thanks again

Kinda looks like the Frank LLoyd Wright cabin in his Lake Tahoe project.
Good job. I like the watercolor style. Is it just a tweaked version of the default style in sketchup?

I think they are being cast on the "ground plane" not on your surface below. You can shut off casting shadows on the ground in the settings.

The Google Earth texture is not good. VERY blurry! I'm struggling with whether to go more realistic or to give it a more hand drawn look. I'm competent in Sketchup, I think, but very less so in Photoshop etc.
The project is part of the Congo Initiative.(http://www.congoinitiative.org/) Its part of some mission work my boss does. We are doing all the drawings here in the states and he goes over there a few time a year. Its a very fun and rewarding type of project. Even if I'm probably never going to see it in person.

Here is the real world site

Hello all. I need a bit of help. I've got a project located in the African Congo. I'm lost on how to make my scenes look more in tune with the real site. In these shots I'm having trouble finding a grass texture that shows any depth, also the trees are a bit out of place, I think. Not to mention the fact Joe white guy doesn't really look like the locals. I've attached a few pics of the real site area in a follow up post.
If you want to see higher res shots they are http://archi-tourture.blogspot.com/