Matt Tremblay, Chief Designer at RED Digital Cinema and founder of RogueDZN, has been a long time user of KeyShot, bringing incredibly detailed visuals of top-of-the-line Digital Film cameras and custom luxury jewelry to the eyes of people around the world. We caught up with Matt to ask him about how he uses KeyShot throughout the product design process to create a wide variety of amazing 3D renderings.
What software do you use for 3D modeling?
SolidWorks always ends up being the program that meshes best with my modeling style. It’s a little wild when compared to the norm as well. I’m ok with sketches being red all down the side, and so is SolidWorks. Solidworks is like a wild horse that once broken to your liking it does exactly what you want. It does like to whine a bit, but then I simply say relations: DELETE-ALL! Then, wouldn’t you know it, everyone is happy again. This method is definitely not recommended for everyone, but for me it works, because I only move forward and never back. If something is wrong, I’ll just cut it the hell out of there and remodel it. For me, it just saves time. I would rather remodel a part from scratch rather then spend hours modeling it parametrically. But that’s just me. The amount of angst this causes you is directly relative to the number of changes you make. (Every solidworks teacher on planet right now is probably cursing at that monitor right now!)
What brought you to the decision to use KeyShot?
I use whichever program limits me the least and gives me the best results in the shortest timeframe. That’s KeyShot. Especially with the new animation features emerging, KeyShot has a solid hold on the future of Industrial Design rendering. Luxion is in an amazing situation right now and they have the ability to take over the product design rendering and animation industry. I think they have done such an amazing job with the rendering portion. I would love to see them apply those same ideals to the animation side. Don’t get me wrong I love what they did. I simply think they could take the whole thing to next level by taking cues from some of the best in the business. I just don’t want there to be any limitations.
What do you create renderings/animations of? How has it helped?
I render whatever I am currently working on. Detailed raytracing and light characteristics show your model in ways that you can’t see within the SolidWorks screen, even with Real-view graphics toggled on – you can’t see the subtleties of the way way light reacts to your product. In the end, no matter what program you are using, it’s all about the light and how advanced the controlling algorithms are.
Puedes ver los beneficios directos de los renders en la página web de RogueDZN. Lo que mucha gente no sabe es que casi todos los elementos del diseño estructural de la página web de RogueDZN (botones, marcos, vistas de 360 grados) son KeyShot . Las imágenes de los productos son todas fotografías reales, salvo las vistas de 360 grados que aparecen en las páginas de cada producto.
¿Y en qué me ayuda eso? Me ha ayudado a crear un pequeño mundo por el que puedes moverte cuando estás dentro de la página web. Un mundo en 3D. Pero no te das cuenta a menos que mires muy de cerca. Y me ha permitido hacerlo todo yo solo con la ayuda de otro «dios ninja de las páginas web» que se encarga de implementar todas las funciones y de que todo funcione.
What has been your favorite project?
For RED:
I would have to say The RED EPIC and creating the accessory line to go with it. In particular the Tactical components and the Gunner system. It’s just so versatile and modular that you can make anything with it. It’s like having a set of tactical legos for your camera. The camera system is specifically designed to be able to morph from one camera shooting style to another very quickly. Movie sets are unforgiving places where time is key, and being able to change a camera’s functional attributes is a major plus in the industry. On the flip side, for still shooters and guerilla shots, the same concept applies. The less time you spend messing with your equipment, the more time you have to make beautiful pictures, wether they are in motion or still.
For RogueDZN:
It would have to be the Armadillo: C6-DARKHORSE. That thing is just so insanely intricate, and custom, that it trumps anything else by a mile. At first it simply looks like a black verison of the Armadillo:161. Then you take a closer look and you see each of the carbon fiber layers winking at you like little diamonds as you turn the bracelet in the light. It’s simple material/mechanical/design insanity. It’s exactly what it’s meant to be – zero compromise at any level. There is a reason companies don’t make something like this. They go broke. I just had to see the real thing, so I didn’t really have a choice.
Are there any KeyShot tips you can pass along?
The only real tip I have is “Put in Miles.” It applies to really any program you start using. You need to put in time in front of any program you use. There is an idea out there that if you have a program, (say Photoshop), then you are a graphic designer. Not the case. For example, just because you have Michelangelo’s paint brushes doesn’t mean your going to be able to paint the Sistine Chapel. We all need to remember that computer programs are only tools that allow us to create.
Cuanto más tiempo le dediques, mejor y más rápido lo harás. El hecho de tener un programa no significa que vayas a ser capaz de crear cosas bonitas con él. Sumérgete de lleno en ese programa y se convertirá en una extensión de tu mente. En ese momento, todo será posible.
