1) Why do you just focus on AC's Lightworks engine which does not contain radiosity?
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The book is aimed at ArchiCAD users employing the LightWorks rendering engine. I may have another book next year concerning Artlantis, and perhaps even yet another one after that concerning Maxwell Render, but am not at liberty to discuss that. Both products aren't quite ready. You'll see why.
Do you think radiosity is not necessary or are you showing ways to approximate it?
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I am showing simple ways to make the best possible renderings from LightWorks. ArchiCAD is not the best illustration product. Radiosity in LightWorks may or may not become available as well as the remainder of the wonderful LightWorks capacity shown in other applications.
I believe that radiosity is a wonderful thing. It's just not quick. Many radiosity renderings rely on some artifice that find annoying, even though it is beautiful. The light never dies. Boingyboingyboingy. It's this eternal energy that won't quit. It makes everything look like a photo studio. Fine if you like that sort of thing. (Radiosity Movie Idea : Light of the Living Dead.)
ArchiCAD users need quick simple solutions to design illustration.... and it should be directly linked to the materials and lighting schemes with the program. This book is for designers, not illustrators - go get another career, already. That is what it takes to be good. If you really like computer illustration, give up architecture! Make some real coin! Then you face having no-talent jerks telling you that they "can't use" your rendering and aren't going to pay. Excuse me while I had out to my Resentment Anonymous meeting.
I'm back.
2) Do you show how to fine tune textures and bring them in from other sources?
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Yes. But LightWorks should really operate from the shaders, not that you can do much realistic with them.
3) Do you cover the placement of real bitmaped vegetation and entourage in the model or photoshop and how to produce the finished composite rendering?
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There's a whole chapter called "Tricks" where we do all this stuff. Bitmaps, schmitmaps, Poser, NPR content, dancing on the head of a pin, Onyx Tree Pro, non-realistic images (thanks to Mabe for the idea), context placement of an ArchiCAD model and culminating with an exercise called "The Most Wonderful Rendering In The Universe (considering the circumstances)!"
4)Why have you chosen not to include Artlantis and other radiosity renderers in the workflow to get more realism.
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There's only 200 pages in the book and I'm convinced that this fantastic product will be great value to my readers: you guys. Artlantis, Schmantis!
5) Would you say that this book supersedes your previous book?
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Yes, because the technology has changed so much, but the basic principles haven't. It is about 80% dealing with the new technology - rendering - lighting - surfaces - and about 20% addressing photoshop techniques originally shown in the first book, but performed using Adobe Photoshop CS2.
Dwight Atkinson