Ice

[Dune]

I happened to find an extremely nice image on the internet (CGI, but not TG I'm sure), and am trying to 'copy' it as a challenge. First render here, but it's bloody hard to get the ice and snow right.

[N-drju]

That plane would never ever hold on such a thin ice...

Actually this lumpy ice looks good to me. Perhaps it should be more reflective though?

[oldm4n]

that's pretty cool, some nice color variations on ice.

how long to render this image ?

[mhaze]

Very, very close, perhaps a little too blue but an excellent effort

[Walli]

I think with some post work to mimic other effects (bloom, softness) of the original...could be close ;-)

[ra]

Very good work!

[Dune]

@N-drju: That's their problem 

Took 1.2 hours. Another render, still not satisfied. I will take some blueness out indeed.

[N-drju]

I didn't mind the blueness at all! It was alright!

I know I'm being a jerk right now but still... emm... where's the runway? Is this thing a VTOL?

[Kadri]

Your images are very nice Ulco.

The original looks like it is a mattepainting.
I couldn't find much more about it. How much real elements are in it etc.

http://mattepainting.org/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=9398

[Dune]

Matte painting... mmm, you may very well be right. Still, it's a nice challenge, even more so maybe. Matte painting is 'easier' 
Runway... it was there allright, but summer closed in and it has been overrun by ice debris and underrun by melting sheet. So Daniel (yes, it's him again) is standing a bit forlorn near his barrels of fuel... what to do? 

[j meyer]

If you like this image you should definitely take a look at the
other matte paintings of Lubos De Gerardo,very inspiring stuff.
Cool attempt btw.

[TheBadger]

Hello Ulco, I think I may have a useful suggestion for this image

Do you remember this thread?:http://www.planetside.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,15056.0.html
And http://vimeo.com/49082546

I promise you that with some carful playing with the settings, you CAN fake SSS for your ice!
Try it. The real trick will be to copy every node and make a planet copy, then get the new planet sized smaller by just a hair... or two.
And then of course get the opacity/luminosity levels ballenced right. Then if you animate the camera, you can also animate one of the luminance levels of one of the planets and get a nice effect.

It works.

[Dune]

I'll have a look at his work, thanks.

I remember that, but never dived into it. But opacity can't be balanced subtly, it's on or off (unless using a water shader, and I won't go for that). Luminosity can, but I already used that in the ice, with a separate PF for noise. If I'd animate the luminosity, you'd get the SSS effect visualized allright. But it's still all on one surface of a hair's thickness so to speak. So in stills, of no use.
Or am I getting you wrongly?

[N-drju]

Shouldn't you be saving the guy instead of just bragging on? How about an icebreaker?

[TheBadger]

Ulco, definitely works with animation. I think you got me just fine.
But I think it will work. No one thought that the ball in the video would work, but it did. and this will too. But like the ball, I needed dandelO to help me get it to function right. So I can't tell you how to make the ice work. I just can see that it would.... Probably... Maybe. 

I Like the first and last of the three so far.