Introduction

Welcome to the opening of FolkStudio blog! Here we chronicle our daily activites and work progress as we go along. Don't be shy to comment and criticize our posts, as we encourage any type of feedback from the public. It's all informal here!

So, let's get down to the dirt.

1. Who are we and what do we want to achieve with this project?

We, FolkStudio -- is compromised of 13 members of the same university, UITM. We are Bach. Sc. of Arch degree graduates, and most are currently working in various architects' firms across Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. How we met and came together is somewhat interesting, but let's save that for some other time.

This project is a personal challenge to not just the leader of the group, Azrul, but to the rest of the members of FolkStudio. We are not looking for fame, or recognition, or any monetary benefits (but you are still welcome to contribute, rezeki tidak boleh ditolak hehe), but just to be involved in something that is passionate to our interests.

This project is a personal challenge to not just the leader of the group, Azrul, but to the rest of the members of FolkStudio. We are not looking for fame, or recognition, or any monetary benefits (but you are still welcome to contribute, rezeki tidak boleh ditolak hehe), but just to be involved in something that is passionate to our interests.

2. What is the project about?

To get a better grasp of this particular project, let's try and explain it in basic forms.

Have you ever seen this type of image floating around in the internet?

This is a picture from the software GOOGLE EARTH, which uses satellite photos to show a certain location on Earth. I'm sure many of you have heard about this software; if not, you've probably even used the pictures yourselves, albeit unconsciously. Google Earth enables us to pinpoint almost any area on Earth, which is useful for searching for directions or examining places that are unreachable by foot.

Never been to Africa? No worries, just a click of the button in the Google Earth software, and you're virtually there!

Pretty sweet eh? But that's not all to Google Earth. You're not limited to aerial views of locations, it is also possible to switch to 3D mode, in which an area will look something like this:

This is a real location on Earth, believe it or not.

The most interesting part about Google Earth is that the 3D mode functions entirely on voluntary contributions of 3D models from a modelling software called Sketchup (We'll explain about Sketchup in a bit). Anyone could add a 3D builiding, it is entirely user-based. This type of approach is akin to the format of Wikipedia, where all data and info are contributed by the public themselves.

So what does this have to do with our project?

Let's use an example. Here's an aerial view of New York City, in the United States of America:

Now, when you convert to the 3D view of the Big Apple:

What you don't know is that every single building in the city was painstakingly modeled in Sketchup by different individuals and added to Google Earth. With this crazy level of detail, it is even possible to take a virtual tour around NY without actually being there in the flesh! We can pretend to be walking along the streets, alongside 3D models of buildings and landscaping. Just imagine -- the benefits of having a virtual city of that scale. You can easily survey the areas you want to visit weeks before the trip there, and you can bring in tourists from different countries who are interested with the cityscape of the country.

Now, as comparison, here is an aerial view of Kuala Lumpur:

And here's the 3D view of Kuala Lumpur:

An old picture, as more 3D buildings have popped up in time. But you get my point.

Already have a grasp of the project?

Yes, we FolkStudio are interested to partake in this challenge to virtualize the entire Kuala Lumpur cityscape using Google Earth.

3. How are we going to achieve this huge feat?

As I mentioned earlier, 3D buildings in Google Earth are made using a software called Sketchup and then later transferred into Google Earth. Sketchup currently is only popular among the construction and design circles, but we intend to bring it forward to the public eye through this project.

There is a technique used in Google Earth buildings, called Image Mapping. This technique actually makes use of photos that are spliced together and then mapped onto 3D faces, to create the illusion that the building is 'real'.

For more information on how Image Mapping is done, here are two Youtube videos that explain the procedure better:

In summary, we are attempting to build up Kuala Lumpur's Google Earth's cityscape into a scale that is comparable to New York and Tokyo, using Sketchup's Image Mapping technique to create each and every building there is in Kuala Lumpur. This is a long-term project, because building a city into such proportions takes years of effort and time.

We hope to garner a large amount of fanbase to support and encourage us throughout this project, because this is also for the benefit of our country, Malaysia. Please take your time to browse through this blog, we aren't asking much but your interest and a good word or two in the comments section.

4. So... how are we going to start this project?

We are newly established, therefore we have entered the Google Sketchup Model Your Town competition to strengthen our studio into the virtual world of modelling, and to gain some experience before we move onto the big scheme of things. Here, we have decided on Putrajaya as our subject, and have started work on some of the buildings.

We will be updating more on our progress as time goes by, so please keep checking out this space for more information!