Mike A

Why? It's a good looking well made model as it is.

No, not at all. The first example was from @eikonoklastes- which had ngons. I'm learning Houdini so took that and reworked it a different way - just for the exercise. My version was quad based. It was just a different approach. I thought I'd better get it done in quads, because I thought you'd be along shortly 🤣 PS: @Igorand @eikonoklasteshave been great support in getting my Houdini journey started,

Welcome Christoph! Top work on your site!

Holey Moley! 😀

Nice one. I was struggling to find an good way to procedurally isolate those corner points! This has been a very useful learning exercise!

Welcome!

I've actually just found an even simpler way... if you set the fillet of the polybevel to none - it leaves a hole. You don't need the blast... Circle Holes without Booleans_MA03.hiplc

Yep - just before you posted I bypassed it and realised it did nothing 🤣

I got lucky - that's all : )

You guys have just 'wasted' my evening... 🤣 Circle Holes without Booleans_MA02.hiplc

Very good - and fun to learn from too! Thanks for the file : )

OK - Re Redshift: A couple of things come to mind: You have the: render settings > sampling > filter settings. Lancos is the sharpest - but I'd recommend you look you 'advanced sampling' in the Rs docs for guidance. See: https://docs.redshift3d.com/display/RSDOCS/Sampling+-+Advanced#SamplingAdvanced-Filter The other area in in the Rs material > texture node > Advanced tab where you have filtering controls for that material. Again, you'd need to reference the docs for details - see: https://docs.redshift3d.com/display/RSDOCS/Texture+Options

Guys - thanks for the responses, somehow I'd missed them. Yes I'd been having a play with both the file node and FBX import methods. As you say - a gazillion nodes if you import and breakdown as FBX. Sticking them into subnets helps, but still a chunk of work. Is there any preference as to how H lays out a big imported network like that? I realise there are various layout tools / shortcuts etc, but it would be neat to be able to bring them in in a very compact layout automagically - rather than a fan of nodes that fills a football pitch : ) Eikon.. I'll look into the name attribute. Wasn't aware of that. I was just exploring a few models typical of the sort of stuff I deal with, nothing I can share unfortunately. But if you went over to GrabCAD and picked up an engine or some other complicated mechanical object with hundreds of parts - you'd get the idea : )

Let me ask you to take one step back: Why? What are you planning to do with this render?

This is an timely thread for me as over the last few weeks I've been putting some work into getting to grips with - the very basics : ) - of Houdini. It's been quite an eye opener. As well as discovering the power and potential of Houdini, it's also emphasised the strengths of C4D. The things that I really value in C4D include: General ease of use (UI / UX) across the application (R21) Ease of viewport navigation The flexibility of the Object Manager Xpresso - poor UI excepted : ) Content browser - RIP Takes - really important for my work Flexible and powerful file import and merge options. (One basic thing that I don't like in C4D is the menu organisation. Too many things seem to be in illogical locations and order to me.) C4D has lots of positives for sure .

The Hybrid option availability depends on the version of Redshift that you're running - not the version of Cinema. If you look at the top of the screenshot above you'll see the Redshift version number - 3.5.00 above. What's yours?

OK - just stumbled across a partial answer: There is a 'import directly into /obj network' option in the fbx import dialog. Is it possible to do similar for other formats? EDIT: Also discovered subnets - which seem useful for management of big models. ** A rule of life: Having struggled to understand what is happening for some time, the answer will arrive shortly after you've posted a question to any forum.

PS: In Mash's screenshot above - make sure you leave General > Hybrid rendering OFF

Guys, As I continue my initial Houdini explorations, can I seek your expertise on the best workflows for dealing with imported models. Situation: I'm frequently dealing with externally supplied models - Turbosquid, CAD models, stuff I've modelled elsewhere etc. Frequently those models are complex - they could have 1,000+ parts, and will need animation. A typical example might be a realistic aircraft model. What's the best approach so I can both modify the geo of individual parts - say for modelling modifications - and also animate at the Object level. I can see that if I import an FBX that is broken down into individual components at the geo level, but how would I get those individual elements back up to the obj level for animation?

What rendering engine?

Thanks for this Igor. As a current R21 user I think 'R27' will be decision time between a C4D upgrade - or a move to Houdini. This will be helpful to review before doing so. But I'm beginning to rather like Houdini....

I've just had a very quick look at this - a few things I'd suggest: 1. Remove the bump map node from your label emboss material. Your RS object tag has automatic bump mapping enabled. This is calculated directly and automatically from your displacement channel. Currently you have double bump mapping. I think that is the major issue. 2. Set the 'label emboss' texture colour space to RAW in your Rs texture node. 3. I'd suggest knocking the RS object > Geo > Tesselation 'Minimum edge length' down to 2. -------------------- And in general terms... your sampling isn't well set. You might want to view this old, but still useful, video for the basic principles - and there's an attached 'graphic' too : ) The current interface is different - but the basic principles are true. TLDR: Increase your local samples significantly (eg: 1024 would be a good starting point for your lights). In RS render settings > sampling try: Threshold: 0.003 Samples min: 16 Samples max: 256

Yes - it's probably my most important Ps plugin : )

True, Yours sincerely, Mike "Overkill" A : )

Are you using an 8 bit texture by any chance? You really need 32 bit for good quality displacement. Export it from Photoshop - or whatever you use - as 32 bit EXR and apply it with a 'RAW' color profile setting in the Redshift texture node. NB: There is absolutely no point in saving an existing 8 bit texture as 32 bit - that will just leave you with the same data in a bigger container. You need obtain or create a 32bit original to start with.