"Jim Charter" <jrc### [at] aolcom> wrote in message
news:3e95965c@news.povray.org...

I found this a little late, but have been reading and enjoying the
various threads. I believe that he problem with participation has to do
with the fact that you have put more thought into your comments, Jim,
than many of the entrants have put into their images. Regarding most of
these images there simply isn't anything to discuss.

That isn't meant to be as strong a criticism as it may sound. Building a
scene in Povray can be a long and difficult process, and the act of
completing a scene provides the same type of  satisfaction as completing
a model airplane. It is obvious that whereas many put a lot of effort
into creating their entries, very few put much thought into the scenes
themselves.

There is a thought process involved in building an unimaginative scene,
but the process is automatic. The inclusion of most objects has less to
do with artistic expression than with the availability of a model or
source material. To ask why an entrant placed a horse in front of a
carriage is to ask why he put legs on a table. One of the better
concepts of the round was the radio graves entry, and Slashdolt
confesses to adding many of the elements simply because he liked them.
Even the main idea of his picture doesn't provide a lot of provocation
for discussion. The idea is somewhat ironic, but the irony isn't
analogous to any human experience. The idea is however not threadbare,
which deserves a lot of credit.

If you accept that most of the images are more like model cars than
attempts at art, then the majority of the emphasis should be on
technical merit. When I comment on pictures in the IRTC, most of my
comments are related to this. However, there is not a whole lot to
contribute in that area, either, since so few have really taken or had
the time to get as far as they could without help. What help can you
offer someone whose scene is only half finished.

If you want to do something to "advance raytracing as an art," then I
would suggest focusing your creativity on your own works rather than
those of others. That, and voting for provocative topics for the IRTC
rounds. I think that people will find more creativity if they are
focusing on an idea about which they are passionate.

 -Shay

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