mwhite

I like the third one the best. Its warm in terms of color. I would try makeing the darker floor tiles even darker for more contrast in the floor and perhaps even on the walls. The other three feel very cold.

Looks like a pretty clear example of sprawl to me - just alot of cookie cutter car based development. It would be nice to show how one could get around via a corridor of public transporation and bike/pedestrian based networks. I know the original question was on graphic methods - but since you are doing an urban studio project it would be really nice to see something that isn't promoting more CF development. I'd like to see the graphics that you develop. Good luck.

I can't open it in AutoCAD nor import it into SU. Looks like it may be corrupted. You will have to repost it. Thanks Brian for the warning - just about 1 minute to late. Hope I didn't pick up anything.

I know SU is not the software to use for this but I'm not having much luck in Rhino nor 3D Studio. In SketchUp the profile rolls over as I extrude along the path once it gets into any type of complex curve. This is a known issue and I have tried everything and looked everywhere. In Rhino it turns into a lumpy mess even after trying alot of different settings. ANY ideas on how to do this would be GREATLY appreciated. This is the second time I've hit the wall on exactly the same issue. An image is below and I can email an SU file in case anyone wants to try this. I'm sure it should take about 2 seconds if you know what your doing and the base geometry has been created correctly. I'll be up all nite. Thanks.

No happy stories here. Tri Star advertised heavily back 6-8 years ago and I order a work station from them. At the time they didn't know whether they were coming or going. Took about 3 tries to get the correct configuration, but at least the computer worked. I then bought an 'off the shelf' Sony Vaio at CompUSA which other than the stupid Millenium OS from Microsoft, the fact that they don't give you actual OS CD's, and the 'Sony' power supply would cost about $300 to replace it has been a good computer. Still is running - the only comp I have on the internet. Wipe the hard drive every 2-3 years, reinstall W2K and keep going. Then I went to a local supplier and had them build a workstation for me. Took a year to figure out the memory couldn't handle the heat while rendering. After that the computer has run well except now the capacitors on the MoBo are starting to bulge which probably means its life is limited. After the nightmare at the local supplier, I went with Xi Computer. That has been a 3-4 year joke. Just figured out this summer that they mixed memory on my MoBo which is not good on a dual processor I have been told. This not only screwed up my video card but caused the computer to constantly crash. Among a alot of things issues with Xi, the most annoying is that they NEVER logged a single call into tech support. So everytime I called to try to resolve things or start trouble shooting a new issue, they were starting blind. Unbelievable. I am going to send the memory and video card back but based on the last conversation I don't expect much. They said it was too late to do much of anything. It was too late because the idiots at tech support did not have a clue what was going on. Given the status of their tech support I doubt they would ever have been able to solve the problem if I did not tear things apart on my own and isolate the problems. Of course I could have sent the $3,500 computer back after I had it for week but when you blow that much you count on the fact that they built it correctly, that it will work and usually you can't afford to loose it when you should be making money. My recommendation - by cheap at the middle of the tech curve and expect it last a few years. After that something will be on its way out, memory will no longer be available, or there will be some new standard that will let the next generation of systems run an order of magnitude faster. Another associate that I work with did not have good luck with Dell - all they new how to do (not very well) was swap components. But at least he did not have to send the thing back and someone else dealth with the issues. Good luck, I certainly haven't had much.

I bought a dual Xeon with 1.5 Mb of RAM and a decent Nvidia card running a 21 Dell CRT monitor on Windows 2000 from Xi Computer in 2005. From day 1 the computer has had problems. Initially it would just 'crash' when modeling in SU and then also working in Adobe. It appeared about 50% of the time that the video signal cut out since the monitor would go into sleep mode but the cooling fans would still be screaming away. The other 50% of the time the monitor would go blank and the computer would reboot. I lived with this for a while figuring it would resolve itself once I upgraded SU or upgraded the video drivers. After a while it got so that SU would crash every couple of minutes. I decided then to start pulling/swapping memory to see if that was the problem since I had bad memory on another computer from another vendor. This did not help and I know the computer cannot be overheating since it has 8 fans and crashes even when I'm not rendering. Xi suggested running MEMTEST which I did. The computer never even got throught the first stage of tests before it crashed. I waited a bit (vacation other job) and then in order to get a rendering out and out of desperation I bought a cheap Nvidia card at Staples one night. All of a sudden things worked fine. I figured the original Nvidia card was bad. Now after several months the computer is crashing, hanging and rebooting again non stop regardless of application with the video card from Staples that seemed to work fine. I typically get a blue screen with: STOP 0x00000024 NTSF_FILE_SYSTEM Address Stuff and ntoskrnl.exe Run CHKDSK /F which I did and it did not show any problems. or after rebooting several times I can get a blue screen with: STOP: 0x00000002 BAD_POOL_CALLER Beginning Dump of Physical Memory I called Xi yet again and now the service tech suggests I start pulling CPU's out in order to see if that helps and checking the data cable to the hard drive which I did before. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what they think I should try next or do. I do not want to start pulling CPU's out. Summary below. 1. It crashes now regardless of application (sometimes it reboots repeatedly after sitting for a few minutes after start up and not even launching an application) 2. 2 different video cards now appear to have no effect (although I did get about 3-4 months of low usage without any problems) 3. The MEMTEST failed - I do not know if that points to a definite batch of bad memory but the computer failed on both the 2 half gig sticks as well as the 2 256 Mb sticks. 4. Sometimes when the monitor dies but the fans are still running (and presumably the rest of the computer) I kill it by turning of the backup power supply. When I fire up the backup power supply the computer comes back on automatically with out hitting its start button. Xi tech says he has seen this before on Xeons. 5. With the current blue screens sometimes I don't even get to see them for a half second before the computer starts rebooting over and over again. Any help would be appreciated as I'm getting tired of this and I'm not very happy with Xi support. I paid $3,600 for the piece of crap and I would like to get some work done instead of trouble shooting problems. Thanks in advance for any comments.

If you pump or blow anything into the wall cavity that isn't a rigid foam, you have to be very carefull about not having a vapor barrier. If you pump cellulose into the wall cavity without a vapor barrier you could end up with a soggy mold infested mess once the interior moist air condenses on the outer region of the insulation when it meets the cold air. I would investigate this with a professional - this may also have implications on creating paint peeling problems also. I'm not a professional but learned about this working on actual projects. Good luck.

Just use the Import option under the File menu. I believe it is set to 3DS as the default file format. You will probably be asked about units etc. Very easy.

Does anyone know of a source for high quality bump or displacement maps of ornate scroll work and/or floral patterns and/or roses and ivy. I have looked through many books and done the usual google image search but have not come up with anything usefull. I have a project that I need to include alot of ornate reliefs and would be glad to pay for some quality maps. Thanks for any suggestions. Mike White

Not the same cards, but the same issue. I bought a high end (relatively) workstation 2 years ago with the nVidia Quadro FX 1300 for $481 since I didn't want to blow to much more than that. Since day one the card has caused the computer to shut down in multiple applications. Tried the latest drivers, swapping my RAM - nothing worked. It got to the point I had to have autosave set for 1 minute since the computer was crashing none stop. I got a job with brutal geometry and had to get things done, so one night out of desperation I ran to Staples and bought an nVidia GeForce 7300 GS which is pretty much low end entry level consumer grade for $69. The computer has never crashed and I can say that I see very little if any difference between the two cards when modeling with very high polycount. Both cards bog down when I turn on the high details but work pretty much the same with moderate polycounts (I know thats pretty vague) - so I would not invest in the higher cost cards without first testing them on some real life models. I would agree that the numbers seem to be somewhat removed from real life 3D modeling. Good luck.

I have never mastered the great art of creating beautiful landscape plans by hand. So I used SketchUp for a quick site plan which I attached. It could be improved by using more/better tree symbols but this got the job done on a quick deadline. Also, by creating the model in SketchUp I was able to obtain the 2D site plan and also render the model in 3D studio which created a nice presentation board. Hope this helps a bit. Mike White

Great images, the only thing that catches my eye are the plants. They appear to be floating a bit and overly saturated. If there were any images that would qualify for the Ernest Burden's NPR techniques I would say these are PRIME candidates - great hues and color scheme. I can almost envision your renderings done in the NPR technique. Mike White

Great resource. I'll be using that this weekend. Thanks

I liked the materials in the first rendeing best. The first rendering creates the feeling of a nice bright sun drenched patio. Now it looks like its overcast or about to rain even though there are distinct shadows. I would try the original material on the building and perhaps an even lighter material for the patio surface instead of the grey. With the new material there appears to be to much bump in the foreground column. Also, in the first rendering the branches did not obscure the upper balusters. The shading on these looked nice and added to the design - now they have been pretty much lost. I still think that the shadows from the trellis should be shown more. What if you changed the angle of the sun so that the shadows played out more on the patio and where angled toward the viewer. With a light material the shadows could really create a nice feeling. Perhaps they are too strong (too dark grey and sharp) now also. Finally, I would also add in a foreground shadow to break up the large expanse of patio flooring. In summary, your well on your way, but I think your missing the real 'punch' that this rendering and setting could provide. Attached is an early rendition of a project where I was attempting to create the 'sun drenched Mediterranean' look. Lots of contrast and bright fresh materials - in my opinion. Good luck

Good start - The doorway that is appearing as a 'black hole' is distracting - it pulls my eye away from the pool. The background water is way too purple - I think it should be much more blue. Try a stock photo image search. The site that I found out about here on this forum is great. The trellis is also not reading well. The lattice is not really visible and is not contributing to the design of the area. Looks a little to thin, but I'm also thinking of snow loads (here in NY) which would not be applicable in your site probably. Finally, if I had a great view of the ocean and was building a new villa, I would have one of those dissapearing edge pools rather than putting the pool out in the middle of the patio.