Nice Stuff Solo!

I think it is a great idea to create your own - I want to take the time to do the same some day. I like the organic shapes you have started with - very contemporary feel to them all.

My suggestion would be to look at some of the manufacturers sites you think are cool and closely observe some of the finer details of their pieces. It's often the little things that make a difference. Here are a couple of my favorites;

http://website.johansondesign.se
http://www.fritzhansen.com
http://www.artifort.com
http://www.moroso.it
http://www.bebitalia.it
http://zanotta.it
http://portal.cappellini.it

There are both practical and material influences that can affect your designs. For instance - the first 3 pieces rest flatly on the ground plane in a suction cup manner. This isn't usually preferred from a material standpoint as even the slightest of feet or pads that raise it off the ground provide a little airflow, and protection against a liquid spill on the floor surface. Also - some of the pieces seem just a little too upright to be comfortable, and even the slightest hint of a more body conforming seat / back can add a lot of realism.

I assume you are using the sub-d and smooth ruby to achieve these very flowing results - wonderful job!

Bytor

Thanks for the quick feedback guys! It really helps me with my list of what I need to fix when back at the office next week.
@will03 said:

-A new angle might be better, that tree is taking up way too much of the image,
-Re-colour that bench, it appears to be black, I think that it could be a much better draw towards the building with a much lighter colour.

Will03 - yes, I didn't pick the best angle for this shot. It was the last one in the series and I wanted to get close and show the owner the entrance / name / plaque on this portion of the building. I will try and adjust to throw the tree to the left side of the image a little. The bench actally had an opacity map that I noticed had a problem with scaling at the last min. - so I fudged by turning it off and only using the colour - I will fix that as well.

Tom - you are too kind... ...... I actually learn from your work posted here!
@tomsdesk said:

To heighten the image perspective a bit, check out the "SideMerge" filter from DC...you can merge a less focused, less contrast, layer to intensify the feeling of depth.

On the other side, the first thing that hit me was the color of the pavers...a touch too pink? Then the vertical mortar joints on the closest building corner (this is just wrong :`) Then yes, the center tree...especially as it matches/obscures exactly that corner of the building.

I will have to look into that filter - sounds quite interesting. I already have the pavers (actually stamped / colored concrete) identified to be re-colored. They are pretty close to this pink, but need more of a clay (orange) tone to be accurate. I didn't notice the mortar joints until you mentioned it - now it bugs the hell out of me so I will have to fix that. I have attached 3 more views that explain the project a little better. The elongated more tradition structure on the left is the existing (100+ years old) structure that is being rehabbed. All of the stuff to the right is to house an entrance / stairs / elevator which will serve as a seperate access to the second floor - which is being converted to meeting / training rooms.

Thanks for the feedback - keep it coming!
Bytor

1 image in a series of 8 prepared for the owner of the firm I work for. The style is something I have been working toward for a while - it combines layers of output from Kerjythea and native SU styles. A little post work to achieve ouput you see here.

Please tell me what you think - we are considering it as an alternative to photo-real images on some exterior projects.

Thanks,
Bytor

Thanks Modelhead!

I really need this to complete a project for my wife that is a couple weeks past due. I appreciate this and all your other contributions to this site!

Bytor

Thanks Solo - Great Stuff!

Kim & Jon,

Thanks both of you for your help. I didn't keep this SU model and view after I exported because I delete a wa;; to get the view I wanted to work with. I did test what you taught me on another image that is posted in the Gallery section here. I see this as just another fun way to use Kerky, and I will experiment a lot more on some other interiors I need to produce soon.

Thanks again!
Bytor

I am trying to come up with an npr method that is a little more technical so that it shows more detail than a water color style would. This is a building I have modeled in SU and exported various hidden line images and mixed them with rendered images from Kerkythea. I did a lot of experimenting, and here I am showing two options that I am considering. Please let me know what you think!

Thanks,
Bytor

Hello,
Is there a method for being able to export an image of just the linework from SU to mix with the Kery rendered output. I have attached an image I am playing with where I have layered and adjusted two different Kerky outputs together and would like to add a skechy line effect to it as well. I can't seem to get the same / aspect image if I try to export an image from SU.

Is anybody doing this? And if so - could you show an example and explain how please.

Thanks,
Bytor

Phil,

I understand what you are saying regarding the "tool" analogy - and I think that is exactly why so many here are expressing concern. SU is a vital tool for most of us in our trade, hence the passionate responses. I think a lot of the concern is raised due to the lack of information Google is willing to provide for the PRO version's development and future plans. Their PR focus seems to be geared towards the GE and now Lively audiences. One could make an arguement that where SU is right now(v6 development)is more than sufficient to support these endeavors, as a bonus - throw in the Warehouse and the majority of it's content into that mix as well. Keep it all free and let Google make their money in the advertising possibilities within Lively. But - what do we do about the PRO users? The tool admittedly is showing some basic development limitations in file size / poly count, as wel as taking advantage of the current (multi-core) hardware capabilities. Beyond that - the ruby community is doing some incredible work with what SU6 has to offer.

Your reference of Autodesk and it's applications is appropriate as well, and that probably has more to do with the level of paranoia expressed here. I am a former user of both Lightscape (from before the autodesk buyout) and an SU like product - which I think was called Architectural Studio. Lightscape was a lighting design application that also was a fantastic radiosity renderer - killed after a few years and only 1 release cycle in Autodesk's hands. Most of what it did has been rolled into the former VIZ and now MAX, but there were some features and aspects that even the current generation of biased / unbiased renderers don't completely match. Arch Studio was out in the early days of SU and lasted only 1 or 2 release cycles - was very SU like (but in an Autocad friendly format) with similar capabilities to the layout tools right in the base functionality. One a great tool - one a good tool which had plenty of room to be developed. Both dead at the hands of a large corporation, supposedly due to the high development costs for a somewhat limited market.

Are we too paranoid? Probably, but given today's economy and market it is understandable. The design software industry doesn't do anything to quell these concerns either. Google is paying the price for what we all have come to expect from the other non-SU design applications. Yearly subsciptions with scheduled upgrades which constitute minor feature enhancements and bug fixes, sprinkled with a few new developments here and there.

I am officially not so paranoid now since I spent several hours last night watching a couple of the videos from the Basecamp sessions. If we all take a step back and view the situation from the perspective of what development has occured to SU in the form of ruby scripts since the release of v6 - things don't necessarily look so bad. If this business model works for Google and the pro version can continue development with the open framework that provides the ruby developers the opportunities to reach even higher - I am OK with that. Just give us the speed and power we need and allow for some seperation between the free and pro user communities!

Sorry to ramble so - Bytor

Might I dare say this has been quite a "Lively" thread!

I have no interest in the online social experiments as such, but I can understand Google's move to address the up and coming young consumer generation. They can sell the advertising to those who don't hesitate, and in fact have a propensity to click. As a parent of 4 between 15 & 18 - I struggle with the amount of time they spend and their gravitation to being on-line. But the reality I have come to is that is how today's young crowd socializes. It infuriates me and amazes me all at the same time.

Now - to emphasize what was stated earlier - I truly hope that Google is watching and listening to us and does understand what an incredible design tool they have. I too have encountered the elitist snobs that stick their nose up at sketchup - architects, designers, and visualizers alike. But, when you meet someone that does use and approve - they are typically the type of individual that is truly excited about their work, and can not wait to show you and discuss what they are doing with SU. When an Architect or Interior Designer shuns such and intuitive design tool - I smile and think of how easy it just was for me to explore 4-5 design options and review them with a boss or peer, or better yet a client. Decisions get made and we move on, and can even produce final presentations / marketing materials before the "others" have even gotten out of the gate.

Google - please leave the current SU free for the "uber-consumer netizens" of tomorrowland. Develop PRO as a big brother application on a multi-core code base that remains open for all of the wonderfull RUBY minds that help to make SU sing! You know - the paying crowd!

Bytor

Happy Independence Day!

In honor of this special day here in America - a firecracker red lounge set. The Avera series by furniture manufacturer Wilkahn. All models are a mix of the mfg's cadd files and fresh SU modeling to clean up and get the file sizes as small as possible while still maintaining a decent level of detail. A Kerkythea rendered imag can be foud here; http://www.sketchucation.com/forums/scf/download/file.php?id=11411&mode=view

Hope you like them!
Bytor

Wilkahn_Avera_Seating.zip

Wilkahn_Avera_Benches.zip

Wilkahn_Avera_Tables.zip

Mike and Ross,

Thanks for this link and the reference. Very interesting read, and I really like her work. Thanks again for sharing!

Bytor

Thanks Fredrik!

The translucent material were just what I was looking for - don't know how I missed them before. I used those materials for the shades and just replaced the spotlights with a face and the illuminat material mapped to them - very easy to control. Here is an update with those changes - I still have a little more tweaking I want to do.

Bytor

Scott,

Great job!

I have wanted to do this myself for a very long time. I hope you go the extent of rendering this when you are done!

Bytor

Hello,

I am trying to figure out the best way to represent Glass Lighting Shades. Inthe attached image - I have used a material from the "Illuminants" library. I also have spot lights inside to present the most accurate dispersion of the light. I like how the shades add to the general illumination, and help to take the edge off of the spotlight shadows, but I think they "glow" a little too much to be realistic. What setting do I need to work with to control this?

Thanks,
Bytor

Ok - lot's from my list already here - Alan's list knocked off quite a few. While I am not a violent person, I have a love for war movies. WW II especially
"Where Eagles Dare" - Clint Eastwwod / Dirty Harry
"The Bridge on the River Kwai" - William Holden / Alec Guinness
"Saving Private Ryan" - Tom Hanks / Tom Sizemore
and the episodal TV mini-series "Band of Brothers" - too many characters to list a foavorite. This one still captures me if it is on the TV - I usually stop and watch.
My other war fav's are;
"Letters from Iwo Jima" - never saw the american counterpart, maybe never will!
"Platoon" - Willem Dafoe / Charly Sheen
" Full Metal Jacket" - Matthew Modine / R. Lee Ermey (the first 15 min. still blow me away)
And of course - my all-time favorite; "Apocalypse Now" - Martin Sheen / Robert Duval / Marlon Brando

Bytor

Thanks for the feedback guys - great suggestions!

As I intend to use this method again - I will likely work on a whole library of WC tree variations with more coordinated and seasonal colors. Nick - I really like the edges suggestion. That could be a big difference in a series of images like this when viewed together. While there is not s much control as other methods - to be able to quickly crank this type of output straight from SU with styles is very cool!

Bytor

bianhai,

As everyone has already stated - awesome work!!

Quite a variety of styles. You show some very specific technical work, and some wonderfull moody and loose styles. I am envious of your talent!

Bytor