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PhotoView 360 2010 Tutorial Video: Background Images

PhotoView 360 2010 introduces a lot of new functionality that makes it a more capable product and moves it closer to replacing PhotoWorks in the 2011 release. I’ve created eight tutorial videos in cooperation with SolidWorks to explain and expose users to this new functionality. The videos will be appearing at the SolidWorks Gallery website in the very near future. Until then I’m going to give you a sneak peak at all of them right here at my blog! I’ll be posting one video a day for the next eight days, be sure and check back each day to view them all.

PhotoView 360 2010 adds the ability to use background images in your rendering. Load the image, adjust your model and render. Background images are a quick and easy way to place your model in a real world scene and achieve another level of realism in your rendering. Watch the video to learn how.

Click Image To Play Video

September 28, 2009 Tags: PhotoView 360, Rendering, SolidWorks 2010
Category: PhotoView 360 No Comments

PhotoView 360 2010

As you may have noticed from the other SolidWorks blogs the Solidworks 2010 information embargo expired today (August 24th) and we are now free to discuss any and everything we like about the 2010 release. As I expected most of the other bloggers are providing great coverage of core SolidWorks functionality. What is of most interest to me however is the enhancements to PhotoView 360.

PhotoView 360 first appeared in 2009 as a standalone rendering application for SolidWorks geometry. It was easy to use, had a minimalistic interface, produced very nice looking images quickly and could make almost anyone a rendering pro. PhotoView worked great as long as you worked within it’s capabilities. Unfortunately even the novice user quickly reached PhotoView’s capabilities and the serious PhotoWorks user might have spent some time playing with photoView but for “real” worked relied on PhotoWorks to get the job done. During the 2009 release cycle PhotoView 360 gained some small enhancements (like focal length adjustment) and in SP4.0 added the ability to transfer decals from SolidWorks/PhotoWorks. The decal functionality made PhotoView 360 a much more capable product but clearly we still had a long way to go.

For the 2010 release SolidWorks has focused on adding functionality to expand the capability of PhotoView 360 and they are certainly heading in the right direction. Here are some of the enhancements for 2010.

Scene Control (this end up):
If you’ve ever brought a model into PhotoView 360 and found the “floor” to be in the wrong orientation then you’ll love this enhancement. In PhotoView 360 2010 you now have the ability to control the floor orientation relative to the XYZ coordinates of the model. No longer do you need to go back to SolidWorks to solve this issue. Implementation of this feature is simple, you choose which axis is up and which side is the top (or bottom) and PV360 takes care of the rest.
pv360-2010-view-orientation

Floor Visibility:
Speaking of the floor, you now have some new visibility options to control how the floor behaves. Users can choose to make the floor reflective, shadow casting or simply decide to turn if off and not have it visible at all.

pv360-2010-view-floor

Background Images:
You can now add background images to your renderings right inside of PhotoView 360. Load your background image, adjust the position of your model over the background and render. Background images give you an instant scene to place your model in.

pv360-2010-background

Custom Environments:
PhotoView 360 ships with a variety of environments and the 2010 release also allows you to use any environment you choose. A variety of images types are supported but of course the preferred format is HDR. Maybe you’ve downloaded from the web or created your own environment to create just the lighting you’re looking for? You’re now free to use at will. This is an enhancement PhotoWorks users will really like.

pv360-2010-environment

Camera Views:
Here’s a big one. You can now save your camera views so they can be recalled at a later time. This is one of those enhancements that goes a long way in making PV360 much more usable for “real” work.

pv360-2010-camer-viewst

Camera Projection Type:
Users can now choose what type of projection the camera is using. There is a perspective, orthographic and spherical option. If you’ve PV360 in the past and simply wanted to show a basic front, top, right view as you would in SolidWorks you know it was an impossible task. Not anymore.

pv360-2010-camera-projection

Depth of Field:
A cool affect that allows a user to add an illusion of depth to an image is “depth of field”. Depth of field allows you to define focused and unfocused areas in your image. You can see it being used in the watch image at the beginning of this post.

pv360-2010-dof

Bloom:
Bloom is an effect that gives bright objects or appearances in your image a glowing effect. It’s something I’ve never used before until now and I like the results. The watch image above uses a subtle bloom effect on the bright metal areas of the dial. Can you see the glow?

pv360-2010-bloom

PhotoView 360 has seen a lot of attention for the 2010 release. I’ve covered the major enhancements here and there is also a handful of small features (both from the 2010 release or introduced during the 2009 release cycle) that round out usability. I find myself using PhotoView 360 more and more but I’m still not able to make it my primary renderer. As we all know PhotoWorks is slated for retirement in the 2011 release of SolidWorks and it’s replacement will be the potentially capable but “not quite there yet” PhotoView 360. With this transition on the horizon SolidWorks needs too and has been adding much needed features to PhotoView 360. The 2010 version is a huge step in the right direction but there is still a lot of work that needs to happen before PhotoView 360 can move into the captains seat. Hats off to the team at SolidWorks for introducing new rendering technology into the product line. Keep up the good work guys.

If you’d like to see images created with PhotoView 360 2010 visit the gallery.

August 24, 2009 Tags: PhotoView 360, Rendering, SolidWorks 2010
Category: PhotoView 360, SolidWorks 2010 No Comments

The Retirement of PhotoWorks.

In a recent blog post Matt Lombard breaks the news about the retirement of PhotoWorks after the SolidWorks 2010 release. This news probably doesn’t come as a surprise to most SolidWorks users since I think most expected PhotoView 360 to take over the SolidWorks rendering duties at some point. The announcement really just gives us a definite date of transition from one platform to another. I think the announcement is a bit premature since it will be at least twelve months before the change comes into effect. The announcement brings about the perception PhotoWorks is dead and everyone should jump to PhotoView 360 as soon as possible. The problem being, PhotoView 360 still doesn’t have a deep enough feature set to replace PhotoWorks and until it does a lot of users aren’t going to be able to make the switch. SolidWorks is aware of this and that’s why we still have both options in SolidWorks 2010.

For me and I’m sure a lot of you this announcement actually raises more questions than it answers. I had hoped SolidWorks would come forward and release some specific details of it’s plans for PhotoView 360 2011 but as of yet that hasn’t happened. There has been some vague answers to user questions on the subject at the SolidWorks Forums but for the most part SolidWorks has remained quiet about the whole subject. Makes a person wonder if the information Matt recieved was an honest mistake or a marketing tactic to get people thinking about the product? Either way situations like this lead people to speculate on what’s going to happen and that’s exactly what I’m going to do here. I’m going to list some of the questions I have about the future and then I’m going to speculate as to what I think the answer will be.

Question: Will PhotoView 360 2011 have full integration inside of SolidWorks or will it continue to be a standalone application?

Speculation: I think full integration will happen and I have a couple of reasons. To have more control over appearances SolidWorks has always required you to apply them in SolidWorks and then transfer the appearances into PhotoView 360. You can apply appearances directly in PhotoView 360 but you have limited controls especially with respect to mapping. PhotoView 360 actually has complex mapping ability (from Modo) but it’s hidden to the PhotoView 360 user. I think SolidWorks has dome this purposely knowing at some point in the future PV360 would be fully integrated in the SolidWorks window and there was no need to invest time duplicating functionality. The only way to have Pv360 instantly adapt to changes in the Solidworks model without reloading geometry and appearance information is to have it run within the SolidWorks window.

Question: When will we see an appearance system added to PhotoView 360 that allows for the creation and saving of custom appearances?

Speculation: I think we’ll see this at the same time full integration into the SolidWorks window happens. Again only for the reason of duplication of features. PhotoView 360 has the ability to create very complex appearances (from Modo) but exposing these to the user now would be a duplication of work if /when full SW integration takes place.

Question: If PhotoView 360 does become an integrated product will we still be able to process a render and work in SolidWorks st the same time?

Speculation: I have to think this is one of the most loved features of PhotoView 360 being a stand alone application and I have to believe there has been many a user that has expressed their love for this ability. If it’s technically possible (which I think it probably is) I believe SolidWorks will find a way to make this work.

Question: Will PhotoView 360 be able to create rendered animations like PhotoWorks?

Speculation: I’d have to say, “yes” to this one. There is no way SolidWorks would allow this functionality to disappear with the retirement of PhotoWorks. I don’t know but I have to think this is actually just a matter of pointing Motion Manager to the new rendering platform to render out the frames.

Question: Will we really have to wait until the 2011 release or will some or all of the currently missing functionality show up in 2010 service packs?

Speculation: This is a tough one and I think it could go either way or we may see a little of both. If the announcement was really meant to go public then I think most of the missing features will show up in the 2011 release with a few things appearing in 2010 service packs much like they have in 2009. If the announcement was in fact an accident then I think you’ll see SolidWorks invest more resources and pack the 2010 service packs with PV360 functionality.

Question: Will PhotoView 360 bring more advanced Modo like functionality to the world of SolidWorks rendering and animation?

Speculation: I don’t think so. Maybe on a small scale you see a bit of advanced features (like displacement mapping for example) but overall I think PhotoView 360 is meant to be a capable, easy to use rendering product that gives the beginner and intermediate rendering user the tools they need. For more advanced work the logical step would be Modo and really if you need tools that advanced you’d probably want to move to an application outside of SolidWorks that works with a variety of file types and formats.

So there you have it. These are the thoughts that have been running through my mind since Matt’s post about PhotoWorks retirement. If there’s anything you’d like to add feel free to leave a comment.

Rob

August 11, 2009 Tags: Modo 401, PhotoView 360, PhotoWorks, Rendering, Solidworks
Category: PhotoView 360, PhotoWorks 5 Comments

State of the State

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted so I thought I’d give a run down of what’s been happening with me. A “State of the State “or maybe a “State of the Rob” is a better way to put it. This could turn into a lengthy post so I’ve broken it up into sections, in no particular order for easier reading.

Rendering:
Life just wouldn’t be life if I weren’t working on one, two, three or more renderings at any given time. The image on the left is a rendering I completed a few weeks ago. It was created using PhotoView 360. The decal support added in SW 2009 SP4 really helped out with this image. The circuit board, screen, warning labels and text were all done using decals and they really add to the realism. I still wouldn’t say Pv360 is a PhotoWorks replacement but it’s becoming more capable with every service pack. Here is another image created with Pv360, and another and another.

Beta 2010:
SolidWorks 2010 Beta was released a while ago and I was excited to get it installed and up and running. My main reason for this was to see what’s new in PhotoView 360. After a little exploring it turns out there have been some good things added to SolidWorks as well. I like the direction PhotoView 360 is headed and of course since everything is still in beta I’m bound by NDA not to discuss it. That’s OK because your able to join beta, download the software and see for yourself what’s coming in the next release. The beta program has moved into phase 2 and there are still some good prizes up for grabs if you want to give the contest a shot.

Modo:
Modo 401was released a couple of months ago and I purchased my copy soon after. The 401 version of Modo has the SolidWorks importer found in PhotoView 360 so it’s as easy as “file/open” to import your SolidWorks files into Modo. My primary reason for purchasing Modo is to gain rendering and animation capabilities not currently found in these SolidWorks tools. Modo doesn’t disappoint in these areas and I think you’re really only bound by your imagination or lack of. I’m finding the learning curve for Modo is a little steep since it’s really a completely different way of thinking than using SolidWorks. I haven’t had as much time as I would like to learn Modo but I’m plugging away as much as possible and hope to be able to show you some test stuff soon. There is a really good discussion on Modo and PhotoView 360 taking place in the SolidWorks forums you might want to check out. There are also some other SolidWorks users I know taking the Modo plunge. One of them is Paul McCrorey. Like me Paul has been bitten by the rendering bug and he has traveled farther into the world of Modo than I have. You can see his first attempts here. Not bad for a guy who’s only owned Modo for a month!

Blogger Event:
Most of the other bloggers have already posted about the blogger event held at SolidWorks last week. I was there as well and had a really great time. It’s always nice to catch up with the other bloggers face to face. The real reason for our trip was to learn about SolidWorks 2010 before the actual public release so when the time comes we can give you (the SolidWorks community) good information about the new functionality. Most of the day Tuesday (about 6 hours of it) was spent with Jeremy Regnerus covering what’s inside the new release. It was a great session, I’m glad we had it since it’s easy to overlook new important functionality if you’re not specifically looking for it. I was also able to spend a couple hours Tuesday afternoon going over more PhotoView 360 information. That was pretty exciting for me. We were also able to meet a number of the SolidWorks employees from product management, product definition, marketing, and upper level management. A lot of these folks I already know and it’s good to touch base with them from time to time. Devon Sowell has some great pictures with names if you’re the type of person who likes to place names with faces.

During our couple days at SolidWorks we were able to have lunch with Jeff Ray and basically ask whatever questions we wanted. The topic of subscription service (or maintenance) was brought up and I’m not sure I really liked the answers we were given. I’ve been pretty critical of subscription services since this blog first appeared and have written articles on the subject in the past. I don’t really want to re-hash everything that has been said before because it always seems to lead to the same results. Nothing changes. So to move forward to where the subject stands today, Jeff let us know that changes are in the works for the subscription service and those changes include more features being added to the service. Jeff also let us know that VAR performance is taken very seriously and SolidWorks is working with VAR’s to improve their service to customers. It’s good to hear SolidWorks is working on adding more “value” to the subscription service and that VARs are going to be offering enhanced support but I really feel SolidWorks is not addressing the real issue. The real issue in my opinion is the lack of a structured subscription program in which customers are able to choose the level of service they need. I though this was made pretty clear by the user community during past subscription debates at various locations on the web. I’m not sure if SolidWorks is choosing not to address this specific issue or really doesn’t understand the core problem but either way it didn’t sound to me like a “pay for what you use” subscription service system was happening any time soon.

NYC:
Knowing that all work and no play is no fun my wife and I were able to spend a weekend in NewYork City. Neither of us had ever been to NYC and we really had a great time. We stayed in Times Square and acted like total tourist visiting as many things as we could while there. The Empire State Building was really just incredible and the view was amazing. We also stopped by the Chrysler building, Grand Central Station, The museum of Modern Art, a couple churches, Central Park, The Intrepid, Hell’s Kitchen and walked what seemed like 50 miles. One other little perk we found is a bit odd but I’ll share it with you anyway. About 5 years ago while visiting my sister in Colorado I stumbled onto this little burrito shop named Chipotle. Chipotle basically makes the best damn burrito you’ve ever tasted. Chipotle franchised itself on a small scale and was then bought out by McDonald’s and is franchising across the country. So whenever I travel now I check to see if there is a Chipotle in town so I can stop in and satisfy my “best damn burrito” craving. Turns out NYC has a Chipotle at the the base of The Empire State Building. How lucky is that! .

August 10, 2009 Tags: Modo 401, PhotoView 360, PhotoWorks, SolidWorks 2010
Category: misc., PhotoView 360, Uncategorized 2 Comments

PhotoView 360 SP 4.0 Adds Decal Support!

Please use Internet Explorer to view the video. If using Internet Explorer and the video seems to hang after the “loading screen cast” icon is shown (”done” will be displayed in the lower left corner) use the browser refresh button and the video will reload and play.

June 10, 2009 Tags: PhotoView 360, PhotoWorks, Rendering
Category: PhotoView 360 3 Comments

New PhotoView 360 Video Tutorials

Clicking the “Gallery” icon in PhotoView 360 takes you to the SolidWorks gallery.com website. Up until now this website has been just what it’s named, a gallery of images. That changed today when a collection of PhotoView 360 video tutorials were made available. There are 7 tutorials in all. The 5 tutorials in the “general” area cover the basics and the “tips and tricks” tutorials branch out into intermediate topics. If you’re a new PhotoView 360 user this is a great place to quickly come up to speed with the software. If you’re not a person who renders their models but does use RealView to color or texture your model for a more realistic effect I recommend watching the “Appearance Hierarchy 2.0” tutorial in the tips and tricks area. there’s some helpful information in there for all SolidWorks users.

April 14, 2009 Tags: PhotoView 360, PhotoWorks, Rendering, Solidworks
Category: PhotoView 360, PhotoWorks, Solidworks Learning Resources 1 Comment

PhotoView360 vs PhotoWorks: Environments & Lighting

This is the third of five posts in a series covering photoView 360 and PhotoWorks. I’ve decided the best way to compare the two software’s is to break the rendering process down into five basic topics.

These topics will be:

· setting up materials

· setting up your rendering view

· setting up environments & lighting

· image output

· user interface.

Each day this week a blog post will appear covering a different area from the list. Check back each day to find out more of my thoughts on how PhotoView 360 compares to PhotoWorks.

PhotoView 360 vs PhotoWorks: Setting up lighting and environments.

PhotoView 360. To set up your lighting in photoView 360 you choose from a number of pre-defined environments. The environments are pre-defined rooms if you will that contain a floor and an HDR image. All the environment lighting in PhotoView 360 is accomplished buy using HDR images. The exception to this is the “light” materials which allow you to make any piece of geometry a light source where you have control over the color and intensity. This makes lighting set up in PV360 very quick and easy. It’s also very easy to try different lighting set ups since it only requires a double click to change out environments. The only control the user has over environments is their rotation with respect to the model. This allows the user to change the lighting on the model by rotating the environment image. The user does have the ability to raise or lower the floor but does not have control over where the floor is in relationship to the model (XY plane, YZ, plane XZ plane). If your model is orientated incorrectly to the floor position in PhotoView 360 you’ll have to go back to SolidWorks and adjust your model position to change this in PV 360. The stock environments are good and a novice user can produce some excellent quality images in minutes.

PhotoView 360 does not have the ability to let the user create their own environments using their own HDR images. You also can’t add your own background image behind your model in photoView 360. I find this very frustrating.

PhotoWorks. PhotoWorks has a number of methods to set up lighting and environments. You have the option of using direct lighting from SolidWorks lights, using image based lighting or creating your own studios by modeling light boxes and applying the “light” appearances to the geometry. You’re not limited to using just one type of lighting and I find the best method is to use combinations of lighting types. PhotoWorks also has a number of pre-defined environments (or rooms) and you are free to create your own as well. PhotoWorks gives you many more adjustments for orientating your room to your model geometry and you also have the ability to use your own background images and HDR images for lighting.

The environment and lighting settings in PhotoWorks have always been a source of confusion for users because finding and understanding the controls to set these items up can be difficult. Since lighting and environment set up can really “make or break” a rendering stumbling here can give you less than desirable results.

PhotoView 360 vs PhotoWorks in lighting and environment set up. This is a tough one to call. Ease of use has to go to PhotoView 360 and this directly translates into higher quality renderings even for first time user. Depth of feature set and controls has to go to PhotoWorks. PhotoWorks has the more advanced controls users need to create true professional renderings. Choosing a winner here depends on what you place more value on, super easy to use or more control over your set up.

October 8, 2008 Category: PhotoView 360 No Comments