MR <a### [at] bnet> wrote:
:  and chapters
: on media and isosurfaces written so clearly that my pet
: hamster can understand it.

  Don't get confused. Sometimes there just aren't any shortcuts. If something
requires knowledge and exprience, then it requires knowledge and experience.
There are no "magical" tutorials which can teach you in one hour what usually
requires years of experience. There's no such a thing as a free meal.
  Think about a foreign language: There just isn't any way you can teach it
to someone in a short time, no matter what you do. It just requires practice
and practice... No shortcuts.

  Isosurfaces are not as difficult as a foreign language, of course, but
there still isn't any shortcut. You need to know something about math, period.
  In fact, the best way to learn how to make good isosurfaces is not a
POV-Ray tutorial or book, but reading and studying *math* books! If you have
good mathematical knowledge about functions and mathematical surfaces, you
can master isosurfaces like a pro.
  For example, if you want to make a cone with elliptical end caps (of
different shapes), the best place to look is not a POV-Ray tutorial, but
a math book (or if you have enough math experience you can deduce it yourself,
which is the optimal situation).

-- 
#macro N(D,I)#if(I<6)cylinder{M()#local D[I]=div(D[I],104);M().5,2pigment{
rgb M()}}N(D,(D[I]>99?I:I+1))#end#end#macro M()<mod(D[I],13)-6,mod(div(D[I
],13),8)-3,10>#end blob{N(array[6]{11117333955,
7382340,3358,3900569407,970,4254934330},0)}//                     - Warp -

Post a reply to this message