Oh bugger. Guess what Ive been working on last couple of days. Yep, Aztec temple surrounded by palm trees. Have to put that away for later now, sob. :[ And it dont look a patch on Rochr`s pic, naturally.

Wow! Thanks for posting the steps.

All i can say is "wow". And "thanks". And "yum". And "that's a tough act to follow". D'oh!

Thanks - I'm also really impressed/interested in that post lighting magic

@ Sambucus - I wouldn't let the fact that your latest work is on a similar theme stop you, if everybody did that the Poser gallery would consist of only about 10 images! @Rochr - it's really interesting to get some idea of how you go about creating your magic! I'll just nip of now and wip one up! Seriously, excellent work!

Yeah Sambucus, i agree with Johnyf, just post the piece. Thanx for the kind words guys. I hope these wips can boost some ideas for someone. :)

Awesome work, I love your postwork style! Funny, but I'd been working on a Mayan tower all week, almost finished with the corpses. So don't let it stop ya, Sambucus... He's just always a step ahead... (grins)

just imagine..there'd only be 2 pictures in the Poser gallery..ok, ok, I'll stop..;) heaven knows they give us enough grief..;) fantastic..like the little 'r' in the materials..;)

Oh, you noticed that... :)

Ok first thats insert experlative "jaw-dropping" awesome! Second Sambucus, don't sell yourself short, you produce some equally impressive works. You guys are fantastic. But its so cool to see how it gets from point a to point z. Thanks Rochr. I think I can see all five letters of rochr in that rock.

It got my vote!

great show behind the scenes thx roch

You're always a source of inspiration Rochr. The progress images are very impressive. I'd like to know more about your vegetation canopy (how many polys there?) and your post work. That's some impressive lighting (do I see over 25 PS layers?). So much to learn :) Dave

Too bad i don't have photoshop to do postworks...it's so much better than the free crap.

Okay, lots of ideas for jungle stuff, I love archeology/anthropology, would have been my profession if art hadn't taken over, your progression is excellent, and I love the R in the design, kinda of a watermark signature...thank you very much for the wips, I was wondering how much foliage you actually used...=)

6497 Bryce palm trees was used here. And i think it was about 750000 polys for the foliage. Yes, there are a lot of layers, but thats because i made a few different renders and put them all together to highlight some darker details. And its good to be able to change something afterwards if necessary. :)

Wow, this absolutely ROCKS! WOOOHOOO!

ummm...wow! Ive always been wondering where you get your textures Rudy? They are always so well done. Pictures? scans? internet? painted in PS? other? P.S. your postwork is always top notch as well. Someday you gotta post an in depth tut on how you do it ;-)

As usual, an excellent looking pic. :-) Slakker: http://www.masternewmedia.org/2003/03/01/featurerich_free_digital_image_editor.htm http://www.serif.com/photoplus5 Finally, http://www.gh-gold.co.uk/imgeditors.asp It's a pity that bakhter.com disappeared. It was a great resource for free stuff.

Slakker, try GIMP, it's no lame application. I still think PS is the best but there are many other tools that are good. I currently use Photoshop 4 which I bought just after 5 came out at a much reduced price, never had the spare spondoolies to upgrade, I've seen 6 available at quite reasonable price. (BTW I also use painter (version 5.5 a freebie) quite a bit and it accepts most PS plug-ins which is useful)

Darn, should at least have also said awesome work Rochr, this is a typical example of why I have you listed in my faves and why so many of us are inspired to do better!

Yucatan is in the tropics, no? There are parrots and palms there. Whether they are coconut palms, I couldn't tell.

@Sambucus, unless you're aiming for an accurate piece who cares if the palms and parrots would actually be there, (if you follow the argument that these pyramids are related to space travellers, this doesn't even need to be earth :-) ) this is a great WIP - continue on the road you're going!

Attached Link: http://mayaruins.com/

Thanks Zhaan, thats a really interesting site. And I saw some palms, so thats alright. Did your research come up with why these people were so b....y fond of stairs? I wouldn`t last five minutes as an Aztec, puff, pant.LOL.

It was the only way to get closer to heaven or the sky gods? They had to get above a certain altitude before their signal was able to penetrate the atmosphere and hurl itself through space to their alien brothers? Oh, nevermind. @Rochr - Is the final image available to be seen somewhere?

Thanks for sharing your WIPs Rochr! I always enjoy shows about how "behind the scenes" SFX are designed for movies, and your scenes are so epic that it takes a similar amount of planning to achieve the magic you do.

Thanx for the kind words guys. :) Sambucus, i like how youve started out there. My only suggestion (i can think of), would be to try putting the sun on the right side, so that the light comes between the trees. It would also show more detail on the temple. And perhaps some stones with symbols here and there. :) Slakker, you should really get Universe Image Creator. I cant remember what features the free version included, but if the interstellar gas tool is one of them, you have a great haze-generator there. Simple haze can make wonders on an image. Innovator, I get the textures mainly from the web. Animax.it, Imageafter.com etc. Also got some 3Dtotal cds, but theres tons of free hirez stuff on the web. Bigbadelf, http://www.renderosity.com/viewed.ez?galleryid=641985&Start=1&Artist=Rochr&ByArtist=Yes

Lovely, lovely, lovely. I'm not worthy. 8o)

Rochr - When you say "Imageafter.com etc" can you give me an idea of how i might find the etceteras?