Cliff Generating

[Feenixnz]

Hey guys,

so this is my second post. Not terribly techinical but have started learning Terragen 2. This software is amazing and Im sure I'll get it eventually=) Attached is a render by RArcher I found on New World Digital Art. Its a perfect example of what Im wanting to achieve. My question is, how do I get the horizontal displacement happening in the cliffs??

Ive also attached my tgd file that im playing around with. Please feel free to feedback, I would really appreciate it! =)

[RArcher]

I can't seem to find the actual project file, but it was just a mixture of some voronoi functions, strata shaders and powerfractals.  If you want to learn about canyons, the easiest way would be to check out Tangled_Universe's incredible Canyon Pack at NWDA - http://www.nwdanet.com/buy-packs/details/36/7/preset-packs/canyon-and-rock-surface-pack-by-tu

[Feenixnz]

Hey thank you,

function nodes is something I havent really touched on yet. Im trying to achieve a similar composition that you have here where you have a cliff face covering one side of the composition and the other side you can see landscape or mountain ranges beyond the cliff. Its trying to get that sharp almost micro (but not too much =) ) textures happening when looking at the cliff.

any advice on how to connect the function node out would be of great help though =) once again thank you

[Feenixnz]

ok so after looking through a few related threads and tutorials this is where I am with my cliff face. The cliff will move over to the right of the comp toward the end but I want to keep as close to the surface as possible.

As you can see, there is a significant vertical displacement...What I want to do is rotate that so that it is horizontal. I've tried the rotate x,z and y function nodes in between the color adjust shader and displacement shader with the Rocky group.

Im sure its probably right there in front of me but I have only been using this for only 2 weeks =)

oh yeah, you'll need to "generate now" in the Heightfield generate 01 node to generate the cliff face. ( I apologize if this is quiet obvious =) ) why doesnt is just stay generated when opening the file anyway??

Again, any help with this would be greatly appreciated as I want to move on and start "colouring in"

thank you!

[schmeerlap]

It is possible to achieve lateral displacement on your cliff without delving into function nodes/networks. The Redirect Shader with Power Fractal Shaders in the X and Z slots will give you lateral bumps. You can also effect lateral displacement by placing a Power Fractal Shader just after the Base Colours Shader and using Lateral Normalized displacement. You'll note that it says "requires Compute Normal", but by placing the PF here you are utilising the Compute Terrain at the bottom of the Terrain section, so there's no need to precede the PF with another Compute Normal. Remember that Compute Normals will slow down your render. You might want to constrain this displacement only to the cliff face by entering a Distribution Shader in the Blend by Shader of your Power Fractals, and apply either altitude or slope constraints or both.

John

[Feenixnz]

awesome, thank you John

[domdib]

And don't forget to show us the results 

[cyphyr]

You inspired me to have a go
heres a Cliff setup you might like to play with
Richard

[Feenixnz]

thanks richard, Im glad to have inspired you at least ha ha. I like it and will examine your canyon node network closely =)

[Feenixnz]

ok so after a few hours of tweaking here is where I am so far. Still got some work to do on it but Im calling it for today....feedback would be greatly appreciated cheers all.

oh yeah, the background I havent really touched yet as I've mainly focused on the foreground 

Tristan

[littlecannon]

Nice... wavy strata. Get some trees down below and its a winner.

[domdib]

Nice contrast of colours. Add some clouds and it's a winner 

[FrankB]

I like this very much. You've been really fast getting there.

One suggestion though: the rock surface looks too smooth to be true. The coloring is great an all, but you need to add multiple layers of fake stones to make it look real. You need to cover this with a range from fist size rocks, to pebbles, down to a coarse sand that's coverig stuff here and there. Be careful to not distribute this too uniformly.

Cheers,
Frank

[CCC]

It depends on what type of rock we are talking about and how it was eroded. I have seen rock like this where there is very little surface roughness. I think a decent mix of both smooth and rigid would bring out the realism here. Overall the colors are good and the terracing with the smoother strata works well. What you could do is add some loose stones along the bases of the terracing, some talus.

[Feenixnz]

thanks everyone for the feedback and comments. I'm still plannign to add a third layer of strata close to the bottom and will definately look at adding in some loose stones here and there. Was also playing with some grass thanks to mr Lampost =) just to see what it looks like. This is suppose to be at a fairly high altitude so Im not too sure about the trees down the bottom, will look at that after editing the terrain.


cheers again

Trist