thanks guys. It was a personal project in conjunction with another designer to address sustainability issues. Keeping it more on the conceptual/fantastic side. I think that not censoring ideas can sometimes inspire some more realistic solutions. plus its really fun. The wind turbines are based on a venturi and a reduction in size of individual turbines. So instead of one very large cantilevered prop, you have a vertical series of smaller turbines, better able to handle variations in wind speed. The interior shape of the entire structure serves to speed up / concentrate low wind conditions.

the lab is pure fantasy.

sorry, i forgot to mention i used vray. So built in sketchup, vray render, then composite and adjust color and paint in photoshop.

i have a small sample of work at: http://www.totalrihal.com

sketchup and photoshop

a rather fantastical green roof idea, a lab, and some redesigned wind turbines.

those are really nice.

what is the learning curve on Vue compared to say Vray?

wow. that is amazing. i agree about the lens flare. you don't want anything in the way of that fantastic design/render.

gf.greg

here is the finalized version of the piece from the gallery thread. (it might be cropped a little funny...)

i'll try and get some images of the model up.

re: photomatch - for a lot of environment design concept artists get pushed into the 'look/feel/atmosphere' department. Many times i get 3d underlays from the AD to paint over or at least a generalized block out of where they want certain elements to be. I've gotten into the habit of taking their block out and photomatching to it and building/painting on top. It makes the photorealism easier and makes sure you don't get too far away from what your AD wants. I eventually started doing this with my own compositional sketches. i somehow feel it retains the initial artistic spark and keeps the traditional media in the workflow. I always let the sketch dictate the model and not the other way around. This means (to me) that i'm not letting the software dictate the design. In a way is a bit of the opposite of your painter sketches.

I really admire the amount of detail in the planning you have to go through! Your stuff is extremely well thought out and planned and the resulting compositions are both pleasing and useful. I think this is a fundamental difference between what an AD/PD does and production illustration. You don't get the luxury of saying 'someone else will figure out the details!' - which is something you find amoung concept guys. They will love to do the really cool painting, but are never quite sure exactly what the form is doing, or what is behind those trees. I think sketchup is a tool I can use to make that gap smaller. AD's love it when you have a model, to scale, that you can rotate around and show exactly what you are thinking.

But of course they always want changes .

the trees in the above image are all photoshop. I put in proxy geometry in my rough model, then dropped in photos later on.

let me ask you, as an AD how could what the production illustrator does make your life easier down the line? are you only looking for how the set will be dressed, color, atmosphere etc or more comprehensive concepts of the environment at the outset?

i do. i thought i posted them larger. i'm going to post a few other things when i get time, so i'll repost them at that time. i would also like to see more about the integration of modo into others work flow.

as a concept artist/production illustrator, I for a long time, used the process of moving from traditional sketch to digital illustration in photoshop. Working with production designers and art directors I have more and more moved to using 3d (sketchup mostly, learning modo..) to allow flexibility in changes and having a clearer idea of what the form or location actually looks like. I find using sketchup, that i draw less and less traditionally, and move into sketchup earlier in the process. (i guess that's why its called sketchup...). I then refine the painting in photoshop - but find that using Vray has cut my photoshop time dramatically as well. In my experience photorealistic images are more the norm as 3d has become accessible, and programs like CS4 allow more manipulation of 3d natively.

@unknownuser said:

I need the power and wickedness of Modo, but with the hard surface modelling simplicity of SU

you hit the nail right on the head there.
great images!

Your car work is great. I actually follow your threads quite a bit but don't comment....but people are definately listening. Your car tutorial was great. I'm hoping at some point you have the time to get a few more together because they are extremely helpful and your work is awsome.

silvershadow,

on your next presentation could you document an example of how you make one of your more detailed 'pieces?' In your last model you have a few elements that are organic with loads of amazing detail built in and I'm struggling to wrap my brain around it!

at least a hint?

thanks! keep up the amazing work and I can't wait to see your newest endeavor.

i'm unable to install. is anyone else having issues? it said i was missing a certain .dll file and to reinstall. I tried that a few times, to no avail. then all of a sudden my license for v7 says its expired?!

ditto. using vray for sketchup v1.00

does it work for the newest release?

i find it to be great at the concept phase, especially if there aren't super fine details to resolve. I use it a lot - but almost never without photoshop post processing in the form of curves adjustment and painting. even if I've rendered in vray - (which is extremely fast and I would recommend.) I find that when working with an art director or production designer and they want to inevitably start making changes to your model, it is easier to resolve in paint. But a lot of people i know use it for quick turn around - commercials etc.

once i need to start really resolving form issues, color etc i have much more control in photoshop/painting. I find sketchup to be extremely difficult to create the detail i want. but that is just me.

I've seen a lot of great stuff form lightwave/modo/ etc but that is a different learning curve entirely.

v7 is kind of like Star Wars episode 1 ......

nytimes.com

(www.nytimes.com)

i don't think he's the most liberal ever.

on a normal desk top printer you usually can't to borderless printing. I print on a larger piece of paper and then cut it down to the appropriate size. On your image, create a feint border that is the actual size of the paper you want. arrange your images and text in that space. print on a larger piece of paper and then cut down.

i've done a lot of this ... and it usually works well. use a x-acto and straight edge.

remember the hanging chads and the voter intimidation in florida 8 years ago? remember weapons of mass distruction? aluminum tubes? torture? the patriot act? indefinite imprisonment with representation? speaking out against the government being unpatriotic?

in the face of this, the Obama-Ayers connection is flimsy at best.

edit: remember...global warming needs more 'research?'

i think God should run the country. And the economy. but not YOUR God. MY God.

i guess its the same way that people overlooked W's coke snorting, drunk driving and close ties with the saudis.