07-28-2011, 11:36 AM
Nice work on the outcropping. Your rock colors are very realistic - a nice mix of colors and shading. 
Thank you also for that last prototype photo. You have helped me, unwittingly, to better understand why I am not a fan of puffball trees. Nothing personal, no insult intended so please don't be upset. I've never been a big fan of the technique simply because it often looks too uniform. Yours at least have a nice mix of colors and a variety of shapes - not just round, but oblong, flatter on the top, etc. But it's just personal preference.
What your photos helped me understand is this; by the time a tree is far enough away in real life to look like a puffball, it is too far away to be modeled on our layouts as such. It might be better represented by a backdrop image on our models. I have yet to see a layout either in person or in a photo that successfully blends more detailed trees (like Supertrees) in the foreground with puffball trees in the background in order to create that illusion of distance. That may have more to do with the colors.
For example, in your lake photo the greens are different. The foreground trees along the lake are brighter and more green than the background trees which are more faded and blueish green. The trees along the outcropping are definately 'puffball' shaped at that distance. But the foreground trees along the lake are more like 'supertrees' with more well-defined branch structure and leaf texture.
Anyway, even though I'm not a fan of the technique, your ridge looks great. Where the illusion breaks down for me is at the tunnel portal, where I'd expect to see more tree trunks and branches. Even though it's as far away as the rest of the ridge, it's a more detailed feature and more recognizable as a certain size and scale.
Galen
Thank you also for that last prototype photo. You have helped me, unwittingly, to better understand why I am not a fan of puffball trees. Nothing personal, no insult intended so please don't be upset. I've never been a big fan of the technique simply because it often looks too uniform. Yours at least have a nice mix of colors and a variety of shapes - not just round, but oblong, flatter on the top, etc. But it's just personal preference.
What your photos helped me understand is this; by the time a tree is far enough away in real life to look like a puffball, it is too far away to be modeled on our layouts as such. It might be better represented by a backdrop image on our models. I have yet to see a layout either in person or in a photo that successfully blends more detailed trees (like Supertrees) in the foreground with puffball trees in the background in order to create that illusion of distance. That may have more to do with the colors.
For example, in your lake photo the greens are different. The foreground trees along the lake are brighter and more green than the background trees which are more faded and blueish green. The trees along the outcropping are definately 'puffball' shaped at that distance. But the foreground trees along the lake are more like 'supertrees' with more well-defined branch structure and leaf texture.
Anyway, even though I'm not a fan of the technique, your ridge looks great. Where the illusion breaks down for me is at the tunnel portal, where I'd expect to see more tree trunks and branches. Even though it's as far away as the rest of the ridge, it's a more detailed feature and more recognizable as a certain size and scale.
Galen
I may not be a rivet counter, but I sure do like rivets!