XSI+ZB+PS pipeline viability question
polycounter lvl 18
Heres the deal:
Modeling base for highpoly in XSI (Foundation)
Finish the model off in ZB2
Paint diffuse in ZB and PS (first serious question, can you bridge PS and ZB without buying any plug-ins? Or if you cant then what plug-in one would have to buy?)
Export the mesh back to XSI and build low-poly cage, bake down normal map (can XSI do it well??) and diffuse and GI and base for spec (can you render them down to lowpoly cage? remember im talking about the Foundation).
Finish up the textures in PS.
Rig the model in XSI (does it come with decent animation tools??)
Its the only sub $2000 setup i can think of (im in Europe so Adobe rips almost $900 for PS CS2
, is there any other 2d package that would fit into this pipeline?).
So my main question is, would it be viable pipeline?
BTW whats the deal with XSI not allowing free camera rotation while modeling? (it caught my eye in some forum)
Modeling base for highpoly in XSI (Foundation)
Finish the model off in ZB2
Paint diffuse in ZB and PS (first serious question, can you bridge PS and ZB without buying any plug-ins? Or if you cant then what plug-in one would have to buy?)
Export the mesh back to XSI and build low-poly cage, bake down normal map (can XSI do it well??) and diffuse and GI and base for spec (can you render them down to lowpoly cage? remember im talking about the Foundation).
Finish up the textures in PS.
Rig the model in XSI (does it come with decent animation tools??)
Its the only sub $2000 setup i can think of (im in Europe so Adobe rips almost $900 for PS CS2
, is there any other 2d package that would fit into this pipeline?).So my main question is, would it be viable pipeline?
BTW whats the deal with XSI not allowing free camera rotation while modeling? (it caught my eye in some forum)
Replies
I bought my photoshop 5 off ebay for about 40 quid a year and a bit ago.
Paint diffuse in ZB and PS (first serious question, can you bridge PS and ZB without buying any plug-ins? Or if you cant then what plug-in one would have to buy?)
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http://206.145.80.239/zbc/showthread.php?t=029628
Works farily well, just remember to save the changes you made in PS or they won't "stick".
Anyways if i would buy used Photoshop can i still upgrade it? And if so how old version i could upgrade to CS2?
1. can XSI do it well??
2. can you render them down to lowpoly cage?
3. does it come with decent animation tools??)
4. would it be viable pipeline?
5. whats the deal with XSI not allowing free camera rotation while modeling?
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1. Yes. I'd recommend version 5 tho, they seem to have improved it.
2. Yes, and with the Ultimapper in 5, that's all pretty much streamlined into one window.
3. It comes with the best, intregrated into the software instead of an extension, and non-linear. The animation tools themselves are worth the price.
4. Sounds like the perfect pipeline. XSI accepts the PSD format, so while texturing in PS, just save and XSI will update the texture on focus. This can be done while viewing the DX viewport, so all those extra maps can be previewed in realtime.
5. I don't know what you're talking about. I think the camera tools are excellent.
I picked up version 6 of photoshop on ebay for less than $100 USD. I feel it's all I need. Any version after that feels buggy and bloated.
This kind of thing is common:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Adobe-Photoshop-5-5_W0QQitemZ5835106581QQcategoryZ80254QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Legit.
There are however about 10,000 pirate versions that flood Ebay. Just search by price, highest first.
Just one more thing, is the XSI model comparisson on softimage site correct? What i means is that they havnt "accidentaly" left out some stuff?