>> Other people can pick up a pencil, draw a few brisk strokes on a pad 
>> of paper, and produce something the like of which I couldn't copy if I 
>> had several hours to work on it.
> 
> Very few people have the raw talent to just pick up a new medium and be 
> good at it, for most of us we have to *practise* until we get good.  

I spent 6 months on taught drawing classes. You know what? I *still* 
suck at drawing.

> Spend the same amount of time you have with Haskell on anything else and 
> you'll be surprised how good you get.  Just don't give up after 1 day if 
> you can't instantly become a genius.

I didn't give up after 1 day. I gave up after 6 months.

You make it sound like all you have to do is practise and you can become 
good at *anything*. This isn't actually true.

>> Using a computer doesn't really improve matters either. I played with 
>> a copy of 3D Studio Max - allegedly "the most powerful 3D program 
>> ever". All I could get it to do was render spheres and cylinders.
> 
> And exactly how many hours did you spend with it?

I don't remember. Maybe a week or two? After that I uninstalled it - it 
*was* illegal after all...

> Did you even bother 
> to search for a tutorial or did you just try to point and click 
> everywhere?

AFAIK, Google didn't exist in 1995. Even if it did, I didn't have an 
Internet connection.

> Complex 3D programs are not like Word where an average 
> person can just rock up and start using it.

It didn't take me long to get a few simple images out of POV-Ray. (OTOH, 
that comes with *a manual*...)

>> I've spent years fiddling with POV-Ray, and to this day I have yet to 
>> produce anything high-quality. Everything I make is dull and boring, 
>> with bad lighting and laughable texturing.
> 
> Again, have you even looked for some tutorials or books on lighting and 
> texturing?

I presumed that none exist online (or at least, no good ones), and I'd 
have no idea where to find a book on such matters.

> I remember Warp has a good simple lighting tutorial 
> somewhere that can give good results.  Oh yes here it is:
> 
> http://warp.povusers.org/povtips/

I've read it before - and yet the stuff I produce is still dull and 
uninteresting.

It seems to matter how many or few lights I use, no matter what colour 
they are, and no matter how I position them, the result is either too 
dark or too bright or not enough contrast or a nausiating mixture of 
colours or...

At least for texturing you can just use POV-Ray's excellent texture 
libraries. (Well, if you want wood or stone anyway.)

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