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Cliffside Retreat

Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2019 11:56 pm
by SpookyChick
A getaway in a temperate rain-forest on some faraway world' Still not complete. There is a lot of fiddly postpro cleanup to do as a result of imperfections in the mesh, and the unfortunate inherent limitations of texturing with the terrain tool. As nice as it might be if it could do everything for me, nothing works that way in reality. There's a lot that just has to be done with a digital brush in post pro. I guess that's why we call it art.
Cliffside Retreat Test 3 PostPro.png
Cliffside Retreat Test 3 PostPro.png (4.18 MiB) Viewed 13382 times
On a separate note, it would be really nice if Twilight Terrain tool would work with imported quad face geometry, like oh, I don't know, a .obj file imported into SU, with NO triangulation. Definitely Quad Face. TWR Terrain Tool still refuses to acknowledge it. :(

I have other things I've been working on. I'll be posting those in days to come.

So, yeah, I'm back.

Re: Cliffside Retreat

Posted: Sat Aug 31, 2019 7:12 am
by Mike1158
Very nice to see you here again :D . Interesting concept there, reminiscent of a Bond baddy's lair and it would be interesting to see happen. More views please with, I hope, some from the interior looking out with spray from the 'fall. :hat:

Re: Cliffside Retreat

Posted: Sat Aug 31, 2019 4:01 pm
by SpookyChick
Arigato, Mike.

As I get post pro done on the other views I've rendered, I'll be posting them. It's going to take time unfortunately, Postpro being a sometimes painstaking thing.

I guess it is reminiscent of a classic Bond villain's villa. The concept here was more of a rogueish gentlewoman advenurer's hideaway. Think Lara Croft in the GFFA. Before the Dark Times; before Disney.

I hadn't really considered doing any interior looking out views. Architectural really is not my specialty, especially interior. To this DAY, I still can't design a chair which would be comfortable to sit in , or looks good, and well, we all know about warehouse models... I'll give it a thought, though.

I've been working a bit with Skatter, and a lot with World Machine for basic terrain generation, lately. Texturing is still one of the real bugbears in my workflow because of the way the terrain texture tool works. What with the plugin essentially projecting the composited texture on the z axis, since the software doesn't allow for sheer cliff faces, the rock textures on cliff faces tend to get smeary and unrealistic. If anyone knows of any solution, other than hand texturing those areas, I would be interested in checking it out.

Re: Cliffside Retreat

Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 7:47 pm
by Mike1158
I'm Sorry, I should have been a bit more aware but have my head stuck somewhere. I have my own roguish gentlewoman of sorts who normally keeps me in line, especially when my not being able to sleep spoils her attempts. She is not my Ellie who is now not here but has the catitude to spare.

MM is a little bit bigger than a squirrel but bullies the local Badgers and Foxes, she is a little too fearless sometimes.

Re: Cliffside Retreat

Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 9:13 pm
by Fletch
SpookyChick wrote: Sat Aug 31, 2019 4:01 pm ... for sheer cliff faces, the rock textures on cliff faces tend to get smeary and unrealistic. If anyone knows of any solution, other than hand texturing those areas, I would be interested in checking it out.
perhaps the right procedural material would be in order here, but a true CG artist is also mat painter and would texture by hand ;)

I'm always a sucker for a cliff house, give it a little more detail :!: :^:

:welcome: Back Spooky :D Glad to see you. :hat:

Re: Cliffside Retreat

Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 1:20 pm
by SpookyChick
perhaps the right procedural material would be in order here, but a true CG artist is also mat painter and would texture by hand
I do. That's part of the reason post pro can take so much time. :lol: It's also the reason I merely think it would be nice if it worked differently, :) rather than "WAAAA! It doesn't do everything, this suck, you suck and you should feel bad!" :roll: Too many people these days go for the latter option rather than the former. :roll: :roll:

Perhaps, in an update, functionality to paint the texture on according to normals, rather than z axis projection could be brought in? Perhaps as an experiment? Another idea would be maybe an option with in terrain tool, or maybe just a standalone plugin for TWR, a texture painting tool, which would allow texture to be painted on with a brush. Controls for brush hardness, and size of texture being part of this. I don't know if this would be technically possible, but I can certainly visualise who the interface would look and work.

More detail will be forthcoming in future renders of this set. This is really only V1.0 (Beta) of the project.

Thanks for the welcome back. Seems like everybody else disappeared while I was gone.

Best wishes to everyone on the East Coast of the US.

Ja ne,

Re: Cliffside Retreat

Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 5:59 pm
by Fletch
Hey Spooky,
As far as the waterfall itself, it could be done with a combination of modeling and proper procedural material.
Subject: Waterfall effect?

For the cliff texture proplem - perhaps UV Unwrap may help? It sort of does what you're asking, I think.

Subject: UV Unwrap (v2 Pro)
Fletch wrote: Mon Apr 15, 2019 9:25 pm Pro Users have several pro tools available to them.

UV Unwrap is one such tool in the right-click (command click on mac) menu:
If you have a complex item, for instance a cushion like seen below.
and you have applied a texture to it, but it is all "messed up" you can select all the faces (with the textures) Right-click choose "Twilight V2" > Texture > Unwrap Texture Map

It will then remap the faces to be as ideal as it can depending on the texture map you have applied, then you may need to change the dimensions of the texture map inside the SketchUp dialog box, as the texture will be resized in the process.

Image

Re: Cliffside Retreat

Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 5:31 am
by SpookyChick
Hai! It occured to me earlier today that I should try experimenting with creating the layered texture in Terrain render, and then reapplying that by way of UV Unwrap texturing in the appropriate Twilight tool. :idea:

Thank you for the link to Majid's water texture library. 8-) For the life of me, I couId not figure out where to find them last time I went looking for them. I probably won't be using it for this, but there are other projects I have need that on for a while. For waterfalls, I like the method I found using GIMP. It has the right look, at least to my eyes.

Perhaps I'll do a post-pro tutorial on faking waterfalls with GIMP. Not here though. I will let you know how things go with the texturing. Right now I'm still dealing with trying to get SU to play nice with importing OBJ and DAE files. Every time I do, it breaks something, :evil: and they take for ever to do anything with :roll: . I just wish the SU devs would have made a better importer. :(

Oh well. :roll:

Anyway, Fletch, arigato gozaimasu! Your helpful advice is a big part of the reason I've gotten even the little bit of proficiency I have. :rspkt:

Ja ne!

Re: Cliffside Retreat

Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 8:22 am
by Fletch
SpookyChick wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2019 5:31 am Hai! It occured to me earlier today that I should try experimenting with creating the layered texture in Terrain render, and then reapplying that by way of UV Unwrap texturing in the appropriate Twilight tool. :idea:
Yes, maybe re-watch the terrain editor tutorial video, as the terrain texture editor is great... (breaks out Yoda voice) "a powerful ally, it is."
SpookyChick wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2019 5:31 am Thank you for the link to Majid's water texture library. 8-) For the life of me, I couId not figure out where to find them last time I went looking for them. I probably won't be using it for this, but there are other projects I have need that on for a while. For waterfalls, I like the method I found using GIMP. It has the right look, at least to my eyes.
your waterfall looks great, and probably is easier with more control... but it's perhaps helpful for others to know that the waterfall texture is do-able in SketchUp with Twilght Render powerful procedurals.
SpookyChick wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2019 5:31 am Perhaps I'll do a post-pro tutorial on faking waterfalls with GIMP. Not here though. I will let you know how things go with the texturing. Right now I'm still dealing with trying to get SU to play nice with importing OBJ and DAE files. Every time I do, it breaks something, :evil: and they take for ever to do anything with :roll: . I just wish the SU devs would have made a better importer. :(
A major weakness to be sure.
SpookyChick wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2019 5:31 am Anyway, Fletch, arigato gozaimasu! Your helpful advice is a big part of the reason I've gotten even the little bit of proficiency I have. :rspkt:
:^: It is why we are here. :hat:

Re: Cliffside Retreat

Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 3:09 pm
by tuna57
SpookyChick , Glad to see you back. Cool concept and looking forward to the final images. :^: