www.artist-reference.com

You know you have an engaging website on your hands when you can’t keep your eyes off of it. The gnomongallery.com website is such a place.  Basically, The Gnomon Gallery is as they say “Hollywood’s premier art gallery for the entertainment industry.” It was initially created by Alex Alvarez, who is also the CEO and founder of The Gnomon School of Visual Effects as well as The Gnomon Workshop Website. The purpose of The Gnomon Gallery in particular is to provide info about Gnomon exhibitions held in Hollywood. These exhibitions broadcast the works of different artists in the field of animation (both 3D and otherwise), graphics design and special effects. They are free so anyone can join in. The artwork ranges from genres such as sci-fi fantasy, props, vehicles, sketches, environment and sculptures. Needless to say, the Gnomon websites, like gnomongallery.com, are a great place for anyone that wants to break into the world of special effects and game design.

The website itself goes right into the lowdown on their latest exhibitions. This will be great for someone that follows the shows or just wants to know when the next Gnomon art exhibition will take place. One can find for example info on future shows as well as the names of the artists that will put their works on display. This way, graphics design hopefuls can keep up on when their favorite artists will be making an appearance. There is also a tab that displays the shows archives, which refers to all the shows that have been held in the current year as well as the year before. I was blown away by whom they had invited to give live demonstrations! Some of them were also none other than the artists that worked in commercially successful game franchises like the famous “God of War” series as well as  “Transformers: War for Cybertron.”

However, there is not much more, except links to other Gnomon websites like thegnomonworkshop.com and gnomonschool.com. All in all, it is a fairly simple website whose only purpose seems to be to provide visitors with information about Gnomon art exhibitions, names of artist that will be expected to make appearances there, the venue, date of the exhibitions and the duration. It’s a pity that there is not much more offered by the website.  I would have expected the people behind it to include something that would allow visitors from other cities to share the “Gnomon experience.” It would be great and I am convinced that many people would appreciate it, if there were shown some pictures of the exhibitions, or works themselves, for people who have no chance to visit the ongoing exhibition (for example foreigners).

Also I did wish that the website had more info about how it was related to the Gnomon group. A paragraph or two would have been good for people that might be visiting the website for the first time. Nevertheless, gnomongallery.com is still a great place for anyone who wants to know where they might go to have a front seat to what the latest in the special effects industry has to offer.

Summary

+ Simplicity at its best and a great place for anyone that wants information on interesting and valuable exhibitions.

- No textual description about the Gnomon group in general which might confuse a new visitor who has no knowledge about who they are. Plus visitors from other cities or countries lose out on a chance to actually see what is featured since exhibited works are accessible for seeing only to those that might be fortunate enough to live in or near Hollywood.

Popularity: 10% [?]

As we have been focused on Gnomon group’s websites, here we come with another one equally interesting and inspiring as the other discussed – sketchtheatre.com. As their profile says, the aim of Sketch Theatre is to expose “young” minds to opportunities that might be a great stepping stone for them when it comes to a career in digital art design. In other words, it is a place for young talents that aspire to make a career in the special effects industry in the future. Basically Sketch Theatre is a place for amateur artists to display their own works whether their art is based on comic book design, animation, films, entertainment design (like creatures, sets and props) and even music.

Let´s move to the description of what sketchtheatre.com include. The home page of Sketchbook Theatre has a standard search bar at the top as well as videos in which different artists display their own works. The best part about these videos of this website is the fact that artists actually give a sort of play by play of how they created their sketches. These “demonstrations” are also followed up by background music of the artist’s own choose. Also, the website includes instructional videos that feature sketching demonstrations from professionals in the field of character design, illustration, comics and more. Come to think of it, I did find one similarity between the gnomonworkshop.com and this one. Both sites have a forums page where artists can discuss topics related to their interests as well as competitions. However, that’s where the similarity ends.

The “Interviews” section includes, well, interviews with some of Sketch Theatre’s most talented artists, and not just any artists. The website interviews the artists who have had the pleasure of working in big budget box office hits. For example, one of the featured interviews includes that of Aaron Sims, a special effects artist that has worked on “some of the most popular, defining movies of the 1990’s” like Gremlins 2, Mighty Joe Young, Men in Black, Batman Forever and Nutty Professor too.

Besides that, sketchtheatre.com offers the latest news about industry and artists who made their mark in their respected fields. As a digital art enthusiast, I would like to keep myself updated on what is new in the world of visual effects so such information was a definite plus for me. The “Store” section also caught my attention – with sketch pieces and T-shirts on offer. Some of them went for about 29 USD. However, there were also specialized ones, like the Cameron Davis limited edition sketch T-shirts, that go for a whopping 45 USD per a piece. One thing is for sure – the quality of the sketch designs on these items means that you are getting your money’s worth.

Another thing I found interesting was a competition in which amateur sketch artists could pit their skills against each other. Winners could get their hands on exclusive Gnomon DVDs (tutorials) as well as other products offered by the gnomonworkshop.com.  Items such as these would definitely come in handy for an aspiring 3D artist so the competition is also a definite plus.

However, to tell you the truth, the News and Interviews section did not seem very different from each other, as both are featuring works of different artists via videos. I was also annoyed that I had to go to the actual website of the artist whose video demonstration I wanted to watch in the News section. As for the navigation aspect, there is nothing much to maneuver through since the site doesn’t have that much to offer, but this might have more to do with the site’s elementary theme than anything else. Overall, this site is a great place for budding artists to see what other aspirants that are gunning for a place in the 3D industry are doing.

Summary

+ This website provides a great place for budding artists to showcase their sketching talents via video demonstrations.

- One has to go to other links if  wanted to view the profiles of famous artists in the News section which is annoying.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Drawing is a type of visual expression and one of the major forms within the visual arts. There are sub categories of drawing like figure drawing, sketching, doodle drawing, thumbnail drawing and many others. Being an artist, figure drawing has always been my hobby. As I pursued figure drawing online, I found many website on the internet giving guidance on the subject but the one I really liked was figuredrawings.com. In following lines I’ll share my experience of this artistic website to help artists and CG experts to better utilize this source.

Official name of the website, as it appears on the site, is “Figure Drawings and Portraits”. It is an online marketplace of literature on making human figures, portraits and sketches. This website is spread over two platforms which are a website and a blog (figure-drawings.blogspot.com). Being more active, the blog contains latest activities and offers, which normally include newly added ebooks. In my opinion, it’s one of the most detailed website on human figure drawing and contains knowledge which is hardly available elsewhere. Ebooks are mostly placed on Amazon but some are available on Google book store as well. A short intro of all online publications is available also on the website. This website covers drawing of each and every part of human body. Moreover, it is not a place offering just tips and tricks or a re-gathered data from the internet to draw a better human figure. On figuredrawings.com you get great ways to draw high quality drawings, however most of the instructions are completely understandable only to artists because often they are written in professional style and could be bit difficult for a layman. As the drawing of human figure is concerned exclusively with human body so this website contains lots of nudism which is present in shape of nude male/female model’s images. Hundreds of real life photos from the lives of artists are present on the site to give a real insight of figure drawing as a profession.

However, figuredrawing.com is not a website meant to give you an eye-soothing effect on first glance. It is a website with plenty of text and links with not good looking buttons, navigation menus, slideshows and flash animations. It does not even contain a sidebar! There is a cream colored background which is extensively cluttered with brown text and typical blue color links. If we compare this site with similar sites of the same niche, it may take a lead in terms of stuff it offers but when we talk about layout of the content, it is highly disappointing. There is no concept of arranging similar stuff under some category or tag. Finding something on figuredrawings.com is extremely difficult except that you find your desired stuff right on the start of homepage. By merely having a look on a link you do not get any hint about where the given link is going to direct you. It is also stuffed with Google and Amazon ads which make the layout even more messy and difficult to navigate. Even if one keeps browsing this site for hours, there’s no chance to get the idea of how to find something directly.

After heavy criticism on the site’s design and organization aspects, now let’s move towards some unbeatable areas of figuredrawings.com. Forms of visual arts which are covered in never ending details include figure drawing, portrait, life drawing, sketch making, paintings and academic drawings. The knowledge which is available on this website is sufficient to become a world-class professional artist. In addition, links to various art directories, galleries and drawing sites are provided to explore more stuff online. ‘How to’ guides collection is of very good quality and every concept is illustrated by supporting images, making it easy to comprehend. There is a sense of liveliness and freshness throughout the website’s content which has been brought by number of real life professionals who are connected to this site in one or other way. I have no hesitation in stating that figuredrawings.com is one of the most authenticated places for getting know-how on figure drawings. The major advantage is that you get almost everything in one place. These are some of the major reasons for this website being famous and also the reason I have decided to review this site.

When it comes to price, figuredrawings.com offers valuable and practical literature for a nominal price. No package or membership is offered, if you want to purchase something from this site you have the option to either buy from the site directly or purchase it from Amazon and Google ebook store. Price varies from 4 USD to 60 USD per item. Three payment methods (Paypal, Google checkout and credit card) are available in case of purchasing. However, no money back guarantee scheme is provided so one should be careful while selecting the appropriate product. Ebooks are in normal ´.pdf´ format. Majority of them are very well written, however, you may find some with old and clumsy looking scanned copies of old books. To grab something really useful, it is better to get a printed version.

People who just require some literature from this website for their daily work maybe wouldn’t much complain in general, but people like me who spend hours in writing reviews will not let figuredrawings.com escape so easily. Despite of the fact, that this website should be meant for 18+ visitors who are mature enough to realize the meaning and context in which the nudism is shown here, one can find dozens of nude photos right on the homepage, without any warning or restrictions. Also no ‘about us’ page is available, making history and other details undiscoverable. These weak areas together with poor website design, lack of navigation menus, plenty of advertisement and very roughly organized content, have significantly reduced quality of the website and its content.

To briefly conclude, I would like to say that figuredrawings.com can be a leading online platform to get actual knowledge of drawing human figure but only if they get their weak areas worked on. Right now one may find stuff of his choice but would be probably annoyed while reaching his target.

Summary:

+ Highly technical approach to teaching human figure drawings with easy-to-comprehend images and guidelines.

- Poorly designed and chaotically organized website with high percentage of nude stuff freely available and spread all over the website.

Popularity: 19% [?]

What do you get when you take state of the art animation, 3D effects and a school that can provide you with all that? The Gnomon School of course! This website is just one of the few that the Gnomon group has to offer besides gnomongallery.com, sketchtheatre.com, cgchannel.com as well as thegnomonworkshop.com which I have reviewed earlier. Let´s have a closer look on the gnomonschool.com website.

The website has all that you need to know if you are one of the many hopefuls that hope to make it big in the world of 3D animation and graphics design. Basically, The Gnomon School of Visual Effects is an institute where professionals from the special effects industry come to share their expertise and to instruct those that are either already in it or are aspiring to be. As the website says, “we know that it is not technology that drives the results, but the artist.”

The website itself had my undivided attention the moment I clicked on it. It went right into what The Gnomon School of Visual Effects had on offer. As they say, their courses are for anyone that is interested in the film, game and broadcast industry. The Gnomon School offers several options to choose from – programs or individual courses and on-campus or online training. ´Entertainment Design´, ´Digital Production for Entertainment´ and ´Entertainment Design and Digital Production´ are provided as long term programs consisting of several courses. There is also Maya Fast track program which in particular is designed for those who are already adept at 3D concepts and are now striving to refine their skills on Maya even more. Needless to say, this program is not for people that are new to 3D graphics.

Other than that, training courses can be divided into digital and traditional. One can choose from many courses like Character Modeling and Sculpting, Animation and Visual Effects or Drawing for Film to name a few. Every of them usually lasts 10 weeks and prices range on average from 552 to 1695 USD. Their training options include also an online training courses which allows you to take classes at home. Besides this, their online training program includes Masters Classes that consists of a total of 12 two-hour training sessions. The website has a lot of info on all options (Program and Training Options Comparison; Course Schedule) as well as how you can register for classes.

However, the website was lacking a Home page when I accessed it. Instead, it had a substituted the standard Home Tab with a customized page ´The Gnomon Experience´. But I did like the fact that the people behind the website had chosen to broadcast the latest news in the special effects industry on the first page. Who wouldn’t want to see a play by play of how Pixar’s 3D animated movie “Tangled” was made?

I have to admit, the website has been very clear and intuitive as well as impressive, speaking about design. I also liked the fact that it has assigned a separate section for displaying the work of Gnomon students. It kind of gave me an idea about the level of sophistication and skill that The Gnomon School promises to train its students at when it comes to state-of-the-art 3D graphics design. The ´Best of Term´ section is place where some of their student’s best 3D works were put on display. Regularly, there are winners at the end of each term, who win shopping vouchers to Gnomon store. Here are some latest best works.

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There is no doubt that the Gnomon School of Visual Effects is one of the best training institutes in the field of visual graphics and special effects. The gnomonschool.com will not only tell you what the ´Gnomon Experience´ is, but will also give visitors step by step instructions on how they can be a part of it. The 93% placement rate speaks for itself. And the fact, that the website gives aspirants a means to collaborate with and builds on their own expertise, becomes another feather in its cap.

Summary

+ An excellent website when it comes to informing people about all that the Gnomon School of Visual Effects has to offer.

- You will have to look for information on their profile on other tabs since it is not on the first page.

Popularity: 5% [?]

3D graphics design has truly taken the world of animation to the next (lets hope not ultimate) level. Thegnomonworkshop.com in particular, has gotten this concept down to a tee. Since 2000 this website has provided the resources that make one of the cornerstones of the entertainment industry – 3D graphics design. Needless to say, if you could describe this website in one word, it would be “fabulous”.

The Gnomon School of Visual Arts is a famous school in California for training some of the hottest talents that are responsible for refining the movie and gaming industry with state of the art concept designs that made us fall in love with it. Thegnomonworkshop.com makes for a handy online tutorial website for those that cannot attend actual classes or who travel a lot and cannot attend regular training sessions. Working experts use this website to create and teach artist the best concept art, effects animation and more.

The website, thegnomonworkshop.com, includes instructional DVDs and tutorials that are up for purchase. In other words, this website gives its members a chance to make it big in a booming graphics industry by giving them access to all their training videos. The idea of a free membership was to provide people a chance to utilize all that The Gnomon School had to offer without actually having to join the school itself and pay for classes. Beats having to pay for tuition fees, I would say. What impressed me the most was that the tutorials and DVDs on this website have also been utilized by media giants like NBC, Disney and even DreamWorks!

As far as the pricing system is concerned, The Gnomon Workshop offers its members up to 3 different pricing systems. They are divided into 3 “plans”. The first package, Plan 1, allows users to purchase every Gnomon tutorial for sale for 499 USD on an annual basis. If you want specific tutorials you can also opt for Plan 2 or 3. Plan 2 in particular consists of tutorials that are within the subject of visual effects for film and games, while Plan 3 includes tutorials in the field of design, illustration and sculpting. Registered members can opt for these packages for yearly tutorial updates.

Other than that the membership process is also free and easy. All you have to do is to follow standard procedure (email and accepting their policies) and you are home free. The subscriptions are the only things that you have to pay for if you want to use them. You can also make single purchases even if you are not a registered member. All you have to do is to toss your desired purchase into your “cart” and the website will take it from there. You will, however, have to register as a paying customer. This still beats having to specifically subscribe for whole sets of tutorials and being stuck with more than you know what to do with.  I was also surprised to find out that I could purchase the tutorial videos either as DVDs or as QuickTime downloads. The prices for both formats are the same, so it is best that you stick to the downloadable versions if you do not particularly like to wait for them to be delivered to your doorstep.

The subscription page seemed to be lacking something though. I would have preferred if the video tabs had a couple of screenshots or summaries that told me what they were about. For example, you will have to go out of a specific DVD’s web page in order to view its video details. The content for each page is distributed on various tabs which were a bit confusing as well. Nevertheless, I found that I could easily navigate myself through the website without coming across any digital dead ends.

I don’t know about you, but buying DVDs on the internet has never been my cup of tea. This website has changed all that. The content and the layout are very professional. However, you need to already know the basics before you even think of watching the DVDs. I lost my train of thought on more than one occasion on a DVD (“Production FX Workflows”) that showed “Brandon” talk about VFXanimation. I have had no VFX training whatsoever but I loved the way he showed how everything comes together so I wasn’t complaining. The DVD also included links and files so I had no problem with finding where I needed to go which was very helpful. Other than that, it consisted of basic tasks, terminology and file layouts.

Thegnomonworkshop.com is also a fairly user friendly website. At least, it was to me. In order to preview the content of each page, visitors generally have to browse their way through it via the content navigator. This will let them know what the website has up for offer in each section. One of the best things I realized was that the website allowed me to search for my preferred item by “Subject”, “Software tools” or by “Instructor”. Chalk one up for usability! It also offers “freebies” like free tutorials and desktop wallpapers for registered members. However, what really got me hooked was the discussion by “subject” tab. That, in my opinion, is where the real action is. This tab allowed users to pay particular attention to digital paraphernalia of every type imaginable. For example, I really liked what they had to offer in their Games and Visual Effects section. It included tutorials on Character Animation, Cinematography, Compositing and Effects Animation to name a few. Other “subjects” like Industrial Design, Illustration and Industrial Design were just as extensive. The pictures and art on display were up to 800 to about a 3000 pixels. Other than that the subscription DVDs themselves offer a ton of quality content for purchase. The “Galleries” also had artwork from the institute’s art directors. Each staff member had his own gallery page that displayed their profiles and their accolades. The gallery also displayed some samples of their art work.

Would you want to use this website? Absolutely! Will it help you get a step closer into breaking into art of movies and games? You said it! One of the best things about this website (besides the awesome layout) is the fact that it offers online tutorials that will instruct you on almost everything you will need to know in order to take your CGI aspirations to the next level. The creators and professionals offer great tips on topics like portraits as well as drawing hands and feet. How they are done is taught by professionals and at affordable rates to boot! In other words, if you are on the lookout for a website that brings together both quality and affordability, thegnomonworkshop.com is the place to be.

Summary:

+ A good navigation system and excellent 3D graphics design software and tutorials make this site unique. Other than that the fact that this website offers a great alternative to attending actual classes by providing members online 3D design tutorials is another selling point.

- Too many tabs for a single video description made looking for a particular tutorial annoying.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Today the main intentions of business communities are focused on minimizing the cost effects of whatsoever they are doing. Same is the case with media industry, which most commonly includes film making, gaming, TV commercials, presentations, simulations and interactive websites. To simulate real life scenarios there are two options – either hire real people on real places and capture it using cameras or make everything using computer graphics. Later one proved to be more useful because of less limitations and practical problems of real world, as well as currently being more economical. Flat Pyramid is a company addressing the above mentioned issue. In following lines we will analyze Flat Pyramid from every possible angle with the aim to provide complete details to artists and all others concerned with computer graphics industry.

This was all about the industry and the concept, now I will deliberate in detail on Flat Pyramid as a company. The official name of company is “FLAT PYRAMID” and was founded in 2005 in Los Angeles, CA. It is one of the biggest provider and online distributor of 3D content and interactive graphics which includes 3D models, photo renders, 3D tutorials, textures and 3D software along with various plugins. It is an online marketplace stuffed with non-exclusive and royalty-free digital graphics. Flat Pyramid is brought into existence with primary aim to reduce production costs in computer graphics industry. Hiring specialized graphic designers and experts for a single project is very expensive and can raise the financial costs. Even if specialized people are not hired still getting custom 3D models and graphics prepared from a provider is an expensive job. Flat Pyramid has provided a way out of these problems by making available lots of 3D models, textures, rendered photos and many other interactive graphics.

Flat Pyramid is mainly divided into 5 categories which are 3D models, photo renders, textures, 3D tutorials and 3D software and programs. 3D models, photo renders and textures, all are further divided into 15-25 different categories, which are very well tailored. Few examples of these sub categories are architecture, food, animals, computers and technology, business and communication, sports, weapon and many others. 3D tutorials section is divided with respect to the program to which it relates (e.g. cinema4D, maya, 3Dmax) or with respect to the technique/process used (3D modeling, 3D rendering and animations etc.). Though everything is listed in its respective category, filtering the list with different filters is also possible.

There is also section called “Custom 3D Graphics” which does not contain any stuff but is there to meet your requirements. At Flat Pyramid, it is possible to let customize 3D models or photo renders accordingly to your wishes. They even offer 3D animation service that includes whole set of works concerning with pre-production, production and post-production. These kinds of services are quite unique among this type of websites. Also, Flat Pyramid is not just a seller of interactive graphics and related products, it provides the opportunity for designers to place their stuff and sell it, too. In short, customers can do both buy and sell products. To sell products, one just needs to sign up for a free account with the option to become seller. Flat Pyramid pays 55% of the proceeds from sales to the artist. In this way, the company provides an excellent platform to expose your talent by making it public. Plus it is good opportunity to earn some money, too.

Let’s have a look on technical aspects, like file format and sizes. All types of models or textures are already searchable as per their format, however, if you buy anything from Flat Pyramid, you are likely to get many formats. For example in case of 3D models you get about 4 to 10 different formats depending upon the availability. The most famous formats are .3ds, .fbx, .max, .obj, .dxf, .psd etc. for 3D models, JPEG, PNG for photo renders and JPEG only for textures. File formats of 3D models give designers the independence of using these models in any program of their choice. Each purchased photo render or texture comes in various sizes (from low resolution to high resolution images), too.

Speaking about pricing, Flat Pyramid possesses a simple and straightforward payment system. You simply pay for what you buy. The price of 3D models varies from 40 to 650 USD per item (according to complexity and details), whereas photo renders are available for 10 to 70 USD per photo. No matter how many items you buy, the price would remain the same. The concept of membership is not introduced on Flat Pyramid. The price of custom 3D work also depends on the detail included in the model and the deadline before which it is required. It usually cost more than a regular item but for this price they adjust it according to your wishes and needs. The time which it takes to deliver the custom order is around 6 weeks, but it is possible to agree to shorter delivery time. Flat Pyramid even helps its clients in using the purchased stuff in their projects. You need not to pay any extra fees for obtaining pictures in different sizes or formats.

There is no doubt that Flat Pyramid is made with a very good concept and clear principles. Initially taken a slow and steady pace, the database is now growing quite rapidly. The most common advantages of being a customer of Flat Pyramid includes reduction in production costs, ease in buying items, ease in navigating through different categories, the availability of various file formats and sizes and opportunity to sell one´s works. Other than this, the custom modeling and design facility is really a unique feature. It helps designers in fulfilling those needs of their clients which they are not capable of. It is like a machine full of expertise and ready to output anything. In addition to above mentioned features, Flat Pyramid is made in a very decent and professional look.

Graphics designing is a field full of complexities, new challenges and changing technologies, hence being perfect in this industry is almost impossible. In accordance with this fact, Flat Pyramid also has some disadvantages or weak areas. The main problem is the lack of content. Though it’s increasing with a good pace but right now Flat Pyramid is not a place where you can find everything. In photo renders section, many categories do not contain any file at all. That can leave a very bad impression in visitor’s mind. The prices are also quite high if considering buying in bulk. Reasonable solution would be to offer some discounts or membership plans in these cases. Also, only one file format is available for textures and hardly two are available for photo renders section. Till now the 3D modeling has been the main focus which left textures and photo renders section in dark.

In my concluding remarks I would appreciate the efforts of designers and complete team of Flat Pyramid. They have managed to build a good platform which is likely to grow very fast in days to come. Even the stuff which is being offered by the company today – there is no doubt it is of very good quality and can be very handy to all professionals in the field of graphic designing. With efficiency and better skills, Flat Pyramid has started its journey towards earning a good repute.

Summary:

+ 3D models are of very good quality and designed with perfection. They are compatible with all leading software of the graphic designing industry. In addition, opportunities to let customize 3D models or photo renders for you or even earn money by selling your own, make this website unique.

-    The website lacks the volume of stuff. There´s no content in some categories so complete reliance on Flat Pyramid is somehow not possible. Also, it is needed to mention, that I haven´t got any reply on my e-mail I sent them in order to ask for some samples.

Popularity: 22% [?]

My dream to be in complete knowledge of my field that is architecture and designing keeps forcing me to search for more and more quality stuff. While I was searching for some pictures of particular trees, Google brought me to imagecels.com whose variety of content convinced me to share a few words about it. Before I take your eyes towards the review of this excellent imagery website, I must make it clear that this review is written after carrying out a depth analysis which was stretched over a week. I have tried to bring all aspects of the under discussion site in limelight.

The company name is Realworld Imagery Inc and it is the leading producer of high quality photorealistic imagery for architectural and design visualization professionals worldwide, since 1988. In more simple words, Realworld Imagery hosts thousands of high resolution photos of trees, shrubs, people, vehicles, seamless textures of different building materials and landscaping, rendering backgrounds and lot more. Photos of people and vehicles are available in aerial and elevation views. Unlike a normal wallpaper or photo website, this one offers alpha channel mask with every photo. These soft edge masks make imageries very practical and easy to use with most 3D and 2D software programs. Architectural and design professionals can use Realworld Imagery content in their routine work to create richness and a sense of reality. Just by having a look around a few pages of this wonderful website one can estimate the quality and authenticity of content.

All imageries are placed with respect to their category and are grouped in sets of about 50-100 images each. There is no option of ordering individual images. The smallest unit which can be bought is a complete set which price ranges between 99 USD and 299 USD. In order to give clients the desired details, there is attached a list of additional details to every set, providing complete nomenclature, detailed description and information about image size. Also, one can find particular plant species by going through Master Plant list, which gives information about botanical name, common name, filename, size and name of set containing the desired plant. All stuff hosted by Realworld Imagery is available for direct download from the site, whereas one may ask for a CD as well, which will be shipped within one business day without any extra charges besides shipping costs.

Images are 2D and in “.TIF” (LZW compressed) file format with embedded alpha channel masks. They are placed against a black background. Textures are also in “.TIF” file format, seamless and tileable. Resolution varies from 900×1400 to 4000×4800 pixels but mostly the images are in resolution around 1200×1600 pixels. Even the photos are not in a very high resolution they provide notable results when used with most 2D/3D software. The reason for this excellent compatibility is their internal alpha channel mask.

No annual/monthly/weekly or any other kind of membership is offered by this site. Customers can simply purchase the required stuff on direct payment, however, up to 40% discount is offered on buying more sets/CDs. About 15 images are available to download for free as samples. In terms of license policy, they distinguish carefully between single user and multiple users, so customer should think of his intentions before buying.

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When I try to count the good areas of this website, first comes its simple design with easy navigation. No animations or flash slides and still having a decent look and feel. Variety and quality of all stuff regarding “people” and “trees” is exceptional and seems to be very authentic. Almost every species and category has been covered in ample detail, so it seems that many professional opinions have been incorporated in this website. Lots of extra information is provided about type of trees and their hardiness zones which makes it very easy for an architectural expert to find appropriate vegetation. A good FAQ section which provides depth and easy to understand information on all aspects like image specifications, compatibility issues, payment options and about browsing site. Excellent compatibility with all external 2D and 3D platforms. Moreover, all legal documents like privacy policy and terms of use are very well defined.

As nothing is perfect in the world so the website under discussion also has some grey areas. For example no membership plan is offered which makes it very expensive for long term usage. Photos are not in the best resolution and very little categories are offered as compared to other similar sites. Although site’s name appears on Google’s first page, while searching for images one can hardly find any stuff from this site which means the content is not fully optimized for search engines.

In short it’s a very good and resourceful place for all professionals to get useful stuff. Before relying on other content one must visit this site. It is ideal for those professionals in field of architecture, who work around designing of landscapes and places with vegetation like parks and even for the professionals who have some link with film making and gaming.

Summary:

+ Variety and quality of all content regarding people and trees plus detailed information provided to every set make this website exceptional.

- The only prominent problem is the absence of membership plan option, what hinders the way to long term relationship.

Popularity: 11% [?]

This review is for all CG artists dealing with everyday seeking for the right material, whether for their work or just for use in leisure time. If you belong to such kind of people, please feel free to read.

I ran into this site while browsing the internet in order to find some interesting textures and designs which I started to collect for my further works. The one thing about this site, that I need to mention right at the beginning, is diversity of its content in terms of products provided. Assist CG offers not only textures but also designs, backgrounds, video transitions and also software for video composition and texture modification. This site is a great place for getting ideas and good stuff.

It has to be admitted that in spite of its modest collection in terms of the number of textures in each category, Assist CG is pretty impressive and has lots to give. The website’s collection boasts of many interesting, quality photos, a few of them are hard to find anywhere else. Some of the eye catchy textures that caught my attention were for example Wood, Lawns and Paving sets. Most photos in Wood section may seem common, but some of them are very rare in its genre. Among the ordinary textures from Paving Sets, one can find intriguing photos of the Roman roadways, too. Above all, I would highlight remarkable designs offered in Tiles and Mosaic section, which are very rare and impressive. These great sets are one of the reasons, why artists definitely should visit this website. Since most of the textures represent different surfaces of the terrain and various kinds of walls and roofing, this site could be helpful for game developers in process of creating surroundings in games or for architects while presenting their architectural projects.

Textures are offered in the resolution ranging from 512×512 to 2048×2048 pixels, some even higher. Those in resolution of 512×512 pixels can be downloaded for free without having a membership. All you need to do is get registered and you can enjoy free downloads. Although free photos are in quite small resolution, still it’s a nice gesture from the website like this, which can also persuade artists to subscribe. Nevertheless, to get the original resolution of the images, you have to become a member.

Except textures, you can find a lot of more. The site provides Blender 2.49 which is software for creating video composition with different visual effects. Such video composition can be used in the presentation of your project. One can also find various transitions and animated video backgrounds ready for use in this video. Moreover, the site has a tutorial section in which a user gets information of how to use the provided software with some examples and tips. A new user, just like me, who is interested in making creative videos, can really get some help out of this. The basic version of the software is available for free download once you registered, but the full version which enables to use sources from the library is open only to members exclusively. There is also workstation section on the site, which provides software that helps you modify and make textures.

Assist CG offers a membership in length of three months for which one needs to pay only 10 USD. For such a small price one gets access to download all the textures and videos on the site in full resolution. The software is available in its full version, too. Although there is part of the website’s content which can be downloaded for free, for a price this low, I would better become a member and enjoy the full capacity of the site.

The license agreement of the site has very simple policies. The first being that one cannot put the textures and other material from the site directly on his/her own web for sale. If you want to do so, significant modification would be needed. Otherwise, all content is royalty free and can be used anywhere one wish to use.

The only defect of the site I noticed is its small collection. Assist CG holds very few categories with low number of textures in each category, when compared with sites like www.environment-textures.com, which has three times more categories and subcategories and which with the total number of more than 99,000 photos is one of the largest resources of high resolution textures.

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On the other hand, the site has a good search engine which helps to find any video, texture or software one needs quickly and easily. The site is also very well designed, too. I found it very intuitive and uncomplicated to use. Also, all the textures are very clearly divided into categories. That makes browsing simple compared to other bulky websites where it becomes difficult to get to a desired texture.

This review should provide the relevant information about Assist CG and I hope it has helped you get the idea of the site and its content. Please, note the summary below.

Summary

+ Intriguing and rare textures in good resolution and high-definition videos. Software is really helpful plus tutorials make it easier to use.

- Quite few categories of textures as compared to similar websites. It holds a small collection of textures in each category as well.

Popularity: 8% [?]

I came upon the site of Marlin Studios while I was searching for good designs I needed to build into my presentation. I won’t say I found all the textures that I needed but I certainly got the most of them. Actually, I was pleasantly surprised by finding more, other than needed right at that moment. In addition to different variety of textures, they offer great animations in terms of videos which are very helpful, e. g. in game development. Marlin Studios claims to have been in the texture business longer than any texture publisher and with the number of over 70,000 images, this site definitely deserves at least a glance from the game developers, architects and artists who are engaged in daily designing.

On opening, the site doesn’t really look too tech-savvy to be honest. It is actually very moderate and simple in view. At first glance, I didn’t find it to be impressive. The website might seem little perplexing and incomprehensible. There is also no search engine available on this site which makes it a bit of task to search for the texture desired. Although the designs are divided into many galleries and categories, it does take a while to get to the exact image we have in mind. Lots of confusion plus no search engine rendered the website tough to surf and the searching time-consuming. This could discourage potential customers.

However, the Marlin Studio’s strength lies in variety and voluminousness of the provided content. This site consists of lots of 2D and 3D images included in 25 libraries. These are divided into sub galleries such as seamless textures, specialty gallery, 3D gallery and money saver gallery. Textures given on the site include various basic ones like tiles, wood, stone, skies and such patterns. Apart from these, one will also find animated people and different 3D models of buildings or vehicles. Surely, it is worth noting the specialty gallery and its special libraries like the People N Motion with animated people in both business and casual attire, Panoramas, Tree palms, Traffic etc. The 3D section gives a number of images which can be used to make 3 dimensional structures or models in game development. The samples shown here are full built modern houses with yards and also various other images which might be of use for corporate presentations. There is also a section for free samples to download available on the site as well. One can see through the list and get a look at some of them.

All libraries are filled with numerous images and textures to work with, yet it displays only a few best textures which represent the other samples in the category. This could be little disheartening as the user might want to see all the textures he is buying. One option given by the website is to try free samples before buying, which nevertheless are in half of the actual size. The full size images can only be seen after the user has bought it. The resolutions of the images that I happened to look at were mostly 1024 X 1024 pixels, but it varies according to type of image. This is good resolution but in contrast with environment-textures.com, where most photos are 4992×3360 pixels, it´s quite a difference.  Free samples are provided in half of actual size, as already mentioned.

Textures and models available on this site are offered at a low cost as compared to the other sites I have visited in the past. The charges given are on the basis of the resolution and type of the file. Some images are available for prices as low as 35 cents. Good quality images or most 3D models can be as much as 2 USD each. In addition there is a separate section in the galleries which offers special saver packs that include 2D and 3D images depending on the pack. This gives the buyer an opportunity to save some money. It is worth to mention the amount of money one can save – it ranges from 89 USD to about 1000 USD.

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In comparison to the other sites, which usually offer membership subscriptions, this one provides only pay and download option and does not put forward any membership plans. While buying textures and 3D models, one has to buy the whole package even if he wants to use only a few textures from the package. It means single image download is not possible over here. On the other hand, possibility of availing the whole package at discounts can be considered as an advantage.

Ordering the designs is really simple. There are some options for ordering. You can either download the design online or order a CD/DVD of the same. There are also different ways of paying for the same – you can use your online PayPal account for the transfer as well as pay by using your debit/credit card (debit in case if it is a US card).

However, it was quite difficult to get to the license policy information, whereas there is no section dedicated to this. I managed to find out that all the model & texture libraries offered by website should be royalty free and one could use them in their commercial artworks. But the content of the libraries cannot be distributed in any way, shape or form. The user would receive one license per order, with the option to make a backup copy. Nevertheless, I would recommend you to contact the provider and inquire before using bought images.

Overall, the website obviously has its pros and cons and it is up to the artist to reconsider expectations he is having from this type of site and decide.

Summary

+    great amount of textures and animations; money saver packages

-     no search engine available; perplexing and difficult to browse the website

Popularity: 18% [?]

Apart from being an artist, I am a tech-savvy person and picking out outstanding websites offering attractive textures remains an integral part of my work schedule. This hobby of mine led me to the homepage of iSourcetextures. And one of the several things that caught my attention was its varied inimitable designs. Artists who are in the field of game development can avail great textures from this site. I am a collector of good textures myself so I logged onto this site in order to find out as much information as possible so I can share it with you and give you some vision. I am not here to say you that it is the best in the business but I can say it is surely a great place to get creative. Game developers and 3D software engineers should consider visiting this place on the web at least once.

The site boasts of about 11,000 designs in its store with more then 200 textures made available free. In my opinion it is a very impressive and a rather massive collection. Designs are all divided into various sections as per category. Each of these sections contains about 10 to 40 textures in them. With such a massive collection, one cannot miss getting great textures for his work over here. Each design that is put onto the site is available with its properties, resolution and price information stated beside it. The zoom option is given for a better view of the picture, too.

The quality of the images that I used was very good. The resolutions offered by them are in the range from 2000 to 3500×3000 pixels. Some images are also available in 5000+ pixel size. Different resolutions are available on the site from which the artist can choose his pick. The user gets the option to download each texture in two different sizes of L and XL. The free textures are specially put into a different section in which free textures are available exclusively in the resloution size of 600 pixels.

Downloading images is chargeable except the free ones. The site offers no membership fee. The charges are levied on per download basis only, ranging from 1 USD to 2 USD depending on the chosen image size. I would rather prefer this over monthly or 6 monthly memberships for people who do not download a large amount of textures every day. But if you are someone who use up photos in bulk, it´s more convenient for you to pay some flat membership fee on a website like environment-textures.com e.g. and you will pay several times less for one photo. On the other hand, there is no restriction on the number of downloads at the iSourceTextures! Unlimited downloading of textures is one of the things I found remarkable.

The search engine integrated into the site is a really great one, enabling artists to easily find the textures required. Another great feature which can be used to make the user’s search for the perfect texture quick is ‘Find Similar Images’. This feature enables the user to quickly browse through the entire collection of the website in just a few seconds and get back with some similar textures to the one that the user is looking for.

The website has a license which allows free distribution and commercial use of the designs. This is one of the few texture resources which allow such liberty like selling modified textures, keeping in mind the minimum modification policy as mentioned in the website license. The company has also provided free textures which are still available for some commercial usage (except of selling as textures). The use and distribution is allowed in lots of other cases, just make sure you read the usage conditions.

One of the greatest aspects of the site is that one can sell one’s own textures too. They have provided a tool for uploading your own designs and ideas on their site, and they might put them up for sale on their site. What’s more – they pay you for your designs in form of compensation when someone buys the design. The company offers 50% royalty, which I would say is good enough for it provides free hosting of your design.

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One thing I marked about the site is that it is a little slow in opening up its designs and loading all the 3D textures. The large collection of the site might hamper its loading speed to certain extent. We all know that this can be overcome with a simple fast internet connection. But, when I’m writing a genuine review I could not miss on this one.

On the whole, the website offers a good resource of new and unique themes and textures. Looking at the pros and cons, well there are more pros than cons and in my opinion it is a great place on the web to get great designs for your work and also to make some money out of your own creativity. This website is surely a good one to visit.

Summary:

+    massive collection of designs in good resolution, offering unlimited downloads and possibility of selling your own textures

-    slower loading of textures compared to other sites

Popularity: 4% [?]