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Virtual Toad featured on the "Inside the Magic" podcast
On July 16th, 2006, Virtual Toad was featured on the Inside the Magic podcast. Click the logo above and scroll down to episode #67 for more.
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Answers
to Frequently Asked Questions
Still
need more information? Feel free to contact
me with any questions you might have!
Right now, I'm using Ray Dream Studio for the Mac. I have one
Power Mac G4 which I use for modeling and another used exclusively
for rendering. I also use Photoshop quite a bit
to work on imagery for the walls and other object surfaces.
Ray Dream Studio is a great (albiet older) 3D application. It does just about everything I need it to do. It's also very intuitive and easy to learn. And the price is right: I got my copy for less than $400.
Unfortunately,
Ray Dream Studio is no longer available for sale. I'm still using
it, however, because I'm too far into the project to switch applications.
At last report, a related product named Carrara
was still available. I haven't used it myself, but it might be
worth looking into. There are also a host of other low-cost 3D
applications out there that might work for you.
That's a very good question. When I started this project in 1998, I
had no idea it would take this long.
There are a few reasons for this. First and foremost, it turns out that even a "simple" attraction like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is incredibly complex. I had no idea there were so many little details to iron out.
Second, as my 3D skills improve, I'm taking on parts of the ride I never thought I'd include in the finished animation. Things like the track, ride vehicles, and even the panaoramic backdrops outside the queue. Other parts of the ride, including some of the more complex 3D objects, are proving to be very difficult (for me!) to finish. So that's taking more time than anticipated.
Third, and this one is frustrating, is the unimaginable amount of time it's taking to render the various scenes. In the queue area alone, there are so many lights and objects that it takes more than an hour to render a single frame of video! I'm working on ways to speed up the rendering process, and I'm also hoping that some of the other areas of the ride will render more quickly.
The final reason for the apparently slow progress is the fact that, when it's all said and done, this is, after all, a part-time hobby. Believe it or not, I do have a life away from Virtual Toad, including family, friends, and even a paying job. If this were a full-time paid gig with benefits, you can bet the project would get done a whole lot quicker.
That
being said, Virtual Toad is something I do enjoy working on immensely.
It's been far more rewarding and challenging than I ever imagined. I'll
do my best to keep working on it as often as possible. And while the
journey is often as important as the destination, it would be nice to
finish this thing someday, so I can get on with my creative and personal
life!
I'm a freelance television producer by trade, so I do have some computer
and graphics experience, but Virtual Toad was the first 3D
animation project I ever tackled.
For me, the best way to learn something is to dive right in. I've never had any formal instruction in 3D animation. Instead, I've learned by doing. And I'm still learning.
My
advice: start with the simple things and work your way up. All it
takes is vision, passion and perserverance. You'll be surprised what
you can accomplish if you set your mind to it.
What I need most right now are high-resolution photographs of the ride-- especially the "rain room" on Track A (that's the room on the left side of the ride just before the train tunnel.) If you have any pictures of the ride you'd like to share, let me know! Any and all assistance is greatly appreciated.
