How to create authentic Earth?

[zzu]

Hello everyone, I'm new to this software and I'm happy that I found it, I know this is probably the only software capable of creating realistic planets so far, I need your help to get me start using it. I know I have to use global elevation data to generate terrain, and cloud map from NASA, and the software itself can generate authentic atmosphere. I just need someone to tell me how to use the software, thanks very much.

[Dune]

Welcome to this forum then, zzu. I hope you will get enough satisfaction out of Terragen, but once you get through the basics there's a lot to explore and amazing results to be had. I suggest you start by reading and doing some basic tutorials, like from this page: http://planetside.co.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page
Reading old posts related to certain issues helps a lot, and keeping up with reading new posts also gives a lot of information. And use the search function for specific questions, and if you can't find what you need; post a question.

Good luck!

[bobbystahr]

Welcome zzu...I can only echo Dune's comments. So much you learn in Terragen comes from happy accidents trying to do something else so play around with the tutorials till you get stuck and someone always has an answer in my experience.

[Stormlord]

Hello zzu,
welcome to this forum!

That what you actually want is a quick fix, therefore you shall get one. In the scene sharing section there can be found a scene ready to go for rendering a stunning earth.
http://www.planetside.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,14604.msg142518.html#msg142518

I used this scene as base to create my own earth. I guess this is excately what you are looking for :-)
By the way... in other software packages like 3DsMax or Cinema 4D it is possible to render also fantastic stunning images from our Blue Planet.

For example:
http://www.dirkkipper.de/Galerie_Weltraum/Weltraum_1/index.php

Stormlord

[zzu]

Thanks Stormlord and everyone else. I preferably want a procedurally generated Earth and cloud though. But I'll definitely check out the post you referred to. My ultimate goal is to create an Earth as in Terragen 4 demo.

[Dune]

Well, if you have a little cash to spend, check this out: http://www.store.nwdastore.com/planets

[bobbystahr]

Well, if you have a little cash to spend, check this out: http://www.store.nwdastore.com/planets

and there IS a freebie there if you're poor like me.

[Ariel DK]

Thanks Stormlord and everyone else. I preferably want a procedurally generated Earth and cloud though. But I'll definitely check out the post you referred to. My ultimate goal is to create an Earth as in Terragen 4 demo.

Hi zzu, ironically, you're not seeing a procedural earth in the Planetside's demo, just the power of TG to mix image-based data, with procedural details (the real "gold egg" of TG in my opinion). unfortunately if you want to create something like this, your best option is learn the basic concepts of TG, or at least the basic concepts involved in your scene

[zzu]

my new result. The clouds a bit flat, how to make it more 3D looking? thanks

[Hannes]

Quite a start! Try to play with the cloud depth and altitude to raise them a bit.

[AP]

Here is a Cloud layer clip file. Examine the perimeters and see what can be of help.

[zzu]

thank you so much AP, I'll be checking it out and do a new rendering.

[AP]

You are welcome and like Hannes mentioned adjust the depth and altitude of the clouds and see what works best.

[zzu]

I'm waiting for result to come out, right now every frame takes about 10 hours. Any tips of creating ocean and let it be reflective under sun light? Also if the ocean has waves would be nice. I'm thinking about giving the planet an ocean mask and feed the mask with lake shader to see if it works.

[Dune]

You'd better not use the lake for a complete earth globe, that's more suited for smaller/lower POV's. If you really need transparent water, it's better to use a sphere with the size of the planet, and offset (displacement offset) that through a (no color) surface shader for level adjustment. Take care to uncheck 'shadows' of the sphere.
But for a planet-sized worldview I'd forget about transparency anyway and just use the reflective shader and a global mask (spherical projection) on the main planet. Waves won't be seen from this distance, unless they are huge.
And are you testing the setup by making an animation each time? Better to render some crops to test first.