Real

Started by rcallicotte, February 03, 2009, 11:01:40 PM

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rcallicotte

I hope this won't cause controversy, in the sense that we'll fight.  My hope is we'll focus on getting something we all long for - realism.  This is a photo of a real cloud I took this last summer.  If you will, let's see if we can match it.  If we get close, let's admit we're close and take what we've gained collectively.  But, let's keep learning until we can match it. 

Of course, I'm admitting we have seen pretty cool clouds.  This is to leave the notch where it needs to be - real.

Feel free to share your gains with everyone.
So this is Disney World.  Can we live here?

old_blaggard

Heheh, for a second before reading the post I thought that those were TG and I was going to demand your settings :P. I've been fooling with Luc's file a little, as I'm sure others have been, and I think that this is a good idea.
http://www.terragen.org - A great Terragen resource with models, contests, galleries, and forums.

darthvader

For real clouds those look increadibly tg2ish...in a good way ;D If we can get our clouds to look like this that would be absolutly amazing!

dhavalmistry

I was about to hate you for the rest of my life....haha......where can I download luc's file??
"His blood-terragen level is 99.99%...he is definitely drunk on Terragen!"

Tangled-Universe

Quote from: dhavalmistry on February 04, 2009, 03:23:38 AM
I was about to hate you for the rest of my life....haha......where can I download luc's file??

Here:

http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=5490.msg56723#msg56723

Good luck ;)

domdib

What I've noticed about some of the best TG2 cumulus clouds achieved so far is that they either look too "solid" and heavy - I think Luc's tend  that way - or too wispy/unfocused at the surface - Frank B's tend in that direction. What the real cloud shown somehow conveys is a combination of very clear, defined surfaces and the impression of lightness. I guess that mimicing this will be a matter of careful experimentation with lighting and cloud settings. One thing's for sure, whoever achieves it will go down in the TG2 Hall of Fame!

rcallicotte

#6
FrankB has come up with some incredible settings that could be a treat to learn for anyone willing to purchase them and then there's Luc's file, which is a great starting point for this.  I'm glad others thought of this, as well, since I was planning to suggest using Luc's file as a reference for us.  I hope Luc doesn't mind our learning and building from his labor...and, of course, everyone is welcome to give this a shot, including Luc and Frank.   ;D

Glad this went over well.  It was a toss-up that someone might be put out with my insistence on reality.   :P
So this is Disney World.  Can we live here?

lucbianco

#7
Hi

That is a good idea you have to start from my file   ;D

Here a short resume on different clouds version I did:

First version of my clouds setup was http://lucbianco.free.fr/jalbum/Terragen%202/2006/slides/TGD505.jpg

This file I gave you was version 2 : http://lucbianco.free.fr/jalbum/Terragen%202/2007/slides/TGD823.jpg

then I did a v.3 by mainly increasing the clouds density and play with noise : http://lucbianco.free.fr/jalbum/Terragen%202/2008/slides/TGD838.jpg

and v.4 in December I did a latest version this time by adding two different clouds and a distance shader : http://lucbianco.free.fr/jalbum/Terragen%202/2008/slides/TGD906.jpg

Maybe one day I will do a v.5 .. since I think it still could be improved but currently I am focused on some other activities far from CG. 

If I come back in next weeks/months it could be rather to sell some cheap libraries packs on my website (as Franck did) or some complete scenes ..

luc

Quote from: calico on February 04, 2009, 07:49:28 AM
FrankB has come up with some incredible settings that could be a treat to learn for anyone willing to purchase them and then there's Luc's file, which is a great starting point for this.  I'm glad others thought of this, as well, since I was planning to suggest using Luc's file as a reference for us.  I hope Luc doesn't mind our learning and building from his labor...and, of course, everyone is welcome to give this a shot, including Luc.   ;D

Glad this went over well.  It was a toss-up that someone might be put out with my insistence on reality.   :P

Tangled-Universe

Quote from: lucbianco on February 04, 2009, 08:22:48 AM
Hi

That is a good idea you have to start from my file   ;D

etc.


Thanks for giving some leads Luc.
That's positive news you're thinking about selling complete scenes or some packs and especially at cheap prices.


A general tip for everybody is to use FrankB's principle of building up and masking the main cloudstructure and use Luc's shared file for the density fractal of the clouds. Or mix them with Frank's. I had very similar results to V3/V4 of Luc's clouds quite fast. It is then especially the (toughest, in my opinion) matter of find the right densities/edge sharpness and a good covered lighting.

Martin

sjefen

The biggest problem with getting those clouds calico posted is the shadow area.

I can make a cloud and make the whole thing look really good except in the shadow area's and this really ruin's it all.
There are some options that I feel are missing in the cloud shader parameters. We have "fake internal scattering", but I think there should be something more here. Something to control the shadow area's. And why is it called "fake"? Where is the "true internal scattering" option? Maybe that's the option I'm looking for :)

Maybe there is a way, but I have not figured it out and I have tried so many different things now I don't think it's possible without any new features.
I really hope there will be some more options in the cloud shader parameters. I really do.
Please add something more for us Matt :'(

- Terje
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Saurav

#10
I stated looking at Luc's cloud file yesterday and this is my development with it. I have changed lighting and density fractal settings to what I believe produces a more realistic result. Where I find most clouds renders lacking in TG2 is the internal scattering of light.  It's possible to replicate this effect to a certain extent, but it has limitation in the shadow areas, where it produces unnatural shapes, evident in this render as well. The shadow issue in fake internal scattering and the difficulty in controlling shapes are my main gripes with TG2 clouds.

I will render a larger version tonight and post it here tomorrow, a test to see how it holds up as a bigger size image.

Tangled-Universe

Quote from: sjefen on February 04, 2009, 11:45:01 PM
The biggest problem with getting those clouds calico posted is the shadow area.

I can make a cloud and make the whole thing look really good except in the shadow area's and this really ruin's it all.
There are some options that I feel are missing in the cloud shader parameters. We have "fake internal scattering", but I think there should be something more here. Something to control the shadow area's. And why is it called "fake"? Where is the "true internal scattering" option? Maybe that's the option I'm looking for :)

Maybe there is a way, but I have not figured it out and I have tried so many different things now I don't think it's possible without any new features.
I really hope there will be some more options in the cloud shader parameters. I really do.
Please add something more for us Matt :'(

- Terje

You can fiddle and improve the shadowy areas a lot using the fake ambient color settings :)

old_blaggard

Wow, that's an amazing result, Saurav. Could you share the clip of the modifications you made?
http://www.terragen.org - A great Terragen resource with models, contests, galleries, and forums.

Saurav

OB I'll post the clip file tomorrow morning (Aust) with the bigger render.

Tangled-Universe

Quote from: Saurav on February 05, 2009, 03:35:09 AM
OB I'll post the clip file tomorrow morning (Aust) with the bigger render.

Exciting! Looking forward to see it :)