Finally got around to doing some modeling on the Shadow... This one is all polysurfaces and surfaces, which means in this case that it is very low-poly, and I could probably cram a good ten or fifteen of them into a scene, depending... The "windows" inside the frames are separate objects, having been split. Allows for multiple textures, one for the frames, the crossbars, and the glass itself each... Any ideas about the model itself? Things I should add, or subtract? Comments welcome, of course! And be brutal, if you must...!

it's a nice fusion of medieval western+chinese in my opinion. quite nice, but the first floor looks more like a hotel entrance than a battle ready tower. depends what you're going to use it for :)

It looks like it may need some structural supports to help carry the weight of the overhanging battlements at the top (assuming they're stone). What sort of style were you going for? Historical, fantastic, or as drac suggested, perhaps a cross euro-asian style of castle? Also, is it a military thing, or more a fortified house/manor sort of thing? Those things will affect the shape of the building and what you can get away with. And how "modern" are the internal structures of the castle - medieval castles had really high ceilings (or what did the job of a ceiling) and so the floors (and hence windows) would be separated vertically by a fair distance, whereas a more modern internal structure would have the floors (and hence windows on each floor) closer together (maybe a 10 foot separation), which is what it looks like you have there. The answers to those questions may give a bit more feel for what the building needs (if anything).

Dreams are just nightmares on prozac...
Digital WasteLanD

Your comment to: cram a good ten or fifteen of them into a scene... Leads me to believe that your intentions are to use the design in a battlement scene. The structure itself looks more conceptual than practical, as armament goes, to me. If OTOH one assumes that this is to be permanent living space, then judging from the size of the windows and the entrance door, the rooms inside are quite small by comparison. Shrinking those and providing more of them would increase the illusion of size for the building.

Aye, both of you bring up good points... I had intended to upload these renders at the same time as the model screenshot (Rhino), but 'Rosity was being ridiculous... And you're right, Drac, the entrance does look a bit like a hotel! I wanted to make an outpost tower, with space enough for five to ten warriors. Also, I needed it to be modular, so that I can attach it to walls and a larger castle, eventually. I'll do some re-thinking along those lines, thanks for your insight Flak. Aye, Quest, the scale is intentional. I built it to be small, the kind of tower you'd find in a small farm setting or so... Notice how large the door is, the windows match the door's scale. It's not meant ot be lavish. But you are right, if I were to shrink the windows it would certainly seem larger. Funny you should both mention the east/west connection. I am 100% Norwegian, but was born and raised in Korea. Subconsciously my Korwegian nature emerges...

And a re-lit version...

It's a very nice building LSD, but I have to agree that it looks more like one of those English Manor houses with the affectations of a castle than a defendable outpost or keep. Most castle turrets or keeps that I have seen do not have windows on the first story(windows are just another open door once they are broken) and the windows they do have are usually tall and narrow because they are easier to shoot arrows out of and not be hit by same. That said, I really like the the way you've textured this.

If its going to be a small tower with only a couple of soldiers in it, like a safe haven on an isolated farm or an isolated lookout post, i.e. pretty much purely for defense, then the door would normally be quite small - smaller openings are easier to defend against attack than larger openings (unless you want to get large things through it, like horses or carts). There may of course be other outbuildings (farmhouses, barns/stables/whatever) near it that the people/farmers live in during normal times, and they only retreat into the tower to hide or to light a signal flame on the top when trouble arrives.... just some more ideas - my mind wanders to the most odd things during moments of boring meetings ;) Danamo raises some good points about the windows - less, smaller, windows the lower you go is the rule. The texturing looks nice, though the windows (which may just be a temporary texture)... is that a reflection I'm seeing in them, or is it bricks I see behind them.

Dreams are just nightmares on prozac...
Digital WasteLanD

Aye, good ideas, everyone... Version 2 of this tower will pretty much incorporate everything we've discussed, I'll most likely scale up the tower itself and use the windows only on the top two floors or so. I'm gonna have to sit and draw (yeah, I know, paper sucks...) some ideas for the entrance. Sometimes even Rhino limits my imagination, considering the tools at hand do have some limitations. Flak, what you're seeing through the windows is the far walls inside, as opposed to being a wall right behind the window-glass. In a final version I'll duplicate and offset the glass objects and replace them with various interior textures and photos, to give it some more realism if possible... But from a modeling aspect, I see where you'd be concerned. The tower is indeed hollow, as of now... Thanks for your ideas and input, my friends!