Recently in :. Vue Category

A little more than a year since my last major update in the Vue forum at Renderosity, I just posted a note that I am no longer Moderator of the forum.

It was a difficult decision - one that I postponed for nearly a year. A busy offline schedule, new interest in digital painting and general forum moderation fatigue made me realize that I was just delaying the inevitable.

I had a good time as a moderator. During nearly five years, the forum went through a lot of changes, mostly good. It gave me the chance to meet and work with wonderful people and allowed me to get a peek at the development process of Vue as a beta tester.

I wish good luck to SGT2005 and GaryMiller in taking care of Vue related activities at Renderosity.

Now... back to making more pictures.

 I missed the anniversary by a couple of months - I have been moderator of the Vue Forum and Vue Gallery at Renderosity for a little more than a year.

It has been an interesting experience so far.

The community as a whole is enthusiastic, very helpful and open to newcomers. Like most communities online, members come in all shape and sizes, from all over the world. Some are quiet, some not :) We even had a couple of black sheep for a while but fortunately, they did not manifest themselves for quite a while.

If you decide to join, membership is free and remember to check of the Vue Forum FAQ first for an overview of the community, ground rules for posting to the forum and gallery, and links to the latest patches for Vue, Vue Infinite and Mover.

The beginning and the end of last year as a moderator were quite intense.

Taking over after the previous moderator, Guitta,  was a challenge. Her work in the forum was exceptional, both in the help she provided, and in the ideas she brought to organize the forum. Unfortunately, she had to leave because of a grave illness and passed away at the end of the year. She is still missed in the forum...

I tried to build over her ideas and provide a common look and feel to the FAQ, the challenges, the gallery and the Vue backroom area, where we keep links to the most useful conversations. The backroom is our knowledge base if you will.

The end of the year was as challenging, with the beta testing and release of both Vue 5 and Vue Infinite. Both releases brought new blood to the forum and amazing images in the gallery. I find it fascinating to see how people will use the software, often in very surprising ways... that, and the idea that people will find help and inspiration from the forum is what keeps me going as a moderator.

So... if you are intrigued by Vue and you want to know more about it, consider yourself invited...

Here are links to my current mini-tutorials in their old format. I will gradually update each one of them into something more usable but for the time being, these links will remain.

• How to make puffy clouds
• How to make a prism
• How to slice an object into pieces
• How to make a cave
• How to simulate global illumination
• How to simulate translucent skin

Vue d'Esprit is a 3d graphics package  from a french/american company called e-on software.

Initially, it was a direct competitor to landscape modelers such as World Builder or Bryce. With time, it has evolved into a nearly professional tool which remaining still affordable.

To get an idea of the power of Vue, try the Vue Gallery at Renderosity and the picture of the day at e-on.

One of the best places on the web to discuss about Vue D'Esprit is the Vue Forum at Renderosity. There, you can find tutorials, free resources to download and most importantly, a friendly group of people sharing the same enthusiasm for this tool.

After months of beta testing,  Vue Infinite is finally shipping.

The latest iteration of 3D graphics tool by e-on software features 'ecosystem' materials, advanced control of materials, multipass rendering for compositing, and advanced lighting models recently included in the more lightweight Vue 5.

Beta testing was a lot of fun.

Going through the beta testing of Vue 5 and now Vue Infinite gave me some deep respect for the small development team at e-on.

It is easy to complain about the end result, criticise the lack of a particular feature or discuss what should be the strategy for new development, until you actually experience first hand the amount of work that goes into the development of a particular version.

So regardless how many bugs still remain (and there will always bugs to remain), the final release of a software committed to shipping is still cause for celebration.

It's official... today I signed up as coordinator for the Vue forum at Renderosity.

I will be helping the curent moderator, gebe, with her outstanding job running that little community... answering questions, solving issues with images in the gallery, or helping other coordinators if necessary.

It is interesting to go through the mirror and see the backstage of a site like this. For now, the team is welcoming and the issues we face are not so difficult after all. After more than 3 years visiting the site regularly, it is a good occasion to give back a little of what I found there.