Yooha

Thanks for the file bbqqq, there are many useful parts in it, that are not decorate-able default in LDD. I wonder why these surfaces are hidden in the program I myself made a "lighter" version of the file: lxf file Changes: - I excluded the biggest parts: base plates, power function (?) parts, trolls, huge monsters, etc... Now it takes less time to zoom in/out. The selection is arbitrary and is NOT a disparagement toward the part in interest. - tried to group the same parts (which has more than one decorate-able surface) near to each other, as well as similar parts (shields, tiles, bricks, etc..) It would take a huge amount of time to find ALL the same/similar parts, so it is not finished. I hope it helps many of us, as it did for me.

I think every winner gets the full(!!) minifig package each day. Copmike said: "No, there are 24 of each minifig." (minus the turtles and troll/hulk) So someone will win the 3 Iron man suits + 1 DC badguy package every day, 24 winners for this package (and all the other packages) overall.

So it began... Is the calendar available somewhere (front page, 1st post here)? I could find it here in a post, but that's not the best channel for it.

The image is too small, can't see.

Goody day to everyone! Christmas is coming, so I decided to celebrate it with my new advent calendar. I used to design advent calendars for years, but this is the first case that I learned to use LDD and other rendering software well enough to make my designs look more or less realistic enough. This calendar will be pretty similar that TLG usually designs. The part count is around as in real sets, and I tried to make the daily builds to fit into those little windows in normal advent calendar sets. The theme will be “winter in the a small town”. People around December start preparing for Christmas; decorating their homes and attending winter markets. This calendar will be focused on that everyone’s heart is filled with Christmas spirit these day - or at least I hope. It won’t be filled fancy looking and expensive presents, no cops or bandits, just 100% joy and laughter. I will insert the daily build in this thread into separate posts, so don’t forget to drop by! Without any further ado, let’s see the first one: Day 1 "Come right in, we've been waiting for you!" Summary:

Greetings Ladies and Noblemen! I proudly present the new Guilds of Historica advent calendar! I used to design advent calendars for years, but this is the first case that I learned to use LDD and other rendering software well enough to make my designs look more or less realistic enough. What can you expect now? This calendar will be pretty similar that TLG usually designs. The part count is around as in official sets, and I tried to make the daily builds to fit into those little windows in normal advent calendar sets. But this is a Guilds of Historica advent calendar after all, so it must be based on characters and locations you are used to. I didn’t use any of your sigfigs here, since I wanted to avoid jealousy issues (Why him? Why not me?). I think I could capture every guild’s features. It’s you to decide this. Although this calendar is merely a “concept art” and doesn't exist in real form, I designed it to be a good base for everyone who wants to join GoH, to have at least a few bricks and other things to start in any of the four guilds. Of course because of the brick count restriction you won’t be able to build a huge castle from it. I plan to insert the daily build in this thread into separate posts, so check in if you don’t want to miss the fun! So enough of the chit-chat, let’s see the first one: Day 1 Summary:

Yuppiee! Now I read it.

What happened with this story? I don't remember making the potion or anything. Did I sleep it over?

Yes, another Fiends set concept art. I hope you are not bored. Purplestone Park Camping A little camping spot in the woods. With a tent and a small campfire were you can roast(?) marshmellow. The sleeping-bag and the lamp fits into the opened tent. Sunshine Beach Bar A place where you can have some refreshments or eat some juicy fruits. Thanks for mechamike about this idea!

Oh man, I have a huge chance to win something! Can hardly wait!

Wonderul art deco building! My favourites are always the details, like the plants and and the ornament everywhere.

Yes, the blue topped little "wall" is a counter, where the cold cuts are served by a butcher. I don't think new pieces can be done with LDD. However the other program, that makes the rendering itself (called POVray) can be used to project virtually everything. It was not designed for lego, it is a general 3D software if I'm right. But I don't know how to use it for anything else than rendering lego models.

Xmas tree All the builds in one scene, with some random minifigs.

Heartlake Grocery My latest Friends set concept is a grocery. In this little shop you can buy everything that is needed to fill your belly. Meat, fruits, bakery product, drink, you name it. For the sake of rendering time, I removed the transparent parts from the 2nd and 3rd pictures.

I've found 3 high res pictures from 3 sets here. The gallery is under the article, where you can zoom in or put to full screen. (the text are the same as on the lego movie homepage). Update: pictures are here.

Oh, this seems to be a very useful tip, thanks! I will try it (the no antialias->resize and the layers as well)

Hi to all! Maybe this is not strictly the subject of this topic, and maybe it would worth a completely new one, depending on the responses. What am I talking about: I see admiringly the MOCs presented here – or in other topics – that are made by some 3D rendering software, mainly with LDD2PovRay. And I am always curious, how they are made, with what settings, and how long does it take to made them with a certain PC configuration. Sometimes it takes only 15-30 minutes to make one for me, sometimes it takes hours, even though I don’t see such a big difference in the models (brick count or overall site). Maybe there are some combinations of settings, a particular feature of the model which makes the rendering longer, and which are to be avoided if possible to shorten the rendering. Maybe there are some trick for it. So, how about sharing the information, how long our renderings last with a certain setting, and sharing the experience if a particular part takes longer than expected. If there is a already topic for it, or it worth a separate thread, please let me know also. What I know – and a lot of you know I’m sure – is that transparent pieces are more difficult to render. A few day ago, I tried to make a torch using this and this, the latter in transparent, and it took ages! Is it more difficult, when there are several parts that are very close to the transparent part? Because it took quite longer that a “normal” transparent part. Another issue: the more edges a part have, the longer it takes to render. Parts like this take forever! And in overall, foliage is a rendering nightmare. The 3rd thing is the strangest to me. Where a usually big plate lies on the base – so on the ground – the part where the plate touches the ground takes so much time to render. Why is that? It seems the most simple part. When it is a roof, it’s quite fast, but like here the cool yellow baseplate took hours to render, even more then the transparent part. Can it be avoided somehow? And now for the settings: I use LDD2PovRay, nowadays with the 2nd type of render (which is slower) the quality is phase 8, so no radiosity, the resolution is 800x600, and I have a double cored processor with 2 GB RAM. The above linked render took some 4 hours. Is it slow? Is it fast? Can it be made faster? How about you?

Do I see right, that according to the box art, the saloon plane and the fire mech sets don't have an alternate model? Too bad. I hoped you can build an actual saloon and a kebab stall - the fire truck is not so exciting though.

Thanks, I just noticed there is a flaw with the dragon: it has no tail!

Very nice, I love it. My favorite is a small detail once again: the fire and the cauldron in the left(?) building. Do I think right that one of the handles is only a placebo and doesn't hold anything? (I became a knight, wo-hoo!)

He-he, someone doesn't have a sense of humor. Why does Felix from Kaliphlin have Nocturnian colors on his banner?

It looks ice, not water, brrr!

Incredible that it works, nice job!

Should anyone miss me, I'm more active in the Friends topic with some new MOCs. I don't know what happened to me, it must be some dark sorcery.

There is no better xmas present as a chainsaw Nice stand. Is that a water pump on the shelf?