Hello, all. I've been using TerraGen 0.9 for a few years now and have recently been trying out TerraGen 2, and the results have been fantastic! But, I'm having a little trouble with a scene I'm working on.
This is the rendered scene with a bit of post work (contrast and such):
(http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee245/20alex93/TerraGen/Lakeside12505.png)
The problem I have with it is the altocumulus 3D cloud over the trees makes the treeline stop abruptly. I realise this is to do with the parameters of the cloud, but I'm not quite sure what. I tried raising the altitude, but the line is still there, but higher. Is there a way to make the cloud softer and the trees recede into the distance?
Here is the 3D preview to show how far back the trees should be visible.
(http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee245/20alex93/TerraGen/3DPreview.png)
Also, is there a way to make the shore more realistic in terms of the water?
Thanks,
Alex
If raising the cloud altitude results in the treeline being higher than it is probably the cloud density which causes the troubles.
Lower the density of your cloud so the trees will be better visible throughout the cloud. Something which also might help then is to lower the edge sharpness a bit but this might not be necessary, difficult to say from here now.
Keep in mind that changing the density of the cloud also affects the lighting on them, so you might also have to adjust the lighting settings in the 2nd tab of your cloud node to keep the same grey look of your cloud.
You can create more realistic water by adding fake stones at the shoreline for example and to up the transparency of the water.
You can then play with depth color settings to create nice lighting/color effects in the underwater-surfaces.
Keep in mind that increasing the transparency also reduces the reflections of the trees in the water, so ýou'll have to find a balance for that.
Hope (some of) this helps!
Martin
I dont know which effect you want to achieve with your clouds.
I have seen only very few images with completely grey sky, so that´s an idea.
But what you got at the moment is a grey plain in the sky.
More interesting and natural could be a sky that doesn´t show the blue but has different levels of grey.
put your closed layer further up, make it 2d to save rendertime and put another level beneath that has holes in it and fuzzy edges to show your trees.
Best Regards,
Jan
Thanks for your advice. Very helpful. :D Hovever, I think I may leave this scene until water transparency becomes available in the free version of TG2.
I just wanted to tell you that there wont be another update before the final version ( what I once read)-
And there it is!
Already started to upgrade some old WIPs to transparency!
Best regards,
Jan
Will the final program not have a free version? Can we be expecting the final version anytime soon? ;)
http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=4552.0
Ooh, thanks for the heads up, Calico! I have utilised the water transparency shader to finish the image, let me know what you think:
(http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee245/20alex93/TerraGen/Lakeside14229.png)
I for one would like to see through the water more.
The new clouds work very well.
I think the edge of the water needs some work to make this image complete. The fake stone idea would work and or add a variation in colour along the waters edge.