renderman on SGI or SUN?

[zizi zhao]

I am planning to buy a new UNIX box, either SGI or SUN, to
do graphics and java. OpenGL is native on SGI, it would
certainly run better on SGI. But, how about renderman?
Is there decent renderman software available on SGI also?
Which one, SGI or SUN, is the better ENV to do renderman?

Thanks,

ZZ

[John Ferguson]

Have used PRMan (Pixar's), and BMRT - Blue Moon Rendering Tools
on SGI, but never on SUN. Never had a problem with either one.
PRMan is kind of expensive, but that is a relative term. BMRT
is inexpensive, and can be found at:

http://www.seas.gwu.edu/student/gritz/bmrt.html

John

[Stephen Westin]

In article <33404A...@worldnet.att.net> zizi zhao <zi...@worldnet.att.net> writes:

> I am planning to buy a new UNIX box, either SGI or SUN, to
> do graphics and java. OpenGL is native on SGI, it would
> certainly run better on SGI. But, how about renderman?
> Is there decent renderman software available on SGI also?

You bet.

> Which one, SGI or SUN, is the better ENV to do renderman?

I'd put it as a toss-up; Pixar's own render farm is made of Suns, but
I'd be shocked if no prman jobs ever ran on their SGI interactive
machines. At any rate, plenty of Pixar customers have SGI's as a main
platform, so you can expect good support. On an SGI, there is also the
option of using Alias for modeling and animation either through ATOR
(Pixar's product) or Gestel's plugin.

--
-Stephen H. Westin
swe...@ford.com
The information and opinions in this message are mine, not Ford's.

[MarshRoss]

<< On an SGI, there is also the
option of using Alias for modeling and animation either through ATOR>>

I've used ATOR and it is an excellent interface to RenderMan. I believe
it even interfaces with BMRT, though I have yet to give that option a go.

Marshall Ross