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General => Image Sharing => Topic started by: zaxxon on March 12, 2014, 10:51:32 AM

Title: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: zaxxon on March 12, 2014, 10:51:32 AM
Terrain created in World Machine, all foliage created in Speedtree. Mitchell-Netravali pixel filter, detail .8, AA 12. Comments welcome.

Edit: ouch! I didn't like the modification to the first image upon viewing online, so here's a second image titled 'A'. I couldn't fathom how to delete the first one, sorry.
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: kaedorg on March 12, 2014, 11:08:33 AM
Nice image.
I especially like the groundcover of the foreground.
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: archonforest on March 12, 2014, 11:19:45 AM
Wow this is nice ;)
Like the foreground a lot...and the displacement of the veggies.
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: TheBadger on March 12, 2014, 12:01:21 PM
nice coverage
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: mhaze on March 12, 2014, 12:34:32 PM
Excellent work
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: otakar on March 12, 2014, 12:55:32 PM
Very pretty. What's wrong with the original larger one? The second one seems overly compressed (looking at that ridge).
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: zaxxon on March 12, 2014, 01:15:41 PM
otakar: the 1st one had some post added blur which was compounded by whatever display algorithm that Planetside uses. The 2nd is actually a smaller size render w/o any post. This is my first go-round with the Mitchell-Netravali pixel filter and I'm not all that savvy as to any additional settings to 'sharpen' it a bit. I may re-render this with the Catmull-Rom filter.

Thanks to y'all for the feedback about the underbrush, the brushy foliage indeed was the primary focus with this image. Speedtree is a pleasure for sure.
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: Dune on March 14, 2014, 10:08:58 AM
Super foliage and very nice render indeed.
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: gregtee on March 14, 2014, 10:20:18 AM
I like to use the catmull- rom filter myself.  I'd rather have the image a little overly sharp and then soften it later as needed than the other way around.

Your foliage looks great.  I love all the dead underbrush.  I need to spend more time in Speedtree learning how to make that kind of stuff.  Unfortunately we only have one license of it and it seems it's always checked out so I don't get much chance to play with it.

In any case very good work.  Looking forward to seeing more. 
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: zaxxon on March 14, 2014, 11:25:19 AM
Thanks for the great feedback!  Here's a couple more images from the scene with different lighting. These were both rendered with the catmull-rom filter at detail .8 and AA 10. I was pleased with how the objects stood up under the full-on light, and especially how TG's new GISD settings perform. Some composition tweaks between images, as well as some fairly major specularity setting changes on the foliage, the PS wiki info on 'specularity' was really helpful. Maybe another one or two in this series with some re-scaling of the brambly foliage and some more composition tweaking, we'll see. Greg: maybe Digital Domain should buy another license of ST if it's that popular  ;D
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: TheBadger on March 14, 2014, 11:31:22 AM
hmmm. You know, I think I like (of these new ones) the first with the darker foreground. To me it seems more "real". And for some reason I feel more... Comfortable? safe? calm?.. I don't know, just feel better while looking at it and imagining my self standing there. Maybe because I have been in the dessert with no water and know that shade is good. I don't know, I just like it better.
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: Hannes on March 14, 2014, 11:59:28 AM
I prefer the last one. I can almost smell the air. Great image!
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: Antoine on March 14, 2014, 12:04:35 PM
Very good use of vegetations.
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: Gannaingh on March 14, 2014, 02:18:08 PM
All of these are excellent! Very good vegetation.
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: choronr on March 14, 2014, 03:08:45 PM
Your lighting and plant variety and distribution are very good!
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: Kadri on March 14, 2014, 03:32:25 PM

Very nice use of vegetation!
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: gregtee on March 14, 2014, 04:26:31 PM
Maybe use the same sun angle as the last image but drop the elevation so it just rakes over the tops of the bushes.  Would look pretty dramatic.
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: mhaze on March 15, 2014, 06:27:40 AM
Terrific vegetation.
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: Jo Kariboo on March 16, 2014, 08:45:27 AM
Excellent work ! light and vegetation !  :)
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: ratfugel on March 16, 2014, 01:16:09 PM
Hi Zaxxon, Sorry to be a pain. I seem to have lost it somewhere along the line importing ST into T3.  I am getting the tree images OK but they just render black, without any coloured materials. I know that I set up the obj's correctly in ST and that the materials actually arrive into T3.  However I keep getting a screen saying T3 cannot find the materials. Any idea why? Checking out the various nodes, the stuff seems to be there, but it don't show up where it should.  ??????

rat. 
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: zaxxon on March 16, 2014, 04:33:25 PM
As suggested I lowered the sun elevation as low as intervening terrain contours would allow, but I also made some composition tweaks with POV and foliage and raised the cloud level a bit. This image is probably it for this setup, and it's been a fun scene to wander around in. Where I am right now though Spring is exploding in a cacophony of greens and is too beautiful to linger in an Autumn world, so on to a new theme.

Ratsfugel: I don't know? Post a .tgc and I'll see if I can figure it out.  Glad to see you're pushing on with ST though.
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: TheBadger on March 16, 2014, 05:11:25 PM
Well, thats just plain good. Perfect solution with the light too. Get to keep my shade, and there is a better rules of 3rd use with the balance of lights and darks. Nice plants again too  8)
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: gregtee on March 17, 2014, 02:14:34 AM
Looks great!
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: ratfugel on March 17, 2014, 11:57:41 AM
Hey Zaxxon,  Thought you'd better see what they look like. The .tgc  I am using  is Broadleaf_HighDetail_Example 01, which you may be familiar with. I am pretty sure all the leaf and bark details in TG3.  It's just a matter of making it find it, I think. Not much point in importing any other trees until I've cracked this one.

rat.
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: gregtee on March 17, 2014, 12:55:59 PM
I get that a lot too.  I found that sometimes the shaders have a lot of reflectivity attached to them.
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: zaxxon on March 17, 2014, 08:08:38 PM
Ratsfugel: here are a couple of illustrated screen grabs that may help.  As Greg mentioned specularity settings can be problematic and need to be adjusted. Opacity settings, and map assignments are critical to having the objects show properly. Provided you exported the ST mesh properly (see example below) you should have png or tiff output with 'Y' axis up, ST defaults to .tga which is a problem for TG.  The shader network in TG is pretty straightforward, and will auto-load some, but not all of the maps you will need. For the "branch shader" you should load the png/tiff image in the 'Opacity' slot (see example below), remember to check the 'use alpha channel" box. The same image most likely auto-loaded into the diffuse slot, if not load it in. The "cap shader" needs to have the 'Opacity' slot manually loaded with the png/tiff image named 'cap 1' (same as the diffuse image). The leaves also need the leaf image manually loaded into the 'Opacity' slot with the 'use alpha channel' box checked. The 'specularity' settings in the leaf map are contingent upon scene and lighting requirements, the defaults rarely work for me. There are more map types available, but these basics should allow you to create some cool stuff. I've included graphic representations of everything mentioned here, as well as a render from those settings. Good luck mi amigo, let me know if you have any problems or questions.
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: ratfugel on March 21, 2014, 06:58:03 AM
Hi Zaxxon,  Thanks for your help.  I had been doing all you say, just as you first explained, However the problem persisted.  Spoke to Oshyan about this and a reinstall was suggested.  Did this and the problem disappeared!  See attached. I find that if I open up the specified tree detail, (LHS of screen) then look at each stage of the tree construction, bringing up each little screen, I can then load the .png colour image  files and activate the alpha settings for every item.  This produces sets of nodes as you probably know.  I've not tried it for TGA's, simply because .png's work OK. I don't suppose many folks are interested in this, but ST's trees are better than most others I feel. So it was worth persevering.   Once again, grateful for your input on this. Now I'll try to put my money where my mouth is!!

regards
rat.
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: zaxxon on March 21, 2014, 05:12:23 PM
Glad you have it handled. Nice tree.
Title: Re: Rattlesnake Ridge
Post by: Zairyn Arsyn on March 21, 2014, 05:35:33 PM
Take me there!!!!

i really like this, excellent lighting, and population coverage

kinda reminds of a place ive been hiking nearby where i live.