Songbird Remix's Product Preview Thread

[Ken Gilliland]

Hummingbirds haven't been updated yet. They're on my list as soon as I finish the base SBRM model since I'm need that model to complete "SBRM 2nd Edition". Chances are there will be a additional hummingbird volume created when I do update it. I'd like to get the rest of the North American Hummingbirds in that set as well as more of the unique South American ones.

I will "officially" be starting work on the base SBRM set update on Monday

 

[JOdel]

Well that will keep you busy for a while.

 

[Ken Gilliland]

Two things...

Here's a peek at the changes in geometry on the new SBRM model Vs the old model...

Also, here's an article about the big increase in birdwatching due to Covid-19 in Australia
How 'lockdown birdwatching' is aiding bushfire recovery

 

[Miss B]

An amazing improvement. Then again, I wouldn't expect anything else from you Ken.

 

[Flint_Hawk]

And good news from Australia!

 

[Klaus Sauer]

Really interessting to see what you did on the new model. I like this "Behind the scenes" views a lot.

 

[Ken Gilliland]

Here's a few more looks "under the hood"...

One of the biggest challenges is trying to spruce up a model that was built in 2002, "State of the Art" in 2003 was a far cry from what's expected now. The obvious challenge is getting 600+ existing birds to work with the revamped model without having to entirely redo every bird. Some of the work is easy... the new transparency maps lay over the existing texture map so that diffuse map translates well to the new "fluff" feathers. The original 2002 UV map has been a nightmare to work with ever since I started the texturing the series. Nothing has been done with it all these years because it would have involved fixing every map. With the latest model updates, I had to "bite the bullet" because I couldn't bare to release yet another update with those hip-to-thigh connections. For those who aren't familiar with the old model, the legs were simply stuck into the torso, never properly attached to the hip mesh. Since I was going to have to re-blend the hip-to-thigh connection on the maps, I decided it was also time to remove the insane UV'ed throat patch and stretched UVs on the neck and do it the right way. I can't begin to help you how many beta/QA/QAVs callbacks I've had on this area. It was close to possible to align properly. What area am I talking about? Look at the 2003 UV map below at the small trapezoid in the middle of the map... yup. that's the "throat patch". It to align with the pelt (left upper on both sides). Note how the UVs stretch at the top on each side of the pelt. That had to match up with the base of the "Throat Patch". As you can see from the 2020 map, those problems are solved.

I also reshaped the main wings a little and made the leg and thigh UVs easier to match on the seams. Why a square for the thighs on the 2020 map. It's easier to aligned the UVs with the thighs.

Second sneak peek... On the new model, typical bird shapes can be easily selected...

 

[JOdel]

Impressive!

I will say that once you went to the one-click birdies, I'm using birds a lot more often in my scenes.

 

[Ken Gilliland]

For those wondering why my Shorebirds v4 is included in the Eye of the Tiger sale here's a Red-crowned Crane dealing with some tigers...

Crane Vs 2 Tigers

Crane Vs 3 Tigers
'Kung fu crane' battles three tigers at Chinese zoo and wins

 

[Ken Gilliland]

Tiger: "Oh, no... not you again"

 

[Jan]

Ken. Without searching through pdfs, do you have a list of birds you have done and where they come from- like India and the birds from there making it easier to pick the correct bird for your render if you are doing a specific render of a country and birds. I like to include the correct species found there. Thanks Jan

 

[Ken Gilliland]

I used to... my Bird Wiki on my website.... unfortunately when my host company did some upgrade the wiki SQL database got damaged. That means I need to rebuild the whole wiki (not fun), but something that I've meant to do for some time.

Off the top of my head you'll find birds from Tiger ranges in Cool & Unusual 3 (Luzon Bleeding-heart, Pink-necked Green Pigeon. Formosan or Taiwan Blue Magpie, Taiwan Firecrest), Shorebirds v4 (Red-crowned Crane, Siberian Crane, Hooded Crane, White-naped Crane, Eurasian Spoonbill, Chinese Egret, Oriental Stork), Peacocks of the World, Birds of Prey v5 (Red-headed Falcon, Black Baza, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Steller's Sea Eagle, White-bellied Sea Eagle)

 

[Flint_Hawk]

I made up a list of birds that can be found in India too. Here are some more:

SBRM European Edition 2-
European turtle dove

SBRM Gamebirds Vol 3-
Spotted dove
Common Emerald Dove

SBRM Cool & Unusual 3-
Bohemian Waxwing

Sparrows of the World-
Spanish sparrow
Russet Sparrow
Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Songbird ReMix-
House Sparrow

That's a pretty nice variety!

 

[Jan]

Thanks Ken and Flint Hawk. That's helpful. I hope you do get around to making this list again at some point, Ken

 

[DanaTA]

I used to... my Bird Wiki on my website.... unfortunately when my host company did some upgrade the wiki SQL database got damaged. That means I need to rebuild the whole wiki (not fun), but something that I've meant to do for some time.

Off the top of my head you'll find birds from Tiger ranges in Cool & Unusual 3 (Luzon Bleeding-heart, Pink-necked Green Pigeon. Formosan or Taiwan Blue Magpie, Taiwan Firecrest), Shorebirds v4 (Red-crowned Crane, Siberian Crane, Hooded Crane, White-naped Crane, Eurasian Spoonbill, Chinese Egret, Oriental Stork), Peacocks of the World, Birds of Prey v5 (Red-headed Falcon, Black Baza, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Steller's Sea Eagle, White-bellied Sea Eagle)

They didn't take backups of your database? For shame!

Dana

 

[Ken Gilliland]

Ken. Without searching through pdfs, do you have a list of birds you have done and where they come from- like India and the birds from there making it easier to pick the correct bird for your render if you are doing a specific render of a country and birds. I like to include the correct species found there. Thanks Jan

I actually have a back-up but was using an ancient version of mediawiki that supposedly doesn't upgrade well. Most of the text and art I had up needed to up updated so part of me wants to just start from scratch. My biggest problem is finding time to reacquaint myself with mediawiki coding and rebuilding using a newer version. I'd rather spend it regrading bird sets.

 

[JOdel]

Something occurred to me during my redo of an old publication cover. I needed to give a Basilisk a plume. I used one of the conforming crests from my old Poser version of the sets that I got from DAZ yonks ago. I had a dreary old time hunting through the .pdfs trying to find what bird(s) the crest I decided to try to use was from, so I could find the trans maps, since the part doesn't load with those.

I happily admit that the one-click birds are *much* more likely to be used, and I am very grateful for them, but some people may still want to build fantasy birds for one reason or another. You might want to consider offering a separate release of just conforming parts (or more than one such package) with parts that load at least with the trans maps. Maybe the original textures, to be applied from a thumbnail, rather than the long hunt through the .pdfs to find the original owner of that particular conforming part.

Probably a bit of a specialty item, and not one to interrupt a major working like the ongoing revision project, but perhaps something to keep on the back burner.

 

[Ken Gilliland]

Something occurred to me during my redo of an old publication cover. I needed to give a Basilisk a plume. I used one of the conforming crests from my old Poser version of the sets that I got from DAZ yonks ago. I had a dreary old time hunting through the .pdfs trying to find what bird(s) the crest I decided to try to use was from, so I could find the trans maps, since the part doesn't load with those.

I happily admit that the one-click birds are *much* more likely to be used, and I am very grateful for them, but some people may still want to build fantasy birds for one reason or another. You might want to consider offering a separate release of just conforming parts (or more than one such package) with parts that load at least with the trans maps. Maybe the original textures, to be applied from a thumbnail, rather than the long hunt through the .pdfs to find the original owner of that particular conforming part.

Probably a bit of a specialty item, and not one to interrupt a major working like the ongoing revision project, but perhaps something to keep on the back burner.

All the conforming parts as well as "blank" models are (and will be) included in the new format. Just look in the "Resources" of the Songbird ReMix folder.

 

[JOdel]

Oh, that's excellent. Next time I need to build a bird, or give something a topknot or tail I'll now know where two go hunting.

 

[Ken Gilliland]

Oh, that's excellent. Next time I need to build a bird, or give something a topknot or tail I'll now know where two go hunting.

Some of the parts, like the "top knot" have become permanent parts of the base models (such as the top knot on the Gamebirds model). I still have those models as conforming objects on the older stuff, so perhaps add those back in on Resources, once I finish plowing through the updates.