Help with Motion Picture about the Moon

[Tangled-Universe]

I sometimes think about writing a book about TG2 as well.
Though, the vast amount of time it would require and the "not being 100% sure" about a lot of things keep me from it, honestly.
It would require a lot of feedback and cooperation from Planetside as well.
I wonder how thick a TG2 book would be, just curiosity.

[blackcat]

I sometimes think about writing a book about TG2 as well.
Though, the vast amount of time it would require and the "not being 100% sure" about a lot of things keep me from it, honestly.
It would require a lot of feedback and cooperation from Planetside as well.
I wonder how thick a TG2 book would be, just curiosity.

I wouldn't do it without a commitment from a publisher first...which is one of the reasons I was going through my agent when I was thinking about doing a TG 0.9 book. I would do the same thing for a TG2 book: prepare a proposal and have it shopped around.

And you are perfectly correct: it would have to be a collaborative effort.

[Henry Blewer]

I'm having enough problems writing a simple tutorial. I read through it, and start over. I keep leaving out things or skipping stuff; because I do things by intuition. It's hard to self analyze a work flow. There is also lots of things I use without having a clear understanding of why and how it works.

[rcallicotte]

A really good book will have a reference section, but will be mostly about how to do stuff in some sort of concrete easy to love order without understanding all of the intricate "Matt, Jo and Oshyan" parts that are fantastic to know once you get into this, but aren't necessary to make something pretty.  That was my mistake when I started - I looked at everything so analytically that I never created anything.

[blackcat]

Exactly. There'd be no need to explain how every single TG2 picture and effect were created. Once someone gets a clear handle on how the various tools work and what they do, they can then easily combine them to create their own unique images.

[Tangled-Universe]

Exactly. There'd be no need to explain how every single TG2 picture and effect were created. Once someone gets a clear handle on how the various tools work and what they do, they can then easily combine them to create their own unique images.

Well, you're right there of course.
However, if I look at the responses to my images I see that it is very rare that someone asks me directly "how did you do this or that?".
I'm not keen on sharing entire projects straight away, but I'm quite opposite about sharing my ideas and tricks.

[rcallicotte]

Yeah, TU, but your project knowledge could be very helpful and actually could be included in a book like this -

1.  Someone like Blackcat could give about 10 or so chapters on the basics by going through a mini-project, explaining the basics overall.  Maybe by going through each tab.
2.  Once the first half of the book was created (in #1 above), then there could be maybe three (or more) quality projects from people like you (TU, Frank B., Franck, Volker, OB, etc.) who explain everything step-by-step on a more advanced (and especially clear) level.  
3.  The reference section in the back could be created by Planetside, based upon what they think would be the topping on the cake (or better, the structural girders).

An additional CD with multiple projects and many clip files from DandelO and people like him could be part of this exceptional book.

I'd buy this.

Exactly. There'd be no need to explain how every single TG2 picture and effect were created. Once someone gets a clear handle on how the various tools work and what they do, they can then easily combine them to create their own unique images.

Well, you're right there of course.
However, if I look at the responses to my images I see that it is very rare that someone asks me directly "how did you do this or that?".
I'm not keen on sharing entire projects straight away, but I'm quite opposite about sharing my ideas and tricks.

[blackcat]

What you describe is pretty much exactly right on the mark, so far as describing how a TG2 book should work.

There would be little need for anyone to worry about their writing skills: the book would necessarily have to have an overseeing editor (or editors) who would make sure that all of the text and references were consistent and that everything was clearly explained. In fact, it would be to the book's benefit to have one of these editors have some basic skills but be relatively inexperienced in using TG2...that would go a long way toward making sure nothing is taken for granted. (The YA science books that I write and illustrate are edited by people who have no special knowledge in the subjects I'm writing about. They read the manuscripts just as the intended teenaged reader would and readily catch every place where I have not explained something fully or assumed knowledge on the part of the reader they may not have.)

No one needs to tell precisely how they achieved a particular image (though why not, frankly, escapes me), but the basic steps and concepts can certainly be shared. For instance, I have not even the remotest desire to recreate nvseal's planetary clouds...but I would like to know the specific TG2 steps he took to create them so I can apply them to my own ends.

Perhaps a large part of my approach to this comes from my background in art. None of the artists and illustrators I know are remotely shy about sharing their techniques, knowing full well that what another artist does with them will be as unique as their own results.

R

Yeah, TU, but your project knowledge could be very helpful and actually could be included in a book like this -

1.  Someone like Blackcat could give about 10 or so chapters on the basics by going through a mini-project, explaining the basics overall.  Maybe by going through each tab.
2.  Once the first half of the book was created (in #1 above), then there could be maybe three (or more) quality projects from people like you (TU, Frank B., Franck, Volker, OB, etc.) who explain everything step-by-step on a more advanced (and especially clear) level.  
3.  The reference section in the back could be created by Planetside, based upon what they think would be the topping on the cake (or better, the structural girders).

An additional CD with multiple projects and many clip files from DandelO and people like him could be part of this exceptional book.

I'd buy this.

[dandelO]

No one needs to tell precisely how they achieved a particular image (though why not, frankly, escapes me)... ...Perhaps a large part of my approach to this comes from my background in art. None of the artists and illustrators I know are remotely shy about sharing their techniques, knowing full well that what another artist does with them will be as unique as their own results.

I think the point there is that the artist/illustrator can't really sell a specific technique, which sadly is kind of the way the sharing of presets and techniques and all of that end of things has went with Terragen these days.

As for adding clips and projects to a library/book on TG, by all means feel free to use anything I've shared. There's nothing at all in any of those that the next person couldn't do identically if they'd only thought of it first. Most of everything I've learned with TG has been through personal experimentation and collaborative efforts between us lot in here. That and lots of burrowing around in the rabbit-hole of these very off-topic threads(yes, just like this very one here). Shame.

As far as penning any books/chapters/etc. Not interested. Such things should, and would've, been best explained by the creators of the software, and those in that inner-circle.
Those who have time, patience and skill enough to provide the documentation for this entire application, bash-on by all means. I don't.
I simply enjoy messing around with the program for fun, no big deal to me if there's any more documentation or not. Maybe 3 or 4 years ago I'd think differently, when I had less than half a clue about anything TG2.
I understand the requirement for concise doc's for users of any software but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting on it.

Meanwhile, I'd suggest stocking up on cigarettes and coffee and getting busy with the nodes!

Always the pessimist,
dandelO.

[blackcat]

No one needs to tell precisely how they achieved a particular image (though why not, frankly, escapes me)... ...Perhaps a large part of my approach to this comes from my background in art. None of the artists and illustrators I know are remotely shy about sharing their techniques, knowing full well that what another artist does with them will be as unique as their own results.

I think the point there is that the artist/illustrator can't really sell a specific technique, which sadly is kind of the way the sharing of presets and techniques and all of that end of things has went with Terragen these days.

I know and it's really silly. It's like Norman Rockwell trying to make money off someone mixing paints using the same pallet or using the same brand of paintbrushes. For my own part, I'll be glad to explain in detail how I create anything I've done (the only hard part to explain would be the freehand work that goes into most of the digital images). No one is going to wind up with the same artwork by just using the same methods. They could only do that if they used things I'd specifically created, such as heightfield maps or textures. In short, use my techniques and methods all you like...even use my maps and textures...just don't use them to create the same images. I'll come after you if you do that!

As for adding clips and projects to a library/book on TG, by all means feel free to use anything I've shared. There's nothing at all in any of those that the next person couldn't do identically if they'd only thought of it first. Most of everything I've learned with TG has been through personal experimentation and collaborative efforts between us lot in here. That and lots of burrowing around in the rabbit-hole of these very off-topic threads(yes, just like this very one here). Shame.

Again, I agree. I would never have gotten where I am as an illustrator had it not been for the generosity of friends and colleagues. I can only pay them back by doing the same for others.

As far as penning any books/chapters/etc. Not interested. Such things should, and would've, been best explained by the creators of the software, and those in that inner-circle.

Well, yes and no. I think they would need the guiding hand of someone not so close to the software. It may be hard for them to see it through the eyes of a novice. It's a problem you'll often see in explanations posted in these forums: the posters assume a pre-knowledge on the part of the reader that may not exist.

Those who have time, patience and skill enough to provide the documentation for this entire application, bash-on by all means. I don't. I simply enjoy messing around with the program for fun, no big deal to me if there's any more documentation or not. Maybe 3 or 4 years ago I'd think differently, when I had less than half a clue about anything TG2. I understand the requirement for concise doc's for users of any software but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting on it.

My hope for such a book is strictly practical. I use TG2 professionally, which means I have deadlines to meet. I simply don't have the time to experiment endlessly in order to figure out how to do something (and, as it often turns out, something easy to do). I have a great many working illustrator friends who would love to use TG2 but are frightened off by the almost vertical learning curve.