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Rob Rodriguez has earned a place for himself as an expert in photo-realistic rendering in fields quite different from the gaming and entertainment worlds. Rob’s expertise is used to help people visualize and make decisions before they make real products. From the architecture we live with to the products that we hold in our hands, Rob’s skills make the things we use better from the beginning. Rob’s business, Axis CAD Solutions, delivers the value and power of rendered images primarily using PhotoWorks from SolidWorks. He also shares his knowledge with others through presentations at annual events like SolidWorks World and at numerous user group meetings throughout the US.    

 

Q1: How did you first become interested in 3D modeling, animation and rendering? 

Like everyone else I suppose I started designing in 2D with CAD tools like AutoCAD.  I can remember my professors from architectural school saying you have to learn how to visualize your design in 3D as you’re putting it on paper or the screen.  Sometimes this can be difficult when working on a complex design.  I can remember thinking if I can’t “see” the design in 3D then how is the customer going to see it?  2D CAD  was a step up from board drafting but it didn’t solve the problem of visualization for me.  I had worked in the architecture field for a while when I took a position designing decorative cast iron and sheet metal parts for a company that manufactures wood and gas heating appliances.  The decorative cast parts were very free form shapes with a more artistic feel and again I found it very difficult to communicate and visualize this type of design with 2D CAD.  This was the point I jumped into the 3D CAD world using SolidWorks.   I was amazed how much easier it was to “see” my design in 3D since I was working that way on screen.  There was no turning back at that point.  I was in the 3D CAD world to stay and 10 years later I’m still here.  Rendering and animation  just seemed to be a natural progression from modeling.  I used to see very life-like computer generated images while thumbing through trade magazines and they really caught my interest.  I wanted to learn how to create images like this and I’ve been learning ever since.

 

Q2: What types of 3D modeling, animation and rendering do you do?  

Having been in a number of different industries, I’ve modeled a variety of things.  Residential homes, cabinetry, furniture, sheet metal parts, castings, monuments, mausoleums, etc, etc, etc.  It’s an odd combination really, especially when  people find out I use SolidWorks as my primary design, modeling, and rendering package.  SolidWorks is primarily an MCAD design tool and I’ll be the first to admit some of the things I use SolidWorks to design and render don’t fit with its normal usage.

  

 

 

Q3: What role do your models, animations and renderings play in the product development process? 

That really depends on the context of the work.  If I’m working on consumer type products my renderings and animations typically come at the end of the design process and are used for more of a marketing or sales tool.  Most of my images and animations are used for print brochures, magazines and the web.  If I’m working on an architectural project renderings and animations are used to allow the clients to easily see the design and decide on revisions.

 

Q4: How much time do you spend, on average, on one particular rendering? 

Typically the modeling is already finished when I need to create a rendering.  I could have created the model at an earlier time myself or my client may have sent me their model to use for rendering purposes.  Since the work of modeling is already completed, the rendering process progresses rather quickly.  I’d say a typical consumer product rendering takes about a ½ day to a day depending on the complexity of the design and what exactly the client wants to show.  Architectural type renderings usually take longer just because the nature of them requires more work.

 

Q5: What additional software do you use to create your images? 

I like to do as much work as possible in the modeling / rendering package but there is always a bit of post processing required.  For this I use a photo editing program, Corel Draw / PhotoPaint.

 

 

 

Q6: What is your day like?

 I’ll let you know when this one is over J.  It varies greatly but there are some constants.  Having a full time job and operating my own business makes for some long hours.  During the day I would typically be working on design projects for a wide range of customers.  This could include creating models, fabrication drawings, renderings and animations.  I usually have multiple projects happening at once so things can become hectic.  Nights you can usually find me creating renderings for various clients through my own business Axis CAD Solutions LLC.  Again I’m usually working on multiple projects of varying degrees of difficulty  across a wide spectrum of products.  I’ve also branched out into the education side of the software, collaborating on a rendering book for SolidWorks and providing rendering training classes for clients.

 

Q7: What tips can you share for staying focused on a large project? 

Organization is really the key, especially when you’re working on multiple projects.  Document every detail of each rendering set up, you never know when you’ll need to go back to a particular point in time.  Time management is also very important.  It’s easy to become overwhelmed by  a large project but if you manage your time wisely and work in an organized fashion you’ll be amazed at how quickly it can all come together.

 

Q8: What part of 3D modeling and rendering do you find most rewarding? 

I really like it when I’m surfing the web or looking at a magazine and I see one of my images.  I can say, “I did that”.

 

Q9: Just for fun, what is you favorite game?  Movie?  Comic Book?

My all time favorite movie is Rocky I and II.  The whole “David vs. Goliath” theme appeals to me, probably because I’ve felt like the underdog most of my life.  Sci-fi action movies appeal to me the most, probably because of the special effects.  I’m always fascinated by how “real” it all looks in the movies. Star Wars, The Matrix, Alien, all great flicks.

  

Thanks, Rob, for taking time from your busy work and travel schedule to help 3DVIA visitors understand a little bit more about other areas of the world where 3D models are making a big difference.

 

It seems like just last month we were talking about 10,000 registered users on 3DVIA. Wait a minute…that was last month!  We just passed 20,000 registered users on 3DVIA.com yesterday and we are still growing!

We are also currently up over 2,400 free 3D models in the public warehouse and thousands more stored in private collections. 

Have you read Juan’s 3D Tutorials yet or seen our latest series by Don covering user m2morgan64 efforts to create a game starting with our own free 3D modeling application 3DVIA Shape?

I have to say that I was a little cautious about Robert Downey Jr. playing Tony Stark but he was excellent in the film and the Iron Man model was amazing.  In this blog we’ll talk a little bit about the suit and what it took to make it real.

The Movie

The movie was fantastic!  It takes you through the transformation of Tony Stark.  From a careless billionaire weapons manufacturer to a self made hero, fighting the good fight. First movie produced by Marvel, and it shows.  Jeff Bridges also surprised me, although I kept thinking he was going to say “Duuuude!” in reference to “The Big Lebowski.”  If you haven’t seen Iron Man, you owe it to yourself because, its not only a good movie, but the first in a series of Marvel productions leading to the Avengers Movie. 

The IronMan Suit

The suit is extraordinary! Over 1,933 pieces of geometry for the Mark III suit.  Most of those pieces were animated as the suit was being assembled or while the suit was in-flight as control surfaces. It took 3+ hours to render each frame of Iron Man when he was in motion.  Film is 24 frames per second,  that’s a heck of a lot of processing power! They did build a physical suit for Robert Downey Jr. to wear but when he found out how well they could composite the suit over his frame, he told the director he was not wearing the physical suit!  He wanted full range of motion, so they ended up doing the CG Iron Man suit for most of the film, about 410 separate shots for ILM alone.

So where do I get one of them there whatchamacallits?

So you think Superheroes are all fiction?  We are closer than you may think to having Powered Armor.  Recently the US Military purchased a company that built a powered exoskeleton, that can lift hundreds of pounds for hours with out the user getting tired.  And in Japan they have redesigned the exoskeleton to be as sleek, and sexy as the Iron Man armor.  It gets better,  the company creating this cybernetic armor is called Cyberdyne, as in the company that created Skynet in the Terminator franchise. The development of these technologies is mainly for the assistance and replacement of lost or non working limbs.  But imagine, a few more years down the line and I’ll be my one One Man Army!  Super powered Storm Trooper Armor, here I come!

-Juan

Ironman