Hi All,
Thought I'd share my latest render. I brought in [as a loaded hieghtfield] one of the combined World Machine terrains I created and rendered originally in Terragen 9, added a power fractal to displace and some strata. The surface has colors and textures that are primarily power fractal-driven for soil, grass and snow.
The trees are Marc Gebhart's Pine Snow_2 from his Generic Pines Snow. I employed Oshyan's method of assigning one of my snow surface layers to partially shade the leaves/needles ( http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=758.0 ). Marc was kind enough to explain his method ( http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=8117.15 ) which I will experiment with on a future render.
Suggestions for improvement are always solicited and appreciated.
Have a great week.
Linda
Nice pov...but I have some comments:
You have to add another population of another kind of tree...
The color of the mountain needs more variation mountain ...
btw I like the fog in the clouded part ...
N.KAID
Hi Linda,
a nice terrain you have here. The strongest points are the terrain and the sky. The clouds looks really good and convincing. Surfacing though is a challenge. I have the suspicion that the trees are too large compared to the terrain. Also, I think trees should be denser and less evenly distributed.
With surfacing, in TG2, it's better to not use a green surface layer to mimic vegetation, unless your camera is so far away that real 3D vegetation instances can no longer be seen as individual objects. Focus on surface shading the rock, a little moss here and there, sand, stones, soil, etc... then use denser populations of grass and trees and bushes and flowers to make the green.
Cheers,
Frank
I agree with Frank. But, I do use khaki and olive drab and some red in my grass surface layers. Sometimes for distant areas without vegetation objects, I copy the primary plant objects color to one of the grass surface colors.
Thank you for your good suggestion re the tree population and the surface. Much appreciated! Linda
Quote from: aymenk2003 on December 14, 2009, 12:37:26 AM
Nice pov...but I have some comments:
You have to add another population of another kind of tree...
The color of the mountain needs more variation mountain ...
btw I like the fog in the clouded part ...
N.KAID
Hi Frank,
Thank you for your kind response. I appreciate the valuable information on surfacing and populations. I suspected the trees were not the best choice- in terms of type, and I wasn't sure about how large and how dense I should make them.
Back to work.
Regards,
Linda
Quote from: FrankB on December 14, 2009, 02:09:43 AM
Hi Linda,
a nice terrain you have here. The strongest points are the terrain and the sky. The clouds looks really good and convincing. Surfacing though is a challenge. I have the suspicion that the trees are too large compared to the terrain. Also, I think trees should be denser and less evenly distributed.
With surfacing, in TG2, it's better to not use a green surface layer to mimic vegetation, unless your camera is so far away that real 3D vegetation instances can no longer be seen as individual objects. Focus on surface shading the rock, a little moss here and there, sand, stones, soil, etc... then use denser populations of grass and trees and bushes and flowers to make the green.
Cheers,
Frank
Great suggestions. Thank you, njeneb.
Quote from: njeneb on December 14, 2009, 08:07:42 AM
I agree with Frank. But, I do use khaki and olive drab and some red in my grass surface layers. Sometimes for distant areas without vegetation objects, I copy the primary plant objects color to one of the grass surface colors.
Here's the final of multiple renders, but I'm still not satisfied with the trees or the surface. Just don't have more time for fiddling right now.
Thanks again for all the great feedback and suggestions. I used a Painted Shader for the tree distribution; again, the trees are from
Marc Gebhart's "Generic Pines Snow Pack"- much appreciated, Marc.
http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=8117.msg86547#msg86547
Further suggestions for improvement are most welcome.
Have a wonderful Christmas and holiday time, everyone!
Linda
oh yes, much to like. Like the light and shadows and the color and shape of the cliffs. And the clouds are superb. Looks like another notch upwards to me!!
Wow, this is starting to look very nice! The clouds, atmosphere, and terrain is on target. I also like the population how you have it now. However, there is a strange color/lighting issue with the haze in the distance.
That's what was bugging me, the distant haze. I just could not figure it out. Did you change the color of the haze Linda?
Thanks for your comments moodflow and njeneb!
The haze color wasn't changed, but I did move the sun a little and the sun's elevation.
I also play with levels and contrast in Photoshop post-render.
When I compare the two, I do like the first render's atmosphere/lighting better than the 2nd.
Thanks again,
Linda
Nice image , Linda :)
You seem to playing very strong in post. I meen it not in the bad way. This image has a harsh(strong) feel on it.
I would like to see the original to compare :) .But i think this gives the image a realistic feeling .
Kadri.
Very nice Linda. I'm wondering if you rendered using the Cubic B Spline filter that maybe it would soften the image.
I love the lighting and clouds, and the terrain is superb! But yes, seems to be missing a little AA :)
Thank you, Kadri, Bob and Eoin, for the kind words and suggestions. I'm rendering a more fine-tuned version of the image as I write.
@Eoin.. I upped the AA settings, including checking GI surface details for this upcoming render.
@ Bob.. I did what you suggested (Cubic B-Spline soft) for the one cooking. Thought it was already set, but only on the small render.
I'm sure it will make a diff.
Thanks again all. :)
Linda
Ok.. This is it. Still welcome instructive and critical comments, but I'm probably going to put this one away.
Thanks again for all the help. Increased the AA and GI settings for a quality render..and used the Cubic B-Spline (soft) filter to soften a bit. Also tweaked the contrast and sharpened post-render. Linda
Aye - that's better. I love those clouds - share the settings, or is it NWDA?
Linda, it looks really better than first version! well a sense of space 5+++!
Good example showing what improved GI settings can do :)
I like the pov and the clouds (especially).
Which version did you use, the new one already? The vegetation might improve a lot using the new raytracer for objects.
Martin
Echo of Martin's comments. I really like the clouds. The displacements of the cliffs is really well done.
Wow, a great improvement. It has taken on a striking feel of depth. I like the uphill visual climb into the distance. Agree with Martin and the use of the new settings.
Thanks, everyone!
@ Eoin: cloud settings are close to the settings Buzzzzz posted from his "Abandoned Ship" in November (bz Cumulus.tgc):
http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=8003.0 I apologize for not crediting you earlier, Buzzzzz. :(
They are as follows:
Atmosphere:
Haze Density 1.5
Haze Exp Height 4000
Bluesky Exp Height 8000
Ceiling Adjust 7
Ceiling 56000
Floor -16000
Haze Glow Amt. 1
Haze Glow Power 0.99
Blue sky Glow amt. 0.25
Blue sky Glow Power 0.75
Enviro light 0.5
Enviro light tint 1
Ambient 0
Fake Dark Power 0
Fake Dark Sharpness 10
Bluesky density color 1
Redsky Decay Colour 0.9048
No. of samples 64
Cirrus
Cloud Alt. 12836.3
Cloud Depth 16.9001
quality 1.00611
samples 11
All other settings are default
Cumulus
Cloud Alt 9700
Cloud Depth 2453
Edge Sharpness 11.5
Cloud Density default
Coverage adjust -0.025
Cloud Colour 0.41
Cloud scattering colour 0.43
Lighting
sun glow amt 1.03
sun glow power 1.05
light propagation 1.25
light prop mix 0.55
fake internal scattering 0.2
enviro light 0.75
enviro light tint 1
Tweaks
ambient 0.1
fake dark power 0.1
fake dark sharpness 10
check 'improved lighting model'
check 'flatter base'
base wispiness 0.33
base softness 0.15
coverage gamma 0.75
Quality 3D volumetric 0.940042
no. of samples 84
set at 'optimal'
Density shader:
feature scale 1500
lead-in scale 60000
smallest scale 15
noise octaves 14
density contrast 1
coverage adjust -0.125
roughness 1.7
noise flavour perlin ridges
noise variation 1.9
bouyancy 0.5
clumping 0.95
lead-in warp amt. 0.5
Blend by shader- distance shader
far distance 30000
near distance 11000
distance mode Z depth (planar)
camera render camera
@ Martin: Used the new patched version, and thanks for the raytracer suggestion for the vegetation.
@ Bob, Eoin, njeneb and Malcolm: Thank you very much. :)
Linda