Parting the Sea

Started by Mohawk20, February 13, 2009, 11:38:28 AM

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Mohawk20

I was browsing through my gallery, just to see what is still in there.
I came across this image: http://www.terragen.org/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-4435
You might remember it, you might not. It's about 1,5 years old, and made with a very early version of TG2...
At the time, it was the best we could do to imitate transparent water... (yes, you may laugh!)
I used a very basic canyon trick, that obviously doesn't look like water parting.

After seeing this, and playing with my waterfall project, I decided to revisit this image using the latest techniques.

Displacing a water plane along a painted shader, and increasing the Decay Distance value, while adding a single surface layer that has a reflective shader a child, and the Base Colour shader as colour input, it took only 20 minutes to set up, but almost 2 hours to render at 0.75 detail.
This is just a proof of concept. I have to adjust the index of refraction, download some fish objects, increase scale, and add terrain.

Still Comments and Crits are always appreciated!
Howgh!

rcallicotte

This looks like fun.  Keep us up on what you're finding out, if you will.  I'm not sure I would have thought of this.
So this is Disney World.  Can we live here?

dandelO

The strange lines in the surfaces are from your brushstrokes, you could make a really cool looking crystal/structure that way by painting onto a sphere, shifting the camera 90° clockwise around the sphere in the 3d preview window until the whole surface was painted... I'm going to try this, cheers, man. ;)

I had a project like this about 2 years ago, too. I was inept at best with the program so this test image(the only trace that exists of the pathetic setup at all) is ghastly... :-[

[attachimg=#]

This file was called lookbusyherecomesMoses.tgd :D

Mohawk20

Heheh, I like the name  ;D
For crystal you can also use a rock object...

I did a test overnight, not too happy with it, I set the overall transparency to low (from 0.75 to 0.5), and the seabed reflectiveness too high.
But I rendered at 1 detail, just to see what happens, and I tweaked the waves a bit.
Howgh!

Mohawk20

I could use some ideas on how to improve this further...
Below is the latest render with some tweaks to water and ground.
Howgh!

Mahnmut

Biblical.
ideas on improvement, mhm.

To me the ground seems a bit dry in this version, for me the truth lies betwenn the two last versions.

Maybe some reluctant puddles of muddy water on the ground, or waves creeping outwards...

some waterplants, lying flat on the ground or stretched outward by the same power that holds the water...

To me the yellowish light gives a dusty impression.
When the light comes through that much water, it could be more blue-greenish.
Maybe Stormclouds?
Maybe higher walls?

I am looking forward to your next versions!

Best regards,
Jan

Mohawk20

Clouds is a good idea...

Scale should be way bigger indeed, so the ground surface scale goes smaller (easier  ;))
I was also no so happy with the reflectiveness of the latest version...

There actually is a second surface layer of green strands to replicate seaweed, but it obviously needs tweaking.

Stay tuned!
Howgh!

Mohawk20

New renders below:

First one was a test with different sky.
Second one has the same sky (only different sun position) and different POV, but still no ship... (A shipwreck half in the water would be nice, but I can't find a good model.) Still have to tweak the seaweed more...
Howgh!

rcallicotte

I like the second one better.

At the end, where it comes to what looks like a glacier reminds me a little of fjord I sailed through up in the NW Territories. 
So this is Disney World.  Can we live here?

PG

I prefer the first on tbh. the water flows much better and the light refraction effect is cool.
Figured out how to do clicky signatures

Mohawk20

Hmmm, a score of 1-1, I need a tie breaker...
Howgh!

rcallicotte

My wife voted for the first one.  You now have a tie-breaker.
So this is Disney World.  Can we live here?

Mohawk20

Quote from: calico on February 20, 2009, 11:29:31 PM
My wife voted for the first one.  You now have a tie-breaker.
Heheh, thanks...
Did your wife say why she liked the first one better?
Howgh!

rcallicotte

The lighting was better, she thought, and the green lines she thought was cool.
So this is Disney World.  Can we live here?

Mohawk20

Ah..
Well, the green lines are actually the edge of the water plane. So that would be where we look along the underside of the water, which isn't realistic. I can play with the volumetrics of the water though.

Howgh!