SYCles 1.9 video tutorial for Softimage

[sirdavid32]

Hi. As you may know I am a Blender Foundation Certified Trainer. I've been working with Blender doing virtual and live training for Compositing VFX, 3D animation, 2D Grease Pencil and Sculpting using Blender in the workshops.
I recently became interested in giving back most of that expertise in video to use the SYcles render engine for every Softimage user who is interested as well.
I can do the node comparisons 1 to 1 in Softimage, now that I've been working in animation, videogames and VR from Blender for over 5 years.
Please, if you have any questions, let me know in the comment section of the video.
Thanks!

[talent103]

Thank You very much!! I will go through it tomorrow. BTW here is a question from someone on a face book group.

"Hi, somebody have experience with Sycles for Softimage? Have installed the actual version in a network workgroup. Works "ok", but i have problems to render with the SToon-Plugin. Have made same instructions from the english tutorial, but nothing happens and i have some very strange bugs in XSI (after a couple of renderings my rendertree window is freezed and i have to reopen XSI)... no shadows will render, no outlines will render, only the cycEmission is active..."

[Bennyhase]

Hello Talent103, i was the person in the FB group. Have still same problems, on every XSI Machine. Stoon-Plugin for Sycles for XSI will not work. And the freezing of the NodeEditor is very strange (also on every machine).

[Shekn]

This is a known bug, and I think that this bag lies on the Softimage side. I mean the bug, when the Render Tree window blocked after rendering with using SToon nodes. This happens, because before actual frame rendering starts the addon changes some parameters in the shader nodes in a special callback, which fires each time before the rendering process starts. So, nothing to with this bug. Only solution - use the floating window with Render Tree. After blocking it, simply close and open the new one. Yes, it is terrible, but I don't know how to fix it.

May be the SToon addon will be irrelevant in the future, because there are some developments of the default Cycles outline shader node. Here some videos: https://developer.blender.org/D7270

[xsisoft]

sirdavid32 Hi, thanks for your work!
topics of interest -Sycles and softimage


-ice and Sycles render
on examples (what is supported and what is not)
((Shekn -great person-))from Shekn answers)
"Now Sycles correctly renders any ICE attribute that has a per-object or per-point context. In fact, most attributes are just per-point. The attribute value itself can be either a number (any), or a vector (three-dimensional), or color (four-component). The rest does not render. It just pretends that nothing else exists. This, of course, is a flaw, but in practice, so far, has never been needed something from the unsupported.

-(if appropriate) if there is time for this)
node reference library
in parallel with ...(old staff- mental ray)

examples
(from Shekn answers)
“in lessons on shaders it is sometimes built carelessly, connecting the output of a node of type float (for example) to the input of another node of type color (also for example). Well, that is, the gray port is in yellow. It's in Blender colors.


In Softimage this is not possible, it automatically creates a converting node, such as scalar_to_color.
So, in Sycles, not all such automatic nodes are understood, so you must manually do type conversion using the supported nodes.

The number is converted to color using cycColorRamp, and the color is converted to number using cycRGBtoBW. "

sirdavid32 thank!


p.s.


as an option, you can build lessons on ...Shekn addon (Shekn -great person-)
(from Shekn answers)
“Finished materials from Blender can be transferred to Softimage. The simplest thing is to manually rebuild, but it is often too long. I once wrote addon for Blender, which exports materials to an xml file, and then it can be uploaded to Softimage. Here it is
https://ssoftadd.github.io/gesPage.html

but addon for Blender works correctly only with Blender 2.83.


waiting for new videos
good luck




p.s.
p.s.

as an option, you can build lessons on...
(and create conveyer

softimage -cycles -blender eevee)

Copy & Paste geometry between a variety of DCC Applications without the need to save files. Supported Applications

free

XSI : Vertices / Polygons / WeightMaps / Morphs
Blender : Vertices / Polygons (incl. Subpatch and SubD)/ WeightMaps / UVMaps / MorphMaps


Modo : Vertices / Polygons (incl. Subpatch and SubD)/ WeightMaps / UVMaps / MorphMaps
Lightwave : Vertices / Polygons (incl. Subpatch and SubD)/ WeightMaps / UVMaps / MorphMaps
Blender : Vertices / Polygons (incl. Subpatch and SubD)/ WeightMaps / UVMaps / MorphMaps
Maya : Vertices / Polygons / Weights (via Vertex Normals) (Implementation by Andre Hotz)
Houdini : Vertices / Polygons / Weightmaps / VMaps
C4D : Vertices / Polygons / UVs
Rhino : Vertices / Polygons (should be a good starting point for someone more experienced to finish it)
Sketchup : Vertices / Polygons (Paste only for now - Initial implementation provided as starting point)
3DsMax : Vertices / Poyygons (Initial implementation provided as a starting point)
XSI : Vertices / Polygons / WeightMaps / Morphs
Moi3D : Vertices / Polygons
ZBrush : Vertices / Polygons / UVs

Substance Painter : Vertices / Polygons / UVs

3D-Coat: Vertices / Polygons / UVs
Unity: Vertices/ Polygons / UVs / Materials
Mari : Vertices / Polygons / UVs (in beta)


https://github.com/heimlich1024/OD_CopyPasteExternal

waiting for new videos
good luck

[sirdavid32]

Thank You very much!! I will go through it tomorrow. BTW here is a question from someone on a face book group.

"Hi, somebody have experience with Sycles for Softimage? Have installed the actual version in a network workgroup. Works "ok", but i have problems to render with the SToon-Plugin. Have made same instructions from the english tutorial, but nothing happens and i have some very strange bugs in XSI (after a couple of renderings my rendertree window is freezed and i have to reopen XSI)... no shadows will render, no outlines will render, only the cycEmission is active..."

Yep, I totally did this video in basis of THAT specific question. So far, it seems it has helped many users?

[sirdavid32]

Hello Talent103, i was the person in the FB group. Have still same problems, on every XSI Machine. Stoon-Plugin for Sycles for XSI will not work. And the freezing of the NodeEditor is very strange (also on every machine).

As I also mentioned in the FB group, please Uninstall softimage. Turn off firewall and antivirus. Install VS .net libraries 2014 (as the url link suggest) and also reinstall Softimage as the most recent software on your machine. I have experienced .dll corruptions when I install MAYA AFTER I install Softimage (this is nothing new, this was already posted back in 2014).
Then try the SYCles addon install first, and THEN the Toonkit addon. Then, follow the video. It should work.

[sirdavid32]

@xsisoft - Thank you very much for your notes and link. I totally agree with you "an update from Mental Ray to SYCles" MUST BE DONE.
It was SO omitted for our community when the EOL arrived, we were left to the waves of changes and technology, that I think it's important that a series of videos around this topic is necessary. With EXERCISE files as well.
So, thanks: Points considered.
Question: Are you working for a full-scaled pipelined-studio seeking to integrate Blender and Softimage to other applications? (Maya, Houdini, Max, Modo?) The poly transfer link gives it away...¿?

[xsisoft]

if you plan to create a video course, consider this...
the time of real-time renderings, and eevee to the blender(cycles) and cycles in softmage, make it possible to make a more modern conveyor.

"Question: Are you working for a full scaled pipelined-studio seeking to integrate Blender and Softimage to other applications? "

I look at what is happening in the industry as a whole, and in the DСС

[sirdavid32]

About realtime: It's not possible with SI tech. The closest thing we had to Realtime was Direct X shaders. Which I already tried to have something decent...but resulted in crashes:


About the course: Yes, the idea is to have a crossover with "play for sure" shaders . The only problem will be online farms. No one is doing services for Softimage.

About the answered questions about the latest trends in the industry: agreed.

[xsisoft]

"if you plan to create a video course, consider this...
the time of real-time renderings, and eevee to the blender(cycles) and cycles in softmage, make it possible to make a more modern conveyor."


between blender -softimage-blender

can theoretically be obtained
"full" conveyor on cycles render
between blender -softimage-blender
and -eevee (real time) !!!! (with tuning) in blender !!!!

[sirdavid32]

eevee can't exist in Softimage. Even configured to top optimal, CYCLES is still a raytrace. not RT.

[xsisoft]

cycles -Path Tracing (not raytrace)
https://blender.stackexchange.com/quest ... -it-useful
http://manual.cycles4d.net/html/pathtracing.htm


and -eevee (real time) !!!!

"between blender -softimage-blender

can theoretically be obtained
"full" conveyor on cycles render
between blender -softimage-blender
and -eevee (real time) !!!! (with tuning) in blender !!!!

"between blender -softimage-blender
"between blender -softimage-blender
"between blender -softimage-blender

[FXDude]

Ya I also don't think Evee could happen in XSI

Nothing is impossible but, Evee is not as modular as Cycles,
and I never seen a very well implemented custom display host in XSI.


Also BTW thanks sirdavid for this tutorial, and for other blender things as well !

[sirdavid32]

Thanks FXDude! and you're welcome.
I will be posting a new 3h softimage timelapse workflow, talking about a lot of blender-softimage crossovers.

[xsisoft]

for crossovers
blender-softimage -blender (eevee:-)

S-USD is an addon(Shekn-great person), which allows to export and to import *.usd files from and into Softimage. Download here: https://ssoftadd.github.io/usdPage.html

http://www.si-community.com/community/v ... f1c93f660b

blender usd
Blender Manual 2.82
https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/late ... t/usd.html

First steps with Universal Scene Description
https://code.blender.org/2019/07/first- ... scription/

youtube
Blender USD