Some of the most valuable features in mixing materials are for me the function shown to the right of the two materials to be mixed - depending on blotchy / banded / turbulent / uniform function and its size, the mixture is very different. The slider for the amount per mat was already mentioned. Then, in mixed materials, there's the tab "Environment influence" (or something like that, I don't have the English version) where you can determine that for example material 1 should appear on higher areas or material 2 preferred on steeper areas. Takes a lot of experimentation to learn the ins and outs of this but it's also quite some fun.

Sorry, Luca, I'd be ready to help with German to English, but my Italian is unfortunately even worse than my modelling abilities... Ciao ;-) Christiane

Hi Luca, again another great model and unbelievable how fast you created it!! Like the others, I'm really amazed by your skills and grateful for such wonderful objects. Regarding a tutorial, I guess not many people would actually try modelling things like these castles in pure Vue - and those who do will not need any instructions anymore ;-) Taking into account, however, that not everyone will be using 3D Studio, IMHO it would be most useful to show the general approach you take when creating a model - like which favored techniques / tools do you use, where do you start, after which material - if any - do you work (drawings, photos)? Especially the methods that make for the fast progress and the important things to consider for the high quality should be of interest to not so advanced modellers, I think. At least that is the kind of things I would love to read (as a VERY novice modeller).

Unbelievable... such a great model made with lightning speed! IF I were able to make something like that (am working on my modeling skills), it would surely take me months - if not years to come up with something like that! Some of the stones seem to come out of the wall quite far - why is that? Does not look like the rest of the wall is crumbled or so. Are those the remains of some "ruined" features?

I really love your castle and will definitely one day get around to using it - not much time for Vue currently :-( As for suggestions on future projects: When staying in the chapter of castles, a real challenge could be the lovely castle of Chambord in France (Loire area) - see an example picture here: http://www.chambord.org/img/gdformat/gchateau2.jpg The other thing I could imagine for an interesting project are timber frame houses (Fachwerkhaus in German) like these pictures show: http://www.weisenbach.de/gemeinde/ortsteile/bilder/fachwerkhaus.jpg or http://www.teleschach.de/bdf/bdf-03-j.jpg This type of house makes for nice ancient as well as restored town centers or for center of interest within a landscape. Whatever your next inspiration will be, I'm really looking forward to seeing it!!

It may well have to do with people commenting on the work of people they "know" to whatever extent. But there could also be the point of "being more likely to take the time to look at pictures I like" - which often means the ones the are in the direction my own work is, too, or perhaps where I'd like it to be. That would naturally lead to groups forming with different interests / tastes. And for me, it can also have to do with a difference between art and beauty that I feel. I love images that (to my eyes) are beautiful - no matter how much artistry there is in them. Perhaps I even admire a technically perfect scene without actually liking what it shows. But no matter how far someone has pushed Vue's limits and how much "art" his image is - if I don't like, I will not comment. Usually, I try to scan through the thumbs and if something catches my attention, I will look at it - regardless who created it. If I can think of something to say, I'll try to comment. But sometimes, I just can't think of a suitable statement - it's somehow pretty, but otherwise... don't know. Or with images getting dozens of "fantastic" and "superb" comments - who am I to make major negative comments? Possibly, I just didn't understand how wonderful this picture is? Personally, I'm grateful for comments on "how to improve that image". I may like that picture I made - and hopefully, I will still like it after reading the comments. But perhaps there really is something that could be better (also in my eyes) and I would have never discovered it on my own. I can be perfectly happy with just a couple of comments if they come from people who's own work I admire, for example. Or I discover the work of some people only because they left a comment and I get curious to check out their work.

They are also said to be there within Vue d'Esprit 4, but I, too, was not able to find them :-(

Thank you, cermit! It's fun to work with.

I think it is not the objective amount of post work that decides where the picture is to be put. For me, this is more a question of where my heart is with an image. As long as it is post work in the meaning the term suggests - I enhance the elements of a Vue picture where I or Vue were not able to satisfy my vision of the piece - it will always be a Vue picture. But the other way around - I create a Vue render as a basis to do all the wonderful things in a paint program I'm perhaps not able to do from scratch, so that this is more like "painting by numbers" - I think I would feel about it as a 2D painting. And I guess that also influences the decision with which community I want to share it - perhaps the ones I think will be able to best value the effort and talent I invested in my artwork.

I'm using a PC, so I can't say anything about the hardware stuff. But as for the time when it's happening: I find my Vue to be rather stable as long as I don't fiddle too much with stones. Whenever I'm about to insert a stone object, I save my scene before doing so, because moving the stone around quite a few times to get it where it suits the picture (or latest doing this with a handful of stones) Vue will usually crash sooner or later - especially when lifting, moving and dropping them. Just a hint to keep an eye on whether that's the time for you, too...

Hi, I know the problem you describe, but also do not have a solution. Only recently, there was a similar question in the forum that went unsolved. I'd really be grateful for any hints how to correct this. So, should you ever find a way, please post it :-)

...and I find it extremely hard to choose one this time. There are definitely more than one deserving the title.

Hi! I'm having this effect that I need to relocate materials when opening saved scenes rather often (Vue 4.22). It works fine then, but it really nerves to have to do it over and over again - and I definitely did not move any of the files. Just to let you know - you're not alone with this. I've never tried saying 'No' to the relocate question but I assume I would get the same result as you do.

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Thanks for sharing this technique. It is a very interesting approach.