Songbird Remix's Product Preview Thread

[eclark1894]

Speaking of chickens and cats. This little creature here is the reason I can't stand small dogs. In case you're not a fan of the cartoon, this is Bandit from Jonny Quest. I know it was the way he was written, but I can't stand that dog.

 

[Satira Capriccio]

From what I've read, feral cats are a bigger problem than domestic cats in the US. That's not necessarily the case on islands or other areas where cats aren't native. Especially where we're trying to reintroduce endangered species. They don't have the population to withstand a predator like the cat who hunts not just for food, but for the experience. Not that cats are the only four legged predator that hunts "for the thrill."

Female cats reach puberty between 5 and 9 months, although, some mature as young as 3-1/2 months. Once they reach puberty, they are able to reproduce. Outdoor cats, or those around mature, unneutered male cats tend to mature even sooner. A female cat goes into heat every two to three weeks, unless impregnated. In which case, the pregnancy is about 65 days, and once she's given birth, she's back in heat ... even while nursing. Consequently, a cat can have litters two to three times a year, with each litter having one to eight kittens. Unlike humans, cats don't go through menopause, but will keep on getting pregnant until they die. Fortunately ... feral cats don't live as long as indoor cats. But still ... that's a lot of cats. Males don't have the downtime of pregnancy, so the only thing stopping them is the lack of female cats in heat. Or exhaustion ...

Still, with all the damage humans are doing to the environment and wildlife habitats, there just isn't any good reason to let our well (over) fed house kitties outdoors unsupervised. I don't believe Taeyn, Tsuki, or even Sushi were harmed by keeping them indoors. While Tsuki is at the door when I get home in the evening and shoves out the door as soon as it opens enough, she now rarely bolts down the hallway. It seems to be more curiosity than I NEED OUT! Most of the time, she stretches out along the stairwell door (We're at the end of the hallway).

Even when she did bolt down the hallway, she never got all the way to the end of the hallway. Though, I'm absolutely sure that if my door opened to the outside, she'd probably take off exploring. A hallway ... while full of interesting smells ... just isn't the same as the fascinating outdoors with all those birds and squirrels.

If I didn't live in an apartment, I'd have a cat run/enclosure on a deck. Big enough for a comfy chair for me too. Actually, I'd love to put one on the balcony here.

 

[Ken Gilliland]

Maybe there's something I just don't understand. So I'm bringing it up here hoping someone will "splain" it to me. I've always admired a cat's hunting ability. And yes, they are formidable natural predators. But as good as they are, I don't think they can fly. Birds can.....

The issue is "advantages". The lives of wild birds are stressed. Their natural habitats are fragmented by human development creating larger challenges for them to find food, water, nesting areas and cover. Noise issues (caused by humans) also disrupt their ability to hear predator coming, warning and mating calls. Domestic cats are well-fed, well rested and healthy. They have every advantage.

Imagine flying all day during migration, landing exhausted, trying to find scarce food and water, while being hunted by a highly skilled predator. To put it in humans terms, it would be like one of us being dropped off in Allepo, Syria to fend for ourselves.

 

[Alisa]

View attachment 34840

Bonaparte's Nightjar

Common Poor-will

View attachment 34852

 

[eclark1894]

The issue is "advantages". The lives of wild birds are stressed. Their natural habitats are fragmented by human development creating larger challenges for them to find food, water, nesting areas and cover. Noise issues (caused by humans) also disrupt their ability to hear predator coming, warning and mating calls. Domestic cats are well-fed, well rested and healthy. They have every advantage.

Imagine flying all day during migration, landing exhausted, trying to find scarce food and water, while being hunted by a highly skilled predator. To put it in humans terms, it would be like one of us being dropped off in Allepo, Syria to fend for ourselves.

I'm not sure I agree with that, Ken, although I truly do respect your take on it. Birds have great eyesight, and the advantage of the high ground So they should easily be able to spot a cat on the ground. Now, granted, I have seen some cats get pretty close to a bird already on the ground.

 

[Janet]

I've had the eagle cam on in the background all night. Just one eagle there sleeping. Just a few minutes ago a second one showed up to the nest and the first one flew away. There's an egg in the nest! After a couple minutes the second eagle started sitting on the egg.

 

[Satira Capriccio]

In addition to what Ken posted, not all birds spend most of their time in trees or in the air. I imagine swallows don't have as much to worry about with cats since they feed on flying insects, but according to Audubon (bird feeder information), sparrows, juncos, and towhees usually feed on the ground, while finches and cardinals feed in shrubs, and chickadees, titmice, and woodpeckers feed in trees.

Robins are ground feeders too as they eat earthworms and insects they find on the ground while searching for worms.

Swifts, nighthawks, flycatchers, some warblers, and Cedar Waxwings also feed on flying insects.

 

[Rae134]

I've seen a domestic cat with a bell on its collar move so silently that the bell didn't ring and so moved so quickly the bird didn't stand a chance.

 

[Alisa]

Let's move this thread back to Ken's Songbird Remix WIPs, please, everyone, away from cats . There are some AWESOME new images he's posted!!

If people want to continue a discussion about cats, let one of the Community Volunteers know and they can collect and move the posts into another thread

Thanks!!

 

[Ken Gilliland]

I just finished the updates on the nightjar set and will be moving to the owls and Birds of Prey next (Falcons is done). Apart from the obvious updates (SF & Iray compatibility), all versions (FF & 3Delight too) will be using my new translucency maps for wings and tail feathers (and yes, all birds in my series will be getting them eventually). You'll have to wait a while for the updates, the first will be appearing near the end of April for my Audubon's birthday event. I think I'll be able to have my newer sets (Waterfowl to Kiwis) completed by then, maybe a couple of the older ones too.

I had so much fun creating images for the reworked nightjars set, I might do the add-on Potoos that I was originally planning for it. What are Potoos? As one website said it, they are proof that muppets really do exist.

 

[Stezza]

Let's move this thread back to Ken's Songbird Remix WIPs, please, everyone, away from cats . There are some AWESOME new images he's posted!!

If people want to continue a discussion about cats, let one of the Community Volunteers know and they can collect and move the posts into another thread

Thanks!!

this should be done anyways

 

[Jan]

Your right, the Potoo is an awesome bird, love its big eyes.

Ken in the future, will you be also re-working/ updating the Australian bird Packs.

 

[Ken Gilliland]

Yes, the Australian sets and all of my other bird sets will be part of this huge update. The Songbird ReMix base model and its hybrids (SBRM-G, SBRM-P, etc) get the big .cr2 update as well too and this is one of the reasons its taking so long. All the morph settings that were in various body parts are now loaded only into the BODY section. The "BetterThighs" morph that blends the thighs better into the hips requires that about 2/3 of the birds in the library get their textures adjusted in that area (and while I'm adjusting those textures, I do end up improving the map elsewhere as well). Also every bird, needs 4 texture settings; the adjusted 3Delight and FF (with translucency) plus the new Iray and SF ones). And finally every bird gets written in "character" format (.cr2/.duf) so that all birds will be an "one-click" load.

There will probably be a little confusion and difficulty getting used to the new format and library folder system for long-time users, but once you get used to it, I doubt any one will want to go back to the old ways. The confusion will probably come from having the new/old systems side-by-side while I'm working on the updates, but the way that I designed the new system it's easily separated from the old one "Songbird ReMix/..." with the new one "Animals/Songbird ReMix/..." It should be pretty easy to delete the old sets as the new ones are re-released.

The first updates will appear, as I've said, to kick off my Audubon's Birthday event and continue to be re-released throughout the year. With over 1,000 birds to update in my library, even a year to do it seems optimistic. There won't be a lot of new releases this year, so I'm hoping my catalog will be supported (since my updates are free) to keep food on the table.

 

[Satira Capriccio]

I plan to pick up a few of the earlier sets during your Audubon's Birthday event!

 

[JOdel]

I went on a binge over a few March Madness and other sales at DAZ and picked up most of the older catalog there over the years. But I don't have everything. Looks like I'll need to go through my invoice emails and have them to send as proof of purchase.

As well as watch for updates on the things I don't have.

 

[Ken Gilliland]

I went on a binge over a few March Madness and other sales at DAZ and picked up most of the older catalog there over the years...

For those who don't know, I do have a program in place for those who purchased my products at the "other" place that will get the product ownership transferred to Hivewire3D.

 

[JOdel]

Will have to get onto that, if I haven't done it already. I should probably also include things like Nimrud, since that's had an update as well.

 

[Alisa]

Will have to get onto that, if I haven't done it already. I should probably also include things like Nimrud, since that's had an update as well.

Definitely - include any of Ken's products you have!

 

[Stezza]

For those who don't know, I do have a program in place for those who purchased my products at the "other" place that will get the product ownership transferred to Hivewire3D.

cool stuff ... but

what about items that may have been won in your render comp. prior to HW3D and are not in the other place downloads either.. are the eligible for an update?

for memory I think you supplied a direct link to the products.. or may have just emailed them out.. I can't remember lol

 

[Ken Gilliland]

cool stuff ... but what about items that may have been won in your render comp. prior to HW3D and are not in the other place downloads either.. are the eligible for an update? for memory I think you supplied a direct link to the products.. or may have just emailed them out.. I can't remember lol

To those who won prizes in my contests prior to my HW move, just send me a list of the items you won, and I'll put them in the transfer process. I know who you are because I have all the winners displayed on my website.