New to Terragen (Free): how do I create my own Terrain from scratch

[photonut80920]

I am embarking on projects to create astronomical art.  So far I have been using Photoshop Elements to do some of this.  I searched for and found Terragen so I could create landscapes that would pass as alien terrains.  I like the software and have learned a lot in the short time I have been playing with it, but one thing has eluded me:  How do I create a brand new Terrain from scratch of my choosing so I can form my own mountains, hills and desolate foregrounds, etc without using the default terrain that shows up when I first open Terragen?  I suspect the heightfield generate function would work, but I am not sure how to get to it, much less how to use it. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Jim L

[TheBadger]

Delete the nodes that are there (don't delete base color, or compute nodes). And add a new power fractal.

http://www.geekatplay.com/terragen-tutorials.php

[Dune]

No need to delete the power fractal, you can click on seed and you get totally different landshapes, delete the masking simple shape and you loose the flattish central terrain, if you don't need that. Add another power fractal and merge using the merge shader set at highest raise and you can combine two terrain shapes. Or change the kind of fractal, or any of the settings, and you get totally different terrains. Add a warp shader and a displaced power fractal and you can change again.... etc.

Welcome and have fun playing with this amazing software!

[photonut80920]

So it looks like what you are saying is to go to the Node Network and make changes there.  Also I don't know what you mean by "click on  seed".  Yes this is awesome software.  I used to play with Bryce way back when, but never really liked how it worked and gave up on it.  Despite its complexity, Terragen seems easier to use, once you start to figure it out.  I think it needs more documentation.  I am searching areas like Utube for tutorials and have found some that look promising.

Jim L

[TheBadger]

http://www.geekatplay.com/terragen-tutorials.php

[Dune]

Yes, try to get accustomed to work in the node network, and open each node to experiment with the settings.

[photonut80920]

I found a great PDF tutorial called "Create Ben McDuff" that showed me how to create new terrains, use power fractals, and the Seed function.,  It helped a lot in my understanding.  Now I go on to learn how to use heightfield create and the node network.

[bobbystahr]

I found a great PDF tutorial called "Create Ben McDuff" that showed me how to create new terrains, use power fractals, and the Seed function.,  It helped a lot in my understanding.  Now I go on to learn how to use heightfield create and the node network.

Hip Hip Hooray for that tutorial...saved another noobie from unrecoverable insanity...hee hee hee