic conditions, I imagine something like a chicken farm setup... In all seriousness, we should really approach this topic. cheers, Abdelkareem offcourse they are very very important ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realer Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 this would be very helpfull, especially all those little unknown tips&tricks.. like that delayed load only gives memory advantages for undisplaced objects (as mentioned in the mantra masterclass video) i guess there are tons of such little unknown things in mantra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Marengo Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 But it requires a plan: first, we need to capture Mario and Jason, and keep them in safe, hygienic conditions, I imagine something like a chicken farm setup... Hygiene is for the weak! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
symek Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Hygiene is for the weak! AXYZ headquarter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhaveshpandey Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 great idea.. looking forth for a book or sort of wiki like assorted info.. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 But it requires a plan: first, we need to capture Mario and Jason, and keep them in safe, hygienic conditions, I imagine something like a chicken farm setup... Says the guy who's going to be right in there with them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterr Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Well, I did have a plan to generate a series of books, still would like to, but obviously got distracted and fell down on the job. It was meant as a collaborative effort, some of you likely remember that I contacted you. Marc and Jason provided a bit of forum space for the purpose. I think it remains a valid means of generating a publication. I'd like to help as an editor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
symek Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 (edited) Well, I did have a plan to generate a series of books, still would like to, but obviously got distracted and fell down on the job.It was meant as a collaborative effort, some of you likely remember that I contacted you. Marc and Jason provided a bit of forum space for the purpose. I think it remains a valid means of generating a publication. I'd like to help as an editor. I think the starting point would be (beside the one proposed by Abdelkareem), to scratch "Table of Content".Asking right question is a half way to good answer. Since thanks to odforce team, wiki machinery is already on place, nothing can stop us to set up dedicated page on it. I would even go futher with that habitual optimism saying that it is enough to skim through some Tables of Content of well written materials to get an idea in which place we should start. Perhaps the best tutorial on rendering (tech. explanation for artists) I've ever saw was mental ray pdf attached to XSI. Very extensive and clear (about 120 pages long). Divide and conquer. Of course the question remains, who will conquer vast body of Mantra after dividing it into tiny monsters. Edited January 25, 2009 by SYmek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Marengo Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 A Mantra reference bible would be a tremendous asset to all Houdini users, I agree. However, Mantra is very much a moving target at the moment (has been and will continue to be for a while I think) -- it's constantly evolving and getting better and better all the time. The unfortunate side effect of this progress is a continually changing set of interfaces and approaches to solving some rendering problems. IOW, not fertile ground for a book which aspires to present "The Ultimate Mantra Reference". I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that probably 1/4 of the contents of such a book would become obsolete within a year -- heck, some details will likely become obsolete or deprecated even as the book is being written. At some point, I'm sure the bigger structural chunks will settle down enough to justify that kind of large undertaking, but I don't think we're there yet. Until that time, an on-line format that can afford to be fluid is probably the only way to go. Problem is, that either format will require very large time commitments from all contributors, and that's very much a non-trivial constant that has to be dealt with either way. At least that's how I see things at the moment... but who knows, maybe 9.7 will change everything again Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Chaput Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Perhaps the best tutorial on rendering (tech. explanation for artists) I've ever saw was mental ray pdf attached to XSI. Very extensive and clear (about 120 pages long). Is it available on the web? I'd like to take a look and see what level they wrote it at. Cheers, Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Marengo Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Is it available on the web? I'd like to take a look and see what level they wrote it at.Cheers, Matt I think he's talking about this document(pdf). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.