The updates look sweet. Those stairs look a lot better now. I see what you mean about those archways needing smoothed out. Hopefully you will be able to fix that.
First Post- Got Inspired by LOTR critiques Appreciated
Halfling85
#36
All the ways you folks have helped so far, Here is what the original (pre-cgtalk model looked like) as opposed to all the changes that have been made because of you all.
Here are the comparison Pics, I took the exact same shot twice, one with the old model, one with the new, I was rather impressed by the difference…
(COPY AND PASTE THE LINK INTO YOUR BROWSER…)
Then:
http://halfling85.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/wipthen.jpg
Now:
http://halfling85.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/wipnow.jpg
You all have been a major help, keep the critiques coming 
Thx Again,
Half
Halfling85
#39
I see (or I guess I dont see) above that (once again) the hosting site for my pictures is being stupid (arrrg) thus I am now using lycos, hope it holds out :)…
I am starting a new building which I think is going to become the centerpoint of this whole project, the building is in its very (very very) early stages but I wanted to post so that I could get some feedback before I did some more work on it, this building is pretty large compared to the others so it will probably be a (if not “the”) focal point of the picture. Tell me if I am going wrong :), here are the pics…
http://halfling85.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/newbuilding2.jpg
http://halfling85.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/newbuilding.jpg
Thx as always for any critiques,
Signing out,
Half
edit:
Am going to try and change the pics up above to LYCOS as well so that they will show up…
EDIT: Pics still not working, U must copy and paste the link into your browser… That should do it
otacon
#40
Sweet. You might want to turn smoothing on those archways because i can see the segments. Keep adding detail!
ChandlerL
#42
I’m bumping this.
You were really on to something with this and I was enjoying the progress.
Halfling85
#45
Sorry it has been a while folks, but life gets busy as I am sure you all know, between school and work, not much time for the joys of lightwave, but there is some, if you want to see the newest developments on this project the newest renders are at this link:
http://www.geocities.com/halfling85/CastleProject4.html
These pics are of the newly renovated Guard house the still in development central building that will be in the middle of all of this mess… I have decided to make a pentagon shape around that central building using wall pieces as seen in the panoramic shot and add fountains, pathways and such. This project is now more like a well protected manor rather than a whole city as before, but then again it could always change again, and again, and again…
Enjoy and as always comment, critiques, and the occasional snide remarks, are welcome!,
Half
BTW- I really need some good solid tutorials (for idiots) on texturing this kinda thing so if any of ya’ know any fill me in :)…
Halfling85
#46
I have been having trouble with my renders with getting the feeling of size and scope of the buildings, to me they all look like small clay models not “Big” building like they are supposed to, I am not sure how to change this because I am not sure what is wrong… Does anyone else see what I am talking about? The whole thing just seems “small” not large… Perhaps someone has a remedy for this??..
Any critiques or help is appreciated :),
Half
otacon
#47
The new stuff looks good. The reason it looks like a miniature is because of the surroundings, and there is nothing in the scene to give it scale. Like once you start adding the fountains, the torches, and all the smaller things, the buildings will start to look bigger. Also, once the trees, walkways, sky, and stuff like that get put in it will look right. Make sure to use BOB as a reference for all the small stuff, so you dont make them too big.
Halfling85
#48
Starting to form the wall from what I got, kinda of cool to see it coming together… Is bogging my pc down like crazy though, weighing in at about 700,000 poly’s or so! Here is the link to the pics if you want to check them out!!
http://www.geocities.com/halfling85/CastleProject5.html
Tell me what cha’ think,
Half
Halfling85
#50
I don’t believe that it is ded, just that there is no bandwidth! Geocities is crap, it is impossible to find any good free hosting out there… I will try to post the pics again using redrival… If they don’t show up still, try copying and pasting the links into your browser address bar…
http://www.redrival.com/halfling85/NOTASBIGsolid2.jpg
http://www.redrival.com/halfling85/Towers.jpg
Swissphil
#52
Its great how you stick to this project!
To get a better feeling of the size, you can also lower the camera. If you modellled everything in scale, keep it below 2m (6ft). This way the camera has to look up to show everything.
A suggestion with the lighting: It seems you’re using many lights to get the illusion of global lighting. Try to turn shadows off for every light except the main light and keep this one at least double as bright as the fill lights (you’ll need a couple of testrenders though). This should make a difference too.
Halfling85
#53
I am pretty good at modelling but when it comes to all the finer details of lightwave such as Lighting and Texturing that really make something look good, i lack greatly… thus I am going to have a lot of trouble finishing it up, yerg!
boboroshi
#54
Think small. Start with the wood. It’s the easiest and smalles thing in the model. Spend a long time getting the feel right. Learn the Lightwave shader setup at the same time. Once you’ve gotten the wood down, identify some of the other materials you want to use? is this all marble? Granite? Travertine? Any steel? Figure out where that’s going and get your base material. At that point, begin adding dirt.