KN-Here are some wireframes. I'm afraid they aren't very good simply because there is so much geometry. All the bricks, panels, and roof tiles make a real jumble. But if there is something specific you'd like to see, I'm happy to post it.

Daniel-I agree about the wood; I just haven't gotten to it yet. For now, I'm just trying to get everything modeled, which I think will take another two to five years. The finishes I'm showing are mostly place-holders for now. I'm happy with almost none of them.

Here is a page with some good photos of what Midway Gardens used to look like. Cool, huh?

http://www.steinerag.com/flw/Artifact%20Pages/PhRtS180Fuermann.htm

This weekend I'm going to give Thea a try and if I have some good results, I'll post them.

Thanks for all the comments!

Cotty-It's hard to maneuver the complete model, just because it's so big and I'm on a relatively weak laptop that I didn't buy for rendering. All the major rooms are components that I can work on individually and then reload. Sometimes it's slow, but it's still manageable.

João-I completely agree with everything you said. This is all very preliminary, despite all the work I've already put in. I'll get rid of the little Sketchup dude eventually, but I've done series of renderings already with him in there and it's nice to have him as a reference point.

sfto1-I'd guess I'm at about 500 hours at this point. A lot of that time is figuring stuff out, and I wasn't kidding about doing everything twice. In fact, some things I have changed at least five times, and occasionally the changes are enormous. I've done some very elaborate autoCAD drawings as well to help me along. It's slow going, but makes me very happy.

xiombarg-Glad you like the mural. It's one of my favorite parts and was all done in sketchup; it's not a graphic. Those are all hundred sided circles. Here is a close up.

Any more comments and suggestions are more than welcome. I'm thinking of giving Theta a try since so many people on here seem to have good results. Also, if anyone has any suggestions on how to do statues, I'd love to hear it. Thanks!

Hello all,

This is my first time posting a model of my own on here, and I admit I’m a bit intimidated. I could be a lot better at Sketchup, and my renderings are pretty amateurish (I used IDX with a minimal amount of manipulation), which leaves me feeling like quite a newbie in terms of my skill. Having said that, I’m extremely proud of this model, which I have been working on for over four years and probably have several more to go before it’s finished.

This is my attempt to recreate a lost building: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Midway Gardens. It was built in 1914, was altered only two years later, and had a number of ill-advised renovations before its demolition in 1929. It was a huge entertainment complex, where hundreds of people could eat indoors or outside. There was dancing, bars, and an outdoor stage. Frank Lloyd Wright designed everything, including the furniture, dishes, and the murals on the walls. Not only did it have a very short life, but it was never completed to his design. I’ve been basing my model on photos and drawings of Midway Gardens. Some rooms I have no info for at all and am using my best judgment. When it’s complete, I hope to have a great model and walk-through of what the building should have been.

I’m taking the modeling approach of creating every single thing in 3D. I realize I could have saved myself a lot of time just using textures for the bricks and the roof tiles, but to me it is worth it. There is literally not one single thing on here I haven’t done at least twice trying to figure out what the building was really like.

Please bear in mind that this model is still extremely incomplete. The statues have no heads, most of the stained glass is missing, and more than half the building just doesn’t exist. But I’d love to have everyone’s reaction regardless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSo1NTPQ2tw

Wow, what fantastic replies! I can't thank you all enough for the info. I'd never even heard of Vray before, but I like the idea of checking several different versions out. (I'd never heard of photosculpt either, but that is just plain wicked cool.) Unfortunately, my laptop is definitely NOT built for fast rendering-I had no idea I'd get into this when I bought it-but I guess that's why you can leave it on overnight.

Right now, just based on replies, I'm leaning towards Twilight. That museum is exactly what I had in mind for my model. But I'll try a few of them and see what works best. Again, thanks so much!

Hello all,

I'm a total newbie, but I'm doing an ambitious project. Currently I'm trying to model a very large Frank Lloyd Wright building. So far it is going very well, but I don't know what to do to make it look more realistic. The firm I work for sometimes uses IDX renditioner, which gives decent results but can't do everything I need. There are two things the rendering program must be able to do for me to buy it. First, it must be able to make a fully rendered video walk-through of the building. Second, it must be able to do a pretty good job with stained glass. Both of these are lacking with IDX.

I've heard good things about Twilight Render, but I'd like the opinion of people who have used it. Is it easy to use? How are the effects? Would you recommend something else and why? Any assistance you can give me with this would be really helpful. Thanks!