New Version???

[Allan Chesney]

Paint Shop Pro is excellent, I use it every day. It does virtually everything that PhotoShop does and a few things that PhotoShop doesn't do - for a fraction of the price!!

You may find though that the artistic skills are needed more in Piant Shop than in TFP. Once you get the hang of it TFP takes care of the artistic part too, automatically getting shadows, reflections and perspective correct.  It can be done in Paint type programms but it is much easier to get it wrong.  It can be ideal for quickly fixing some simple things though.

Allan

[Voodooman]

Thanks Allan

My problem is not the shadows, its the slightly cartoonish look of the renders.  The textures and colours seem a bit too bright and the edges too sharp. 

I only work with old houses, renovations and extensions and they simply look too new.

My software renders on screen (and full screen) in a couple of minutes, enabling me to see the results pretty much immediately.  Actually creating and saving the render as a high res image to file takes a couple of hours.

I am hoping that the new PC will reduce these times substantially, presently I am running an AMD XP2800+ (single core) with 1gb of ram.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Thanks

Peter

[Allan Chesney]

Hi Peter,

I can imagine what you mean with the new/old look. Paint Shop can certainly dull the colours if that is a problem - use the Saturation control. If the edges are too sharp you may want to play with the Program Settings/Rendering/Antialias setting  (4 is best) - it blends the edges so they are smoother and more realistic.  Basic (raytrace) renders can look 'cartoonish' but Radiosity renders are much more realistic.  This hopefuly is where your new PC may help - although the specs of my PC are virtually the same as yours and my longest renders are usually only 15 minutes or so.  Maybe your models are bigger.  It will be interesting to see how it works out.

Allan

[Doug.S]

Also, more realistic renders come with textures that have "defects" built-in....whether the texture is a photo image (use a picture with dirt and worn surfaces...even for something as simple as stucco) or a procedural shader where dirt/wear can be added with "noise".  But it should look 'correct' and not look too obvious....much like what you see daily and don't say....ouch, that looks dirty.

Carrara has extremely good flexibility and control and repeatabilty (you see the effect of each change and know what you are doing without render surprises we get with TFP) for textures (both images and procedurals) and lighting to get great results although you can spend a lot of time in trial and error getting exactly what you envision.  You can even make textures in Carrara, render as a .bmp or .jpg and use the image in TFP.

Sometimes better to simply take real photos of existing textures of a house to be remodelled....but you may need to use a photo-paint type program to adjust the image for textures in TFP so image is square like 512x512 pixels (or bigger or smaller depending on quality and viewing distance and file size and render size) and "seamless"....not only for edge to edge matching for texture but also for brightness so end result looks smooth not like it is "tiled" (which it is and will show repetition if done poorly).

There are free texture generator programs, free images (Google, images), and free texture images available on www.

I use Photoshop because it is an industry defacto std and has much in way of resources and support but there are many free or low cost "paint" or photo manipulation programs that can do most/all of what is needed for TFP.  I'm also a photography hobbyist so I use Ps there too.


Allan, what does PSP do that Ps cannot (maybe I'm missing a technique)? 
I started with PSP long ago and it is a excellent product, as is Corel PhotoPaint, but I've found Ps to be the do-all bitmap program.  I also use Illustrator to help make 2D outlines for shape imports for 3D extrusions....and to "mark-up" or dimension a 3D render....tho most any vector or paint program will work the same....and of course cost is a concern and free programs are all worth a try.

[Allan Chesney]

Hi Doug,

Allan, what does PSP do that Ps cannot (maybe I'm missing a technique)? 

Do be honest I cannot remember most of them.  I read an interesting Photography or PC magazine article comparing Photoshop with PaintShop Pro and it listed a number of things in which PaintShop Pro was ahead of Photoshop.  The only one I recall was the Horizon tool that automatically aligns selected points on the image so it is horizontal (probably remember that as I use it all the time to strighten images - it is so easy).  I am not sure now whether the perspecive tool was another or was one that it said Paintshop Pro did better. (Drag the corners of a box so they fit the 4 corners of a buliding that tapers at the top and it automatically snaps it to appear as though it was taken fully front on). Overall the comparison said that if you were in business and photoediting was your bread and butter, then stay with Photoshop, but for everyone else, PaintShop Pro was all anyone would ever need and for one tenth of the price!

That was a few years ago and PaintShop Pro has advanced considerably (it is now Corel too) but no doubt Photoshop has too progressed too and probably has the Horizon and the other tools now too.

Allan

[Doug.S]

I have no doubt that PSP can do 80-90% of Ps and is well worth the much lower cost if it does what you need it to do.

Yes, Ps does have an easy angle align for horizontal or vertical (or any desired angle) to rotate an image to desired position.

Perspective tool easy to use too.

Image healing (fixing small image areas or cutting out an area but replacing it with a correct looking replacement) and dealing with RAW images from a DSLR camera are handy Ps features as well as color matching images and much more. If printing via CMYK is needed, usually Ps is one of the best....but it is a bit pricey, tho quality is very high and bug fixes are rarely needed and fixed quickly.

[Allan Chesney]

I think all software has its own plusses and minuses and all create their own little niche (or disappear! ). Photoshop is certainly recognised as the best. I just wish I could justify the cost! Given all my work is voluntary I cant unfortunately.

Allan