Songbird Remix's Product Preview Thread

[Dream9Studios]

I've missed several posts since my unplanned hiatus. Are you still planning to make the Parrots Volume 5 with the Pacific Parrotlets? This little bugger must be memorialized in 3D. (He's perched on a Star Trek Tribble. He used to make the same noise as it made.)

 

[Ken Gilliland]

I'll get to Parrots v5 by the end of the year. I promised first a significant leap forward on my SBRM updates to the new format, so I'm working sets on those currently. On that list are many of the oldest SBRM products (SBRM, Characters, Threatened v1, Cool 'n' Unusual v1 and Europe v1, plus the two Pose Packs in the new format). Many of my oldest freebies, plus some new birds also are being reworked and will reappear as new volumes of "Characters". There will be some revamped and new freebies that will be posted when these volumes appear.

I'm hoping to make it through the entire "Perching Birds" (Passerines) folder of the library by the next Audubon sale. That's a tall order considering Passerines make up more than 50% of the bird world and my SBRM bird library. Beyond that, I have all the seabirds sets, a couple themed region sets (that use seabird models) and a few specialty sets to update. Maybe by the end of next year, I'll finally be done

 

[Ken Gilliland]

Good news

 

[Ken Gilliland]

A peek into that I've been up to this week (working on the Threatened, Endangered, Extinct v1 update)

 

[Miss B]

An amazing update Ken.

 

[Ivory Elephant]

Nice updates Ken, any plans for a revamp of the Ostrich and the African birds?

 

[Ken Gilliland]

Nice updates Ken, any plans for a revamp of the Ostrich and the African birds?

Ostriches was updated in April 2019 to the new format. Africa will probably be be the end of the year or early 2021. I hope to make it through all of the sbrm base sets by the start of Spring 2021 and move to getting the Seabird models done by April 2021.

The earliest sets (like Threatened v1, Characters, C&U v1) are taking some time for a couple reasons; most have ancient texture maps that do need a lot of love to bring 2020 standards and back in 2004-5 there weren't a lot of reference resources for getting the right markings, shapes and colors.

Back then, I was using drawings from bird field guide books to determine that the bird looked like, as well as a limited arsenal of stock morphs on the model. Nowadays, there's great resources available online (even for an extinct bird like Bachman's Warbler-- see above). Also, with me doing all the morphs now (I had a partner doing them back then), I know exactly what shape I need to make to get it much closer to its real life counterpart.

Promo images from SBRM Characters v1 and v2

 

[Ivory Elephant]

Sweet

 

[Ken Gilliland]

more sneaks...

 

[Ken Gilliland]

Here's a few more comparisons for the "new" European Edition...

Currently, I'm working through updating the Poser Firefly versions of my first 5-6 SBRM sets. My reason for doing this only in Poser is to test the revised model and its old/revised/new morphs with a wide variety of the SBRM library. I think things are working well enough now that I'll probably start next week filling out the sets with the DS versions and getting them closer to release quality. Almost every bird from the 2003-2005 era has required a significant reworking of the texture maps.

 

[JOdel]

Ooo, nice birdie!

 

[Ken Gilliland]

starting to finally work the DAZ studio side of the update...

 

[Sunfire]

Could we get a little guy/gal like this? He's soooo cute!

 

[Ken Gilliland]

I have a couple smaller owls such as burrowing owls, African barred owls (vol1) and the Boobook and Barking owls (vol2). Of course, there are more owls I've love to do (and probably will eventually), but first I promise myself (and others) to get moreof the updates done. You see a good batch of those as we close out the year.

 

[Sunfire]

I look forward to the updates.

 

[Miss B]

Could we get a little guy/gal like this? He's soooo cute!

I have to agree, just precious. I never realized there were owls that small.

 

[Sunfire]

That little guy is friendlier than my mother's parrot was. LOL.

 

[Harimau]

I have to agree, just precious. I never realized there were owls that small.

The Elf owl (Micrathene whitneyi) is the smallest owl in the world:

These two are not much bigger:

1. The Long-whiskered owlet (Xenoglaux loweryi):

2. The Tamaulipas pygmy owl (Glaucidium sanchezi)

 

[JOdel]

Somehow I don't think an adult mouse would have a lot to fear from those. Insect eaters?

 

[Miss B]

I would think so. I can't imagine a bird that small trying to eat anything larger than an insect.