Figured I'd play around a bit with some of the content I have but never get to use. This is the Sheep model from e frontier. I'm working on making it look a bit more real in Silo 2 Beta. Sadly, this version of the beta can't export displacement maps yet but eventually it will and I'll get to see how well this looks on the model inside Poser. In the meantime, I get to play. I have to do each side of the model seperately because for some reason, the model exported oddly from Poser or it was built with one horn attached and the other not. I'm guessing it was the export.  No big deal, the UV Info is the same, so as soon as I can export this, I'll play and post. Hopefully, if it's good enough, I'll be able to hand out the displacement map for free. Yay!  Let's keep those fingers crossed.

So, what do you think? Neat or should I just go back to making my own models? :P

You said it yourself "...I'd play around a bit with some content I have but never get to use."

Play is exploration. Exploration leads to discovery. Discovery leads to something (too tired to get deep. I am hearing right now that character at the end of the Star Trek Original Series episode "Shore Leave" "The greater the mind, the greater the need for play." :) )

do I have this sheep in my Poser 6 content......   ?  was it a freebe..?

I can see what you're doing here and I like it. So many of the early (and later) animal models lack detail. Keep it up and post your results.

Thanks! Glad to hear it.

Tom, this is part of the e frontier Wild Life series found on Content Paradise. I think it's #15.  

Here's an update. One side finished. Now I have to do the other side and the under belly...and then I wait for the next Silo 2Beta to see how it looks in Poser. 

You have really giving this model a new life!   Wow..  Are you working from photos and sculpting it accordingly? 

3 hours sleep. I'm lucky I work at home....

Thanks!  No Tom, I did this from a drawing I'd made before hand...though, your question prompted me to  go get a photo ref just to be safe and I think I may have started the rib cage a little higher up than it was supposed to be. Not by that much but still...it's the principal of it all.  I'm gonna go freshen up and see if I can get some more stuff done on it before I have to get to work.

Thanks again,
-T

you know, i didn't get that sheep because the horns were so unnaturally smooth.  this may change my decision about on that.

are those horns a separate material group?  or is there any easy way (for a non-modeling type)  to make them into props?  i've been wanting nice curling ram's horns for figures for ages.

Nice - pity it would have to be covered up with wool at the end - maybe you can turn it into a demon sheep who has cast off his fluffy covering?

Cheers

Thanks gang. I'll have to check about the material groups.  While painting, I don't have to worry about it, so I never bothered to look. They all share the same UVtemplate, which helped.

I know, the wool will hide alot of what I did but at the same time, it may benefit from it too, as the lay of the hair would be better...and there's always the folks who don't use fur and stick with the simple texture instead, who'd still be able to benefit from this a bit.  Besides, this was more just playing around, attempting to see the potential within the models and try to bring it out. I mean, think about how animals like the Horse, wolf, cat and dog could benefit from a displacement map, or any other short haired or reptilian animals. Poser can do it, it's time we start letting it I think. Maybe that would help expand the way it's being used or at the very least, make the images we see every day a little more interesting to look at. I don't know, I've not had much sleep, so I'm probably babbling at this point. 

Anyways, thanks for dropping in folks, I'll finish this up and maybe try the Horse over the weekend.

big horn sheep aren't that fluffy.
fyi, public domain big horn sheep pics can be found at the u.s. fish & wildlife digital library.  remember, no government office can hold copyright on its images.  many times, that means print resolution images of incredible stuff (nebulae from nasa, cougars from fish & wildlife, etc.).   just search for sheep.

:) That's what I get for just looking for the bones instead.

do bighorns have brindled coats (like many western american mammals)? I've seen 'em in northen calif, modoc county, but they were too far off to see well. e.g. coyotes, pumas, deer, prairie dogs, some squirrels et al. if ya look at an hair up close, it has different zones of colour from the root to the tip. but they all have smooth coats, to allow running thru the brush. none of 'em are fluffy AFAIK. anyway, great job on the musculature IMVHO.

How do you fancy taking a tilt at this fella! :0)

Aww c'mon...

No flaming for potocopping????!!!!!

( I didn't ..............This sheep is for real! )

Isn't anyone gonna at least take a stab at at least naming the breed?

Klutz :0)

 That's some real nice work Teyon.

Quote - Isn't anyone gonna at least take a stab at at least naming the breed?

Jacob Sheep ?

Not a bad stab...but it ain't that one...... :0)

I'll let it ride for a while in case anyone else wants to take a stab then I'll post the answer.

( You might get a clue from my avatar....but it will still probably be very obscure to our Transatlantic Cousins! ;0) )

Klutz :0)

very impressive

http://www.hatchfarms.cwhatch.com/4hornhairsheep  those then?

And aren't the Jacob sheep the ones from Man (yes I do know that triskele thing is Man)

Quote - Not a bad stab...but it ain't that one...... :0)

I'll let it ride for a while in case anyone else wants to take a stab then I'll post the answer.

( You might get a clue from my avatar....but it will still probably be very obscure to our Transatlantic Cousins! ;0) )

Klutz :0)

Ah hah, found the answer thanks to that clue (the difference in the photos I found seems to be the direction of bend to the upper horns), I'll see if anyone else can come up with up with.
Time for TT.

Well, (whipping out my obscure book: "Rare Breeds: Endangered Farm Animals in Photographs", The Jacob (four-horned, indeed, and also known as the Spanish), ia "related not so closely to the British multi-horned breeds, such as the Manx Loghtan and Hebridean, ". If you had been in the American South-West, the option would be the Navajo-Churro, which is derived from the Iberian foundation stock. (I just love having weird reference materials right at hand!)

Handy isn't it! ;0)

Usual spelling is loughtan.... but that'll do! :0)

I'll be having some Loughtan Lamb for Christmas Dinner actually! 

Klutz :0)

teyon - did this sheep ever become available to the public?  and are you willing to work on any of the p7 animals?  i ask this not having bought it yet, but others' renders show animals that look great but might be even better for a detailed displacement map. especially the lion.

The current Silo Beta only exports normal maps, which could be used in Poser, I guess but aren't as cool as displacement maps, since up close you'd see it's just a trick of the eye.  As soon as the Silo Beta can export displacement though, I'll export the map and give it away for free.

hooray!

might you be enticed to enhance some p7 animals as well?  and if so, what enticements do you take?  chocolate?  fine wines?  gift certificates?

:) Thanks.  I can't really say about the Poser 7 animals. I've a feeling that if I do the maps for the sheep and they work well, that my bosses will want me to do a few, in which case it'll be up to them.

Teyon: try this :)

Thanks.  The Silo user base made mention of this as a possible way to convert the maps until Silo can export them but reviews haven't been great. According to the users who've tried it, the program only saves 8 bit grayscale displacement maps at 512 x 512 and I've found at least 1024x1024 to be needed for detail to show up the way it's intended when using an 8 bit map. Ah if I can only convince the team to let Poser use 16 bit maps! Still, it may be worth a shot, maybe I can work some magic out of it...

Thanks!

I just tried it and yeah, they're right. it's not a good alternative for quality work. Thanks for the suggestion though.

I'll check to see if XNormal's displacement tools have improved since the version I tried. Back then the displacement info was usless (always looked too carved up no matter the setting). We'll see. 

Impressive! It looks much better than the original.