Y.A.C.S. (Yet Another Cloudy Sunset)

[Zero_G]

Here we go, an attempt to make a realistic sunset on the sea... the next step is to insert some background islands to add more depth to it!

[littlecannon]

Lovin it... the god rays look sweet as do the browns running through the clouds.
Cheers,
Simon.

[inkydigit]

some islands would be great...a beauty as is though!

[Zairyn Arsyn]

that is a very good render

i really like the part of the image where the clouds overlaps the sun, that caught my eye....

what were your render settings?

[j_petrucci]

Thanks to everybody!

@littlecannon: yes, I love it too... actually I was happy to find it, because I didn't think that TG2 was able to calculate such light dispersion so accurately, but I was underestimating it!

@inkydigit: eheh I'll show the progress of it in the next days...

@zaai999: yeah, it's very "Neverending Story" style! the rendering settings, apart from default values, were:

• Cloud depth = 1000
• Cloud altitude = 2000
• Cloud samples = 167
• Atmosphere samples = 64
• Render detail = 0.85
• Anti aliasing = 8
• GI-surface details = enabled

The final resolution was 1200x750px and TG2 took about 2 hours to render it on a AMD Phenom x64.

[Henry Blewer]

What is your impression of the AMD Phenom x64? AMD processors are a little less expensive than Intel. I am saving for a new machine, and I want to get the best value/cost I can. Thanks.

[domdib]

I agree that's it's a lovely render - the underlighting of the clouds is great. I'm surprised you had GI surface details on, as I don't think it would help anything, and it does increase render times. Have you read the Sticky on Render setting recommendations in the Terragen 2 Discussion Forum?

[Zero_G]

@njeneb:
The AMD Phenom x64is a quad core and in fact TG2 creates four rendering threads pushing the usage to 100%... the processor is very fast, but it also creates much heat! when rendering I hear the fans speeding up and throwing a lot of hot air out of the case!
Personally I've never been an AMD fanboy, I always had Intel, in fact this wasn't on my computer, actually I borrowed a currently unused machine from my university lab for rendering!
If you want the raw power for a desktop system, I would go hands down for the new Intel Core i7, it beats AMD in every benchmark and embed some really advanced technologies like HyperThreading, TurboBoost and Demand-Based Switching: http://www.pcauthority.com.au/Feature/135063,head-to-head--amd-phenom-ii-vs-intel-core-i7.aspx

... and for comparing the new i7 against old Core 2 Duo models, take a look here: http://ark.intel.com/Compare.aspx?ids=35605,35428,37151,

@domdib:
Yes, you're right, the GI Surface Details toggle was a mistake, because I actually had no close ground object, so it is useless... thanks!

PS: the post with settings by "j_petrucci" is also mine, it was the old name of my account that is now deleted... sorry for the confusion!

[Henry Blewer]

Thanks for the information. It has been very helpful.

[Thelby]

Wow, this is nothing short of Amazing,........ Really!!!!!

[choronr]

A breath taker; extra fine work here.

[Mr_Lamppost]

Excellent work.

[PorcupineFloyd]

dark / black water = win.

Really good use of colour distribution. Very dramatic in overall. I like it

[rcallicotte]

Beautiful.  The clouds look real.  The water looks like it has too much noise, though.

[Henry Blewer]

Maybe a larger wave scale on the water? It's hard to judge the camera altitude. I still like this.