WIP: European Back Alley

Sir

yes but in the olden days they build them properly or they didnt stand up at all! and i think your would have collapsed a long time ago...

but hey, thats what artistic license is for

smokinbakin

Here is and update, including a reference photo which a am mostly modeling after, but I will change a few things to my liking.

In Sketchup

V-ray render

Reference photo

sepo

Exactly...arch is same thickness all around, otherwise it would collapse.

smokinbakin

@sepo said:

Exactly...arch is same thickness all around, otherwise it would collapse.

I think I will just make all the little stones near the top bigger, and just ignore the fact that my arch would collapse in real life

sepo

Part of believeable render is that it resembles real and correct. If your arch does not read correct it will always poke you in the eye...

smokinbakin

@sepo said:

Part of believeable render is that it resembles real and correct. If your arch does not read correct it will always poke you in the eye...

Well I will do what I can to fix the problem, If you want to have a go fixing the problem, here is the Arch.

the arch

artysmedia

I would like to be able to make something similar to this someday...
I want to see more!

smokinbakin

Here is part of the model I have textured, I rendered it in V-Ray attempting a evening look. I have included the visopt settings at the bottom, renamed as a ruby script.

Evening shot

Evening render settings

marked001

looking awesome so far...

artysmedia

Good job with light and textures... waiting for more more more

smokinbakin

Thanks for the comments! Here is another render, I tried to make it a bit brighter.

olishea

it looks real, nice texturing. I enjoy looking at this post. although I would reduce the opacity of your vignette layer

brodie

I agree, it's looking really promising! Fun thread to follow along with as more comes out

I'm with olishea on the rendering but then again I hate it when people start nitpicking my WIP so I won't say anything about that

-Brodie

cadmunkey

nice model, I look forward to more progress.

massimo

Very nice model so far. But comparing your model with the real photo i can say:

The proportion between the width of the alley and the height of the buildings is wrong and very improbable in a medieval city. The right side building has to be higher and the alley tighter;
You have a strange, and quite impossible, floor join in the right side building: the backline of the door-window of the first floor is under the top edge of the door on the ground floor;
The left side building has, in the reference photo, a crooked front that ideally converge towards the arch. The same for the building of the right side: his front is aligned with the arch;
The real alley has no sidewalks.
I understand that your model in not intended to be “real”, but when you design a street or a square, proportions and relationships between the open spaces and buildings are really important to represent a place, even an imaginary one.
Sorry, i know, i’m a boring european architect

smokinbakin

@massimo said:

Very nice model so far. But comparing your model with the real photo i can say:

The proportion between the width of the alley and the height of the buildings is wrong and very improbable in a medieval city. The right side building has to be higher and the alley tighter;

You have a strange, and quite impossible, floor join in the right side building: the backline of the door-window of the first floor is under the top edge of the door on the ground floor;

The left side building has, in the reference photo, a crooked front that ideally converge towards the arch. The same for the building of the right side: his front is aligned with the arch;

The real alley has no sidewalks.
I understand that your model in not intended to be “real”, but when you design a street or a square, proportions and relationships between the open spaces and buildings are really important to represent a place, even an imaginary one.
Sorry, i know, i’m a boring european architect

I appreciate the help, but I am not trying to exactly model the photo, It was just use as a basis for my model. As for the impossible floor join, I am hoping one in a thousand people will actually notice it. But thanks for the help

Edson

@solo said:

It's free:

An Ivy Generator

(graphics.uni-konstanz.de)

have you played with that? i wonder how sketchup would deal with the polys involved in those ivies.

solo

Edson, I certainly have and really like it, but I do not import the final .obj into SU as SU cannot handle the polys, I export my model and Ivy into a 3rd party render app instead.

Edson

@solo said:

Edson, I certainly have and really like it, but I do not import the final .obj into SU as SU cannot handle the polys, I export my model and Ivy into a 3rd party render app instead.

i imagined that. thanks for the info.

smokinbakin

Update, this render is very experimental as you can tell from the lighting,( I probably need to add more photons) comments on textures and modeling welcome.
BTW- Does anyone know how to un smooth something after it has already been smoothed? I want to fix the infamous impossible arch.