Course Description

Vue is an extremely fun to use 3D graphics program! This class will take you deep inside the workings of Vue. You will learn about the function generator and how to make complex materials and spectral atmospheres. This class is for users who are familiar with Vue but would like to increase their knowledge base and learn more about this powerful 3D program. This is a 5 week, self-paced, online course. If you need additional help understanding the material presented, you can communicate with the instructor and fellow classmates. The instructor will monitor and track your progress throughout the class. LVS Online offers many wonderful learning tools to help you get the most out of your online course, including an online portfolio service that manages all your course registrations, certificate of completion option, a class discussion board to interact with your instructor and fellow classmates, free hosting account, and a student upload area. LVS is a Corel Training Partner. LVS students may purchase Corel products at a significant savings. Follow this link for details. LVS students are eligible to receive software and hardware at a discount. Follow this link for details. Students are also eligible take advantage of special offers made available specifically for LVS by famous software developers such as Andromeda, AV Bros, Extensis, Harry Heim, namesuppressed, Nik Multimedia, and Ulead. Details are provided in the classinfo link found in the confirmation of registration. Show off your LVS Online spirit with an item from the LVS Store If you would like to receive more information regarding this course, click on the "Contact Us" link in the Information section and we'll try to answer any of your questions within the day.

Course Requirements

Vue 6 or 7 Infinite or Vue xStream with all updates/patches available at www.e-onsoftware.com/index.php Vue Infinite/xStream Personal Learning Edition (PLE) is a fully functional version of Vue Infinite/xStream. You can create complete projects, save your work, export and render without size limit! Vue PLE is free, never expires, and available for download at http://www.vue6.com/ple Vue 7 Esprite to Vue 7 Complete users will also benefit from this class but should use the PLE version if they do not have the modules called for in the lessons. There will be Zip files provided to complete many of the weekly exercises. WinZip, PKZip, Windows Compression or a similar program is required to unzip these files. A desire to have fun while learning! Plan to spend 3 to 6 hours per week on the lessons. Homework must be reviewed by the instructor in order to earn a certificate. Students have the option of using the Student Upload Area or free web hosting made available for LVS students. Details are provided in the classroom. If you prefer to use your own web space, you must know how to upload your files to a server. Free tutorials are available: Basic HTML page WS_FTP SmartFTP Students should have working knowledge of their operating system and must understand directories and paths: Free Windows Class Here Directory Structure Tutorial Here Zip files may be necessary to complete the exercises provided each week. WinZip, PKZip, Windows Compression or similar program is required to unzip these files. Winzip Tutorial Here Windows Compression All lessons are available in PDF format. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view/print the lessons. Plan to devote 3 - 4 hours per week on the lesson and assignment.

Course Prerequisites

The student must have taken the Introduction to Vue class or have at least six months experience using Vue. You should be able to create basic scenes, know how to apply materials, load, import, move, rotate, and scale objects, and have a basic knowledge of the terrain, atmosphere, and material editors.

Course Syllabus

Lesson 1 - Introduction to the Function Generator Function Generator Basics Using the Function Generator Adding a Bump Map to a Material Using the Open Ocean Fractal Using the Distance to Object Below Function Creating a Cel Shaded Material Lesson 2 - Advanced Material Editing Mixed Materials Distribution of Materials Influence of Environment, Altitude, Slope, and Orientation Creating a Mixed Mountain Material Layered Materials Environment Tab Altitude and Slope Constraint Influence of Orientation EcoSystem Layers Creating a Layered Material Tutorial Lesson 3 - Creating Volumetric Materials Volumetric Materials Color and Density Tab Lighting and Effects Tab Volume Shaded Materials Smoky Material Tutorial Faking Volumetric Lights Hypertextures How do you create a Hypertexture? What can you do with a Hypertexture? Lesson 4 - Creating Spectral Atmospheres Advanced Spectral Atmospheres Sun Tab Light Tab Clouds Tab Sky, Fog, and Haze Tab Wind Tab Effects Tab Spectral Cloud Materials MetaCloud Materials Saving Your Atmosphere Lesson 5 - Advanced Camera Controls Rule of Thirds Camera Control Center Using the Camera Depth of Field Cameral Focal Camera Backdrops Advanced Camera Options Using the External Render Using the External Render Lesson 6 - Advanced EcoSystems EcoSystem Selector Manipulating Ecosystem Instances Convert to Objects Move Instances To... Change Instance Types To... Scatter/Replicate Objects Distribution Maps and Ecosystems

Course Excerpt

LESSON 1 Hi and welcome to the Intermediate Vue class! In this first lesson, we are going to cover one of the most important parts of Vue - the function generator. Whenever you create a material or procedural terrain, you are also creating functions. Vue keeps the Function Generator in the background until you open or need to use it for more advanced functions. Knowing how to edit functions is vital to be able to create detailed materials and procedural terrains! Function Generator Fright (a common problem for new Vue users) can cause new users to quickly close the function generator screen and pretend they never saw it! To overcome this, you must keep reading, learning, and clicking. So, grab your mouse brave Vue user - we're going in! Continued... Please note: Lessons provide step-by-step instructions with detailed screen captures.

Course Goals

At the end of this class you will be able to use the advanced functions available in Vue to create realistic materials and spectacular spectral atmospheres.

Course Reviews

Don: "Good, thought provoking lessons. It vastly increased my knowledge of Vue." More...