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True Earth

Started by korver, May 04, 2016, 08:05:18 PM

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gn_leugim

speachless, there are no words to make justice to your skill and to those pics!  :o

Thanks for te rapids hint. The rocks i would look at your first scene in this last update, those light grey rocks. I may have them, donno, but they way you use them is so radically different than the rest that, to me, they seem other rocks :p

korver

#61

- UPDATE 7: Scenes From Africa -





Our trip to Africa starts off in Lagos, Africa's largest city. Getting anywhere around town seems to be an impossible task with the never ending flow of traffic. Street vendors and hawkers are on every street corner, and the massive crowds of people everywhere adds to the congestion. In order to go anywhere, using the bright yellow danfos (buses) are almost a necessity - they're virtually everywhere in the city. But just when we thought the traffic was bad enough around our hotel - one of the local markets spills out onto the streets. This in turn forces one of the main roads to shut down and everything comes to a complete standstill for a couple of days. We're limited to touring the city by foot at this point, but at least we get to check out many of the beautiful goods that the local markets have to offer.





After our stay in Lagos, we start traveling East - right into the heart of Congo. All the roads from this point forward are dirt covered - which potentially makes rainy season a real headache. Fortunately for us, we don't run into any problems for the time being. Along our way, we get to meet numerous tribes, observing their rituals and getting a chance to see how the locals live. The mud and thatched roof huts they call home have been a mainstay for thousands of years - and we can see why, noting their sturdiness and ease of build.





Our next stop in our African journey is northern Tanzania where we take our Jeep through Serengeti National Park. The views from the ground are amazing, almost immediately spotting large herds of elephants, giraffes, and zebras. However, to get an even better view, we decide to board a hot air balloon instead. It's wildebeest migration season, and we get an excellent birds-eye view from our balloon - also finally spotting a couple of lions on the prowl as well. Once we get back on the ground, we finally start to make our way out of the park - but not before stopping a few times to let a herd of Giraffes make their way across the road.





We board our plane and arrive next in Madagascar, being sure to see it's famous Avenue of the Baobabs. Not only are they perhaps the world's fattest tree, but they also can live for 2,000 years or more - they're truly marvelous as they tower high above us. However, just as we make our way out of the area, we're met with an unexpected surprise. We thought we left the traffic back in Lagos - but evidently we were quite wrong, getting stuck in a cattle traffic jam on numerous occasions.





Once we make it back to the mainland, we travel a couple hundred miles West and make our way across the Zimbabwean border. After getting lost more than a couple times and finally getting some much needed help from the locals, we're able to locate Great Zimbabwe, nestled in the middle of the Zimbabwean foothills. Once the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe, all that's left is a collection of ruins scattered around central and western Africa. Despite their current state, you can still get a sense of the power and greatness that these walls once held.




Our final destination is perhaps Africa's most famous - Victoria Falls. One of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, these awe-inspiring falls truly live up to the title. Once we get there, we're sure to try out a little whitewater river rafting - it's the middle of the high season and the river is in full force. However, there's still something that's a little more dangerous that we have to try out. Our tour guide takes us back up to the top of the falls, and we board a small boat to Livingstone Island near the middle of the Zambezi river. We slowly move our way across the lip of the falls, careful not to take one wrong step on any slippery rocks along our way. Finally, we reach our destination - the infamous Devil's pool. We take the plunge, and the only thing protecting us from a 300+ foot drop is a small submerged rock barrier on the edge. We take a deep breath, carefully leaning over the edge to catch the view of a lifetime.





-korver



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REPLIES

romualdillo: Thanks for the kind words once again :) Love the houses you're working on right now btw, can't wait to try them out in an update one of these days.

Simmer2: Thanks, glad you liked the photoshop work :)

MushyMushy: Thank you :) Yeah, that's probably the most annoying part of photoshop - trying to get it to look natural and like it's part of the game. But the end result always pays off.

Akallan: Thanks once again Akallan! :) For your second question - I pretty much just tried out a bunch of random water mods across various places and enhanced them with photoshop, so if you want similar results it'll require some PS, sorry :P

Vizoria: Thanks! Nah, not MMPs, just lotted onto 1x1 tiles. I originally tried out MMPing small houses and such but eventually I realized that without nightlights, MMPing them would be too limiting.

vortext: Thank you! Yeah, I actually didn't realize that either for a while, I actually had to remake that mosaic because I found out at the last second that my Moai were facing backwards, lol.

Kergelen: Thanks, glad you liked the tropical feeling.

compdude787: Thanks for the kind words once again compdude!

Themistokles: Thank you for the support again, glad you liked those little farm sections I made.

Gugu3: Thanks for commenting once again on my MD!

manga rivotra: Thank you :) A result of a little clever lot editor, glad you liked it.

kbieniu7: Thanks! Those coastlines were a bit experimental, first time doing something like that and thankfully I think they turned out really good.

gn_leugim: Thanks for the kind words once again :) I'm pretty sure you're talking about the Heblem ones - I tried to find them for you, but due to the current state of the STEX since the recent update I was unable to find the exact link, sorry about that :(


dyoungyn

BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!  Ok, you must tell us how did you do the water fall?

gn_leugim

it's incredible, just incredible! what's next??   &apls &apls &apls

Don't worry, unfortunately now is indeed a bit hard to search on STEX :\  ;)

art128

I'll take a quiet life... A handshake of carbon monoxide.

Props & Texture Catalog

belfastsocrates

Really lovely work, the Victoria Falls is just beautiful, truly gorgeous
A unique nation fusing technological prowess and unparalleled grandeur

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination" - Oscar Wilde

Vizoria

Brilliantly gorgeous pictures. Great MMPing and landscape with suburb photoshopping.

metarvo

Outstanding work, Korver.   &apls  The crowds and cars both add so much liveliness to the Lagos scene.  The hot air balloon safari is lovely, too.
Find my power line BAT thread here.
Check out the Noro Cooperative.  What are you waiting for?  It even has electricity.
Want more? Try here.  For even more electrical goodies, look here.
Here are some rural power lines.

mgb204

It's probably about time I stopped gauping at your fantastic images and actually comment on them. I've been following your work since you started this MD and the level of detail you can pack into a scene is just breathtaking. From outstanding areas of natural beauty to chaos filled streets and towns, it's all here. And to top it all off, simply stunning MMP work  :thumbsup:.

Simmer2

________________________________________________________________________________

vester


Akallan

My CJ :


My european road textures project : S N T - v.2.1

manga rivotra

Once again, I am blown away by your work!  :o
Everything is absolutely perfect and it is clear that you possess a real artist talent in addition to incredible accuracy with MMPs and total control of scales. &apls &apls &apls
A real pleasure to watch. Thank you  :thumbsup:

vinlabsc3k


It's astounding!!



P.S.:Are the bridge photo-edited?
My creation at CityBuilders.



SimCity 5 is here with the NAM Creations!!

korver

#74

- UPDATE 8: The Amazon -





Our journey through the Amazon starts off in Manaus, located on the Rio Negro in the heart of the rainforest. It's one of the largest cities in the Amazon - despite it's remote location, it's well worth the visit. We take a stroll down many of it's historic roads, enjoying some of the architecture - the best example being it's beautiful ornate opera house. The Amazon Theatre was constructed back in 1896, back when the surrounding region was flourishing from the rubber trade. Lots has changed since then, and unfortunately we'll meet some of the harsh realities quickly..





After our visit in Manaus, we board our boat and begin traveling north through the rain forest. Unfortunately, it'll take quite some time before we actually get to see the untamed forest, as deforestation has cleared out much of the land. Once pristine sections of rainforest have been replaced by the signature "fishbone" pattern for as far as the eye can see. The need for cattle ranching and crops means that many will do just about anything for more land, including slashing and burning whole sections in one go. Although the rate of deforestation has dropped in recent years, it can't change the fact that nearly 20 percent of the forest has been destroyed over the last 40 years alone.





Our journey continues northwards, and we move from the Rio Negro to one of it's smaller tributaries, the Rio Demini. As the river undulates and curves it's way gently through the rain forest, we finally get our first true taste of the Amazon. We get a chance to observe some of the surrounding wildlife - a pair of jaguars being the clear highlight of the day. Once we reach the small fishing village of Lisbão, we get a chance to meet the locals and stock up on supplies as we continue on deeper into the rain forest.





The river gets narrower and narrower the further we go along - and it leaves us less room for error as we continue our travels. Once we finally reach some rapids, the only way to continue onward is by foot. We were told that the local Yanomami people inhabit these lands - but after many days hiking through the deep forest, we thought we would never see them. Finally, right at the Venezuela/Brazil border, we catch a smoke cloud far off in the corner of our eyes. As we move closer, sure enough we see the roof of a shabono (their circular huts) peeking over the canopy of the forest - we've finally found found them. As we move closer to greet them, the situation quickly turns murky as they take out their bow and arrow. They've never seen outsiders before, and not knowing if we're friend or foe - they threaten to shoot. To dispel the situation, we offer a pair of matches and they cautiously accept the gift. After learning how they work, they put down their weapons - we've finally gained their respect.





After hiking for weeks from small village to small village, we finally reach one with a small airport. They're offering plane rides over Angel Falls - an offer we can't refuse. The ride takes us over a number of tepuis in the Guiana Highlands - stunning for sure, but they won't compare to what we see next. We finally reach the falls a couple hours later - getting about as close as you can possibly get by plane. At over 3,200 feet tall, the world's tallest waterfall doesn't disappoint - it's truly an extraordinary view.





-korver


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REPLIES

dyoungyn: Thanks :thumbsup: It took me two days of collecting around 10-15 pictures of the falls and then carefully copying and pasting them on the rock wall.

gn_leugim: Thanks for the kind words once again :) As for what's next.. I have no clue :P Could be Australia, a North Africa update, an entire South America update, an India update, or something entirely different. Depends on what I'm feeling inspired by at the moment.

art128: Thanks, glad you liked it :thumbsup:

belfastsocrates: Thanks, yeah I think that's by far the community favorite! ;D

Vizoria: Thanks once again for the comment and nice words Vizoria :)

metarvo: Thanks :) When I first saw a picture of the streets in Lagos, I literally couldn't believe how crowded it was. I have no idea how anyone gets anywhere in that city, lol. But I knew I had to recreate it.

mgb204: Thanks!

Simmer2: Thanks once again SM2 ;D

vester: Thank you! ;D

Akallan: Thanks for the comment once again  :)

manga rivotra: Thank you for the kind words once again :)

vinlabsc3k: Thanks :thumbsup: Yeah it is - what I did though is I created a good portion of it on the ground, rotated it, and copied and pasted over the gap.


Akallan

Excellent, the scene of the river is the best! It is very simple, but it's beautiful! Not to mention the waterfalls ... And the city also ... In fact, everything is beautiful! :popcorn:
My CJ :


My european road textures project : S N T - v.2.1

feyss

#76
Do you sleep sometimes ?  :D

Nice pictures as always. I especially like the Amazone river: perfect forest and perfect water mod  :thumbsup:

kbieniu7

I'm simply speechless... I don't want to even know how long it took you to lot the city  &apls

How do you choose your places to recreate, I'm curious?  ::)
Thank you for visiting Kolbrów, and for being for last ten years!

Vizoria

Mother of God that is good!

How do you photoshop in rock textures in the last picture showing the waterfall?

dyoungyn

IRT to that AWESOME waterfall, now that wold be even more awesomeness if SC4 cold do the same thing that Photoshp or Paintbrush could.  Great job especially with that waterfall.  BTW, I always try to locate the location you identify in Google maps, and you are very close with that "Opera House" and the only thing missing is the real house has parking around the building and not grass.