Isometric views in bryce
JohnColgrove
Posts: 0
I'm trying to make an isometric view in bryce but I'm unsure if I'm even accurate on my camera settings. How would I tell if my camera view is accurate for isometric projection? Is there any easy way to tell?
Note: This is for a game by the way.
Comments
A typical camera view is perspective and never isometric as receding lines are not parallel (but may be close enough for your use if you use a "telephoto" lens setting and point directly at the corner of a cube so the 3 side edges are each 120 degrees apart)....See wikipedia or similar for definition/explanation.
Instead of using the camera, use one of the view options and render from it.
On left side of screen you will see a mountain. You can click on it or the small triangle just to the right of it.
Bryce can do isometric renders - or very nearly so. Here is an example: http://www.bryce5.com/details.php?image_id=1297 David experimented with this quite some time ago. I'm not sure I remember it correctly but I think the "secret" is to make the camera FOV very low. Let's hope David drops in here.
See screen grabs attached for;
1). Default field of view
2). Isometric field of view
3). Totally distorted ultrawide field of view
Use the little green ball I've highlighed in red to alter the field of view all the way to the left and then use the 'XZ Camera Control' (only on the 'Z' axis) to move the viewing position out and away from your scene.
Yes a narrow FOV with the camera along way off, will achieve this. That is one way. I have been experimenting with another potential route that involves using a lens - yes it is an odd sort of lens. If you can provide an example (a visual one) of the effect you are looking for - I'll gladly have a go at replicating this effect in Bryce.
Something along these lines perhaps? Here's an example using a lens. I've made it smaller than the view so you can see how the lens converts the perspective. This, unlike the method where the camera is moved far away and the FOV made very narrow, is a bit easier to work with, as well as allowing the use of haze. The downside is that it is another ray path for the render system to trace. So slightly longer render times.