This is currently still a work in progress of the Selkirk Mountains in the Glacier National Park in Canada. This started as an experiment using satellite imagery as a mask for tree coverage and has gone on from there. Here is the satellite view of the image:
(http://www.archer-designs.com/temp/selkirk-mountains/82n05-sat-lowres.jpg)
The features I have been trying to mimic are the avalanche runs which are pretty much impossible to add just using slope and altitude, so an image mask or the painted shader is the only way to get them right.
Still quite a few things left that I would like to change to this including additional tree variations and some better mountain surfacing. It may also be just a little too contrasty for my taste.
Any comments or suggestions appreciated.
You know RArcher, I think of all the people using terragen 2 you may have the best texturing for your trees, they always look so real!
A fine render.
I love the rocky / soil textures and the depth.
Are you planning on an animation? This looks just about real...in fact, the last image looks very real.
Wow. The atmosphere is fantastic. Very realistic.
I also love the sense of scale and the tree distribution.
The trees are a little too green for my taste tho.
I'd love to see a camera animation on this one :)
- Terje
excellent work, I especially love the foreground
This is looking great, the tree line looks fantastic. I think it might benefit from a grass and dirt layers as well leading up to the snow and rocks. I find it a bit too much contrasty but that's just personal taste.
awesome. While I agree the trees might be a tad saturated, I think what might help more is more variance in height and color, varying hsv a little overall. Also, both geoControl and world machine have some really nice erosion. These mountains would look fantastic
with some really detailed erosion, and using the erosion maps for holding out some trees and varying the color/bumpiness of the soil...
really looks great Ryan
I love your mood and light, as usual ;)
Thanks very much for the suggestions everyone. No update yet, lots of work to be done to try and get it closer to what the actual area looks like. Here are a couple reference photos I took while driving through the park a few years ago. Not in the exact area where I have my camera set for the render (a few passes away from the highway), but reasonably close enough that the features are fairly similar. Lots to do to get it even close.
LaFrance: I'm using reasonably detailed dem data coupled with satellite imagery to place the trees, so I don't want to add a lot of additional displacement or erosion, but I am definitely working on the soil and texturing.
More updates to come soon.
These last two look real, but especially the next to the last image. Why mess with success? This is marvelous and realistic. Beautiful, too.
I would like to put my suggestion here - We TG2ers tend to be overly critical about all kinds of stuff in an image and, while I am not saying what anyone should do, maybe lookout for overcompensating. The human eye is not naturally worried about whether the rock on the hill two miles away has the right texture.
@calico: :D
I think that's because they are but I agree, with Ryans work sometimes it gets difficult to tell the difference lol :)
richard
Great work Ryan! As DarthVader said you're very good at setting up your trees. Especially the lighting, but also denisties and coverage.
The image has much atmosphere, although a tad too dark to my taste in overal. However, very good work!
Martin
Quote from: calico on April 21, 2009, 08:59:09 AM
These last two look real, but especially the next to the last image. Why mess with success? This is marvelous and realistic. Beautiful, too.
...
Quote from: RArcher on April 21, 2009, 12:40:52 AM
No update yet, lots of work to be done to try and get it closer to what the actual area looks like. Here are a couple reference photos I took while driving through the park a few years ago...
I think you missed some important info Calico? :)
Giminy Christmas. Ooops. This says something about Ryan's good work and I need to read more thoroughly.
I apologize.
Quote from: Tangled-Universe on April 21, 2009, 09:08:47 AM
...I think you missed some important info Calico? :)
Haha, no big deal at all ;D I first thought the same too, until I read the post. Unfortunately that brought back my feet on the ground :) lol
Another awesome render. Great sense of scale, lighting, and mood. If I saw this somewhere I might very well believe to be the real deal. It looks really cold too.
Very impressive work! I would love to see an animation based on that scenery. :o
Love the atmosphere and great point of view. The tree distribution has worked well but I think I've have had the tree line ending lower. The higher environment looks to harsh for trees. This is where we need some way of changing the tree size so they are smaller in places more harsh.
I think that mistaking a real photo for TG2 is even more of a complement than mistaking TG2 for a photo since real photos like these have so much going on.
Here are a few sample frames from a potential animation. Still more work to be done with the surfacing though.
Another bigger angle
And one more.
Looks good!
But before you animate this you should look into undergrowth for you forests. Now it looks a bit bare, with only trees and rock. When the treeline ends, the undergrowth continues with plants like ferns and grass.
I'd say go for it. I like what you've done with the lighting and I love the tree textures, too.
Hey Ryan, I must say, you're giving the term "awesomeness" a whole new dimension. Let's have a new wikipedia article on "awesomeness", with a picture of you next to it, smiling ;D
I will be following this thread, that's for sure.
You know, from time to time I browse around the websites and galleries of the individual users around here. Many of us have a couple of nice images to show, but your entire TG2 gallery is pure eye candy.
Cheers,
Frank
Ryan, this is a great idea and since I haven't tried it but would like to see what it can do, would you mind giving a couple of steps you use to go in this direction?
Calico: Not entirely sure what you are referring to? I'm happy to explain anything, but which elements are you interested in?
Looks great! For my taste sample frame 3 has the biggest awesomeness ;D
sample frame 2,4 &5 are very realistic, very well done.
Thierry
Quote from: trekker317 on May 07, 2009, 01:49:37 PM
sample frame 2,4 &5 are very realistic, very well done.
Thierry
That's funny how much opinions can differ, because in my opinion number 3 is the most realistic from all :)
yeah ! number three is damn good !