zaxxon's cliff WIP

[zaxxon]

Here's my initial efforts. My inspirations are from the majestic and monumental rock walls of Yosemite. I've spent countless hours craning my neck looking upwards at the massive granite walls and it seemed a natural theme to work with. Aspect ratios are a bit of a problem; to show the verticality a portrait aspect is more impressive, but the monitor real estate is then compressed. So a slightly squarish vertical rectangle seems to work best (at this point). I've attached a couple of references to show the color scheme of the Yosemite granite and to display the rock spire known as "Lost Arrow".  Additionally the scattered trees and shrubs living along the steep inclines are always inspiring at several levels, the example shows the famous "El Cap Tree" that clings along the side of El Capitan, one of Yosemite's most iconic rock faces. I don't know if I can build the spire in TG, but I've been messing with 3D Coat and that seems up to the task, the BW image shows the scale of the climbers and is in line with my overall thinking here. As a fun exercise in creating a 'back-story' for the WIP I've asked my oldest daughter's boyfriend to sit down with me to plan what sort of climbing route could be planned along this virtual wall. Andrew is an elite rock climber and has numerous ascents of Yosemite's most formidable routes. Thanks for looking! Good luck to all!

[Hannes]

Wow, that looks mighty interesting! Brillant!

[archonforest]

hell of a start! Great!

[cyphyr]

Good start. I think you got the colours very close. I like the idea of focussing on the lone tree.

You might be able to get something close t the "Lost Arrow"  by isolating a cell from a Voroni Diff and using that as a displacement.

Keep em connin'

[zaxxon]

Thanks folks!  Cyphyr, I probably won't be focusing on a lone tree, though I had thought of that. My problem so far isn't so much as in creating the spire (and that's actually a pretty good sized problem  ), but more so getting it placed where I want.  A bit easier for my current skill-set is to create the object externally and place it exactly in the scene. I'll probably model a few brightly clad climbers for both the spire and for routes further up the cliff, we'll see. Certainly the spire may grace a few weather worn trees and shrubs as well.

[cyphyr]

I'm not sure creating it in an external program is allowed (it may well be so don't take my word for it).
I was thinking about saving out a .ter (Terragen terrain) of the spire model and re-importing that to your desired location.
Actually thinking about it you could probably do this with a couple (or more) of simple shape shaders ... lots of options

[zaxxon]

Hey Richard, as I read the rules, the actual "Cliff" needs to be done in TG. Which this one is. Supporting objects from Megascans, Speedtree, Zbrush, etc are allowed. Additionally, Pilgway, the makers of 3D Coat has generously provided a prize of the Pro version, so some usage of the product might be appropriate. As a personal project I'm looking forward to expanding my toolset and have already roughed out some decent spire objects. Perhaps Danny could provide some insight here. Of course I'll conform to the rules  .  I have some versions with inverted crater shaders that had some major conflicts with displacement influences and I never achieved the shapes I was looking for.  I've managed to combine two heightfields, but never tried two .ter files, so I may give that a go. And to my thinking the 'spire' is not a part of the cliff, but we'll see what the official take is. In the meantime this is a fun challenge and and has my creative juices flowing. 

[DannyG]

I don't know if I can build the spire in TG, but I've been messing with 3D Coat and that seems up to the task,

Per the contest rules this is not permitted. Your cliff's main Structure and Displacements must be Terragen made. If you want use stones or distant mountains created in 3d-Coat or a similar 3rd party application that is fine, as a supporting object, your main Cliff or Cliffs must be TERRAGEN made, that means the generated HeightField, base Cliff Shape or structure and all additional displacements have to be made by TG.

[DannyG]

Contest Guidelines

http://www.planetside.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,24017.0.html

[Oshyan]

Why not try the inverted crater trick for the spire? Then you could place it fairly easily...

- Oshyan

[Dune]

I'd go for a single fake stone, masked in by painted shader. Or even a displacable object. Good luck Doug!

[zaxxon]

Oh Drat!      ...Looks like it's time for a plan B

Came up with a few options as well. Thanks Oshyan and Dune for the suggestions.

[bobbystahr]

Oh Drat!      ...Looks like it's time for a plan B

Came up with a few options as well. Thanks Oshyan and Dune for the suggestions.

I liked cyphyr's suggestion, sounds very elegant

[bobbystahr]

Looking at this again I got a crick in my neck looking up your cliff...I really like that...screw the spires heh heh heh

[Jo Kariboo]

I would like to see what you are working on. I'm sure we'll all be happy to see your pictures.