Avalanche Alley

Linda McCarthy · December 14, 2009, 12:17:25 AM

Hi All,

Thought I'd share my latest render. I brought in [as a loaded hieghtfield] one of the combined World Machine terrains I created and rendered originally in Terragen 9, added a power fractal to displace and some strata. The surface has colors and textures that are primarily power fractal-driven for soil, grass and snow.

The trees are Marc Gebhart's Pine Snow_2 from his Generic Pines Snow. I employed Oshyan's method of assigning one of my snow surface layers to partially shade the leaves/needles ( http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=758.0 ). Marc was kind enough to explain his method ( http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=8117.15 ) which I will experiment with on a future render.

Suggestions for improvement are always solicited and appreciated.

Have a great week.

Linda

aymenk2003 · December 14, 2009, 12:37:26 AM

Nice pov...but I have some comments:
You have to add another population of another kind of tree...
The color of the mountain needs more variation mountain ...
btw I like the fog in the clouded part ...
N.KAID

FrankB · December 14, 2009, 02:09:43 AM

Hi Linda,

a nice terrain you have here. The strongest points are the terrain and the sky. The clouds looks really good and convincing. Surfacing though is a challenge. I have the suspicion that the trees are too large compared to the terrain. Also, I think trees should be denser and less evenly distributed.
With surfacing, in TG2, it's better to not use a green surface layer to mimic vegetation, unless your camera is so far away that real 3D vegetation instances can no longer be seen as individual objects. Focus on surface shading the rock, a little moss here and there, sand, stones, soil, etc... then use denser populations of grass and trees and bushes and flowers to make the green.

Cheers,
Frank

Henry Blewer · December 14, 2009, 08:07:42 AM

I agree with Frank. But, I do use khaki and olive drab and some red in my grass surface layers. Sometimes for distant areas without vegetation objects, I copy the primary plant objects color to one of the grass surface colors.

Linda McCarthy · December 14, 2009, 11:48:01 AM

Thank you for your good suggestion re the tree population and the surface. Much appreciated! Linda

Quote from: aymenk2003 on December 14, 2009, 12:37:26 AM
Nice pov...but I have some comments:
You have to add another population of another kind of tree...
The color of the mountain needs more variation mountain ...
btw I like the fog in the clouded part ...
N.KAID

Linda McCarthy · December 14, 2009, 11:54:23 AM

Hi Frank,

Thank you for your kind response. I appreciate the valuable information on surfacing and populations. I suspected the trees were not the best choice- in terms of type, and I wasn't sure about how large and how dense I should make them.

Back to work.

Regards,
Linda

Quote from: FrankB on December 14, 2009, 02:09:43 AM
Hi Linda,

a nice terrain you have here. The strongest points are the terrain and the sky. The clouds looks really good and convincing. Surfacing though is a challenge. I have the suspicion that the trees are too large compared to the terrain. Also, I think trees should be denser and less evenly distributed.
With surfacing, in TG2, it's better to not use a green surface layer to mimic vegetation, unless your camera is so far away that real 3D vegetation instances can no longer be seen as individual objects. Focus on surface shading the rock, a little moss here and there, sand, stones, soil, etc... then use denser populations of grass and trees and bushes and flowers to make the green.

Cheers,
Frank

Linda McCarthy · December 14, 2009, 11:55:37 AM

Great suggestions. Thank you, njeneb.

Quote from: njeneb on December 14, 2009, 08:07:42 AM
I agree with Frank. But, I do use khaki and olive drab and some red in my grass surface layers. Sometimes for distant areas without vegetation objects, I copy the primary plant objects color to one of the grass surface colors.

Linda McCarthy · December 18, 2009, 06:05:33 PM

Here's the final of multiple renders, but I'm still not satisfied with the trees or the surface. Just don't have more time for fiddling right now.

Thanks again for all the great feedback and suggestions. I used a Painted Shader for the tree distribution; again, the trees are from
Marc Gebhart's "Generic Pines Snow Pack"- much appreciated, Marc.
http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=8117.msg86547#msg86547

Further suggestions for improvement are most welcome.

Have a wonderful Christmas and holiday time, everyone!

Linda

pfrancke · December 18, 2009, 06:19:58 PM

oh yes, much to like. Like the light and shadows and the color and shape of the cliffs. And the clouds are superb. Looks like another notch upwards to me!!

moodflow · December 19, 2009, 01:50:55 PM

Wow, this is starting to look very nice! The clouds, atmosphere, and terrain is on target. I also like the population how you have it now. However, there is a strange color/lighting issue with the haze in the distance.

Henry Blewer · December 19, 2009, 05:44:40 PM

That's what was bugging me, the distant haze. I just could not figure it out. Did you change the color of the haze Linda?

Linda McCarthy · December 19, 2009, 07:11:52 PM

Thanks for your comments moodflow and njeneb!
The haze color wasn't changed, but I did move the sun a little and the sun's elevation.
I also play with levels and contrast in Photoshop post-render.
When I compare the two, I do like the first render's atmosphere/lighting better than the 2nd.
Thanks again,
Linda

Kadri · December 20, 2009, 12:17:04 PM

Nice image , Linda

You seem to playing very strong in post. I meen it not in the bad way. This image has a harsh(strong) feel on it.
I would like to see the original to compare

.But i think this gives the image a realistic feeling .

Kadri.

choronr · December 20, 2009, 01:04:45 PM

Very nice Linda. I'm wondering if you rendered using the Cubic B Spline filter that maybe it would soften the image.

EoinArmstrong · December 20, 2009, 01:38:45 PM

I love the lighting and clouds, and the terrain is superb! But yes, seems to be missing a little AA