"javi" <jay### [at] hawksrwuedu> wrote in message 
news:web.4a7905c8d8b02b1a8bd383a50@news.povray.org...
> clipka <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
>> javi schrieb:
>> > Hi everyone.
>> >
>> > I am new to POV Ray and imaging in general, suffice to say I am 
>> > completely lost
>> > as to how I am going to create art using this program or how I can 
>> > render my
>> > art in this program. If anyone has any tips on where to begin (a manual 
>> > to read
>> > perhaps) please let me know.
>> >
>>
>> How about the built-in help then? ;-)
>> Or, if you're using the Linux version and can't find the HTML help files
>> that should be installed with it, you can read it on the net at
>> http://www.povray.org/documentation/.
>>
>> In any case, welcome to POV-Ray!
>
> I think I'm good for set up, I am using the mac version already compiled. 
> I'm
> just like....woah.... ya know. The only option I have is to create a 
> marker
> after that I am LOST ha.
>

Are you able to run the POV-Ray application?
If so you should get the Mac interface described at 
http://www.povray.org/documentation/view/3.6.1/731/

From that you should be able to load one of the scene files that comes with 
POV-Ray and render it. For example biscuit.pov from the scenes:advanced 
folder. So long as that renders ok you can move straight on to creating your 
own art. This is done by adding instructions into a text file to describe 
the scene, then rendering it. The instructions are written in SDL (the Scene 
Description Language) and the majority of the documentation that Clipka 
linked to covers the wealth of things that you can do using the SDL.

You'll need to understand the X-Y-Z coordinate system (Y is usually 
considered 'up') and you'll need to be able to specify colours, either using 
their RGB values or using the predefined names in 'colors.inc'.

When developing your first scene it's best to keep it really simple, so 
you'll need a camera, a light source and one or more objects. A simple 
starting point would be:

camera {location <0, 2,-2> look_at <0,0,0>}
light_source {<2,20,-4> color rgb <1,1,1>}

sphere {<0,0,0>,1 pigment {rgb <1,0,0>}}

Or, if you want to use the predefined colors in 'colors.inc':

#include "colors.inc"

camera {location <0, 2,-2> look_at <0,0,0>}
light_source {<2,20,-4> color White}

sphere {<0,0,0>,1 pigment {Red}}

A common first project is to create some form of reflective sphere on a 
checkered plane (RSOCP).
The 'povray.newusers' newsgroup is dedicated to the sort of questions that 
new users often ask. There's also a FAQ at http://tag.povray.org/povQandT/ 
If you run into any Mac specific problems it may be worth looking through 
the Mac specific newsgroup at http://news.povray.org/povray.macintosh/

Hope that helps.

Regards,
Chris B.

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