I am basically new to terragen. Where should I start. I read most of the online user guide. Should I keep messing around until something looks good or should I keep reading until I know what everything does.
Just start with something basic following some of the tutorials. There is a lot to learn here; be patient and practice, practice and practice some more.
Thanks :)
It's a combination of course, like anything in life. Partly you gotta know what the heck you're doing, how the tools work and such, what the rules are, if any, but partly you just dive in and mess around. Music, painting, photography, parenting, writing, comedy, love... You name it.
My learning has been a combination of trying things out, seeing what doesn't work, trying something else, getting frustrated. Then I found these forums and realized that it's actually pretty easy to use. Don't let the dozens of controls scare you. Just learn one thing at a time and move on to the next thing.
Good luck! :)
PS. My first few renders were pretty bunk. 18 hours just to see some lumps on a hill with a tree somewhere. But I was fascinated, so I kept at it. (The first pic is my first render. The second one is what I did after doing the "wilderness" tutorial.
Loads of lessons - http://www.planetside.co.uk/wiki/index.php/Main_Page Start from the beginning.
Understand Power Fractals - http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=2287.0
Create a planet - http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=2747.0
dandelO's library of fun - http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=4922.0