New 3DS Max Tutorial:  

Terrain modeling in 3DS Max using Displacement mapping.

http://www.onion3d.com/Tutorials/Terrain-tutorial.html

There are many ways of modeling topography, but in this case, with out GIS or even CAD data available we had to turn to a traditional method. . . 

Rendering speed test

The Need for Speed

This was a side project that explored animating environments using the simplest tools possible. I chose the default Scanline renderer in 3DS Max, because I wanted to see how quickly I could render out full HD frames. What would have taken VRay of Mental Ray 10 -16 minutes a frame Scanline churned out in less than a minute each.

The VRay version was prettier, but I never bothered rendering it all out. Sometimes there's just a need for speed...

Concept image:Retail

  Reebok Flagship retail design

This one was a side project using 3DS Max and Mental Ray.

I started in in SketchUp, though . . .

New Build animation study

Here's a new build animation of a pair of office towers. This was rendered to HD, then scaled down. See recent Show Reel at http://www.onion3d.com/motion.html

Augmented Reality - Everyone's Doing It

As 3D artists we've mostly all heard about augmented reality. According to Wikipedia, augmented reality is defined as “a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are augmented by virtual computer-generated imagery.”

If your a Sketchup or Max user and you haven't looked into the plugins available check out these links.

AR Media

Try the free plugins for 3ds max and Sketchup.

maxReality plugin by Vuzix

Not cheap, but there may be a demo.

Mech Attack

This is a clip of a Mech Warrior under attack on a city street. The sequence is made up of 4 shots, as seen from 3 cameras, including hand-held, stationary and aerial.  Turn up the sound, too.

The modeling & animation was done using 3ds max. Composting, sound and editing done in After Effects & Premiere.

Although a departure from ArchViz work, this project was fun and used some of the animation tools in the newest max version.

Burton

This a clip of my favorite blue elephant, Burton. He's a box model done in 3ds max.