Here's a condo I'm doing.  Let me know thoughts on whats wrong and what I can add.  It's not finished yet...but getting there.  Just wanna bounce it of a few eyes.

http://www.vuerealism.com/building.jpg

Very nice Ryan!

To me, the building itself looks very good. Don't know if the brown wall at the bottom has any texture. If so, it needs a bump map boost or different lighting to show texture, though it IS far away. The roof texture also looks a bit flat.

I'm not as pleased with the scene. The POV, creek and cattails are great, but the lighting of the vegetation seems a bit flat and formless. I'd add contrast and darken the shadows (but not so much that you can't see a bit of detail in them).

Few details. The guy behind the golf cart should maybe be moved away from it? A bit confusing now. Maybe put some planters around the trees - look kind of fake where the tree turnks go straight into the grass.

 Looking good!

Hey    jc -

Hey.  I'm just gonna take a second to respond.  The bottom does not have a texture yet.  In fact, the architect is coming in today to show my what kind of material it is.  There's also a copper stripe there that doesn't seem to show up well at this point.  The roof texture, to this point, is just a map with no bump yet.  For speed of rendering sake i left it off for now.

I'll add contrast.  I think the issue is the lighting system.  It's currently just standard lighting...no GI and shadows at 70%.  Both will be improved.  I was nervous about using GI intially because of the amount of detail in the building and amount of glass.  I'll eventually move it to GI...just not yet.

I'll take note of the golfer suggestion.  I tried to make it look like he just got out and was on the other side of the cart on his way to his clubs.  I'll also eventually have an ecosystem of grass too...again for rendering time's sake, it's left off in this version.

I appreciate your comments jc.

You asked us to comment on the condo you made, but it is so small it is hard to see any detail to it.  However, from what I can see I must say this:  I hate you!  This looks so very good so far.  I can't believe you created a golf course scene.  I have long thought of doing one but never knew where to begin.  I cant wait to see the finished image.  As to your condo model, I think when you are finished texturing it it will be well done.  I want to remind you though of something you probably already know and that is: no matter how cool or cheesy a model is, the textures are what really make it conviencing.   Definately spend time selecting and tweaking the right textures so that it looks believable.  All the work in the world you put into your ecosystems, lighting and scene layout will fall flat if the main focal point has rotten textures.  Think about it from this perspective:  nothing can be simplier than a model of a rock placed in a scene as the main focus.  The model has probably only a few hundred polygons at the most.  It is a simple shape and something we see in life everyday.  But if the viewer is to be drawn to it, the textures applied to it must be believable otherwise the whole image fails.  Good luck on this WIP and I will definately be looking forward to seeing it when it is finished.

Hi Ryan,

Great start. Here's a couple of things I would try.

1. Contrast. The balconies are too green and stand out too much. There's not enough contrast in the rest of the scene. Perhaps try lighting with a stronger sun and use GI but lower ambient.
2. Perspective. Make sure you're using a telephoto lens. I'd try my Camera settings around 80 to 110 (I think you already are using a fairly high number there?)
3. Always have people in clumps of 2 or 3, rarely 1. Have them in natural poses with basic muted colors.
4. I would rather see a dark foreground, say a shadow of a tree across the lower area. This old architectural rendering trick 'pulls the viewer' into the image, past the foreground. This shouldn't be hard to setup with the current image. Also, try changing the proportion of the image to be wider and less tall.

All that said, IMO, composition and modelling are great. Hope to see your next pass!
best,
Chipp

Here is a newer version.  I'm going to have to mess with the stained glass overhangs (which i think are rediculous colors) with much higher AA or something.

http://www.vuerealism.com/vue_07.jpg

PS: still no grass yet.  There will be so tree realism will improve.  I think I might add and actual bark texture to those trees.  Has anyone made ACTUAL photographic leaf mats?

PSS: All your comments are noted and will arive in version 3. 

Honestly, I dont understand why people dont do more WIP threads.  I find them incredibly beneficial to have cg artists look over my work and tell me what they think. I end up with a much better final product.

Arg.  I hate my clouds!!! Are there good cloud tuts?

...runs to Backroom

Hi Ryan,

Much better, the green balcony/awnings aren't so strong anymore, and there's much more contrast in the image.

Couple other points: Check out the New Orleans atmosphere. Erka uses it as a base and I really like it as well. The clouds there are better. You can even kill the clouds at this stage if you like.

The foreground still 'steals' the attention, esp the texture on the rock. If you don't like my foreground shadow idea, you might also check out using Pshop and Lens Blur with the z-buffer to blur the foreground (though I'm not a big fan of DOF for architectural renderings).

Below is an image I found online, which demonstrates the shadow foreground concept.

good luck!

I've used that concept before.  However the architect is building a pond and wanted to see a hint of water in the shot.

I'm also planning on using a bit of depth of field in the image but am saving that final touch for last.

Hi Ryan; great job! I like that green color in the second much better than the chartreuse in the first example.

One thing I find very distracting is all the cattails in the foreground. Cattails usually grow in water, so wouldn't grow up the bank like they are in the image, and wouldn't grow as densely. I would leave some cattails in the water and put some low planting on the bank section.

Yes, much better. I notice the 2 first trees on the left look almost like clones of eachother. You might rotate on a bit. Those 2 foreground rocks are starting to steal the scene. Shape/size/color all make them stand out. I'd sink them into the water quite a lot and color them more neutral gray.

Stained glass overhangs? Sounds like a maintenance nightmare, lol. I agree with Chipp's comments on the clouds.

Good progress. I agree about WIP critiques - very valuable.

And here's a new one. I decided I liked the focal length.  It makes the building look interesting IMO.  This version was only rendered at 1024 px wide so the detail isn't the best but it has grass now, new less eye-catching sky, a few more people, ect.

Anyone have any more CC? This will be the last revision you see until I get a final done.

http://www.vuerealism.com/vue_09.jpg

Is this part of a bigger golf course? If not, would they really have a golf cart?

Looking good (though my comment on the rocks still stands)! Sky is much nicer and the lawn helps too.

Yes, it's part of a bigger 18-hole course.  I appreciate your CC but I like the rocks  :)

-Ryan

Yep - [artistic license invoked], lol.

FINALS:

http://www.vuerealism.com/vue_10_sm.jpg - Low Quality (800 px wide)

http://www.vuerealism.com/vue_10.jpg - High Quality (2400 px wide)

Doing a 6000 px over the weekend...I wont bother to post that tho. Crits welcome.

PS: Ah crap! In an end of work marathon stupor I just saved the small version with my DOF and didn't the large version...and then saved my PSD at the small size. Shit. Large version missing DOF   :(