Just a general question here - I was wondering what is the best model libary / plugin systems that would produce 3D trees for use with vray - also does anyone know of a good place to buy tga people to drop in in photoshop. 3D cars would also be benefitial - they are just to be used in architectural visualisation but i like to keep my photoshop to a minimum [ 
] - Thanks in advance
Iain
for arch viz most people use RPC stuff http://www.archvision.com although it can look a bit rubbish, if dealt with in the correct way they can look ok… there’s a plugin so you can use them in 3dstudio or photoshop.
another good source for people/cars etc. is http://www.lowpolygon3d.com/ which can look better if you want correct shadows and light.
hope this helps.
RPC’S
I HAVE THE RPC PLUGIN FROM WHEN I WAS USING VIZ HOWEVER I ALWAYS PRODUCE RUBISH RESULTS WITH THEM IN VRAY - DO YOU DO ANYTHING TO TWEEK THE LIGHTING SET UP OF THEM ? THE LOWPOLY STUFF LOOKS GREAT FOR CARS BUT THE PEOPLE SEEM A LITTLE LOW POLY FOR ME REALLY LOOKING FOR HIGH END PEOPLE THAT CAN STAND UP CLOSE TO CAMERAS
THANKS
IAIN
i know you said you didn’t want to use photoshop too much, but there is a plugin for rpc so you can use them with photoshop on the archvision website…
you can get much better results with rpc’s putting them in post rendering without a huge amount of work…
do a search through this forum and you’ll find some good tips.
thanks - what about models other than RPC for animations ?
Iain
if your desperate enough you can use poser 
i was gonna say that but… naaaah! i don’t think so…
SORRY SCHOOL BOY HERE - WHATS POSER ?
/ tries to think of a way to describe poser without upsetting people
poser is a quite low end 3d character modeling/animating package made by http://www.curiouslabs.com/
main user forum can be found here> http://www.renderosity.com
it’s mainly looked down upon by users of high end software such as 3d studio + maya etc. although it can be a useful tool :?
Poser people are too… cumputerized. they don’t look real, they look like manequins.
i like the marlin trees for post production but need a couple of plants for internal animations. i agree the people look to generated aswell - their must be a solution to this problem somewhere its basic stuff most cg artists come across - low poly cars - problem solved - still awaiting advice on trees, plants and people - i heard some scientists had modeled some plants and had these for sale but was this just an old wifes tale ?
For 2D stuff, check out www.imagecels.com
For 3D trees check out www.onyxtree.com, www.idvinc.com/html/speedtreemax.htm, and www.bionatics.com.
For 3D cars, check on Turbo Squid, but also www.3d02.com is great!
Forget about using 3D people, unless they are going to be used in animation.
Good Luck!
John Pruden
Digital-X
I actually wouldn’t mind owning poser. Not sure how much Id use it, but Since Im a HORRIBLE organic modeller, Im sure it could be useful in limited ways.
percy
and not to forget http://www.xfrog.com/
www.doschdesign.com do a whole range of digital resources - the cars and 3D people are very hi-res but can be optimised down to low res - takes a wee bit of work though.
hope this helps
N
thanks everyone !
I’ve been using Poser in Max for quite a while now. Using the Reiss Studio plugin you can import them directly into a max scene, and any changes in the Poser animations, will be updated in max. You can get some really realistic renderings. I haven’t used them in conjunction with v-ray, but with Brazil they come out great. You can see a few examples I’ve posted in Renderosity - keeping in mind I’m not by any means a professional artist) check out
http://www.renderosity.com/gallery.ez?ByArtist=Yes&Artist=mplogue
As far as trees, I’ve tried both Speedtree 2 and Onyx Tree, and I think Onyx has the best looking trees. The also have a much larger library of trees (with x-frog and speed tree, they come with limited plants - though you can buy more separately, at a pretty steep cost.)