My first mountain scene

[DocCharly65]

My first "own" mountain.
I found a heightmap of the "Matterhorn" on a gamer-website for game-maps.
I buyed the Softer Voronoi Cracks by mhaze on ndwa because I have read many posts about square rocks and cracks - and after many hours of reading I just understood - nothing 

Plants by xfrog

When my fastest i7 is free again I will go on working on it again, but I hope you like my first try making a mountain.

[attach=1]

Some plannned modifications:
- a different grass/reed on the shore
- some more flowers
- a few more boulders
- some groups of conifers
- try some more sun and light settings

[kaedorg]

Very nice for a first mountain scene.

I would suggest to add a 2nd sunlight behind the camera (cast shadows unchecked) and strenght reduced (just enough to see more of the foreground)

David

[DocCharly65]

Thanks David 
i thought about something similar with the light... I see it as a personal challenge to avoid a second sun but let's see what some variations of heading and position of the first sun can do.

[archonforest]

Great start. Looking forward where u will go with it 

[Stranded]

Looks great, really great! I agree that some more light is needed in the foreground to allow us to enjoy the detail. I can only aspire to such quality. Very nice!

[archonforest]

Is that heightmap is free to take? I am looking this MT since a while...

[Oshyan]

If you want realism, try to avoid "second sun" techniques. They're effective, but make things look a bit fake often times. You can try increasing Enviro Light Strength on Surfaces instead.

- Oshyan

[DocCharly65]

  cool! I knew you would say this Oshyan 
.. and I agree...
.. and I did my best...
WITHOUT second sun:

[attach=1]



archonforest, you can find the map here:
http://zero-k.info/Maps/Detail/10027
I don't know who is the creator but I have contacted someone there to get permission for the usage of that map.

I guess you can do more impressive things than me. I just need the view in the image above for another animation 

[Oshyan]

Much better! Nice composition. This is something I would want to take a photo of in real life.

- Oshyan

[Cocateho]

Looks Awesome! Love the sun coming through the tree, that's a nice touch. Needs more atmosphere samples though, and the bark of the tree on the front left looks a bit flat.

[bobbystahr]

Purty damn good for a first mountain scene. Everything is nicely scaled and as Oshyan said nice composition. well done.

[Dune]

Very nice. But.... (it's me again), I would replace the reeds on the left, they are a bit strange, don't give a clue about the shape of the shore. IMHO it's better to keep the shore rocky with a few tufts of veggie/shrub/grass, or a gravel beach, not a 'blur' of this reed, too indistinct.

[DocCharly65]

Thanks guys 

You again, Ulco? - never mind - nice to get some good suggestions 
Today I have a photo opportunity with a wedding couple so again no time for unpacking the new PC. When I have more time I will fiddle on the picture a bit.

I do not 100% agree about the reed, but I alread saw that it's too much and I will reduce the covered area. I really want it there but it should not cover all the ground up to the house and along the slope. Some shrubbs are already planned as well. Let's see how some variations of the scene look like.

I showed the mage to a colleague - he told my it looks like a painting of Bob Ross. (I hope that can be seen as a compliment  ) So we did a small experiment, I want to share. ...not really to be taken seriously but quite nice 

[attach=1]

[attach=2]

[DocCharly65]

Some days work and some new ideas...
New "older" fence, some work on the bark of the tree in the front.
And I found a compromise to keep some reed and do the shore on the left rocky.

I forgot last time:
All plants from Xfrog, forground duck from Turbosquid, second duck from archive3D.net and buildings (house, fence, observatory and transmission tower from TF3DM.

At the moment already doing experiments for some animation ideas 

[attach=1]

[Dune]

WAY better, very cool scene now, Nils!