Show Us Your Bryce Renders! Part 4

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Comments

  • mermaid010mermaid010 Posts: 5,492
    edited December 1969

    Thanks Sean, David and Horo. Will work on the suggestions... fiddling as David puts it.

  • GussNemoGussNemo Posts: 1,855
    edited April 2013

    @electro: I just look on Amazon, under 10 New, and found vendors listed for Bryce 4 from $14.05 up to over $100. Farm_For_Books wants $14.05 for a NEW copy of Bryce 4, CD included. Dan M Books is asking $14.10 and says the CD is included.

    @mermaid: The dock in the second image, because of the color, looks like it's actually in the water. Like how you've managed the dock reflection. Nice job so far.

    The image below was created when I once again starting working with Bryce. I loved the mountains that were created but didn't know enough to properly apply "something" to the plane area. I tried the material you currently see and didn't like, so the image went back into the Save file and sat there for a number of months. Then, again while thumbing through Bryce 4 I found a section about making a canyon using a river as the starting point. Hmmm...bells went off and an idea crystallized. It took several tries but I finally was able to create a terrain that contained a properly placed river that ran as I'd always hoped it would. The second image is the result. Because creating landscapes seems difficult for me, I'd appreciate any and all comments.

    Edited to add images.

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  • Miss BMiss B Posts: 3,071
    edited April 2013

    OK, I tried TLBKlaus' Colorplexity tutorial again, this time using my wireless mouse for better control of the view and placement of the lights.

    This time I played more with Hue/Saturation and Brightness/Contrast and I like the way it came out better. This one looks more like the examples at the bottom of the tutorial, though I think I made the light colors a little too light this time.

    Be sure to click to see unsquished.

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    Post edited by Miss B on
  • Miss BMiss B Posts: 3,071
    edited December 1969

    GussNemo said:
    @Miss B: Thanks. That image you linked to is stunning, love the colors you used. Was it created using tori? It looks like it.

    If you're talking about the image I linked to in my gallery at Renderosity, no that's a fractal image, and I created it with the Apophysis fractal rendering engine.

    Glad you liked it. :-)

  • HoroHoro Posts: 10,646
    edited December 1969

    @GussNemo - second one is a great improvement. Learning can be rewardding ;)

    @Miss B - looking good. I agree, just tiny bit darker would be an improvement.

  • GussNemoGussNemo Posts: 1,855
    edited December 1969

    @Miss B: Wow, simply stunning. I have got to try that tutorial. I don't know, I like what you posted. I'd have to see one a bit darker before saying a bit darker would look good.

    @Horo: Thank you. And you are so right, learning can be very rewarding.

  • David BrinnenDavid Brinnen Posts: 3,136
    edited April 2013

    That's turned out very well Miss B!

    OK, Jamie, as it happens I've been researching some stuff to do with terrains...

    Bryce 7.1 Pro Advanced - Curvature filtering fix for terrains - by David Brinnen

    Added another image featuring the same terrain (but copied and pasted twice over) and spent a bit of time tinkering with the materials, rendered with obscure light, soft shadows and an-isotropic reflection on the water.

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    Post edited by David Brinnen on
  • GussNemoGussNemo Posts: 1,855
    edited December 1969

    @David: That's a real interesting video, one I'll have to watch again. And maybe again. I also noticed something while watching the video, and looking at your rendered image, it's all on one "plane." The valleys, mountains, etc. are all together. Perhaps my problem with trying to create a landscape is not using this avenue.

  • Miss BMiss B Posts: 3,071
    edited December 1969

    @David - Thank you for the kind words.

    @Horo - Darkening the lights a bit will be my next attempt. At least I won't have to start from the beginning. I'll save that for using different shapes. ;-)

    @Guss - Glad you l ike it, and I like it the way it is too, but I think slightly darker lights might give it a "richer" look.

  • HoroHoro Posts: 10,646
    edited December 1969

    GussNemo said:
    And maybe again. I also noticed something while watching the video, and looking at your rendered image, it's all on one "plane." The valleys, mountains, etc. are all together. Perhaps my problem with trying to create a landscape is not using this avenue.

    Yes, I thought so several times - I even posted a remark, which got lost when I sent it, and I got unnerved. Yes, it is easier to set up a terrain with a relatively high resolution - say 1024 - and move the camera around to find a cool spot. Or put the camera near one corner and look over the landscape. Using several terrains for the main landscape makes it difficult to get the sizes right. I use only more terrains if I want some mountains far away as backdrop.
  • TLBKlausTLBKlaus Posts: 70
    edited April 2013

    @Miss B Nice to see that tut get some use... good job, and yes a little more contrast might work. You might
    also try a negative radial light in the center to darken the render...

    Here's a deceptive one, part of my venerable Simplicity series... it's made from one sphere and
    one light. That's all. :D

    The secret is in the material, the ever-strange crumpled tin preset.

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    Post edited by TLBKlaus on
  • GussNemoGussNemo Posts: 1,855
    edited December 1969

    @Miss B: It's not hard to like that image, it's very pretty. (I still have to work that tutorial in sometime) Be nice to see what you come up with next.

    @Horo: I haven't tried doing that, yet, been working on another reflective project AND an attempt to create a believable canyon. When you use this method, if you edit the terrain do you enlarge it before or after editing? Or do you use it as is?

    @TLBKlaus: Wow, for a minute I thought I was looking into a pool of swirling oil. Love the results.

    My previous image of the multi-replicated tori got me thinking of another reflective image, but I have to make the objects I intend to use. Below are two of the ones made so far.

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  • HoroHoro Posts: 10,646
    edited December 1969

    GussNemo said:
    @Horo: I haven't tried doing that, yet, been working on another reflective project AND an attempt to create a believable canyon. When you use this method, if you edit the terrain do you enlarge it before or after editing? Or do you use it as is?.

    If you are going to tile terrains, you stay at the size the terrain comes into Bryce. Only when all tiles are there, you enlarge. If you use just one terrain (which I do in more than 90% of all cases) set the terrain to its final size right at the beginning; set X and Z size of the terrain first (1000 BU or more), then Y size as appropriate. Then place camera and set the sky, haze gives a clue of size. When you see that something is missing in your terrain at the angle the camera looks at it would come the time to edit.
  • bighbigh Posts: 8,147
    edited December 1969

    That's turned out very well Miss B!

    OK, Jamie, as it happens I've been researching some stuff to do with terrains...

    Bryce 7.1 Pro Advanced - Curvature filtering fix for terrains - by David Brinnen

    Added another image featuring the same terrain (but copied and pasted twice over) and spent a bit of time tinkering with the materials, rendered with obscure light, soft shadows and an-isotropic reflection on the water.

    top pretty good .
    bottom needs work .

  • StuartBStuartB Posts: 596
    edited December 1969

    @ David Brinnen.

    Just watched the tutorial video about Curvature Filtering and noticed you mentioned
    the annoying pop-up about performance issues.

    I think the performance monitor service needs to be on but you may be able to get rid of the pop-up.
    If you are using Windows 7 click the Start button, then Control Panel and look for an icon called "Notification Area Icons"
    Click that and you may be able to hide the message if it's in the list.

    You should also be able to do it by clicking the notification area bottom right of screen and click customize.

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  • David BrinnenDavid Brinnen Posts: 3,136
    edited December 1969

    StuartB4 said:
    @ David Brinnen.

    Just watched the tutorial video about Curvature Filtering and noticed you mentioned
    the annoying pop-up about performance issues.

    I think the performance monitor service needs to be on but you may be able to get rid of the pop-up.
    If you are using Windows 7 click the Start button, then Control Panel and look for an icon called "Notification Area Icons"
    Click that and you may be able to hide the message if it's in the list.

    You should also be able to do it by clicking the notification area bottom right of screen and click customize.

    Hmn... all my options seem to be greyed out. It's annoying as this only started doing this since I changed the HD's - otherwise it's the same system.

  • GussNemoGussNemo Posts: 1,855
    edited December 1969

    @Horo: Thank you for the information, I will give it a try. I read in the Bryce 4 book about tiling, and how to seamlessly join them once they're created. And as you said, they cannot be resized until AFTER all tiling has been completed.

  • JamahoneyJamahoney Posts: 1,791
    edited April 2013

    ...otherwise it’s the same system.

    Don't know what it is either, but very annoying. This isn't applicable to your problem, David, and I'm probably being paranoid, but I always feel that some time [after a few days] when one gets those Auto-Updates from Microsoft, the OS, somehow, undergoes changes in areas (e.g. resizing of windows, internet favourites History folder...etc,..well; that's my experience) that you then have to reset again.

    But you know what they say about 'paranoia'..."just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean to say they're not out to get ya"...:)

    Jay

    Post edited by Jamahoney on
  • Miss BMiss B Posts: 3,071
    edited December 1969

    TLBKlaus said:
    @Miss B Nice to see that tut get some use... good job, and yes a little more contrast might work. You might also try a negative radial light in the center to darken the render.

    Ah, now there's a thought. I only played around with a negative light once in DS, but I can see how that might be just what I need. Thanks for the tip. ;-)
  • HoroHoro Posts: 10,646
    edited December 1969

    I've been attempting to create sky dome HDRIs without sun. The first one should look like a moon-lit scene, the second one lit by a setting (or rising) sun. The third is a photograph. The lens has quite some vignetting but I cannot afford a more expensive one. What really got me down is the dirt on the Bayer filter I've only discovered when I was back home ;).

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  • JamahoneyJamahoney Posts: 1,791
    edited April 2013

    Horo...love the first image..very 'natural-looking'...but it's obvious there's somewthing 'going wrong' - optically - in the second image. As to the third image, the photograph - it looks nice (some dark-ish dot's also appear in the sky). But even still, all are images I'd be proud to represent as a render or work.

    Jay

    Post edited by Jamahoney on
  • Dave SavageDave Savage Posts: 2,433
    edited December 1969

    Horo said:
    What really got me down is the dirt on the Bayer filter I've only discovered when I was back home ;).


    Photoshop is your friend. :-)

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  • Miss BMiss B Posts: 3,071
    edited April 2013

    OK, I redid my second Complexity render. I used TLBKlaus' suggestion and added another radial light with -10 diffuse and 0 specular intensity.

    Then I played with the Brightness/Contrast and Hue/Saturation adjustment layers in Photoshop, and this is what I came up with. :-)

    Be sure to click to see unsquished.

    If you want to see the 2 versions together for comparison, check them out here  --> http://3dpixelzone.com/WIP/bryce/

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    Post edited by Miss B on
  • GussNemoGussNemo Posts: 1,855
    edited December 1969

    @Horo: Those two images are real nice, even with the variegation in the right image. The photo is, IMHO, spectacular, and cold looking.

    @Dave: The magic eraser strikes again. :-)

    @Miss B: After seeing your second image, I can honestly say I like both. The first because the dimmer colors highlight the purple flowers(?) on the periphery. And the second because the center is highlighted by the darkened periphery. A neat trick to try would be to pick out some shape in the image and play with luminance and contrast, to make the shape stand out or recede. Or do the same for a particular color.

  • HoroHoro Posts: 10,646
    edited December 1969

    Thanks Jamahoney and GussNemo.

    Photoshop is your friend. :-)

    No, this is a pure Bryce render (2 minutes). I used a vignetting and a dirt filter from our Bryce 7.1 Pro Lenses and Filters (http://www.daz3d.com/bryce-7-1-pro-lenses-and-filters) currently at 40%.

  • David BrinnenDavid Brinnen Posts: 3,136
    edited December 1969

    Horo said:
    Thanks Jamahoney and GussNemo.

    Photoshop is your friend. :-)

    No, this is a pure Bryce render (2 minutes). I used a vignetting and a dirt filter from our Bryce 7.1 Pro Lenses and Filters (http://www.daz3d.com/bryce-7-1-pro-lenses-and-filters) currently at 40%.

    Ah... clever... I see what you did there. :)

  • mermaid010mermaid010 Posts: 5,492
    edited December 1969

    Thank GussNemo, David’s tutorials are great and easy to follow, I mean if one keeps pausing and rewinding the videos.;-) We are in the same boat almost, I don’t have much success with landscapes either. I need to understand the materials and textures more. Your 2nd image is coming along nicely. The Multi-replicate wheels look great.

    Miss B – lovely abstract, I like the 1st one better. I bookmarked the tutorial and hope to find time soon to attempt it.

    TLBKlaus – one sphere and one and a secretive material=an awesome abstract.

    I gave the Hdri renders another go and here are 2 of the results which I liked. I was a bit confused on how to desaturate the model. Was it to make the diffuse color grayish? Both Horo and David mentioned desaturating the model.

    One render, I turned off the Tone map and with the other I tackled the contrast in Photoshop.

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  • HoroHoro Posts: 10,646
    edited December 1969

    I was a bit confused on how to desaturate the model. Was it to make the diffuse color grayish? Both Horo and David mentioned desaturating the model.

    Both renders came out quite nice. The Saturation control in the IBL tab controls the saturation of the light generated by the HDRI, at 0 there is only monochrome light.

    There is no such control for the HDRI as background. Tone-mapping applies the Reinhart-Photographic tone-mapper with the controls (average luminance, white point, threshold, phi, number of scales, lowest pixel value, highest pixel value and gamma) preset to values that work most of the time. When we worked on Bryce 7.1 IBL, we finally decided not to include several different tone-mapping algorithms with their individual controls because we thought this would completely overwhelm the artist.

    What we have now is no ton-mapping (i.e. linear, the whole dynamic range is squeezed into 256 brightness steps), and one preset tone-mapper, which gives acceptable results in most cases and pleasing ones quite often. Nevertheless, we perceive such tone-mapped images a bit on the low contrast side at times.

    What can be done is using relative high contrast and highly saturated models along with a non tone-mapped backdrop and in post production (with a graphics application), reduce contrast with the gamma or a similar control, and adjusting the overall saturation with the appropriate control, also in the graphics application.

  • bighbigh Posts: 8,147
    edited December 1969

    Thank GussNemo, David’s tutorials are great and easy to follow, I mean if one keeps pausing and rewinding the videos.;-) We are in the same boat almost, I don’t have much success with landscapes either. I need to understand the materials and textures more. Your 2nd image is coming along nicely. The Multi-replicate wheels look great.

    Miss B – lovely abstract, I like the 1st one better. I bookmarked the tutorial and hope to find time soon to attempt it.

    TLBKlaus – one sphere and one and a secretive material=an awesome abstract.

    I gave the Hdri renders another go and here are 2 of the results which I liked. I was a bit confused on how to desaturate the model. Was it to make the diffuse color grayish? Both Horo and David mentioned desaturating the model.

    One render, I turned off the Tone map and with the other I tackled the contrast in Photoshop.

    your model looks like its hanging in the air - maybe a different angle would help

  • David BrinnenDavid Brinnen Posts: 3,136
    edited December 1969

    Been working on the materials and lighting of the scene I used for the last tutorial.
    Bryce 7.1 Pro Advanced - Curvature filtering fix for terrains - by David Brinnen

    I redid the curvature filter capture and incorporated slope and altitude into the mix. The HDRI is something Horo has cooked up.

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