TerraLUNA 3 - Make moon bigger?
Nerevarine
Posts: 175
Probably a very silly question, but I've really been struggling with this product and seemingly can't get it to look as WOW as the promo images at all. I've been trying to figure out how to make the moon bigger. The settings I can see aren't great, and in a scene I just used it for, I had to position the moon in a very odd position to keep it in shot, but it was so, so tiny. Is there a way to make the moon bigger, or move the moon without using the presets provided?
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If I recall correctly, you want to apply the Scale changes to the Control Prop and not directly to the Luna prop.
See message below. Incorrect information due to my faulty memory. :)
Thank you, Jason! I will be trying this product out again today and will report back. :)
Good luck. I remember having the same issues you are describing and finally realizing that you can't affect the Luna prop directly.
It has been a while though.
Something that I remembered after the fact...
If you are having a hard time locating and posing the Luna object in your scene, try doing this:
Turn off everything in your scene except Luna. Change your viewport draw style to Iray.
This should allow you to locate and position the moon without a heavy system hit, as long as you are using Iray. I had a lot of trouble with the moon being just slightly too high or directly behind the camera. Locating and positioning it by trial and error was maddening.
Once you get it where you want, you can start turning on the scene objects / turn off Iray preview.
I apologize, I was incorrect on my previous postings. I reinstalled TerraLuna and started experimenting...
For Posing the Moon on the horizon: You want to use the rotation dials associated with the Control Rig. Use the X and Y Rotate dials which will move the Luna prop accordingly. Do not use the Z Rotate dial (associated with the Control Prop) or the Rotate dials associated directly with the Luna prop. Ugly things can happen if you do. Also, don't use the Translate dials associated with either prop.
For Changing the Size of the Moon: Use the Scale dial associated with the Luna prop. The tricky part is you may need to scale up the Lunar Light prop as well. The more you increase the moon, the more you block the Lunar Light prop.
Here is where it gets complicated... When you increase the size of the Lunar Light prop, you are also increasing the amount of light it gives off, geometrically. So you will most likely have to tone done the intensity of the light the Shader is giving off.
If you look at the attached examples you'll see what I mean:
The first two images are the default size and light setting for "Moonlight Outerspace."
The second two images show how much light is lost when the moon is increased and blocks the Lunar Light prop.
The third two images shows just how much the light levels increase when the Lunar Light prop is proportionally increased.
I hope this helps. I know I had a hard time with this set when I first started. Which items to add, which objects to apply the poses and shaders to.
Thank you, Jason! I will be trying this product out again today and will report back. :)
Sounds good.
I had been meaning to experiment with this for a while now. I have a few newer products that I wanted to use it with (UltraScenery, Cloudscape Creator) and I have been procrastinating.
So your question was a good timing to light a fire under my butt.
TerraLuna really is a nice product once you get used to its nuances. I've found the night sky / moon sky HDRs to be underwhelming and finicky. TL is more flexible.
Sorry - NO idea why my comment posted twice!!
I have had a play around using your tips - VERY helpful, thank you! Now I'm realising that by using the TerraLuna product, I've got a STUPIDLY bright light coming in from the right side on all my renders (I noticed it on my first render, chalked it up to my own light set-up, but it's now on a second render with no additional light sources in that area). Hmmmm....
No problem. Glad to help. Like I said, I had an ulterior motive. :)
Hmm, not sure I can help on the light issue. It would depend on what else was in your scene.
Off the top of my head, try using the Night Rig and one of the Night skies that comes with TerraLuna. Also double check that your camera headlamp isn't on (though the light won't be coming from the side if it was).
When all else fails, try changing the render settings so that the light is Scene Only (and not dome, sun-sky, etc.)
Yep, no camera headlamp, if it's only a model in the scene, still that horribly bright white from the right, which gives a nice look, sorta, but not at all what I'm going for, now my scene is WAY too bright. I'll keep playing...
Hmm.
Try this... Create a new camera. Parent the new camera to your existing camera. Open the properties of the new camera and zero out the translation and rotation values.
Now you will have two cameras occuping the same space and looking in the same direction.
Render with the new camera to confirm that you still see the same light abnormality. If you don't, then problem solved.
If you do, use the rotation value on the new camera to turn it towards the apparent light source. Render and see if you can locate where the light is coming from.
Doing this will allow you to preserve everything else in your scene while investigating the problem.