"Jim Charter" <jrc### [at] msncom> wrote in message 
news:42cc2595@news.povray.org...
> Cliche subject, but at some point you just gotta do sharks.
>
> Actually I was hoping to simplify things a bit as I try to develop
> skills in uv maps, lighting and texturing.
>
>
> In my posted examples, issues of modelling and some uv mapping glitches
> aside, my question is, does anyone here know what color these animals
> actually are?  Any shark afficionados out there?
>
> I was using this as a reference
> http://www.discoverydiving.com/shark_gallery.htm
> Can anyone help me analyse what I am actually seeing there in terms of
> the animal's skin color and finish?

Sharkskin has the texture of sandpaper - at least in one direction and is 
much smoother when going with the flow.

Your monochrome shark is nearest to native coloration.
However sharks in water (like all other submarine creatures) are percieved 
as a function of illumination.
The red end of the spectrum falls off dramatically with depth.
So underwater photographers often use flash illumination and filters to 
brighten things up and balance the color.
See e.g. http://www.rov.org/educational/pages/LIGHTING.html for a graph.
And there are a gazillion other issues relating to surface illumination, 
surface texture, clarity/turbidity, (blue) reflected light from sea beds 
etc.
Have fun...
DLM

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