Nice, thanks

@unknownuser said: That's... that's a bathroom? Wow! Yeah, I also think a rug would be nice. Dont know what it is really... just a room with some washing facilities and pool (oh and TV too heres a close up of the sinks (no post processing, raw from SU and Vray) [image: kIsD_vbn.0000.jpg]

For raw SU output, I use FormFonts plant components - that is a subscription service, however, and may not be an option for you. As mentioned above, Solo and Tom have some nice plants for sale - if you will be modeling a lot, you might weant to consider investing in some. You might also look on 3D Warehouse for some plants.

If you don't have the site contour info: just pull the grade lines on each elevation out a few feet to create contoured planes (use the extrude lines ruby or just add a bottom line to create a vertical plan then push/pull), then fake these ground planes together at the corners...quick and dirty!

@unknownuser said: Also, when usin Vray to render, it takes around 5 minutes or so for teh render screen to appear. Is this just how it is or can i work around this? Exactly what is the version number of the VfSU you use?

Great start; I have a couple of comments if I may. The brick at the top of the opening seems to be a half brick. The ceiling in the opening seems to be hanging brick, how do you plan on hanging that brick? The siding on the upper would typically have corner boards.

Yea, you don't normally get sharp shadows with HDRIs. I think I've heard of people who made a blend map for the GI and made a mix with the HDRI and Sun/Sky...

@tomsdesk said: Try setting the image transparency to 98%...sure helps my tree png's. Thanks to you both. Tom - im at work so I dont have access to my programs. By transparancy do you mean adjusting it within the transparancy option thats next to the diffuse option within the materials editor in Vray? ie sliding it from white into the black by 2%?

Hi your main problems are coming from tone mapping and exposure, if you adjust your image so its correctly exposed before you start adjusting material properties you will get a much better render. Im a bit out of practice with Vray but in Vray for 3dsmax you can adjust your exposure in the camera settings using tradition camera settings like F-stop and shutter etc.

@thomthom said: When you use the Sun/Sky system as light source you will get clear shadows. (you can soften by increasing the sun's Size) But when you use HDRI as light source you have no control over the shadows. You can use HDRI as background and Sun/Sky as light source - but you might very well end up with lighting that doesn't fit with your background. Thanks...what about how to add the vegetation? Any idea where id find information or tutorial on how to do this? Thanks again

HouseBuilder_extension.rb doortools.rb 1001bit_pro.rb cd_architect.rb cd_architect_extension.rb spiralstair11.rb stair.rb stair_maker.rb surveytool.rb WindowTools.rb weld.rb the SCF Power Tool bars are good too...

Are you willing to build this yourself or how much choice do you have in deciding which parts you get? About the CPU, here is a comparison of the i7 965 extreme and the 950 (I couldn't find the 960 but assume the 965 should be better) and there isn't much of a gap between the two. If it's much of a price increase I'd say you'd get more for your money elsewhere. Incidentally, that is a good place to compare different CPUs and GPUs. For the case, there are better options. If you want a nice case (good looks, noise reduction, and good ventilation) the Antec P183 would be my choice. If you want something cheaper, but still pretty nice (good ventilation, slightly cheaper build) the Antec 300 illusion would be another way to go (personally, I would cut the wire to the blue lights as they look a little 'gamer' to me -- aside from that it's a pretty clean looking case). The Sonata seems a little generic with no real functional advantages. For the graphics card, the 470 is a very good card, but also very loud and runs very hot. The 460 is not much of a drop in performance but does much better than the 470 for heat and noise. If you need more power down the road, add a second (just make sure you get a motherboard that supports this if you think you might want to do that at some point) and 2 460's beat a 480 by about 25% on average (see my previous post). For storage the Samsung Spinpoint F3 seems to be the way to go (for speed, at least). As far as CPU cooling -- I think this is a good idea. If you're investing thousands on a system spend 30 bucks and get a quality aftermarket cooler. If you ever want to overclock -- great! but even if you don't the 1366 chipset runs hot and it can only help the lifespan of the system to get one. The Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus seems to be the best for price/performance (at $30) but most any cooler should be better than the stock cooler. Here's a list comparing various coolers -- this is based around the 1156 chipset but most of these (the 212, specifically) will work for 1366 as well. In case someone's not familiar with them: 1366 = i7 9xx family of processors 1156 = i5 7/8xx family I hope I'm not overwhelming you with information but this is something I've been researching for a while for when I can afford a system.

3d: http://solosplace.com/3Dgarden.aspx 2d: http://www.cadplants.com/

FormFonts.com

@frederik said: Before answering this question, we need to know about what rendering application you want to use... Depending on what render app. you want to use, solution can differ... It can be high poly 3D trees and scrub you add in the render app... It can be entourages to insert in post pro subsequently... It can be a mixture of the above and other solutions as well... So please provide some more information and I'm sure lots of users in this great community will be willing to help you with guidance and tutorials... Thanks for the reply. Im using sketchup and vray as my render... im kinda new to this so was wondering what best way to insert shrubs and trees... see a sample of what Ive done and recomendations would be appreciated.... [image: qDH0_15ex_eltra.png]

Have you searched the Sketchucation Extensions Index, or Ruby Library Depot, or Smustard? There are other sources out there, I just can't name them. Others may know and hopefully will respond.

thx guys