The goal is a highly flexible set of plants, in this case a coleus. Currently, the package contains 3 single versions (different levels of complexity and resource requirements), two square clusters (group of tall and short), a semicircle and circle clusters as well as a ring cluster. All have some level of control (such as leaf size and shape....clusters have expand or tighten morphs depending on the applicability)

Do others have interest in these sorts of plants? Here is the "mature" coleus single unmorphed and then with some droop, stalk size, a seek and leaf size changes. The Mature version currently sports 9 morphs, some realistic, some just fun (like a toon morph for the stalks:)

Please let me know if you have questions or suggestions!

eric

They feature the toon morph and a different leaf texture

eric

Look nice - you have my interest! What are the other plants that you're working on? Does "Group" 1 refer to the "Coleus Group", or will the Coleus and other plsnts be in Group 1? Finally, will the obj's be included (to allow their use in other programs)?

Sorry so many questions.... Ray

eric

These coleuses are to be their own little group (well, little is relative:) The zip file keeps getting bigger 'n bigger, lol.

Current works in progress include Hydrangea, a fern (yeah, there have been lots of those...but I don't have one, so I'm making it for myself:), a wandering jew (not sure of what it's really called), maybe even a bamboo. Also something I don't have a name for yet (it's growing all around in this town, but I don't know what it is:)

Here is a picture I did that uses the purple plant and the coleuses (look at the top of the picture...if anyone knows what it is, I would be very appreciative;)

eric

Warning, this is a proof of concept, not a finshed model. Lots of overlapping leaves and an awful bud...just pretend you can't see those things:)

Well, I didn't mean for this many images to wander into this thread....hope I didn't drive anyone on modem away.

eric

I really think these plant leaves are beautiful. But will there be a texture bump map for the stems. They look a little flat and all the same. The bump would lend some realism to them. It would also be nice if the green of the stem was more like the color of the green on the outside of the leaves in your second picture. That green looks more realistic and plant like. Just trying to be helpful. I would buy it in a heart beat with those considerations, as the leaves are truly outstanding. Guess on the purple plant: Is it a Setcreasea Purpurea and/or Setcreasea Pallida, also known as the Purple Heart, Purple Queen, and Wandering Jew.

Yes the leaves are great! Plus they have so many wonderful morphs. :)

Well, I never expected an answer this quickly, but I'd say you nailed it Jaesha. Its nice to have a name to go with the little guy (so my wife wasn't wrong in calling it a wandering jew...I always thought of the wandering jew as a variagated green/purple small leafed plant....probably lots of plants that carry that name!) As for the stem texture, you are exactly correct. I haven't gotten that quite set up correctly. I have a bump I've been using off and on, but I haven't incorporated it into any files yet. I believe the first one does use the bump, but the others absolutely do not. The weird thing is, the stems on these plants are actually pretty smooth, while the leaves are velvety.... Thanks for the comments, and anyone else with a suggestion, please don't hold back:) eric

Oh, these are definately looking good and well worth your effort. I'd be interested in them for sure.

Hi caly! Hope you aren't sick of them yet:P Thanks cherokee. I hope to have them available soon:) eric

It took me a minute to spot the mouse. The cat is, of course, concentrating upon the twitching tail tip. I think if you have a bump map, where the artist can adjust strength to taste, it would be a good thing. The leaves need a subtle bit of "quilting" as well as the pretty colors, and stems won't look as plastic with a bit of noise on them. (And yes, I've seen real plants which would give anything from DuPont or Dow a run for the money... but those are mostly cosseted orchids and such.) Carolly

These are wonderful!!!

OK, Bump on leaves and the stem. Should be able to do that. Someone at PP suggested a dead texture, and maybe a dead morph....will look into that one... Thanks everyone for the comments, and any more suggestions are certainly welcome:) As for the mouse, I was thinking the cat was not entirely sure where it was....but I like Carolly's answer better:) I have a cat that can't seem to find anything....but then there is another who keeps our yard free of birds:( I think the cat's pose came from daz BTW, the mouse isn't really posed:) He just got positioned a bit...shadows can be your friend:P Off to sleep. eric

These are really beautiful Eric_ keep up the wonderful work_ I'm sure these will do well. There are so many coleus leaf colours, you could have a field day. Do all the leaves share a common UV map? _ that would save you a lot of texture image 'space' Give us a shout here when they're available! Nigel

Oh I can't get tired of 'em they're lovely. I love the toon stem addition too. :)

ooooh, heeeheeeheee, i love the cat and mouse pic!! good one!!! 8D

Do all the leaves share a common UV map? Yup, 1 texture fits all, and the stem is a tile, so together, they are rediculously small..but still work nicely for closeups (well, except for the currently ugly stem texture:) eric

1 map will make it easier to change all the leaves at once, considering all the variations in color and pattern. :) In that case, having a transmap and bump map might really be a good trade off for some geometry in the leaves. Carolly

More amazing work, mamba-negra! The coleus look so real. There are never too many plant models. Definitely looking forward to seeing more of your botanical models!

Count me in too - always looking for more realistic plants! Sure hope they render in Poser 5 though. A lot of plants in the MP here are don't render properly, but these are looking real good!

Hey All, Thanks again for the nice comments:) I wanted to let you know that ran into a problem with PP and tiled bumps, so I got stuck for a while. I'm finally back to actually working on it again (rather than trying to figure out why it looked so bad with the bumps:) As it stands, you'll want to use bum files created by P4 rather than Bump maps straight from a jpg or bmp (not my fault, I promise:) As for the P5 stuff, I can't say one way or the other, since I've never actually seen a copy of P5. I know one tester has a copy, maybe I can convince her to load the model into P5 once I have the final zip prepared. I assume that it will work fine, however, the materials will be standard P4 stuff. Dean, your marigold got pushed back a bit due to the delay in this coleus:( I do plan to get those leaves looking better, I promise! eric

Thanks for the update! Be sure to let us know when it's released...:>)

Well, now that I have these cottages, I need a cottage garden... so anything bright and leafy will help! :) Carolly