Hey, your kitty cat is back. Great to "see you" again Tom. That goal is great. What can I say but Gooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllll

Mover will only work with groups and components http://sketchuptips.blogspot.com/2007/08/plugin-mover-2.html . And look at Render Plus plugins Space Design and Retools http://forums.renderplus.com/wiki/index.php?title=RpTools . Space Design is a free subset of RpTools. RpTools has additional things like making alpha channels within SU, a nice Component Explorer window, component axis aimer, PDF stuff, and eventually Flat Path will be reintroduced, etc. Al's move wizard will move individual bits of geometry.

Tina, me too! Actually wood lath, though (even better, huh?). Anyway, I myself would never have thought to position the circle like that...so it looks to be intertwined. Lovely I thought...thus the extra bytes. I wonder if Brosco still sells same back east? Last I looked they still sold doors with round lites.

thank you very much! poster-willo3

Archi rag here are the details from the cath up news letter Every month we have a Prize draw for the CatchUp newsletter. Since this is the first issue of CatchUp we're keeping it simple. We want you to create a 3D model. However, the model needs to be top notch! There are some basic rules to keep in mind, but we don't want to bother you with a mile long rules document. Post it to the 'Materials / Components / Styles' forum. Before the subject put the word CatchUp. That way it will automatically be counted in for the CatchUp prize draw. Basically you can apply as many times as you like. So if you send in one model or one hundred doesn't matter. What matters is the quality and originality of the model. An independent jury will judge the models one by one and will pick out the best one. There is no theme necessary, meaning, you can model anything you like. It can be architecture, industrial design, game design or even Arnold Schwarzenegger as the next US President. It's up to you. Go for your best! The end date for this prize draw to send in your models is August 25, 2007. here is the link to the newsletter http://www.sketchucation.com/scf/catchup/2007/august/ mike d

...and another after lunch: [image: tn_zNHCA-phases-color2-WC.jpg]

Thanks Jackson...exactly why I enjoy doing them: frees my brain (as much as possible :`)

I couldn't agree more (now that I see it <:~p...good eye Roger (Boo)! Flattened, smoothed, softened, and averaged...better? [image: tn_s-NHCA8p3pT-SU2.jpg]

@tomsdesk said: Mike, I actually looked into it: couldn't get near the machine for twice the price. Plus, the nearest (and only) Mac dealer/support is 60 miles away (and they know it :~( the next closest is almost 200 miles. Oh well. Tom, You are right, Macs are more expensive that equivalent PCs BUT, and its a BUT that is worth considering. Most if not all Mac Retailers WILL trade in your old Mac in 18 - 24 months time when you want to upgrade. They have this market created with students. This has been the case with my daughter's recent upgrade. Now try and find a PC Retailers that will take a trade-in on your old PC! You seem to be worried about backup! Yes, I agree this is very important when it comes to PCs BUT with the case of Macs the location of the retailer is not that important as once you make your purchase the chances are you wont be in contact again until you need to upgrade, believe me I got an 'out of the blue' call some weeks ago from some guy trying to sell me a Mac Back-Up Pack! I listened to what he had to say and it seemed that he must have been a 'freelancer' trying to get Mac Users to sign an Apple Maintenance Contract. I hope this is not his main source of income, if it is, I imagine he will be facing lean times Needless to say I did not take him up on the deal. On the other hand I ALWAYS signed up for the MC when I was buying PCs and often was very glad I did. Oh! and not to forget the monies forked over to my local PC Maintenace Shop. he was very disappointed to see me moving over to Mac! Just as a batter of interest! How many freelance Mac Maintence Shops do you see around? I've yet to come across one but have no problem locating freelance PC Maintenace Shops! Tom, look at the figures again! Spread them over 18-24 months and take the trade-in deal into account ALSO the 'No Down Time' / Maintenance Costs THEN reach a decision. Its like most quality products, once the initial purchase has been made (suffered) its all fun after that ..... most definately the case with a Mac. Mike

Thanks a lot Tom.

Ha Ha... I just noticed the potted plant in the tree. I guess I was focusing on the girl in the tent before.

I've done it with Roman ruins (they might pay less than banks though): First there was the ruin and second there was the reconstruction. Though I left the ruin there and just "added" the reconstruction "on top" so that it was clear what goes where. Also one time I did this with two alternat(iv)e reconstructions on the same ruins. The very thing you should remember in these presentations not to update (thus uncheck) camera position.

Ah yes, Tom, I am aware of the edges showing through alpha pings. I entered that bug in our database actually! Yeah, it's a tricky one, I hear... Man, it's always hard when one person's bug is another person's daily workflow. I empathize. I will add some weight to the bug. That is part of my "special purpose".. Cheers, - CraigD (Is there any other "CraigD"! :wink:

Sorry Tom I have not formulated an opinion or reviewed the images long enough to give a pertinent comment, However the poetry from Darth brang a smile to my face So I wanted to thank them for that.

Nice one, Tom!

Me too Will, I make a lot of trees I'll never get to use...except in my dreams (which I maybe too often post here :`). Thanks, Tom.

Guys, Thanks a bunch for your helpful responses. My attitude has always been pretty much exactly as Anssi stated. The hitch being the view for the LA's is more often from above like shown. But it dawned on me reading all this: when a shadow casts on a wall it really is just as simple as a flat horizontal...so there's the rub. A second plus for me is in hidden line and shaded modes, the cut up faces look much better too. So I've decided to pursue the nice shadow by first seeing if I can develope some sort of pinking shear template so making the shadow doesn't take longer than making the tree (and so I don't fall into using the same shadow for all). Then seeing how much I can cut down the edges and still have something nice. Then, if it isn't small enough still, I will add a simpler shadow component for alternate use...though I do always put the shadows on a separate layer too. Whadaya think? Any other hints? (Wish me luck driving around today...I'll be looking at tree shadows to distraction :`) Best, Tom.

hahaha, good one (I reckon the image should have read @last or SU, but just as funny just the same). yup, works fine...

@craigd said: It scares me Tom! No matter where I orbit...IT'S STILL WATCHING ME!! - CraigD That gives me an idea- has anyone done a fly-through animation of an interior space where the eyes on the paintings follow you? That'd be pretty darn cool! Dave