Luxology modo
I want to tell you about one great program for working with 3D graphics.
Immediately make a reservation: I know that this is not news and not even the first review of the program, but mine.
I think we should start with a small company Luxology , which is developing it.
')
The story began in 2001, when internal disagreements arose in NewTek, the developer of the popular 3D LightWave package. Key engineers insisted on a full LightWave census. As a result of these tensions, Brad Peebler, vice president of 3D development, left the company to establish Luxology. He was joined by the founding fathers of LightWave, Allen Hastings and Stuart Ferguson, and most of the programming team. This move caused a wave of indignation, in particular, fans of LightWave.
After three years of hard work, modo was presented at the main exhibition for those interested in computer graphics at Siggraph. In September 2004, the first version of the program was released, which was designed exclusively for 3D modeling.
Why do I need to rewrite something that works so well? One of the reasons is that programs like LightWave were invented and written almost 20 years ago, when we didn’t have any multicore processors, no powerful video cards, or other joys of progress. A fresh look at things made it possible to see the bottlenecks in existing solutions. So was born the Nexus.
Nexus is a “cross-platform, layered, generalized architecture for the rapid development of 2D and 3D media applications.” Generalization plays a very important role in this architecture. The principles laid down at the deep level are then used throughout the program. At the very first level, all that matters is the objects (items), their properties (channels) and time. Anything can be an object: a camera, a mesh, a quick-time video - for Nexus this does not matter. This condition of maximum generalization is important for each new layer of the system. If developers add a new feature, then it automatically expands the functionality of other tools. If we compare this with existing programs for 3D-graphics, the advantages of this approach become crystal clear. Over the years, programs are overgrown with new features, but their integration with old tools often leaves much to be desired.
So, modo is the brainchild of Nexus. The developers spend all their time in Nexus. And when some features reach a more or less polished look, they are “baked” in the next release of modo. Moreover, Luxology licenses the Nexus architecture to other companies. This allows you to simultaneously develop several applications, and do it all centrally. So cool rendering got into such huge (by the number of users) products, like SolidWorks (CAD for mechanical engineering) and MicroStation (CAD for construction).
Well, enough about Nexus. Let's talk about what is so special in modo, and why I suddenly decided to write this review.
On the technical side, modo fast rendering. And it scales linearly. That is, if you use four instead of one processor, the rendering will speed up 4 times. Also, modo can handle almost any resolution renders. There is also a bunch of OpenGL joys. For example, drawing displacement maps in projection windows.
But this is not the most important thing in modo. The main impression is made by the interface, or rather, what is called the English word workflow. But about him a little later.
When you start the program, we are already greeted by a surprise: no 3-minute splash screen with a fascinating listing of downloadable libraries. It opens almost instantly. The modo interface itself is a collection of viewports, each of which can be anything. You can build your own interface literally. You simply make an empty viewport, then divide it as you please and tell each created viewport what to show it (3D window, list of objects or materials, toolbar or properties, etc.). You can, for example, make a separate editor of materials to your taste. The advantage of such a system is that you are free from a dozen overlapping windows. There are practically no modal windows.
3D is a tricky thing. But working with a complex thing can be simplified. The creators of modo wondered not “whether users can complete the task,” but “how quickly users can complete the task.
For example, such a simple thing as selecting objects. What the artist uses every minute. In modo, double-clicking on an edge highlights a chain of edges. Double click on a polygon - all connected polygons. Yes, that simple. Or for example, work with materials. Here is one universal shader. For everything. And the creation and organization of materials in the scene is very similar to the work in Photoshop: familiar layers and masks. Or, for example, the process of UV unloved by many. modo is one of the first programs where this process was reduced to a couple of clicks.
Modeling, sculpture, painting, fur and hair - all this is done in one program and in parallel. No need to convert and drag a model from one application to another to paint on the texture. But even if necessary, no one is against it.
A separate item is a preview, in which you can explore a scene in realtime with GI, HDRI, displacement, diffuse reflections / refractions, caustics, volumetrics lights. I will not even say how comfortable it is and how it unties my hands.
What is not yet in modo, but soon will be: character animation (bones, skinning), particles / fluids, dynamics. But now the soil prepared for these modules (animation, rigging, replicator particles) is clearly felt. And in general, when you work, you never stop wondering at the wit of people, when you see how tightly the instruments are intertwined. Character's hair, jungle thickets, a megacity to the horizon, a blizzard - the technology under the hood is the same.
modo is used in a huge number of famous studios. Remember Eve from Wall-E? And "District 9", "Avatar" watched? Of course, it is impossible to use modo as the main tool in film and video production for purely technical reasons. But the philosophy of Luxology: "Play well with others." This means that no one is going to pull the blanket over himself. In large studios, people work on different tasks, each of which has its own hammer. Nevertheless, the developers of Luxology do not sit still, so we still have to see what they are working on now.
Yes, of course, the program is not without flaws. But I suggest you look for them independently and individually. It all depends on which program you used to work with and whether you have solid habits.
About modo, and about Luxology itself you can write a lot more interesting. But I'd better stop spoiling and suggest further to sort out myself. A ton of video lessons is available to anyone on the official website. Every week on Friday, President-Director Brad Peebler puts a modcast on Luxology's website , where you can learn about all the latest news and listen to a good deal of chatter :)
Collected by slightly from various sources and personal experiences.
Immediately make a reservation: I know that this is not news and not even the first review of the program, but mine.
I think we should start with a small company Luxology , which is developing it.
')
The story began in 2001, when internal disagreements arose in NewTek, the developer of the popular 3D LightWave package. Key engineers insisted on a full LightWave census. As a result of these tensions, Brad Peebler, vice president of 3D development, left the company to establish Luxology. He was joined by the founding fathers of LightWave, Allen Hastings and Stuart Ferguson, and most of the programming team. This move caused a wave of indignation, in particular, fans of LightWave.
After three years of hard work, modo was presented at the main exhibition for those interested in computer graphics at Siggraph. In September 2004, the first version of the program was released, which was designed exclusively for 3D modeling.
Why do I need to rewrite something that works so well? One of the reasons is that programs like LightWave were invented and written almost 20 years ago, when we didn’t have any multicore processors, no powerful video cards, or other joys of progress. A fresh look at things made it possible to see the bottlenecks in existing solutions. So was born the Nexus.
Nexus is a “cross-platform, layered, generalized architecture for the rapid development of 2D and 3D media applications.” Generalization plays a very important role in this architecture. The principles laid down at the deep level are then used throughout the program. At the very first level, all that matters is the objects (items), their properties (channels) and time. Anything can be an object: a camera, a mesh, a quick-time video - for Nexus this does not matter. This condition of maximum generalization is important for each new layer of the system. If developers add a new feature, then it automatically expands the functionality of other tools. If we compare this with existing programs for 3D-graphics, the advantages of this approach become crystal clear. Over the years, programs are overgrown with new features, but their integration with old tools often leaves much to be desired.
“Instead of simply introducing new technologies that users want, we need to understand why they want these technologies”
Stuart Ferguson, Chief Technology Officer
So, modo is the brainchild of Nexus. The developers spend all their time in Nexus. And when some features reach a more or less polished look, they are “baked” in the next release of modo. Moreover, Luxology licenses the Nexus architecture to other companies. This allows you to simultaneously develop several applications, and do it all centrally. So cool rendering got into such huge (by the number of users) products, like SolidWorks (CAD for mechanical engineering) and MicroStation (CAD for construction).
Well, enough about Nexus. Let's talk about what is so special in modo, and why I suddenly decided to write this review.
On the technical side, modo fast rendering. And it scales linearly. That is, if you use four instead of one processor, the rendering will speed up 4 times. Also, modo can handle almost any resolution renders. There is also a bunch of OpenGL joys. For example, drawing displacement maps in projection windows.
But this is not the most important thing in modo. The main impression is made by the interface, or rather, what is called the English word workflow. But about him a little later.
When you start the program, we are already greeted by a surprise: no 3-minute splash screen with a fascinating listing of downloadable libraries. It opens almost instantly. The modo interface itself is a collection of viewports, each of which can be anything. You can build your own interface literally. You simply make an empty viewport, then divide it as you please and tell each created viewport what to show it (3D window, list of objects or materials, toolbar or properties, etc.). You can, for example, make a separate editor of materials to your taste. The advantage of such a system is that you are free from a dozen overlapping windows. There are practically no modal windows.
3D is a tricky thing. But working with a complex thing can be simplified. The creators of modo wondered not “whether users can complete the task,” but “how quickly users can complete the task.
For example, such a simple thing as selecting objects. What the artist uses every minute. In modo, double-clicking on an edge highlights a chain of edges. Double click on a polygon - all connected polygons. Yes, that simple. Or for example, work with materials. Here is one universal shader. For everything. And the creation and organization of materials in the scene is very similar to the work in Photoshop: familiar layers and masks. Or, for example, the process of UV unloved by many. modo is one of the first programs where this process was reduced to a couple of clicks.
Modeling, sculpture, painting, fur and hair - all this is done in one program and in parallel. No need to convert and drag a model from one application to another to paint on the texture. But even if necessary, no one is against it.
A separate item is a preview, in which you can explore a scene in realtime with GI, HDRI, displacement, diffuse reflections / refractions, caustics, volumetrics lights. I will not even say how comfortable it is and how it unties my hands.
What is not yet in modo, but soon will be: character animation (bones, skinning), particles / fluids, dynamics. But now the soil prepared for these modules (animation, rigging, replicator particles) is clearly felt. And in general, when you work, you never stop wondering at the wit of people, when you see how tightly the instruments are intertwined. Character's hair, jungle thickets, a megacity to the horizon, a blizzard - the technology under the hood is the same.
modo is used in a huge number of famous studios. Remember Eve from Wall-E? And "District 9", "Avatar" watched? Of course, it is impossible to use modo as the main tool in film and video production for purely technical reasons. But the philosophy of Luxology: "Play well with others." This means that no one is going to pull the blanket over himself. In large studios, people work on different tasks, each of which has its own hammer. Nevertheless, the developers of Luxology do not sit still, so we still have to see what they are working on now.
Yes, of course, the program is not without flaws. But I suggest you look for them independently and individually. It all depends on which program you used to work with and whether you have solid habits.
About modo, and about Luxology itself you can write a lot more interesting. But I'd better stop spoiling and suggest further to sort out myself. A ton of video lessons is available to anyone on the official website. Every week on Friday, President-Director Brad Peebler puts a modcast on Luxology's website , where you can learn about all the latest news and listen to a good deal of chatter :)
Collected by slightly from various sources and personal experiences.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/76390/
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