you are absolutely right about the quality of those progs, i have the same experience, especially when you work with scanned images. 
an other option could be making a screen shot from the houses we have and use the bitmap or a combination of bitmaps. this would save a lot of work and from screenshots you can combine whatever you want.
the best thing is to look what we might need when the main scene  is more or less set..

Something else that can always be done for a filler is to render out a single facade (actually, front, back, side etc) of each building, and have a library of them. Then mix tehem up in the background on simple panels.
That way the graphic consistency between foreground and the background isn't too great.
Also, we can vary them by adding different textures to the facade renders, and get several panels out of each building.

A question, especially for Koosie and DV - do you guys want the texture files, or just a catalog of them for now?  
There's about 200 image files at 512x512, all seamless (64 meg unzipped). About 125 textures with bump maps for most of  them.

At the moment I ran out of ideas what other textures to render out, so I'll start textuiring pieces, and see what gaps in textures we need to fill in.

connie, i do not have any experience - in sketchup i can import a texture and paint it on the surface, that is as far as my knowledge goes - dv is trying to make me clear how bumpmaps etc. work, but i cannot get the hang of it yet.
the only conclusion can be that dv decides what and how and i will try to catch up

Just a catalog for the time being I suppose.
Whenever you get everything that you think we need, then do the zip with the full size images.
Sound good?

Sure!  I mean, if you guys aren't ready to deal with a pile of textures right now, that's cool.
I just thought I'd make an offer, so you guys don't start thinking I'm hording them. ;)

I'll do some texturing on the stuff you sent me, DV, then when I have a few things on there, we can critique it, change them, get everyone's input...
And, yes,  little catalog, I just had photoshop run through directories and make contact sheets. I'll PDF them. DV, you have broadband now, no? So if I email you something thats 2-5 meg, it won't clog up your line?

I do have broadband now! :biggrin:

i have broadband too - no problem at all! love to see what is in the catalog!

allrighty then.. I'll pdf it and email (when I get home, which will be in about 3-4 hours)

EDIT: never mind, I can make jpg's and send it right now... about 3.5 meg email.

at that time i hope to be asleep, it's one in the morning down here

**well, this may be the answer- i made a few renders

this is the sight from the river

for these last two i borrowed a tree from google - it's not the right kind of tree, but it had the advantage that the leaves are spread out and thin - besides, i love birch trees - it makes the image look more real and it covers a few mock-ups i had to use.

Harbour?there's water!!!..Great,will it fit my CuttySark model? 

Where'd you get the trees, koosievantutte?

@ jedswindells: the cutty sark would be able to berth on the riverside, certainly not in the (very) small innerharbour, but yes, the river would be big enough, if you are serious i could redraw a part of the ground plan to make it fit (don't know the exact overall length forthwith)
whatever, the little ship in your featured image will fit on the river side - don't know about the inner harbour - have to know the dimensions.

@ dvlenk6: they are in the sketchup files under 'components>trees 3d'

Cutty sark ,specs from Wikepedia...
  Displacement: 2,100 tons (2,133.7 tonnes) at 20 ft. (6.1 m) draught Length: hull: 212.5 ft (64.77 m) / LOA: 280 ft (85.4 m) Beam: 36 ft (11 m) Draught: 21 ft (6.4 m) loaded
 just as relevant -Model specs...4.80MB  .obj modelled with Lightwave
She's a big lass!...and you are welcome to her and the smaller boats any time,they should really be posted as freebies but i haven't got round to setting up a site yet.
  Cheers! Jed.

thanks, jed sounds great to me - we have an 88 metres of quay length, which she can occupy - glad to have you on board :-) - i will contact you asap.

Hey Jed - did you know you can upload freebies to Sharecg.com?

oh, how cool, I love ye olde ships!

Thanks Fran,
So if anyone is interested here is the link to the freeby.It is untextured but only needs about 10 or so textures to look fine.

  http://www.sharecg.com/v/22708/3d-model/Clipper

  Cheers! Jed.
ps.uploaded a Bryce textued one aswell.

 http://www.sharecg.com/v/22709/3d-model/Bryce-Clipper

Such a shame about the fire, at least we can see it again this way, thanks for this Jed.

I see that the detailing is missing on the bow and stern, sails are furled and the figurehead is missing too, Jed - that's a shame. 

Nice model otherwise.

Yes Fran,I didn't want the ship to be too specific,and the bow and stern  details were clumsily done.But if anyone wants to add a name I gave these these panels different titles so they could be given any name,patterns,etc.As for a figure head,many freestuff characters could be used.

  Cheers! Jed.

Nice to be universally useful, but I must admit I would have liked a complete Cutty Sark. 

@ fran: don't get greedy - besides, i heard the cutty sark gets a 10 million grant from the lottery, that will take care of a lot, i think. moreover: much was not on board when the fire broke out as it was being restored anyhow. it was long over due, that restauration, it made me sad when i visited her many years ago and saw some parts of the hull were crudely repaired with ... concrete!

Looking good ! well,looking fantastic really!What app are you building them in?

 Cheers! Jed.

all built from scratch in sketchup (free).

that's a very, very big smile!
and oh, yeah, i need that 2 extra gigs badly.

What? all that work and it's a pocket battle ship!...wierd how an object from one app never fits another!!!.I work from .jpg or .bmp files of model-makers plans and Lightwave has a pulmonary embolism if I try to use large background images.I need those to create a 3d model close to the real thing.
 Perhaps work should progress without such a Behemoth!..Forgive me for creating such a monster!! ....It,s not all about size,its what you do with it!(so I hear!)
 Cheers! Jed.

Quote - @ fran: don't get greedy - besides, i heard the cutty sark gets a 10 million grant from the lottery, that will take care of a lot, i think. moreover: much was not on board when the fire broke out as it was being restored anyhow. it was long over due, that restauration, it made me sad when i visited her many years ago and saw some parts of the hull were crudely repaired with ... concrete!

I've always thought of my Greed as my best feature, closely followed by my Gluttony and of course my Sloth.  Envy hangs about in the wings waiting for an entrance, my Anger awaits beneath several cleverly constructed trapdoors.
Unfortunately my Pride died back in the mists of time: - we mourn the loss sorrowfully.  Lust however is still flickering gamely on the back burner, awaiting a chance for greatness.

Lol...

Koff, back to normal.

I've actually been looking at the Cutty Sark site and it seems that as much as 70% of the ship wasn't even there when the fire broke out, and the majority of what was burnt can be saved by sanding off the blackened outer skin, only a very few timbers are actually unsalvagable, so things are looking a great deal brighter all round.

I may even one day once more stand upon that great ship, as I once did as a child.  Ah... happy days.

tried to reply 4 times, but rr apparently did not see that i typed a message :cursing:

well, seemed solved now, so, once again:

it may seem odd to you but the most beautiful sight to me was not on the ship itself, but standing down in the dock by the keel, looking along the side, seeing that beautiful line in which i could see the speed this girl was capable of (probably my stupid imagination).

New FCK Editor:
http://www.renderosity.com/news.php?viewStory=13364
I still think that thing is rightly named, but 'FCK U Editor' would be more accurate.:lol:

Hey guys... catching up here after a few days out of town. (I tried reading all the posts, but my ADD kicked in and I made it through about half - sowwy)
That's one slick ship! Awesome work!  It looks a bit large compared to the houses.
Knowing you guys, I can trust you to use the true mesaurements for the ship :)

If I were doing a cutesy scene, I'd probably scale down the ship by 1/3 or 1/4, to look more proportionate to the rest of the scene... but then again, a ship afficionado may catch that and thinks it's too out of whack :)
Keep up the good work guys and gals :)

you are right on all counts, connie. those tall ships are not called tall ships for nothing - you can see the masts a very long way off. you are right about making it smaller in the scene, but i just put her in and rendered the lot - i was glad i got her imported and wanted to show what it looks like.
i am a ships affectionado, but i have some eye for aestatics too, so in the end it can be changed to whatever we want as long as it still is a clipper and not a dinghy .

Thanks Koosie :)
I think I read that the ship needs textures too?

you bet! - teak - brass - iron - rope and a deck - small wood planks with tar in the seams (don' t know if i use the right words, it's actually wood with rope in between and the rope is covered with tar). there is copper too, but that's under the water line, so don't worry about that.

It's a pity it's not Bryce - I've got all that except the teak, and I could probably get some of that.

Talking of below the waterline - I think you'd still need the materials below that, since depending on the light and the angle of the shot you may be able to see some way below the waterline...  Just FYI.

it's just the black hull you see - the copperplate is actually very deep down to protect the keel and i presume a little murky water to make it a little bit easier :lol: