Songbird Remix's Product Preview Thread

[Ken Gilliland]

Here's an interesting video clip from CNN about the health benefits of being a birder...

Birdwatching for peace of mind and better health - CNN

...and if you didn't know, if you like to bird-- you are not alone

• About 85 million Americans enjoy observing, photographing or feeding wild birds. That means about 1 in 4 Americans are birders. (National Survey on Recreation and the Environment by the USDA's Forest Service 2013).
• In the United States, Vermont has the most enthusiastic birding population at 39%; Hawai'i is the lowest with 9%. The average is about 24%. (USFWS 2011)
• Nearly 6 million Californians consider themselves "Birders" (Audubon California 2010)
• 56% of US "Birders" are women (USFWS 2011).
• 1 in 5 Canadians are "Birders", spending an average of 133 days in a year on the activity. That’s more time than is spent on any other nature activity — including gardening, which people dedicate more than 70 days a year to, on average. (Canadian Nature Survey 2010).
• Birding is the fastest growing form of outdoor recreation-- a 236% increase in participation from 1982 to 2001, from 21 million to 71 million (National Survey on Recreation and the Environment 2000-01).
• Birding is the second most popular hobby/pastime worldwide, only surpassed by gardening.

 

[Flint_Hawk]

… and it's always so exciting when a new type of bird unexpectedly shows up! It really brightens your day!

 

[Ken Gilliland]

Here's a first look at the Iray version of my Condors update... I think it shows off the translucent feathers pretty well

 

[Flint_Hawk]

It sure does Ken!

 

[Ken Gilliland]

The Toucans updates are slowly (a little painfully) moving towards the store (I keep finding things I want to change, plus the things I do improve, cause other small issues to arise)... I did take time this morning (as I work through some small issues) to do the new Iray cover art for Toucans V1 and v2... it should give a hint of what you can expect in DAZ Studio. Notice the Thigh to Hip connections-- big improvements there

 

[Janet]

They look awesome!

 

[Flint_Hawk]

It sure does!

 

[Ken Gilliland]

The Toucans v1 and v2 re-release is finally in the store.

Songbird ReMix Toucans - A Ken Gilliland 3D Creation
Songbird ReMix Toucans 2 - A Ken Gilliland 3D Creation

If you own the products(s) simply download them. They are in the new Songbird ReMix format (meaning you'll find everything in the Animals/Songbird ReMix folders in DS and Poser (under figures). Toucans are strangely listed under "Woodpeckers" in the bird world so you'll find the actual birds in the Bird Library section under "Woodpeckers and Toucans (Order Piciformes)".

Vultures v1, v2 and Condors are going through QAV now so they should arrive soon

 

[JOdel]

Excellent! I rather expect to be using birds more often once I don't have to hunt for all the component parts to assemble them.

 

[Ken Gilliland]

A master of disguise, the Long-tailed Potoo seamlessly becomes part of a stump while sleeping. At dusk, it will wake and feast upon flying termites, moths, and beetles. The core range of the long-tailed potoo is the contiguous region of the entire northwestern and southwestern Amazon Basin. In the north of South America, the range is in the eastern regions of Venezuela's Orinoco River drainage and the highlands bordering Guyana; in Guyana, the range extends into the eastern portions of the Essequibo River drainage to the border with Suriname. The contiguous range extends southward through Andean and Amazonian portions of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
This large and proportionately long-tailed potoo species is rarely seen. It is most likely to be first detected by voice, a soft, undulating waa-OO-uh, which is quite different from that of other species of potoo

 

[Flint_Hawk]

They are such fun birds! Fabulous render!

 

[Ken Gilliland]

A couple more Potoos... the Common Potooo

with this image... it actually shows there's a reason why I create a lot of those obscure products like ants and moths... it's little details like the moths in the background or the leaf cutter ant line that give the image that true sense of realism. Plus, being a little obsessive (okay, might a lot), I refuse to put species that don't belong together (like a South American bird with an European moth). This image did get my to realize that I have no South American lizards (I'll have to fix that).

and the Rufous Potoo...

 

[Rae134]

beautiful Ken! now where did you get both of those trees/stump? I especially love the top one.

 

[Ken Gilliland]

Thanks, that top stump is from DinoRaul's "Trees 201-206" (at Rendo) with some material settting edits on my part. The other stumps are from RDNA's "Old Wood" geometry (subdivided) with my own texture maps and material settings. I'll probably end up doing a stump/snag set eventually.

 

[Rae134]

Thanks, I'll have to check them out. I think such a set from you would rock

 

[Ken Gilliland]

Another day, another potoo...

Here's the Andean Potoo from the cloud forests of Amazonia

 

[Ken Gilliland]

For you Toucan lovers... Cornell Labs has a Panama Bird Cam

Panama Fruit Feeder Cam at Canopy Lodge

I saw some Collared Aracaris yesterday,--a Scarlet-rumped Cacique, white-collared manakin and some female tanagers today

 

[Chris]

For you Toucan lovers... Cornell Labs has a Panama Bird Cam

Panama Fruit Feeder Cam at Canopy Lodge

I saw some Collared Aracaris yesterday,--a Scarlet-rumped Cacique, white-collared manakin and some female tanagers today

Sweet. I have it on over to the side of my monitor so I can watch it while I'm reading about creating normal maps in Modo. Hoping to create some veins and added detail on our figures.

Fun company just to hear the birds in the background, with some occasional voices. Only seeing insects around the feeders right now. But will keep an eye out. Perhaps most active in the morning or evening?

 

[Chris]

Bingo, looks like we have company.

 

[Chris]

Hummingbird now too.