Oli,

Thanks for the images. They are fantastic.

I haven't used png's in a while, could someone point me to a tutorial that shows how to create the shadow effect shown for the treeline? That's what happens when you don't use a technique for a few years...sigh.

Thanks,
O2bwln

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll certainly give LaCie a try. I can tell you that WD has lost my business for life. Every one of their hard-drives has crashed on me...grrr

Hi folks,
I'm looking for a good 1tb external hard drive recommendation.
I recently purchased a WD My Passport Essential 750 and it crapped out about 1 month later (I've had the worst luck with WD).

Any experiences with Seagate, Iomega, etc? I recently lost lots of info on the WD so i'm really gunshy with them.

Thanks,
O2bwln

Hi folks,
Finally bit the bullet and purchased Twilight, great investment!
I've been reluctant to get into the rendering scene due to the intimidation factor (mainly lighting) but this program goes a long way in helping overcome the learning curve.
Here's my first attempt with an emphasis on materials while I still learn the lighting.

I'd love some CC on this.

Thanks,
O2bwln

I've been following this thread and am interested in any new developments/opinions from the OP?

Would love to hear what you ended up with.

Thanks,
O2bwln

As an architect i've always felt that there are 3 types of people that we cater to:

1. customers
2. clients
3. patrons

The Customer is someone who pays our bread and butter, we're not looking to create the next best thing, rather we're providing a solution that works best for their budget and their needs.

The Client is someone who wants something more customized and is willing to pay a little extra for that and know that there will be issues that will comeup but is willing to work with us and come to the best conclusion for the project. Cost and durability is an issue but they want something that defines their lifestyle.

The Patron is someone who appreciates architecture as an art form and is willling to concede that with unique design comes unique problems, we're not working on an assembly line of drawings that has the benefit of having all the kinks worked out rather the understand that problems will arise and that the design is an ever evolving object that will have both problems and solutions associated with it.

All 3 of these types of people help keep me passionate about my profession and it too bad that the MIT building is going through the problems, but the building is a prototype and with all prototypes there will be problems, they knew that going into the process and now are complaining that the design is flawed.

my daily driver, unfortunately that isn't my daily commute

yup, it official...i hate you..

just kidding, this is amazing work. i've been using photoshop and sketchup for years and i'm always amazed by the amount of talented people that continue to teach me through their skill.

amazing stuff

I just ordered the Gateway FHD2400 24" from Gateway. It should be here soon. All the reviews said it's better than Dell for reliability and appearance.

I'll let you know as soon as i get it.

Take care,
NChander

Juju,

I just picked up the BFG 8800GTX myself, haven't received it yet but you'll have to let me know how you like it so far.

Not sure how Sketchup will see a better boost in speed, but when i'm geeking out it'll be worth the price

take care,
nchander

the old sketchup boards are definately dead. I've been a member for quite a while and its nice to see familiar faces on this board.

I recently got married and moved to a new city and started a new job and while everything else is brand new its good to see some old famaliar faces

i usually charge by the Second. Typical cost is $100 a second. If i have to add movement and other animation features the cost includes that.

Most clients don't mind paying that type of price.

Hope this helps.

O2bwln

great looking renders, i've always liked your preliminary render style. Would you mind telling me what settings you use to create that yellow/shaded look?

thanks,
nchander