you need to give something like a floorboard to help with the transition from the groun to the wall, you need bump mapping, and try messing with some of the specular settings.
but when you're using a an existing image as a reference, try to use a picture... and not someone elses 3d work. only because you don't know what they might have missed, in a picture there is no missing details and so you can try to recreate all of the details possible. when you go off of someone elses 3d work the best you can get when recreating it... is as good as they did, but with an image you can get everything.

Well Jarrod, I apologize. I must have forgotten to mention that I followed a tutorial. The tut mentioned "after additional modifications" - it wasn't too clear. A first timer's tut actually. I believe he might have used GI.

I shall look into bump mapping, but I'm not too sure what you mean by floorboards. I'll look up specular as well.

-No, no way he used GI, that rendering is still quite bad.
-Modelling is OK.
-Texturing is still bad.

Instead of critiqing, though, I'm going to recommend two books (I think I recommended them before): [digita] Texturing and Painting and [digital] Lighting and Rendering. Right now, you are trying to do artistic things without any artistic training or theory, especially lighting and rendering. Until you understand how to light (ie, the technical aspects), you're not going to know how to light well. And until you understand what good lighting looks like, you're not going to be able to light well (there's a difference between being able to and knowing how to, its nuanced, but its important). Honestly, learn all you can from tutorials in the technical part, and to practice, but its all useless without the theory behind it.

Between reading those two books, you'll understand why your image doesn't look good, and you'll be able to critique it yourself. You'll see how your texturing lacks localization, your environment isn't coherent or scaled well, proper shadows, lighting temperature, different types of mapping, etc.

Thanks for replies. I looked at Amazon for the [Digital] books, Prof. I'll place an order soon.

@Anon. Post -- Thanks for the sites. I used lynda.com before for some web design stuff. I'll check it for some Max stuff soon.

Updates on things. I just got a few videos off Lynda.com. One on modeling in max, and another on texturing & lighting in max. I'm going through those over the next few days (focusing esp. the modeling one.).

===========================
A FEW QUESTIONS BELOW. Please Read.

As a side project for a client, I drew up a concept sketch of a medieval castle/(fantasy type). I'll scan the finished concept later (away from home, no scanner at the moment).

Just as an extra, I'm doing a max model of the castle. Here's the basic view (nothing's really been done cept' a mesh smooth on the 3 spires (cone things) ).



Here's a closeup of the blue entrance thing. It's the focus of this question.



Here come the problems. After I apply a Mesh Smooth of 3 Iterations (1, 2 etc. all have a similar problem.) ...



Anyone notice any problems..? Yeah thats right - the entrance (1 object, cloned and then attached for the symmetry.) isn't attached. How do I proceed with this? The whole entrance kinda sucks imo.

Suggestions comments, anything's welcome, good or bad ;).

Thanks,

Darshan "Nex" Shankar,
Red Winter Studios,
Lead Producer.

you must also select all of the vertices from the end of the attached model and the other model and weld them together.
and applying 3 iterations of meshsmooth on all of your meshes will quickly slowdown your pc, unless you have some serious active degradation on.

Quote:

Original post by D Shankar Updates on things. I just got a few videos off Lynda.com. One on modeling in max, and another on texturing & lighting in max. I'm going through those over the next few days (focusing esp. the modeling one.).

READ YOUR THEORY!!!!! Unless you learn what good lighting looks like, you're not going to be able to do anything other than hold lynda.com's hand through the tutorials. Unless you know what a texture should look like or hows its made, you won't be able to do anything other than the DVD's tutorials.

Quote:

Original post by Professor420 Quote: Original post by D Shankar Updates on things. I just got a few videos off Lynda.com. One on modeling in max, and another on texturing & lighting in max. I'm going through those over the next few days (focusing esp. the modeling one.). READ YOUR THEORY!!!!! Unless you learn what good lighting looks like, you're not going to be able to do anything other than hold lynda.com's hand through the tutorials. Unless you know what a texture should look like or hows its made, you won't be able to do anything other than the DVD's tutorials.

Of course Prof, that's why I didn't do any texturing or lighting in this scene. I'm focused on modeling. What are you suggesting I do?

Quote:

Original post by D Shankar Quote: Original post by Professor420 Quote: Original post by D Shankar Updates on things. I just got a few videos off Lynda.com. One on modeling in max, and another on texturing & lighting in max. I'm going through those over the next few days (focusing esp. the modeling one.). READ YOUR THEORY!!!!! Unless you learn what good lighting looks like, you're not going to be able to do anything other than hold lynda.com's hand through the tutorials. Unless you know what a texture should look like or hows its made, you won't be able to do anything other than the DVD's tutorials. Of course Prof, that's why I didn't do any texturing or lighting in this scene. I'm focused on modeling. What are you suggesting I do?

i think he is saying, before you try to practic with any more modeling, texturing, or lighting... stop for a sec and read up on your lighting and shadow theory, texturing theory (not just tutorials, there is actual thinking behind it), and if possible study some "classic" art skills too, while they may not be too important (atleast to me) i have heard from many others that it will grealty help you to observe the details in things that would otherwise go unnoticed (which i already do this).
after you learn all of this stuff go to places like 3dtotal.com or 3dlinks.com and examine others works (the high rated ones) and see how they did things and thier techniques they used (you can leanr a lot from just looking at anothers cg work). and from here i would then start practicing modeling, then texturing, then lighting (in that order).
its a lot of work, but thats why not everyone who wants to be a 3d artist is good, it all depends on the amount of work and time you put in.

Alright then. Theory before ANY 3d. You won't see any more screenshots for quite a while then ;).