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Robert_S
26th November 2005, 10:15
Hi,
I've posted my latest terragen-picture 'dusk' today using terragen 0.9.43 and maybe there are some people here wanting to create a similar sky, so I will write down the way you can get it. It's important to try different changes from the parameters to see what they do! I hope you enjoy it. Let's begin:

1. Create a 1025-terrain (1025x960 for the unregistered user), you can use first a flat scene where you put in later some mountains or other stuff (maybe by using View/Sculpt) If you prefer a more realistic terrain, so try following settings: Realism=98, Smoothing=8, Glaciation=79 and Canyonism=12 - method: Subdivide & Displace II) point-spacing=17.8, camera fixed high above surface on 455m. Before searching a POV we'll do the following:

2. Get into the Cloudscape menue. Sky size 15000, Altitude 2500, Depth/Thickness 6, 3D enable (thats very important to get realistic clouds!) Density Contrast 5 and Density Shift 44, Darkening 88%... that'll do!

3. Generate Clouds using Persistence 55 and Cloud Size the third position behind the maximum.

4. Open Atmosphere and try the following values:

simple haze: color(R-G-B) 35-18-8, Density 29%, Half-height 2048 m
atmospheric blue: color 10-18-59, Density 36%, Half-height 6517 m
light decay: color 231-171-121, Decay 45%, Half-height 3327 m

(it is useful to save in between the parameters)

5. Now we open the Lighting Conditions:

First enable all shadows! Sun heading 0 and Sun altitude 8 above ground level. Here you can do a first render after setting your POV a little beside the midpoint so that the sun can explode in front of you... not in the boring center! (set the detail for testrenderings on second or third position, but don't forget to set it high again before doing the final render!)

Direct sunlight tab: Enable 'realistic sunlight penetration system' - the onliest way to get fine results!
sunlight strength: 1500% (yeah, the sun will burn!!)
effect of atmosphere 73%
where cloud casting not... 0%
Base sun color 119-138-168 (we are gettin' reddish)

Sun's appearence tab: o.1 Disc diameter (deg) and corona size=2

thats it for the first! You have to generate differnet times new clouds to get a good result but don't change the parameters too early!!

6. I think that water is necessary, so open the water menue:
Try following adjustments: a) waves/ wave properties: 48-155-200
waves/wave variation: 100-300-20-20 (default)

b) Reflections/Reflections of Lightsources: direct sunlight about 50%, Reflection spread about 1-5, maybe more. This depends of the clouds you have generated!

c) Sub-surface: try the tropic one: setting the diffuse color from black (0-0-0) to blue-green (0-9-15)


...and now: play with it. The final render should be on highest detail and if you have the registred version put it on ultra for the anti-aliasing!

Hope I could help a little bit and you are on the right way to let the sun explode! :FIREdevil

wile1
26th November 2005, 12:57
Oooh thanks this is a great tutorial. Its easy to follow and I can even do it!! :D Thanks

Robert_S
26th November 2005, 13:04
please, please... would be nice seeing a picture you did with your new know how... ;)

Revenant
28th November 2005, 11:13
Looks like this is a great setting, I am going to try it ASAP!
Thanks Robert

ppetersen
29th November 2005, 01:40
I did try it and posted it Robert, your work is phenominal and the settings work with almost any cloud cover. I did change the colors somewhat for my 'mood' but what an amazing thought, I never would have set the sun so high and it works wonderfully!!!!! So many thanks for that hint and those colors ...

Robert_S
29th November 2005, 04:54
I have to thank too... and I think sharing some adjustments is one of the best ways to get new points of view. Now I will search your scene! :very_firs

classylady
30th November 2005, 13:12
Thanks Robert going to try it out once I get Terragen back installed.

Thanks :love:

Revenant
1st December 2005, 04:13
HERE (http://www.innertraveler.com/publicgallery/showphoto.php?photo=20618&size=big&cat=511&page=1) you will find my shot at it. I hope it honours your idea, Robert.

I have changed it a bit, used different heights and terrain sizes, and obviously used my terrains, surfaces, water, etc...

Robert_S
1st December 2005, 04:22
awesome artwork! you did the best of it!

ppetersen
1st December 2005, 23:58
As the weekend is almost here I will write down some of the settings I used, as well as 'general' settings on water that I use. The current ones reduce the glare on the water giving it a more softer glow... :) But that will be tomorrow :)))

Robert_S
2nd December 2005, 04:41
That would be fantastic, Pat! I think that it is very helpful for other artists sharing different adjustments/settings here! Would be good to post them in a special thread under a name that shows right away the possibilities we'll get using them.
And afterwards it is funny to see what other artist fiddle out of these settings showing a picture. :airborne:

Revenant
2nd December 2005, 06:11
A general overview of my adjustments on my "Solitaire" image:

On first measures changed a lot, as I used a 2049 terrain, with 30 MetrePointSpacing; so some of the settings resulted different because of the MPS, but I did not change the atmo values. The sun was oriented at 249, and altitude set at 4,5° , as it had to match the direction I wanted it to face camera, and I lowered it to show just above the ground.

I noticed that you seemed not to change Background Light settings I did use a 25% shadow lightness (multi directional) with
158 131 104 diffuse sunlight
192 176 168 light from above
205 210 64 reverse light

Above all I guess that most of the difference stands, apart from different terrain, surface, and water, in the fact that cloud thickness was increased to a "powerful" 68 to show some sort of that morning courtain one can see in misty places at dawn.

classylady
2nd December 2005, 14:09
Thanks Rev I'll try them as soon as I can....... reformatting is horrid.

ppetersen
3rd December 2005, 17:22
Here are my settings for the image posted today called "Imagination"

Render Settings: Quality: atmosphere and Cloud Shading slide to the highest setting
Anti Aliasing- fast subpixilation and Ultra Checked (Ultra can only be checked in the registered version)
Options: Colour Settings: Gamma 1
Rendering Control: Detail : slide to the highest setting
Exposure: five clicks to the right

(All the above are always done except the exposure on every picture. Exposure lightens the image and I only use when I feel the image is too dark)

Clouds: Sky Size: 15000 Altitude: 5020
2d Clouds Checked (I usually use 3d and forgot to switch- a happy accident in this case)
Depth/thickness: 8

Cloud Color: 73, 32, 15

Generate Clouds: 51 Persistance, -100 recurrance, Cloud size, 3 from highest.

Atmosphere Dialogue Box:
Simple Haze 49% 2135 ht. (your clouds are always the same color as your haze, so if you switch the haze color it will affect the clouds)
Atmospheric Blue: 36% 6608 ht. Color: 10, 18, 59 (this is from Robert)
Decay: 45% 3281.2 ht. Color: 231, 171, 121, (also from Roberts)

Lighting Dialogue Box:
Sun Heading: find your spot where you wish the sun to 'rise' from Sun Altitude: between 8-13 (depends on the dark/light you wish. Here I used 13.

All boxes are checked :)

Sun Strength: 1500
145% effect on atmosphere
20% cloud cover
Make sure realistic sun is checked, color : 49, 52, 57 ( more grey than blue)

Background:
(the colors here usually affect the terrain and the water :)
Shadow lightness: 34.81
Multi Directional Light checked.
Diffuse Sun color: 184, 163, 139
Light from Above: 101, 124, 144
Reverse Light: 7, 13, 13

Sun's Appearance: 0.25 disc diameter, 3 Corona

Lighting of Atmosphere: 300% 103 % glow power

This sky was added to a 2049 terrain which I built ( terrain is always done as a 513 or 257 in WM if you have the trial version. I enlarge it in Terragen ...

If such a 'big' sky is done on a smaller terrain, the colors or intensities may need adjusting, the same holds true if you make a sky for a smaller terrain and it's perfect yet doesn't look the same on a larger one.

:) Enjoy the settings and looking forward to seeing some more of these gorgeous skies...

classylady
4th December 2005, 03:45
Thanks Pat I'll have to give it a go, soon as I can get a few things done
doesn't help when comcast is down so much lately hard to get here when you have no connection......
:w00t:

Robert_S
4th December 2005, 07:28
Thanks, Pat - I will test it at once! :sprint:

AnnaKirsten
15th December 2005, 07:10
Pat.. Would you be willing to share your settings for the following two pictures (if you have them recorded) so I can try them in TG? (I don't know if they will work so well in the free version, but that's all I have..)

Akzahar and Pele~Island Spirit

Edit: I now have it registered!