"H@@kon" <nomail@nomail> wrote in message 
news:web.47a217e87b8d0c8a95b8a6100@news.povray.org...
> Hello!
>
> Just discovered Pov Ray and totally amazed of what people make.
> Could someone explain to me this:
>
> The most breathtaking pictures are using a lof of hours rendering, some a 
> whole
> day.
>
> how do you make these pictures?
>
> do you code a lot before you render (and you visually know the result of 
> your
> coding) OR is there a preview function with a lot of testing?
>
> I thought at first there was a lot of testing, but if a render takes 5-6 
> hours
> then you really should "know" when to test...
>
>
> Sorry if this is a very stupid question, but really nags me...
> And appreciate every answer...
>

Hi,

I don't claim to have done anything that could be credited as 
'breathtaking', but I have done images that take a day or more and 
animations that take many days to render.

I'd be suprised if there's anyone able to just write the code and then 
render once at the end. I normally do a very large number of test renders, 
but I try to keep the times down on most of them by:

1. Commenting out bits I don't need for a particular test
2. Incorporating quick alternatives to take the place of slow-rendering 
objects like Isosurfaces
3. Rendering smaller images
4. Turning off Anti-Aliasing and other time-consuming stuff like radiosity 
until near the end

Most of the test renders that I do take just a few seconds, though they 
begin to take longer towards the end when I assemble the various components 
and start sorting out the innevitable little glitches.

You may do a full render overnight or leave it running while you're out to 
get an idea of how the whole thing is coming along.

Regards,
Chris B.

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