Compound Paths in the 8.2.1 Update

In this tutorial I show how changes in 8.2.1 make for a much better experience when working with bezier data brought in from Adobe Illustrator which has compound paths. The updated handling of this data makes for easier modeling and can help improve render performance (polygons render faster than bezier structures generally). In general it’s better to use the Thickness function when giving imported bezier profiles thickness instead of the bezier extrude tool when render performance is important. This is because polygon data is faster to render than complex bezier regions and this tutorial demonstrates this.
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Toothpaste packaging with metallic label elements

This tutorial shows how to not only create a label with metallic components, but to understand what makes the metallic parts metallic. It discusses reflections on metallic surfaces vs reflections on glossy diffuse surfaces.
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Properly setting up a glossy material

This tutorial walks through the process of setting up a glossy material. It shows the basic and proper steps to setting up a material with a diffuse and a glossy component so the material uses the fresnel interpolator and is properly energy balanced. It also explores the Smoothness channel as it relates to the Fresnel interpolator.
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Car Key, Part 4: Lighting and Rendering

This tutorial walks through the process of using HDR Light Studio to light and render the car key object. It walks through the use of the ‘Illumination’, ‘Reflection’ and ‘Visible Rim’ buttons to produce predictable lighting.
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