What does ILM use??

Actually, you can use paint studio pro and imovie on the same computer. They make software for windows that allows users to use Mac apps. It's really useful too.

 

Well as far as researching I do mantain a handy FAQ:

ILM FAQ

As far as OSes they use a variety. The majority of the CG people use Unix in two varieties: IRIX for the SGI machines and RedHat Linux. The renderfarm is mainly Linux now courtesy of RachSaver. There is of course Macs in several deptartments including the Mac Rebel Unit. There is even Windows for non creative roles like Human Resources, PR, management, etc.

Mac OSX is based on BSD. You could get a good foundation on UNIX via OSX though you would have to get to the command line. If you want experience or be prepared to what ILM (and severl other houses use) get RedHat, you can get it cheap or free.

BTW, the latest issue os Linux Journal describes ILM's renderfarm:


GFX: Industrial Light & Magic
RackSaver Testimonials
Linux Journal August issue

...Unlike Mac and Windows, it is not entirely a graphical interface OS.

Not quite, you normally use SGI workstations from the graphical environment. Same with Linux, you could spend your whole time in Gnome, KDE, or any other graphical environment. The only difference is that you have the command line at your disposal which is very powerful and almost a must. Even on Mac OSX you can get to the command line and tap into the underlying *nix system.

Pixar's Renderman was used on The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones.

Well PRMan is used in all productions, though now Mental Ray has a very prominent role at ILM too.

and their own software called CompTime.

They use a ton of propietary softwarer, not only CompTime. Some other ones include Viewpaint, Cari, Zeno, FleshLight, MARS, Loupe, Isculpt, Prender, etc just to name a few.

I know Softimage XSI was used for Attack of the Clones.

It was actually Softimage 3D I think version 3.9 though it could have been something like 3.7. The first versions of XSI lacked some key features (like the dopesheet) that ILM needed that they stuck with Soft 3D. They have been testing XSI since it came out but it's until about this year (or last year at the most) that they have really started using it on a bigger scale.

From what I gather, UNIX and Linux are essentially the same, except that Linux is developed to work on WinTel boxes. I think it's been scaled back from the original UNIX a bit, but that's about it.

Well UNIX is a trademark is you want to be anal but on more practical terms it's a amily of operating systems either based, derived or insprired from ATT Unix or Berkely Unix (BSD), and usually foloow the POSIX standard and the normal unix utilities and programming interfaces. Linux is a Unix based OS created by Linux Torvalds. technically it can't be called Unix, just Unix like, because the tests and paperwork needed for certification is expensive. While Linux was originally developed for PCs, they do run on several other types of hardware, including Apple machines, or in virtual environments like on IBM's big iron.

As far as Linux, RedHat is the most widespread in North America. technically Mandrake is now just RPM based though it started as RedHat base. Also most CG programs are only certified for RH, though they might easily run on other distros. But that's why ILM and others use RH.

Maya for things like space ships, buildings, particle effects, water etc. ILM uses Softimage mostly for character animation.

Well Maya is used also for character animation, like on Pirates of the Caribbean. It's mostly used by TDs and is alos used in certain specific phases of character animation, like setting up the dynamic muscle system, even if the primary animation is done elsewhere. The in-house Cari is also used for character animation besides Softimage.

As far as I know, Electric Imag

 

Excellent clarification of some of the things I was saying.

One other point to clarify. You mention that Mandrake is RPM based. I think that's part of the reason I like it so much.

Explanation:
RPM is an installation package written for a particular distro of Linux. So, if you download a Blender RPM (for instance), it must be for the Linux distro you use. It won't work on any other. Unlike Windows and Mac, file placements and so on are not as standardized. So a specific RPM must be written for each distro.

The idea of writing an installer for applications that will work on all distros of Linux is a bit far off.

Normally - I'd say more often than not - if you want an app for your Linux box, you need to download the source files and compile it yourself.

Now, I'm not going to get into the technical benefits of this, there are many. But, it's actually quite difficult for begginers of the system to grasp this whole concept.

This is one of the reasons that I still recommend Mandrake. There are more RPMs available for Mandrake than any other distro that I know of.


malducin: I'm curious... You sound like you know quite a bit about this stuff... Which version do you use, or prefer?

 

Well Mandrake basicly started as RedHat with KDE included. A few years ago though they decided to make it into its own distro, with development independent of RedHat. So now there are differences but it's still RPM based.

Well I'm quite rusty in Linux myself, haven't used it much lately. Right now I have RH 9 installed. I did start with Slackware and tried Mandrake too though.

 

For those that may be interested...

While I was sitting at my Linux machine writing all that stuff last night, I did some screen grabs.

I'm posting these mostly so folks who have never used Linux can at least see what the GUI looks like. These are grabs taken from Mandrake 9.0 running KDE 3.0.

Desktop #1:
[image=http://www.sbtnj.com/downloads/snapshot1.png]

Desktop #2:
[image=http://www.sbtnj.com/downloads/snapshot2.png]

For those not familiar with Xwindows (the GUI for Linux)... Both of these desktops are running live on the same machine. It's one of the coolest features I've ever seen. You can run totally seperate processes on each desktop and switch between them whenever you want. By default it's set to 4 desktops. I have mine set to 2 to conserve resources.


I'm a little surprised that Lokmer hasn't popped into this thread yet. He uses Mandrake exclusively, I think. He was very helpful to me when I was setting this machine up.

 

*bump*

Not my thread, but I have been digging how it's been going.

 

watch you mouth you talk crap on corel!!

 

I see that you were just goofing with that comment, but I don't even understand what it meant.

Besides, I havn't seen anything in this thread about Corel. Maybe I missed something.

I do know that Corel was attempting to make a Linux distribution, and was forcibly cut off from being able to. I think Microsoft themselves actually paid them off to stop production.

 

my bad bro, I was referring to someone mentioning corel painter on the previous page.

I was definitely being a goof, but I gotta stand up for my Corel PhotoPaint

 

ILM use's a modified version of Maya Unlimited. They make their own plugings, such as texturing, lighting, Cloth, and the lightsabers, etc.

 

...do any of you read CGW? (Computer Graphics World) They have an extensive article on it.

 

As far as Linux screenshots you could have always pointed to the galleries in the KDE and Gnome websites:

KDE 3.1 screenshots
Gnome 2.2 screenshots

ILM uses the same version of Maya everyone uses, but yes they add their own scripts and plugins. It's no different as if you went to Highend3D.com and downloaded scripts and plugins to customize your Maya. Though I don't think they have a lightsaber plugin, that's more of a 2D effect, in Commotion and probably Sabre. Some cloth simulations are actually set on Cari too.

I do read CGW and there are countless articles about ILM. In the current issue there is one about The Hulk, and Linux Journal right now has an article on their renderfarm.

 

Has anyone used yellow dog linux or any other free distributions for macs?

 

MS Paint

 

...Quicktime.



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