I've been trying out GroBoto (http://www.groboto.com/index.html), software that creates fractal-like structures you can tweak and export.
I've made a nice structure that looked like a tower to me. The obj file is more than 1Gb, but that means great detail in curves.
Below some renders.
Cool stuff. I will try it!
1 Gb ?! Oo'
Amazing, the first render is simply beautiful!
looks strange!!! :) i like it.
1gb! damn. :o
1 GB?
hmm...there really isn't much going on in that geometry to justify that file size...
you might try bringing it into a 3D app and cut it down a bit....
cool shape though.
Quote from: goldfarb on August 27, 2009, 05:30:06 PM
1 GB?
hmm...there really isn't much going on in that geometry to justify that file size...
you might try bringing it into a 3D app and cut it down a bit....
cool shape though.
Well, actually, the structure is made out of a LOT of single objects the shape of a droplet, ranging in size from small at the top to large at the bottom. The basic object is high quality, and has a lot of faces because of it's curved shape. Multiply that by a LOT, and you get 1Gb.
I also made another object from the same basic algorithm, but with less curves in the shape. I made that out of cube objects and that one is only 13Mb at high quality. So the shape of the base object can make a great difference!
And thanks for all the kind comments!
I'm currently doing a render of this structure in total darkness with a light on top. Very gloomy...
1GB. :o Well I guess that answers my question about whether TG2 can handle large models. ;D
- Oshyan
Yep!
Wonder what happens if you populate a planet with these... But with only 6 Gb RAM, I don't know if my pc can handle that.
Nice! How long was the render time?
Not more than an hour at 1280x1024.
The latest (see below) took a bit longer, around 3 hours, because I set the atmo samples to 128, though still not high enough.
I'm pleased with how the render turned out.
Intriguing - I'd love to see what this looks like with a nice shiny reflective layer :)
Quote from: domdib on August 28, 2009, 04:47:19 AM
Intriguing - I'd love to see what this looks like with a nice shiny reflective layer :)
Actually, I already set the specular level of the default shader to 1. It doesn't show as well as a real reflective shader, but you might recognize some shininess in the other 2 renders if you look closely.
I can see it in the second render - what I meant was a reflectivity/colour high enough to make it look like metal.
Very interesting object ... It made me purchase GroBoto ;) (You get $30 off when registering during the download of the trial)
And I really like your render setup ... simple and nice ... inspires me!
Thanks Volker, simple is sometimes best...
I'll be purchasing as soon as I come home today.
Maybe we can enrich NWDA with some extra inventory ???
1 gig is a pretty massive model, especially since a good amount of its detail is fairly hidden within the structure. Seems like it could be optimized and still keep its integrity. I assumed that Groboto was doing lots of internal instancing since it responds pretty fast when working; Never even considered exporting a model into Terragen, but those renders look great.
Wonder if something like this would be possible:
http://www.uchronians.org/
Would have been cool to see the Belgian Waffle in person.
Are you able to try running the model through an optimizer to see if it takes the size down any? I'd really be interested in playing around with the two apps together, but that size model would choke my machine quickly.
I set the object quality to maximum, so you can even optimize output internally.
But at maximum quality, the below model was only 13Mb. So even your machine should be able to work pretty quick.
This model is the same as the first, but it has a different base object and less structural curves.
Wow; thanks for the inspiration! I played around with GroBoto a while back - seemed fun but I couldn't really see a practical use for it, other than eye candy. But putting the models into the context of a Terragen environment - now I'm seeing a whole new realm of possibilities for some really spectacular imagery.
The two towers put together in a dark environment:
And from another angle.
It took 4:28 hours to render this one. Atmo samples are at 256, and soft shadow samples are at 20 for the yellow light, but 9 for the blue light, because I forgot to set that correctly...
My mom really likes this one, and wants me to render it bigger and print in poster size for in the living room.
She's right. It looks good, cool, awesome, and several other things which we will not go into. Leave the blue light as it is. It looks good. I would do a clip, then print it onto poster paper. Going from monitor to paper sometimes does not turn out. This way you'll have an idea of what the poster will look like, sort of...
Quote from: njeneb on August 29, 2009, 01:48:56 PM
cool, awesome, and several other things which we will not go into.
Dude, are you developing a fetish here? ;D
On a semi-serious note, did you manage to get your full copy of TG2 yet? I'm sure I'm not the only person who's waiting to see some of your renders bigger.
Quote from: domdib on August 29, 2009, 03:37:39 PM
On a semi-serious note, did you manage to get your full copy of TG2 yet? I'm sure I'm not the only person who's waiting to see some of your renders bigger.
Just to be clear, are you talking to to me or to njeneb?
Ha, nope. I am changing banks Monday. The current one has been so hostle, with charges, fees, and the card verification charged me one dollar per try. Plus it's 8/29, they have charges on my account dated 8/31!
Be patient. I paid the rent on my place, so two more weeks... (I hope is all)
Thanks, I am glad you like my stuff.
Mohawk, these renders are cool. I think you would like Incendia. http://incendia.net/index.html It's really cool. COOL? 8)
Quote from: njeneb on August 29, 2009, 06:30:20 PM
Mohawk, these renders are cool. I think you would like Incendia. http://incendia.net/index.html It's really cool. COOL? 8)
Interesting, it actually has buffer saving, for when long renders go wrong.
But I'll stick with GroBoto for now, enough to explore for a while.
To njeneb, as you probably worked out. I know you've got the full version.
It's going to take a couple more weeks; next paycheck. John McLusky sent me an email where to send a paper check if the electronic payment does not work. I HAVE TO BE PATIENT! :'(
I will get full Terragen 2 eventually. If I do say so myself, I've become good enough to justify the purchase. (John, I can hear you saying 'Shameless self-promoter!' again. ;D)
Good luck with that. Stay strong!
Mohawk, have you decided to render this for the poster?
Quote from: njeneb on August 30, 2009, 04:08:53 PM
Mohawk, have you decided to render this for the poster?
Yep, but I'm working on some other projects too at the moment (quite a lot at once actually: the Genesis project HD anim that's rendering for months on one pc; this one; an anim for the fairy scene where I'm still putting in the key frames, tedious work; and I'm updating my site and am re working the graphics a bit, but have to render some parts again), so I don't know how soon I will start rendering the big version, let alone when it will finish.
But It Will Come!
Cool.
Quote from: Mohawk20 on August 30, 2009, 06:14:19 PM
Quote from: njeneb on August 30, 2009, 04:08:53 PM
Mohawk, have you decided to render this for the poster?
Yep, but I'm working on some other projects too at the moment (quite a lot at once actually: the Genesis project HD anim that's rendering for months on one pc; this one; an anim for the fairy scene where I'm still putting in the key frames, tedious work; and I'm updating my site and am re working the graphics a bit, but have to render some parts again), so I don't know how soon I will start rendering the big version, let alone when it will finish.
But It Will Come!
I so empathise pop
:)
richard
I'm loving the more recent images here with the lights and shadows. Great stuff. It does remind me though that we really need a better solution for noise-free light sources than simply cranking up the atmo samples to insane levels.
Btw Scott: The Belgian Waffle was unbelievable in person. One of the most amazing things I saw in 8 years at Burning Man. Truly.
- Oshyan
Years ago I had this dream where I was out in the desert and came across a man who'd built a mountain made of barbed wire, he said about 1 mile high (dream logic being what it was - I don't think it was
actually a mile high). But anyway, it was big. I didn't climb it in the dream; instead I was at the base of it, talking to the man who built it. Strangely enough, under it was the ocean - like when you go to a dock and you can see between the planks and the ocean down there underneath.
It inspired me to try to visualize this someday with CGI, as close as possible given the non-linear nature of dream imagery.
But when I saw photos of the Belgian Waffle, I thought "someone just got pretty close"...
Quote from: Oshyan on August 31, 2009, 03:28:27 AM
...
Btw Scott: The Belgian Waffle was unbelievable in person. One of the most amazing things I saw in 8 years at Burning Man. Truly.
- Oshyan
i like the glowing orbs in your last renders, they both look extremely hot.... like miniature suns 8)
Well, the big render finished surprisingly quick, only 2 days (in stead of a week or more on other occasions)!
I added a little extra glow effect in Photoshop, but my mom didn't like it compared to the original, so I'll post it here and see what you guys think.
As the jpg is 5 Mb, here is the link: Light Towers Big Version (http://www.terrabits.eu/viewimage.php?action=view&id=140).
On this other page of my website (http://www.terrabits.eu/catalog.php?gid=3) you can find the earlier small render and this new one next to each other. If you open them in different tabs you can compare the glow effect.
I looks great! Nice work. I am going to look closer at your site sometime soon. The quick glance was intriguing.
Thanks...
I just updated some things recently. Any advice on further improvements is welcome.
Another Making-of is coming soon as well.
I suppose I can see why she might prefer v1. vs v2 - the glowing orbs in 1v have a more definitively "orb" shape. They have a lot of spread in v2 and lose their definition.
On the other hand, art is pretty subjective. Maybe she was just in the right kind of mood the first time, and lost the vibe for the second one. Who knows! Personally, I liked that there is a lot of contrast between the very bright areas and the dark shadows. The dark shadows would be a good opportunity to show some more... something. Depends on what you're going for thematically. But I could see something mildly sinister in there - offset by the very bright parts of the composition where its extremely light.
Regarding your website - those images are all really good!
One thing in particular, your "making of". You should try to do more of those. Clients (aka, the numbnuts you'll have to be talking too in the recruiting departments of the studios to get your foot in the door) love to see the process of how you got from point-a to point-b.
Quote from: scott8933 on September 05, 2009, 11:23:13 AM
The dark shadows would be a good opportunity to show some more... something. Depends on what you're going for thematically. But I could see something mildly sinister in there - offset by the very bright parts of the composition where its extremely light.
Well, I could put in some kind of forest in the distance... Or some more GroBoto objects, which would be more conforming the theme.
Quote from: scott8933 on September 05, 2009, 11:23:13 AM
Regarding your website - those images are all really good!
One thing in particular, your "making of". You should try to do more of those. Clients (aka, the numbnuts you'll have to be talking too in the recruiting departments of the studios to get your foot in the door) love to see the process of how you got from point-a to point-b.
Thanks for the compliment, those are just the least ugly of all the renders I made since I started using Terragen 7 years ago (yeah, time flies, that was only 2002).
And there will be more Making Of's, as soon as I get my storage pc working again. Because obviously the pc with the biggest hard drives, and thus the one with all the files I ever use, is the only one likely to crash. Luckily the drive that crashed was the only one with no useful data on it, just the OS.
As soon as I buy a new small drive I'll be updating my site once again.
(An interesting thing about hard drives by the way: 80GB is the smallest you can get and costs €40,- For an additional €3 you get a drive that is twice as big, and for an extra €5 you get a drive that is twice as big as that. So for €8,- more you quadruple the storage space. I'll be going for the 320GB drive...)
Not sure I'd want to touch what's going on outside the central part of the scene - you've got all your action focused in there, and "background" may detract from it. It would also have the effect of putting these things in a place, which would lose the ambiguity that you have right now - which I find kind of interesting.
I was just trying to put myself in your mom's shoes by looking at the two and thinking why she might prefer the first over the second, since they're fairly similar.
The main thing that came to mind was that there was more geometric "purity" in the first, where the glowing orbs were defined as very spherical. Version 2 lost some of that.
But who knows. Art's subjective that way. Personally I think its very close the way it is. The only thing that bothered me about v1 was that the shadows were noisy.
QuoteWell, I could put in some kind of forest in the distance... Or some more GroBoto objects, which would be more conforming the theme.
The printed version is now hanging in our livingroom. Picture below!
Besides that, I happened to come accross a picture I took in Belgium in 2008, and I knew I had to do something with that.
So I made another object in GroBoto.
Second image below is rendered in 3DsMax, but I'll render the object again in TG2 to see if it looks more realistic there.
The picture looks great. I'm glad you took the time to render it large.
That's quite a different perspective you get when seeing a TG render hanging in a living room. Looks great!
---Dune
Cool work.
Thanks!
Quote from: Mohawk20 on September 24, 2009, 05:09:49 PM
The printed version is now hanging in our livingroom. Picture below!
That looks real nice Mohawk!!!!
Downloaded the demo. Looks interesting, and good value for the price. I used to use XenoDream, which is a similar product. Will be useful for making structures in fantasy / sci-fi scenes. Thanks for drawing my attention to it.
John