Removing Unwanted Clouds

[jtmjtm2001]

I can't figure out how to remove these clouds. I do have an understanding of the distant shader and is in use to clear the clouds in the top. I like to keep the cloud formation I have and is it possible to remove the distant clouds as illustrated? Thank you!

[TheBlackHole]

Create another distance shader and multiply it with your original distance shader. Use the result as either a blend shader (I don't recommend this, as I haven't gotten it to work right) or (recommended) multiply your cloud fractal by the two multiplied distance shaders and use the result as your density shader.

[TheBlackHole]

Also, you might want to get a few Compute Normal nodes in the terrain network. I'm seeing some ugly black spots (almost as if someone sprinkled pepper all over your image) on the ground and a few Compute Normal nodes would probably clear that up.

[jtmjtm2001]

Thank you. I'll give a go.

[Henry Blewer]

A distance shader input in the Blend by Shader of the density fractal would do the trick. It will take some tweaking to set iy up how you want it. The View Menu has a 3D Preview Location window. Using this will help get the distances.

[jtmjtm2001]

I tried and can't figure it out. I'm sorry for for being dumb but do I hook the distant two nodes to the multiply node and merge them into the density fractal node?

[FrankB]

you don't have to multiply anything. Just plug a distance shader into the blendshader port of your cloud fractal, that's it.
Set the near color to white and the far color to black. Then specify your render camera in the distance shader dialog. Set the "near distance" to the far end position of the cloud you want to keep, and set the "far distance" to any point beyond the "near distance".

Frank

EDIT:
Also check out this http://www.nwdanet.com/terragen-tutorials/28-cumulustutorial.html

and this http://www.nwdanet.com/terragen-tutorials/8-distance-shader-magic.html

[Oshyan]

Do *not* use "a few" Compute Normal nodes! These are highly render intensive and generally you only need one or two, depending on the complexity of your node network and where you are doing your displacement. One may help your black artifacts problem, but it may also simply have to do with extreme displacement, or very small displacement scales.

As for the clouds, a distance shader can be setup to do this fairly easily, but perhaps even easier would be simply to paint out the area you don't want with a Painted Shader. Attach a Painted Shader to your Blend Shader input on the cloud Density Shader, check Invert, and then paint the parts you don't want out.

- Oshyan

[FrankB]

Oshyan, that's tricky advice - he may think he can paint in the preview right onto the clouds, which will make TG2 crash. The only way he could do it is assuming a birds eye view position over the terrain and clouds and paint onto the terrain. However, using a paint shader as a blend shader for the clouds densitiy shader renders pretty slowly. Overall I think he's better off with just a distance shader. If you fade the clouds out nicely, it should look quite good.

Frank

[jtmjtm2001]

I do understand how to use the distant node and is being used to constrain the clouds where the blue sky is. I'm very happy with the clouds just want to know if is possible to remove the distant clouds as illustrated in the with out destroying the foreground clouds. I have ADHD so please bare with me.

[FrankB]

ok, so copy this code (ctrl+c):

Code Select Expand

<terragen_clip>
<distance_shader
name = "Distance shader 01"
gui_use_node_pos = "1"
gui_node_pos = "-580 480 0"
gui_group = ""
enable = "1"
input_node = ""
gui_use_preview_patch_size = "0"
gui_preview_patch_size = "1000 1000"
apply_far_colour = "1"
far_colour = "0 0 0"
apply_near_colour = "1"
near_colour = "1 1 1"
far_distance = "12000"
near_distance = "10000"
distance_mode = "0"
camera = ""
clamp_far_colour = "1"
clamp_near_colour = "1"
>
</distance_shader>
</terragen_clip>


.... then open your TG project and paste (ctrl+v) this into the node network. A distance shader node will appear. Plug this distance shader into the "blendshader" port of your cloud fractal. Open the cloud fractal and check "blend by shader".
Now any cloud farther than 12000m away will be "killed"

Frank

[airflamesred]

outstanding Frank
I must confess I fell for that painting in the preview window before now and it did indeed crash so thanks for the info on that as well.

[jtmjtm2001]

Got it to work. Thank you Frank B and everyone else.

[Oshyan]

Apologies, I completely forgot about the painted shader sky crash. That is indeed a "deal breaker". Definitely need to get that fixed ASAP.

- Oshyan