[kyote]

I'm upgrading my hardware to accommodate an advanced matte painting course. I'm not able to work at the school facility so I need a good home system. Seems I need a good piece of Ram to work in Vue for this class...it was suggested 16GB. What do you pros think?..all my other software is mac based. Should I drop down to get a Pro tower with a higher GB than that?...or stick to imac that only goes up to 16GB?....or any other suggestions would be great to hear...big investment and wanted to hear some feedback before I do this?....:)

Thanks
K.

[Alex Jenyon]

I have yet to have a computer with more than 12GB of RAM, and I'm a pretty regular Vue user. More computing power is always better, obviously, but on my last job I was given an imac with 8GB of RAM, and it served it's purpose. Studios don't have the money to buy cutting-edge computers for everyone either, and the imac is actually quite a capable machine. My 3-yr old macbook Pro with 2GB still trundles through Vue renders when I need it to.

Unless you are planning on doing simulation (FX) work, working as a freelance CG generalist, or rendering animations from Vue (not recommended whatever computer you own TBH), I'd say a very high end tower is probably overkill for matte painting.

I'm sure there are lots of differing opinions on this one (including the 'imacs are rubbish - Buy a PC' brigade), but my advice would be to buy the best setup you can realistically afford, and not break the bank to get that little extra speed boost - it's probably not worth it.

My 2 cents.

Alex

[kyote]

Thanks much for the feedback Alex!

I thought anything over 16 was a bit much...I was hoping I could stick to the imac...

"simulation (FX) work, working as a freelance CG generalist, or rendering animations from Vue"

I have never used Vue before..are you suggesting waterfalls, clouds, camera moves when you say animations within Vue? and another question...does nuke and Vue work together nicely?

thanks again I appreciate it...

[nickmarshallvfx]

imacs are rubbish - buy a PC!

No, in seriousness Alex is right. I run a 12GB system at home and it always does just fine. And whatever platform you prefer is really your choice. I run a PC with windows because im used to it, its a bit cheaper, and it matches my setup at work so I have one less set of hotkeys to remember ;)

As for Vue, any animation (including camera moves) typically brings Vue to its knees. It is possible, but it can be a nightmare. Its great for creating elements for your paintings though. I dont know what the integration with Nuke is like, ive never attempted a streamlined workflow straight between the two.

Anyway, hope it helps!

[Alex Jenyon]

I avoid rendering more than a single frame with Vue whenever possible, and do any camera moves as projected paintings in Nuke. Over 10 hours for a single frame is not unusual, so rendering an image sequence would be pure tedium.

Moving data between Nuke and Vue is fairly straightforward, especially if you have maya to use as a bridge between the two. I've got a small script for matching projection cameras directly between Vue and Nuke - PM me if you find a need for it.

EDIT: Vue doesn't actually have a any kind of particle or fluid system, so it's not going to do you animated waterfalls any better than nuke.

[littlelizard]

Originally Posted by Alex Jenyon

I avoid rendering more than a single frame with Vue whenever possible, and do any camera moves as projected paintings in Nuke. Over 10 hours for a single frame is not unusual, so rendering an image sequence would be pure tedium.

Moving data between Nuke and Vue is fairly straightforward, especially if you have maya to use as a bridge between the two. I've got a small script for matching projection cameras directly between Vue and Nuke - PM me if you find a need for it.

EDIT: Vue doesn't actually have a any kind of particle or fluid system, so it's not going to do you animated waterfalls any better than nuke.

Hi i totally agree i am a Vue user too but not for animation purposes, rendering with Vue can be a real pain in the ass. By the way i can be interested in this script for matching cameras, i usually do projections in maya but sometimes Nuke can save me a lot of time and it could be very useful to create cameras without passing through Vue Synch export in maya.

Cheers

[kyote]

"I've got a small script for matching projection cameras directly between Vue and Nuke - PM me if you find a need for it."

I will file this back Alex..I thank you..After the semester I will know more about what I'm doing,..I know we will be working in Vue and Nuke to create a projected /camera move...I do have Maya so ill get back to ya once I feel more comfortable of the workflow & better understand the process between the two :)

I appreciate the feedback,.. a tremendous help...glad I asked ...saved a lot of headache and cash :)

Thanx