I decided to start a new thread for Beirut and Lebanon 3D models for Google Earth, because the other one's title wasn't completely relevant to it's content, and so we, modelers, can post our work in progress, in order for other forumers to give their comments/suggestions/help/ideas/infos on the model.

The modelers in this thread can (maybe should ;)) help each other by providing help concerning missing pictures, ideas, technical help, improvement and optimization thoughts, as well as future projects plan to avoid conflicts and improve coordination.

Lebanese and foreign forumers as well are invited to participate by providing help and ideas to the modelers.

- Ok I'll start I am currently working on the Parliament House in Nejmeh Square. (need Photos of the back)

- Also working on the Maghen Abraham Synagogue. I need photos of the side., and maybe some current photos of the exterior that shows the renovated facades.

I am working on 3 projects in parallel:

-the pigeons rock (Al Raouche)
-the Armenian church in DT
-new: the new lighthouse (manara)

I already have enough data for each project, what am missing is...time (and it's the weekend ;), so keep an eye on the thread)

St.George model is fixed, go check it out

melkart, while i was looking for pix for my projects, i came across good ones that may help u all, urs is this one:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/26762304lebanon135.jpg


I hope it helps. courtesy of Brian McMorrow.

I also found a surprise for YM that am fixing now... ;)

That's the best side image so far! thanx I won't even ask how you came across that.

-the Armenian church in DT



which church ???? the one next to the serial or the one on martyrs square ???

Well guys: Here is what Im modeling right now:

-The famous office building in Rawshe (the one Melkart said it is an emple of Modern Archi. in the 50's I need photos of the back though desperately!)

-Monroe Hotel

-4 seasons Hotel

-Beirut Tower

-The Ottoman Military Hospital in BCD (which I cant find any damn good photo of)

-Spinneys in Beirut

-A small bassketball stadium in Tripoli (Melkart the one you recomended but I cant find photos of, I have completed the stands but the sides still no photos)


-ESCWA Building (which I'm willing to pass on considering I dont have enough photos of the back of it and it would be better if a more experienced 3d modeler like melkart or Zippo take over )

-Manara Tower

-DUNES Verdun

-Burj Hammoud stadium (almost commpletely untextured, searching desperately for photos)

-Cafeteria in Lebanese Univesity

-Tennis Stadiumm in Lebanese University (need photos of the sides or even 1 side)

^^I know thats quite a handful, Im also in the procces of modeling other irrelevant residential buildings)

So anyone has any ideas or suggestions or possible takeovers be my guest :)

Hello again :)

Thank you all for your warm welcomes.

just have some technical questions before starting to work on a particular model...

1-what is the maximum tolerated polygon count ?

2-what is the maximum texture size/resolution/dpi ?

3-what can i start modeling ? or shall i improvise ?

Tell me about any detail which can be important to stick to.

(if it is not hard... contact me via e-mail : 3alisha@iplusstd.com)

Hey everyone!!! I have been absent for a while not posting, was in a quite busy period! I am soo impressed by the 3D models!!!!! And even happier that the modelers are here on this forum! This is just great!!! I was wondering if it was difficult to model? I would like to help but I have no idea how to except for while I use to model stuff on the simcity 4 building creator. Is there a resource that you would recommend?? Also I would love to see the following buildings get modeled:

1) the highrises in ain el mraisseh near the coast would add some height
2) the maronite cathedral near the Hariri mosque ( would be great to show how close the church and mosque really are!)
3)the achrafieh highrise projects! and the glass areas up the hill from gemayzeh
4) verdun area

Oh heck if I knew how I would model all of Beirut LOL!

GREAT GREAT JOB YOU GUYS!!!! KEEP IT UP!!!!

no plans for saida YM ???? :ohno:

^^ me and YM did discuss once the possibility of doing the Saida Sea Castle but im not sure who is willing to do it

Tabouleh the first thing that I would do is to dwnld google sketch-up first. Get familiar with it. It's very easy to use. Than ask us for specific questions and we'll be happy to help.

Hey everyone!!! I have been absent for a while not posting, was in a quite busy period! I am soo impressed by the 3D models!!!!! And even happier that the modelers are here on this forum! This is just great!!! I was wondering if it was difficult to model? I would like to help but I have no idea how to except for while I use to model stuff on the simcity 4 building creator. Is there a resource that you would recommend?? Also I would love to see the following buildings get modeled:


Its actually relatively simple, I was able to learn it after a few tries by watching some videos on YouTube and taking some advice from others. Before January I had absolutely no idea how to model, but I managed to learn. Im sure you would learn very quickly because of some background experience with Simcity just go download google sketshup and experiment around

1) the highrises in ain el mraisseh near the coast would add some height
2) the maronite cathedral near the Hariri mosque ( would be great to show how close the church and mosque really are!)
3)the achrafieh highrise projects! and the glass areas up the hill from gemayzeh
4) verdun area

Oh heck if I knew how I would model all of Beirut LOL!

GREAT GREAT JOB YOU GUYS!!!! KEEP IT UP!!!!



1- I have modeled 2 buildings there that are relatively highrise (Coral & Bahri I)
2-Zippo I think said that he was wanting to model it.
3-I have modeled the Rizk Tower in Ashrafiyeh, I would love to model some more if I have enough photos -Im sure others will help too.
4-I am in the procces of Modeling DUNES shopping mall, in addition to some buildings around it.

Also, like Melkart Said it is very easy to use, the most user friendly CAD app out there. I guess it would ake you a couple of hours to understand the basics, and a couple of days to understand the tricks and the loop-holes. It is very stress relieving I reckon you should give it a try....

_________________________________________________________________

Martyr: I think I created a model of the Saida Marine Fort, but I do not think it is well completed for GE, I recommend asking one of the big guys to do it, if they have the time of course ! (Zippo or Melkart) ;)

Hello again :)

Thank you all for your warm welcomes.

just have some technical questions before starting to work on a particular model...

1-what is the maximum tolerated polygon count ?

2-what is the maximum texture size/resolution/dpi ?

3-what can i start modeling ? or shall i improvise ?

Tell me about any detail which can be important to stick to.

(if it is not hard... contact me via e-mail : 3alisha@iplusstd.com)



If you would keep your face count under 1000 that would be great. But as a maximum you could use up to 5000-6000 faces (and thats really pushing it). Of course, when modeling for Google Earth you should always keep efficiency in mind, letting the textures do most of the work. Also, regarding to texture size, I recomend using 700x560 pixels images for starters, but if you feel that is not enough feel free to use bigger sizes (but no super large images). You have to remember to keep the model as light as you can, the less faces the better(with the Google Team) cuz all they care about is how fast does it render in GE. Remember, any model more than 10 MB wont upload to the 3d warehouse, and if the model is rated "complex" on the meter they provide for you it is likely to "fail proccesing" before finally getting it accepted. If you want to start modeling, you cant start right away, providing you have "Sketchup", Google Earth, & the photos of the building you want to model. Also, please provide a lot of metadata to describe your model intrestingly.

Finally, welcome aboard !! :D:D:D It will be a pleasure having you with us !

Abdallah, I just checked out your SG hotel model - It is surely looking great !

I just have a few notes on it that would make it even more great than it is right now !! :D:D

Here are my suggestions, remember they are just suggestions :) you are in no way obliged to do this:

-The back side of the hotel could be better if you pushed the lower floors in this manner:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_wKC3SG8UOXo/S5qnA1cI9dI/AAAAAAAAAjY/B3zGie5I9oE/s720/ferter.jpg

-Also the inner fence of the balconies are not textured:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_wKC3SG8UOXo/S5qmk4upR4I/AAAAAAAAAjU/-ube1I7wE4k/s800/fertwet.jpg
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_wKC3SG8UOXo/S5qnUKQ8LRI/AAAAAAAAAjc/yKMKsLYFkQk/s720/erfes.jpg

-Also the floors on the balconies are untextured:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_wKC3SG8UOXo/S5qn4N-MsoI/AAAAAAAAAjk/5lKI8jq7Suk/s640/efgsg.jpg

-The roofs of the balconies are looking also white, while another is textured, keep it consistent :P:P
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_wKC3SG8UOXo/S5qnmLEpqtI/AAAAAAAAAjg/CivD4MKYj4w/s576/efseft.jpg

-The front side is not extruded:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_wKC3SG8UOXo/S5qoawYsGoI/AAAAAAAAAjw/5YbAsnLpn7U/s720/3r.jpg

-U did not notice the top:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_wKC3SG8UOXo/S5qn73NvH3I/AAAAAAAAAjo/fqLKcyq2g_A/efer.jpg

_________________________________________________________________________

Remember it is only up to you. I totally get it if you think it is OK the way it is, and it is OK ;) It is surely one of your best Abdallah ! You can do this whenever you want, whenever you have the time ;)

I also found a surprise for YM that am fixing now... ;)

What surprise? Cant wait :P ;)

Abdallah, I just checked out your SG hotel model - It is surely looking great !

I just have a few notes on it that would make it even more great than it is right now !! :D:D

I put textures on the interior of the balcony
I fixed the back of the hotel (by shortening it)

which church ???? the one next to the serial or the one on martyrs square ???

sorry MARTYR for not clarifying which one, i thought it was discussed before in the other thread...anyway, it the Saint Elie Armenian Catholic Church, and here's the pictures:

location:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Saint%20Elie%20Armenian%20Catholic%20Church/GE-view-St-Elie-church.jpg

and a good view:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Saint%20Elie%20Armenian%20Catholic%20Church/4156374.jpg

What surprise? Cant wait :P ;)

I just came across a picture that u might be interested in ;)
this one:
(courtesy of Brian McMorrow)

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Grand%20serail%20clock%20tower/26762306lebanon143.jpg

And since am so sure u're interested, I've fixed the elevations and made a clostra white balcony for it:
here (http://s1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Grand%20serail%20clock%20tower/) u can find the perfectly photoshoped elevations as well as the balcony...:)

@ 3alisha & Tabouleh :
u can start by watching this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMLmfrRsu6M) video. It's very basic, but will give u an idea of where to start.
I also ditto what the guys stated about downloading sketchup and watching the introductory videos on basic modeling.
If there's enough requests, maybe I will start a dedicated thread on modeling for google earth tutorials and "tips and tricks", where learning the modeling techniques for google earth will be provided to everyone, as well as FAQ, problem solving, technical ideas, without having our projects there. It shall be a reference for lebanese forumers willing to start helping us by modeling their city/village. (if the moderators don't mind it of course :))

Im working on the Ramada Hotel (across the street from the Starco Center) I have pics of most of the sides but some arent to good, so its going to take some work

Finished it, comments on how to improve it are appreciated

http://i39.tinypic.com/kd6gas.jpg

Finished it, comments on how to improve it are appreciated

nice! can u show us a good shot of the hotel? (picture of the real one). Also a little closer shot to ur model will help too.

Abdallah, concerning ur Libanaise assurance model, i have made u good elevations, and found a good shot of it that revealed "clearly" its geometry.
this picture:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Libanaise%20assurance%20project%20files/26762310lebanon151.jpg

now u can see that on the east side of that building, the architraves are bordering a narrow alley (3 meters is my guess), and adding that alley to the building will be a very nice addition (this design is common to most of the nejmeh square buildings, specially the southern part of the square).
one more hint: u can download YM serail watch tower model (after his permission of course), and use the lovely balconies he has made with the forged iron balustrade, and scale them to fit ur model, this will also be a lovely addition ;))

check here (http://s1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Libanaise%20assurance%20project%20files/) for the modified needed textures. :)

2) the maronite cathedral near the Hariri mosque ( would be great to show how close the church and mosque really are!)

Actually Tabouleh, this is the exact same reason that made me start modeling the mosque in the beginning, and as i mentioned in the other thread, the mosque was a half project involving modeling the church too.
When i started looking for pictures of the St.Georges Maronite cathedral, i kept coming across excellent shots of the St. Elie Armenian church (my keywords were also churches in down town beirut). The reason of the latter church's good shots is probably its clear surrounding and its visibility from the Ring bridge, so i decided to start with it until finding (or taking if possible) good shots of the Maronite one.
If u give me some time, u will find me modeling lots of religious architectural monument in lebanon (can't take Harissa out of my mind ;)), but so little time that even the relatively "easy" new lighthouse is not over yet...:ohno:

-ESCWA Building (which I'm willing to pass on considering I dont have enough photos of the back of it and it would be better if a more experienced 3d modeler like melkart or Zippo take over )

So anyone has any ideas or suggestions or possible takeovers be my guest :)

If melkart don't want to dive in, i will take it with pleasure. :)
So what do say melkart?

-Abdallah K, the Ramada Hotel is looking gr8, also I appreciate you taking my comments into consideration :)

-Zippo, I dont think Melkart would mind you taking it - so you could start on it. :D

Also, Zippo, the church you are talking about is actually modeled in the 3d warehouse by someone, you could check it out and see it on a closer look. (the church in the warehouse is a good model but completeley untextured)

Some random guy rated my Ramada model a 1 star??? wtf?

and here are pics of the ramada hotel

http://i42.tinypic.com/6f38cp.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/70alc0.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/20gl3bo.jpg

I know i just saw him - hes a big hater I think. dont worry I rated it 5 stars and I suggest Zippo & Melkart do the same :D:D

^^ hey man you could see a good pic of the planet discovery building - maybe you could use it and improve the top of your model (if you use "make unique texture for a section of the top and apply for the entire face) :)

I just came across a picture that u might be interested in ;)
this one:
(courtesy of Brian McMorrow)

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Grand%20serail%20clock%20tower/26762306lebanon143.jpg

And since am so sure u're interested, I've fixed the elevations and made a clostra white balcony for it:
here (http://s1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Grand%20serail%20clock%20tower/) u can find the perfectly photoshoped elevations as well as the balcony...:)

Wow man thanks a big big bunch :D expect to see it redone 2mrw :)

(BTW you are really good at optimizing the textures you have to teach me sometime)

Also, Zippo, the church you are talking about is actually modeled in the 3d warehouse by someone, you could check it out and see it on a closer look. (the church in the warehouse is a good model but completeley untextured)
Thanx for the tip YM, i checked it, and it's fine...
the problem is that there's lots of modeling "mistakes" in his model (reversed faces, none parallel edges, no coplanar plane although they should...)...he's done a good job though and he deserves respect nonetheless.
I prefer starting mine from scratch, but i'll be referring to his model from time to time to compare measurements. ;)

Abdallah, am i missing something man??? i can't see the hotel in the real picture!!! Now don't tell me that u're modeling a project that's under construction for GE! This is not allowed by Google, and therefore won't include it in their 3d layer... am gonna rate it 5 stars though, and to hell with a$$holes and haters.:mad:
btw: am gonna look for the term that states that u cannot include an U-C project in google earth.

^^ its not a U\C but theres a hotel that is U\C directly infront of it
The Ramada Hotel was finished in 2008 (heres the thread (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=651457) about it)
The Grand Hayatt Beirut is being constructed directly infront of The Ramada (heres the thread (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=366328)for that)

The pictures I posted are just a weird angles

Heres the front of the hotel:

http://i39.tinypic.com/14dn2gn.jpg

http://i42.tinypic.com/6f38cp.jpg

Wow man thanks a big big bunch :D expect to see it redone 2mrw :)

(BTW you are really good at optimizing the textures you have to teach me sometime)

Ur welcome bro, am looking forward to see it shiny. :)...and concerning the textures, it will be my pleasure to point you and everyone in this forum on how to do them. It's just that i asked a question in the post #22, but am still getting no reply yet. I don't wanna be giving tutorials right and left in this thread to keep it as close as possible to the topic. I can PM u though... ;)

Remember: it's always better to give someone a net to fish, than giving him a fish to eat.

^^ me and YM did discuss once the possibility of doing the Saida Sea Castle but im not sure who is willing to do it

I can do it :) if no one objects , i`m starting as soon as i will finish my first model of sa5ret el rawche, still have the texturing to be done ,so expect it soon :)

^^ its not a U\C but theres a hotel that is U\C directly infront of it
The Ramada Hotel was finished in 2008 (heres the thread (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=651457) about it)
The Grand Hayatt Beirut is being constructed directly infront of The Ramada (heres the thread (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=366328)for that)

The pictures I posted are just a weird angles
ahhhh, i see it now LOL (i had to download ur model to figure out the angle :P)
it's a good model too, but the west side is weirdly textured so it appears untextured!...nice work though, and already rated 5 stars. ;)

^^ 3alisha, maybe you did not see it but Zippo has been working on the rock in rawshe since the last 3 days. So it is preferable not to upload it. We have a system that works, which includes no duplicate models. So please I guess I speak for all of us when I say please do not upload it :) So please you can start on the Saida Castle if you want to sart on a project right away.

Let me suggest one thing and that is checking upfront before modeling a building that is already in progress by another modeler. We have to keep this cllaborative not competetive OK bro :) and that is to avoid any confusion and a waste of time.

So please start on the Saida Marine Fortress and it is better not to upload the rawshe rock. Is that OK with you ?? :):)

As always I am working only in the best intrest of adding more coverage to Lebanon on Google Earth.

I can do it :) if no one objects , i`m starting as soon as i will finish my first model of sa5ret el rawche, still have the texturing to be done ,so expect it soon :)

3alisha, ur starting wrong bro, no offence :)
didn't u notice i was modeling the Raouche or what? it was mentioned several times in this thread and the other one, but be my guest if u wanna model a second one.

ahhhh, i see it now LOL (i had to download ur model to figure out the angle :P)
it's a good model too, but the west side is weirdly textured so it appears untextured!...nice work though, and already rated 5 stars. ;)

The west side is actually just plain concrete with no windows thats why it looks weird

3alisha, ur starting wrong bro, no offence :)
didn't u notice i was modeling the Raouche or what? it was mentioned several times in this thread and the other one, but be my guest if u wanna model a second one.

I am sure he did not notice it and I speak for all of us when I say no duplicate models - which mean no two versions of the same structure competing which one gets accepted. SO please 3alisha stick with our system because it is a guaranteed success, we dont another "Eifell Tower" situation breaking out here.

remember: "Collaborative not Competetive"

I am sure 3alisha that you did not mean any offence to Zippo.

I cannot stress enough that no voting will take place in this case as we agreed that the mosque situationwas a 1 time thing and Zippo is a high quality modeler who is more than capable to provide an actual depiction of the Rawshehg Rock.

Please will someone back me up? An 3alisha really do not worry about it :) You are new and its just a little hitch in the way:)

We are all looking forward to see your Saida Castle model 3alisha :):) and your ESCWA building Zippo ;)

edit.

3alisha, if u find urself having good data on a model, and like to see it better than the current one, or the one in progress, u can provide it to the correspondent modeler who's working on it. You can also provide help and improvement ideas, and they will be more than welcomed here. :)

THIS specific thread was created for that SPECIFIC reason.

V peace :)

edit.

edit.

Oh so sorry guys ... i really did not notice that zippo has already made one ... my bad ... felt very anxious to start ... i will not go on with this model since we already have one :) did not mean anyhting sorry ,sorry again :)

i am starting with the sea castle now :)

^^ Hey man as I said, no problem really and Im sure Zippo has no hard feelings. After all we are all sort of teammates :D

Yes hope so :D mate !! :D:D

(i just do not want to mess up the team spirit, i LOVE it :D)

SO Zippo, about the church you want to model, I found you a low res. pic that I think you might like to use:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_wKC3SG8UOXo/S5vUSNRXbKI/AAAAAAAAAlY/CBojnT3tEEU/new%20fucking%20stuff.jpg

Oh so sorry guys ... i really did not notice that zippo has already made one ... my bad ... felt very anxious to start ... i will not go on with this model since we already have one :) did not mean anyhting sorry ,sorry again :)

i am starting with the sea castle now :)

It's ok 3alisha, it happens, not a big deal. :)
What we are trying to do here, is to organize the work so that we model all of Lebanon if possible, with the best way possible.

I believe that what we have here (and i don't think am mistaken), is a UNIQUE case in the world, where all the modelers are united in that great specialized forum, helping each other to reach their goal, and where specialized forumers are giving their thoughts, comments and suggestions. A completely organized project that is almost close to PERFECTION.

In other cities, every modeler is doing his share, on his own. He finds his models replaced by others who, instead of helping him modeling their city, start competing and fighting in a single closed zone, and waste all their skills and time, leaving behind that there's room for everyone, and that the majority of their city is not modeled yet.

SO, let's work hand by hand, because we all have to same feelings towards our lovely country, and we all have the same intentions of seeing it the best place in the world (if not in reality, then on GE at least!). ;)

SO Zippo, about the church you want to model, I found you a low res. pic that I think you might like to use:

mmmm :), indeed bro...thanx a lot, that's a very rare angle ;)

^^ anytime man... I know it is really low res, but I think with your photoshoping skills you will have no proble mwhat so ever using it.

Before:

http://i48.tinypic.com/1ypwjt.jpg

After:

http://i41.tinypic.com/16a4kdz.jpg

:applause: now this is something man, congrats for the amazing work. :)
I've noticed that u also fixed it's position on ground, since it was positioned on the roof of the real building in the older version, it's much better now.;)

After downloading ur model, i have little suggestions and tricks that, if u follow them, u will PERFECT ur model:

1-always use 3 meters for the story height. In ur specific case, where your modeling an old building, 3.5 meters is allowed. use the tape measure (shortcut T on the keyboard) to check the distance from balcony floor to the upper one.

2-always use 120 cm for the balustrade height (floor to handle). In your model, according to the picture, the forged iron black balustrade is starting from the floor, all the way up to 120 cm.

3-you used the white clostra balustrade that i made specifically for YM's serail clock, and this is not what i meant, u've misunderstood me.(sorry for not clarifying more:))
clostra is some kind of stone balustrade with openings, when what u need is forged iron black balustrade, that YM was using in the current not modified yet serail clock.so hurry up, and download and use them before he uploads the new one and loose that version ;).

4-how did u make all those balconies??? have u textured them one by one?? If this is the case then i salute ur patience LOL...that's lot of work to do, and when it comes to optimized model in terms of face count and size, this is not the best way to choose. Now here THE way:

-model one balcony with the specific dimension away from the building if u want (this makes things easier if it's not "attached" to the model), double click on it's faces while ur holding the "shift" key on the keyboard to add to the selection, and when u find that the "wannabe repetitive item" is selected entirely, right click in it, and choose "make group". Now u've got urself a block, which, by double clicking it u can modify it's contents.
NOW, right click that group, and select "make component", that way u will have a component (which is equivalent to "instance" in 3dmax if ur listening 3alisha). NOW click M on the keyboard for "move" AFTER having selected the component.
AND BEFORE even touching the component yet, click "ctrl" on the keyboard once. U'll notice a plus sign near the cursor, indicating that a copy command is active. Click on any distinguished corner in ur balcony, and move it to the empty balcony place next to it, and click exactly in the desired place. You will notice off course that the old balcony is still in place.
Now, before giving another command, just type "Nx" , where "N" is a number, so in your specific case u type "6x". You will see that the balcony has now multiplied, and the result is 7 balconies perfectly equidistant. another hint is to copy/move the first balcony to the last balcony location in ur building (far away), then type "/5" on the keyboard. check the result for urself ;)
this way, u have made 6 balconies that are taking the place of almost ONE in memory, because they are "components". Also notice that when texturing, texturing one balcony will repeat itself on ALL the components in the model...

ok man, there's lot of other things to tell u about, but am so sleepy :)
later...

^^Abdallah your editions are awesome - keep up the good work

Abdllah, I just checked out your model - dont you think it would be better if the roof was colored texture? If you would like to edit it some more, and if you dont theres no prob cuz its perfect the way it is :):)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_wKC3SG8UOXo/S5ygUtTdGEI/AAAAAAAAAl4/GSo2CZ7pC5w/s400/qwr.jpg

I couldnt help but notice.. Melkart is strangely quiet?! :P Earth to Melkart.. Over/ :D

^^ LOL. I was thinking the same thing. Are u there melkart? We miss u man m))

Heh heh it's the weekend! :cheers:
But I am still here often I check this thread while I am on the go.

Ok guys, enough of this "hibernation" period! I am still not getting this silence issue yet!!!
i just finished the new Beirut lighthouse, and here's the pictures:

the sea-side view:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Beirut%20new%20lighthouse-Al%20Manara/sea-side-view.jpg

the city view:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Beirut%20new%20lighthouse-Al%20Manara/city-view.jpg

a closeup view:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Beirut%20new%20lighthouse-Al%20Manara/closeup2.jpg

and another closeup:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Beirut%20new%20lighthouse-Al%20Manara/closeup1.jpg

and finally, a view of the new lighthouse under the beirut sky:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Beirut%20new%20lighthouse-Al%20Manara/Manara-under-beirut-sky.jpg

I hope this wakes u up guys....come on... LOL

enjoy :)

Brilliant model! I really like the precision of your work. But isn't the lighthouse grey?

Brilliant model! I really like the precision of your work. But isn't the lighthouse grey?

Thanx LeB.Fr...Well the actual color of the lighthouse is kinda "undefined" for me!!! I keep getting pictures with different colors, but it seems that the real lighthouse color is between "burned-out brown" and the "dirty-concrete"...anyway i have a picture that i like to adopt (becuz i hate the other dirty color, so dull and lifeless)...keep in mind that i "twisted" the reality a little bit to improve aesthetics ;) (don't know if it worked though :P)

here's the pic:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Beirut%20new%20lighthouse-Al%20Manara/real-view.jpg

is it just me or is it basicly a giant doric column?

I love it. and ur model looks better than the real thing!

Very nice model Zippo :)

is it just me or is it basicly a giant doric column?

:lol: Ur SOOO right melkart, and I am the one who had all that "deja-vue" feeling while modeling it LOL...Well, "dar al handasah" thought it was a great design!!! :P
Oh, and thanx for the comment bro :)

Zippo, the model is very intrucate and clean and very nice indeed, but Im really sure its grey cuz I passed by it just last night and it was really as greyas can be. maybe the pix you found were at sunset - I dont know...

Its relatively easy to fix.... when you have the time.

Thanx guys :)...Well, here's the grey version, and it's as dull as it can be LOL...

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Beirut%20new%20lighthouse-Al%20Manara/new-lighthouse-grey.jpg,http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Beirut%20new%20lighthouse-Al%20Manara/new-lighthouse-grey-modified.jpg

EDIT: modified color saturation.(main column)

so, any improvement ideas?

Zippo,

Looks amazing! Excellent work!

Thanks zippo 4 taking my comments in2 consideration...still looking gr8! And more realistic... Have u posted yet? Cuz i cant find it!

thanx LC, Abdallah, YM :)

YM, It's on 3dwarehouse, and guess what, it's holding a new record too :P...
With all it's details, it weights only 86kb on GE!!! isn't that something? :)

^^ The grey version is much more realistic, even if it's dull. Great work though!

^^ that is because it looks dull in real life ... i think they should have made the lighthouse with white and black(or red) stripes to give it a more authentic look !! like the old lighthouse
http://i720.photobucket.com/albums/ww207/MARTYR_92/Beirut_0030_manara.jpg

or they can give it a zebra pattern! :nuts:

yeah since we are all pitching in -- I suggest putting a nightclub on top :P what do everyone think?

I see everyone saying its dull colored and stuff, but c'mon its a freakin' lighthouse ! It is part of the Lebanese infastructure so it shouldnt be too elegant cuz we dont have too much to spend on these projects. so they built it in the cheapest most efficient way which is: NO COLORING, JUST A PLAIN OLD >LIGHTHOUSE<

well, i still prefer the old "dull" one, but since u suggested it, here u go Martyr and melkart...

alternative proposals:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Beirut%20new%20lighthouse-Al%20Manara/red-stripes-lighthouse.jpg,http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Beirut%20new%20lighthouse-Al%20Manara/zebra-lighthouse.jpg


:banana: PIMP UP MY LIGHTHOUSE

Oh, and YM, i just saw ur proposal, am just trying to find the right nightclub!!!!:lol:

lmao I love it!

yeah since we are all pitching in -- I suggest putting a nightclub on top :P what do everyone think?

I see everyone saying its dull colored and stuff, but c'mon its a freakin' lighthouse ! It is part of the Lebanese infastructure so it shouldnt be too elegant cuz we dont have too much to spend on these projects. so they built it in the cheapest most efficient way which is: NO COLORING, JUST A PLAIN OLD >LIGHTHOUSE<

A little more paint would have added so much life and color to this structure, and i dont think it would cost too much !!!

Zippo: nice renders...:)

since we're talking about money spent on the lighthouse, did u know that the one who funded it wasn't the government, but the same investor that built the building which blocked the old one??!!

It's not a bad lighthouse! If I was the Beirut Municipality I would have made the developer spend a certain amount of money on art. Like a certain percentage of the construction cost. That way they would have done something more artistic and it would become a monument of it's own.

did someone noticed that we're getting fewer building in Beirut??!! Where's Abdallah's St. georges and libanaise assurance, or YM Platinum tower and Virgin...Am i missing something? if Google updated the 3d layer, then why haven't they added the new improved models??? (why the serail is still not accepted for God's sake???)

^^ My 3 models (Libanais Assurance, St. George, and Ramada) are still waiting to be accepted and I think thats the case with YM's Virgin Mega Store but I have no idea what happened to the Platinum Tower

This is what I was wondering about Abdallah. I was checking 3dwarehouse when I saw that the GE badge was removed from the platinum tower, so i went to check it on GE and i didn't find it, as well as ur models, and i have no idea why this is happening!!!

^^ well my models will probably get accepted in the next "data push" but no idea but YM's Platinum Tower

Im currently fixing the Planet Discovery Building

^^ did u find good pictures? do u want me to help in photoshoping them? keep us updated Abdallah :)

^^ im almost %85 done, ill post the model when im finished and you can give me your suggestions to improve it, and I'll fix it

I can't wait to see it :)

Give me 3 minutes and ill be finished

Sorry it took me a bit longer, I uploaded the model first and realized it was facing the wrong direction so I had to fix it, but here you go:

http://i44.tinypic.com/jl59gh.jpg

Am gonna download the model now to check it. It looks very good from the picture though, but i wanna have a closer look :)

Oh man, i don't think the picture u've got is much better than the old one!!:ohno:. Plus there's a side that's not really textured...I know that getting a good model could be very hard without good pictures, this is why am gonna try my best to get u good shots this weekend (even if I have to take them by myself, am gonna risk it :))

The old picture I used:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3023/2680356766_aeb59a73ef_o.jpg

The new picture I used (front):

http://i40.tinypic.com/2zyj6so.jpg

New picture for back:

http://i39.tinypic.com/1tlp9d.jpg

Aha...i was trying desperately to photoshop the new one, the old one "could" be useful, I'll see...am gonna try to get u textures from those 3 pix, but i won't promise something astonishing with these resolutions...

Abdallah, do u have a higher resolution version of the old one?

^^ no :ohno: that was the original resolution but I have higher resolution images for the others

Ok Abdallah, here's (http://s1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/planet%20discovery%20textures/) the best that i could do with that resolution. The back side seems hopeless from the third picture, try to point me to the higher res. one, maybe i can do something...

hey guysss! dont worry about the PT model cuz i think it is gonna be in the next release... I had to delete the original one to avoid "file name" conflict which would explain why it is now not on GE. same thing goes for the virgin model :)

happy sketching !

The old picture I used:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3023/2680356766_aeb59a73ef_o.jpg


yii I took this photo :happy: And no, I don't have any better resolution, I think I deleted the folder it belonged to from my archives..

^^ I know Leb.Fr :D I got it from the Gand Hayatt Hotel Thread

Hey YM... Actually am not worried about the PT model, am worried about u man :lol:...Where r u? U didn't even have the time to re-upload the serail clock! AND, where r u melkart? (now ur gonna tell me it's the weekend and :cheers:, but this was last weekend!!!)...I think i know the problem with ur grand serail model, and why it's not accepted yet, I'll post pictures when am free...:)

I had to take down my fence. And it's beautiful outside. I am Done with magen Abraham. But having a hard time with texturing.

^^ REALLY???!!! that's good news man :D...care to share some unfinished pictures for comments??? (or u wanna keep it a surprise?? ;))

I'll post something soon , just got to make it more presentable

^^ Cant wait to see it

@ Zippo: Well, Zippo, I just cant get myself to sit infront of the screen and start modeling, don't worry, I was 80% done with the clock tower last time I sat, so I'll be re-ploading it sometime soon. Its just that Im having some personal trouble and It seems that I am bumbed out most of the time to get anything done... I'll be back real soon don't worry :)

^^ Am really sorry man, i felt something wasn't going so right...If u need any help or anything on a personal level, just PM me :) (Am serious)

Its nothing I couldnt handle really, I just need a bit of time to get it off my mind.

Im planning on doing maybe 1 or 2 models this weekend, I just didn't upload any last week becuase I was very busy.

Thats reallly good news - maybe I could restart and boot up this week :) Its weird though, Google has not released any in the last too weeks, it looks like its stuck or something, cuz they usually release on a weekly basis every thursday or friday - saturday maximumly.... I dont know maybe this thursday?It is a first I assure you.

maybe they've been waiting for u ;)

LOL, maybe they have :P I'll notify them instantly and tell themto them stop worrying about me :P

^^ yeah, and start worrying about melkart :lol:

Yep well the thing about melkart that he is probably busy at work - god bless the guy !

Ok then I finished a model and let me tell you it is very humble but acceptable:

The thing is that I found only 1 photo of it and I have been working with this resource as much as I could, I used a repetetive texture for the facades since I didn't have any other pix of it. When I find the right pictures of it, I will edit ASAP. But for now, we're gonna have to settel for this. If anyone in the Lebanon forum know where to find pictures of it please tell me ASAP it is mighty urgent. Here is a screenshot followed by the only available picture I could find of it:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_wKC3SG8UOXo/S6jCBrKTl3I/AAAAAAAAAm4/Jx5GnSuHFz4/clip.jpg

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_wKC3SG8UOXo/S6jCCplv1fI/AAAAAAAAAm8/oQfwg8GmZMk/fgdfg.jpg

Yes and 3alisha? Any news on the saida Marine fort? I know Martyr is iching to get updated. 3alisha ? come in 3alisha - status report? :P:P

--

hopefully by tonight I should have something! sorry for not being very active on here, I have been trying to meet some deadlines!

@ ym hope this helps!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3284/3144007518_1baa985c79_b.jpg

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/budkheir/4263405965_3afef53a7a_b.jpg

Thanks bro that war very helpful ! Guys keep em coming :p:p

Just started working on the Nouriyeh Shrine but I have absolutely no info about it

http://i42.tinypic.com/qnsaa1.jpg

I think I know why Melkarts Grand Serial hasn't been accepted yet.

If you look closley at inside the roof, you see all these black lines. YM had the same exact problem with his Platinum Tower model and it wasnt accepted until he fixed it, even though I have no idea what causes this problem or how to fix it YM would know because of past experience.

http://i40.tinypic.com/14kl8cg.jpg

hopefully by tonight I should have something! sorry for not being very active on here, I have been trying to meet some deadlines!
Why being sorry bro? Am just kidding u :)...
Having to compromise everything starting with ur personal life to compromising ur sleeping hours when u have a due date is my life, and i know what ur talking about, i just miss ur presence...And ur contribution is, to say the less, GREATLY APPRECIATED man (i just love ur models ;))...

YM, good results there from such a tiny reference, +1 respect ;)
1 tip though (to everyone, although melkart has figured it out already :)) :
when ur looking for pictures to a model, the first place to look at is GE. Turn on the panoramio layer under borders and labels, and look for taken pictures "around" the location of ur model...further references could be searching google images, but AFTER checking panoramio... :)

--

I think I know why Melkarts Grand Serial hasn't been accepted yet.

If you look closley at inside the roof, you see all these black lines. YM had the same exact problem with his Platinum Tower model and it wasnt accepted until he fixed it, even though I have no idea what causes this problem or how to fix it YM would know because of past experience.

http://i40.tinypic.com/14kl8cg.jpg

Thanks for the tip Abdallah, I'll definitly look into that. I have no clue what the black lines are. BTW I will be modeling a building in Tripoli right after the magen avraham, it should be done in no time. :)

^^ you might want to ask YM becuase he had the same exact problem, and which building are you modeling in Tripoli?

Just started working on the Nouriyeh Shrine but I have absolutely no info about it

http://i42.tinypic.com/qnsaa1.jpg

I wish i can remeber where i came across this, but from what I do remeber it was completely destroyed. It was a really old church. This church is a close replica of the original. it was reconstructed based off some rare photos and people's memories. I guess not alot of info exists on this structure. It's a shame we don't keep better records of our buildings.

Of course Abdallah, it will be my pleasure bro :)

There are several ways to make a sphere or a dome in sketchup, i will tell u how to make a NORMAL one, and how to make an OPTIMIZED one for GE.

U may at first prefer to start from the origin point, so, draw a circle by typing "c" on ur keyboard, and before clicking, move ur cursor and watch the circle indicator change color according to planes (X,Y or Z)...when ur indicator circle is blue (Z axis), goto to the origin and click it, AND, before clicking a second time, type the radius value on ur keyboard (it will show in the VCB in the lower right corner). Am gonna type "3m" for 3 meters.

Now, before giving ANY OTHER COMMAND, and immediately after typing the radius, u can enter the number of sides of that specific circle, by typing "XXs" in the VCB.
Note that sketchup gives 24 sides to the default circle, which can be reduced for GE modeling purposes to 12 if u like, so type "12s" immediately after drawing the circle.

Now, draw another circle, but this time u want it to be on the crossing axis of the previous one, meaning on the green axis (for example).
To do that, press "c" on the keyboard, and move ur cursor to the farthest location on ur screen (u may need to zoom out), until ur circle indicator turns green, THEN PRESS AND HOLD "shift" on ur keyboard to lock that inference. move ur cursor to the origin (center of the previous circle) and click. Note that this circle SHOULD be smaller in diameter from the previous one, so if ur planning to draw a 3m sphere (or dome), make the first blue axis circle bigger than 3 meters, becuz the crossing one will be ur sphere.
Notice that sketchup still remember the 12 sides that u have previously input, u can change them if u want, but a 12 sided circle is enough for GE (it's ur choice though ;)).

Now the important step. Select that first circle (the blue axis one), and go to tools>follow me (or select it from the toolbar), THEN click on the intersecting circle, and BOOM, u have a sphere :)
Now u can delete the circle from the blue axis IF all u want is a sphere, but in the dome case, keep it for now, and keep following me ;)...

TO MAKE A DOME:

Select BOTH the sphere AND the circle by holding "shift" while selecting, and right click on any of them and select "intersect > intersect selected".
What u have done is that u have SLICED the sphere by the circle, so u can now slect the circle and delete it, then select the lower "mid-sphere" and delete it too, and here's ur dome.

TIP:
after removing the base of ur dome, u can "triple click" on ur dome to select all it's connected geometry, then "right click" and make group.
Now right click on that group and select "soften/smooth edges", and check smooth normals AND smooth coplanar, and slide the value to between 40 and 60 to make a smooth dome. (u can always increase the number of sides in ur circles to make ur dome smoother, but beware of the number of faces ur gonna get by then).

I hope this helped :)

^^ you might want to ask YM becuase he had the same exact problem, and which building are you modeling in Tripoli?


the Oscar Neimeyer Lebanese pavilion at the Tripoli fair grounds.

Why being sorry bro? Am just kidding u :)...
Having to compromise everything starting with ur personal life to compromising ur sleeping hours when u have a due date is my life, and i know what ur talking about, i just miss ur presence...And ur contribution is, to say the less, GREATLY APPRECIATED man (i just love ur models ;))...

thanks Zippo for all your compliments. when are you going to add fransa bank to GE? and isn't like 5 am in Lebanon. I didn't expect everyone to be up lol.

LOL, i took my time writing my tutorial and lots of things have changed since then...greetings melkart :)

it's not 5 , it 4:50 :P
i slept early and woke up at like 2AM or so, and was checking when i saw "LOTS" of activity !!!:nuts: (how can I miss that ;))

Of course Abdallah, it will be my pleasure bro :)

There are several ways to make a sphere or a dome in sketchup, i will tell u how to make a NORMAL one, and how to make an OPTIMIZED one for GE.

U may at first prefer to start from the origin point, so, draw a circle by typing "c" on ur keyboard, and before clicking, move ur cursor and watch the circle indicator change color according to planes (X,Y or Z)...when ur indicator circle is blue (Z axis), goto to the origin and click it, AND, before clicking a second time, type the radius value on ur keyboard (it will show in the VCB in the lower right corner). Am gonna type "3m" for 3 meters.

Now, before giving ANY OTHER COMMAND, and immediately after typing the radius, u can enter the number of sides of that specific circle, by typing "XXs" in the VCB.
Note that sketchup gives 24 sides to the default circle, which can be reduced for GE modeling purposes to 12 if u like, so type "12s" immediately after drawing the circle.

Now, draw another circle, but this time u want it to be on the crossing axis of the previous one, meaning on the green axis (for example).
To do that, press "c" on the keyboard, and move ur cursor to the farthest location on ur screen (u may need to zoom out), until ur circle indicator turns green, THEN PRESS AND HOLD "shift" on ur keyboard to lock that inference. move ur cursor to the origin (center of the previous circle) and click. Note that this circle SHOULD be smaller in diameter from the previous one, so if ur planning to draw a 3m sphere (or dome), make the first blue axis circle bigger than 3 meters, becuz the crossing one will be ur sphere.
Notice that sketchup still remember the 12 sides that u have previously input, u can change them if u want, but a 12 sided circle is enough for GE (it's ur choice though ;)).

Now the important step. Select that first circle (the blue axis one), and go to tools>follow me (or select it from the toolbar), THEN click on the intersecting circle, and BOOM, u have a sphere :)
Now u can delete the circle from the blue axis IF all u want is a sphere, but in the dome case, keep it for now, and keep following me ;)...

TO MAKE A DOME:

Select BOTH the sphere AND the circle by holding "shift" while selecting, and right click on any of them and select "intersect > intersect selected".
What u have done is that u have SLICED the sphere by the circle, so u can now slect the circle and delete it, then select the lower "mid-sphere" and delete it too, and here's ur dome.

TIP:
after removing the base of ur dome, u can "triple click" on ur dome to select all it's connected geometry, then "right click" and make group.
Now right click on that group and select "soften/smooth edges", and check smooth normals AND smooth coplanar, and slide the value to between 40 and 60 to make a smooth dome. (u can always increase the number of sides in ur circles to make ur dome smoother, but beware of the number of faces ur gonna get by then).

I hope this helped :)

That was very helpful for everyone I think. especially me :)
thanks!

Thanks Zippo for the tip it helped me finish the dome, heres my model:

http://i41.tinypic.com/2hnxrba.jpg

and I cant wait to see the International Fair Melkart!

^^ Am glad it helped bro, you're welcome anytime :)

damn Abdallah, ur FAST man....:lol:
nicely done :)

Thanks Zippo, and I need to go to sleep now :( but well discuss tomorrow

@zippo I also noticed you divide your domes into 4 components! does that make a big difference?

^^ Indeed bro, it does ALL the difference :)
When i divide my dome into 4, ONLY ONE is a component, the others are images of that component...
In other words, let's say that ur dome will have a total of 1000 faces if done in the "traditional" way, then dividing it to the quarter will make sketchup see only 250 faces, and by making it a component, the other "copied and rotated" quarters will be only a positioned image of the "original quarter", wich make the total number of faces 250 faces overall (for example).
One problem though, is that editing one component will result in changes in ALL of the copied "child" components... :)

Melkart, I already mentioned in the post # 104 that i found the problem in ur serail, but i didn't post pictures cuz everything in this thread was "static", so now that there's some activity, here's what i found:

hiding the roof of ur models reveals this:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Grand%20Serail/Serail.jpg

a couple of "zooms" and u see this:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Grand%20Serail/Serail1.jpg

more zoom:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Grand%20Serail/Serail21.jpg

I think the problem is that u applied the GE image texture on the "block" instead of going "into" the block and applying the texture to the needed face.
to fix that problem u can look for a plugin called "remove all materials" and use it on the specified block ( i will try to locate the plugin for u in a moment). Then u can apply the materials to the faces and ONLY to faces (avoid selecting the paint bucket and applying texture to blocks).

Also melkart, i found some items that were kinda "overkill" in ur model, and here's the exmples:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Grand%20Serail/Serail222.jpg

this fountain, although it's lovely, has around 1000 faces alone, which i think a little overkill for such a small detail. Using my previously mentioned method of "follow me" and reducing the arcs and circles sides, u can end up with like 100 faces, without much difference in the overall shape, if properly textured (i will get back to that later).

same goes to the cornice, which it's arc can be reduced to "3 sided arc" without much compromise.

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Grand%20Serail/Serail333.jpg

same goes to that element, with the addition that it's repeated in the model, so it's better to make it a component and copy it around:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Grand%20Serail/Serail555.jpg

Hope this helps :)

yes immensely thank you! :)

http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/417/magen.jpg (http://img33.imageshack.us/i/magen.jpg/)

The awaited Magen Abraham Synagogue. Unfortunatly the texturing needs some major improvement. I am thinking of not posting until I get completed photos of the structure.

WOW!!! THATS BEAUTIFUL!!! AMAZING JOB YOU GUYS. ALL OF YOU.

I am proud not just of your work but of your attitudes and support for one another. I graduate uni in a few weeks, I love modeling buildings and I used to do it in highschool allot via Sim City. So, I might just join you guys after during the summer.

But Wow, great job really amazing work Melkart.

YM, good results there from such a tiny reference, +1 respect ;)
1 tip though (to everyone, although melkart has figured it out already :)) :
when ur looking for pictures to a model, the first place to look at is GE. Turn on the panoramio layer under borders and labels, and look for taken pictures "around" the location of ur model...further references could be searching google images, but AFTER checking panoramio... :)

it must be a connex problem cuz no balloon popped up there

@ melkart: this is AMAZING...WOW,just WOW...(can't imagine how even better it will turn out to be when well textured!!!!;)). I suggest u remove the "geo-location" and upload it to 3dwarehouse, this way it won't be a GE model but a normal model, so we can then download it to check it closely and give proposals for texturing, then, and after turning out perfect, u can remove the old model from 3dwarehouse and upload the new one with geo-location checked. (just a thought)

@lebnani: I beleive u already heard us ALL in ur mind screaming-----> WELCOME ABOARD MAN :cheers: :)

@YM: sometimes, when ur connection is slow, it happens with "some" pictures, but not all of them...did u wait long enough for them to show?

WOW!!! THATS BEAUTIFUL!!! AMAZING JOB YOU GUYS. ALL OF YOU.

I am proud not just of your work but of your attitudes and support for one another. I graduate uni in a few weeks, I love modeling buildings and I used to do it in highschool allot via Sim City. So, I might just join you guys after during the summer.

But Wow, great job really amazing work Melkart.

That would be splendid Lebnani, I use to model for sim city too. It is becoming a prerequisite to model for GE.

Melkart about your Grand Seraile model, you can use the "reposition texture" option to fix your model. also, I dont think thats why it hasnt got accepted cuz the Google has not posted any review for any model in the reigion including some of mine. You just need to hurry up before google puts "model failed proccesing" review :)

Zippo about my Corniche model, the whole thing is actually a simple model, however, the "complex" tag is probably explained by the surrounding entourage (the palm trees and the benches) but thankyou for your attention.

It seems like the Google employees are busy at the Zurich convention they invited the featured modelers to. I think all will be OK once they are through with it.

I think all my remaining models will get accepted, so I advise you guys to squeeze in as much as you could before the next release.

Zippo about my Corniche model, the whole thing is actually a simple model, however, the "complex" tag is probably explained by the surrounding entourage (the palm trees and the benches) but thankyou for your attention.

Huh??? YM, i have NO idea what are u talking about!!! can u clarify please?

^^ when you said something about reducing the complexity of the corniche. "same goes for the corniche" :)

Ahhhh ok...LOL...No bro, u got it wrong :)
A cornice in architecture is the horizontal element that crowns a building around its roof edge. It's used also in interior, and it's made in general of wood or gypsum. here's an example:

Architectural exterior cornice:

http://www.meltonclassics.com/cornices/images/frp-cornice-2.gif

Interior decorative cornice:

http://www.ashleylondon.com/titles/cornice-img.jpg

I was like...WTF???:nuts: YM's Corniche is perfect, i never said it needs something!!! ;)

LOL hahaha it was a misunderstanding.... thanks though :D

I have one last question for you guys.

Is there a simple way to figure out the actual height of the building? because Ive been taking guesses at the heights ever since I started. I know YM tried to explain it to me once but I just didnt grasp the concept.

Ok Abdallah, here u go:
When modeling, there are architectural standards that u have to follow all the time. Those standards varies slightly following a certain design, and they are more complicated than what am gonna state now, but to keep it as simple as possible, u have to keep certain RULES in mind: (am gonna be generalizing here to standardize the models)

-Starting with the basement, consider it 4.5 meters wich is one and a half story.

- A story (or storey) height is 3 meters.
now let's say that ur modeling a 5 stories building, EXCLUDING the basement, so the total height would be----> 4.5 meters (basement) + (3 meters x 5 stories) = 19.5 meters.

-Use for the height of the BALUSTRADE 1 meter from ground, so the balustrade is ONE METER.

-when u see a door in ur model, and wanna take it as reference, keep in mind that the normal door is 2.2 meters.

So, to keep it simple, it's as easy as that: 4.5m the basement, 3m the storey, and 1 meter the balustrade. :)

Now how tall is the St. Georges hotel? Assignment due on Monday :P (wish my teachers were that cooool :lol: )

^^ thank you VERY much Zippo, ok so lets see here

http://i39.tinypic.com/2py40i9.jpg

The St.George has 4 floors= 12 m
The St.George does have a basment on the sides and entrance: so 12m+4.5= 16.5
The St. George does have Balustrades on the roof: 16.5m+1m= 17.5

So the total height of the St.Georges is 17.5m (i think)

^^ ur very close, although u missed 1 thing in the St. Georges hotel specifically. Notice that between the roof of the basement and the first row of balconies u have another floor. Actually this hotel have a basement, and a first floor with a terrace located on the basements roof. If u need more clarification just tell me so i can edit the picture that u got and clarify more.

^^ I see what you mean, because the first floor is only clearly visible on the side but not on the front because of the damage

^^ that's right, so after adding the missing floor which is obviously 3 meters to ur number, u get 20.5 meters, to the visible top. Notice that u have TWO smaller floors on the roof, and that's an additional 6 meters, which makes the total height of the St.Georges 25.5 meters. Now the question is, why not 26.5 (20.5+6) ;) LOL (kidding, it's so obvious)

^^ so what models are you working on Zippo?

Am gonna be finalizing the Raouche rock soon, i haven't got much time for modeling lately (and i keep pushing melkart all the time :lol:)
I have some models "en queue", some u already know about like the St. Elie Armenian church and the ESCWA building, and new ones like the St. Georges Maronite church (just next to the mosque), and the martyr square with the statue.:)
It's just that am too slow comparing to u guys, cuz i spend too much time on my models, without having much of "that" time on hands ;)
I hope I can finish the pigeons rock by tomorrow (free day :))

The Lebanese Pavilion at the Rachid Karami International Fair.
Status Awaiting Approval

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/388/lebanesepavillion.jpg (http://img197.imageshack.us/i/lebanesepavillion.jpg/)

keep me updated :) thanks bro very much :D

Great Model melkart ! Wlecome back ! anything new on the syonage model?

Abdallah K, I have been using a new way for figuring out the height that does not involve too much counting and calculating - pretty simple too:

1-Take the WIDTH measurement of the building from Google Earth.

2-Create a block with the same width, paying no attention to the height initially.

3-Align a face of the block with the corresponding face in the photo with no attention to the height allignment, just the width.

4-Project the texture from the match photo, you will have a textured face showing maybe an incomplete facade.

5-Push the roof of the block you created up or down to reach a perfect height untill the texture on the block shows the entire facade.

This method is called face tracing where you apply a texture to a face in a cube and adjust the height of the cube till the textured face shows the entire facade with the perfect height.

IF you didn't "grasp the idea" :P please do tell me and I'll post some clarifying pix :)

Ym I will be uploading the model shortly, although I will not reference it to GE since I still have some work to do.

Whenver you're comfortable, you dont have to upload it just becuase I asked man :)

OK guys, go easy on me, I just finished the banque de Syrie et du Liban located on the north eastern corner to the Beirut Souks )I created it with minimal resources, 1 photo taken from an aeroplane and a decent forward facing photo) so if anyone got any improvement ideas and better photos - be my guest ! :)

Status: Awaiting Review

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_wKC3SG8UOXo/S6t_AUB6VeI/AAAAAAAAAn4/dNV8YTj13IA/s512/2.jpg

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_wKC3SG8UOXo/S6t_MPMPwcI/AAAAAAAAAn8/jfTg0DHyYH4/s512/clip.jpg

Whenver you're comfortable, you dont have to upload it just becuase I asked man :)

actually it was zippo who suggested I upload for feedback! :)

P.S: nice model, how many models do u have so far!

Great Model melkart ! Wlecome back ! anything new on the syonage model?

Abdallah K, I have been using a new way for figuring out the height that does not involve too much counting and calculating - pretty simple too:

1-Take the WIDTH measurement of the building from Google Earth.

2-Create a block with the same width, paying no attention to the height initially.

3-Align a face of the block with the corresponding face in the photo with no attention to the height allignment, just the width.

4-Project the texture from the match photo, you will have a textured face showing maybe an incomplete facade.

5-Push the roof of the block you created up or down to reach a perfect height untill the texture on the block shows the entire facade.

This method is called face tracing where you apply a texture to a face in a cube and adjust the height of the cube till the textured face shows the entire facade with the perfect height.

IF you didn't "grasp the idea" :P please do tell me and I'll post some clarifying pix :)

I think YM is talking about the "matched photo technique", explained in THIS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhzpqf7fywM&feature=related) video.

Although that can be an easy way to get ur building shape and height, u have to find a good shot of ur building corner and an "uncropped" one (meaning not deformed). I had "good" results previously using this method (in the Fransabank model), but i've quit using it cuz am CURSED by my perfectionism in models!!! :ohno:

@melkart : ur model is already rated and commented on on 3dwarehouse ;), but for those lazy and curious (like me :P), I said it was "perfectly done!"...enough said ;)

@YM: nice model indeed. U managed to come back healthier than ever, and faster too ;)
PS: am still waiting to see the serail clock tower, all it needs is 5 minutes, and u were like 85% done last week!! :)

^^ haha I know, Im just too lazy to complete - dont worry Ill update it today ! :D

Although that can be an easy way to get ur building shape and height, u have to find a good shot of ur building corner and an "uncropped" one (meaning not deformed). I had "good" results previously using this method (in the Fransabank model), but i've quit using it cuz am CURSED by my perfectionism in models!!! :ohno:

thx for correcting me :) but remember here, you are modeling for google earth :D no perfetion needed cuz they simply wont show on GE :)

P.S: nice model, how many models do u have so far!

58 models :D

thx for correcting me :) but remember here, you are modeling for google earth :D no perfetion needed cuz they simply wont show on GE :)

You're TOTALLY right YM!!! I just wish i met GE modeling before getting a pro modeler!! :lol:

lol, yup i thought you are perfectionist by habit :D dont worry about it, I was just suggesting a method to save you some time if not a LOT of time..

Ummm guys, anyone know how to solve this mess? i dont see a reason for it, can you?:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_wKC3SG8UOXo/S6ue-dIy8gI/AAAAAAAAAo8/NO_CCfAR3rQ/s576/2.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_wKC3SG8UOXo/S6ue2UCzEEI/AAAAAAAAAo4/BjzeumFWgYg/s576/1.jpg

I don't get really what u mean by "this mess" YM...can u clarify plz.

I mean the screwed up shadows on the field and the black stripes on the tenet - if you download the model, non is visible in it !

Is the model on 3dwarehouse? If yes can u point me to its name plz?

EDIT: nevermind, I found it. It's Rafic Hariri Sports center stadium. Looking at it right now and will report soon. :)

keep me updated :) thanks bro very much :D

Ok YM, here's what i found:
First of all, it's ONE HELL OF A MODEL...congrats on the details and quality, u should major in Architecture or civil engineering for sure. :)

Although it's "the way stadium should be modeled", as I believe, but there's still room for perfecting it, NOT design wise. ;) ( I will get to that later)

I suspected a problem with the kmz file, cuz the skp file was flawless, and if u remember I've mentioned once that exporting to kmz would bring u unpleasant surprises, so what I did is that I exported the model to kmz format, and here's the report:
-first: the export procedure took lots of time (totally unusual). I thought at first it's becuz the file is large, but it turned out that the file have some errors in it.
-I then impoted the "already exported" kmz file into SU, and found a mess. (the unpleasant surprises i was talking about). The textures were wrong, the field was missing...etc, so i went to 3dwarehouse and downloaded the kmz file from there, and found this when I imported it to SU: (note that Sketchup is only the tool for modeling, the kmz is what's gonna show in GE)

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/stadium.jpg (http://s1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/?action=view&current=stadium.jpg)

This is how ur model "should" display in the 3d layer in GE, but i think that the guys at google have done "something" to the kmz file to make it display the missing textures (something related to the kmz format version).
what ur seeing in GE is a none coplanar face in the terrain field, this is why those lines are showing, although it's not in ur model. note that the VIP stand arches texture is fixed in GE though.

What i suggest is that u fix the problems in ur skp file, improve it technically since aesthetically it's perfect, check the kmz file by export/import into SU, and re-upload.

Hope this helped. :)

I forgot to mention that the "place model" option gave me "nothing" one time (by nothing i mean like 10 min. without showing in GE), and a crash on the second!! :nuts:
Third time was a success, and i was like-----> :banana: (well i didn't do that actually, but i love that emoticon :lol:)

Thankyou for your nice words bro :D

the crashing problem did occur several times when I tried to export to GE. Can you please tell me how to import a KMZ file into sketchup?

file > import, select google earth files (*.kmz, *.dae) from the files of type drop down menu, locate your *.kmz file, and click open.

Im currently working on a model in Nejmeh Square, but its proving very challenging

@ Zippo, thankyou very much for your help, Im sorry I couldnt upload the clock tower today cuz Im done with it and ill upload it first thing in the morning :D

@ Abdallah, very very good news, Im glad we're up and running here ! any screenshots? :D

:ohno: I cant imporyt GE files to sketchup cuz there is no option for that in sketchup I have. do you use pro ?

I just started, but heres what I have done

http://i41.tinypic.com/dniqle.jpg

LOL I luv the scattered balconies - shows the model "under construction" :D

For saving time, I suggest creating the entire model, and then tracing the arcs and cutting them out :) but this will work...:P

YM, indeed am using sketchup pro, but i think the import option that i get with the pro version is the .dwg files (Autocad files). Are u sure there's no .kmz format to import when dropping down the file types?? (i doubt the free version is missing that!!)

3-you used the white clostra balustrade that i made specifically for YM's serail clock, and this is not what i meant, u've misunderstood me.(sorry for not clarifying more:))
clostra is some kind of stone balustrade with openings, when what u need is forged iron black balustrade, that YM was using in the current not modified yet serail clock.so hurry up, and download and use them before he uploads the new one and loose that version ;).

4-how did u make all those balconies??? have u textured them one by one?? If this is the case then i salute ur patience LOL...that's lot of work to do, and when it comes to optimized model in terms of face count and size, this is not the best way to choose. Now here THE way:

-model one balcony with the specific dimension away from the building if u want (this makes things easier if it's not "attached" to the model), double click on it's faces while ur holding the "shift" key on the keyboard to add to the selection, and when u find that the "wannabe repetitive item" is selected entirely, right click in it, and choose "make group". Now u've got urself a block, which, by double clicking it u can modify it's contents.
NOW, right click that group, and select "make component", that way u will have a component (which is equivalent to "instance" in 3dmax if ur listening 3alisha). NOW click M on the keyboard for "move" AFTER having selected the component.
AND BEFORE even touching the component yet, click "ctrl" on the keyboard once. U'll notice a plus sign near the cursor, indicating that a copy command is active. Click on any distinguished corner in ur balcony, and move it to the empty balcony place next to it, and click exactly in the desired place. You will notice off course that the old balcony is still in place.
Now, before giving another command, just type "Nx" , where "N" is a number, so in your specific case u type "6x". You will see that the balcony has now multiplied, and the result is 7 balconies perfectly equidistant. another hint is to copy/move the first balcony to the last balcony location in ur building (far away), then type "/5" on the keyboard. check the result for urself ;)
this way, u have made 6 balconies that are taking the place of almost ONE in memory, because they are "components". Also notice that when texturing, texturing one balcony will repeat itself on ALL the components in the model...

Abdallah, am quoting myself here becuz it seems u missed my post #57. ;)

EDIT: or maybe u didn't! :donno: (are those scattered balconies components?)

^^ the way I do it is that I build 1 balcony (hand made) on the side (for this model I built 3 different types but chose 1), and then I copy and paste them to where I want them. The scattered balcony's were being adjusted so the face the right side so I can move them onto the model.

YM, indeed am using sketchup pro, but i think the import option that i get with the pro version is the .dwg files (Autocad files). Are u sure there's no .kmz format to import when dropping down the file types?? (i doubt the free version is missing that!!)

im absoluteley sure that there is actually no option for it abdalah can u check plz if u have it. Also zippo do u have an older version of sketchup cuz i think google removed it from new versions because it was "problematic"

Ah ok, just make sure the first balcony u started to make copies of is a component. And check my "copy multiple" method mentioned above. (feel free to ask for clarification if needed :))
btw, your way of modeling is a little "unusual" (not wrong though). In general, u finish modeling THEN u start texturing. It's like building in real life ;). When modeling u finish the volumetry THEN u get to details (balconies, arches, niches...etc)...Your way will also work, but still "unusual". :)

This is the screen I get when I attempt to import a .kmz file

http://i44.tinypic.com/11b66ie.jpg

@YM: Am using Sketchup pro version 7.1.6086. Am gonna install a free version to check.

This is the screen I get when I attempt to import a .kmz file


It's becuz ur not importing a proper .kmz file, but u have the option though, and this is what we want to know. Are u using the free version Abdallah? and which version?

EDIT: ahhhh, NO man, I've got what ur doing Abdallah. You're right clicking on a .kmz file and selecting open with sketchup. This is NOT the way to import .kmz files. check my previous posts.

^^ Google Sketshup 7 (free version)

There just was a new data push. All my models got accepted :D

congrats Abdallah, u've been working hard and doing some lovely models lately, so this was expected... :)
I just regret though that u haven't fixed the libanaise assurance roof, cuz it's grayscale, and the St. Georges, although amazing, but still have an ugly basement to the sea-side. :(

^^ I'll fix the roof of Libanais Assurance, but in my opinion theres nothing too much that can be done about the St.Geroges back side because the photos that we find are taken from the other side of the Marina and not high enough in resolution

Congrats!

I just noticed that the grand seraile model was not included in the release :ohno: melkart any updates?

I re-uploaded the model two nights ago, not sure what the issue is? wish they would say something! On another note My Lebanese paviliopn was rejected due to floating, which doesn't make any sence since the design of the structure is intended to float surrounded by a pool of water.

Hey guys...
I just wanted to say congratulation for all of u for the amazing work u've done so far, the results are AMAZING.
When i was checking and saw that Abdallah announced the data push, I went to GE, and the BCD looked better than ever...:)
I was like a 10 yo kid playing with a toy, I kept checking the buildings, living them, admiring the details and characteristics of each one, and, although am living near to the area, I was like visiting it for the first time, and maybe having a better experience...
The funny thing, is that I ran to see the grand serail, and the first thing I said was, WTF??? YMs small serail got accepted, and melkarts GRAND SERAIL is to be accepted yet!!!! (melkart, do SOMETHING!!!)

theres nothing too much that can be done about the St.Geroges back side because the photos that we find are taken from the other side of the Marina and not high enough in resolution

You can always improvise my friend ;). I have a proposal that am working on right now, I'll post soon.

I just downloaded melkarts synagogue, and I was like :uh: (literary).
U have succeeded to "create" a PURE PIECE OF ART in terms of architectural modeling...I just can't believe how lovely it's done, how well thought, and "lived"...man, i have 2 words for u : chapeau bas!!!
I know ur kind melkart ;)...U live ur project, fall in love with it, keep giving it and giving it until perfection, and, once it's over, u feel sad.(guess who also suffers from the same symptoms!!!!) ;)
There's something though. It's a shame ur modeling for GE man, becuz that number of polygons and that level of "shaped" details won't pass unfortunately. 13 thousand faces and more for a building is an overkill, although it's perfectly modeled.(I am so sure u could have easily reached the 100 thou barrier if not perfectly modeled.)
My suggestion is the following:
-A great model like that one shouldn't be for GE, but it's place resides in rendering exhibits and the like, so keep perfecting the current model for rendering, and make a "low poly" version for GE. (maybe using the reduce edge count for circles and arcs will help achieving that)
-Although am the "understanding and open minded" type, still not everyone here are like me. By openminded, I mean that i see your model in a pure architectural view, and respect the monument, NOTHING MORE. I beleive your "excessive" use of Hebrew letters and the star of David in ur quest to achieve a perfectly realistic model, will, to say the less, meet some objections and put ur model on the top 10 most controversial models ever ;). (just my 2 cents.)

On a last word melkart, i wanted to say that u did something very important, and maybe involuntarily. U managed to raise the bar, so hight, and put me in face of a big challenge when modeling the churches!!! ;) (this is always good btw)

I re-uploaded the model two nights ago, not sure what the issue is? wish they would say something! On another note My Lebanese paviliopn was rejected due to floating, which doesn't make any sence since the design of the structure is intended to float surrounded by a pool of water.

If you re-uploaded it 2 nights ago, that is a too short of a period of time to get it accepted in the next release - if u fixed it up expect to see it in the next release :)

About the pavilon model, you can appeal the judgement by hitting the "tell us why we're wrong" link at the bottom of the page and explain that it is supposed to look that way.

I just downloaded melkarts synagogue, and I was like :uh: (literary).
U have succeeded to "create" a PURE PIECE OF ART in terms of architectural modeling...I just can't believe how lovely it's done, how well thought, and "lived"...man, i have 2 words for u : chapeau bas!!!
I know ur kind melkart ;)...U live ur project, fall in love with it, keep giving it and giving it until perfection, and, once it's over, u feel sad.(guess who also suffers from the same symptoms!!!!) ;)
There's something though. It's a shame ur modeling for GE man, becuz that number of polygons and that level of "shaped" details won't pass unfortunately. 13 thousand faces and more for a building is an overkill, although it's perfectly modeled.(I am so sure u could have easily reached the 100 thou barrier if not perfectly modeled.)
My suggestion is the following:
-A great model like that one shouldn't be for GE, but it's place resides in rendering exhibits and the like, so keep perfecting the current model for rendering, and make a "low poly" version for GE. (maybe using the reduce edge count for circles and arcs will help achieving that)
-Although am the "understanding and open minded" type, still not everyone here are like me. By openminded, I mean that i see your model in a pure architectural view, and respect the monument, NOTHING MORE. I beleive your "excessive" use of Hebrew letters and the star of David in ur quest to achieve a perfectly realistic model, will, to say the less, meet some objections and put ur model on the top 10 most controversial models ever ;). (just my 2 cents.)

On a last word melkart, i wanted to say that u did something very important, and maybe involuntarily. U managed to raise the bar, so hight, and put me in face of a big challenge when modeling the churches!!! ;) (this is always good btw)

LOL Thanks man for your kind words! I have to admit I need to work on lowering the size of my files. I am learning though. I haven't quite adapted all what I have learned in terms of reducing the face counts to the synaguogue model, since i modeled most of it before learning the tricks.

what about my images are they too big, too small?

If you re-uploaded it 2 nights ago, that is a too short of a period of time to get it accepted in the next release - if u fixed it up expect to see it in the next release :)

About the pavilon model, you can appeal the judgement by hitting the "tell us why we're wrong" link at the bottom of the page and explain that it is supposed to look that way.

good to know YM :)

^^ and BTW Melkart I checked your model too, it is simply an exsquisite mesterpiece ! I love the attention and detail you gave it - all I can say in awe is WOW !!!! :D:D:D:D

guys ?! do you think we should start paying attention again to the AUB campus? we have 5 buildings there and I'm sure there are more pictures of others! Of course after everyone has done their on-hold projects.

Sorry Im talking too much guys, but, I guess I figured out why your pavilon model was ruled out "floating"

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_wKC3SG8UOXo/S6zwr9U6d-I/AAAAAAAAAqQ/q6ByNElNGdY/s512/75.jpg

You do that in lots of your models, but I think that will make the model look "tacky" since whenever you turn off the terrain in GE, you could see right inside the model !

guys ?! do you think we should start paying attention again to the AUB campus? we have 5 buildings there and I'm sure there are more pictures of others! Of course after everyone has done their on-hold projects.

I was thinking the same.

Sorry Im talking too much guys, but, I guess I figured out why your pavilon model was ruled out "floating"

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_wKC3SG8UOXo/S6zwr9U6d-I/AAAAAAAAAqQ/q6ByNElNGdY/s512/75.jpg

You do that in lots of your models, but I think that will make the model look "tacky" since whenever you turn off the terrain in GE, you could see right inside the model !

right but than again i hate when the model is sunken in. UGHHHHH

^^You dont have to sink the model ! you just extend the terrain push ups and sink them into GE, its intended to be that way :D

^^You dont have to sink the model ! you just extend the terrain push ups and sink them into GE, its intended to be that way :D

Actually YM, it's NOT intended to be that way, still it's A way, though. The terrain topography of GE is fair enough in terms of accuracy, not quite accurate though. If u model a building, and "respect" it's architecture when it comes to basements and slope terrain positioning, it WILL fit, with a little margin of error, but still acceptable, and way better than making a model with a flat base, then flatting the topography to fit. I have a question for u: how many REAL buildings did u see having a flat base? (unless it's in the gulf)
Now am not telling that ur way is wrong, it's just a turnaround to simplify models positioning, and it's smart ;) (still ugly and not acceptable architecturally though :P)

LOL - dudeeeee :P its Google Earth !! all this accuracy and attention to detail (which I admire on both of your parts) will not be appreciated by the regular viewer, because he will just go by it, look at it for 5 secs and go to the next model.

And when it comes to the Google reviewer he's just gonna think :"Whoa ?(with a dumb face) this model is incomplete and floating ------> REJECTED !"

LOL ! :P

LOL - dudeeeee :P its Google Earth !! all this accuracy and attention to detail (which I admire on both of your parts) will not be appreciated by the regular viewer, because he will just go by it, look at it for 5 secs and go to the next model.

And when it comes to the Google reviewer he's just gonna think :"Whoa ?(with a dumb face) this model is incomplete and floating ------> REJECTED !"

LOL ! :P

I didn't say keep ur model floating to get it rejected, am also not with the "sucked up" terrain. It's up to u if u think that it's "not" worth cuz it's simply GE, by why model ur city then???
Am someone who's been following Beirut 3d since the beginning, and i've memorized its models, and "getting impressed by the GE 3d layer" is FAR behind me. But still, yesterday for example, i spent like half an hour or so admiring Beirut, in it's new rebirth in our models. I went to many cities on GE, and saw them fully modeled, but am not impressed with a filled space with textured blocks like Madrid for example (although the Spanish modelers earned all my respect). When u see this case, u DO spend 5 sec on a model and go to another, mainly becuz that model took like 5 min to get modeled, so 5 sec is more than enough to "digest" it and move on. ;)
What am trying to do is a modeling reference to Lebanon, to help foreign visit it virtually and admire its beauty, and Lebanese (local, expats and emigrants as well) to have a reference, and a place in memory, somehow accessible. (if u get what i mean).

^^ Those the exact same reasons why I started modeling in the first place 1 year ago ! What I mean is purely from a technical POV, When you spend a lot of time modeling the slightest detail, it will probably go un-noticed in GE because you have to zoom in real close to see them (which is an option you dont have on GE because when you zoom in you'll just penetrate the model, this is what I meant about taking 5 seconds to view) Im not saying that you should "wing it", what I mean is that you dont have to worry that much about detail (i.e. worrying about a cm or 2 when it comes to positioning, not using the "matched photo" technique because it denies a feet or two off the height) I understand that from your architectural background you have a habit of being a perfectionist, but sometimes you do not have the resources to know "how high is this or that building" or "are these 2 sides identical".

When it comes to Madrid, I think it was both ruined and blessed by "Building Maker" because when you get there you have to admire the sheer size of the coverage but you have to think "what a shame" when it comes to SOME horrible texturing/positioning.

I think in our case, with our very limited resources and the crap we have to go through just when searching for/taking photos of buildings, we have one of the top cities in the region. I mean we are literally eyeing Tel Aviv(some 150 models) and maybe Jordan(200 or 300 models) - because in the procces of 4 months, we have been able to transform beirut to a semi-3d city (70 models out of Lebanon's 85) which is HUGE. I am just waiting to get a mention in the Google 3d Warehouse "tweet" to make it official. If we keep on this track, we will be looking at 200 models sometime next year (which is MAJOR)

^^ Ur right YM, "building maker", although speeds up the process, but ruins the quality. I never regretted that we can't use it in Beirut, but instead making "genuinely" modeled buildings. I also like that we're gathered here, working hand by hand to reach our target.

What u have done is MAJOR, whether we reach a number or not. I don't bind myself to numbers, but ur spirit and ur persistence are the reasons that made me start modeling for GE, although am a big disappointment when it comes to speed modeling and numbers. My theory is, If we're not able to get the fastest filled city (or even filled), and if there are cities in the region having "more" buildings, let's get the best looking city then. :)
While in that process, we'll reach the 200 models mark eventually. (hope so) ;)

The building im modeling is giving me a giant headache, but I got the problem solved (I think)

At last, here comes Abdallah...:)
I was waiting for u man, stay tuned ;)

I previously said i had a proposal of the St. Georges, so i played a little bit with ur model, and here's the result: ( I was waiting for u to post the pix ;)

A north-east view:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Saint%20Georges%20hotel/north-east-view.jpg

Road view:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Saint%20Georges%20hotel/road-view.jpg

And a sea view:

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af175/_Zippo_/Saint%20Georges%20hotel/sea-view.jpg

hope u liked the proposal man :)

^^ I absolutely love it! amazing job Zippo, seriously.

Amazing editions! I hope u go through with them!

http://i43.tinypic.com/15iuyv.jpg

Heres what I have done:

http://i40.tinypic.com/1zoi9o6.jpg

^^ it's turning out well, although ur having an "hollow" basement that u have to fix later.
I see u always use faces for building up the model instead of using solid geometry like rectangles and cubes. tracing connected lines to form a face will get u in trouble when u start developing details, becuz u can be sure ur lines are perfectly aligned with the axes. My advice is to only use lines when necessary, and use push/pull and geometry to build volumetry.

PS: i love ur texturing. I can foresee a very lovely model at the end. ;)

YM...Oh man, am really sorry, I just figured out the problem by myself!!!
I remember that u don't keep copies of models, and that the serail clock tower is only available as .kmz file, and that ur NOT able to import .kmz into SU. So u cannot edit it...why u didn't say that bro??? And i was pushing on you to finish it without knowing what's taking u so long, am really sorry. :)

melkart, the old Beirut lighthouse is not a few decades old, read this:

http://www.aawsat.com/details.asp?section=41&article=181775&issueno=8995

YM...Oh man, am really sorry, I just figured out the problem by myself!!!
I remember that u don't keep copies of models, and that the serail clock tower is only available as .kmz file, and that ur NOT able to import .kmz into SU. So u cannot edit it...why u didn't say that bro??? And i was pushing on you to finish it without knowing what's taking u so long, am really sorry. :)

no dont worry about it bro :) i am practically done with it - i didnt upload because i found that it was rough around the edges so im gonna edit and re-upload

A quick tip to soften the edges:
-click "e" on ur keyboard for the erase tool, now, while holding down "ctrl", click on an edge to "smooth" it.(note that holding down "shift" will "hide" the edge). This method is very useful in many cases, I'll elaborate later... :)

I know how 2 soften edges lol! I use it io lot of my models (i.e. Stadiums, virgin megastore, mt...

:lol:Well this is why i haven't PMed u the way, I just published it in public. ;)

PS:check ur PM.

btw YM: I suggest u post hints too that u gained through ur experience, so that shy and new-comers modelers can benefit from. I may later on, if i find there's a need, collect all those posts and start a new thread for modeling tutorials and hints. (like a reference) :)

Thats a gr8 idea! I wonder if 3alisha is watching! If u are plz come in! :p also if anyone else is watching! About the model you are helping me out with. Once i get home ill sort it out... Cuz im on my phone at school, i gotta tell u, history class is kinda boring. Lol! :p

LOL...U telling me about it :P...i failed "history of arts and architecture" course twice at uni!!! :nuts:...(keep it a secret, am not the memorizing type, specially when there's thousands of pages included!!! ...and, don't tell my mom i failed it, I told her it's "history 2 and 3"!!!!:lol:)...I later found out that I DO love the history of Lebanon though. ;)

I do not hate the history of Lebanon, no one does - I just hate how they teach it in Lebranon. Every side has his story.

I do not hate the history of Lebanon, no one does - I just hate how they teach it in Lebranon. Every side has his story.


also they don't make you think! We had to underline the text and memorize it the next day only to recite it in the morning! God forbid you forgot something you got punished severely! there is nothing like teaching history than beating you with a stick. btw do they still have corporal punishment in schools in Lebanon!

btw YM: I suggest u post hints too that u gained through ur experience, so that shy and new-comers modelers can benefit from. I may later on, if i find there's a need, collect all those posts and start a new thread for modeling tutorials and hints. (like a reference) :)

That's a great idea we can all contribute!
It will be a great reference guide. :)

-edit-

also they don't make you think! We had to underline the text and memorize it the next day only to recite it in the morning! God forbid you forgot something you got punished severely! there is nothing like teaching history than beating you with a stick. btw do they still have corporal punishment in schools in Lebanon!

Yes I was "thinking" :P ;) the same thing - and by Lebanese law, if a public school teacher lays a hand on a student he will recieve a disciplinary salary cut in addition to other punishments that could go as severe as getting fired and getting banned from teaching in public schools - feeeeew !

So guys here is my newest model it is one of the 13 uncompleted models :P so I finished it, it's pretty simple but the textures are really not so great, bad :(...

I just modeled it to up^ the model count in Beirut. There's no harm in that.

-Here is a screenshot:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_wKC3SG8UOXo/S645I3-1zpI/AAAAAAAAArQ/hbmtXxci2Js/booble%20%281%29.jpg

-And here's the photo I used:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_wKC3SG8UOXo/S645KP46A-I/AAAAAAAAArU/ilsvQvwqXu0/booble.jpg

OK guys - can someone from Tripoli ;) tell me what are these things called? or should I call them the international fair..?

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_wKC3SG8UOXo/S65rHH5kASI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/Orflp1p1VF4/s512/Fair.jpg

^^ Well am not from Tripoly, but until melkart or Abdallah can confirm it, I think these are....UFOs!!!:lol:

^^ :D The large round thing (#2) is called "The Experimental Theater" or "The Dome Theater"

The Experimental Theatre , which was originally designed as a flexible theatre layout , has a circular rotating scene. It is covered by a concrete shell cupola. At the southeast side , a staircase leads to the main entrance and to the atrium of the theatre , which is , located at the basement level. The atrium is open to the upper floor ; public toilets are located on both sides of the atrium. A staircase leads to the seating area. The number of seats is approximately 1000. A bar, an office, and toilets are located opposite the atrium at the upper level of the ground floor plan. Four exit doors are located at the four cardinal points of the same level.

Another staircase opposite to the main one leads backstage and to service areas where changing rooms , toilets , showers , and electrical and mechanical rooms are located.

The basement floor gross area is 1777sqm approx. The ground floor gross is 3023 sqm and the total gross area is 4800 sqm approx.

The smaller thing (#1) was supposed to be some kind of "Space Museum" but I have no idea how they would fit a museum into such a small thing

since everyone seems to be doing a building in the International Fair I want to do the " Panoramic restaurant and terrace " and the "“Manege” & Annexes"

http://i42.tinypic.com/24zbosn.jpg

The smaller thing (#1) was supposed to be some kind of "Space Museum" but I have no idea how they would fit a museum into such a small thing
With our "National Spatial" items and technology, i think a 3 by 3 meters room will be too..."spacial"!!!!:lol: (I am in a jocking mood, u already figured it out :P)

Thanks guys! Abdallah, after you finish your on hold projects i suggest u restart ur quality inn hotel cuz u can easily do it!